A town accountant who was indicted this week for stealing nearly $730,000 from towns in central and western Massachusetts was described as “of Harvard” in a press release from the attorney general’s office. 

Local businesses in Harvard and surrounding towns are slowly reopening their doors to visitors as Phase 3 of Massachusetts’ reopening begins this week.

Bromfield School trustee, active volunteer, gifted quilter and knitter

A brief but thunderous storm that hit Harvard between 9 and 10 p.m. Sunday left little reported damage in its wake. 

Alumni of the Harvard public school system are advocating for changes to the schools’ curriculums and practices in an open letter that has been signed by over 600 current and former members of the Harvard public school community.

Updated Tuesday, June 30, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.

Although Harvard’s State of Emergency remains in effect and state and local restrictions to halt the spread of COVID-19 continue to evolve, we are suspending publication of our "State of the Town" for the duration of our summer break. This is our final edition. However, we will report significant developments as breaking news.

Harvard's annual flea market, a major fundraiser for the League of Women Voters of Harvard and the Harvard Schools Trust, is canceled.

U.S. Air Force veteran, insurance agency owner, spouse of Harvard COA coordinator

The Harvard Press has been named Harvard’s 2019 Citizen of Note.

Following four votes, a bit of parliamentary legerdemain, and repeated attempts by voters and town officials to explain its consequences, Town Meeting on Saturday passed the $33,346,128 fiscal 2021 omnibus budget recommended by the Finance Committee and Select Board. Three days later at Town Election, however, voters rejected the tax override needed to balance it, 467-674.

Bare feet, quick naps in the grass, and mask-wearing were just a few of the novelties of this year’s Spring Town Meeting. Despite temperatures that peaked at 90 degrees and the complexities of a new venue, Harvard residents showed up to debate, learn, and vote.

An article asking the town to borrow $4.3 million to build an addition to Hildreth House failed at Spring Town Meeting last Saturday. It also failed at the polls. The borrowing would have funded construction of a 6,271-square-foot building next to Hildreth House to provide additional space for Council on Aging (COA) dining, programs, and events.

Harvard’s cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began —as reported by the state—remained at 18 in the week between June 17 and June 24.

An article asking the town to borrow money to replace the roof and gutters at the old library passed by a comfortable margin at last Saturday’s Town Meeting, but failed at the ballot box a few days later. 

An article to transfer jurisdiction over six parcels of land from the Select Board to the Parks and Recreation Commission was passed at the Spring Town Meeting last Saturday. The article, which was brought to Town Meeting by a citizen petition, was one of the most contentious issues on the floor. 

Three-quarters of Harvard’s 4,376 registered voters took no part in Tuesday’s Town Election, leaving several major decisions about the town’s future up to the 1,150 voters who did show up, either at the polls or by absentee voting. 

The General Store may soon be bustling again, thanks to a new layout for outdoor dining approved by the Select Board at its June 16 meeting.

With less than 10 minutes’ discussion in total, three measures to spend $220,000 on improvements for the Bromfield School all gained support from two-thirds or more of the voters present. But two measures for rebuilding the emergency exit ramp from Bromfield’s middle school wing both failed.

TEC engineers and town officials have presented the most up-to-date designs of the Ayer Road repaving project and solicited public feedback. More than 40 citizens attended a June 22 Zoom conference, where they made their opinions known.

Resident, Korean War veteran, insurance professional

Longtime Harvard resident, active volunteer, member of ‘Sweet Adelines

At Saturday’s Spring Town Meeting, voters will be asked to decide on 21 articles put forward by the Select Board and other town committees. We explain each in everyday English, including the amount of money involved, its source, who oversees its use, whether the article impacts your taxes and—when less than obvious—the consequences of voting yes or no.

Article 3 of the Spring Town Meeting warrant is the big kahuna. Here, on six pages, are the details of how much the town wants to spend next fiscal year for town services, schools, municipal employee benefits, and debt.

Article 19 of the Spring Town Meeting warrant is a citizen petition that seeks to establish clear authority over several recreation areas that have been the subject of past disputes between the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Select Board. 

At a June 22 public discussion meeting hosted on Zoom, citizens will be asked to express their opinions on three different designs for a proposed renovation of Ayer Road and to provide further feedback. The work would be funded with a grant from the Transportation Investment Program.

Apple Guy Flowers LLC is a new business planning to grow cannabis at Thayer Family Farms at 92 South Shaker Road. Sole proprietor Lucas Thayer is scheduled to meet with the Select Board to discuss his plans at 6:30 p.m., June 30.

The Planning Board has unanimously approved a special permit for In the Batter’s Box, a batting cage business owned by Scott Patterson, which he plans to locate at 256 Ayer Road. 

Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, 35-year State Department professional, Bromfield graduate

As retail stores and shopping malls began opening their doors across Massachusetts, and residents enjoyed some socially distanced al fresco meals where someone else washed dishes for a change, Harvard looked pretty much the same this week.

When Moderator Bill Barton calls for a vote on the $33.5 million fiscal 2021 town budget next Saturday, attendees will decide not only how much the town and schools can spend next fiscal year, but, implicitly, whether to raise Harvard property taxes by enough to cover the projected deficit.

For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, there was silence on the Harvard Common this past weekend.

In a move to reduce fiscal 2021 expenses in the face of uncertain state aid, the Select Board voted unanimously to require town employees and retirees, despite existing contracts, to cover more of the cost of their health insurance.

Article 12 of the Spring Town Meeting warrant and Question 2 on the ballot ask voters to fund a $4.3 million addition to Hildreth House, the town’s senior center, through excluded debt. This is the second phase of a two-phase renovation/expansion project that originated over a decade ago.

Voters will soon decide whether to support replacing the structurally failing elevated walkway on the street side of the Bromfield School. The walkway dates from 1962 and serves as an emergency exit for the middle school wing of the building.

Article 10 of the Spring Town Meeting warrant and Question 4 on the ballot ask for $921,260 in additional funds to replace the roof and gutter system of the old library, and to repair any damaged masonry caused by water leaks. The funding would be paid for through excluded debt.

One proposal to help balance the budget if the override fails is to not fill a vacant full-time officer’s position at the Police Department. The position was vacated when Sgt. John Coates retired in 2017. 

If the proposed $320,000 override fails to win voter approval this month, one of the first casualties is likely to be any merit raises for 40 town workers. 

Harvard’s schools account for about 70% of the town budget, when both operating expenses and employee benefits are counted. So last month the Budget Working Group decided at its first meeting that, if the override for fiscal 2021 fails at Town Meeting or the polls, the schools would have to shoulder 70% of the cuts needed to balance the budget. 

According to town officials, if the override fails, the tree warden’s budget will total $25,000, about $20,000 less than the town normally has to spend on tree work.

The Harvard Public Library began offering curbside services on Tuesday. Contactless pickup and drop-off are now available Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Scott Patterson, owner of In the Batter’s Box, a batting cage business with facilities in Hudson and Littleton, is looking to open a similar business at 256 Ayer Road and to live on the property with his family.

Dedicated teacher, avid gardener, active in church