Week in Review: BYOB to go in Front of Town, MHS Senior Beautifying Town, and More

Mansfield Man Arrested for B&E in Walpole

Foxborough Police assisted Walpole in the arrest of two men and one woman Monday evening after one of the men was allegedly caught by a homeowner trying to break into a Main Street home in Walpole.

"The resident was home when the suspect was breaking-in through a window after cutting a screen," Walpole Deputy Police Chief John Carmichael told Walpole Patch.

The homeowner confronted the would-be thief outside the Walpole home and the suspect reportedly fled on foot to an awaiting vehicle further down Main Street.

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Selectmen to Let Residents Vote on BYOB

After three weeks of discussion, the selectmen will let the people of Mansfield decide the fate of the bring your own bottle (BYOB) policy in the spring town meeting.

While the board, with the exception of selectmen Chair Olivier Kozlowski, was against the policy due to a lack of resources to enforce it and the availability of two liquor licenses, they agreed to let the town decide where to go with BYOB.

According to the town’s legal council, to outright prohibit BYOB, a bylaw must be approved by the town's residents at a town meeting due to the current bylaw that prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public and inside establishments accessible by the public that do not have a liquor license.

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Mansfield Senior Ready to Beautify Town

With an interest in making his home town greener, Mansfield High School senior Logan Marks knew what he wanted to do for his senior project. With the freedom to do his project on almost whatever he wanted, Marks decided that he wanted to help plant some new trees around Mansfield.

With a desire to create a beautification project, Marks is working with his project’s mentor Neil Rhein of Keep Mansfield Beautiful to help make Mansfield greener.

For the project, Marks’ goal is to make the area around the Robinson School sign, Qualters Middle School sign, and the island in the downtown area near Barrows Insurance a little more pleasant to the eye.

To spruce up the sign for the Robinson School, Marks would like to place some small plants around the signs to make the front of the schools more visually appealing. For both signs, Marks looked at plants that would compliment the signs rather than hide them or take the focus away.

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Should There be a Special Warning for Acela Trains at the Mansfield Train Station?

It was while holding signs at the Mansfield commuter rail stop in early November for Joe Kennedy III that Kevin Doyle saw the need for a special alert for the Acela train. As 20 people held signs over a two hour period, the slower speeds of MBTA trains and freight trains made the group feel less worried about standing close to the tracks. 

About 80 minutes into the visibility for Kennedy, an Acela train, with the ability to travel up to 150 MPH, took some of the supporters by surprise as Dunn yelled at everyone to move further back. 

After watching a mother with her 10 year old child get out of the way just in time, Doyle requested that the selectmen address the issue so there is are difference warnings for the faster Acela trains and the slower MBTA commuter rail and freight trains.

“I’m very fearful that we’re going to have an incident in this town,” Doyle told the Mansfield Board of Selectmen.

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Obituaries: Donna Batta and Gail Binmore

Both Batta and Dinmore passed away unexpectdly last week in Cancun. Click here to read Batta's obituary and here to read Binmore's.

Projections Show Decreasing Numbers in Mansfield Schools

n five years, the halls of the Mansfield public schools may be emptier than they are now. After years of consistent growth, it appears that the enrollment numbers in the Mansfield schools are now on a downward trend. With enrollment at all four schools reaching at least 1,000 students only three years ago, projections though the 2017-18 school year show only the high school will remain above 1,000 students with both elementary schools decreasing to fewer than 800 pupils.

Across the district, the current decrease from the high of 4,824 students during the 2009-10 school year is expected to continue as enrollment numbers fall across the school district. By the 2017-18 school year, a decrease of over 1,000 students compared to enrollment figures from five years ago is expected. Currently, there are 4,413 students in the district, with the projections for the 2017-18 school year bringing the number down to 3,780 students.

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Mansfield Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Police Team up for Joint Exercise

There’s a reason why the Red Sox and Patriots play pre-season games.  Hitting in a batting cage or practicing field goals does not provide the same learning experience as performing these same tasks when it counts.  Sports are one thing, but how do Emergency Services professionals prepare themselves?  Where do they play their pre-season games?

The week of January 7 provided a unique opportunity for the Mansfield Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) teams to sharpen their skills during a joint exercise at a residential structure scheduled for demolition.  The fire department first received consent for the drill from Mansfield building inspector Nick Riccio.  The house, located off a side street in downtown Mansfield, provided a perfect opportunity for the fire department to train in search and rescue techniques, horizontal and vertical ventilation practices, building construction and fire ground strategy and tactics.  Fire Lieutenant William Burgess led several Mansfield firefighters through these drills.

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