norwood recordfree...meals in six days as of may 8. at the request of town manager tony mazzucco,...

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Volume 13, Issue 21 MaMaMaMaMay 2y 2y 2y 2y 211111, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020

School CommittSchool CommittSchool CommittSchool CommittSchool CommitteeeeeeeeeeContinued on page 12FFFFForbesorbesorbesorbesorbes

Continued on page 4

Norwood Fire Department Group 4 En-gine 3 had a hard time getting their ducksin a row this week. Around 9 a.m. on May15, Norwood Fire Dispatch received acall reporting a number of ducklingstrapped in a storm drain. LieutenantMurphy and Firefighters Hogan, Griffin,and Farrell responded to the address onEssex Road. After a short time they wereable to remove the grate and with theassistance of the animal control officerwere able to reunite the ducklings withtheir mother who was anxiously waitingnear by. COURTESY PHOTO

Forbes Hill sale process restarts,bids due by June 15

JefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

NFD reunitNFD reunitNFD reunitNFD reunitNFD reunites wes wes wes wes webbed-febbed-febbed-febbed-febbed-foooooooooot ft ft ft ft familyamilyamilyamilyamily

The Town is moving to reopen bidding on the Forbes Hill property.COURTESY PHOTO

NPS foodserviceslaudedMarMarMarMarMary Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambon

Staff Reporter

The School Committee at itsMay 13 meeting praised the FoodServices Department for providingfor the needs of Norwood’s studentsboth before and especially during theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Eli Norris, Director of DiningServices, described several success-ful initiatives during the school yearto the Committee. But then, “thewheels fell off of our school year”when the coronavirus hit, sendingthe department into overdrive tomeet changing needs.

“Once it was official, we spranginto action,” he said, noting contin-gency plans were in development forweeks. “School was canceled on aFriday. We were up and running witha meal service on Monday.”

The Balch and the Callahan wereable to open immediately, only be-cause they had successfully imple-mented a summer meals distributionprogram the year before.

Grab and go meals are now dis-tributed at all elementary schoolsfrom 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday for any Norwood stu-dent under age 18. On Fridays andfor holidays, there are enough mealsgiven for the weekend. There arecold options and meals that need tobe reheated at home.

“As of today, we’re at about77,000 meals,” Norris said, notingthe need increased dramatically.There were more than 44,000 mealsserved in April, and 17,142 Maymeals in six days as of May 8.

At the request of Town ManagerTony Mazzucco, family style dinnertrays also have become available. Asof May 6, 11,925 servings have beendistributed. Norwood Bank made agenerous donation to the program,the team said.

Long said that “Norwood is ris-ing above the pack” as far as dis-tricts with meals served and theoverall budget.

“I think because of the dedica-tion of Eli and the Norwood team,and how quickly they were able toramp up and also to get the supportof the community, 25 to 30 percentof the kids enrolled in school areeating on a daily basis,” she said.Averages in other districts she moni-tors are 10 to 15 percent.

Because of increased labor costsand other factors, the budget sus-tained a loss of $23,059 in March.

The Forbes Hill estate is back on themarket, as the Town recently releasedan invitation for bids on the real estaterecently and held a pre-bid conferenceearlier last week.

Developer Anthony Gaitan said herepresented himself on the pre-bid con-ference, and is working with RobertDrury. Howard Rappaport, of Continen-tal Properties (which made a bid lastyear), and Andrew Hontoon of ChannelCore Residential also joined the Pre-BidConference call on May 13.

Not on the call was developer

Roberto Feliz, who originally won thecontract last year but was unable to ful-fill the financing requirements in timeto secure ownership and move hisproject forward. He pitched a $250 mil-lion medical mecca, intending to makeNorwood the one-stop shop for all medi-cal needs. Feliz said he is still intendingto do so and added he will be resubmit-ting his bid.

“We remain 100 percent committedto purchasing/closing on the Forbes HillEstate and immediately proceeding tothe horizontal and vertical re-develop-ment into the Medical City ofNorwood,” he said. “Our plan is topresent to the town a closing date this

week. We have been talking to the townofficials and have been more than thank-ful for their support during this longprocess.”

According to Purchasing AgentCatherine Carney, bids for the projectare due by June 15 to the PurchasingDepartment. Because of the COVID-19pandemic, bids will need to be mailed,where at 11 a.m. on June 15, a Bid Open-ing public process will take place, setnow for a virtual meeting on Zoom.

During the conference, Town Plan-ner Paul Halkiotis went over the Town’szoning surrounding the property, which

Page 2Page 2Page 2 The Norwood Record MaMaMaMaMay 2y 2y 2y 2y 211111, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020

CandidatCandidatCandidatCandidatCandidate Fe Fe Fe Fe ForumorumorumorumorumContinued on page 6

LWV hosting virtualSelectmen candidate forum


The Norwood chapter ofthe League of Women Voterswill be hosting a virtual Can-didates Forum for the Boardof Selectmen race on May 28,at 7 p.m. The forum will becarried live on NorwoodCommunity Media, both onTV and its online streamingp l a t f o r m(NorwoodCommunityMedia.org).To garner community involve-ment, the League is request-ing residents submit questionsto be asked of the candidates.

The League stated theywanted to focus on theSelectmen’s race because it’sthe only one contested. LWVPresident Courtney RauRogers said the purpose is toinform residents as much aspossible about the four candi-dates prior to Election Day.The candidates includeAmanda Grow, DebbieHolmwood, Helen Abdallah-Donohue and Matthew Lane.

Residents will have to sub-mit their questions no laterthan May 26, and they cansend them [email protected] said they wanted tokeep things as simple as pos-sible, as this is the first time

they’ve held a forum this way.She also said it would makethings easier to organize,since usually at the group’slive events they have a mod-erator who keeps order duringproceedings.

“When we have in-personevents with an in-person mod-erator, we have League peoplescreening the questions andcombining the questions thatare the same or too similar,”she said. “Most people whocome to our live events knowwhat questions they’re goingto ask in advance anyway.”

Rogers said they are bring-ing in Cape Cod resident andLeague member Flo Seldin toassist in the process.

“I know her from workingon state issues. She’s moder-ated League events over herdecades of service to theLeague,” she said. “She’s areal veteran of this kind ofthing in so many ways.”

Rogers said they are hop-ing for a large audience sinceresidents can tune in andwatch live or watch it later onNCM’s website. Rogers saidthat for the sake of viewers’sanity, they would not beshowing speeches from thoserunning in the uncontestedraces. Usually, she said, dur-ing live events uncontested

candidates are given abouttwo minutes to speak to theresidents about their issues.”To streamline the event,” shesaid, “we will still publishstatements of the candidatesin the uncontested races.”

The statements will beavailable on the NorwoodLeague of Women VotersFacebook page at https://w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /lwvnorwoodma/.

Both current SelectmenAllan Howard and PaulBishop have decided not toseek reelection, so there aretwo seats up for grabs be-tween the four candidates.

Abdallah-Donohue is a fa-miliar face to residents andthe Board of Selectmen, hav-ing held the office for severalterms in the past. Her familyhas also held multiple officesin Town including both hersister and father being formerSelectmen, and her recentlydeceased husband PaulDonohue having been a main-stay on the Planning Board.

Matthew Lane stated onhis website he and his familymoved to Norwood in 2011and wants to focus on trans-parency in the Board of Se-lectmen chambers, as well as

Page 3 Page 3 Page 3The Norwood RecordMaMaMaMaMay 2y 2y 2y 2y 211111, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin(Never known to fail!)

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt.Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor ofHeaven, Blessed Mother of the Sonof God, Immaculate Virgin, assist mein this necessity. Oh Star of the Sea,help me and show me herein you aremy mother. Oh Holy Mary, Motherof God, Queen of Heaven and Earth,I humbly beseech thee from thebottom of my heart to succor me inmy necessity (make request). Thereare none that can withstand yourpower. Oh Mary, conceived withoutsin, pray for us who have recourse tothee (three times). Holy Mary, I placethis cause in your hands (threetimes). Say this prayer for threeconsecutive days and then you mustpublish and it will be granted to you.

—D.A.P.

SelectmenSelectmenSelectmenSelectmenSelectmenContinued on page 4

Selectmen try toestablish revisedoutside dining

regulationsJefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

The Norwood Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, May 19,and discussed outside dining regulations.

