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Volume 13, Issue 12 MarMarMarMarMarch 1ch 1ch 1ch 1ch 19, 20209, 20209, 20209, 20209, 2020

The Board of Selectmen and hopefully several other boards will start meeting again soon.COURTESY PHOTO

The Route 1 Corridor Study has been put on hold for public hearings at least for alittle bit, but Town Planner Paul Halkiotis said they are still working on the plan.

COURTESY PHOTO

Town Governmentstarting back up

JefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

Norwood businessescoping with close order


Town still hopeful forRoute 1 Corridor Study


Corridor StudyCorridor StudyCorridor StudyCorridor StudyCorridor StudyContinued on page 5

TTTTTooooown Gown Gown Gown Gown GovvvvvernmenternmenternmenternmenternmentContinued on page 6

BusinessesBusinessesBusinessesBusinessesBusinessesContinued on page 7

While the meeting scheduled forlast week was canceled amid growingconcerns over the COVID-19coronavirus outbreak, the Town ofNorwood is still looking to implementnew zoning rules for the Route 1 Cor-ridor to make it more consistent andless of the ad hoc zoning puzzle it istoday.

Town Planner Paul Halkiotis saidthat while the cancellation of the meet-ing was a setback, he is confident theplanned rezoning of Norwood’s larg-est commercial center will go ahead.He said the Town is working with con-sultant Ted Brovitz, with whom theTown has worked before on the Mixed-Use Overlay District.

“He’s got another partner from an-other consulting firm working on thisas well and I want to say at this pointthey are more than halfway done withthe project,” Halkioitis said. “Theyhave assessed existing conditions andanalyzed all kinds of data that we wereable to assemble for real estate activ-ity and the fiscal impacts of the prop-erties along Route 1, and they’vestarted to look at a table of use regula-tions; the uses that are allowed by right,not allowed and those that trigger aspecial permit.”

He added he believes they willreach the deadline for Spring TownMeeting, but whether Town Meetingwill be ready for them is another mat-ter.

“With the uncertainty about what’sgoing on now with COVID-19 there

has been some early discussion aboutpushing pack some of our normalspring activity like town meeting andmaybe the election, which by the wayis still set for April 3,” he said. “Thespring Town Meeting may be pushedback depending on how things play outwith COVID-19, but one way or an-other the consultant says they areready. It might get postponed to theFall Town Meeting, but at this pointand time no decisions have beenmade.”

Readers may remember this studywas commissioned after Town Meet-ing approved a moratorium of newopen lot storage facilities in the Townfor one year, from July 2019 to July2020. These facilities were popping upwith some frequency in Town for useby the auto dealerships. Halkiotis saidwhile this is a symptom of the patch-work zoning they’re looking to fixwith this rezoning, it’s not the only bigproblem with the corridor.

“For me, this started four years agoafter getting involved with the Townand reviewing the way zoning worksand the zoning map and how the dis-tricts are laid out, which takes a littletime for a planner in any communityto get an understanding of. But after awhile it became apparent there weredifferent zoning districts along theRoute 1 Corridor.”

Halkiotis said he had spoken withseveral real estate attorneys, amongthem Planning Board and ZoningBoard of Appeals (ZBA) meetingregulars David Hern and James

While the self-quarantine of TownManager Tony Mazzucco, Superinten-dent of Schools David Thomson andseveral members of the Board of Se-lectmen had Norwood’s Town Govern-ment in a bit of a holding pattern, thingsare at least going to start getting backto normal.

Mazzucco said they will start nec-essary and required meetings back upsoon but, where possible, in a limited

Massachusetts Governor CharlieBaker ordered this week that gatheringsof 10 or more are banned, schools toclose and restaurants can no longer havesit down service for the foreseeable fu-ture.

In Norwood, that translates to sometough times for some businesses, butmany are staying open and are ready toserve residents in whatever way theycan.

Common Cafe owner MariaAvramidis said the shut down has hit herhard early. Only one day into the banon Tuesday, she said her regular break-fast rush was almost gone.

“We are open for business if thiscontinues, we want to give it a try and

capacity.“We’ll follow the state and other cit-

ies and towns,” he said. “We’ll havesome digital meetings this week and theBoard of Selectmen will meet at theend of this week. Most meetings willbe starting up again next week with acombination of digital and in-person asneeded, though there will be few if anymeetings of boards or committees thatdon’t have statutory responsibilities.”

Mazzucco added that he is feeling

see if people are coming in or not,” shesaid. “Being St. Patrick’s Day, we had alot of orders placed in advance and sowe had a lot of orders getting picked upfor dinner, but I don’t know what’s go-ing to happen. Breakfast is very slow. Iwas hoping since people were strandedin their homes they would get the ideathat ‘okay, we have choices, we can goget breakfast and bring it back home,’but we haven’t seen that yet.”

At Nick’s Package Store, PartnerHelen Abdallah Donohue said theyhaven’t seen much of a downturn inbusiness.

“But our business is just a very smallbusiness, and it’s largely an office forthe real estate rentals we have,” she said.“Most of the customers we have are

Page 2Page 2Page 2 The Norwood Record MarMarMarMarMarch 1ch 1ch 1ch 1ch 19, 20209, 20209, 20209, 20209, 2020

Norwood Public Schoolsurges social distancing

during break from school

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.

—C.O.

Novena to St. ClareAsk St. Claire for three favors,1 business, 2 impossible. Saynine Hail Marys for ninedays, with lighted candle.Pray whether you believe ornot. Publish on the ninthday. Powerful novena. Say“May the Sacred Heart ofJesus be praised, adored,glorified, now and forever,throughout the whole world.Amen.” Your request will begranted, no matter howimpossible it may seem.

—D.A.P.

Superintendent David L.Thomson would like to notifyparents of Governor CharlieBaker’s announcement toclose all public and privateschools statewide until April 7and provide information aboutthe importance of social dis-tancing during this time.

Norwood Public Schoolswill be following the mandateput forth by Gov. Baker’s of-fice and all schools will remainclosed until April 7.

The reason for the contin-ued closure of schools is toprevent the spread of COVID-19 and to practice and promotesocial distancing.

Parents should be sure totalk to their children aboutproper hygiene and preventionmethods and about the impor-tance of social distancing un-til further guidelines are pro-vided by state officials aboutthe status of the virus.

Social distancing — main-taining a distance of approxi-mately 6 feet from otherpeople -has proven effective atslowing the spread of COVID-19.

Families should practicesocial distancing with theirchildren and follow theseguidelines from state and lo-cal health officials: Familiesshould not hold “play dates”and those in need of childcareshould limit the number offamilies involved as much aspossible. Practice social dis-

tancing techniques with chil-dren and have them practiceamong themselves Clean andsanitize toys, video game con-trollers and all touch surfacesregularly Social distancingwill help to minimize exposureamong people, especiallygiven that COVID-19 is highlycontagious and people may becontagious prior to exhibitingsymptoms. As the weather con-tinues to improve, outdoorgatherings are viewed as safer,but social distancing tech-niques should still be prac-ticed, and all sports/recreationequipment and toys should becleaned regularly.

Teens are included in thisgroup, and activities like bikeriding and hiking/walking areviewed as safer alternatives togathering at movie theaters, re-tail stores and other indoorvenues.

“Though this is a challeng-ing and unique situation, thesemeasures are taken to keep stu-dents, staff and their familieshealthy,” SuperintendentThomson said. “We urge ev-eryone to do their part and takethe practice of social distanc-ing seriously while schools re-main closed.”

