Thief Targets Newly Built Planter in Wenham

A brand new planter on a traffic island in Wenham was stolen just after it was built and before it could be filled with soil and flowers.

When a new planter was installed at the corner of Cedar and Cherry streets in Wenham last week, it wasn't even there long enough for volunteers from the Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club to fill it with soil and flowers before it was gone. Wenham Police Chief Tom Perkins said the theft was reported to the police. There are no suspects and there have been no charges, he said. The hand constructed box was one of several completed during the winter by the Department of Public Work's Mark Gates, under the supervision of Bill Tyack, and installed during the first week in April, according to the Garden Club's Sue Shepard. The box was three feet long and worth $300, Shepard said. "We think that the box was stolen at some time on Friday, April 19," …

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Is There Any Money Left in the Snow Plowing Budgets?

Winter kicked into high gear during the second half of the season, dumping several storms of plowable snow.

April is here and it appears winter is over After a snowless landscape in January and early February, winter kicked into high gear for the second half of the season. And with it came a lot of snow removal work by both Hamilton and Wenham? So did they overspedn the snow and ice budgets? No. "We budgeted $213,183 this year, which represents 85 percent of a 5 year high average," said Hamilton Finance Director Deborah Nippes-Mena. And there is still $2,560.82 left in the budget. "Should there be another major storm, we will run a deficit," she said. In Wenham, the annual snow and ice budget is $106,000, which has been the same amount since Highway Department Director Bill Tyack started, even though the price of salt has doubled during that …

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Five Things to Know Today in Hamilton and Wenham: Aug. 3

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Friday, Aug. 3. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Pan-Mass: Thousands of bicyclists – including 35 from Hamilton and Wenham - will take to the roads this weekend to raise money for cancer research as part of the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. In all, 5,500 cyclists and more than 3,000 volunteers take part in the event on 11 different routes on both Saturday and Sunday. 2. Gail Huff: The wife of Sen. Scott Brown, and former WCVB reporter Gail Huff will be the special guest at the Republican Town Committee’s “Politics and Polo” event at Myopia Hunt Club on Sunday. Huff will speak at about 2:30 p.m. and state Rep. Brad Hill, state Senator Bruce Tarr and Congressional candidate Richard Tisei are all expected to be in attendance…

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Pedestrian Safety to be Upped in Wenham Before School Opens

Wenham officials say they are increasing their focus on pedestrian and bicycling safety in town.

A program to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety in Wenham in being unveiled this week – in advance of the opening of school. The plan involves repainting crosswalks, installing new signs and increasing police enforcement of traffic law. “This is a joint initiative between the highway department and police department,” Interim Police Chief Thomas Perkins told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night at Wenham Town Hall. The program is being dubbed “Operation Safety Net.” In addition to physical safety improvements, Perkins also noted that the only crossing guard for students headed to Buker Elementary School is on Perkins Street, a side street that connects Main Street to Porter Street and runs by the school. “That (crossing guard) …

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Where Can I Pick Up Compost?

Compost is now available, for free to participants in the two town's curbside organics collection program, at the Wenham Highway garage.

The compost from the organic material collected as part of the trash collection program in both towns is now available in Wenham. The Departments of Public Works in both Hamilton and Wenham announced on Tuesday that the compost is now available at the Wenham Highway Department garage at the Iron Rail property on Grapevine Road. Since the organics collection program started more than two years ago, compost was available for free to program participants at Patton Park in Hamilton. Hamilton DPW Director John Tomasz said in an e-mail that the amount of compost “taken (from the Patton Park site) has been significantly greater than anyone expected.” The move to the Wenham Highway Department means it will be “under a more watchful eye.” The …

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Michelle Bailey

4:55 pm on Sunday, August 5, 2012

Compost: according to the press release residents can pick-up one cubic yard, roughly 40 five-gallon buckets.   more ›

3 Inches of Rain, 30 MPH Wind Doesn't Cause Any Major Problems

Three days of rain and gusty winds did not cause any major problems with flooding or downed trees, according to public works crews in both Hamilton and Wenham.

Three days of gusty winds and heavy rain did not caused any major problems in Hamilton and Wenham. That’s according to Departments of Public Works in both towns, who said unclogging storm drains and picking up fallen branches was about the extent of the storm impact. Between Saturday and Monday, 3.22 inches of rain fell at Beverly Airport, the closest official weather observation station to Hamilton and Wenham. A small portion of the airport is in Wenham. Wind gusts over 20 miles per hour were recorded each day, too, according to National Weather Service data. The peak gust was 26 mph on Saturday, 24 mph on Sunday and 33 mph on Monday. “The DPW crew went street by street picking up some small debris, branches and sticks, but that was about…

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Letter to the Editor: Thank You to Tree Recyclers

Hamilton-Wenham Green sends a thank you message to those that recycled more than 800 Christmas trees this holiday season.

To the Editor: Thanks to Hamilton and Wenham tree recyclers! Thanks to each and every one of you who hauled your Christmas trees to Pingree Park or asked your local Boy Scouts (Troop 28 in Wenham and Troop 35) to bring them to the recycling site. On Jan. 10, 823 trees were chipped and taken to Brick Ends Farm to be turned into compost. Dodge Tree handled the chipping and transport for free. Brick Ends will donate $1 per tree recycled to Hamilton-Wenham Green and Hamilton-Wenham Green will donate to the scouts for the transported trees. Thanks to Dodge Tree, Brick Ends Farm and every family that participated. Special thanks go to the Wenham DPW who hosted the drop off site and picked up curbside trees as possible, saving the towns …

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Five Things You Need to Know Today: Nov. 3

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Thursday, Nov. 3. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Weather: We’ll take it again on Thursday – the forecast is calling for a near repeat of Wednesday with sun and temperatures into the upper 50s. 2. Chainsaws: The sound of chainsaws has been in the air for the last few days in the two towns, with a lot of people cutting up the trees and branches that fell. And if it is not saws it is leaf blowers that are running. 3. Leaves: Last weekend’s Nor’Easter has bumped back the curbside collection of loose leaves in Wenham by a week. The collection will begin on Nov. 7 to allow the DPW to finish up storm cleanup through this week and give residents on the west side of Wenham – where leaf collection starts first – to get all their …

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Snow Advisory and Wind Warning Issued for Saturday Night and Sunday

A winter weather advisory and high wind warning have been issued for Hamilton and Wenham in connection with the Nor'Easter that is moving into the area on Saturday night.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory and high wind warning for Hamilton and Wenham, effective at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The wet snow that is expected to fall on Saturday night will be wet and could be damaging because many leaves are still on the trees. Highway crews from Hamilton and Wenham DPW in both towns said Friday they are ready for the storm with sanders, plows and chainsaws. The winter weather advisory extends through 8 a.m. on Sunday, according to the weather service, because 1 to 2 inches of snow is expected to accumulate. A winter weather advisory is issued when snow and ice are expected but accumulation will be light and could make driving difficult. The storm is expected to begin as rain in the two …

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