We are deeply saddened to report the death of Joe Porrell, a Wayland High alum who went on to coach and teach at Wayland High School for 45 years. He died in Kentucky of COVID-19.
Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise throughout the country, the state, and even here in Wayland. Please be vigilant, and adhere to state regulations.
Mission: A question many of us have asked over the last five months of the pandemic is, “What can I do to help? I really want to do something!” Because of COVID-19 restrictions, finding ways to help that are safe for others as well as ourselves is challenging. Donating to the Town of Wayland’s COVID-19 Relief Fund is one safe and effective way to help others.
Waylandenews Executive Director Kim Reichelt is a member of the Wayland School Committee
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Wayland News
News in the past week
* Murder-suicide victim kept son ‘close to her heart’ as he battled mental illness. Cheryl Kane always loved her son, Richard, and was with him as he battled mental health issues his entire life, the family said Thursday On Monday, authorities say Richard Kane, 41, of Natick, shot and killed his mother in the garage at her Adelaide Avenue home and then killed himself. “Her beloved son Richie was always close to her heart, and his lifelong battle with mental health issues never deterred that love,” the family said in a statement.
* Wayland receives $2.2M MassWorks Infrastructure Grant. The Town of Wayland is pleased to announce that it was awarded a $2.2 million MassWorks Infrastructure Grant. Cherry Karlson, chair of Wayland’s Board of Selectmen, thanked the Town staff for their efforts and perseverance to complete the grant application process. “Receiving this MassWorks grant allows us to leverage the Alta at River’s Edge project to bring much needed rental and affordable housing in perpetuity while also creating future vitality through increased access to wastewater services for our whole Route 20 corridor of business and residential structures.”
* Wayland resident named Foundation for Metrowest “Campaign Champion”. A Wayland resident has been named a ‘Campaign Champion’ by the Foundation for MetroWest, the only community foundation serving the MetroWest region of Greater Boston. Maureen Maas, a partner at Collaborative Insurance Solutions in Westwood, is one of 47 MetroWest residents who have been tasked with engaging their neighbors and fellow community members to strengthen the Foundation’s role as a connector, partner, and resource for the 33 cities and towns that make up the region.
For those who are in need of basic food resources, please call 508-358-7701.
Wayland Public Schools Foundation announces Annual Turkey Trot. Strut Your Stuffing! Kickoff your holiday weekend and grab your family to join the Wayland Public School Foundation at the First Annual WPSF Turkey Trot, November 21-30. This is a fun, family-friendly opportunity to help raise money for a great cause—the students of the Wayland Public Schools! All are encouraged to run/walk a virtual 5k/10k race in honor of the WPSF. All proceeds from the Turkey Trot will be used to fund new initiatives at all five Wayland Public Schools. Don’t be a turkey and sign up today! Every participant will be entered into a raffle and those who share their Trot times on the race website will be eligible for additional prizes. Course Maps are available online here
Honor and appreciate teachers and staff through Wayland Public Schools Foundation’s Hats Off! campaign. Never has it been more important to say “Thank You!” to a special teacher or staff member than right now. The Wayland Public Schools Foundation HATS OFF! Initiative is a perfect way to show your gratitude to our teachers and staff for all of their hard work during the Fall/Winter of 2020. Through the HATS OFF Initiative, you can select teachers and staff members to receive personalized certificates that will include your personalized message of appreciation and thanks. Honoring teachers and staff members through HATS OFF starts by filling out the form below. Once you submit your order, we will create and deliver digital certificates for each person you designate. Each certificate will include the name of the teacher or staff member, your personal message and your name(s). This Fall, there is no payment required to send your honorees a certificate. Our goal is to make sure that all teachers and staff receive messages of thanks, appreciation and kindness so that they know just how much they mean to this community. If you would like to donate, you can choose to do so when you complete your HATS Off request. Any donations we receive will help the WPSF continue its important work for our schools. Complete details are online here
Project Pajama seeks donations for holiday season. Kim Bruno and Giselle Shardlow are collecting brand-new, unwrapped girls and boys pajamas, sizes 6 to 16, November 23 – December 16. Please place donations of new pajamas in the holiday wrapped boxes outside of their homes. Donation locations are:
Join the MRC! New Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers are always needed! We have a great group of volunteers, however, we would love to recruit new members. If you are interested in helping out your community and would like to volunteer please contact the Health Department at Health@wayland.ma.us.
