Wellesley Square Parents Day Out is September 17-18

September 15, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

SPONSORED POST: The Wellesley Square Merchants’ Association is getting ready for two big days of the all-new Parents Day Out, a time when everyone can enjoy specials offered by participating merchants in the Square. On Friday, September 17 and Saturday, September 18, many of the area’s stores will offer discounts and deals, so make sure you stop by and shop, dine, and enjoy Wellesley Square. Swing by Linden Square, too—lots of merchants there are also getting in on the fun.

Adjacent to Parents Day Out, on Wellesley Green (between Town Hall and the post office), the Wellesley Mothers Forum will be showing everyone a good time at their Fall Carnival on Saturday, 10am-noon. The fun will include a magic show, balloon twister, bouncy house, story time with Wellesley author Lisa Rogers, and more.

All this and free parking on both days starting at 10am, thanks to the Town of Wellesley. Look for the 2-hour free street meters marked with hoods, and the signs in the Town-owned lots offering 2-hour free parking. NOTE: the 2-hour limit will be enforced, and parking fees WILL apply at any 4-hour and 10-hour meters, and private parking lots.

The weather forecast says the day will be picture perfect—just another reason to give yourself time to enjoy the one and only Wellesley Square. But you only need one, don’t you: you deserve it.

Details of special offers will be posted here on Thursday. In the meantime, here’s a list of participating merchants:

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Wellesley makes noise about quiet new landscaping gear

September 14, 2021 by Bob Brown 5 Comments

True story (not that I should have to stress that): I was sitting outside working on Swellesley Tuesday afternoon when the town’s announcement about its electric landscaping gear arrived in my email inbox. I started to read it, then as if on cue, loud motors from work being done in our neighborhood attacked my ears and brain from the left and right and I was forced to move my operation indoors to concentrate.

The word is that Wellesley’s Department of Public Works has dipped into its budget to acquire a riding mower and other battery-powered equipment to cut grass and do other landscaping on town land. The equipment is part of a pilot program designed to help the town reduce emissions and noise levels from the work its DPW does.

Going green all the way, the DPW’s Park and Tree division is exploring adding a solar panel to its equipment trailer to keep things charged up.

DePhillips.Smith.Caban_electric equipment — Wellesley DPW Park & Tree crews are using battery-powered landscaping equipment to help cut down noise and carbon emissions. Shown left to right: Paul DePhillips, Asst. Superintendent, with equipment operators Ben Smith and Wally Caban (photo via Town of Wellesley).

Mowing electric is all the rage. The Mass Horticultural Society is switching to an electric lawnmower to replace its old commercial gas mower, which Mass Hort says produces as much pollution per year as 141 cars in normal annual use. Mass Hort is raising funds to buy the equipment.

(Mowing electric is creating rage for others. I ran into a friend who moved to a home in Natick with a bigger yard than his previous one and the recharging and swapping out of batteries to get the whole lawn mowed with his electric equipment is bumming him out.)

But as for the Wellesley DPW, its move syncs up with the town’s Climate Action Plan designed to achieve net zero by 2050 by slashing greenhouse gas emissions. It also supports the DPW’s effort to convert some town parks into “Green Zones” on which all routine maintenance is performed with battery electric equipment and/or manual tools.

Wellesley Town Meeting members needed, town making moves for all-remote meeting

September 14, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Due to residents moving out of Wellesley, there are vacant Town Meeting seats in Precincts C, D, and E.

Special Elections for these positions will take place the week of Oct. 4.

New Town Meeting members will participate in the Special Town Meeting that starts on Oct. 25.

Residents may nominate themselves or have someone else nominate them.

Nominations for Precinct C are due on Sept. 30 at 5:00 p.m. Nominations for Precincts D and E are due on Sept. 28 at 5:00 p.m.

Nominees MUST be registered voters in the specific precinct they want to represent.

For information or to nominate a candidate, email Town Clerk KC Kato at [email protected]

Town making moves for all-remote meeting

Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop said during the Sept. 13 Select Board meeting that the Town Meeting moderator wants to move the fall Special Town Meeting to an all-remote online platform, as was the case with the spring meeting. Jop said the town “will commence the actions necessary to do that.”

Jop also reminded Town Meeting members that the meeting is slated for Oct. 25-27, noting the 3 straight days is unusual. From there, the meeting would restart Nov. 2.

