While efforts to save the Toll House, the 1½-story cape house at 123 Main St. in Hopkinton that played a major role in the old Central Turnpike were not successful, Wayne Mezitt of Nurseries has now made it possible for the site where it was located to be preserved....
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Residents, visitors enjoy 44th annual Polyarts Festival
The 44th annual Polyarts Festival, showcasing a total of 70 vendors, took place on Saturday, Sept.15 at the Hopkinton Town Common. With the weather cooperating and providing a bright sunny day, attendance was up this year resulting in all of the food vendors,...
Retailers prepare for new plastic bag regulation
Come the New Year, single-use, plastic checkout bags will be a thing of the past for the majority of customers shopping at retail and grocery stores in town. After a public hearing in April, the Board of Health passed the new regulation which is slated to go into...
Fire Chief: Even with new hires, ‘department at capacity’
Hopkinton Fire Chief Steve Slaman sat down with the Hopkinton Independent earlier this month to talk about staff changes and challenges ahead for the Fire Department. As for changes, Slaman was in the process of hiring the second of two new firefighters, which will...
Quilters mix old-fashioned artistry, personal stories
From across the room, Karen Swiech’s six-by-six-foot quilt shows the black-and-white image of a happy couple – her parents - on their wedding day six decades earlier. But look closer, and you’ll see more than 5,000 faded photos depicting her family’s history in the 60...
Selectmen vote against Greyhound Friends
At a Sept. 11 public hearing, the Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 to recommend against the town issuing a kennel license to Greyhound Friends, Inc. The application for the kennel license followed legal and regulatory battles the shelter has faced since the Massachusetts...
Family Day is fun for all
The second annual Family Day, held Sept. 15, included a woodsmen competition, dunk tank, balloon artists, face painting, Maggie the Clown on stilts, a photo booth, helium balloons and many games and attractions. According to committee member Dale Danahy, the committee...
Blooms, Brews and Barbeque benefits Jimmy Fund Walk
Weston Nurseries held its second annual Blooms, Brews and Barbeque event at its Garden Center Sept. 8. This has become an annual fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund Walk, which this year was held on Sept. 23. Craft beers, ciders, and various food trucks supplied the crowd...
Big-hearted ‘Big Lu’ looking for a forever home
It’s widely professed adage that dogs are man’s best friend. In the case of Big Lu, a male bully breed mix, possibly with some boxer in him, he may have just as much, if not more, admiration for his saviors at the nonprofit, no-kill shelter Baypath Humane Society of...
Vietnam remembrance held at Veterans Breakfast
Every month, on the first Friday, the local veterans meet for a free full breakfast at the Hopkinton Senior Center, 28 Mayhew St. These meals are sponsored by organizations and individuals as way to say “thank you” to our veterans. The veterans chat, usually have a...
Rep. Dykema hosts annual senior picnic
A total of 180 seniors attended State Rep. Carolyn Dykema’s annual Senior Picnic on Aug. 29 at the Faith Community Church. Originally planned to be held at the Hopkinton YMCA as is traditional, the event was moved indoors due to the high temperatures forecast for...
Higher recycling costs to impact area towns
During the eight months since the Independent first reported on the local impact of China’s crackdown on recycled materials from the U.S., single stream materials recovery facilities such as E. L. Harvey & Sons in Hopkinton have been attempting to adapt to the new...
Marathon Quilters Guild plans quilt shows at HCA
Members of the Marathon Quilters Guild are putting together the final pieces for their ninth annual Quilt Show to be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 16, at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts, 98 Hayden Rowe St., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will include an...
Jail diversion: New tool for Hopkinton police
What happens when police respond to a call involving individuals in a mental health or substance-related crisis? It is an all-too-frequent and potentially tragic scenario that over many years has left a disproportionate number of jail inmates with untreated behavioral...
Dell EMC gives back to Hopkinton
Over the years, EMC has been an active participant in the Hopkinton community. In the beginning, founder Dick Egan shook hands with former Superintendent Bill Hosmer, saying, “Whatever you need, call me,” followed by an initial distribution of computers to the schools...
New access road planned for LNG site
Eversource Energy has submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) to both the town Planning Board and Conservation Commission for construction of a Secondary Access Road Project at the existing Hopkinton Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Facility at 55 Wilson St. The proposed access...
Resident launches effort to change name of Board of Selectmen
Hopkinton resident Amy Groves is on a mission to change the name of the Board of Selectmen to Select Board. According to the website hopkintonselectboard.org, created by Groves to support the effort, a third of Massachusetts towns have already updated the name of...
Hopkinton athletes assist at Community Harvest Program
The Community Harvest Program (CHP), based in Grafton now, began here in Hopkinton at the Elmwood Farm on Ash Street. It was started and run by Bill and Rose Abbott as Food for the Needy. Local scouts and other groups volunteered with the planting, weeding and then...
Spilka elected State Senate president
State Sen. Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland) was elected to be the president of the Massachusetts State Senate by her Senate colleagues July 26. Spilka represents the Metrowest communities of Ashland, Framingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopkinton and Medway, which comprise the...
Board decision paves way for parking lot
The site plan for a proposed school bus parking lot to be built behind Hopkinton High School was approved Sept. 17 by the town Planning Board. The proposed parking lot will eliminate athletic Field 9, making it possible for buses to drop off students at the rear...