DCR to close New England Trail Bridge for six weeks

WENDELL — Beginning Oct. 11 and continuing through Nov. 22, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation is closing the New England Trail Bridge over Mormon Hollow Brook at Wendell State Forest to replace the existing bridge with a new pedestrian one.

The structure is also known as the Mormon Hollow Brook Bridge.

New Salem early ballots sent out

NEW SALEM— Early ballots for the Nov. 5 election were mailed Tuesday to everyone who requested one between Jan. 1 and Oct. 7.

You can track your ballot or request an early ballot if you have not already done so at tinyurl.com/StateBallotTracker.

Ballots can be returned by mail, in person during the town clerk’s office hours of 5 to 7 p.m. on Mondays, or to the new ballot dropbox at Town Hall at 15 South Main St. The ballot dropbox will be located next to the tax collector’s dropbox. Do not put ballots in the tax collector’s dropbox. The different boxes are clearly marked.

Those who would like to vote early in person may do so during the town clerk’s regular office hours. She will hold additional in-person early voting on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20. If you would like to vote during these times, email Town Clerk Stacy Senflug in advance at newsalemsclerk@aol.com. She is also available by appointment.

Final 2024 ‘Honoring Elders’ event coming up

WENDELL — The final event in the 2024 “Honoring Elders” series will be held at the Wendell Meetinghouse at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

October’s honorees will be Alys Terrien-Queen and Christopher Queen. They first came to Wendell in 2002, and have since served on local boards, offered music performances, and volunteered to support local and regional groups and causes.

Terrien-Queen taught music at Wheaton College, the New England Conservatory of Music and the Longy School of Music of Bard College. As a pianist, she performed at Tanglewood and co-founded several chamber music groups. With grant funding from the Mellon and Lila Wallace foundations, she conducted research on pianists’ learning styles and effective music practice.

In Wendell, she joined the Friends of the Wendell Free Library, where she served as president for six years. She organized, produced and performed in Classics in the Woods, a concert series offered for 10 years.

Queen served as dean of students and lecturer on religion at Boston University and Harvard University. During his first trip to India in 1987, he encountered the civil rights movement in India. He has written widely on socially engaged Buddhism and lectured in eight countries. He served as board president of Brookline Music School and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and on the boards of Spare Change News in Cambridge, Greenfield’s Stone Soup Café and the Montague Reporter.

In Wendell, Queen founded the Climate Change Discussion Group and served on the Cultural Council, the Planning Board and Dollars for Wendell Scholars. In recent years, he has volunteered on the board of the Friends of the Wendell Meetinghouse.

The Oct. 15 Honoring Elders event is free to attend. It is sponsored in part by a grant from the Wendell Cultural Council.

Charter to conduct overnight work

ORANGE — Charter Communications plans to conduct overnight work in town until roughly Oct. 28.

The hours of operation will be from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. There will be eight to 16 trucks on any given night.

Orange has put together a list of streets slated for work during this part of the project. That list, and more information, is available at tinyurl.com/ListOrange.