Symptoms of COVID-19include fever, cough and short-ness of breath, and can appearbetween two and 14 days afterexposure, according to theCenters for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC). Any-

one who experiences symp-toms and believes they mayhave the virus is advised tocontact their health care pro-vider. For more informationfrom the CDC for those whomay have the virus, go tohttps://bit.ly/3b3SxJa.

School officials also wishto encourage students and staffto follow recommended pre-ventative steps from the DPH:Practice good hand hygiene.Wash your hands often withsoap and water for at least 20seconds including under yourfingernails. Alcohol-basedhand sanitizer (at least 60%alcohol content) can be usedwhen soap and water are notavailable.

Keep your hands awayfrom your face. Cover yournose and mouth when sneez-ing and coughing with a tis-sue and discard it immedi-ately. Cough into the sleeveover your elbow instead ofyour hand. Wash your handsoften when coughing andsneezing. Stay away frompeople who are sick and stayhome when you are sick. Formore information, visit theDPH website by going tomass.gov/resource/informa-t ion-on- the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19#-overview- and theCDC’s website by going tocdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Page 3 Page 3 Page 3The Norwood RecordMarMarMarMarMarch 1ch 1ch 1ch 1ch 19, 20209, 20209, 20209, 20209, 2020

Norwood Neighbors HelpingNeighbors looking to go viral


While all the advice fromfederal, state and local offi-cials has been to distanceyourself from others,Norwood locals are bandingtogether to help one another,at least online.

Last Thursday, residentRachel Webber announced thecreation of the NorwoodNeighbors Helping NeighborsFacebook group( f a c e b o o k . c o m / g r o u p s /norwoodmaneighborshelpingneighbors/), which she said is a catch-all resource for residents ei-ther looking to help out orlooking for help during theCOVID-19 outbreak.

As of the date of publica-tion, the group already has710 members and doesn’tshow any signs of slowingdown. The basic idea is if youhave extra items in your homeyou think people could use,you post them. Or if you’remaking a grocery run, you askif anyone locally needs any-thing they could drop off forthem. “Let’s utilize this pageto offer services, products aswell as people who are look-ing for specific things to helpthem get through. We will per-severe through Covid-19!” thepage description reads.

There’s no real categoryfor the items listed. Someoneon Monday posted they havean extra office chair they’d bewilling to donate for thosewho are forced to work fromhome, another offered up theirarts and crafts materials andmany have offered to grab

extra items on their groceryruns. Hair products, books,board games, local informa-tion and ideas to occupyyoung children are all up forgrabs on the web site.

“I just thought Norwoodneeded it, I mean we’re sucha small Town and there areshortages everywhere,”Webber said. “I thought itwould be great if people couldhelp each other.”

The initial panic buying oflast week left many storeshelves empty and Webbersaid they were able to helpmany residents out.

“Immediately people werevery concerned about toiletpaper and bottled water andcleaning solutions, and I feelthe store shelves were not pre-pared to have the stock peopleneeded,” she said. “Now, if Ihad an opinion I would saydisinfectant sprays and wipesare what people are lookingfor the most, and they don’tseem readily available.”

Webber said now that thesite is up and running, resi-dents have taken over and shedoesn’t really need to facili-tate any more, but that doesn’tmean she’s idle. She said sheis also using the bandwidthfrom the Facebook group toask residents to give to theNorwood Council on Agingand Senior Center.

“I reached out to them tosee if we could offer services,but the Town put out an an-nouncement that donatingmoney and gift cards was thebest way to help the seniors,to make sure they have foodand food delivery,” she said.

“As we all know, people whoare imuno-compromised andour seniors are very much atrisk for COVID-19 and manydon’t have family or the sup-port some of us younger folksdo, so my concern was do theyhave their medication andsomething to eat? I think it’sgreat that the Senior Center isspearheading that to ensurethat people have what theyneed.”

As of the date of publica-tion, 25 people have raised$1,155 for the Senior Center.Go to https://www.facebook.com/donate/2 3 8 0 1 5 3 2 0 5 7 5 3 2 0 /196133318382013/ for moreinformation on how to donateand what the need is.

To advertise,call the

Norwood Recordat

(781)769-1725

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


Think of the babies!

OPINION

My Kindof Town/Joe Galeota

Not as famous as D-DayIn years—nay, decades—to

come, March will be remem-bered as the first month Ameri-can citizenry hunkered down toavoid and, worse, fight thecoronavirus. March 13 willalso be recalled as the date onwhich the president declaredthe country’s 61st nationalemergency.

Considering the present andlooking at the past, March 24this not a famous March datearound Boston. The 17th ismuch heralded because of St.Patrick’s Day and, more impor-tant historically, EvacuationDay, when the British packedit in and left Boston for good. We Americans frequently donot know what it means to haveour community occupied byenemy forces, but most of theworld knows that feeling of for-eign occupation.

The movie “The RussiansAre Coming! The RussiansAre Coming!” is a fictitiousaccount—and comical at that—of the Russians landing onMartha’s Vineyard. Except forAttu in the Aleutians, perhapsno other American communityhas had opposition occupy ourhomeland. In our imaginationwe can envision the excitementof Bostonians in 1776 observ-ing the British warships departfrom our city after living herefor a while, possibly givingrise to the Third Amendmentwithin the Bill of Rights,which places restrictions onthe quartering of soldiers inprivate homes without theowner’s consent (The amend-

ment was a response tothe Quartering Acts passed bythe British parliament duringthe buildup to the Revolution-ary War, which had permittedthe British army to lodge sol-diers in private homes.)

December 7, June 6, Au-gust 6, and August 9 are dateswith which hopefully all highschool seniors are familiar asthey relate to World War II. March 24, 1945, is a date thatis not stressed or even taught,but it marks the day that thelargest single-day airbornedrop ever occurred.

Code named OperationVarsity, the push across theRhine River took only 4 hoursto land almost 20,000 Alliedsoldiers, most of them Ameri-can from the 17th AirborneDivision. Almost 1600 trans-ports, 1300 gliders, and 240 B-24’s delivered the soldiers and133 howitzers and 1800 tonsof ammunitions as well asmedical supplies, gasoline, andcommunication equipment.

We here in Boston werestaggered by the amount ofpeople killed and hurt in theMarathon bombing, but thenumbers pale beside thosewho perished on March 24: 430 from the 17th Airborne,347 from a British airborneunit, 73 American and Brit-ish glider pilots died as wellas 16 medics. The Eighth AirForce lost 109 bomber per-sonnel, the RAF 23, andpower air crews of our(Army) Air Force lost 41 withfour times that missing in ac-

tion. Not all casualties resulted

from ground action, whichresulted in 3000 Nazi prison-ers of war: transportation ingliders was fraught with dan-ger. Moreover, the dropsfrom Liberators had to befrom a somewhat low alti-tude, subjecting the planes todeadly anti-aircraft fire.

Congratulations to anyball players who during thisseemingly abbreviated schoolyear made the varsity teams ofany sport in their high school. But to those remaining, agingWorld War II paratroopers, theword “varsity” has a differentmeaning: Operation Varsityconjures images of America’s(and Britain’s) painful push toquash Nazi superiority. Mayour medical people do thesame to quash thecoronavirus.

Registry of Deeds Covid-19 update

PLEASE WRITE TO:THE BULLETIN

661 WASHINGTON ST,SUITE 202

NORWOOD, MA 02062 TEL: (617) 361-8400FAX: (617) 361-1933

EMAIL:[email protected]

Tell ‘emwhat you

think with aLetter To

The Editor

Please include your name,address & telephone number.

