Dunkin Donuts American Red Cross Blood Drive

Dunkin Donuts Blood Drive

Date: Friday, February 4th

Time: 1PM to 6PM

Location: Dunkin Donuts (750 Bedford Street)

All presenting donors will receive a commemorative Boston Bruins and American Red Cross tee shirt. To schedule your appointment for this blood drive, please call 800.733.2767 or log onto www.redcrossblood.org.

Valentine's Concert in Bridgewater

A Valentine's Concert featuring the The Male Bonding Band and the jazz quartet The Barn Goats will take place in Bridgewater. Light rock, folk and jazz for Valentines and families.

Date: Saturday, February 12th at 7 PM

Location: First Parish Unitarian-Universalist Church, 50 School Street, Bridgewater, MA.

Cost: $7 per person; kids 12 and under free! All proceeds go to support the work of the church.

For more information: 508-697-2525 or www.firstparishbridgewater.org .

Sign Up for February Art Camp

Bridgewater Art & Custom Framing is hosting a February Vacation Art Camp for students. The art camp runs the entire week of February vacation, Monday through Friday, from the hours of 9AM to Noon. The art camp is $165.00 for the week or $40 for a single day of art camp. Students will work with foil art, crayon rings, stained glass inspired portraits, styrofoam head collages, found object pendants, pottery and more.

For more information and details on how to register, go to http://www.wix.com/bridgewaterart/bart.

Farmers Market Planning Meeting

Planning for the 2011 Bridgewater Farmers Market has begun and it appears as though the markets will be held Saturday mornings on School Street (off the town square). If you would like to become involved in making the market a success, you are invited to a planning meeting on Tuesday, February 8th at 7:00 PM in the upper hall of the First Parish Bridgewater Unitarian Universalist Church (50 School St.).

Food Drive by Central Square Congregational Church

Here is a message from Central Square Congregational Church:

We just received word that the Bridgewater Food Pantry is in need of specific items and we're hoping we can all help. Needed: ketchup, mayo, mustard, pancake mix, syrup, cereal, rice, rice pilaf, jelly, peanut butter, instant mashed potato, canned fruit, cake mix, crackers, juices (bottles and juice boxes), coffee, tea. They can be dropped off at Central Square Congregational Church M-F, 9am-1pm. Thank you, Bridgewater!

Bridgewater Cub Scouts Pack 88 Spaghetti Dinner

Take a night off from cooking and cleaning and help a great cause! Bridgewater Cub Scouts Pack 88 is holding a spaghetti dinner this weekend. It's an inexpensive way to have a hot meal and help a great group of terrific boys.

Date: Saturday, January 29th
Time: 5PM to 8PM
Location: St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Center (103 Center Street, Bridgewater)
Cost: $5.00 per ticket

Tickets may be purchased from Pack 88 families or at the door the night of the event.

Evening with The Brian Buckley Band

Bridgewater Girls Basketball invites you to join them for their Third Annual “Evening With The Brian Buckley Band” on Saturday, February 5th from 7:00 pm until Midnight at the Bridgewater Vets Club.

One of the most popular groups on the South Shore, The Brian Buckley Band is back by popular demand and is reuniting once again to help Bridgewater Girls Basketball fund its mission of teaching the game of basketball and developing life skills for girls from Grades 3-10 in the town of Bridgewater. In addition to live entertainment, there will be auction and raffle items available at this year's event, including a ticket package for the upcoming Celtics-Lakers game at TD Garden.

Tickets for the Third Annual Evening With The Brian Buckley Band can be purchased in advance for $15.00 per person using a credit card on the Bridgewater Girls Basketball website by clicking on the "Online Store" link. http://www.bridgewatergirlsbasketball.com/ Tickets will also be available at the Vets Club door on the night of the performance for a cost of $20.00 per person.

Open House at America's Little Angels

America's Little Angels Preschool is having an open house on Monday, January 24th from 6PM to 7:30PM.

Any parents interested in enrolling their child or children in preschool should plan on attending the open house to learn more about the programs offered at America's Little Angels.

