The Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts and The Nature Conservancy recently preserved 88 acres on Lake Nippenicket in Bridgewater, as well as a 14-acre island, the largest in the lake. The groups worked with the landowner, Campanelli Cos. of Braintree. Campanelli proposed and received approval for a 10-lot subdivision that included an existing historic home and nine new building lots. After discussion with the Conservancy and the state Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Campanelli agreed not to seek permits for additional housing. Instead, the company placed most of the mainland acreage into conservation, along with the island just offshore. "This project shows what partners can do together to protect important landscapes," noted Wildlands Trust land protection specialist Scott MacFaden. He praised the Conservancy and Campanelli Cos., and local groups including the Lake Nippenicket Association and the Bridgewater Beagle Club for their support. -Christine Legere

PEACE CRUSADERS - The Brockton Peace Crusaders is calling for a community-wide action meeting, with residents, teachers, law enforcement officials, and other community leaders on ways to combat violence in Brockton. A meeting is scheduled Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Brockton Main Library Community Room. The Brockton Peace Crusaders formed last year as an antiviolence group during what was one of the bloodiest summers in city history. Last year, 11 people were killed. The group was reactivated recently after two people were killed and several others injured at the start of the year. -Milton Valencia

SCHOOL INCUMBENTS STEP DOWN - Voters will elect two first-time members to the School Committee after veteran committee member Laura Hallowell last week became the second incumbent, after John Bonnanzio, to decide against seeking another term. "It just seems that another generation is ready to step up to the plate," said Hallowell, who would have been seeking a third term. She is ready to move on to "grandchildren and another stage of life," she said, and pulled out after three newcomers had their nomination papers certified. The race is wide open for candidates Liz Salisbury, Dave Cahill, and Tim Brooks, who is chairman of the town's Playground and Recreation Commission. In the April 8 election, voters will also have to decide races for Planning Board, where incumbent Dean Miller faces a challenge from Gary Vinciguerra, and the Board of Selectmen, where incumbents Bob Burr and Victor Del Vecchio are facing challenger John J. Friel for two seats on the board. -Elaine Cushman Carroll

THEY ARE PROMISING A ROSE GARDEN - Irwin and Cindy Ehrenreich plan to open The Rose Man Nursery and Emporium on Eda Avenue on the grounds of Edaville Railroad in April. The couple will offer 650 different varieties of roses in their nursery and transplant their extensive rose garden from Barnstable to Carver, where a one-acre rose garden is planned. Plans call for the Edaville train to pass between garden and nursery. -Robert Knox

 

DEDHAM

SNOW REMOVAL DEFICIT GROWS - The town's deficit for snow and ice removal continues to grow. Selectmen this month voted to increase the amount of money for such services by $125,000, raising the deficit in the snow and ice removal account to $425,000. State law allows municipalities to run a deficit in snow and ice removal accounts. A particularly snowy winter has caused Dedham, like many other towns, to use the law. -James Vaznis

 

 

TAX HIKE WOULD FUND SENIOR CENTER - The public will be asked to support a $4 million debt exclusion to design and build a senior center at Sachem Rock Farm, when Special Town Meeting opens at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Gordon Mitchell Middle School. Voters will also consider a request from the School Department to borrow $85,000 for a reading program. The other 11 articles on the warrant are mostly money transfers. A quorum of 150 voters is needed for financial business to take place, according to the town clerk. -Christine Legere

 

 

STING QUESTIONED - Three bars where minors allegedly bought alcohol during a police sting last fall will have to answer to selectmen at a Feb. 25 meeting. Selectmen could revoke their licenses or otherwise penalize the establishments. Last month, police penalized two bars with one-day license suspensions after their owners admitted that a 19-year-old working with police in the sting bought alcohol. Three other establishments were also cited but have contested the charges based on police procedures. At least one of the bars argued that police announced the wrong month the biannual sting would occur. Selectmen postponed the hearing to get an answer from town officials on whether the sting is still valid. - Milton Valencia

 

 