Unsigned letters will not bepublished.

Norfolk County Registry ofDeeds Releases Updated State-ment Regarding COVID-19(coronavirus). Updated as of 3/16/20.

The Norfolk County Regis-try of Deeds has remained openfor business. However, the lo-gistics are evolving in this veryfluid and unprecedented publicsafety crisis involving COVID-19. Our top priority is for thehealth and safety of our em-ployees and visitors. As wehave encouraged our own em-ployees, if you have symptomsrelated to COVID-19(coronavirus) or think you have

been exposed in any way pleasestay home. On-line InternetResearch and Electronic Re-cording are available for yourreal estate needs.

In an effort to minimize po-tential spread between registrystaff and members of the gen-eral public, we ask that custom-ers of the registry opt for thefollowing when possible:

For documents or instru-ments that are not time sensi-tive, please submit via USPostal Service to 649 HighStreet, Dedham MA 02026.Items may also be sent viaFEDEX or UPS to the aboveaddress.

For entities that are cur-rently set up to electronicallyfile, we encourage you to usethat medium as opposed to in-person filings. For eligible en-tities that wish to sign up toeFile, please consider signingup via our website.

As of March 17, 2020 thereal estate closing rooms andareas located at the NorfolkCounty Registry of Deeds willbe closed to the public. We re-quest that all real estate clos-

ings occur at a location outsideof the Registry of Deeds untilfurther notice. This action isbeing taken to help avoid thespread of the coronavirus. Thepreferred method of recordinga real estate closing transactionis electronic recording. If elec-tronic recording is not used theattorney handling the real estatetransaction or person so desig-nated can present to the NorfolkRegistry of Deeds the real estatedocuments necessary to recordthe real estate closing transaction.

The Norfolk County Regis-try of Deeds in attempting to helpavoid the potential spread of thecoronavirus has temporarily re-stricted and prohibited access toour closing areas, our public re-search terminals and to the Reg-istry of Deeds Record Hall untilfurther notice. This is effectiveas of the beginning of businesson March 17, 2020.

Thank you for your under-standing during these uncertainand challenging times.

RegisterWilliam P. O’Donnell

Norfolk CountyRegistry of Deeds

These are trying times, of this there is no doubt. This pan-demic will surely be one of the great tests of our national resolve.People will die and there is going to be, at best, a recession of oureconomy, if not an outright damnable depression. Americans willmore than likely experience hardships the likes of which most ofus have only read about in newspapers or watched on the nightlynews. The only question left is whether or not the United Statesof America has the backbone to persevere.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to lighten up!This newspaper has no doubt that not only will this greatest

country on earth come through this bent but not broken; we willactually grow stronger. All of us will, through intense introspec-tion, discover what we are made of. The joke currently makingits way through social media (God, we hate that term) is that theCoronavirus will forever be known as the “Boomer Remover”.Man is that cold, huh? Well, this boomer thinks our time to shineis now. Some within our ranks will be among the casualties, ofthat you can take to the bank (unlike your paychecks) but it willbe the boomers who will lead by example. Our responsibility isnot only to make sure the final days of the Greatest Generationare as comfortable as possible, but to demonstrate to Gen Xers,Millennials and Gen Z that we’re not ready just yet to sink downinto our recliners and pull the blankets over our heads, well notuntil at least 7 p.m. anyway. We may not be able to answer thefirst responder calls like we used to, but if we can’t be directly onthe front lines, minimally we will make sure those answeringthose calls have all the support they need.

How? By sucking it up and stop lamenting about every littlething. So what if we can’t buy toilet paper. Improvise. Not throw-ing away those mismatched socks doesn’t seem so hoardish nowdoes it? And for those disgusted by this weekly rag, well now itreally is worth the paper it’s printed on! We will have Gen Xers’backs when the times get tough, both monetarily and psychologi-cally, because they will most certainly need their moms and dadsduring these darkest hours, perhaps more than ever. Boomers’contributions to this cause may not be primarily on the front lines,but significant those contributions will be.

And to the Gen Xers? Your job is to be the muscle, to do theheavy lifting. You need to take care of those boomers who can’ttake care of themselves. But most of all, you need to make ba-bies! That’s right, by next December and January we boomerswant to be awash in babies. How do you think boomers got theirmoniker? Let’s face it, if you’re quarantined there is only somuch video gaming and Netflix binge watching you can do.Just shut off the TV and put on a little Barry White (don’tlaugh, the man is a procreative icon) and do your part toKeep America Great! (sorry, didn’t mean to spoil the mood).

And to the Millennials, your job is to stay in your safespaces and, whatever you do, DO NOT make any babies!You guys are simply not ready. More to the point, your par-ents and grandparents are not ready. The good news is thatall competitive activities have been suspended, meaning allthe manufacturing efforts currently directed at building yourparticipation trophies can be repurposed toward more usefulefforts, like getting a jump start on building all the nursinghomes you’re group is going to require by the time you turn30.

The next year is gonna be rough, but we will get throughthis. We always do…

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


Corridor Study continued from page 1

Hilliard.“They told me stories about

how that zoning was not verycarefully planned out, and theway it had developed over timeand how there were some realflukes with the zoning of Route1,” he said.

For example, he pointed toone area where retail is not anallowed use, the plaza currentlycontaining Chipotle, SuperCuts and Verizon in the HomeDepot/Stop and Shop shoppingcenter.

“Every time one of thoseunits turns over, they have to goback to the ZBA to amend theirspecial permit,” he said. “Thereare other zoning districts thatdon’t allow car dealerships, andyet there are car dealerships inthose districts.

“There are four differentzoning districts, including resi-dential,” Halkiotis said. “Westarted to look at it a couple ofyears ago knowing in the longrun we’d have to fix it and makeall the zoning consistent. Thatwas the genesis of it, but whatdeveloped later was the situa-tion with the open lot storageof vehicles.”

He said it first started withthe development of the plaza atKerry Place, by Dean Street onRoute 1, where Work OutWorld and Monkey Sports cur-rently do business. Ernie BochJr.’s auto company had origi-nally put in Direct Tire andAuto Service and an AdvanceAuto Parts Store. The requestfor a third parcel of land, how-ever, was for open lot storage.

“At the Public HearingErnie Paciorkowski, the Chairof the Planning Board at thetime, said to the attorney rep-resenting Ernie Boch Jr. thatthis was a prime site for a res-taurant or a store. When thePlanning Board had approvedthe subdivision and the two ini-tial buildings there (AdvanceAuto and Direct Tire), wethought we were going to getsomething better than (open lotstorage) in a key location on

Norwood following ban inlatest COVID-19 update


COCOCOCOCOVID-1VID-1VID-1VID-1VID-19 U9 U9 U9 U9 UpdatpdatpdatpdatpdateeeeeContinued on page 7

Route 1,” Halkiotis said. “Thatgot the wheels turning.”

Open lot storage takes valu-able land and removes mostassessed and related propertytaxes. While it supports cardealerships and businesses, ittakes potential tax revenuefrom the Town and can limitgrowth.

“There’s no real estate taxrevenue generated, and theproperties and parcels alongRoute 1 are valuable proper-ties,” Halkiotis said. “And wesaw more and more open lotstorage applications.”

Boch is not the only dealer-ship on the Automile and it’snot the only operation lookingto create open lot storage in theTown. Halkiotis said that onlymanufacturing zones allowopen lot storage as of right.

“The remaining undevel-oped manufacturing land isnow being used to store cars,”he said. “That wasn’t the high-est and best use of the land.”

