Community News

Observing Ramadan in Bedford ~ Fahad Alden

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This time of year, Bedford High School senior Fahad Alden sometimes finds it hard to focus in the afternoon if he has an exam or “mentally I need to be all there.”

There’s a good reason.

Alden is observing the obligation of Ramadan, a month-long observance during which Muslims refrain from eating or drinking during daylight hours. “You have to fast for 30 days, from when the sun comes up to when the sun goes down,” Alden said. “It’s basically meant to instill gratitude for what we have. That’s the essence behind the 30 days.”

Bedford

Strict Rules for High School Spring Sports

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As Bedford High School coaches and student-athletes prepare for the abbreviated spring interscholastic season, they are discovering that the rules of the contests are almost unchanged from the last time they competed two years ago.

Almost all of the adjustments to the continuing threat of Covid-19 are in the protocols and routines.

Bedford

Letter to the Editor: Support the100% Clean Act (HD3551)

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Climate change is threatening our cities and our lives. We are seeing ecosystems getting destroyed, coastlines that our parents and grandparents grew up on disappear, and that the next generation may never see. Dirty energy is causing this problem, and the solution is to switch to clean energy. 

Bedford

Planning Board Approves Special Permit for Non-Conforming Facade Size at 310 The Great Road

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The Planning Board has approved a special permit for a non-conforming façade size on a proposed three-story mixed-use building proposed at 310 The Great Road, currently the site of the closed Papa Gino’s.

The special permit waives the minimum requirement for the width of the front façade. As the plan shows, the facade makes up approximately 57 percent of the lot frontage while The Great Road Shawsheen zoning district requires 60 percent.

Board members took the action at an April 13 site-plan review and public hearing. The review is scheduled to continue at a virtual meeting on April 27.

Amerian Revolution

Captain Jonathan Willson ~ Bedford’s Only Casualty in the Concord Fight, April 19, 1775

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If you’ve celebrated Pole Capping in Willson Park with the Bedford Minuteman Company, you may remember hearing about Captain Jonathan Willson. Perhaps you remember that he went to Concord on April 19, 1775, was shot, and died along the Battle Road; the only Bedford man to die on that day.

But there is more to be told. Here is the story of Jonathan Willson:

Bedford

An Obituary: John Murray Dietz

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John Murray Dietz passed away on March 26, 2021, at age 95. A resident of Truro after his retirement, Mr. Dietz taught French at Bedford High School for 20 years and was an advisor to the Class of 1969.  

THIS WEEK: Curbside Yard Waste Collection ~ April 20 to 23

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Bedford’s spring curbside yard waste collection begins Tuesday, April 20, and runs through Friday, April 23. Residents should place the yard waste out at the curb in tall paper bags or open barrels with no lids by 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Patriots Day, 2021 ~ An Abbreviated Observance

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On Patriots Day morning, past captains of the Bedford Minuteman Company gathered informally at Willson Park to honor Captain Jonathan Willson, the only Bedford soldier who did not return from the Concord Fight on April 19, 1775.

Bedford

Letter to the Editor: Urging Support of 100% Clean Act (HD3551)

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This beautiful planet is the most precious and undeserved gift ever given to humanity. This is why it pains me to see how recklessly we humans abuse the earth. That needs to stop. Protecting the planet is a reasonable rent to pay for living on it.

Bedford

An Obituary: Anne Taliafaro Smith

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Anne Taliafaro. Smith, known to family and friends as Nancy  passed away on April 12, 2021, at age 100.  A long-time resident of Concord, for the past six years Mrs. Smith was a resident of Carleton-Willard Village where she served on the board of The Villager. 

Bedford

An Obituary: Jean M. Runge

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Jean M. Runge passed away on April 10, 2021, at age 97 where she was a resident of Carleton-Willard Village. During World War II, Mrs. Runge was an air traffic controller in New Brunswick; she moved to Cambridge in 1946 and became a sporting goods buyer at Brines and Jordan Marsh before her marriage.

Bedford

An Obituary: Albert T. Frizzell

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Albert T. Frizzell  passed away on April 11, 2021. In 1957, Mr. Frizzell established Bedford Auto Parts in a small storefront at 34 South Road; over time he expanded the business to include other auto parts stores in the area and became interested in property development.  

Bedford

Friday Football at Sabourin Field under Windswept Rain: Bedford 27 ~ Waltham 7

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Displaying two-way talent and physical and mental toughness in horrendous football conditions, the Bedford High School Buccaneers defeated Waltham High late Friday afternoon, 27-7.

Coach Tom Tone’s team finishes the first Fall II season next Friday at Weston, and a win would mean a record of 5-2.