Town Manager Tony Mazzucco and Town Planner PaulHalkiotis explained the current thinking behind the proposed newtemporary regulations that could assist the Town’s struggling res-taurant industry with expanded seating capacities by utilizing areasoutside of their shops in this age of social distancing.

Selectman Bill Plasko disagreed with many of the temporaryregulations, leading the Board to vote to table the issue untilPlasko, Mazzucco and Halkiotis could sit down and review hisconcerns and come up with alternatives to the proposed ideas.The Board also voted to hold an official Selectmen’s meeting assoon as possible once those issues have been ironed out.

Halkiotis said social distancing guidelines will make it muchtougher for restaurants when they reopen with public seating,currently only able to provide takeout and delivery-only servicesduring the COVID-19 pandemic if they so choose.

“Restaurants that have already suffered economic harm frombeing closed over the six to eight weeks will realize less revenuewhen they reopen,” Halkiotis said.

Halkiotis said many restaurants of a larger nature might havean easier time doing this, like those on Route 1, since they al-ready have large parking lots, large areas of greenspace or otherspaces that would allow for social distancing at tables. He saidthese temporary draft regulations were sent to the Planning De-partment, the Police Department, the Fire Department, the De-partment of Public Works and the Health Department.

“The idea being that restaurants wouldn’t have to wait for us(the Town) to come up with new regulations,” Halkiotis said.

Currently, the Board of Selectmen have jurisdiction over out-door seating, and restaurants would have to go through a compli-cated process to access approval. The new regulations would bea bit more streamlined, and, as presented, would allow the Se-lectmen Chair to give immediate approval to the applicant. TheBoard would then be able to review that decision and oppose itlater if need be, but the idea is that because the Board meets onlytwice a week during the summer months, restaurants would nothave to wait potentially two weeks for a decision on their appli-cation.

Halkiotis said there would be a review process headed by theHealth Department by which relevant departments, like the FireDepartment or the DPW, could then sign off on before the appli-cation reaches the Selectmen Chair.

Plasko said his problem came from issues stemming fromparking. The process would allow restaurants to place Town-pur-chased plastic Jersey barrier-type blocks to create a sidewalk bumpout into street parking where applicable.

“It does come at a cost but we feel it is justifiable, and we feelwe can make it work to help out some of our businesses,”Mazzucco said.

That would be needed if a restaurant wanted to use the side-


Everyone takea seat and relax

OPINION

The Norwood Record and its advertisers assume no financial responsi-bility for errors in advertisements printed herein, but will reprint, with-out charge, that part of the advertisement in which the error occurs. Nopart of this newspaper may be reproduced without the express writtenconsent of The Norwood Record Newspaper.

Norwood Record661 Washington St,

Suite 202Norwood, MA 02062

Tel: (781) 769-1725 / Fax (781) 501-5611

Paul DiModicaCo-Publisher

Dennis CawleyCo-Publisher

Dennis Cawley Editor

Susan YandellSales

Dentists vs. professional athletesRemember the old joke

about a dentist’s favoritetime? No, it’s not fiveo’clock at the end of a work-day as referenced in TheVogues’ 1965 song “The FiveO’Clock Whistle,” nor is itthe five o’clock mentioned inSheena Easton’s “The Morn-ing Train,” nor the five inDolly Parton’s “9-5.” Theanswer to the joke is “toothhurty [two thirty].”

If you’re looking for anyother feeble attempts at den-tal humor in this piece, don’tbother: there aren’t any.

During this pandemic itwas revealed that the typicalMassachusetts dentist makesabout $192,000 annually. This is a just income forsomeone who had to spendyears in dental school as gen-eral practitioner before pos-sible specializing. Of course,dentists and their co-workershave been out of work, for themost part, for last severalmonths.

When dentists as well astheir assistants and hygienists

come back to work, they are atserious risk because of the veryclose quarters with their pa-tients, who still have to breatheby exhaling without wearingmasks.

The disconnect here is thatthe lowest paid professionalathletes in the four majorAmerican sports are compen-sated significantly more hand-somely. I don’t know aboutyou but the person who re-lieves mouth disfigurementand pain most in my life overthe years is not the one catch-ing baseballs and forwardpasses as well as shootingpucks and three-pointers.

The lowest wages in theNational Football League are$375,000; National BasketballAssociation $898,000; Na-tional Hockey League$700,000; and Major LeagueBaseball $563,000.

The next time anybodyyou know somebody has amouthful of hurt or crooked-ness, watching sports on tele-vision or in person won’t domuch, if anything, to alleviate

the condition: it’s much bet-ter to schedule an appoint-ment with somebody who hasD.D.S. or a D.M.D. after theirlast name, even if they arepaid only a fraction of whatthe average professional ath-lete makes.

Am I saying that profes-sional athletes—as well asmovie actors, television per-sonalities, and singers—areoverpaid when compared todentists? You be the judge.

My Kindof Town/Joe Galeota

Forbes continued from page 1

Selectmen continued from page 3

was clearly redefined in anoverlay district the prior year.Halkiotis said the Town is readyfor development. That devel-opment, however, has to fit inwith the overlay designations.Drury asked how receptive theTown is going to be on propos-als once the bid is cleared, andHalkiotis said the Town is readyto get this done.

“The Board of Selectmen isgoing to work with anyone whois doing their due diligence andshowing that they’re movingforward with all the permittingrequirements,” he said. “If

we’re working with someonewho we know is working hardto get to that end point alongwith us, I think the Board ofSelectmen will be very reason-able.”

Carney said she agreed, butpointed out the Town createdthe overlay district to be ableto dictate what kinds of devel-opment would go there.

“Knowing Paul Halkiotis,Paul is very much a coopera-tive kind of guy, but we do haveother boards involved withthis,” said Carney. “We want tosee this property sold, we want

to see this property developed.It’s just sitting there right now.I don’t see the Town putting uproadblocks, but we have to fol-low what the Board of Select-men and various boards are re-quiring of us.”

While the Overlay requiredseveral stipulations for new de-velopment, there was one ma-jor point that essentially drovethe whole process: no morethan 175 units of housing on theproperty. The Town bought theproperty to stop a higher-den-sity 40B project from going inthere, and paid $13 million todo so (which is also the mini-mum bid price for the prop-erty).

walk for seating, as a certainamount of space is required foraccess to public ways like side-walks for walking and wheel-chair access.

“I could see a significantloss of parking spaces,” Plaskosaid. “While we think we’rehelping the restaurants by in-creasing the seating that wastaken away, the parking would

be needed for those customersand parking for everyone whois a tenant Downtown. We don’thave enough parking now on agood day... I think this becomestoo drastic and I think you losetoo many spaces.”

Halkiotis said he didn’t feelparking would be an issue, asthe municipal lots would beavailable to Downtown diners.

“I will remind some of youthat there are more than 800parking spaces in the Down-town,” he said. “When we hadthis conversation with theChamber of Commerce, wetalked about this being a trade-off. The businesses would betrading off onsite right-in-front-of-their-business parkingspaces in exchange to have theopportunity to have more seat-ing.”

Halkiotis pointed out that

this outdoor seating would notbe a requirement, and it wouldbe up to the businesses them-selves to submit a reasonableapplication. He said he didn’tbelieve that an application froma restaurant for more than oneor two spaces would be ap-proved, and the loss of parkingwould be minimal.

“They do al fresco dining allover the world and they don’thave these discussions to allowit, I think we need to be morepractical here and move on,” hesaid.

Mazzucco also said that ev-ery restaurant would have tocome up with their own plan onhow to implement outdoor seat-ing and if they would need thesidewalk bump out for outsidedining. While most of the Boardseemed to indicate they wereamenable to some form of thisprocess moving forward, the itemwas tabled for the time being.

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Paralysis by Analysis is a common expression used whensomething that should be fairly simple turns into something farmore complicated due to people over thinking things, as was thecase with the Board of Selectmen’s failure to render a decisionon outdoor restaurant seating at Tuesday’s virtual meeting. Se-lectman Plasko was correct in stating that outdoor seating is al-ready being utilized in areas including Washington Street, butthen went on to state all the problems associated with formaliz-ing the process including sloping roads that will make setting uptables and chairs difficult and uneven brick borders which wouldmake utilizing that space for anything other than its current aes-thetic purpose unlikely. And, of course, parking was a dominantissue. His logic, while unassailable in its own right, is a perfectexample of paralysis by analysis.

