One of the most impressive Boston Marathon stories to come out of Wellesley this year was 18-year-old Katie Ellinger’s performance. Out of 27,000 official entries, she was one of only 10 females to run the race at the minimum age of 18.
Ellinger, who started running seriously as a cross country team member in sixth grade, has been watching the marathon locally for years, often at the bottom of Cliff Road. Ellinger managed this year’s tough conditions well, running roughly even halves of the race, for a finishing time of just under 4:13, with her last mile being her fastest. “She has always liked passing runners on the home stretch!” says dad, Vernon.
The Phillips Academy Andover student was running for Summer Search, a program for disadvantaged students in Boston public schools, and raised over $6,000 for the charity.
MassBay Community College in Wellesley alerted students by email and texts today about reported shots fired near Longfellow Pond and the campus, but it turns out it was a father and son using airsoft guns, which shoot plastic pellets. A woman who was walking in the woods near the pond reported hearing gunfire sounds to Wellesley Police, who responded and did not intend to file any charges, according to a Wellesley Townsman report.
MassBay is naturally sensitive to such reports given the arrest last year of a gunman on campus (he was recently sentenced to 2.5 years plus a day in prison).
Wellesley Little League has launched a contest for Wellesley kids in grade kindergarten-7th to create a logo to replace the one it has used for ages. The contest is open to kids whether or not they play baseball.
The winner will be announced at the WLL American League All-Star game on Saturday, May 19.
WLL Logo Guidelines: You can submit as many entries as you like; Keep the design simple; Communicate baseball in a positive way.
Logo Requirements: The logo design should work within a small 3″x 3″ space, but can be any shape (circle, square, diamond, etc.); Include name “Wellesley Little League” if possible, or at least “WLL”; Include a baseball, bat or home plate somehow in the design.
How to Submit an Entry: E-mail your logo design as a file attachment to: JohnSivolella@gmail.com, or mail a hard copy to: John Sivolella, 85 Monadnock Road, Wellesley, MA 02481.
Deadline for entry is: Friday, May 4, 2012 at midnight. Each entry must include the artist’s name (and parent’s name if applicable), grade, address and phone number or e-mail.
The Winner will Receive: The honor of seeing their design on all WLL apparel for perhaps the next 20 years; Two tickets to a Red Sox game at Fenway during the 2012 season; A WLL jacket with the new logo.
The top 10 designs get a WLL water bottle with the new WLL logo.
The Wellesley Spring Boutique has popped up again in Wellesley Square at 67 Central St. The business will be open for five weeks officially starting April 19, featuring clothing and accessories and gifts from local and other artists and designers. The shop is open Monday-Saturday 10am-530pm.
Long Beach indie band Cold War Kids (top) and Def Jam artist Jeremih will be sending Wellesley College students off in style for their last day of classes concert on May 4. Unclear yet whether tickets will be available for the general public.
Artist Sarah Alexander preps for the exhibit
The Wellesley Society of Artists is joining forces with the Wellesley Garden Club to present a Mini Art in Bloom Exhibit on Sunday, May 6 at the Wellesley Community Center. Local artists and horticultural enthusiasts will unite to create floral pieces that reflect the artist’s paintings. At the reception, awards will be presented to the winning artists. The artwork will remain on display throughout the summer.
The Wellesley Society of Artists is a community of artists founded in 1933 for the purpose of encouraging and supporting local artists and for promoting fine arts in Wellesley. Members come from all over the Boston Metro area and beyond.
The Wellesley Society of Artists welcomes all to this free event. The Wellesley Community Center is located at 219 Washington Street, Wellesley.
From the Wellesley Police Department, which wasn’t just monitoring Boston Marathon runners today:
On Monday, April 16, 2012 at approximately 2:23 p.m. the Wellesley Police Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from an employee at TD Bank North located at 999 Worcester Street in Wellesley indicating that the bank had been robbed by an unknown party.
The bank employee described the unknown party as a white male, possibly in his 30’s, 5’8”- 6” feet in height, wearing a light colored fitted baseball hat, sunglasses, a white button down shirt, khaki shorts and boat shoes. The party passed a note and no weapon was visible. The unknown party is believed to have fled west on foot after leaving the bank.
