Mother Brook Community Group Meeting Will Celebrate Accomplishments and Set New Goals

The annual meeting is open to the public and will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.

  Touting the gains it has made since first launching its neighborhood revitalization efforts 5 years ago, the Mother Brook Community Group (MBCG) will celebrate its most recent accomplishments Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the very location that has figured so prominently in its plans – the old Avery School.  The group’s annual meeting, which is open to the public, starting with a reception at 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium, will feature a formal presentation of the plans to transform the former school into the new Mother Brook Arts and Community Center starting in March, as well as an update on other improvements in the neighborhood, and the association’s plans and goals for the new year. Creative re-use of the former school facility on High Street …

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Mother Brook Arts Center Gets Boost from East Dedham

The Mother Brook Community Group donated $500 for the arts and community center.

  About a month after receiving approval from the Dedham Board of Selectmen, the Mother Brook Arts and Community Center received its first boost from neighbors. The Mother Brook Community Group donated $500 for the arts center, proposed to open in the current Avery Elementary School, a cornerstone of East Dedham. "[MBCG] is the perfect outfit to kick off this effort," said Bob Miller, chairman of the arts and community center. "They represent the neighborhood, and the support and the input from East Dedham is primarily why it has been decided to convert this school into an arts and community center." Other fundraisers are underway to help the arts center, including the Dedham Public Art Project, which is the reason residents soon will …

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Week in Review

A Controversial Fence, Avery Dirt and Long Commutes

A look back at the most notable stories from the last week.

When a letter written by a Whiting Avenue resident was published on Dedham Patch this week, it touched of a hot debate over whether or not a fence should have been erected in the Whiting and Morse avenues area. While attorney Jonathan Eichman maintains that the path that is currently blocked was never established as a public way and that there is no obligation by the town to “keep it open for public passage." Residents like the Clintons, however, believe that their rights have been violated. What’s your take on the situation? Be sure to make your voice heard in the comment section. Elsewhere this week, the School Building Rehabilitation Committee met on Monday night to update residents on the progress of the school and talk further about …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Jan. 24

A MBCG meeting, a DJWC social and Zumba.

"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. The day will begin cloudy, but unlike yesterday will be devoid of rain. Today’s high will be around 48 with an overnight low of 28. 2. The Mother Brook Community Group hosts its annual meeting tonight with a focus on a “Proud Past, Bright Future.” 3. The Dedham Junior Woman’s Club invites interested guests to partake in chocolate fondue and fruit as part of its General Meeting and New Member Social, held tonight at 7 p.m. 4. The Dedham Community House will host Zumba tonight at 7:15 p.m. The cost is $85 for a ten-week session. 5. On this day in 1908, the Boy Scouts movement began in England. Since that time, the …

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Letter to the Editor: No Cell Towers Near Dedham Schools

Mother Brook Community Group opposes placing T-Mobile cell towers near the new Avery Elementary School.

Last year Dedham’s Town Meeting overwhelmingly defeated a town-owned land transfer proposal at Condon Park that would have paved the way to allowing T-Mobile to place a cell tower at the park. The transfer was defeated largely because Dedham’s Town Meeting representatives didn’t believe it was appropriate to place a cell tower, which emits electromagnetic frequencies, in places where children gather for extended periods of time. T-Mobile’s answer has been to come back this year with another proposal to locate their tower (again, well outside of Dedham’s Wireless Overlay District) on top of the privately-owned AliMed building on High Street, directly across from Dedham’s new Avery School, and Dedham High School just beyond it. Because it’s …

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Low Water Level Causing Big 'Stink' in East Dedham

The state's Department of Conservation and Recreation is working to repair two dams that have caused Mother Brook's water levels to nearly evaporate.

As water levels in Mill Pond and along Mother Brook reached an extremely low level in recent weeks, neighbors are calling on the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation to act more vigilant about monitoring water levels. Leaks at two dams on Mother Brook – one operated by the state and the other by the town – plus diverted water where the Charles River and Mother Brook connect has caused the waterway next to Condon Park to become an unsightly, stench-filled, mosquito breeding ground unsafe for wildlife. “I can’t see how it is good for any of the wildlife that relies on the river,” said Dan Hart, of the Mother Brook Community Group (MBCG). “You have trouble seeing where there is water that can sustain life in that stretch of …

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Softball Game with Police Kicks Off 'Night Out' Campaign

Local civic groups took on members of the Dedham Police Department in a softball game Sunday.

Local civic groups and the Dedham Police Department came together Sunday to showcase not just their softball skills - of which there were many - but also how neighbors have improved East Dedham in the past few years. At the forefront of East Dedham and its "renaissance" is a civic group that are rekindling a neighborhood and putting this little corner of Dedham back on the map. State Rep. Paul McMurtry praised the police for their involvement, and civic groups for not only their environmental impact on Condon Park and Mother Brook, but also their economic impact on local merchants. "It is really exciting," said McMurtry, "there is a renaissance that has taken place over the past four or five years, all in the interest of a stronger …

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Police, Community to Unite for 3-Day Awareness Event

Dedham turns National Night Out into three days of events, a fundraiser and a parade.

The Dedham Police Department and the civic groups in town are turning National Night Out into a three-day celebration complete crime awareness and a fundraiser. National Night Out is held in towns throughout the country with the goal of uniting neighborhoods and police departments to encourage community participation and creating awareness about public safety. "The time is right for Dedham to make its mark and participate in this national program," Dedham Police Chief Michael d'Entremont said. "We are looking to capitalize on the success and positive energy generated by the various groups to make Dedham's neighborhoods safer." While other towns will be holding National Night Out on Tuesday, Dedham has extended it to Sunday, Monday and …

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