Town Planner Paul Halkiotis, appearing a bit exasperated bythe continued discussion of what should have been pretty straight-forward approval, said as much during the meeting only to behandily rebuked by Selectman Tom Maloney, which was reallyunnecessary. Mr. Halkiotis has a heck of a lot more experiencein these matters than any Selectman taking part in the meeting onTuesday and his opinion should carry considerable weight.

Will issues arise when area restaurants establish seating onthe sidewalks to try and resuscitate their suffering businesses dueto the COVID-19 pandemic? Will there be times when seniorsand the handicapped may be temporarily impeded and deliverydrivers to businesses may need to rethink their normal routines?Yup, but we humans are a resilient bunch. It would be unimagin-able to think those having a cup of coffee while enjoying the sunat the same time wouldn’t immediately jump up and make theirspace navigable to those needing extra help. This writer has seenit on Washington Street already on multiple occasions. And moreoften than not, pleasantries will be exchanged while doing sowhich will create even more of a community feel.

This kind of seating happens virtually everywhere else, whyshould Norwood be any different? Downtown Boston isn’t theonly example of where outdoor, somewhat chaotic seating is used.Take a drive through Dedham Square or Walpole where the side-walks aren’t nearly as wide, yet neighbors look out for neighborsand everybody just seems to get along. And yes, those neighbor-hoods are currently a lot more vibrant than Washington Street inuptown Norwood, which is a shame.

No doubt there will be an occasion or two when pedestrianswill voice complaints relative to their traversing Norwood Cen-ter which may require someone in an official capacity to addressthe issue with the restaurant owner. And no one is suggesting thatunsafe conditions be allowed to exist unchallenged. However, thebenefits of this kind of seating will far outweigh the inconveniencesof the few. And it’s not like every restaurant is going to be movingtheir whole operations outside. No one knows how many, if any,will utilize the concept but it is an example of the Town trying tosupport its business community in the few ways then can.

There is no playbook when it comes to obstacles presented dur-ing this current pandemic. Sometimes decisions have to be madewithout thinking through every conceivable problem associated witha good idea. Public officials can think things to death with worriesover liability and what’s actually fair to every single person. In timeslike these sometimes you need to throw caution (not reason) to thewind and see how things work out. This is one of those times.


FinCom discusses revenueshortfalls, but a healthy budget


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The Norwood FinanceCommission met on May 14and went over the current es-timates in revenue and rev-enue shortfalls for the fiscalyear of 2020.

“I think for this year, we’regoing to be okay,” said TownAccountant ThomasMcQuaid. “Obviously the bigquestion on revenue is nextyear.”

According to McQuaid,the departmental receipts,which include revenue gener-ated from motor vehicle ex-cise taxes, ambulance fees, li-censes and permits etc., therecould be some extra money.According to his projections,based on revenues from thepast 10 months (as the fiscalyear ends June 30), he is fore-casting a budget surplus of$453,048.

COVID-19 has hit themeals taxes and hotel roomtaxes hard, and McQuaid saidhe has been as conservative aspossible in his estimates.

“There’s just not a lot hap-pening in meals or hotels soI’m just being very conserva-tive here in saying we’re onlygoing to get $50,000 over atwo-month period for themeals tax and $50,000 for thehotel tax,” he said. “So I’manticipating a shortfall thereof $605,000. Put collectively,it’s a net positive.”

The total budgeted amountfor departmental receipts is$15,238,835, with an esti-mated surplus of $453,048.

McQuaid said, however,utility payments are a littlemore difficult to estimate andquantify just looking at priorrevenues, but he said using hisbest estimates there is also apossibility that water serviceis looking like it could have asurplus of $75,763 from whatwas budgeted (about $16 mil-lion). For the light and broad-band budget brackets (the ser-vices provided by NorwoodLight), it’s a little moremurky.

“What appear to be defi-cits for both light and broad-band really are not, becauseI’ll remind people that weoverestimate the purchase ofpower so that we have flex-ibility at the Light Department

in case there’s a spike in coststo buy the power. We do thisso that they don’t have to runback to Town Meeting and getit,” he said. “They overesti-mate the cost and put the likeamount in revenue.”

McQuaid said that becauseof that, the current estimatesheets show a deficit of about$3.3 million.

“But we also anticipateabout $10 million in cost sav-ings, so we should generate,like we usually do, about $7million from the Light Depart-ment,” he said. “So we’re kindof really right on schedule. Ididn’t bother doing that withBroadband but it’s a similaranalysis.”

McQuaid said the Town isalso taking measures now tostem any shortfalls for the Fis-cal Year 2021 budget, includ-ing delaying the purchase of$2.7 million worth of capitalequipment, or one-time equip-ment purchases.

“We’re delaying any deci-sion on capital equipmentaside from some small itemslike school vans and otherthings that we need to get,” hesaid. “We’re going to delayany decision on capital untilthe fall (Special Town Meet-ing) and any capital that wedo proceed with, we’re goingto borrow and, obviously, wehave really good borrowingrates.”

McQuaid said he’s hopefulthat the $2.7 million savingsand any free cash the Townwill have at the end of this fis-cal year will be able to pro-vide a “pretty good cushion”for financial problems in thefuture.

“I think everyone knowswe’re putting another$540,000 into the Stabiliza-tion Fund and we’re puttinganother $700,000 into theOverride Stabilization Fund,”he said. “So we have, I think,pretty good reserves.”

McQuaid said that if youassume the meals and hoteltaxes would be similarly bud-geted next year, FY21, ataround $2.3 million, and evenif the worst-case scenarioshould happen – that no rev-enue is collected from thosesources – the Town still hasenough set aside.

“Even if we got zero fromthat, which would be about a

$2 million shortfall, and Idon’t believe it’s going to bethat bad, but there’s potentialthere,” he said.

McQuaid said he is alsothinking about the state, fromwhich the Town has been get-ting about $15 million everyyear in recent years.

“Depending on which ar-ticle you read, potentially thestate local aid could go downby 20 percent,” he said. “If wetook at hit at 20 percent of $15million, that would be $3 mil-lion, and so if we had that $3million hit and this $2 millionpotential hit, that’s $5 million,we’ll probably have that cov-ered by Free Cash. But if not,we have the money that’s go-ing into the StabilizationFunds as well. Personally,that’s worst-case scenario.”

Norwood Treasurer MarkGood said for property taxes,the Town isn’t looking too badeither, with $80 million col-lected out of $82 million bud-geted, but they will not knowthe true extent of any shortfallsuntil June 30.

“I think our next point ofmeasure will be when they’reactually due now, which isJune 30,” he said. “The collec-tions have slowed down, andthat could be because peopleare waiting until June 30 to paythat.”

FinCom vice chair RobertDonnelly said they would keepan eye on that and said he feltthe group should meet againbefore June 30 to stay updatedon property tax collections.


Candidate Forumcontinued from page 2

BOHBOHBOHBOHBOHContinued on page 12

BOH discusses options for opening Town wideJefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

Health Department Superin-tendent Sigalle Reiss met withthe Norwood Board of Healthon Monday, May 18, and talkedabout reopening the Town, asper Massachusetts Gov. CharlieBaker’s announcement on thesame day.

Reiss said the reopeningwill be governed by the HealthDepartment, as the enforcementof business closings was.

“It will be a joint effort be-tween the MA Department ofLabor Standards (DLS) andmultiple boards of health toenforce the reopening guide-lines and orders,” she said.“We’re looking at constructionsites and manufacturing open-ing, but they do have very re-strictive guidelines and proto-cols they have to follow tomaintain social distancing,sanitation and hygiene require-ments for employees. All of thatwill be enforced by local health

departments in conjunctionwith the DLS. They really wantus to be working together, no-tifying each other as we getcomplaints. We saw a little bitof that with the earlier ordersfrom the Governor.”

Reiss added that all existingessential businesses will haveto follow these new restrictions

and guidelines in their existingworkplaces. Enforcement ofthese guidelines, both for busi-nesses coming online and thosenow open, would be complaint-based.