The weather was the biggest factor for both teams Friday, with windswept rain raking across Sabourin Field for all 48 minutes.

Community News

Rain! Sleet! Snow? SNOW!

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Early morning weather reports predicted heavy rain from a Nor’easter passing through Bedford on Friday, April 16, with snow falling in the higher elevations of Worcester County and into New Hampshire.

The best-laid plans can change, and they did this morning.

Curbside Yard Waste Collection ~ Next Week ~ April 20-23

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Bedford’s spring curbside yard waste collection begins Tuesday, April 20, and runs through Friday, April 23.

Residents should place the yard waste out at the curb in tall paper bags or open barrels with no lids by 7 a.m. Tuesday. Republic’s employees will not remove bags that are line up along a driveway.

Acceptable yard waste for curbside collection consists of leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, garden trimmings, and tree material up to one inch (1”) in diameter.

Bedford

Building Bridges Initiative Works to Connect City Kids, Suburban Kids, and Families

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Six months after its founding by a core of Bedford educators and volunteers, Boston Bridges Initiative (BBI) is already assembling an array of accomplishments.

The nonprofit organization awards grants that support local efforts to create social programs between city and suburban kids and their families. The goal is “to foster lasting friendships and dialogue among students and families within racially diverse communities.”

On the ground floor were former Bedford Superintendent of Schools Jon Sills, METCO Director Akil Mondesir, Bedford METCO parent Jessica Castro, and Kimberley Anderson, co-founder of Bedford’s Parent Diversity Council.

2020 COVID-19

School Committee Praises Superintendent Conrad

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The School Committee Tuesday took a few minutes to laud first-year Superintendent of Schools Philip Conrad for his performance.

After he spent several minutes updating the committee on progress toward professional goals for the year, committee members took turns thanking and saluting Conrad.

Considering that his tenure has been shadowed by the Covid-19 virus and all of its consequences, “I’m impressed that you have managed to get this much done,” said committee member JoAnn Santiago.

Bedford

A Community Cleanup Day ~ Sunday, May 2 from 2 to 4 pm Coordinated by Revise, Inc.

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A Bedford business is coordinating a community cleanup day, planned for Sunday, May 2, from noon to 4 p.m.

Revise Inc., the Mass Save home performance contractor at 131 The Great Road, has been working with various organizations and arms of town government for several weeks in preparation for the first town-wide cleanup in many years.

2020 COVID-19

Now What? Helping Families Manage Emotionally During Uncertain Times ~ A Webinar for Parents in Two Sessions

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The Health Departments in Concord, Bedford, and Carlisle, in collaboration with the Bedford Public Schools Counseling Department and Center for Parents and Teachers, offer a free parent education program: Now What? Helping Families Manage Emotionally During Uncertain Times! an online webinar presented by nationally renowned author, speaker, and therapist Lynn Lyons, LICSW

2020 COVID-19

Superintendent’s Update ~ New Positive Covid Case at JGMS~ April 16, 2021

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April 16, 2021

* One (1) new COVID-19 positive case at JGMS School (JGMS case #22).  No close contacts.

* There are currently (2) active COVID-19 cases in the JGMS community at this time. 

* This case does not appear to be connected or related to previous cases identified in  the schools.   

* Please consider signing up your child for pooled testing so we can identify asymptomatic cases:  Bedford Pooled Testing Sign Up.

2020 COVID-19

Parents Hear Bedford High School’s April 26 Reopening Plans

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Bedford High School leadership is leaving no stone unturned in its preparation for full reopening planned for April 26.

But there’s only so much school officials can do to deter the spread of the coronavirus. For maximum safety, it will take “collective responsibility.”

That message was delivered during a Zoom webinar for BHS parents and caregivers Wednesday, presented by Principal Heather Galante, Assistant Principals Thomas Casey and Daniel Hudder, and Brian DeChellis of the Counseling Department.

Community News

Patriots Day, 2021 ~ A Virtual Celebration Presented by the April 19 History Coalition

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April 19, 1775, saw the gathering of thousands of Massachusetts militia to repel the march of British soldiers into the interior of Massachusetts in search of a cache of arms and munition. For generations since thousands of Americans have traditionally gathered along this same route to commemorate the events of the day and the sacrifice of those brave men and women who took part.

The Covid-19 pandemic prevents such gatherings for the second time in two years, but a new coalition, the April 19th History Coalition, has formed to engage Americans for the purpose of commemorating the events of that day.

Bedford

Real Estate Transfers ~ March 2021

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Please join us in bidding adieu to the sellers and welcoming Bedford’s newest residents. The Bedford Citizen posts real estate transfers through an agreement with The Warren Group.