Weekly News Roundup – 03/14/2021
Covid Updates and Vaccine Information • Main Street Corridor Updates • HPS Reopening Updates • EMC Skate Park • Wilson Street Solar • Fruit Street Dog Park • HPD Community Outreach
Covid-19 Updates & Precautions
Preregistration System for Mass Vaccination Locations to Launch Friday (3/12/21)
Partnering with the Google Cloud Team, Massachusetts will launch a pre registration system for mass vaccination sites only starting Friday, March 12. This tool will be available at www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine. Pre registration will allow eligible residents to book an appointment at one of the state’s 7 mass vaccination sites. As of March 11, Massachusetts is currently vaccinating: People in Phase 1, People with 2+ certain medical conditions, Low income and affordable senior housing residents & staff, People age 65+, K-12 Educators, Child Care Workers and K-12 School Staff.
New Updates this week include: Expansion through June of Targeted Free COVID-19 Testing Sites, and Travel Order updated for person who have been completely vaccinated.
- Hopkinton Covid-19 Update for 3-11-21
- Hopkinton Coronavirus Hub
- Hopkinton’s Community Impact Dashboard
Hopkinton Health Director was recently featured on the HCAM Hangout Hour program and talked about the latest with COVID-19 in town.
Main Street Corridor
What To Expect the Week of 03/15/2021 to 03/19/2021: Mobilization, Tree Removal, Sawcut the Drainage layout (from Intersection 85/135 to East Main Street), and Delivery of Drainage Materials.
Proposed Use of Marshall Ave Parking Area – With construction now underway, the Town is working with A.F. Amorello & Sons, Inc. to utilize the old parking area for Carrigan field off Marshall Avenue as a laydown/storage area.
MAIN STREET CORRIDOR Q & A – TUESDAY, MARCH 30 AT 7:00 PM
Hopkinton Public Schools
- HPS Reopening Plan Spring 2021 – Revised 3-9-21
- DESE Guidance on In-Person Learning Requirements 3-9-21
- DESE Guidance on In-Person Learning and Student Learning Time Requirements 3-9-21
- Oxford Academic “Effectiveness of three versus six feet of physical distancing for controlling spread of COVID-19 among primary and secondary students and staff: A retrospective, state-wide cohort study“
Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh emailed schools families Friday afternoon requesting that they check their children for symptoms of COVID-19 and hold them out of school if any exist. There have been 16 confirmed cases in the district over the past 10 days — 13 of which were at the high school — and Cavanaugh noted that most of the people testing positive entered the schools with symptoms.
Hopkinton elementary schools will reopen full-time April 5 and the middle and high school on April 26, School Committee members agreed Thursday.
Students can be added to buses after DESE lifts capacity limits.
School Committee members raised concerns about several issues, including potential class sizes at the middle and high school and crowded conditions in the high school hallways, during a discussion on school reopening plans at a working session Sunday.
Watch the March 11 School Committee Meeting Replay.
Town Election Reminders:
To become a candidate a person must either obtain and submit nomination papers by securing the signatures of 50 Hopkinton registered voters by Tuesday, March 30, 2021; or a person may qualify by being the top vote-getter in one of the town political party caucuses. The Hopkinton Democratic Town Committee Caucus will be Friday, April 9 at 6:30 PM on Zoom. The Republican caucus date has not been announced yet, but is typically in early April. Town Election 2021 Information Page
Other Hopkinton News:
The Parks & Recreation Department, during Monday’s Parks & Rec Commission meeting, discussed plans to push forward with the redevelopment of the skate park at the EMC Park at a cost of $300,000.
ConCom OK with Wilson Street solar company starting clearing a limited number of trees.
Sealed Bids for Fruit Street Park Off-leash Recreation Area (OLRA) will be received at Project Dog (Projectdog.com) until 2:00 pm, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, immediately after which the bids will be opened and read publicly via a zoom call.
Hopkinton Police Chief, Joseph Bennett recently talked with HCAM and one of the topics was the Hopkinton Police Department efforts to reach out to the community.