When developers startedmoving inland from Route 1,more problems developed. Onthe west side of Route 1, run-ning parallel, there is a railright-of-way, usually used byfreight trains, that eventuallyconnects with the Franklin Lineof the MBTA at the NorwoodCentral Station. The rail bridgesdo not allow for car carrierswhich means that getting to thewestern side of Rte 1 open lotstorage areas is more difficultand creates more traffic on theside streets and neighborhoodsof the Town.

“We’d rather see them stayon the Automile, and that’s an-other reason for the time out(moratorium),” Halkiotis said.

Halkiotis said Brovitz andhis team have been working tofind the best place for open lotstorage, as well as other fixes,like increasing the buffer zonebetween residential and com-mercial properties on Route 1.

“We don’t plan on impact-ing any residential properties,”he said. “On Route 1, we would

also like to make sure that asproperties redevelop over time,each one of them builds a side-walk adjacent to their propertyto provide better pedestrian ac-commodations along that roadfor those people who work inthe corridor and might want torun a couple doors down to geta sandwich. Occasionally thestate comes up with a grant pro-gram so we can do some longersegments.”

He added they want to en-courage improvement of theoverall landscaping, as well asrequiring businesses alongRoute to have more consistentsignage.

“We’re not thrilled aboutsome of the signage along theroad. Some signs are out ofscale and too tall or too big andso we’ll probably look at somesign regulations,” he said.

The Town of Norwood hasannounced several services willbe reduced for the time beingin light of Gov. Charlie Baker’sstatewide ban on gatherings.

According to the Town, theTown Hall will be closed fromMarch 16 until March 20 dueto the “ongoing COVID-19 cri-sis,” following the declarationof a global pandemic from theWorld Health Organization andthe declaration of a nationalemergency by the federal gov-

ernment.According to the Town, the

Senior Center will remain openfor pick up meals Mondaythrough Friday from 11:30 a.m.to 12:30 p.m. The facility willbe otherwise closed to the pub-lic, but the bus there will con-tinue to run daily but with lim-ited riders. Taxi coupons areavailable and can be purchasedby mail or calling the SeniorCenter. AARP has also an-nounced it has temporarilypostponed all appointmentsuntil further notice. Staff willstill be available and can be

contacted at 781-762-1201.Essential and well-being

programs and certain small-group programs for seniors arecontinuing including: cardgames, blood pressure clinics,taxes and SHINE appointment,outreach appointments, lunchwill be available for takeout andthe medical equipment loanprogram.

Last week, the NorwoodPublic Schools announced itwill also be closed for the time


Town Government continued from page 1

Grab and Go Meals Being Provided by the Norwood Public SchoolsDuring the school shut

down due to COVID-19, TheNorwood Public Schools willbe providing Grab & Golunches at selected sites.These meals will be providedto all teens and children, 18years of age and youngerwithout charge and are the

same for all children regard-less of race, color, nationalorigin, sex, age or disability,and there will be no discrimi-nation in the course of themeal service. Meals will beprovided at the followingsites and times as follows:

Balch Elementary School,

1170 Washington Street ,Norwood, MA Callahan El-ementary School, 90 GarfieldAve, Norwood, MA

Lunch will be served fromMonday, March 16, 2020,through Friday, March 20,2020, from 11:00 am to 1:00pm.

Meals will be bagged andready for Grab & Go service.All teens and children 18years of age and younger areeligible to get a free mealfrom the listed sites and takeit with them for off-site con-sumption.

If you are planning to

pick up Grab & Go mealsfrom the Norwood PublicSchools this week, pleasefill out the following orderform: https://bit.ly/391Kj2X.

To stay updated onNorwood COVID-19 issues, goto NorwoodMA.Gov for thelatest information.

very well and ready to getback to Town Hall.

“I’ve never felt better,” hesaid. “I should be back in theoffice by the end of this weekor early next week.”

Norwood Board of HealthDirector Sigalle Reiss saidthat while many necessary ser-vices will remain in place, theholding pattern will continueuntil further notice.

“Town Hall is closed, butwe do have a skeleton crew toprovide basic services,” shesaid. “We have people work-ing to answer questions on thephone lines about exactlywhat services we can provide.For example, we sell thesharps containers for peoplewho use injections at homeand need a container to dis-pose properly of sharps. Forsomething like that, we have

to make an appointment.”She said if it’s not abso-

lutely necessary, don’t come toTown Hall.

“Obviously, things thatdon’t need to be done shouldn’tbe done unless there’s an urgentneed,” she said, adding that vet-eran services and many healthservices are still offered. “Thereare always some urgent issuesthat need to be dealt with. Theelectricity needs to be on, thewater and sewer needs to flowand so we want to keep thoseportions of the Town running.”

Reiss said they are takingeverything week by week.

“But it’s going to be a longhaul and we should be ready topractice this social distancingfor a while,” she said. “If it’sshorter than a few weeks I’ll beexcited, but I don’t think any-body can put a number on it.”

Reiss also said the Board ofHealth has been granted emer-gency powers regarding keep-ing restaurants and food ser-vices to only offering take outand no sit down service, per thestatewide ban. She said en-forcement would occur only ifnecessary with the NorwoodPolice Department.

“We’re really hoping every-one abides by it and we don’twant to get into enforcement,”she said. “First, well just talkto a business. Some people justdon’t understand it and need adirect conversation. A lot of itcomes down to proper commu-nication and everybody wantsto do the right thing. We canall do our part and stay hometo practice social distancingand we can have a positiveimpact on this to flatten thecurve.”

Norwood Town Hall will be open on a limited basis for necessaryservices only, and Town Officials are asking that residents plan ac-cordingly. COURTESY PHOTO


Businesses continued from page 1 COVID-19 Updatecontinued from page 5largely local people who walk

over and most of them have aroutine. They come and they getthe same things they alwaysget.”

Donohue said it is troublingbut the business has survivedsince Prohibition and she said,so far at least, the Blizzard of78 was worse.

“We had people walkingfrom a very long distance to buyalcohol,” she said. “Anotherwonderful thing about this busi-ness is it was a general storebefore the repeal of Prohibition.We have gas lights and whenthere was an emergency or theBlizzard and it took a long timefor the electric lights to comeback on, we just put our gaslights on...But the way that thiswhole situation is occurringnow, I think it’s just a shameand it’s hard for the peoplearound here who have to gothrough this. The Blizzard wasone thing; no one had controlover that, but not having con-trol over spreading viruses?”

Perry Makarios over atSpot! Bagels said on Thursdaythere was some effect on thebusiness.

“We’re still open for takeout,” he said. “But we’re defi-nitely not as busy as we shouldbe, but we’re still kicking. Ithink it will get to a point wherepeople will start falling into a

depression or get stir crazy youknow, from staying home toomuch. But I guess you got todo what you go to do. We’ll stayopen as long as we can until wehear otherwise.”

The Senior Manager at NewEngland Comics Nate Michadosaid they are going to stay open,and he said board games andtable top role playing games arestill available.

“The reaction among mycustomers has been very ratio-nal, and very calm,” he said.“No one’s overreacting at all.”

Norwood True Value em-ployee Jim Kane said he’s seena bit of overreactions. He saidall the hand sanitizers, rubbingalcohol and disinfectants havebeen continuously cleared out,but curiously many of thestore’s other types of soaps andcleaners are still on the shelves.

