News Nearby: Medford Restores Some School Cuts, Others Remain

Each Saturday, Melrose Patch will run a round-up with links to stories from surrounding communities that are of interest to Melrosians.

MEDFORD—After over five hours of meeting Monday night into early Tuesday morning, the Medford School Committee reconvened Tuesday night to approve a $47.5 million budget for the 2013 school year. The budget falls about $1.3 million short of offering level services compared to 2012, but doesn't have as quite as many cuts as originally anticipated. It was passed unanimously by the committee.

On Monday, the committee heard from parents, teachers and students who spoke out against eliminating the middle school foreign language program, a cut that would have saved the district about $120,000. Their message was apparently heard—funding for that program, and about $210,000 in funding to other programs, was restored in the revised version of the budget.

WAKEFIELD—Eight years after the last vote the town took on whether or not to build a new middle school, Wakefield voters changed their minds on Saturday: It's finally time for a new Galvin.

The Town of Wakefield approved a debt exclusion on June 9th by a vote of 4474 to 1020, or 81 percent to 18 percent to finance the $74 million project, with $38 million coming from the town and the rest coming from the state.  

The current Galvin Middle School is 60 years old, undersized for the amount of students that attend according to state guidelines, and was deemed by the state to require too many major architectural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical system upgrades to renovate.

ARLINGTON—Katey Stone, an Arlington resident, was recently named head coach of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team by USA Hockey.

Stone, who has led Harvard University’s team for the last 18 seasons and is the NCAA Division I active wins leader with 378, has been involved with USA Hockey since 2006. However, the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia, will be her first. 

“It’s unbelievable and a tremendous honor, obviously,” she said. “I’m very proud and extremely humbled at the same time.”

Stone, 46, will be the first woman to lead the team in an Olympic games. She has been the head coach of the national team at the last two IIHF Women’s World Championships; her squads got the silver in 2012, gold in 2011.

STONEHAM—Stoneham Police are searching for a woman accused of stealing merchandise and assaulting a loss prevention officer at Marshalls Department Store Monday night.

About 6 p.m. June 11, police responded to Marshalls at Redstone Shopping Center for a report of a shoplifter who punched a female loss prevention officer in the face upon being stopped at the exit., according to an email to Stoneham Patch from Detective Christopher Dalis. 

"The female suspect then threw a liquid in the (loss prevention) officer's face stating, 'I can’t go back to jail!' and fled the area on foot," wrote Dalis. "Witnesses observed the female suspect cross Main (Street) fleeing up Marie (Avenue) toward the woods at the end of the street."