Upcoming Meetings
Meeting Schedule for The Week: See the Town Website’s Calendar online here. Please check the online calendar for the latest updates, as meetings noted below could have been updated (change in date, time or location) since we captured them. Also, some meetings could have been added since we collected the calendar information.
Please check the Town Calendar to confirm meeting times, locations and agenda. There can be updates from when we capture the schedule below.
The call-in number for public comment during board and committee teleconference meetings is 508-358-6812
Monday, November 23
* School Committee, 12pm. Agenda includes: COVID surveillance testing program, return from Thanksgiving break. On zoom here.
* Wayland Housing Authority, 2pm. Agenda includes: COVID-19 update, low-income public housing, maintenance, capital improvements, FY21 operating budget questionnaire. On zoom here.
* Board of Selectmen, 5pm. Agenda includes: interim police chief, update from Energy and Climate Committee, ATM schedule, committee appointments, COVID-19 update. On zoom here.
The latest from the Wayland Library (full newsletter online here)
Adult Programs:
* The Library is (sort of!) open again! Appointments available for browsing
* Adult Craft: Iris Folding (November 23)
* Using DNA in Genealogy (November 30)
* Author Talk: 7½ Lessons About the Brain (December 3)
* Evening Book Group (December 7)
* Author Talk: The Language of Liberty (December 10)
* Extended Saturday Hours (curbside pickup 11-3 on Saturdays)
Why Are Things I Returned Still On My Card? Because we quarantine everything for three days before we check it in. And if you returned them over the weekend, that could add a day. But never fear—we’ll waive any late fees generated by the delayed check-in.
For Families: Mitten Garland Take & Make Crafts. Bring some wintery cheer to your dwelling with a mitten garland! Each Take & Make kit will include cardstock mitten templates with an assortment of craft supplies to get your decorating started. We’ll provide some mini clothespins and twine to string up your cozy creations. These kits are appropriate for all interested ages or for families to complete together. When you register, please select the number of children or teens and the number of adults who will be working on creating the mitten garland. Kits for multiple family members will be packaged together with shareable supplies so please only register once. Register for Friday, December 4, Saturday, December 5, or Monday December 7 pickup. This special Take & Make Craft Kit is in support of the Wayland Center Holiday Open House which will take place virtually on Sunday, December 6th.
Wayland Gratitude Walks. Due to the Covid-19 limitations on gathering in person, the interfaith community this year is offering multiple Gratitude Walks on different days and times to connect outdoors with your neighbors in small groups. Included are a moonlight walk on Wednesday evening and a sunrise walk on Thursday, both in Wayland, as well as two later morning walks, one in Wayland and one in Sudbury. Registration is required for all events. For more information, contact a local house of worship. Online information and registration is available for all events at https://bit.ly/34B1ARE.
Holiday Hours Added; The Wayland Depot will be open Sundays, 12 – 4, starting November 29. Enhance your virtual holiday gatherings with a new serving piece, or send a lovely handcrafted gift if you can’t attend yourself. Have a new baby to be thankful for? Give thanks with a special gift from The Wayland Depot. We have adorable and practical baby bibs, popular cloth books, and beautiful hand-knit sweater sets. Help us celebrate 40 years of volunteer service to the town. We are keeping volunteers and shoppers safe with all COVID protocols. Shop small, local, and uncrowded at The Wayland Depot. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 12pm – 4pm. One Cochituate Road (Rte. 27), Wayland, MA 01778
Call for Art for the W Gallery Holiday Auction. Arts Wayland is offering an exciting holiday sales opportunity to all artists and artisans. We will be hosting The W Gallery Holiday Auction, from December 1 through December 6 on the 32auctions website. We are hoping to include a variety of fine crafts (jewelry, pottery, glassworks, woodworks, fiber arts) as well as original artwork. We feel confident that this will be a successful holiday shopping event given the stunning success of our Harvest Moon Auction in early October. This unique opportunity is available to both members and non-members. Please visit our website (online here) to learn more about the logistics of how the auction will work. To submit items for the auction, please complete our form online here. The deadline for submissions is November 24, 2020.
No Children’s Holiday Shoppe this year. With regret, the Council on Aging has determined that we cannot hold our annual Children’s Holiday Shoppe in December due to COVID restrictions. After 32 years, this beloved Wayland tradition will take a break. But stay tuned….we are tossing around some creative ideas for spring 2021!
