During Tuesday's Select Board meeting, board member Shahidul Mannan asked Town Manager Norman Khumalo for an explanation about the narrow roadway on the western portion of the Main Street Corridor Project. The town elected to widen the newly reconfigured roadway this...
Jerry Spar
Select Board roundup: New police officer introduced; amendment to leash law proposed
Nicholas Walker was introduced as the town’s newest police officer at Tuesday's Select Board meeting. Walker, 27, is set to graduate later this month from the Boylston Police Academy. A native of Hopedale, Walker most recently served as a dispatcher in Hopedale and...
Photos: HHS swim team vs. King Philip
The Hopkinton High School swim team posted a 96-67 victory over King Philip on Friday at Milford High School.
Independent Thoughts: Year in Review: Bull to backups
I was at the dentist a couple of weeks ago to get a tooth capped. The dentist asked me to open my mouth. She took a look, and her initial comment — this is an exact quote, word for word, I remember it well — was, “Yikes.” While stuck in the chair waiting for the...
MacDonald heads to College Football Playoff with TCU
Christian MacDonald, a walk-on wide receiver on the football team at Texas Christian University, was confident the Horned Frogs would have a strong 2022 season after a disappointing 2021. Little did he know how well things would go. TCU won its first 12 games and,...
Photos: Boy Scouts Troop 4 holds 50th anniversary celebration
Hopkinton's Boy Scouts Troop 4 hosted a 50th anniversary kickoff celebration on Thursday night at St. John the Evangelist Parish. As part of the event, Troop 4 founders Mike Boelsen and Mike Lareau and original Scout Tom Pratt were on hand to share stories about the...
Independent Thoughts: Major changes ahead at Hopkinton Drug, Dynasty; Toys for Tots accepting donations
There are big moves looming for two local businesses: a change in ownership at Hopkinton Drug and the closing of Dynasty restaurant. Hopkinton Drug has been run by the Katz family since its opening in 1954. Dennis Katz took over from his father in 1980, two years...
Select Board roundup: Regional call center proposal spurs discussion; police chief seeks changes to rank structure; new police/fire hires introduced
With local emergency personnel speaking out against the proposal for a regional emergency communications center (RECC), plans were made for an information session before the Select Board makes a decision on whether or not to proceed. As part of the proposal, Hopkinton...
Hillers win T-Day football battle over Ashland
Seamus Murphy scored three touchdowns as the Hopkinton High School football team put the finishing touches on its impressive bounce-back season with a 32-14 victory over Ashland in the annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry game at Hughes Field. Brendan McGowan, Justin Sokol...
Independent Thoughts: Click tribute, Holiday Stroll, PJB holiday drive
In an appearance before the Select Board on Nov. 15, members of the organization Friends of Hopkinton started by sharing updates on past and present activities. But it quickly turned into a tribute to outgoing president Ann Click. The former town clerk, Click started...
Select Board roundup: Altaeros TIF moves forward; Friends’ Click recognized
At Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, Town Manager Norman Khumalo presented the board with a draft of a tax increment financing agreement intended to encourage Altaeros Energies to relocate its headquarters to South Street. The board voted unanimously to move the TIF...
Independent Thoughts: Barriers long overdue to fix West Main issue
In case you missed it, the town last month announced plans to install barriers along West Main Street, between the two gas stations, in an effort to cut down on the number of accidents there — a section of roadway Police Chief Joseph Bennett previously noted is the...
Health Department hosts COVID vaccine clinics throughout November
The Hopkinton Health Department announced a series of COVID vaccine clinics in November. All clinics will be held at the Public Health Nurse's Office in Town Hall. The clinics, for ages 6 and older and using the Moderna bivalent booster, are scheduled on the following...
Select Board roundup: Marathon numbers distributed; MassDOT to pay for Main Street adjustment; new town employees welcomed
At Tuesday's meeting, the Select Board selected the local organizations and town departments that will receive a charity bib for the 2023 Boston Marathon. The town received 50 invitational entries from the Boston Athletic Association and previously set its policy for...
Select Board roundup: Altaeros Energies discusses possible move to South Street; HPS solar agreement moves forward
Representatives from Altaeros Energies presented to the Select Board on Tuesday about their company and discussed the possibility of relocating to South Street if it was able to receive support via a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement, special permits and other...
Health Department hosts vaccine clinics Oct. 21, Oct. 25
The Hopkinton Health Department will host COVID and flu vaccine clinics on Friday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m.-noon, and on Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 4-6 p.m. Both clinics will be held at the Public Health Nurse's Office in Town Hall. The Oct. 21 clinic will offer the Moderna...
Independent Thoughts: Library of things lands in Hopkinton
Libraries are evolving, and Hopkinton Public Library is doing its part to keep up with the times. A popular venture now is a “library of things” — a collection of items not traditionally associated with libraries. Hopkinton debuted its library of things last month —...
Select Board roundup: Town addresses concerns about narrowing of Main Street; Marathon charity number policy set
Anyone who has driven on the newly redesigned section of Main Street just east of the Wood Street intersection can see that the area for vehicular traffic is more narrow than it was before this summer’s redesign, with sidewalks on both sides limiting driver’s options....
Photos: Art on the Trail
A ceremony was held Thursday to introduce this year's Art on the Trail exhibit on Center Trail. The Hopkinton Cultural Council event runs from Oct. 2-16. This year’s theme is land art — “Nature’s Gallery, Branching Out” — and artists were encouraged to focus on...
Independent Thoughts: Election harassment hits home for Degan
If you follow national politics, undoubtedly you have heard about the ongoing movement by Donald Trump-supporting conspiracy theorists to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election by going after local election officials. It wouldn’t seem likely to...