The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 328

2 West THE BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE JUNE 24, 1990 OPINION Letters I HHflflYDNLv I OK V0U UGUT THE MATCHEOOfcS TO AMD TO VJORV. WUO TUFJJ 44Vjrc CV 'EM INTO THE AIR WITH WIS SUNCjPOT AT WHICH POINT VOU $ETtf TOP iVv Don't send mail center this way I would like to respond to Dallas Slade's article in the June 10 Sunday Globe titled, "Signed, Sealed and Express Mailed," regarding the proposed siting of the new Postal Service mail center on Smith Street in Waltham. He did make one accurate observation: We area residents one "in an uproar." So is the abutting town of Lexington, and with good reason. We feel that this deal should absolutely not be "signed, sealed and Express Mailed" until all viable alternatives have been explored. MABLE KACHAGIAN Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Association Waltham First Mr.

Slade savs he is "imDressed with the thought of adding 1,000 jobs to an area where the unemployment rate has crept above the national average." Sludge dlimD Will be disaster This statement is incorrect on two counts: First, there will not be 1,000 new jobs available since, as we understand it, most of the positions will be filled by people transferring from the Boston annex. Second, Waltham does not have a high unemployment rate. If, indeed, this proposed facility will provide any new jobs, it should be located in an economically depressed city. Waltham does not meet that criterion. We are sure that you are aware of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority proposal to site a sludge dump in the town of Walpole.

As members of the Norfolk Conservation Commission, we are responsible for protecting the wetlands and water resources of our town. We take that responsibility seriously. This dump, if built, will destroy a sole-source aquifer for the towns of Walpole and Norfolk, and pollute our rivers and wetlands with hazardous wastes. Why should you be concerned? The answer is found in the environmental slogan; "We all live downstream." This letter is being sent to those communities that are, quite literally, downstream from the sludge dump site. this is not a local problem for the town of Walpole; the Mr.

Slade quoted me correctly when he said that I propose that the facility be put in an industrial park and not a residential neighborhood. I do not believe this is an unreasonable suggestion, given the fact that there are many sites available in industrial areas, such as along 495, in Lawrence at the site previously considered by Emerson College, near the industrial parks on Route 1 in the Topsfield area, and many such other locations. In fact, your own newspaper's classified section last Sunday included an ad for 85 acres available on Route 9. Also, why not investigate sites of former trucking companies which have gone out of business? Since there are so many other alternatives, why put irresponsible siting of this sludge dump is a regional Raced with a $20,000 shortfall in "their 25,000 budget, members oF Natidos "4th of July, Ire." scale down the planned hoiiaay display. problem that affects us all.

The dump site is within yards of the Stop River, just a few miles before it joins the Charles. The EPA has Political Notebook examined many landfills and dump sites over the years -they all leak! If we allow this sludge dump to be built, it will be an environmental disaster. There will be heavy metals and other toxic substances flowing through our towns for years to come. Does it make any sense to re move these dangerous materials from Boston Harbor and then carry them 20 miles upstream, only to introduce them into our water systems? The MWRA plan does not clean up the harbor; it just spreads the pollution throughout the entire area south and west of Boston. Forgery remains a mystery So, who's the forger? That's the key question that remains unanswered in the case of would-be state Senate candidate Gary B.

What the report didn't mention is that Dover, Lincoln, Sherborn, Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley and Weston all passed at least one override of the Proposition 2Vfe tax cap this year. Only Newton, which killed its $5 million override, risks falling out of the top 15 next year. Think about the negative effects the MWRA proposal will have on your community. We need your help! Let your legislators know that the Walpole Sludge Dump site this facility in a residential neighborhood in place of a $40 million building which currently brings in $550,000 in real estate taxes to the City of Waltham? The Lincoln Heights Association feels that Waltham has done more than its share to help the economy of the state. At least 40 percent of the city's property is already tax-exempt, including Brandeis University, Bentley College, the Army Engineer Corps facility, the Metropolitan State Hospital and the Feraald School.

