The Hopkinton Health Department is sponsoring a monthly program at the Hopkinton Public Library to train individuals on the use of Narcan, a medication that can help an individual recover from an overdose of opioids. The training takes place on the second Tuesday of...
Independent Thoughts
Independent Thoughts: K of C aims to alleviate food insecurity issues; HHS student to curate exhibit at HCA
The Knights of Columbus Bishop Rice Council 4822, which represents Hopkinton and Ashland, once again is organizing its Food for Families Food Drive, which runs through March 26. Last year’s event raised $2,350 and “literally a ton of food and supplies,” shared council...
Independent Thoughts: Fundraiser to benefit earthquake survivors
When multiple earthquakes rattled Turkey and Syria last month, causing more than 50,000 deaths and about $85 billion in damages, it hit home for a number of Hopkinton residents who have connections to the Western Asian nations. Evanya Mathur, president of Hopkinton...
Independent Thoughts: Harriet the heifer gives birth; Phipps receives military honor
Harriet is a heifer no more. As it turns out, the cow who made news last year after escaping from a slaughterhouse was pregnant as she lived life on the run up and down Ash Street. No one was more surprised than the Varner family, who took in Harriet in late November...
Independent Thoughts: Community Covenant Church closes doors after 115 years
Forty-seven years after relocating to Hopkinton from Milford, and 115 years since its founding, Community Covenant Church held its final service on Dec. 11. Plagued by declining attendance and an unsuccessful merger with a regional organization, the church at the...
Independent Thoughts: Restaurant’s demise leaves bad taste
When he opened Lone Wolf BBQ on Main Street a year ago, Dirk Kiefer really wanted to make things work in Hopkinton. After a nightmarish year, however, Kiefer is moving on. The veteran restaurateur said he will stick around for a while to help the new owners, whom he...
Independent Thoughts: Town mourns Harrington, former Select Board chair
Mary Harrington was not one to hold back — both her opinions and in the time she spent volunteering to make Hopkinton a better place. Harrington, who died last month at the age of 86, served on a number of boards and committees, including the Select Board, for which...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 —...
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...
Independent Thoughts: Family Day makes long-awaited return; Baypath rescues beagles from Virginia facility
There’s no better way for Hopkinton to announce its return to (mostly) normal times than for residents to get together at community events, and this Saturday provides multiple such opportunities. The headline event is Hopkinton Family Day, which makes its return after...
Independent Thoughts: Grave encounter inspires Whalen’s restoration project
Mike Whalen’s goal is simple: “Fixing the cemeteries one stone at a time,” he said. A longtime volunteer and member of veterans committees in town, Whalen has been mending broken and crooked headstones at the town’s cemeteries for some time. As American Legion Post...
Independent Thoughts: Beavers broke barrier as female HHS AD
In a recent story on Hopkinton High School’s new athletic director, Kiely Murray, we referred to her as the second female AD in school history, after Dee King. We neglected to mention Sue Beavers, who served in the role for a few years in the mid-1990s. Beavers, now...
Independent Thoughts: EMC muralist seeks community support
For his contribution to the series of murals along the fence leading to EMC Park, Hopkinton High School senior Owen Fitzpatrick is looking for the community to lend a hand — in more ways than one. Fitzpatrick’s mural (part of the Hopkinton Cultural Council Diversity...
Independent Thoughts: Downtown construction main focus of summer
It’s time for some light summer reading, as we unpack the notebook of the mind. Here are some miscellaneous thoughts compiled while sitting in downtown traffic. — In case the town is thinking about changing the name of the Main Street Corridor Project, I have a few...
Independent Thoughts Local sculptor Alfano opens Boston exhibit
If you’ve been to the Town Common, you likely are familiar with one of Michael Alfano’s sculptures, as his statue of George Brown firing the Boston Marathon starting pistol sits on the park’s northeast corner and has become a local landmark since its debut in 2008....
Independent Thoughts: Allessio reflects on Senior Center legacy
When Judi Allessio first started working for the Senior Center in 2007, the “center” was the basement of Town Hall — a far cry from the stand-alone facility on Mayhew Street that currently serves the town’s older residents. “I started working at Town Hall about two...