“We’ll be open, we haven’theard anything different. Themanager is a guy by the nameof Len Hunt, and he’s in theFalmouth Store and I don’tthink the virus is allowed to gointo Falmouth,” he said with alaugh. “We’ve been wiped outthough for two weeks. Some-body bought the masks as theywere being dropped off for de-livery; they never made it to theshelf.”

He said they carry painter’smasks and those went off the

shelves too.“The M-90 masks

everybody’s going crazy about?I think two weeks ago we hadtwo boxes of the real basic onesand then the M-95s and wehaven’t had any since,” he said.“So we were wiped out ofmasks first, then all the clean-ers and then all of the rubbingalcohols, and all the toilet pa-per. I don’t get that. What areyou supposed to do with toiletpaper?”

Norwood Convenience andNews owner Kiran Mehta saidthey will also be staying open.

“Everything is going to beclosed down here and now Ican see it’s really slowingdown, I can’t see anybody outthere,” she said. “We are openas long as we can.”

The order Baker gave outdoes not apply to grocerystores or pharmacies, and saidthat places that do not provideessential services can remainopen.

Donohue said she had beento the Shaw’s in Town andthere were at least then a lotof empty shelves.

“People seem obsessedwith toilet paper, I saw twowomen come out of CVSladen down with two hugepackages of toilet paper,” shesaid.

Schools are ordered to re-main closed until April 7 atleast.

being. The date of re-opening will be evaluated on a regular ba-sis, and NPS officials have said they are expecting additionalinformation from the Department of Elementary and SecondaryEducation.

“Please know that we recognize that the time to act is now sothat we can have a greater and more positive impact on publichealth and safety in Norwood,” NPS Superintendent DavidThomson said in a statement. “I would respectfully ask that allstudents exercise social distancing and refrain from group in-person interactions to reduce the opportunity to spread the vi-rus. To be clear, this is out of an abundance of caution, particu-larly out of sensitivity to families and staff who have underly-ing conditions that make them more vulnerable to complica-tions should they become infected. Our teachers and staff willcontinue to develop distance learning options during this timeto continue our student’s learning. I would ask for patience whilewe continue to work on these learning opportunities. Please notethat these will not totally replace classroom instruction but willendeavor to ensure knowledge is retained and academic progresscontinues.”

It probably goes without saying, but the Recreation Depart-ment will also be closed until further notice and all activitiesand programs have been postponed. The Morrill Memorial Li-brary will also be closed as well.

For more information, go to the Town’s COVID-19 infor-mational page on the Town’s website at http://www.norwoodma.gov/departments/health/coronavirus_(covid-19).php


PPPPPolice Logsolice Logsolice Logsolice Logsolice LogsContinued on page 9

Police LogsMonday, March 90754 Phone - Susp Activity *Re-

port Filed Location/Address:Nahatan St Caller reports a boxwas left at the end of his drive-way with compost/manure withhis name on the box. N664sent. See report.

0910 Phone - Power OutageElectic/Light Dpt Notified Lo-cation/Address: Worcester DrCaller reports power outage.Squirrel hit transformer onpole between # 4 and #8Worcester Rd., no fire.N669,NFD,ELD responded.ELD will handle same.

0953 Phone - Susp Person Writ-ten Warning Location/Address:[Nod 381] Dean St Car Wash -Dean St Subject in traffic talk-ing to himself. W/M White Hat, Black Coat. Advised and willbe meeting later with a CIT Of-ficer.

1048 Phone - Vandalism *ReportFiled Location/Address:Norwood High School -Nichols St SRO will file a re-port.

1309 Phone - Unwanted Party*Report Filed Location/Ad-dress: Riverside CommunityCare - Pleasant St Staff reportsunwanted party. Courtesy

transport to Riverside Emer-gency Services at 190 LenoxStreet.

1407 Phone - Well Being ChkServices Rendered Location/Address: Gazebo - Town Com-mon - Washington St Callerreports white male with greenjacket sleeping on benchacross from Cedar Market.Party known to PD and partywas advised.

1446 911 - Death *Report FiledLocation/Address: Rock StUnresponsive male trans-ported.

1521 Phone - Mischief (Kids)Spoken To Location/Address:Upland Woods Cir Caller re-ports a distubrance at 304. Of-ficers report teens having fun.

1641 Phone - Assist Citizen CivilMatter Location/Address: Ju-niper Dr Caller upset neighborjuveniles damaged her windowwith a ball while outside play-ing. Officer advised all parties.

1726 Phone - Assist OtherAgency Services Rendered Lo-cation/Address: Norwood Hos-

pital - Washington St NorwoodER looking for a 17 yr old malethat was about to be dischargedand just left the hospital.BOLO sent to the cars.Dedham also contacted tocheck his residence. N669spoke to hospital staff and wasadvised the patient was gettingreleased shortly.

1817 Phone - Death *ReportFiled Location/Address:Norwest Dr Caller reports hisbrother was not feeling welllast night, he went to check onhim today and he is not answer-ing the door. Maintenance wascontacted to gain access to theapartment, FD notified and re-sponding. N668 reportsBCI,CPAC,and ME office allwere notified and declined.May Funeral home picked upthe deceased, they will be mak-ing arrangements with anRhode Island funeral homewhere that person will be ser-viced.

1908 Walk-In - Stolen Lic Plate*Report Filed Location/Ad-

dress: Washington St Walk inreports her license plate ismissing from her vehicle. MAPC 88C390 entered into NCIC.

2017 Phone - Noise ComplaintSpoken To Location/Address:Prescott School (Acct# 1383d)- Richland Rd Loud musicwhile playing basketball.

2103 Phone - Susp Person Spo-ken To Location/Address:Washington St Caller reportsmale party kicking doors ofbusinesses and yelling. Thatparty was spoken to and movedalong, business checked out se-cure no damage.

2122 Phone - Malicious Damage*Arrest(S)Made Location/Ad-dress: Washington St Caller re-ports male party threw a brickat his windshield. As a resultthat party was placed under ar-rest and brought to the stationby N664. At 2223 Hrs the pris-oner was transported to thehospital, N666 on board andN669 following. Refer To Ar-rest: 20-87-AR Arrest:Fitzgerald, Thomas C Address:Homeless Homeless, Ma Age:33 Charges: Assault W/Dan-gerous Weapon Motor Veh,Malicious Damage To C266§28(A)

2221 911 - Unwanted Party Ser-vices Rendered Location/Ad-dress: Hampden Dr Callerwishes a party to be removedfrom residence. That indi-vidual left without incident, allparties advised.

Tuesday, March 100037 Phone - Assist Citizen Spo-

ken To Location/Address:Norwood Hospital - Washing-ton St Caller reports he is notgetting the medicine he shouldbe and would like to speak toan officer. Officer spoke tonursing staff, all is well.

0117 Phone - Noise ComplaintSpoken To Location/Address:Workmen’s Hall - Wilson StLoud crowd leaving. Officersstood by until all parties left.

0658 Phone - Parking ViolationGone On Arrival Location/Ad-dress: Norwood Senior Center- Prospect St Parked school busblocking egress.

0735 Phone - Found Syringe Ser-vices Rendered Location/Ad-

dress: Tea Lights - Fulton StLocated and disposed.

0746 Phone - Power Outage Ser-vices Rendered Location/Ad-dress: Worcester Dr A squirrelwent up a light pole causing anoutage. ELD notified and re-sponded.

0750 911 - Animal ComplaintCould Not Locate Location/Address: Burger King Restau-rant - Bos-Prov Hwy Small dogunattended. Dog ran intowoods in rear of Analog De-vices, owner and NACO noti-fied. 0846 Initiated - AssistOther Agency Assisted PartyLocation/Address: NorwoodHospital - Washington St

1626 Phone - Susp Activity Spo-ken To Location/Address:Washington St + Cottage StSubject yelling at pedestriansand motorists .Subject checksout and heading home .