TOWN TO OFFER FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN - Foxborough has received $75,000 from the state Department of Education to offer full-day kindergarten at its three elementary schools next year, said School Committee member Martha Slattery. School officials will hold a public informational meeting on the new classes Feb. 28 from 7 to 8 p.m., at Burrell Elementary School. Half-day kindergarten classes will still be offered as well. -Joan Wilder

 

 

ENDANGERED SPECIES WORKSHOP - Rare species and priority habitats will be addressed by the Taunton River Watershed Campaign in a workshop Feb. 28. While the public is welcome, the target audience will be volunteers on permitting boards in surrounding towns, according to Susan Speers, coordinator for the Watershed Campaign. Jonathan Regosin, head of regulatory review for the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, will discuss how his office reviews properties where a rare species has been confirmed when the property is slated for development. The program determines whether construction can proceed without harming the plant or animal. The workshop is at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of Town Hall. -Christine Legere

 

OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION NEEDS - Residents can offer their ideas on the town's open space and recreation opportunities through a survey by the Open Space Committee in conjunction with the Conservation Commission, and at an upcoming meeting. The questionnaire is available on the town's website, hanson-ma.gov, and at Town Hall and is part of an effort to update the Open Space and Recreation Plan. An open space and recreation "public visioning session" will be held March 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Middle School auditorium. Cities and towns in Massachusetts are required to have current open space and recreation plans to be eligible for certain state grants. -John Laidler

 

 

HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDS PICKS UP TAB - A new fume exhaust system is scheduled to be installed in the Lakeville Fire Station, courtesy of a Homeland Security grant of $68,780, said Fire Chief Daniel Hopkins. The Fire Department now uses a pair of high-powered air blowers to blow out exhaust fumes when trucks are running in the station. The award is part of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters grant program, which last year gave out nearly $500 million in competitive grants to fire departments and other medical service groups. -Paul E. Kandarian

 

 

LOANS, IMPROVEMENT GRANTS AVAILABLE - Income-eligible owners of single-family and multifamily homes in Mansfield Center may qualify for up to $30,000 per unit in state deferred-payment loans and grants for repairs, including electrical and plumbing upgrades, heating and roofing repairs, window replacement, accessibility modifications, and lead paint abatement. No repayment of the loan is required unless the home is sold within 15 years. Applications are available in the Community Development Office on the third floor of Town Hall and must be returned by Mar. 4. - Christine Legere

 

 

WATER MARK - The town's share of the operating budget of the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District for fiscal year 2009 is $206,610, in a plan approved by the district commission. The total operating budget for the new shared water treatment plant in Mattapoisett, which removes iron and manganese from wells, is $16.5 million, commissioners said, with the district towns of Fairhaven, Marion, and Mattapoisett sharing costs. The plant will be online by mid-March, according to William Nicholson, plant supervisor and head of the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department. The shares of the cost are determined by usage, officials said. -Paul E. Kandarian

 

 

JUST THINK: BEACH STICKERS - Shellfish permits and beach-wharf stickers for 2008 are now available at the town treasurer-collector's office at Town Hall and through a mail-order form at the town website, Mattapoisett.net. -Paul E. Kandarian

 

 

DEADLINE FOR SPRING VOTERS - The deadline to register to vote in this spring's town election is March 14, according to Town Clerk Eileen Gates. Gates's office will be open extended hours that day, from 8:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those needing voter information may call her at 508-946-2415. - Christine Legere

 

A GARDENER'S VIEW - Author and horticulturalist Barbara Damrosch, Wheaton College class of 1964, will lecture on agriculture and sustainability at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Hindle auditorium at Wheaton College's Science Center. Damrosch's presentation is free and open to the public. - Christine Legere

 

 

ASPHALT PLANT HEARING - Opponents of a proposal to resume production at an asphalt plant on Pleasant Street are planning to pack a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the matter this Tuesday. Members of Stop Norwood Asphalt Plant will be drumming up support by going door to door in the affected neighborhood in the days before the hearing. The group recently received a setback when state environmental regulators ruled that Norfolk Asphalt Co. didn't have to undergo a full environmental review on plans to upgrade the plant. Tuesday's meeting starts at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall at Town Hall. - James Vaznis

