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Bird Middle School weather

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Town payroll

Sam Obar reports on his blog May 18 that while the number of town workers has gone down, the number of employees earning over $70,000 has been going up, and so has the total payroll cost.

Mercandetti honor

Stephanie Mercandetti, Walpole economic development officer and newly elected Framingham planning board member, has been named an unsung heroine by the state Commission on the Status of Women. The Framingham Patch has a story.

Top teacher

Kathleen Turner of Walpole, a French teacher at Sharon High, has been named the state's teacher of the year, Boston.com reports.

Jones still in

Sam Obar reports on his blog May 7 that Russell Jones now says he will serve as selectman if elected. Last month, Obar reported Jones' statement that he was withdrawing his candidacy.

Continuing his campaign to unseat one of the two incumbent board members, Chris Donovan has posted answers to questions from WalpoleWord users on the election 2012 thread.

Override request

Here's the resolution of the selectmen, school committee and finance committee regarding the proposed $3 million override. pdf

The school department has outlined the school committee vote March 22 for student fee increases and additional staff cuts that would be implemented if Town Meeting or voters turn down an override request. pdf

The school department has posted charts predicting class sizes with and without an override. pdf

Walpole Pride schools discussion on Facebook

Boston.com posts a story Dec. 15 about the school committeee's proposed $2.7 million override.

Walpole weather

April continued the warm string. John Anderson's column

updated 5/8
From the Rec

The Walpole Recreation Department will host proms for pre-schoolers and older adults on Thursday, May 17. More information on these and other programs at From the Rec

Obituaries

Notices from Alexander F. Thomas and Sons Funeral Home.

Notices from James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home

Notices from Ginley Funeral Homes. (Includes Walpole, Franklin and Medway funeral homes)

School menus

A schools page has the menus weekly. pdf

Christine Cochrane photo

The Girls Softball and Little League seasons got off to a damp start April 27 with the annual parade through downtown.

Parade slideshow

In praise of an inspiring teacher

Last Tuesday, May 7 was National Teacher Day and in the spirit of appreciation and honoring our local educators, I wanted to take a moment to recognize the efforts of one teacher in particular – my seventh grade history teacher at the Johnson Middle School, Mrs. Watters. Mrs. Watters’ selflessness and hard work continue to inspire me and have shaped me to become who I am today.

Mrs. Watters taught U.S. History and I attribute the origin of my interest in public service to her classroom. She made learning interesting, for example holding a mock Constitutional Convention so that the class could experience the democratic process first hand and engage in a lively debate. Her daily attention to current events not only taught the class to appreciate the world around us, but also helped us cope with the tragedy at Columbine High School. Mrs. Watters was also a great motivator and to this day remains the only teacher to have held me in detention after not adequately completing a homework assignment. She was an outstanding role model, a great mentor and not only fit the mold of an excellent teacher, she broke it.

I was fortunate enough to see Mrs. Watters earlier this year at the Friends of Saint Patrick Luncheon where I learned that she recently retired after her many years of distinguished and dedicated service to the Walpole Public School system and to its students. Although I was afforded the rare opportunity to thank her in person, 12 years since I sat in her classroom, I want to take a moment to again express my gratitude – Mrs. Watters, if you’re reading this, thank you.

Patrick Shield
West Street

(Shield is a candidate for school committee.)

Blogs, links

Got a Walpole-related blog or site? Send the link here:

Here's Sam Obar's blog,

The library building project

Mike Iwanowicz
Walpole columnist

Walpole Town Meeting (Jon Rockwood)

The Walpole Peace and Justice Group

The Walpole Public Library's young adult blog

Walpole Friends of Music

More Walpole links, including MCAS results and commuter rail schedule.

updated 5/18
Foxboro casino

The Kraft Group bought a Walpole property abutting its Foxboro land before giving up on a casino. CBS Boston (Channel 4) has a brief story.

Boston.com May 13 ponders the future of the Foxboro site now that the casino plan is dead.

Robert Kraft and Steve Wynn have dropped their casino plan. Here are reports from the Sun Chronicle of Attleboro and Boston.com

Casino opponents win in Foxboro May 7 town election, Boston.com reports. Here are the Attleboro Sun Chronicle report and its voter interviews.

Boston.com offers a page linking to months of its casino stories.

Foxboro residents have made and posted a half-hour YouTube video explaining why they do not want a casino.

Here's the letter Walpole selectmen have sent to the chairman of the state gaming commission, seconding Rep. John Roger's position that Walpole has the legal rights of a host community under the state casino law. pdf

Foxboro selectmen voted 3-2 Dec. 27 against a casino at the Patriots stadium. Here's the boston.com story.

Foxboro opponents' site

Foxboro commuter rail

Walpole's website posts a presentation on the casino law by the firm that serves as town counsel to it and many other communities. pdf

Registration might be necessary at boston.com. It's free.

Bird Machine site

This town page about the former Bird Machine property offers links to a slide presentation from a Dec. 6 public meeting, the draft cleanup report and other information.

Sunny Rock Farm

Boston.com has a story about the campaign to save Sunny Rock Farm from development.

The campaign's Facebook site has a map showing envisioned conservation land and playing fields.

Historical Society

Walpole Historical Society has posted a link on its site (at bottom) to the results (more than 1,000) of a search on Flickr for Walpole photos.

Council on Aging

Here's the Walpole COA May newsletter and the May calendar. both pdf

Hessco serves the elderly in Walpole and neighboring towns.

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