1716 Initiated - Motor VehicleStop *Report Filed Location/Address: Dean St MA PC1AAY59. Operator providedfalse name stating he was Day-ton Wright. The operator’s cor-rect identity was later deter-mined. See summons for fur-ther information.

1740 Phone - Susp Activity Ser-vices Rendered Location/Ad-dress: Norwest Dr Caller re-ports a white van pulled in thelot and threw a bag in thewoods. N669 reports it was aback pack that was in thewoods, the owner was notifiedand will be picking it up at thestation.

1749 Phone - Assist Citizen Spo-ken To Location/Address:Alden Park Apts. (365,367,371 Block ) - Wash-ington St Caller reports she isconcerned about a residentthere that is changing oil it ap-pears, she is concerned aboutthe environment. N667 spoketo that party he was fixing hismuffler, no issues.

1754 Phone - Well Being ChkSpoken To Location/Address:Norwood Police Dept. -Nahatan St Female sitting onthe wall at the entrance /exitmay need medicalattention.N668 reports she isnursing a small cut to her lipafter biting down on it.

1934 Phone - Well Being Chk


Police Logs continued from page 8*Report Filed Location/Address: Rail-road Ave Caller concerned about herparents and Dad may have some issuesover a job loss. N661 spoke to that partyand its going to be a husband and wifeissue.

2037 Walk-In - Complaint Of Mv SpokenTo Location/Address: Central St Walkin reports MA PC 85T260 was drivingerratically. N667 spoke to that party andthey were advised.

2043 911 - Assist Citizen Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Prospect AveCaller reports his son is acting out andwould like to get him some help. N678reports that party was calm upon arrivalhe cooperated with his dad and is goingto go to the hospital.

Wednesday, March 110031 Phone - Complaint Of Mv Area

Search Negative Location/Address:Murphy Field - Lenox Ave Caller re-ports dark colored sedan driving up anddown the street and hitting their brakes.N678 checked the area with negativeresults.

0557 Initiated - Traffic Enforcement NoViolation Location/Address: TrinityCommunity Church - Walpole St Handsfree enforcement.

1133 Phone - Unwanted Party ServicesRendered Location/Address: Rock St

1250 Phone - Threats *Report Filed Lo-cation/Address: Norwood High School- Nichols St SRO Murphy will file a re-port.

1321 Initiated - Traffic Enforcement NoViolation Location/Address: Washing-ton St + Upton Ave Hands free enforce-ment, no violations.

1414 Phone - Found Syringe ServicesRendered Location/Address: BalchSchool Acct# 1379d - Washington StOfficer returns with one found on thefield by DPW.

1648 Phone - Assist Citizen Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Balch SchoolAcct# 1379d - Washington St Principle

from the school reports two female stu-dents did not return to school for afterschool activities. Units searched thearea and the two students were located.1838 Phone - Assist Other Agency AreaSearch Negative Location/Address:Mylod St Walpole PD called to report aresident may have stolen his dad’slocked firearm without ammunition.Could be on a blue bike or foot. W/Mlate 30’s , brown hair blue sweater.House is the East Walpole side andNorwood line. Units assist Walpole PDat Bird Park and surrounding areas. Of-ficers also will check stores that areopen and advise clerks.T Police alongbus and train operators advised.

1948 Initiated - Motor Vehicle Stop Cita-tion Fine Location/Address: WashingtonSt + Concord Ave Scooter. This operatoris suspended for OUI breath refusal. Hewas cited for all his violations and advisedhe could not operate a scooter, moped, orany other vehicle on a public way. Hestated he understood.

Thursday, March 120053 Phone - Neighbor Disturbance *Re-

port Filed Location/Address: Monroe StCaller reports neighbor is arguing with herson. All parties were spoken to and advisedto stay inside for the night.

0325 Phone - Susp Activity *Report FiledLocation/Address: Norwood Hospital -Washington St Nurse reports patient is inICU in possession of a needle and other drugparaphernalia.

1348 Phone - Well Being Chk Spoken To Lo-cation/Address: Washington St Report cli-ent made suicidal statement. N678 spoke toher, said in frustration on trying to get ben-efit check, apt. in order, she states she is ok.

1416 Walk-In - Assist Citizen Spoken To Lo-cation/Address: Express Employment -Astor Ave Party in lobby reports they willnot give him his paycheck. N669 reports hedamaged a building in Boston and told themthey could take it out of his check, so theydid, advised.

Friday, March 13 0058 Walk-In - Assist Citizen *Report Filed

Location/Address: Norwood Police Dept.- Nahatan St Party in lobby reports shehas not seen her child since she droppedhim off at McDonald’s on Broadway at3:00pm Thursday. Seeking assistance.N664 responded and assisted in trackinghim down. See report

0850 Phone - Well Being Chk Taken/Re-ferred To Other Agency Location/Ad-dress: Next Step Healthcare - Washing-ton St Patient, known to PD, states mul-tiple problems. Call to nurse’s station-theywill go check on him. 0949 911 - ReportOf Gas Leak Police & Fire Notified/Re-spond Location/Address: Pleasant St Re-port smell of gasoline. NFD handled same.1244 Phone - Assist Citizen Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Washington StParty seeking advice on drug addiction.N664 spoke to him, advised, and cour-tesy transport to Spectrum inWestborough,MA. S/M 23259 1337 hrs.,E/M 23548 1535.

1756 Phone - Susp Activity Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Heather DrCaller heard the sound of glass breaking.N663 states the wind blew a door into awindow causing that glass break.

1814 Initiated - Civil Dispute Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Yew Dr Partyretrieves belongings under police super-vision as stipulated by court order.

2307 Phone - Susp Vehicle Spoken To Lo-cation/Address: Wedgewood Dr +Deerfield Rd Jeep parked outside thehome for several hours. Officer spoke tooperator of MA PC 9CN425, he is livingin the area and stopped to make a phonecall.

Saturday, March 141435 Phone - Assist Citizen Spoken To Lo-

cation/Address: Ivy Cir Advice given andTrespass Ordered entered.

1854 Phone - Susp Vehicle Spoken To Lo-cation/Address: Nichols St Caller reportsa white van looks like he may be dump-ing trash. N678 spoke to that individualand he had just pulled over for a minute.All checks out.

Sunday, March 150039 Phone - Auto Theft *Report Filed Lo-

cation/Address: Napper Tandy’s - Day St(MA. REG# 6RR143.) Caller reports hisvehicle stolen out in front of Day St.Sports Shop sometime after 21:00.N678,N663,N664 responded, areachecked, nothing found. Bolo on Bapern3. N678 returned with caller and filledout stolen vehicle report. Entered intoCJIS.

0143 Phone - Susp Vehicle Gone On Ar-rival Location/Address: Folan Ave Callerreports an unknown vehicle idle for ap-proximately 20 minutes in front of hishouse. N665 responds. 0251 Initiated -Susp Vehicle *Protective Custody Loca-tion/Address: Nichols St + Sherwood DrMA.(vt)31674. N668 reports suspiciousvehicle. N663 responded. As a result,N663 returned with male party in pro-tective custody for N668 1356 Phone -Civil Dispute No Action Required Lo-cation/Address: Landry’s Bicycles - Bos-Prov Hwy Report customer yelling pro-fanities because a refund cannot be pro-cessed until tomorrow. 1358 Hrs- cus-tomer left, staff did not want to talk topolice.

