Our Westwood

Last week, Westwood resident Virginia Lester met with students at Westwood High School to tell the story of her son Albert's tragic death by teenage drunk drivers. Westwood Community Access Television (WestCAT) and the High School worked together to record the presentation which will eventually be telecast on cable TV when WestCAT has obtained control of local origination programming. For now, check out the video, embedded here from the WestCAT website:

To watch the video above, you may need to click the play arrow, then pause it, then play again to get it started.

Roche Brothers Receipt Day!
Shop Roche Brothers on Thursday, May 20 from 4-7pm
 
Roche Brothers has once again generously offered to donate 5% of all receipts and gift certificates purchased during this three-hour time period to the All-Night Graduation Party.  It's easy to help!  Just shop during the allotted hours and hand your receipt to a volunteer at the door as you leave.  You can either buy groceries or a gift card.  This is a simple process that allows you to help fund raise for the party and doesn’t cost you a thing!  If you can't shop during those hours, you can purchase a gift card in advance, by filling out the form below and returning it by MAY 19.  We will purchase the gift card(s) for you that afternoon and mail them back to you.
Every receipt counts, so tell your families, friends, and neighbors to come and support a great cause.
For further information, please contact Kati Ryan: ktrbug@comast.net or 781-461-1796.
 
Roche Bros. Gift Card Order Form
Please make checks payable to Roche Bros. and enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. Mail to WCIA, PO Box 2605, Westwood, MA 02090   Attn: Roche Bros.
 
Name:     ______________________________

 
Phone:    ____________________________________
 
Address: ____________________________________
 
Gift Certificate Amount: ______________ ($25 increments)

Westwood artist David Foss dropped by my office today and showed me some of his work...he's posted much of it to a website, OvationTV and I was able to pull in the following slideshow featuring some of the drawings directly from that site:

Click the orange play button in the center to start the slideshow.

Wicked Local/Gatehouse Media has launched a column by Westwood resident Jay Reshain the Westwood Press. Check it out here.

To Live In
Westwood

This weekend, as my family and I went on the family walking club nature walk at Hale Reservation, I was reminded of what must certainly qualify as one of the best resources in Westwood: Hale Reservation. Hale was even singled out in a Boston magazine article recently as one of the reasons Westwood is the "Gold Standard." However, an even greater resource is found in the person of "Nature Jay" who leads many of the nature hikes and is ubiquitous at community events where he shares his love of nature with kids. You certainly don't have to be a Westwood resident to enjoy the benefits of Hale, but it's great knowing it's only 5 minutes away.

The short hike on Sundays takes a while...because there is so much to see. The kids are curious and Nature Jay encourages them and is amazingly patient. But I learned a lot too. Did you know that poison oak mimics the plants it grows near? I know the difference between Virginia Creeper (growing up in Virginia) but I didn't realize that poison ivy/oak can be hard to identify because the leaves do vary slightly as they blend in with other plants. Did you know that the shelves of fungus you see on dead trees are all part of one big mushroom that is devouring the dead tree from the inside out? Do you know how to estimate the age of a pine tree sapling without cutting it down to count rings? Do you know how to tell the difference between coyote and fox "evidence?"

I grew up in a very rural environment...4 acres in southeastern Virginia with nothing but farms around me. I spent my childhood exploring the woods and always felt a strong connection to the natural world. You don't expect to find that kind of connection in a suburb 10 or so miles away from Boston, but in Westwood, you do.

Hale Reservation is more than just 1200 acres of woods however. "The mission of Hale Reservation is to provide stewardship of its land and resources and to offer educational experiences that foster responsibility, leadership and appreciation for the natural environment." The Hale website describes the many programs underway to serve this mission.

The Pedestrian and Bike Safety Committee, which meets the 4th Thursday of every month at the Carby Street town offices, has been reviewing many suggestions from residents and discussing ways to improve safety in town. Yesterday, I attended a meeting in Boston to apply for a grant program designed to promote clean air by encouraging alternatives to driving.

The video below describes one set of problems in town and an opportunity to better connect neighborhoods by improving the effectiveness of two crosswalks:

What we would like to see is a set of improvements including pushbutton-activated beacons, curb extensions/bump-outs, and distinctive painting of the crosswalks. The video below illustrates one company's product.

This is a preliminary application and the goal is to obtain federal funding so the only work required by the town would be to draw up the designs. At the meeting yesterday, we learned the Federal requirements of the program complicate things a bit, but hopefully, even if the grant is not approved, we will learn from this process how best to proceed on other creative ways to improve pedestrian and bike safety in town. More materials related to this are on the town website under the Pedestrian and Bike Safety Committee publications page.

Editor's Note: see this earlier post about the Walpole redemption center and consider taking your cans to the High School Bottle and Can Drive this weekend.

In Shaw's last weekend returning Coke cans I found the first machine NOT working and on looking inside noticed the Laser reader was not lit. I then move to the next machine which worked as I expected and rejected every second or third can which I then pushed through as many time as necessary to finally get the cans processed.

Returning to first machine I noticed that there were 6 or 8 cans in the trash and took them to the second machine which took them properly. After that, I told several people including the manager that when people cannot get the machines to work the cans end up in the trash and they feel frustrated/cheated and bottle/can return law is failing. An "out of order sign" on the first machine is the very least to be expected.

Sadly; that same morning, I was at Roche fourth (with a different group of cans) and encountered the same problem where the machines reject every third of fourth can which I then pushed through as many time as necessary to finally get the cans processed. This is apparently caused by the lasers failing to read the USP labels on the cans which I would guess is due to a need for better machine maintenance. I do appreciate that the Super Market managers are excellent listeners and folloiw through as best they can.

David C. Foss :: Gay Street

Today was Massachusetts Walk and Bike to School Day and, unlike the last such event in October, the weather was perfect.

The group started small, but as I jogged back home, I noticed many more kids and parents enroute. The bike racks at Hanlon are always full and one morning I saw a virtual convey of bikes making their way up the sidewalk on Pine Line.

A number of projects are underway in town to promote safe walking and biking...I will post more updates here under the "walkable" category tag, and I encourage anyone interested to check out the Westwood Pedestrian and Bike Safety Committee pages on the town web site and consider coming to a meeting or emailing me your suggestions at datkinsg@gmail.com.

Tuesday, May 18th at 10 a.m. at a local Westwood home. Come enjoy a cup of coffee and chat. Children are most welcome! Please RSVP to westwoodnewcomers@yahoo.com by May 16. Please visit the Westwood Newcomers Club website at www.westwoodnewcomersclub.com to see the Spring events planned.

Westwood will host its third annual Pan Mass Challenge Kids Ride at the Martha Jones elementary School on Sunday, May 23rd. Last year, over 500 kids rode their bicycles and raised an amazing $54,000 for cancer research and treatment. This year, there will be three courses to choose from: 1 mile, 6 miles, and a 12-mile Team Hanlon route.

For more information go the web site above or contact Denise Singleton at pmckidswestwood@aol.com. Watch the video below from last year's ride.

Fund raising for the Pan Mass Challenge is done primarily through the PMC web site. Each person who registers to ride will get their own web page. You can then send a link to this page to family, friends, etc. allowing them to donate online.