Yes, as Mr. Slade states, "the former occupant, Bull HN Information Inc. had hundreds of employees and was previously a prime contributor to the number of cars commuting through the area." However, he fails to point out that, in addition to employees' cars during normal rush hours, the postal facility will operate hours a day and will contribute 5-ton and 10-ton trailers to the traffic mix all of which will be traveling through an intersection (Trapelo Road and Smith Street) which is already classified as Level the lowest possible safety rating. At this intersection alone, there were 23 accidents in 1987, 22 in 1988 and 22 in 1989 (including two fatalities). It's very easy for someone who does not live in the area and who has not experienced the problems to sit back and decide that we should not make waves and simply accept the further deterioration of our neighborhood.

Mr. Slade closes with the statement that the main argument in favor of the mail center is still the addition of a thousand jobs. I repeat my earlier statement: These are not additional jobs but, rather, existing jobs that will be mostly filled by transferred employees. So much for Mr. Slade's "main argument" is unacceptable.

Together we can stop this environmental catastrophe. Remember We all live downstream. JANE DEWEY, chairwoman CYNTHIA ANDRADE THOMAS GILBERT MARVIN JACOBSON ANTHONY MARTUCCI (Gabe) Shepherd. Shepherd, a 27-year-old Republican, last week dropped his challenge of Sen. Lois Pines (D-Newton) amid allegations that some signatures on his candidacy papers were forgeries and others were duplicates.

The most obvious choice for finger-pointing Shepherd himself apparently wasn't to blame. The reason is that Shepherd had little or no role in gathering the 300-plus signatures needed for his name to be placed on the ballot That was the work of more established Republicans, who had vowed to field candidates in every state Senate district. If we were big on conspiracy theories, we might suggest that higher-level Republicans knew or should have known that someone was playing fast and loose with the nomination papers. Keep in mind that Shepherd barely made the petition requirement, turning in just 316 signatures. Most candidates turn in dozens of extras out of concern that some will be disqualified because of wrong address or some other honest mistake.

Were the forgeries a calculated effort to put Shepherd over the top? On the other hand, maybe it was the work of some RICHARD SMITH KENNETH WOOD Norfolk Conservation Commission 'T for Two' is for children Buy a ticket, help a kid. That's not the motto of the new Forge Park495 MBTA station in Franklin, but it could be. The station, dedicated last week with the help of state Sen. Edward Burke (D-Framingham) and a bevy of other officials, is the site of an innovative program to assist Franklin Youth Services a nonprofit corporation that provides a variety of programs for local children and teen-agers. Known as for Two," here's how it works: The MBTA is leasing the station's ticket booth-concession stand to the town for $1 a year.

The town, in turn, is allowing Franklin Youth Services to run the franchise and keep the profits, which board member Chris Ashe says might be $60,000 a year. The concession stand also will be used as a cooperative job training program for area youths. It's the first public-private venture of its kind in the state and it's expected to be used as a model for others. For the record, credit belongs to MBTA, the Metaco-met Land Trust, the developers of the Forge Park industrial site, Burke, state Rep. Daniel Ranieri (D-Bel-lingham) and others.

But don't forget Jay Cohen, coordinator of human services in Franklin, whose job is on the line if voters defeat a $1.35 million override scheduled for Tuesday. To be published in West Weekly, letters must be signed and include an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be 200 words or less, all are subject to condensation. Send letters to: Letters to the Editor, The Boston Globe, 40 Speen St, Framing-ham, MA 01701. young, misguided, overzealous (or dumb and lazy) GOP volunteer who wanted to turn in a petition full of signa tures and go home.