1514 Phone - Disabled Mv Taken/ReferredTo Other Agency Location/Address:Walpole - Rt 95 Cell caller reports a fe-male out of car DMV RT 95 near exit10. Transfered to SP Foxboro.

1546 Phone - Complaint Of Mv Spoken ToLocation/Address: Edgehill Rd Kids ondirt bikes advised to stay on privateproperty.

1744 Phone - Assist Citizen Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Buckminster DrCaller reports a stolen package. Officerto make contact over telephone. Officerlocated that package, was delivered to reardoor.

2137 Phone - Found Syringe Services Ren-dered Location/Address: Everett St Callerreports a few syringes on the ground.N669 retrieved and disposed of thoseitems. 2332 Phone - Disturbance AreaSearch Negative Location/Address:Olivadi - Guild St Caller reports twopeople arguing.


Library Events

SENIOR NEWSThe Senior Center will remain open for older

adults to pick up to-go-meals Monday through Fri-day from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The facility willbe closed to the public. The bus will continue torun daily, but with limited riders. Taxi coupons arealso available and can either be purchased by mailor by calling the Senior Center. AARP has tempo-rarily postponed all appointments until further no-tice. Staff will still be available and can be con-tacted at 781-762-1201.

NICHOLSONMARY E. (Dillon) of

Norwood passed away on March15, 2020 at the age of 93. Belovedwife of the late Lawrence J.McLaughlin and Paul Nicholson.Devoted father of Barbara R.Asher of Norwood, MaryjaneMcLaughlin of FL, Lawrence J.McLaughlin and his wife Reneof Franklin, John M. McLaughlin of Norwood,Stephen W. McLaughlin ofNorwood and Gayle A.McCracken and her husband Paul of Norwood. Cherished grand-mother of 5 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. Mary was amember of the Women’s Community Committee of Norwood andan active member of St. Catherine’s and St. Timothy’s Church prayergroup. The family will be holding a private service and burial. Inlieu of flowers donations may be made in her name to the Women’sCommunity Committee Inc. 1091 Washington St. Norwood, MA02062.

PELLOWEWILLIAM F., a lifelong resi-

dent of Norwood passed away onMarch 13, 2020 at the age of 83.Beloved husband of 54 years toMartha A. (Foley) Pellowe. De-voted father of William R.Pellowe of Japan, Thomas E.Pellowe of CO, John F. Pelloweof Norwood and Maura E.Pellowe and her husband PatrickHughes of Norwood. Brother ofRichard Pellowe and his wifeBetsy of NV and the late BettePellowe. Cherished grandfatherof Kara, Hana, Bryn, Sara, Liamand Finn. William was a 1954 graduate of Norwood High School,member of the Norwood ELKS and a member of the NorwoodRetired Men’s Club. He was also a 39-year employee of the Bos-ton Gas Company. A private burial will take place at HighlandCemetery and a funeral mass will be celebrated at a later date at St.Catherine of Siena Church, Norwood. In lieu of flowers donationsmay be made in his name to Saint Catherine of Siena School 249Nahatan St. Norwood, MA 02062. US Air Force Korean War Vet-eran.

DEATHS

ENSEMBLE LYRAETO PERFORM

The Spring 2020 Musical Sun-days series will continue with a spe-cial concert by the award-winningEnsemble Lyrae on Sunday, April 5at 3:00 p.m. These five talented mu-sicians—a pianist and four vocalists,including Norwood’s GraceAllendorf—will perform works byMark Adamo, Rodgers andHammerstein, Franz Schubert,Eric Whitacre, and others. Joinedby guest artist Naoko Sugiyama,Ensemble Lyrae recalls favoritestories from childhood to adult-hood. From classic fairy tales likeCinderella, Hansel and Gretel, andSleeping Beauty to more modernfavorites such as Lord of the Ringsand Goodnight Moon, includingpoetry by c.c. cummings, this all-ages program presents a broad se-lection of literature for the audi-ence to explore through music. Toregister for this concert, made pos-sible through the library Endow-ment Fund, visit our events pageat norwoodlibrary.org/morrillcalendar, call 781-769-0200x110, or stop by the library Refer-ence or Information Desk.

NORWOOD’S “NEWBURYING GROUND”

Did you know Norwood hasacquired another cemetery, in ad-dition to the Highland and OldParish Cemeteries? On Thursday,April 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the MorrillMemorial Library, the Old ParishPreservation Volunteers (OPPV)will present an illustrated talk onNorwood’s “New BuryingGround,” founded in 1826 when agroup of South Dedham citizenspurchased land to inter their dead.Known to South Dedham residentssimply as the “New BuryingGround,” this Pleasant Street sitewas later placed under the auspicesof the East Walpole Cemetery As-sociation. Just last year, the Townof Norwood acquired this pri-vately-owned cemetery, 80% ofwhich is located within the bordersof Norwood.

This presentation will focus onthe history of the cemetery, someof its notable graves, and the workthat needs to be done. The programalso kicks off the spring season forthe OPPV, a charitable organiza-tion whose goal is to preserve andraise awareness of Norwood’s OldParish Cemetery, established in1741. The spring schedule ofOPPV’s Saturday morning worksessions, at which volunteers of all

ages are invited to help, will beannounced at this time. To sign upfor this event, go ton o r w o o d l i b r a r y . o r g /morrillcalendar, call 781-769-0200x110, or stop by the library Refer-ence or Information Desk.

TIME FORTHE ESSAY CONTEST

Spring is around the corner andso is the Morrill MemorialLibrary’s 9th annual essay contest.Time to get out your pen and pa-per, iPads or laptops. This year thethree levels are as follows: Level1 (3rd and 4th grade), Level 2 (5th- 8th grade) and Level 3 (9th grade- Adult). The prompt is the samefor all levels: “If I could switchlives with any character in a bookfor a day, I would be______________ because . . .. “Each submission MUST includethe entry form, and be 1,000 wordsor less. The contest is open toNorwood residents only for Level1 and Level 2, and Norwood resi-dents and surrounding towns forLevel 3. Anyone interested in en-tering the contest may stop by thelibrary for the details and the entryform, or find them online atwww.norwoodlibrary.org. Toqualify, the essays need to be sub-mitted between Wednesday, April1, and Thursday, April 30th, 2020(by 11:59 pm), by email [email protected] or dropped off atthe library’s Outreach Department.Three prizes will be awarded ineach category. The first, secondand third prizes are $35, $25 and$10 dollar gift cards to Barnes &Noble, in that order. A celebrationwill be held in the Simoni Roomon Monday, June 15th, from 7-9pm. Any questions, call the Out-reach Department at (781) 769-0200 x228.

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

NOTE TO OURREADERS:

Greetings from theMorrill Memorial Libraryprogramming team. Thanksso much for your interest inour programs at the library.At this time, we are suspend-ing all meetings and pro-grams through Friday March20. We are postponing pro-grams that were scheduleduntil a later date, when wehope to be able to resched-ule them. The library willremain open normal hours.Please reach out if you haveany questions, we look for-ward to hearing from you.And in the meantime, pleasevisit this page on the Townwebsite for more informationand current updates.

ESTATE PLANNINGDEMYSTIFIED

Come to the Morrill MemorialLibrary for an informational ses-sion on planning for your financialfuture on Thursday, April 2 at 7:00p.m. Local attorney AlexanderMatulewicz and his paralegal, AmyStrand, will explain Wills, Trusts,POA, Healthcare Proxies, and gen-eral Estate Planning in clear, un-derstandable language. In additionto making sense of these often con-fusing but critical topics, Alex andAmy will gladly answer all yourquestions. To register for this pro-gram, please visit our online eventspage at norwoodlibrary.org/morrillcalendar, call 781-769-0200, x110 or stop by the libraryReference or Information Desk.

