Westwood News

The winner is in for where you think the best place to get a scoop of ice cream in the Westwood area. And, after the comments and votes have been counted, the winner is ... The Sweeterie in Norwood!

The Norwood parlor eclipsed Bubbling Brook by 31 percent of the vote.

Fifth-seven percent of Westwood Patch voters picked The Sweeterie, while 26 percent chose Bubbling Brook.

"We love the ice cream at the Sweeterie. There are many different flavors and it is always smooth and creamy. The hot fudge is amazing!" commented Patch user Sara.

Did you visit the store recently? Review it in our Patch Places directory!

Honor roll

Brother Daniel Skala, C.F.X., the Headmaster of Xaverian Brothers High School is pleased to announce the following students have been named to the honor roll for the third marking period of the 2011-12 school year.

The Westwood School Committee heard for the first time about a fuel efficient vehicle policy it is being asked to adopt in order to help the town earn a Green Community Designation -- and the grant money that comes with it -- from the State.

Plans to meet fuel efficiency standards for town vehicles comprise one element required to gain the designation, which if attained would earn Westwood around $150,000 in grants to be reinvested in green programs, according to Westwood Environmental Action Committee chairman Peter Kane.

If the committee were to adopt the policy, the town at large would be one step closer to earning the distinction and grant money. The Board of Selectmen, which has already adopted the policy for vehicles under its governance, has asked that the School Committee consider the proposal, according to Superintendant John Antonucci.

The committee would need to establish legislation that introduces a plan for replacement of its auto fleet with fuel efficient vehicles (as defined by State guidelines) and set goals for when the replacement will occur. Vehicles that weigh over 8,500 pounds would be exempt.

Committee members had questions that they hope to hear answers to at a second reading in June. Committee chairman Brian Kelly wanted to know the types of vehicles the district would be required to replace theirs with.

"Fuel efficiency is all well and nice," he said, "but [not] if you have to spend thousands more on a hybrid."

Kane told Kelly that the legislation would not require the purchase of hybrids and said the efficiency requirements (29 miles per gallon for a two-wheel drive car, 20 for a two-wheel drive pickup or truck) were unlikely to be cost-prohibitive.

Committee Clerk Ellen Mason wanted to know the current fleet's fuel efficiency, information about the district's annual fuel budget and the savings the replacements may represent before she could formulate a position.

Weston, Dedham, Newton, Milton, Somerville, Arlington, Lexington, Natick, Sherborn, Cambridge and Boston are all amongst the 86 cities and towns in Massachusetts to have earned Green Community Designations.

Traffic Lights Stuck on Green

Sunday, May 13 at 12:30 a.m.

Resident reported that the streetlights were stuck on Green and Blue Hill Ave. at University Ave. When officers responded two minutes later, they were cycling.

Traffic Comp/Radar Request

Sunday, May 13 at 9:04 a.m.

Walpole Police report erratic officer on High Street and North Street. Officers were unable to locate this driver.

Motor Vehicle Accident:

Monday, May 14 at 7:43 a.m.

A Toyota 2003 was traveling east on High Street. A 2006 Hummer on to Pond Street pulled into the path of the Toyota. No injuries, no vehicles towed.

Bad Karma:

Monday, May 14 at 8:49 a.m.

Resident from Oak Street reported a lawn statue had been taken. 12-15 inch statue of Buddha taken. Last saw the statue on May 10.

Man Sleeping in Car Arrested

Friday, May 11 at 6:55 p.m.

Report of male was sleeping in vehicle. After identifying Simms, Craig, 43, of Westwood authorities found two active warrants for his arrest out of Wrentham. Taken into custody, denied bail, transferred to Dedham District.

Man Arrested For OUI-Drugs

Monday, May 14 at 10:12 p.m.

Officer on patrol was informed by dispatch that the Norwood PD made a warning about erratic driver of Chevy Cobalt headed in to town. Officer observed erratic operation, stopped the vehicle. Reed, Robert 31, Hyde Park was arrested for driving with a suspended license, OUI- Drugs, operating out of marked lanes, negligent operating, and subsequence offense for operating with a suspended license. 

Today's Weather: More sun for Friday with highs near 73 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Over the weekend, the sun continues with highs for Saturday at 77 and even hotter on Sunday with highs of 80.

1. This weekend will feature many events going on around Town. Stay green Westwood! Westwood Recycling Day is tomorrow between 8 a.m. and noon at the DPW on 50 Carby Street.