 

 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE HONORS - Forty-four Sharon High School students were honored for high achievement in foreign language proficiency at a ceremony last month. Named at the first annual induction ceremony for Foreign Language Honor Societies were 21 students of French, nine students in the Latin program, 12 students studying Spanish, and two enrolled in Chinese. -Franci Richardson Ellement

 

 

ON YOUR RIGHT, ANOTHER FORECLOSURE - Real estate agents Coleen Polillio and Marlene Wasserstein will try to earn their wings as tour guides tomorrow. The two, who work for Century 21 C&S Properties on Central Street, have rented a bus to take 18 potential homeowners on a three-hour bus tour of area homes recently foreclosed on. "We've signed up every seat on the bus. We hope to see between 10 and 15 homes in Stoughton and the surrounding towns." -Robert Carroll

 

 

BRIDGE RENAMED FOR SULLIVAN - Officials gathered earlier this month to commemorate the renaming of the Bullard Street Bridge to the George A. Sullivan Bridge in honor of Walpole native and former state senator and judge George Sullivan, 81. The House majority leader, John Rogers, a Democrat who represents the two towns the bridge connects - Walpole and Norwood - wrote the bill that made the renaming official, said Chris Allen, legislative aide to Rogers. -Joan Wilder

 

 

EXPENSIVE E. COLI MYSTERY - An outside consultant, SEA Consultants Inc. of Cambridge, was unable to figure out what caused the E. coli contamination in the Fire District's water supply last summer. Residents and businesses in the district had to boil their tap water from Aug. 27 to Sept. 7, after E. coli turned up in a water sample during routine testing. The district spent $27,845 on bottled water for residents, $11,200 for source water sampling, $16,311 in overtime, $4,360 in chemicals, and $18,000 for the SEA report. The total cost to the Water Department was approximately $80,000, according to Martin. -Emily Sweeney

 

 

 

NO CHALLENGERS SO FAR - Nine seats will be filled at the April 12 election, and as of midweek, the nine incumbents were the only ones to take out nomination papers. The deadline to return them is Feb. 25. The incumbents are Selectman Eldon F. Moreira, Board of Assessors member Robert Lundin, School Committee member James Holden, Board of Health member Richard P. Harris, Planning Board member Grete Bohannon, Housing Authority member Nancy Morrison, Water Commissioner member John W. Noyes, and library trustees Richard P. Adams and George Hardiman. -John Laidler

 

 

RINK PUSHED TO INSTALL SPRINKLER - Brockton Superior Court Judge Charles Hely issued a preliminary injunction against the Carousel Family Fun Center that limits occupancy at the skating rink to a maximum of 99 until March 10. The rink can accommodate more than 400. Fire Chief Timothy Travers had asked for the injunction because, he said, the business had not installed the legally required automatic sprinkler system. The lawyer for owner Conway Investments LLC argued the state's new sprinkler requirement was unconstitutionally vague and did not apply to the rink. The judge disagreed. After March 10, the rink must close unless the fire chief and building inspector agree to issue a revised certificate of occupancy. If no sprinkler system has been installed, that revised certificate must also cap occupancy at 99. - Christine Legere

 

TAX HIKE BID 'NOT ON TABLE' - Town and school officials will be trimming their proposed budgets for next year to eliminate a $1.7 million shortfall. Michael Jaillet, town administrator, said he expects both sides will be able to make enough cuts so the town won't have to ask voters to increase their taxes beyond the state's cap of 2.5 percent a year. "That's not an option on the table," said Jaillet. He presented selectmen last week with a proposed municipal budget of $14.6 million, a 6 percent increase over this year. The presentation followed last month's release of the school superintendent's $32.7 million proposal for next year, which is 6.4 percent higher than this year. - James Vaznis