Several Wellesley Police Officers responded to the area to search for the suspect and were assisted by officers from the Natick Police Department. Wellesley Police Detectives responded to process the scene A State Police K9 was requested and responded to assist in a ground search of the area surrounding the bank
Or, as the Universal Hub website summed it all up: “Man wears Wellesley-appropriate attire to bank robbery during the Marathon”
Wellesley banks have been hit by robbers a number of times in recent years, with one thief (the U30 Bandit) getting 20 years in prison for his efforts, though this TD Bank theft is the first publicly reported robbery this year. The same TD Bank was robbed about 2 years ago.
RELATED: Yes! Another Wellesley bank!
The crowd was in great form this morning and this afternoon along the Wellesley College and Wellesley Square section of the Boston Marathon course, cheering along runners, many of whom were walking at that point under the tough heat.
The first Wellesley finisher according to early results was Greg Caiazzo, in under 2:55! Also notable: Marshall Randolph, whose daughter Hannah died recently in a skiing accident, finished a strong 3:18. Dana Brennan finished first among Wellesley women at about 3:31. Track more individuals here at the BAA site.
A classic Wellesley College Scream Tunnel sign at Boston Marathon 2012
The Boston Athletic Association has issued a warm weather advisory for Monday’s Boston Marathon, recommending that inexperienced marathoners and those who have trained only in cooler climates not run this year (with deferments to the 2013 race as an option). Roughly 80 people from Wellesley are listed as official entrants.
Halfway point of the Boston Marathon course in Wellesley Square
Those runners who brave the heat will need support from those watching the race along the course in Wellesley more than ever. Options for viewing the race are many in town, from the Wellesley College scream tunnel (which really isn’t quite as ear piercing as some make it sound) to Wellesley Square to Wellesley Hills.
Among the businesses along the way taking advantage of their location will be City Sports in Wellesley, which is hosting a free viewing party (with bleacher seating).
Wellesley Police have outlined plans for road closures on race day.
RELATED: Wellesley man to run Boston Marathon blindfolded
The Wellesley School Committee has released the list of 3 finalists for the Wellesley Public School Superintendent’s job: Gerald Hill, David Lussier and Judith Paolucci. A final decision on the Bella Wong’s replacement is expected by early May (she announced plans to resign in November).
Each candidate will spend a day in Wellesley meeting with groups of staff, students, parents and town government reps. At night, the School Committee will conduct a public interview of the candidate at 630-715pm, followed by a public forum from 730-830pm (Dates: Poalucci, April 24; Hill, April 26; Lussier, April 30). Residents are invited to attend the interviews/forum and watch on cable TV.
The backgrounds:
Hill has served as a superintendent for the past 16 years, currently for Glenview School District 34 all the way out in Glenville, Ill. He began his career as an elementary school teacher.
Lussier is executive director of the Office of Educator Quality for the Austin Texas Independent School District. Previously, he was director of Domestic Policy in the White House, and served in other public policy positions. He’s also a former Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. He has degrees from UMass, Boston University and Harvard.
Paolucci is Superintendent of the Yarmouth Maine School Department. In the past, she was assistant superintendent in Narragansett, RI. She has degrees from Brown and two other Rhode Island schools, and started as a high school science teacher and as an engineer.
It took a crane and a couple of strong guys to lift and position a roughly 1,500-lb Clement Meadmore sculpture onto its new home base at Wellesley College Friday morning near Alumnae Hall (just might be the most attention this big twisty steel sculpture ever gets). The artwork was donated by a rich alum and her husband.
Wellesley Middle School interim principal Jamie Chisum issued the following statement Friday:
I wanted to write you this morning and report that all is well with our 6th grade English Teacher Keriann McLaughlin. Keriann is about 15 weeks pregnant and she fainted yesterday afternoon and had to be taken to Newton Wellesley Hospital to be checked out. She was seen and released last night. She is home today recovering, but all is well with her and the baby. The ambulance was out front right at release time yesterday so a lot of students saw her being taken away. I wanted to let you all know in case your children had any questions at home. The teachers from Keriann’s house addressed their students specifically this morning as well.
Margaret Connors and Maggie Peebles-Dorin of Wellesley High School show off their work.
Students in Amie’s Larson’s Advanced Ceramics class at Wellesley High School are getting their work showcased this month at the Clever Hand Gallery in Wellesey Square as part of the Collaboration in Clay partnership between the business and school.
The doubly-vacant ex-Thunder and ex-Bank of America spaces on Central Street in Wellesley Square have started to come alive of late. Construction has been hot and heavy inside the ex-Bank of America spot, while a number of carpets have been hung inside the old sports equipment store at 19 Central St.
We’ve heard that Faber’s Rug might be moving in, and that nothing’s official, though have not heard directly from the business.
