1. If you live in Ward 3 or Ward 4; have a background in history or in the conservation or preservation of historic resources; and are interested in serving as the Mayor’s appointee for historic resources on the Community Preservation Committee, please contact Ana Gonzalez at 617-796-1106 or ag*******@******ma.gov to apply. Under the Community Preservation Act, the CPC makes funding recommendations for affordable housing, historic resources, open space and recreation land to Newton’s Board of Aldermen. The Act’s definition of historic resources includes archives, art, buildings and landscapes, as well as other resources.
2. If you live in Newton; have a background in history, historic preservation, architectural history, or archaeology; and are interesting in serving on the Newton Historical Commission, please contact Brian Lever at 617-796-1129 or bl****@******ma.gov to apply. The Commission is the City’s preservation planning body and has the responsibility of surveying and documenting historic properties, advising the Mayor and Board of Aldermen on matters pertaining to historic preservation, enforcing the Demolition Delay and City Landmark ordinances, and working with the public to encourage the preservation of historic properties as well as protecting the City’s heritage. The Commission also appoints one of its members to the CPC – that position is currently vacant and has no ward residency requirement.

There will be a meeting of the ad hoc committee to form a Waban Area Council at 7:30pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013 at the Waban Library Center, 1608 Beacon St., Waban. The meeting is open to all voter-eligible residents of Waban who are interested in helping to establish this Council in order to streamline local communication and advocacy with Newton City Hall on matters and concerns relevant to our village.

Think back to when you were a kid. What kind of relationships did you have with adults (or wished you had)? Perhaps you had a coach, religious leader, teacher, family friend, parent, or sibling who you looked up to. Positive adult role models in the lives of youth can make all the difference in helping young people to be healthy and productive. Encouragement and support go a LONG way towards helping kids make good decisions that affect the rest of their lives. Many kids need more support from adults than they are able to get in school and at home. By volunteering as a mentor, you are helping a young person not feel quite so alone in the world. Pay it forward and change someone’s future! Contact De****@******************ip.org for more information.

Help make sure senior citizens in Newton weather snowstorms well! Newton at Home, a member non-profit organization dedicated to helping Newton seniors age in their own homes, is looking for volunteers who can help in a variety of ways. Being a winter buddy means checking in with your buddy before and after storms – something that the whole family can do. This program has a 30-minute training session, and requires a CORI check. For more info, contact Jacki Katz at ja*******@***oo.com.

We always need drivers who can give rides to seniors and make a new friend while helping someone get to

a doctor’s appointment, the supermarket, a social event or the airport. Finally, NAH is also looking for those with knowledge in the health and wellness area to join the NAH Health and Wellness Committee to plan events for seniors. Volunteer as much as you can at your convenience, and know that you have made a difference in a Newton senior’s life. You’ll meet interesting people and share great conversation along the way! If you are willing and able to help, please contact Julie Plaut Mahoney, Ph.D., Coordinator of Volunteers, Newton at Home, 617-795-2560 or vo******@**********me.org.

PUBLIC HEARING on next-phase funding for the Newton Homebuyer Assistance Program will be held Thursday, January 10, 7PM in Room 222 at City Hall. The full text of the proposal and all supporting documents is online here. Note: If you are planning to comment on this proposal, please read page 1 again – a few minor changes have been made since it was first submitted in November 2012. Contact Alice Ingerson, at 617-796-1144.

Calling All Intrepid Troubadours of the Word Road: we have released the hounds and are shouting out from the mountaintops. You are once again cordially invited to attend a weekend of writing workshops, craft sessions, and open mic at the Champlain College Young Writers’ Conference, May 24-26. Now in our thirteenth year, our doors are open to high school students who wish to share their passion for story, drama, and song with their writerly brothers and sisters – and with celebrated New England authors. We offer three days of readings, improv, Moth storytelling, poetry slams, literary jazz/blues fusion, and extended friendship on the hillside campus of Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. The postmark DEADLINE OF FEBRUARY 15 is fast approaching and our search lights are on. If you have a tale to spin, or a story to share, please download an application (or cover letter & brochure) from our website. 

OUR 2013 KEYNOTE SPEAKER, POET AND ESSAYIST, WESLEY MCNAIR, is the Poet Laureate of Maine and the author of nineteen books, including poetry, nonfiction, and edited anthologies. Often featured on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac, McNair has received numerous honors including two Rockefeller Fellowships, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Guggenheim, the Theodore Roethke Prize, and the Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry.