Pair of officers drop appeals vs. town, police chief

Two of the three Hopkinton police officers who sued the town and Police Chief Edward Lee after Lee suspended their licenses to carry guns had their cases dismissed at their request while town officials worked on resolving the issue via settlements.

While Peter Booth and Linda Higgins filed motions to dismiss their cases, John Moran still had a hearing scheduled for Oct. 24 in Framingham District Court.

The three officers have been on leave since being injured on duty on July 24, 2017. The town did not release the cause of the officers’ injuries.

The officers filed a collective bargaining grievance seeking proper injury pay under state law on Dec. 12, 2017,

Two days later, Lee sent letters to the officers indicating they needed to turn in all licenses, guns and ammunition to their local police station.

“You are no longer deemed suitable as a result of post-traumatic stress related to injuries incurred while on duty,” Lee wrote in the letters.

The officers filed appeals in February through attorney Kathleen Reagan, accusing Lee of retaliating against them and seeking to reinstate their licenses to carry with our restriction. Hearings were rescheduled multiple times before Higgins filed a motion to drop her case on June 13 and Booth did the same on July 17, waiving their rights to trial or appeal.

Resident jailed after alleged assault on father

Hopkinton resident Kyle Connors has been held without bail since an incident in late June in which he allegedly tried to drown his father.

Connors, 34, was arrested on June 24 at the home where he lived with his father at 4 Cranberry Lane. Hours earlier he had been released from jail following his arrest for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. That led to his father demanding that he move out, which prompted the assault, according to prosecutor Pavan Nagavelli, who represented the state at a hearing in Framingham District Court on June 28.

In a 911 recording played for Judge David Cunis, Connors’ father could be heard yelling, “He’s chasing me! Help! Help! Help!”

Connors allegedly pursued his father past their driveway and held him in a neighboring pond, where witnesses told police Connors punched his father in the face and dunked his head in an apparent attempt to drown him. A neighbor intervened and separated the two.

“Some people may say it is foolhardy to get involved in a situation like this, but I’d say this man was pretty courageous,” Cunis said, according to a report in the MetroWest Daily News. “A hat’s off to him, whoever he is.”

When police arrived they shocked Connors with a Taser to get him under control. Connors was charged with attempted murder, strangulation, two counts of assault and battery on a person older than 60, and malicious destruction of property, causing more than $1,200 worth of damage.

Nagavelli, citing the threat to Connors’ father and the public, asked the judge to hold Connors without bail for 120 days. Cunis agreed, ordering Connors held as a danger.

Select Board makes appointments

At its last two meetings (June 25 and July 9), the Select Board announced a number of appointments to town boards and committees.

John Morris, Beth Ann Malloy and Amman Haidri were appointed to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board. Ed Harrow, Jim Ciriello and Melissa Recos were appointed to the Conservation Commission. Don Wolf and John Palitsch were appointed to the Council on Aging. Don Wolf, Andrea Wilk and Meena Kaushik were appointed to the Cultural Council. Beth Watson, Nanda Barker-Hook and Christine Rembry were appointed to the Historical Commission. Ruth Knowles was appointed to the Keefe Tech Regional Technical School Committee. Adam Munroe and Tab Kadlik were appointed to the Marathon Committee. Colleen Charleston and Carole Nathan were appointed to the Marathon Fund Committee. Robert Scott and Michael DiMascio were appointed to the Permanent Building Committee. Patricia Sinacole was appointed to the Personnel Committee. John Morris was appointed to the Tax Relief Committee. Kenneth Parker and Jamie Wronka were appointed to the Trail Coordination and Management Committee. Jane Moran, Barry Rosenbloom and Select Board member John Coutinho were appointed to the Upper Charles Trail Committee, with Brian Fitzgerald named an alternate member. Sean Davan and Tina Berlad were appointed to the Woodville Historic District Commission. Alice Joyce, Tracey Ferenscik and Dawn Ronan were appointed to the Youth Commission.

The Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Miyares & Harrington LLP (J. Raymond Miyares) as town counsel and the firm of Mirick O’Connell (Nicholas Anastasopoulos) as labor counsel, both for one year.

The Select Board also affirmed the following town manager appointments: parking clerk Geri Holland, animal control officer William Proctor, inspector of animals Elizabeth Jefferis, plumbing and gas inspector Charles Dabritz, assistant plumbing and gas inspectors Peter Zereski and Dan Hunt, wiring inspector/person to cut wire in case of fire Ed Hicks, assistant wiring inspectors James Melnick Jr. and Kevin Bouret, mutual aid building inspector Michael Crisafulli, sealer of weights and measures Louis Sakin, and public weighers John Palmer, Jaynne Adams, Jessica Palmer, Jaime Wright, Chelsea Adams and William Robinson.

Additionally, the Select Board voted to appoint the following as traffic constables: Jon Kraus, Dan Smith, Evan Brooks, Meaghan DeRaad, Jane Goodman, Deric McGill, Darlene Haines, Stephen Iadarola, John Litchfield, James Collins, Douglas Lewis, Carl Harris, Stephen Slaman, Douglas Oliver, Stuart Montgomery, Thomas Poirier, William Proctor, Robert Santucci, Richard Flannery, Thomas Griffin, Cynthia Valovcin, Braeden Luiz, David Shane and Charles Wallace.

Openings for ZAC

The Planning Board is seeking Hopkinton residents interested in serving on the Zoning Advisory Committee in varying capacities.

The purpose of the ZAC is to review and develop proposals for zoning bylaw and zoning map amendments, and to make recommendations to the Planning Board in preparation for Annual Town Meeting. The board is looking for residents committed to addressing various zoning-related topics in depth, and committed to attending regular evening meetings year round.

Positions available are: two at-large members (two-year terms), one member from the Chamber of Commerce (one-year term), one member from the Conservation Commission (one-year term), one member from the Board of Appeals (one-year term) and one member from the Planning Board (one-year term).

The Planning Board also may appoint up to five non-voting associate members to serve a one-year term.

Applicants should send a statement of interest of 250 words or less to John Gelcich (jgelcich@hopkintonma.gov) by noon on Aug. 9. For more information, email or call Gelcich (508-497-9745).

CPC accepts funding applications

The Hopkinton Community Preservation Committee is accepting draft project funding applications for the fiscal year 2021. Applications are due by Friday, Aug. 9.

Projects allowable under the CPA include the creation and preservation of open space, the preservation of historic sites, the creation and preservation of affordable housing, and the creation and preservation of outdoor recreational facilities.

For more information or to receive an application, call 508-497-9745 or email Shannon Soares at ssoares@hopkintonma.gov.

Police conduct public survey

In an effort to evaluate and formalize the vision for the Hopkinton Police Department, Chief Edward Lee has launched the process of developing a strategic plan for the department.

“All you have to do is drive around town and you can see all the change that is happening in town,” Lee said in a press release. “It is a very exciting period of growth and we want to ensure that the police department is poised to continue delivering the highest level of service to our community.”

The first phase of the strategic plan development process is to conduct a community survey in order to understand the community’s expectations. The survey — available online at tinyurl.com/y3mowmnr — will be used to determine what the police do well, what they could do better and what additional services could be provided.

During the survey phase information also will be collected from other sources, including the business community, public officials and HPD members.

The survey will be available through Oct. 31.

Mosquito spraying continues through August

Personnel from the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project started spraying for mosquitos in late July and are scheduled to make 10 visits over a one-month span. The remaining sprayings are slated for Aug. 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28, although these dates are tentative, subject to change due to weather conditions, mosquito populations, mosquito virus activity and special event spraying.

More information, including the updated spray schedule, can be found online at cmmcp.org.

Homeowners who do not want their property sprayed can put in a request via the website.