CHAIR YOGA ATTHE LIBRARY

Yoga is back! A volunteer fromthe Isha Foundation will returnto the Morrill Memorial Libraryon Saturday, April 4 from 11:00 –12:00 noon to offer a free chairyoga class for beginners. You willlearn Isha Kriya, a simple 12-18minute practice to help you medi-tate effortlessly. The Isha Founda-tion is a non-profit organizationaimed at achieving well-beingthrough yoga and meditation. Theclass is open to anyone age 12 andover and is limited to 25 people.No previous experience is neces-sary. To sign up, please visit ouronline events page atnorwoodlibrary.org/morrillcalendar,call 781-769-0200 x110, or stop bythe library Reference or InformationDesk.


The Record BookStreet, Norwood. The public is invited to at-tend for a small donation. Refreshments willbe served.

Vieira is passionate about plants – trees andshrubs in particular – and will share some ofher favorites, along with tips on sourcing andgrowing them. Come and learn moreabout distinctive trees and shrubs that will addinterest and sophistication to your garden year-round. And learn which ones are fragrant, whichones have interesting form or winter presence,which ones have beautiful flowers and/or foli-age and which ones are well suited to NewEngland gardens.

The Club, open to novice and expert gar-deners, draws its members from Norwood,Walpole, Westwood, Dedham, Medfield,Randolph, and Stoughton. For informationabout the Norwood Evening Garden Club, visitwww.NorwoodEveningGardenClub.com.

PRO GROUP WANTS TOHELP YOU PLAN FOR RETIREMENT

In partnership with the Neponset River Re-gional Chamber, The PRO Group (PRO) willbe hosting its first meeting on Tuesday, March24th from 7-8:15pm at the Chamber office. Thisis a new, free community offering and you neednot be a Chamber member to attend. The focusof PRO is to encourage and support people toDo More of What Makes You Feel Alive! –Becoming the Person YOU want to be in Re-tirement. If you are thinking about retiring inthe near future, have begun the transition to re-tirement, or are retired and looking to do more,these monthly meetings may be of interest toyou. The presenter for the first evening will beMs. Betsy Ross, LICSW, CGP, an experiencedlife coach, who will speak about movingthrough this time of transition successfully.Discussion will follow her presentation. Pre-registration is preferred by calling the Cham-ber at 781-769-1126 or at nrrchamber.com. TheAddress is 520 Providence Highway, Suite #4,Norwood. Park and Enter through the rear ofthe building – parking lot is lit.

AT (781) 769-1725

To advertise, call The Norwood Record

NOTE TO READERS: Due tothe uncertainties of public gatheringsdue to the Covid-19 Coronavirus,please check with any of the organi-zations listed below before going toan event to make sure it is still beingheld. Thank you.

WOMAN’S CLUB TO MEETThe Norwood Woman’s Club will hold a

meeting on Tuesday April 14 at 12:30 p.m. at theKnights of Columbus Hall located at 572 NicholsSt. Norwood. Kim Larkin will inform us abouttea and chocolate, trivia and more, A light lunchwill be served. We welcome potential membersas guests. Our luncheon on May 12 will be at theLafayette House. Meal choices are beef or fish.Cost $30. Checks made out to NorwoodWoman’s club can be brought to the meeting. Formore information contact Trina at 781-762-8173or Nancy at 781-762-8892.

Divine Mercy Sunday The St. Catherine ofSiena Church, 547 Washington St. Norwood, willbe holding a Solemn celebration for DivineMercy will be held on Sunday, April 19th from1-5pm. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Con-fession) will be available from 1-2:30 pm in thechapel and the school gym. The recitation of theMost Holy Rosary will begin at 2:10pm followedby the Divine Mercy Chaplet in the Church.Celebration of Holy Mass in honor of the So-lemnity will be celebrated at 3 pm and will in-clude veneration of the Divine Mercy Image.Mass and homily offered by Rev. ThomasSullivan. Concelebrating priests: Rev. StephenDonohoe and Rev. Anthony Medairos. All arewelcome.

GARDEN CLUB TO HOSTPROGRAM ON TREES AND SHRUBS

The Norwood Evening Garden Club will hostJoann Vieira, the state-wide Director of Horti-culture for The Trustees of Reservations on Tues-day, March 31, 2020 at 6:45 p.m. at the CarriageHouse behind the First Baptist Church, 71 Bond

About the Dreaded“IRMAA” Provision

This article is intended for information purposes only and does notrepresent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and in-terpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accreditedby the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMACFoundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the So-cial Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To sub-mit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at [email protected].

Russell GloorAMAC Certified Social

Security Advisor

Dear Rusty: About amonth or two ago I was no-tified that my Social Secu-r i ty was being reducedfrom $1,583 a month toabout $1,283 a month - a$300 deduction! They saidit was because my incomewas over the limit on mylast return. I filed my taxes“marr ied - f i l ing sepa-rately” because my wifehas her own income. If wehad filed jointly, I wouldnot have had the reduction.My question is why wasn'tthis told to us when wefiled our Income Tax lastyear ins tead of a l as t -minute thing? I am a 77-year old and a 100% dis-abled veteran, which prob-ably has no effect on this,but wanted to add that in-formation. Any light youcan shed on the matter willbe very much appreciated.Signed: Irritated Senior

Dear Irritated Senior:First, I want to thank youfor your service to ourcountry. Allow me to ex-plain what I believe hap-pened. Your net (not gross)Socia l Secur i ty benef i tpayment was probably re-duced as a result of a ruleknown as "IRMAA" - the"Income Related MedicareAdjustment Amount." Thisis a supplement added toyour Medicare Part B pre-mium as a result of higherincome, and a h igherMedicare premium wouldmean a lower net SocialSecurity payment.

Although f i l ing yourtaxes separate from yourwife does mean a lower in-come reported to the IRSfor you, it also reduces theclip levels at which theIRMAA rule kicks in. Forthose who file income taxas an individual, IRMAAappl ies i f your “provi -sional” income from allsources, including IRA or401(K) withdrawals andhalf of your SS benefits forthe t ax year, exceeds$87,000. For those whofile taxes jointly as a mar-ried couple, IRMAA ap-

plies if your combined in-come i s more than$174,000. Incomes abovethose clip levels result incor responding h igherIRMAA premiums, up toa maximum of $491.60(for 2020). So apparentlyyour income for your fil-ing status exceeded one ofthe higher IRMAA cliplevels, which resulted inyour monthly MedicarePar t B premium goingfrom the standard $144.60to an IRMAA premiumabout $300 higher. Notethat if your income in asubsequent year falls be-low the IRMAA clip lev-els, your Medicare pre-mium will also go down tothe level appropriate foryour more recent incomelevel.

As fa r as why youweren't told this in ad-vance, neither Medicarenor the IRS (nor any otherGovernment agency) willadvise you in advance onsuch matters; the onus isupon you (and your taxpreparer or financial advi-sor) to understand the im-plications of your incomeon your Medicare premiumas well as your income taxobligation. You may want tospeak to your tax advisor tosee if there is a tax-filingoption for eliminating theIRMAA. Once again, thankyou for your service to ourcountry, and I hope theabove clarifies what hap-pened to your Social Secu-rity benefit.

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