One clue heard around these parts was that at least some of the questionable signatures might have been copied from a petition supporting a proposal to roll back Before Jenny Craig, I would never have dreamed of wearing i one day Id wake up and be slim.Thanks to Jenny Craig, it happened.1 tried other programs, state taxes and fees to 1988 levels, a popular cause in GOP circles. Another clue, which supports the lazystupid idea, is that one of the forged signatures was that of Julius Ma-sow, a Republican election commissioner in Newton. Ma-sow had legitimately signed Shepherd's papers in another place, but the forger apparently didn't bother to check. In the end it might never be known who was to blame; the Democrats who challenged Shepherd's papers are content to have him out of the race, so they're not pressing the issue. As for Pines, she is spared the time, effort and expense of what would have been her first challenge.

She gained the seat in 1986 running unopposed and won reelection two years later, also without an opponent. Pines and Sen. Linda Melconian (D-Springfield) are the only two Democratic state senators running unopposed. Several Republicans, including Sens. David Locke (R-Sherborn) and Mary Padula (R-Lunenburg) are flying solo on the campaign scene.

but the second I'd go oft I'd gam everything back and then some.While they helped me Kathy Chamblinlost 73 lbs. Stakes high for Stanley's plan The longer this goes on, the higher the stakes be- come. That's the reality facing Waltham Mayor William Stanley, who is risking a boatload of political capital on his dream of buying the soon-to-be-vacant offices of the Waltham News-Tribune. But it's still questionable whether he has the votes he needs on the City Council, which tabled the idea again last week at Stanley's request. "I'm pulling out all the stops," Stanley said during an interview.

lI really think it's crucial to the future of our downtown." The mayor's plan will go up or down tomorrow night at the council's last meeting before the end of the fiscal year. The mayor wants to buy the building so the site can be joined with the adjacent city-owned Embassy parking lot A developer then could use the huge lot for a project that would be the cornerstone of a revived downtown, or at least that's what Stanley hopes. The mayor apparently has abandoned the idea of selling bonds to meet the newspaper's $400,000 price tag; that would require support from 10 of the 15 council members, which seems unlikely considering the mayor last week had guarantees from just four. His new plan is to use $130,000 from an earlier land deal, $170,000 from block grants that originally would have been used to repave sidewalks on Moody Street and $100,000 from budget surplus accounts. That would require just a simple majority of eight council members.

Council members, led by William Eckland, seem skeptical. i Stay tuned. i wm Leaders in property tax race How's this for a dubious distinction? lose weight, they never taught me how to eat in the real world and keep it off. 1 was so unhappy being overweight, that 1 never wanted to do anything outside my house. But now I'm much more outgoing, much more sure of A report by the state Department of Revenue says eight of the 15 highest property tax rates in the state are I.

myself.Some people don't NOW yOU CcLtl found in West Weekly communities. Weston was second with an average property tax bill of Lincoln was third at Sherborn was fourth with Dover was sixth at Wayland was ninth at Wellesley was 11th at Newton was $14th at and Sudbury was 15th at $2,927. Brookline, just east of the West Weekly zone, won the right to scream, "We're No. Although the area's'tax bills were notably high, residents of almost all those towns don't seem to mind. even recognize me.That makes me feel great Gall today.

Natick WestWeekly Ashland Hopkinton Medway Northborough Watertown m. Bolton Hudson Millis Sherborn Wayland The Boston Globe Dover Lincoln Natick Southborough Wellesley 40 Speen St, Framingham, MA 01701 Framingham Marlborough Needham Stow Westborough New 508-820-4200 Franklin Maynard Newton Sudbury Weston Advertising: 617-929-2200 Holliston Medfield Norfolk Waltham Wrentham Circulation: 1-800-532-9324 Cambridge xnv tt.ii Needham Watertown qaAy7 IhmannsVillage at Apple Hill (617)449-6363 (617)926-3039 (617) 864-6007 (508)650-4600 I WettWeeklu appear in edition of The Boston Sunday Globe distributed in the fated cities and towns. It reports on people and events in those communities, and welcomes newt tips, announcements and calendar notice at ittxWest Bureau. Servictfee JennyCuiane additional Majorcrafaatisacgpttd Opm Saturdays and woiings MaintenanceProductsopfeVal.