Thanksgiving “Jive-By” Lunch Pick-Up. What’s a “jive-by?” It’s a drive-by lunch but more fun! In lieu of our usual Thanksgiving luncheon, on Wed. Nov. 18 the Council on Aging offers a pick-up Thanksgiving-themed lunch you can get without even leaving your car. (Sorry youngsters, you must be 60 or older to participate.) Drive through our pick-up line at the Town Building, and enjoy live music from Jumpin’ Juba while you do. Reservations are required. Boxed lunches are $7; please pay by check (made out to Town of Wayland) or exact cash; we cannot make change. Call us at 508-358-2990 or email coa@wayland.ma.us to reserve your choice of lunch:
* Turkey pot pie;
* Thanksgiving sandwich (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce); or
* Butternut squash soup and bread
All choices come with a green salad with cranberries, and apple pie. Join us! We look forward to seeing you “jive by!”
Working on a COVID creation? In response to our arts community during this unprecedented time, Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) has extended the deadline for applications to December 14, 2020. Please enjoy this online toolkit or connect with Wayland Cultural Council members if you have any questions. https://www.mass-culture.org/lcc_public.aspx
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Pandemic or no pandemic—we need the arts. Maybe now more than ever!
The Wayland Cultural Council is a group of volunteers, appointed by Wayland’s Select Board, who work to support the artistic and cultural life of our town. Each year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, through the Massachusetts Cultural Council, gives Wayland a grant of money to support the arts and interpretive sciences. The Wayland Cultural Council awards grants to local individuals and groups who have submitted grant applications for projects that promote access, education, diversity and excellence in these three areas.
Given the need for innovative responses to challenges brought by the coronavirus, this year the Wayland Cultural Council eagerly invites applications for grants. We hope to be able to support local arts presentations in this difficult time. Due to the pandemic, the grant application schedule has been delayed, but grant application forms will be available very soon. The following are important dates:
* Thursday, October 1, 2020: Applications are open and available at mass-culture.org.
* Monday, November 16: Final applications are due.
* Monday, December 14: Final application deadline extended
* Tuesday, December 1: Evaluation of applications by local cultural councils begins. Voting meetings will be held to decide on funding by January 2021. Decisions will be announced by early January 2021, and will be finalized by February 16, 2021.
Music-making continues virtually. Wayland’s favorite senior singers continue to lift their voices together every week, and YOU can join the fun by (old-school) telephone or (new-school) computer, tablet or smartphone. After 32 years of music-making, we’re determined to stay connected and healthy with singing! Contact us at goldentones.org, or call 508-318-6318 to learn how to join our one-hour “virtual rehearsals,” weekly on Tuesdays at 10am, and Fridays at 2pm, beginning Sep. 15. There are no auditions and no attendance requirements, only a friendly group of music-lovers from all over MetroWest who enjoy singing, dancing and music-making to pop classics and show tunes.
Transportation for Wayland Seniors. Under a new, grant-funded program, the Wayland Council on Aging (COA) can now arrange for free taxi rides for seniors who have no other way to get to non-emergency medical appointments or other essential errands such as grocery shopping, visits to food pantries, or to pharmacies to pick up prescriptions. The program is funded by a Metropolitan Area Planning Council/ MassDevelopment grant designed to offer short-term support to communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wayland residents age 60 and over who find themselves without transportation options may contact the COA to request a ride. COA staff will review requests for compliance with the grant’s guidelines. For those who qualify, staff will make arrangements with either Tommy’s Taxi and JFK Transportation, who are partnering with the COA under the terms of the grant. Ride requests must be made at least one full business day in advance. The program runs through December 31, 2020, or until the funds are depleted. If you have questions or would like to ask about a ride, call the COA at 508-358-2990 or email coa@wayland.ma.us
Wayland Garden Club. The Wayland Garden Club continues to maintain gardens and planters throughout Wayland. While social distancing, Wayland Garden Club members continue to tend gardens at the Wayland Settlement sign on Boston Post Road, the Wayland Free Public Library and a pollinator garden on the Rail Trail. The Club also maintains planters at the Town’s public and historic buildings, as well as several traffic islands in town. For more information about the Club and membership, you can visit waylandgardenclub.org.
Would you like to serve on a Town Board or Committee? Many appointment opportunities, ranging from A-Z (literally! from the Audit Committee to the Zoning Board of Appeals) are posted online here.
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