AARP Tax Assistance

AARP tax volunteer Dean Strict will be available this year to assist senior citizens with their taxes. This free service will begin on February 10th and will continue every Thursday through April 14th. Dean will be available from 9AM to 3PM at the Cole-Yeaton Senior Center.

Appointments will be scheduled every 20 minutes by appointment only. You must contact the Senior Center at 508-697-0929 to make an appointment.

Guest Speaker at Central Square Congregational Church

Central Square Congregational Church, on the common in Bridgewater, celebrates its 50th anniversary in covenant with the United Church of Christ (UCC), January 30th, with a 10am church service featuring guest preacher Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, President of the Massachusetts Conference of the UCC. Please join them for a celebratory service with a great music program and the words of the state’s UCC leader, as well as a full meal following.

All are welcome! (Please RSVP to 508-697-6016 if you would like to attend the meal.)

Coastal Quilters Exhibit

The Coastal Quilt Artists (CQA) will be exhibiting their work at the Bridgewater Public Library through the end of February.

CQA was formed in the autumn of 2003. This eclectic group of women is comprised of quilt artists from Boston and the South Shore. Some members were former students of Kathleen Weinheimer (1940-1996), a prominent Bridgewater quilt artist.

CQA have been prizewinners for their “slice” quilts at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.

Exhibitors are: Geri Barr, Lynne Conover, Betty Crowell, Janet Duncan Dignan, Janet B. Dye, Sandy Gregg, Anne Marcin, Penny Myles, Graciela Piccolo, Joan Randall, Mary Lou Schwinn, Pat Smith, and Bobbie Sullivan.

The public is cordially invited to view the show when the library is open. Library hours are: Monday 4-8; Tuesday 1-8; Wednesday 10-5; Thursday 9-5; Saturday 10-2. The library is located at 15 South Street; parking is available in back of the library.

Bridgewater Recreation Cross Country Program a Success

This past fall, for the fifth consecutive year, the Bridgewater Recreation Commission offered a fall cross-country running program to town youngsters aged 10-14. This year's cohort of 60 participants represented the highest number in the five years that the program has been conducted. Led by Sam Baumgarten, with the assistance of Kim Puopolo-Larcom, the group met each Saturday morning beginning in September and continuing through the first week of November. The hour long workout consisted of active warm-ups, one to three miles of trail running on Bridgewater State University's Great Hill trail system, and a cool down/stretching period at the end. With the additional supervisory help of parent runners and University students, multiple running groups were formed thus allowing each child to participate at a comfortable level.

The Great Hill trails, developed under the leadership of Tinsley Center Fitness Director Dan Rezendes have been a wonderful resource in introducing children to the joys of running and being outdoors. The combination of developing running skills and fitness while also experiencing the beauties of season change is a powerful experience for all participants. In addition, some of the young runners have taken their skills into the sporting venue and have gone on to compete successfully in cross-country and road racing.

The Commission, with Baumgarten, Larcom and Meghan Boyle taking a leadership role, is considering the resurrection of a spring track and field program which ran successfully for 20 years before being canceled in 2008. The program was dropped in part due to the poor condition of the University track- now of course completely refurbished- and in addition due to the lack of volunteers to provide group leadership and coaching assistance. A newly organized track program would mirror the cross-country program in terms of age group (10-14) or by grade level (5th-8th) and would meet twice per week beginning in early May and continuing through mid-June.

The Commission needs to have additional volunteers before moving ahead with planning. Please call or email the Commission at 508-697-8020 or bcondon@bridgewaterma.org or Baumgarten at 508-531-2313 or sbaumgarten@bridgew.edu if you are interested in volunteering

Around the Common Poll: Where Should Town Council Meetings Be Held?

There has been a lot of discussion both formally at the first Town Council meeting and informally around town about the location of the Town Council meetings. Proponents of changing the location have stated that the Memorial Building is antiquated and not fully handicap accessible while others have said that the Memorial Building is the seat of government and there have been no complaints about Selectmen meetings having been held there in the past. Opponents also state that placing the meetings at the Senior Center would take away facilities and availability for seniors

Here is an article about the issue.