“We really don’t have to goout and inspect every facilitybefore it opens, but we do haveto respond to complaints,

whether they are from custom-ers, employees, wherever theycome from, we and the DLShave to investigate,” she said.“It’s a tiered enforcement,where they want us to do a ver-bal consultation with a first vio-lation, and then a written redi-rect is what they call step two,and then we can fine them up

to $300, three times, before es-calating to the next level.”

Reiss said they would prob-ably imitate other fine struc-tures in the Town (since the finecan be “up to” $300 for threeinfractions), in that it wouldstart at $100 for the first fine,$200 second, etc. After that,they would escalate to a cease

and desist order.“And then we’d have to go

through the court system,” shesaid. “Hopefully, we don’t haveto get to that point; Norwood’sbusinesses have been prettycompliant, and so I hope thatcontinues. I think most thingswill be resolved in that firststep, because most of it will be

either confusion or not under-standing how the guidelinesapply to your specific busi-ness.”

For a more detailed look athow the state is looking to re-open, go to mass.gov/info-de-tails/reopening-massachusetts.Reiss also broke down COVID-19 tracking, tracing, testing andnumbers.

“While we’re seeing in-creases in our total number, weare seeing a decrease in ourcases week by week, which Ithink is a great sign,” she said.

“Most of those cases are innursing homes and essentialworkers, and so those are thepeople out and about who weexpect to be getting those posi-tive cases.”

Reiss said they are seeinglarge numbers of testing, whichshe said she felt was a goodsign.

“We have the communitytesting program, where anyNorwood resident can get a test,and we really encourage peoplewho have symptoms or havebeen exposed to someone whohas a case to get a test,” shesaid. “The number to do that isto call the hospital at 781-278-4499. You’ll have to call andmake an appointment. We al-ways say, the more we test thebetter it is because we can iden-tify cases, isolate them andquarantine their contacts toslow the spread.”

Reiss said while testingnumbers have been relativelylow, she feels there are ad-equate numbers of tests avail-able, but wanted to remind resi-dents that they should only gettested for certain reasons.

“I know we keep hearing

“While we're seeing increases in our total num-ber, we are seeing a decrease in our cases weekby week, which I think is a great sign.”

- Health Department Superintendent Sigalle Reiss

education, as he has been serving on the Norwood MiddleSchool Building Committee to navigate the replacement orrenovation of the Coakley Middle School.

Amanda Grow is a Town Meeting member who was ap-pointed to represent District 7 in Town on the Rules Commit-tee, and has worked with State Sen. Michael Rush as well asthe League as a Director of the Board. She stated she wants touse data-driven methods to ensure the Board works to its fullpotential.

Debbie Holmwood is a veteran of the Norwood PlanningBoard for years and has worked to ensure that developers andofficials know where her priorities lie: trees, trees, and moretrees. Holmwood’s advocacy for greenspace aside, she has alsocoached youth soccer for 15 years and helped to spearheadthe Town’s eventual inclusion into the Massachusetts Com-munity Preservation Act in 2016.


DPW roadwork starting upJefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

Norwood Department ofPublic Works SuperintendentMark Ryan said it’s time tostart opening some holes.

Opening of the under-ground, that is. Ryan said roadwork for roadway resurfacing,water main replacement andwater main cleaning and relin-ing will start up again soon,and residents should be on thelookout during this time ofchange.

State Highway Adminis-trator Jonathan Gulliver saidat the beginning of May thatwhile the roadways have had50 percent fewer numbers ofvehicles on the roads duringthe lock down, 28 people havedied in car crashes in April2020, as opposed to 27 inApril 2019.

Gulliver said at the time hefelt a caviler attitude was toblame for the increase in ac-cidents on the road, and Ryansaid he’s been keeping up withthat and has informed roadcrews to be extra cautious.

“We have seen that (acci-dent statistics), but with thedetours we’ll have set up andthe Norwood Police Depart-ment details at each worksiteI think we’re in a fine spot,”he said. “Hopefully, thatwon’t continue in our work

areas.”Ryan said the funds for

some of the work for road re-surfacing and the water mainrelining and cleaning willhave to be partially come froma vote at the upcoming June22 Town Meeting, but said thesewer relining funds were al-located last year. He said theywill also be doing work on theDean Street Bridge, whichwas approved and allocatedlast May, as well as the SharonWater Main Replacementproject, funded by the Townof Sharon to facilitate emer-gency water services in caseof contamination or loss ofservice on the SharonNorwood line. That project isbeing fully funded by Sharon.

Ryan added the repavingof municipal parking lots, alsoapproved last year, will startsoon once approved by therelevant public entities, likethe Board of Selectmen.

For road resurfacing, Ryansaid they are looking to resur-face in total three miles ofroads, out of the Town’s 10miles. Those roads include thefollowing:

Berwick Street Bond St -Winter Street to WalpoleStreet Chickering RoadWalters Road East CrossStreet - Neponset Street toRoute 1 Edgehill Road - Glen-dale Road to Dean Street Lau-

rel Road - Valley Road toHolly Drive Lenox Street -Shaw’s Plaza entrance toAvalon Apartment entranceMaple Street - Nahatan Streetto Vernon Street NicholsStreet - Bond Street to ElliotStreet Prospect Street - PineSt to Prospect Avenue Rail-road Avenue - Pleasant Streetto Cleveland Street RidgeRoad Rosemary StreetWheelock Avenue

For water main work, theTown is replacing water mainand water services on SumnerStreet, from Route 1 to UnionStreet and Union Street fromRoute 1 to the Sharon Townline. There will also be watermain cleaning and lining onProspect Street from ProspectAvenue to Winter Street.

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Police LogsMonday, May 110843 Phone - Malicious Damage

*Report Filed Location/Address:Garfield Ave Report 2 incidents oftires being slashed.

1406 Phone - Sex Offenses *ReportFiled Location/Address:Engamore Ln Report of past as-sault.

1421 Phone - Assist Citizen SpokenTo Location/Address: NorwoodHigh School Alumni Association- Nichols St Report organizationpresident received e-mail statingthe account was compromised andto send them money. N661 reports“spam” e-mail, computer is notcompromised and no money wassent.

1430 Phone - Larceny *Report FiledLocation/Address: Codman RdReport deposit and additionalmoney taken to purchase a dog viainternet, sale found to be fraudu-lent.

1521 Phone - Complaint Of Mv Ser-vices Rendered Location/Address:Heather Dr Female caller reportsthat her neighbor is parking hisboat on the street. Party was spo-ken to and he moved in into hisdriveway.

1658 Phone - Fraud Services Ren-dered Location/Address: DanO’brien Kia - Bos-Prov Hwy On-going investigation with KIA, see20-358-OF. Information forwardedto BCI.

1818 Phone - Noise Complaint Ser-vices Rendered Location/Address:Norwest Dr Caller reports loudmusic. On going issue with neigh-bors. Party agreed to turn downmusic and advised to contact man-agement.

2059 Phone - Well Being Chk Ser-vices Rendered Location/Address:Nahatan St Caller requesting checkof male party possibly sleeping intheir car. MA PC 76D330. Partychecks out and sent on their way.

Tuesday, May 120821 Initiated - Trespassing Spoken

To Location/Address: MBTA Rail-road Tracks - Nahatan St N662comes across female, possiblyshoeless, walking tracks. N662 lo-cates her at Railroad Ave, she isok, warned and sent on her way.

1049 Phone - Larceny *Report FiledLocation/Address: Upland WoodsCir Report victim of mailboxphishing and then an altered check.

1238 Phone - Disturbance Spoken ToLocation/Address: Petco - Bos-Prov Hwy Customer reports 2 kidsin store without masks and whenconfronted, using profanities andmay escalate into a physical con-frontation. N669 reports spoke toparty in MA PC 1AMD17 and heis leaving and advised of the maskdecree.

1359 Phone - Citizens ComplaintTaken/Referred To Other AgencyLocation/Address: Gus’s Barber

Shop - Washington St Report busi-ness is open for business. Call toHealth Dept.- they will handlesame.

1438 Phone - Neighbor DisturbanceFire Dept Notified/Responded Lo-cation/Address: Highview St Re-port on-going neighbor problems,today neighbor came onto hisporch wanting to fight him over anew bicycle of the caller’s niece.N663 spoke to all parties, matterresolved for now. Caller requestsextra checks of his home.

