Selectmen Approve Comcast RFP Bid

The Stoneham Board of Selectmen authorized the issuance of a request for proposal (RFP) bid for the Comcast license renewal at Tuesday night's meeting at . The bid comes after the Selectmen held several

Overall, the Selectmen and public were more than satisfied with Comcast's performance throughout the years. Town Counsel William Solomon took the reigns concerning renewing Comcast's license agreement with the town and stated at an October Selectmen's meeting, “we would expect, and require, capital funding from Comcast (to be) set aside for new equipment and updating Stoneham TV's facility.”

The RFP will now go through town counsel for a final review process before being formally shared with Comcast.

Non-Organic Materials to be Used on Fields

One of the other agenda items discussed during the meeting was the fact that the Selectmen approved the use of non-organic materials on town fields. In 2005, the Stoneham Environmental Action Committee backed a movement to use only organic materials on town fields to promote the health and well-being of not only the grass, but that of the community.

Due to the high cost of organic materials, the Selectmen voted to use non-organic materials instead of those recommended years ago by the Action Committee.

Selectmen to Contact NSTAR Concerning Hurricane Irene

In August, the Selectmen spoke about about the poor service the town received during Hurricane Irene. With the recent storm still fresh in his memory, Selectmen John DePinto deemed the service by NSTAR, “satisfactory,” but was still upset overall with NSTAR's service throughout the years.

DePinto pointed out that NSTAR is planning to merge with Northeast Utilities which could be cutting jobs in the area and in DePinto's mind, hurting service.

“It could go from bad to worse,” DePinto said of the town's energy service.

The Selectmen hope to contact NSTAR with a letter of grievance and possibly attend one of NSTAR's public hearings to complain about poor service during Hurricane Irene.

As of midnight Tuesday, only two NSTAR customers in Stoneham were still without power. Stoneham appears to be in better shape than neighboring communities, some of which still have hundreds of homes without power.

Senior XMAS Party

The Selectmen made note that there will be a Nov. 30 Christmas party held at the and sponsored by . Applications to sign-up for the party are required and available at the and Town Hall.

Girl Scout Troop to be Honored

A Stoneham Girl Scout Troop comprised of locals Rebecca Allard, Alison Brennan, Alora Frederick, Michelle Corapi, Alyssa LoGrasso and Melissa Zeitlin, received their gold pins (the highest Girl Scout award) in June. It was noted that only about five percent of Girl Scouts receive this award each year.

Each Girl Scout managed a different community service project to get their gold pin, including:

• Allard’s gold pin project involved CPR and rescue breathing for dogs.
• Brennan created a summer basketball program for teens ages 13-19.
• Frederick and Corapi spent time revitalizing the library's garden.
• LoGrasso helped raise funds for the Stoneham High School Drama Club and cleaned up parts of the drama room.
• Zeitlin assisted the after school track team at with recruiting more members.

The Selectmen were impressed by the dedicated Stonehamites and will be honoring the Scouts on Veteran's Day (Nov. 11) at Town Hall with a special award certificate of achievement on behalf of the town.