This week's poll question looks at the issue. Do you think the meetings should stay at the Memorial Building or should the Town Council look toward relocating to the Senior Center or another location?

Survey Opportunity for Bridgewater Students

Focus on Boston is looking for Bridgewater students for a paid survey.

HIGHSCHOOL JUNIORS & SENIORS…EARN $50 FOR YOUR OPINIONS IN A 90-MINUTE FOCUS GROUP!!

For MONDAY, JAN. 24th at 4:00pm, we are looking for HIGHSCHOOL JUNIORS & SENIORSMEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: THAT

• LIVE IN EITHER BRIDGEWATER, TAUNTON, RAYNHAM, MIDDLEBORO OR NORTON
• ARE A JUNIOR OR SENIOR IN HIGHSCHOOL
• UPON GRADUATING, PLAN TO GO TO COLLEGE IN MASSACHUSETTS (either a 4-yr or community college)
• 
  

Those that qualify for this study will be given $50 for their time and opinions in a 90-minute focus group.

This focus group will be held at Focus on Boston's BRAINTREE FACILITY.

If you are interested in participating, please call NANCY @ 781-356-7318 x206 and mention the "EDUCATION STUDY” so we can ask you the questions necessary to see if you qualify.

Mt. Prospect Cemetery Fence

Soon after the enactment of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in Bridgewater, the privately owned Mount Prospect Cemetery Corporation requested funding to replace it’s chain link fence bordering Mount Prospect Street. The original, wrought iron, fencing, erected sometime after the cemetery’s establishment in 1842, had been donated to the United State’s “war effort” in the early 1940’s. The existing chain link fence was neither attractive nor historically accurate.

The Community Preservation Committee approved the funding request and recommended that the town fund the fence replacement project in May of 2007. The town voted to support the replacement of the fence with a replica of the original fence ― one piece of which existed as a model.

Replacing the fence around the Mount Prospect Cemetery was a greater undertaking than the either Cemetery Corporation or the Community Preservation Committee had anticipated because Mount Prospect Cemetery is a “living” cemetery― meaning that it is not merely historical but still actively used as a burial ground. Use of Community Preservation funds requires that a legal “preservation restriction” be placed on the grounds to ensure that they remain historically intact. The Massachusetts Historical Society approves such restrictions after they have been drafted and approved by the Community Preservation Committee, the Mount Prospect Cemetery Corporation and the Town Board of Selectmen. The complication was discovered when the Historical Society realized that Mt. Prospect Cemetery is still in use and could not guarantee that not all of the cemetery’s existing features would ever change. The Historical Society had, up until that time, only worked with historic, “non-living” cemeteries.

Bridgewater expanded the envelope of the CPA by working closely with Mass Historic until an agreement that preserved and protected the historical aspects of the grounds AND allowed for continuing burials and improvements was reached. In January 2010, a wrought iron fence, replicating as closely as possible the original, was installed along the Mount Prospect Street border of the cemetery adding beauty and restoring the cemetery’s historical look and feel.

Children from Brockton and Bridgewater work together to fight hunger on Martin Luther King Day

Recognizing that hunger is a real issue in our community, the children of Messiah Baptist Church in Brockton and of First Parish Unitarian-Universalist Church in Bridgewater are teaming up to help. They plan to conduct a food drive over the next month, gathering donations from their respective churches and from the community at large. They will then work in tandem with the food pantry at Messiah Baptist to shop for, package, and distribute food to those in need. Approximately 30 children, ages 3-16, will participate in this inspiring project, entitled We Can Help: A Child's Response to Citizenship and Community.

For more details regarding donations, please check out www.firstparishbridgewater.org.

BSU Distinguised Speaker Series

Bridgewater State University has announced two amazing participants in this year's Distinguished Speaker Series. Dr. Benjamin Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon, will present on February 8th at 7PM and Greg Mortenson, author of the book Three Cups of Tea, will present on March 25th at 7PM.