1440 Phone - Disturbance Spoken ToLocation/Address: Central St Re-port of a Mercedes with its head-lights on in parking, there were also2 females in what appeared to be averbal argument standing near thecar whom then left towards Cen-tral St. N667 reports RI CP TF830.N667 reports owner of car worksat office in building, giving a frienda ride home, owner of car was hav-ing an animated cell call.

1447 Walk-In - Assist Citizen Ser-vices Rendered Location/Address:Lewis Ave Party in lobby requestspolice accompany him to his homewhile he retrieves some belongingsbecause he thinks neighbors areout to get him due to the past inci-dents at this home. Units stood byuntil party got his things and leftto go out of state.

1648 Phone - Hit And Run *ReportFiled Location/Address: NorwoodPost Office - Central St Caller re-ports her car was hit while she wasin the Post Office.

2138 Initiated - Susp Vehicle SpokenTo Location/Address: CoakleyMiddle School ( Acct# 1378d) -Washington St MA PC SN23HM.Party was walking his dog andchecks out.

Wednesday, May 131609 Phone - Susp Vehicle Spoken

To Location/Address: SupremeGas (Dba) S&H SupremeNorwood Gas - BroadwayWalker concerned about thedriver of a black BMW in the gasstation and his sobriety. Subjectchecks out and no issues.

1610 Phone - Assist Citizen Spo-ken To Location/Address:Highview St Caller seeks advicein regards to ongoing neighborissue.

1712 Phone - Well Being Chk Spo-ken To Location/Address: Wal-nut Ave Caller concerned for afamily member. Officers spoke toher, all is well.

2125 Walk-In - Loud Party AreaSearch Negative Location/Ad-dress: Railroad Ave + Fulton StWalk in reports a loud party inthe neighborhood.

Thursday, May 141018 Phone - Assist Citizen Spoken

To Location/Address: Mill PondLn LTC notice served.

1403 Walk-In - Fraud *Report FiledLocation/Address: Ace Locksmith- Washington St Attempted fraud.

1410 Initiated - Drug Law Violation*Report Filed Location/Address:Municipal Lot - Nahatan St +Broadway As a result of a B.C.I.investigation, Units stop MA PC76V740 and MA PC 1VSR51.N490 reports parents came toscene to pick up their kids and thevehicles. N495 to file report.

1423 Phone - Citizens ComplaintSpoken To Location/Address: FrMac’s - Vernon St Report 2 sub-jects hitting golf balls in the park.N664 moved them along.

1436 911 - Hang Up Call ConfirmedAccidental Location/Address: GaySt Upon call back-answering ma-chine comes on, message left.N677 sent to area 9-1-1 map placesphone. N677 reports elderly maleaccidental dial, daughter is withhim , all ok.

1615 Walk-In - Well Being Chk AreaSearch Negative Location/Ad-dress: Pleasant St + E Cross StParty reports kids yelling, unsureif playing or in distress.

1644 Phone - Citizens ComplaintSpoken To Location/Address: Up-land Rd Verbal dispute gone on ar-rival over the lack of face protec-tion RE: Covid-19

1814 Phone - Citizens ComplaintSpoken To Location/Address: JrHigh North/ Savage Center ( Acct#1376d) - Prospect St Caller reportsa bunch of people playing basket-ball. N662 spoke to those individu-als and were advised of the re-course if the health department wasto be notified.

1825 911 - Susp Person ServicesRendered Location/Address: PostOffice - Central St Report of a fe-male screaming and using obsceni-ties. Riverside clinician responded,party refused services. Officers ad-vised her.

1857 Phone - Well Being Chk Spo-ken To Location/Address:Westover Pkwy + Nichols St Callerconcerned for a person who seemsunsteady on their feet. Officersspoke to him, checked out OK.

1901 Phone - Citizens ComplaintSpoken To Location/Address:Pleasant St Caller reports a biggathering at a residence. N664spoke to those individuals and theywere standing at a safe distanceand also wearing masks.

1950 Walk-In - Assist Citizen Spo-ken To Location/Address:Plimpton Ave Walk in reporting hisneighbor is going in his mailbox.

N678 spoke to that party and hewas advised.

2053 911 - Susp Activity ServicesRendered Location/Address:Guild St + Broadway Party yell-ing outside. Officers spoke to her,she is OK and took a train to Bos-ton.

2227 Phone - Kids Gathering AreaSearch Negative Location/Ad-dress: Norwest Woods - ChestnutHill Realty - Norwest Dr Callerconcerned about young unsuper-vised youths at the playground.

2320 Phone - Noise Complaint Spo-ken To Location/Address: JuniperDr Caller reports kids outside play-ing basketball, being loud. N664spoke to those kids and they willhead in for the night.

2338 Phone - Assist Citizen SpokenTo Location/Address: Rock StCaller reports her 14 yr old daugh-ter will not come in the house.N678 reports issues has been re-solved.

Friday, May 150456 Phone - Larceny

*Arrest(S)Made Location/Ad-dress: Limey’s Pub - WashingtonSt Caller reports a male was tak-ing mail out of mail box byLimey’s Pub then hopped in a grayFord Focus and fled s/b on Wash-ington St. Bolo to cars. N667 lo-cates car in S.Norwood.( Ma.Reg#( 9 D B 8 4 2 )N664,N666,N678,N668 responds.Don & Wally’s towed vehicle.N663 transport 1 back to station,st.mil:32457 @5:31/endingmil:32459 @ 5:34. N667 returnswith 1 st.mil:1226 @5:30/ end.mil:1227 @5:33. Refer To Arrest: 20-122-AR Juvenile Arrest Age: 16Charges: Burglarious Instrument,Possess Break Into Depository Un-licensed Operation Of Mv Turn,Improper Lights Violation, Mv Re-ceive Stolen Property -$1200 Con-spiracy Refer To Arrest: 20-123-AR Juvenile Arrest Age: 17Charges: Burglarious Instrument,Possess Break Into DepositoryReceive Stolen Property -$1200Conspiracy

1015 Other - Report Of Fight *Re-port Filed Location/Address:Winslow Ave Past fight, SRO willfollow up.

1326 Phone - Noise Complaint Ser-vices Rendered Location/Address:Upland Woods Cir Party spoken toregarding loud music.

1432 Phone - Warrant Of Apprehen-sion Spoken To Location/Address:Creative Construction Solutions -Prospect St Subject not home.

1523 Phone - Neighbor Disturbance*Report Filed Location/Address:Norwest Dr Female reports an ar-gument with her neighbor. N677reports it was an argument overstealing cable tv.

1710 Phone - Assist Citizen ServicesRendered Location/Address: YewDr N678 stands by until detail ar-rives to keep the peace.

1746 Phone - Kids Gathering Spo-ken To Location/Address:Norwood High School - NicholsSt Caller reports a group of kidson the football field. N669 movedthose kids along.

1841 Phone - Complaint Of Mv Spo-ken To Location/Address: GarfieldAve + Monroe St E Caller reportsMA PC 5070ZA driving fast in theneighborhood Officer clear afterchecking the area. Not long after acaller reports the vehicle is parkednear the courts at Callahan. Officeradvised him and sent him on hisway.

1849 Phone - Animal ComplaintNACO/WACO notified Location/Address: Vernon St Caller reportsbees in her front yard. Hive locatedat #262 NACO responded.

2131 Phone - Mischief (Kids) GoneOn Arrival Location/Address:Prospect St Caller reports 3 youngmales standing in his driveway,when he confronted them theytook off up the street. Area searchnegative.

2310 911 - Disturbance Spoken To

Location/Address: Olde Derby RdCaller reports a female outside herapartment yelling. N664 spoke tothat party and she was calmeddown and has returned to her apart-ment.

Saturday, May 160804 Phone - Disturbance *Report

Filed Location/Address: OldeDerby Rd Female party causing adisturbance. NFD transported to anevaluation.

1044 Phone - Assist Citizen No Ac-tion Required Location/Address:Cottage St Caller reports an argu-ment with his father. Upon arrival,he does not wish to speak to offic-ers.