2. Another event that is sure to draw a crowd is aimed at you gardeners out there. The Westwood Historical Societies Garden Tours starts at 11 a.m. at the Fisher School.

3. Over in Dover, the Powisset Farm Spring Festival will be kicking off Saturday at 10 a.m. for everyone interested in jump starting Spring with events for the kids, farm and animal tours, crafts, local vendors and more.

4. On Sunday, Westwood is hosting another event for the whole family, especially geared towards the little guys and gals. Come down to Westwood High from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the Touch a Truck event where kids can learn more about the vehicles that keep Westwood safe and functioning.

5. There are no sports scheduled for both Westwood High School and Xaverian Bros. High School today.

Click on the photo at right to look at a photo gallery of homes that sold in local communities during the last week. In the market for a new home? Be sure to check out our House Hunt column on Fridays for open houses in your area. 

WESTWOOD

Address: 46 Arcadia Road

Listed By: Group Boston Real Estate LLC, Michael Carucci

• Original List Price: $1,599,000
• Sale Price: $1,329,988
• Living Area: 6,658 Sq. Ft.
• Garage: 2 cars
• Parking: 6 spaces
• Rooms: 11
• Bedrooms: 5
• Baths: 5 Full 1 Half

Address: 31 Bayley Street
(Listed By: RE/MAX Best Choice, Gary Licameli

• Original List Price: $415,000
• Sale Price: $418,000
• Living Area: 1,200 Sq. Ft.
• Garage: 1 car
• Parking:  2 spaces
• Rooms: 6
• Bedrooms: 3
• Baths: 1 Full

Address: 60 Mill Street

• Original List Price: $499,500 
• Sale Price: $535,000
• Living Area: 1,852 Sq. Ft.
• Garage: 2 car
• Parking: 4 spaces
• Rooms: 9
• Bedrooms: 3
• Baths: 2 Full 1 Half

Know of a home in the area that recently sold you'd like to feature here? Simply click "Upload Photos and Videos" below the slideshow and add your information.

About this column: "Sold!" is a weekly column featuring the latest real estate sales in the surrounding area.

Four first place finishes did the trick for the Westwood High boys' outdoor track team in the Tri-Valley League Championships Wednesday.

The Westwood Wolverines walked away with the boys’ league title beating Norton by only 3.67 points while the Hopkinton Hillers once again won the girls meet.

“This meet is not necessarily about how many first places you get. It’s about depth and we’re very lucky to have a lot of great finishes across the board,” Westwood boys’ head coach Joe Mascia said. “These guys have worked tirelessly since the beginning of the season so they deserve it.”

Bobby McLaughlin came up big for the Wolverines, completing one of the toughest double efforts, winning the mile and the two-mile.

“He ran two really great races and it ended up being a big factor for us like we expected," said Mascia, "but he’s a great competitor and he worked really hard so he deserves all the success that he gets.”

In the mile, McLaughlin held off Medfield’s Ian Robertson by the smallest of margins as the Westwood distance runner crossed the line with a first place time of 4:33.113 to Robertson’s time of 4:33.116.

After going out with the pack for the first lap, McLaughlin tried to force a faster race for the remaining three laps of the event.

“I wanted to make it an honest race and wanted to make everyone work for it, just took it after that,” McLaughlin said.

Later in the two-mile run, McLaughlin picked up eight important points with a second place finish of 10:08.78. Patrick Levenson of Hopkinton finished first with a time of 9:56.60.

Team points leader Zach Blum came up big for the Wolverines with a win in the 400 hurdles (57.77) and a second place finish in the high jump (5-10).

The Westwood girls were fourth overall with 53 points, led by a first place finish by Liz Ralph in the 100 meter hurdles in 16.50. Andrea Simi was second in the mile (5:34.25) and Sam Kitchen, second in the two-mile, 11:59.84.

Westwood got third place finishes from the 4 x 400 relay of Simi, Kitchen, Rachel McClure and Kailtin Piecinoga in 4:19.78. McClure was also third in the 800 meters in 2:24.19, while Elena Chiulli was third in 400 meter hurdles in 71:79.

Phoebe Fitzgibbon grabbed a fifth in the high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches, while Santi Strickland was sixth in the 200 meters at 28:74.