These lectures are open to the public but tickets must be obtained from the President's Office by either calling 508-531-6123 or emailing presidentevents@bridgew.edu.

To read more about each of these speakers, please click here.

New Bridgewater 4th of July Website

The Bridgewater 4th of July Committee has launched a new website. Click here to check it out.

If you are also on Facebook, please make sure you "Like" the 4th of July page, as well. You can do so by clicking here.

Greenway Concert Tonight in Bridgewater

Musician Greg Greenway will be the featured act at Off the Common Coffee House located at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church tonight. The concert starts at 8:00 PM and admission is $13.00.

Greenway is a singer and songwriter and Bridgewater residents will be amazed by his remarkable folk music sounds.

OverDrive Service Now Available at Library

Are you one of the lucky people who received a digital reader for your holiday gift? If so, you may want to investigate the growing collection of e-books available for borrowing through the Bridgewater Public Library.

As a library patron, you have access to the OverDrive Service, an online service allowing downloading of eAudio and eBook titles to your personal computer or another device. OverDrive works with: Barnes & Noble Nook; Sony Reader; Kobo eReader; PanDigital Novel with firmware update; Windows desktop, laptop & netbook computers with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows 2000SP4; Mac desktop & laptop computers with Mac OS X v10.6, v10.5 & v10.4.10; Apple iPhone and Android.

To review a listing of available digital titles, go to http://sails.lib.overdrive.com. To borrow e-Books, e-Audio, and music, you will need a library card. You may apply for a card during regular library hours, which are: Monday 4-8; Tuesday 1-8; Wednesday 10-5; Thursday 9-5; Saturday 10-2. The library locks its doors ten minutes before closing for security reasons.

Please bring a photo ID and proof of residence if you are applying for a new card.

B-R Music Boosters Fundraiser

The Bridgewater-Raynham Music Boosters are hosting a fundraiser at the 99 Restaurant in Bridgewater.

Date: Tuesday, January 11th
Time: 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Location: 99 Restaurant in Bridgewater

The 99 Restaurant will donate 15% of all guests checks to the B-R Music Boosters. Please click the photo above, print a copy and bring it to the 99 Restaurant the night of the event to have the donation apply.

CERT Program Commencement

The Town of Bridgewater's Emergency Management Department is pleased to announce the completion of the Town's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training Program. Certificates of completion will be awarded to 13 local citizens who have successfully completed the program and are now members of Bridgewater's CERT (BCERT) and of the United States Citizen's Corp. You are cordially invited to join me in acknowledging these men and women on their achievement on:

Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Bridgewater Police Station Community Room

220 Pleasant St., Bridgewater, MA

Parking and access to the Community Room are at the rear of the Police Station

Following a disaster, community members may be on their own for a period of time because of the size of the area affected, lost communications and impassable roads. CERT Programs in communities across the country support local response capability by training volunteers about the hazards they face, to organize themselves at a disaster site and to provide immediate assistance to victims until help arrives.

Bridgewater's CERT training consisted of 20 hours of instruction to local volunteers in topics including Disaster Preparedness, Medical Operations, Damage Assessment, Fire Suppression, Terrorism and Light Search and Rescue. The curriculum, taught by local professionals and experts, is aimed at teaching citizens how to help themselves, their families and their neighbors in the first critical hours and days following a large scale natural or man-made disaster.

Additionally, CERT members received American Heart Association CPR certification and participated in hands-on skills during 10 weeks of training. Members are encouraged to continue their involvement in the program through advanced training classes, refresher courses and simulation exercises. Future CERT Training Sessions are planned, including Spring 2011 to build Bridgewater's CERT Program.

Most recently, over a dozen BCERT Members assisted American Red Cross in shelter operations at both the Bridgewater Senior Center and Whitman-Hanson Regional High School following the blizzard.

I hope you can join me on Monday, January 10th at 7:00 p.m. to show your appreciation and to support Bridgewater's CERT on their involvement in assisting in our community's overall safety and disaster preparedness efforts.

George W. Rogers, Jr.

Bridgewater Fire Chief

Director of Emergency Management