1721 Phone - Malicious Damage*Report Filed Location/Address:Endean Gardening Club - MylodSt Caller reports damage to thefence that surrounds the garden.

1733 Phone - Susp Activity SpokenTo Location/Address: PapaGino’s Nahatan - Nahatan St Fe-male caller uneasy with the adultmales and comments made to heroutside on the patio. View alsoshows a man flailing his arms inpunching a motion with two oth-ers there. Officers report no fightand subjects leaving the area.

1812 911 - Well Being Chk SpokenTo Location/Address: PlymouthDr Caller reports his friend mayhave relapsed and he is concernedfor his well being. N679 spoke tothe party in question and he wassleeping and appears fine.

Sunday, May 170023 Initiated - Susp Vehicle Spo-

ken To Location/Address: QuickStop - Washington St MA PC5HS170.

0953 Phone - Well Being Chk *Re-port Filed Location/Address:Highview St Father request checkof son after a Face Book message.NFD transports to hospital forevaluation.

1050 Phone - Complaint Of Mv*Complaint/Summons Location/Address: Norwood Gardens -Hampden Dr 2 calls for a Jeep,white and an Acura, blue, speed-ing, stop sign violation, beepinghorns. N664 locates them enter-ing parking lot at 1415 Bos-Prov.Hwy. N678 reports verbal argu-ment, parent, properly licensed,took MA PC 329B80. N678 to filea Complaint Application and re-port.

1144 Cellular - Unwanted Party Spo-ken To Location/Address: CottageSt Son reports father will not lethim back into home. N669 reportsson is back in home, the unwantedfemale friend of son was sent onher way.

1200 Phone - Complaint Of Mv Ser-vices Rendered Location/Ad-dress: Ridgewood Dr Report MAPC 8LD523 was speeding andwhen confronted, threatenedcaller. Party was advised, extrachecks will be done.

1605 Phone - Susp Vehicle *ReportFiled Location/Address: HarrowRd Caller reports his daughter wasout for a walk when a vehiclestopped to talk to her and madeher feel uncomfortable. Officerssearched the area for a small black

1636 Phone - Assist Citizen Ser-vices Rendered Location/Ad-dress: Marlboro St Party reports afound syringe.

1817 Phone - Drunk Driver*Arrest(S)Made Location/Ad-dress: Cross St + Lenox St Callerreports a person passed out be-hind the wheel of a CheveroletSilverado. As a result, N678placed one party under arrest.N667 transported him to the sta-tion. Refer To Arrest: 20-124-AR Arrest: Mitchell, Brian RAddress: 152 High Rock StWestwood, Ma Age: 61 Charges:Oui-Liquor Or .08%, 2nd Of-fense Negligent Operation OfMotor Vehicle Stop/Yield, FailTo Refer To Accident: 20-88-AC2158 Phone - Noise ComplaintGone On Arrival Location/Ad-dress: Lincoln St Caller reportstwo females yelling in the road.Officers checked the area withnegative results, all is quiet.


The Record BookSPECIAL VOTER REGISTRATION

The Board of Registrars wishes toinform the residents of the Town ofNorwood that a special registration ses-sion has been set for the June 8, 2020Annual Town Election.

An evening special registration ses-sion will be held at the Municipal Build-ing, Room 32 on Friday, May 29, 2020from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

This is the FINAL REGISTRATIONSESSION prior to the Annual TownElection.

Daily registration of voters will beconducted at the Town Clerk’s office,Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.to 4:00 P.M.

A mail-in registration form is nowavailable at Norwood Morrill MemorialLibrary and the Norwood Post Office.

You may also register to vote on-lineat sec.state.ma.us

Qualifications to register to vote arethat the applicants must be 18 years oldon or before election day and must ei-ther be born in the United States or bea Naturalized Citizen.

EXPLORE NEW ENGLANDLEGENDS WITH JEFFBELANGER

Gather ‘round the virtual campfirewith Jeff Belanger, one of NewEngland’s premiere storytellers, onThursday, June 11 at 7:00 pm. For over20 years, Jeff has been exploring theunexplained. He seeks out history, folk-lore, ghosts, monsters, and legends allover the world and in your backyard.New England Legends offers a tour ofhaunts, monsters, aliens, and weird his-tory from our region. Based on Jeff’spopular weekly podcast and his Emmy-nominated television series on PBS andAmazon Prime, the program presentshighlights from his own adventures andwork. The bizarre is closer than youthink!

Registration is appreciated but notrequired. For details on accessing theprogram via Zoom and to sign up andreceive a reminder email, please go toour events page at norwoodlibrary.org/morrillcalendar. If you do not have acomputer but would like to listen toJeff’s presentation, call 929-205-6099.When prompted, enter the Meeting ID:860 6184 5821 followed by the # sign.

NORWOOD ANNOUNCESTESTING PROGRAM

General Manager Tony Mazzucco,Public Health Director Sigalle Reiss,and Norwood Hospital PresidentSalvatore Perla wish to share with resi-dents that the Town of Norwood, inpartnership with the Hospital, is nowproviding COVID-19 testing forNorwood residents.

The Town has secured 1,000 testsdesignated for Norwood residents.

Any resident with symptoms or whobelieves they have been exposed andwould like a COVID-19 test shouldschedule an appointment by calling 781-278-4499 and asking for the NorwoodCommunity Testing program. Pre-reg-istration is required. This is not a walk-in clinic.

“We are very grateful for this part-nership with Norwood Hospital to makethese tests available to the residents ofour community,” General ManagerMazzucco said. “As a result, residentswill now have a means of testing that ismore widely available and close tohome.”

Testing is for individuals who havenot previously received a test. Any resi-dent in need of a re-test in order to be

able to go back to work should contacttheir physician.

Testing is offered Monday throughFriday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., by ap-pointment only, at Norwood Hospital’stesting facility at the rear of the hospi-tal campus, located at 800 WashingtonSt.

Residents should make sure to bringtheir insurance card if receiving a test.Health insurance will be charged, butthere is no out of pocket direct cost forresidents.

Proof of residency is required. Resi-dents are asked to bring a photo ID, li-cense, light bill or lease.

The Town will cover the costs for alimited number of uninsured residents.There are no additional fees collectedby the hospital for the test.

Results are expected in 48-72 hoursafter the test is given. The NorwoodHealth Department will contact resi-dents with their results from the Com-munity Testing Program. For those whotest positive, the Department will askthose individuals to isolate at home andwill conduct contact tracing to quaran-tine close contacts.

A COVID-19 test is a snapshot intime; it does not clear you from futureinfections or release you from a 14-dayquarantine. Everyone should still stayhome when sick, wear a face coveringwhen unable to maintain social distanc-ing, wash hands and clean frequentlytouched surfaces.

This program should not replace thefollowing existing testing procedures:* Working with your primary care doc-tor to arrange testing if you have symp-toms; * Visiting emergency/urgent carefor an evaluation; * The Foxboro test-

ing site, specifically reserved for firstresponders and essential grocery storeworkers only; * Other facilities thathave access to State coordinated test-ing, such as the National Guard testingprogram or the Fallon testing program.

LIBRARY OFFERINGPHONE CALL HELP

Librarians at the Morrill MemorialLibrary are now offering phone call helpto our patrons. While the chat featureon our website, norwoodlibrary.org,provides a good way to ask us questions24/7, in some cases you may rather talkon the phone for help. To reach us byphone, please call our Reference lineand leave a message: 781-769-0200x110. Please leave your name, phonenumber, preferred call back time, and abrief message about what you’d likehelp with and a librarian will return yourcall. We are checking this voicemailseveral times daily, so please reach outwith any questions.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERSTO HOST CANDIDATES FORUM

The League of Women Voters ofNorwood is holding a Candidates Fo-rum on Thursday, May 28 at 7:00 PM.The event will be carried live by NCMon the Government Channel. These areBoard of Selectmen candidates only.No in-person audience is allowed butthe public can submit questions to beasked of the candidates [email protected] no laterthan 5/26.

AT (781)

769-1725

To advertise, callThe Norwood Record


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The Bulletin Newspaperpublishes obituaries from in-formation supplied by fu-neral homes. Relatives andfriends also may supplementinformation by e-mailing [email protected] Monday at 1 p.m. Photosalso will be accepted.