Private school listings in Wellesley (and beyond)

September 14, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Thanks to iCode, Wellesley’s premier comprehensive K-12 programs in computer science, for sponsoring The Swellesley Report’s Private Schools page.

iCode’s STEAM programs offer kids the opportunity to build soft skills and strengthen their academic skills, with options that fit their lifestyle and schedule. iCode’s dynamic, proprietary curriculum is designed to span disciplines: science, technology, engineering, arts, and math literacy are embedded throughout classes as kids learn skills that prepare them for school and beyond. Virtual and onsite classes available. REGISTER HERE.

Contact Deborah for more info on inclusion of your private school (grades K and up) located in Wellesley or elsewhere, or for advertising on Swellesley. Parents and guardians: Please let private schools know that you found them here, if you did…thanks.

Wellesley’s fall filling up: Wonderful weekend, Bates Pumpkin Fair, Turkey Trot 2021

September 13, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley’s fall activities schedule is filling up fast as organizers look to return to traditions:

Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend

Bates Pumpkin Fair

The Bates Elementary School’s 50th anniversary Pumpkin Fair is slated for Oct. 16 from 2-6pm at the school.

Bouncy houses, games, the haunted house, and more will be among the fun activities.

Volunteers are needed.

Wellesley Turkey Trot

The 2021 Wellesley Turkey Trot is planned to be an in-person event this Thanksgiving morning and registration is now open.

Save the date: Wellesley Historical Society craft beer tasting event is Sept. 26th

September 13, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley COVID-19 update: Indoor mask advisory; schools sign on for pool testing; latest town numbers

September 12, 2021 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Wellesley has added an indoor mask advisory that urges people ages 5 and up to where a mask when indoors in public settings to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Here’s the full text of the Wellesley Board of Health advisory: “In light of the recent increase in the COVID Virus Delta variant, which has proven to be significantly more transmissible, we are strongly advising that individuals over the age of 5 wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth when indoors in a public setting, regardless of their vaccination status. Please understand that information and data is changing rapidly, and we are doing our best to respond in a thoughtful and expedient manner. As additional information is released from the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health our decisions may change. It’s important that we all remain flexible and vigilant during these times.

The town previously issued an indoor mask mandate for municipal buildings.

Schools sign on for pool testing

Wellesley Public Schools Supt. Dr. David Lussier said during Sept. 9 Board of Health meeting that the School Department has decided to take the state up on all 3 testing programs being offering. Lussier had previously informed the WPS community that plans were to take part in the state’s viral testing program, which includes on-site rapid/antigen tests for those who exhibit COVID symptoms at school as well as for asymptomatic close contacts. The hope was that this will allow more students and staff to remain at school.

With vaccination rates high and COVID-19 case numbers low, it didn’t appear WPS would return to pool (surveillance) testing, though some parents in recent weeks have pushed for that in light of the Delta variant’s rise and the lack of vaccination approval for younger students. Lussier said WPS decided to take part in the state’s pool testing program after all for pre-K through 6th grade after seeing the state with its hands full accommodating demand for the other types of testing. WPS didn’t want to get into a position down the line where it needed the pool testing, which involves interior nasal swabs, and the state wouldn’t be able to provide the resources. As he noted, “massive planning” is required for pool testing.

As for the close contact testing already underway, Lussier would like to see more state guidance on close contacts, such as whether this pertains to just in-school contacts. Even a couple of positive COVID-19 cases can result in dozens of close contacts depending on how you define them.

The public can now again track the COVID-19 case count action at Wellesley Public Schools thanks to reactivation of this dashboard.

Latest town numbers

Here are the latest weekly Massachusetts Department of Public Health vaccination figures for Wellesley. The overall vaccination rate remains at 66%, with increases of not more than 1% in any age category. The state figures include some curiosities, including that more individuals in the 50-64 age category are shown having at least one dose than there are individuals in that segment of the population. Also the 20-19 age category might be wonky due to how college students’ vaccinations are accounted for, including those who go to college in town.

Wellesley says it is averaging 4.4 COVID cases per day, though down in the 3s if you exclude students at colleges in town. The positivity rate per test is low at 0.6%, in part because of an increase in testing of asymptomatic people.

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