The regular season champion Norton Lancers' boys' track team tried to keep it close, but lacked the strength in the distance events to take the meet.

Strong in the triple jump, Danny Rafuse won the event with a jump of 42-01.25 feet. Ben Donovan finished third leaping 40-03.75 feet. Donovan also finished second in the 110 hurdles (16.62) and seventh in the long jump (18-06.50).

Not far behind Donovan in the 110 hurdles was Ramzi Bechara who finished in third place (16.17)

In the javelin, Jon Plummer took first place (161-03) for the Lancers. Also victorious was the 4x400 relay team (3:35.21).

As expected, the Hopkinton Hillers took their 11th girls’ title in a row with a comfortable 48 point win ahead of second place Holliston.

“It was expected but it never gets old. The girls are all excited and we got a whole mess of freshmen who’ve never experienced it,” Hopkinton girls’ head coach Brian Hall said.

Depth was the key for Hopkinton as there was plenty of orange and green on the podium all meet long. Jessica Scott finished first in the 100 (12.97) and second in the 200 (27.11) Julie Younis finished in third, running the event in 28.05.

The youth in the distance events was strong as freshmen Shelby Aarden broke the meet record in the two mile with a winning time of 11:13.35. In the mile run sophomore Melissa Lodge finished in first place, crossing the finish line at 5:25.61.

“I thought she had a shot at it but to do it all alone like that is just amazing,” Hall said about Aarden’s race. “She went out in 5:35 and went even faster on the second mile so we’re pretty excited about her.”

In the 110 hurdles Kaelynn Maloney and Mirelle Raza both earned second (17.27) and third place (17.29) finishes for the Hillers.

Hannah Krueger edged out Mekenzie Smith of Medfield by a half of inch to take the triple jump win a winning mark of 31-03.50 feet.

In the shot put, Lindsay Manning placed first with a throw of 33 feet.

The Holliston Panthers finished in third in the boys’ meet in addition to their second place finish in the girls’ meet.

Kylie Lorenzen was a triple winner for the Panthers taking first in the 200 (26.69), high jump (5-2), and long jump (17-00).    

Stephanie Paolillo enjoyed a comfortable win in the 400 hurdles with a time of 68.70.

In the boys’ meet Dan Barone’s 100 time (11.64) was just good enough to beat out Brian Gannon (11.69) and Plummer (11.69) of Norton. Barone also won the 200 (23.36).

Devin Sanford continued the Panthers’ dominance of the sprint events with a win in the 400 (51.74).

Andrew Krauss won the 110 hurdles with a winning time of 15.39.

The Warriors of Medfield had a strong showing with a fourth place finish in the boys’ meet and a third place finish in the girls’ meet.

In the boys’ 800 Greg Lyons took first place (2:03.96) for Medfield while his teammate Connor Heaney took second place (2:04.55). Evan Berry took second in the 400 hurdles (59.51)

In the girls’ meet Kristina Gustafson came in second in the 100 with a time of 13.19. Taylor Worthy was the victor in the 800 run (2:29.96) while the 4x400 meter relay team finished in first place (4:12.71).

Finishing seventh in both meets, the Dover-Sherborn Raiders saw their 4x100 team finish second (46.66) but the best performances came in the throwing events. Dan Carrol finished second in the discus (129-09) and Chris Chislom finished second in the javelin (158-02).

On the girls’ side, Chandler Wood’s time of 60.72 in the 400 was good enough for second place in the event. Olivia Cannon and Julia Pearson took second (11:21.63) and third (12:00.32) in the two-mile run.

While small in size, the Norton girls' team did hit some quality times. Paige Almeida finished third in the 400 (63.70) while Rebekah Sargent was third in the high jump (4-10).

In the throwing events Amy Pereira (32-10) finished in second place in the shot put and Shannon O'Rourke finished third in the discus (89-07).

The teams of the TVL will return to action at the MIAA Divisional Meets on May 26-27.

For complete results of the meet click here.

Alumni from the Catholic Memorial graduation classes ending in '2' and '7' are invited to this year's CM Reunion, to be held on the campus of Catholic Memorial School on June 8-9.

Looking for a reason to encourage your kids to hit the books this summer? How about the chance to win a new bike or a gift card for summer fun? Dependable Cleaners has kicked off its 14th Annual Read to Ride program designed to encourage students to keep up the challenging momentum of school while fostering the love of reading and staying healthy during summer vacation.