Obituarypolicy

DEATHSBYERS

MARGARET S. “Dollie”(Barbarisi) of Norwood passedaway on May 16, 2020 at the ageof 92. Beloved wife of the lateFred B. Byers. Devoted motherof Margo A. Byers and herfiancée Leo Remiesiewicz ofFairhaven and PamelaWalkiewicz and her husbandRobert of Chatham. Sister ofRobert Barbarisi of Harwich andthe late Carmine Barbarisi. Cher-ished grandmother of MeredithTaylor of Plainville and DianeByers of Chatham. Great grand-mother of Elliot Taylor and EvanTaylor. Dollie was a former mem-ber of the Norwood Mother’sClub, Norwood CatholicWomen’s Club and the NorwoodPTA. A private funeral mass willbe held on Wednesday, May 20,2020 at St. Catherine of SienaChurch Norwood with a burial atSt. Joseph Cemetery W. Roxbury.In lieu of flowers donations maybe made in her name to theAlzheimer ’s Assoc. 309Waverley Oaks Road Waltham,MA 02452. Kraw-Kornack Fu-neral Home www.kraw-kornackfuneralhome.com 781-762-0482.

GALLANT

Dale W. 52 of Norwood, MApassed away peacefully on May9, 2020 surrounded by family. He was born in Somerville and agraduate of Somerville HighSchool. He spent his careerworking as a service advisor atseveral different car dealerships.Dale was a kind, patient, loyal,and forgiving man who alwaysfound the best in people. He wasquick to help out anyone in need. His hobbies included cars, guns,electronics, technology, food,music, the ocean and traveling. He spent many vacations inPrince Edward Island with fam-ily and Aruba with friends. Hehad a passion for the sport ofhockey. An avid Bruins fan whowatched from home, attendedgames at the Garden, and trav-eled to away games with familyand friends that were his family.He was his wife Carolyn’s big-gest fan and supporter for mara-thons, fundraising and all of life’sjourneys. Carolyn was his num-ber one cheerleader and supportduring his courageous battle withcancer. Together they were anamazing couple and team thatshared a true bond of love. Hischarismatic personality was a giftthat his family and friends will

treasure. He is survived by hisloving wife Carolyn Collins, hisfather Wallace Gallant andmother Patricia of Prince EdwardIsland, Canada, his brother ToddGallant and wife Julie of Ports-mouth, NH, his sister HeatherRoderick and husband John ofSomerville, MA, his daughterDemi Nigro and husband Car-mine of Danvers, MA, his sonReid of Peabody, MA, his grand-daughter Lorea Nigro and manynieces and nephews. Thank youto Team Tenacious D, the verybest support system anyone couldask for. We are beyond grateful,blessed and humbled by your out-pouring of love, support andcompassion during his illness.Thank you to the exceptionallycaring and professional staff atMassachusetts General Hospital.A celebration of life will be heldat a later date. In lieu of flow-ers, donations can be made inDale’s Name to Marisa’s Mis-sion, Inc. P. O. Box 850061Braintree, MA 02185,www.marisas-mission.org whichis based in Braintree and helpsthose living with cancer or to TheFisher Housewww.fisherhouse.org which sup-ports our veterans and Gold StarFamilies. www.kraw-kornackfuneralhome.com FAM-ILY OWNED AND OPERATED781-762-0482 .

LEARYMary N. (LaMalfa) of

Norwood, formerly ofRoslindale, passed away on May12, 2020 at the age of 91. Be-loved wife of the late Arnold B.Leary. Daughter of the late Frankand Anita (Giagalone) LaMalfa.Sister of the late Jospeh LaMalfaand Stefina F. Forte. Also sur-vived by many nieces, nephews,cousins and friends. Mary was agraduate of the Boston PublicSchools. She was a former mem-ber of the MS Society of Boston,Roslindale Historical Society andshe was the founder of Chips,which was a Boston based vol-unteer service org. A privateBurial will take place at St. Jo-seph Cemetery in West Roxbury.Arrangements by the Kraw-Kornack Funeral Home,NORWOOD, MA. Kraw-Kornack Funeral Home kraw-kornackfuneralhome.com 781-762-0482.

REARDONAnne Catherine “Nancy”

(McKinnon) born on New Year’sDay 1934. She was raised inNorwood, MA as one of fourdaughters of the late William C.and Catherine (Costello)McKinnon of Sidney Mines,Nova Scotia and Galway, Ireland.A graduate of Norwood HighSchool in 1951, and Burdett Col-lege, Nancy worked for SylvaniaElectric providing her the oppor-tunity to travel to Europe in 1960and embark on a cross countrytrip where she worked for themin Palo Alto, California. Upon herreturn to Norwood she bumpedinto John E. Reardon, a formeraltar boy at Saint Catherine ofSiena Church, whom she had no-ticed as a young girl at St .Catherine’s School where theyboth attended. They were marrieda year later on November 21,1964 at St. Catherine of SienaChurch. John and Nancy raisedtheir two children, Carol andJohn, in Walpole, MA, and pro-vided many memorable family

summers on Cape Cod in WestDennis, MA. Nancy is precededin death by her husband of 43years, John E. Reardon, her twosisters, Florence Desmarais andJoan Haynes, and a nephew, PaulDesmarais. Loving Mother ofCarol Hawk and her husband Judof Basalt, CO; Commander JohnReardon, USCG (Ret.) and hiswife Suzanne of Chester, MD.Devoted and beloved grand-mother to her 4 grandchildren,Caitlin Anne Hawk, Jake Hawk,Jack Reardon and BrendanReardon. Nancy will fondly beremembered by her sister,Maureen Bradway and her hus-band Brad of Norwood, MA;brother-in-law, Allan Haynes ofWalpole MA; numerous nieces,nephews, grand-nieces andgrand-nephews and a few greatgrands; her friend & caregiverLisa Marquis, and her team ofcaregivers at Heritage Park CareCenter in Carbondale, CO. A pri-vate Memorial for family will beheld at a later date. Burial willbe at Highland Cemetery inNorwood, MA, with her husbandand near her parents. Kraw-Kornack Funeral Home. kraw-kornackfuneralhome.com Pub-lished in The Boston Globe onMay 14, 2020.

REICHERTFLORENCE A. (Venis) of

Norwood passed away on May 7,2020 at the age of 95. Belovedwife of the late Charles F.Reichert. Devoted mother ofJanice O’Malley and her husbandJim of Greensboro, NC, JudithFiatarone of Millis, StevenReichert of Norwood, J. ScottReichert of N. Attleboro andJoanne Woolfall and her husbandJim of Nashua, NH. Sister of thelate Rosemary O’Neil. Cherishedgrandmother of 8 grandchildrenand 10 great grandchildren. Alsosurvived by many nieces andnephews. Daughter of the lateGeorge and Mary (Kalinoski)Venis. Florence was a graduateof Dedham High School. All ser-vices will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers donations maybe made in her name to VNACare Fund Development Office,199 Rosewood Drive, Suite 180Danvers, MA 01923 or to thePerkins School for the Blind, C/O Perkins Library 175 NorthBeacon St. Watertown, MA0 2 4 7 2 . w w w . k r a w -kornackfuneralhome.com. FAM-ILY OWNED AND OPERATED781-762-0482 .

SHERGerald A. of Norwood,

passed away after a month-long,valiant fight with Covid-19 onMay 8th, at Beth Israel Deacon-ess Hospital, with his loving fam-ily by his side. He was 71 yearsold. Gerry was born in Winthropon November 1, 1948. He grew

up in Revere and earned aBachelor’s degree from SalemState College and an MBA fromSuffolk University. Gerry workedat the offices of the Boston Her-ald for over 30 years. His pas-sions were woodworking, makingfurniture for his family, photog-raphy and traveling, especiallyhis cross-country trips on hisHarley with his beloved wife, Su-san. Anyone who met him, lovedhim instantly and he made an im-pact on this world like no one elsequite could. Above all else, Gerrywas a family man, happiest sur-rounded by his children and ador-ing grandchildren. “G,” as theycalled him, could often be foundattending many sporting eventsand Irish dance competitions.Gerry was the dear and devotedhusband of 47 years of Susan(Ramey). Their 47 years of wed-ded bliss brought them their lov-ing children, Aimee (Sher) andWilliam Monteith of Walpole,Alison Sher and JosephMcDonagh of Braintree, Katie

Sher of Norwood, Matthew andTeresa Sher of Fort Worth, TX,as well as his loving grandchil-dren who called him “G,” Jack,Maeve, Michael, Savannah, Isla,Eamon and Alana. He was thedear brother of Robert andRhonda Sher of Murrieta, CA andbrother-in-law of Ellen Correia ofWrentham. He is also survived byhis nephew and many nieces andcousins. Gerry was predeceasedby his parents Hyman andGertrude Sher, his mother and fa-ther-in-law Julia and EdgarRamey Sr, and his brothers-in-law Edgar Ramey, Jr and LionelCorreia. Contributions in memoryof Gerry Sher can be made onlinevia bidmc.org/give or by checkmade payable to “Beth Israel Dea-coness Medical Center” with“Gerry Sher/Covid-19 VaccineResearch” on the memo line. Do-nations can be mailed to: Beth Is-rael Deaconess Medical Center,Office of Development, 330Brookline Ave. (OV), Boston, MA02215. A celebration of Gerry’slife will be held over the summerat St. Mary’s Church, EastWalpole, MA. Guestbook avail-able at www.KfouryFuneral.comKfoury Keefe Funeral Home WestRoxbury 617-325-3600.


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BOH continued from page 6 School Committee continued from page 1But it rebounded quickly as theprogram got into motion andthrough community support.

“We will definitely end upin the black for the program thisyear, thanks to all these extraor-dinary measures that the FoodServices Department has beentaking since the COVID-19hit,” Long said.

Although no one is certainof what the upcoming schoolyear holds, the team isstrategizing for safe ways toserve meals, she explained.They may be served in class, ina cafeteria with social distanc-ing or with take-home meals.

Long explained that coolersand carts may need to be pur-chased shortly as part of a con-tingency plan.

Before COVID-19, Norrissaid the department had a num-ber of achievements. He an-nounced the first department-driven scholarship will beawarded shortly to a graduat-ing Norwood senior who isplanning to enter the hospital-ity field. The $500 was earnedthrough a variety of departmentfundraisers over the course ofthe school year.

Community engagement in-cluded a free Thanksgiving din-ner, where SuperintendentDave Thomson and schoolprincipals served more than 175meals. The department was ableto partner with Polar Beveragein Worcester and Norwood’sAmerican Patriot Sales, Inc.,which donated the drinks andfood, respectively, that FoodServices Dept. members pre-pared.

On the school side, the de-partment worked to connectclassroom, gardening andkitchen experience at severalelementary schools.

“Some of the hits this yearwere ‘Seed to Table,’ where weplanted basil into little milk

cartons at the Cleveland and theWillett, and then we sampledthe basil tofu stir fry,” he said.“Another of the themes is thatwe made a green monster kalesmoothie over at the Callahan,which was a lot of fun.”

Outside of the Prescott El-ementary School, studentsplanted and harvested tomatoesand cucumbers from the raisedbed gardens. A class at theCallahan grew a tower garden,charted its growth, and then gotto eventually dine from thefruits of their labor with thehelp of the department.

One initiative begun was theDiscovery Kitchen mobileteaching cart program, Norrisexplained.

“It’s designed to roll rightinto a classroom or a smallspace, and it gives studentshands-on experience with freshingredients,” he said. A moni-tor shows students what is be-ing prepared. Then tables canbe extended from the side of thecart so students can get in-volved.

At the High School, nutri-tionist Kelsey Massis describedthe success of the StudentChoice program. Students wentto various meal stations andwere then able to vote on se-lections they would like to seeon the menu. Similarly, at theCoakley Middle School, thecooking elective students be-came student ambassadors, do-ing prep work for food itemsthat would be prepared for sam-pling by the students. They thenchose which items would bepresented for the actual votingby the students and servedsamples.

“It was a great way for it tocome from students, to havetheir peers be involved withwhat was on the menu,” shesaid. More than 800 sampleswere served, with bok choy andflame winning the contest.

All schools contributedtheir food scraps to thecomposting program as a wayto help the environment. Thescraps were sent either to theTown’s composting center or tolocal farmers at an average of 21gallons a day, or approximately

105 pounds.Thanks to a FUTP 60 grant

received a couple of months agothe High School received a graband go breakfast cart. New En-gland Patriots player ChaseWinovich visited the school tocelebrate the kickoff.

“I just want to say thanks toyou for an amazing year up un-til the wheels came off thewagon and the entire worldchanged,” said member MauraSmith. “Beyond that, I think thatI can say confidently on behalfof the committee and the rest ofthe community that you all andthe ladies that are working tohand out those meals are noth-ing short of heroes in my mind.”

In other news, the SchoolCommittee voted 5-0 not to optto participate in the schoolchoice program, which is an an-nual decision. Thomson citedincreased enrollment byNorwood residents in itsschools, with some schoolsreaching their capacities.

“Choice students, once en-rolled, are the system’s respon-sibility until graduation or age22 for special education stu-dents, and may pose overcrowd-ing in certain schools orcourses,” Thomson said. “Theincome stream for choice stu-dents is on a declining scale,with less income per pupil thisyear than last year.”

Also, Thomson said thatNorwood will be receiving$345,607 as part of the CARESAct. That money will be used toclose learning gaps. On thedownside, there has been noDESE guidance on how to pro-ceed on the opening of the up-coming school year as yet.

In addition, because the Bos-ton Marathon will be resched-uled for Mon., Sept. 14, that willbe a state holiday. That will needto be added to the school calen-dar, Thomson explained.

“I don’t know what to call it,Patriot’s Day, Fall Patriot’s Day,Marathon Monday,” he said.“I’m not quite sure.”

Member Dave Cataniamade a motion that the calen-dar be adjusted, should theMarathon go forward. It wasapproved 5-0.

that there isn’t enough testing, but testing is pretty widely avail-able,” she said. “If you have not had any contact or don’t haveany symptoms, a test doesn’t really tell you anything.”

Assistant Health Director Stacey Lane said there are two dif-ferent types of tests, those that test if you currently are infected,known as diagnostic testing or swab testing, and those that showif you’ve had the virus in the past, called antibody testing, whichis a blood or serum test. The diagnostic testing is used primarilyif one is showing symptoms, so that health professionals can de-termine whether a patient is experiencing COVID-19 or anotherillness. The antibody test is used to find antibodies of the virus,and can tell if one has already had and recovered from the virus.

Lane said that antibody testing can help, but has little imme-diate use for health professionals.

“What happens is if the test comes back positive, it doesn’ttell us much,” she said. “It tells us that you may have been ex-posed at some point, you may have had the disease at some point,but we don’t know when. So what happens is, you just get thattest, it comes back positive, we have to put you in isolation andthen we have to quarantine all your contacts. If you do want toget that test, it’s not that it’s not a good test, but it’s just that it’searly on in the game, it’s a new virus to us and so we really don’tknow how to interpret the serologies.”

She said for many diseases the medical community has hadtime to study, like measles for instance, doctors can reasonablysay what it means when you have antibodies to a virus and howyou can proceed. For COVID-19, that information simply isn’tavailable yet. Some antibodies stay in the immune system for-ever and allow for basic immunity to the virus in the future, somedon’t, and some viruses mutate to the point antibodies no longerwork.

But for Norwood residents, Lane suggested getting both tests,if one is so inclined to get either.

“So that way, it at least gives us more information,” she said.“If you do have antibodies and then have a negative nasal swabtest that shows that you had this infection sometime in the pastand we will not have to put you in isolation. But if you do not getthe nasal swab test and just get the antibody test, it doesn’t tell usmuch.”

Member Joan Jacobs said she had a question regarding thediagnostic nasal swab test.

“Is this the one that goes way, way up your nose?” she said.“It goes up your nose,” Lane said with a laugh. “But Joan,

that’s a good point because some people say, ‘oh, I don’t wantthat swab going up into my brain. I would rather have a bloodtest.’ I would suggest you don’t do that, or just do both. You canget the blood draw, but also get the nasal swab, just so we have aclearer picture of what’s going on.”

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norwood recordfree...meals in six days as of may 8. at the request of town manager tony mazzucco,...

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