CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Enter The Dragon... Duxbury 19, Dennis-Yarmouth 7

Some EMass high school football playoff scores for you

Duxbury 19, Dennis-Yarmouth 7

Duxbury's defensive schemes shut down a DY attack that was laying 33 points per game upon opponents. It was a Duxbury shutout most of the way, but you don't shut out a team like DY in a big game.

Key play: Duxbury safety Reilly Nation snuffs DY QB Matt Montalto on the one yard line as the first half expires.

An early injury to behemoth tackle Nathan "Scary" Crary doomed DY's running game. Duxbury repeatedly forced DY to turn the ball over on downs, and- on a critical late series with DY down 12-7 and holding the ball- Duxbury forced them to lose 19 yards on 4 plays. Ballgame.

The scoring....

Dux: Andrew Buron 40 pass from Kane Haffey (kick failed) 6-0

Dux-Henry Buonagurio 1 run (pass failed) 12-0

D-Y-Joe Furness 6 run (John Terrio kick) 12-7

Dux: Haffey 1 run (Tucker Hannon kick) 19-7

Big ups to the Dolphins, who had to take a few scalps just to get to the big dance. Like we said in the previous article, playoff experience is invaluable in a sport where the maximum career is 4 years. DY now has that wisdom, and I'd look for them to be in the title picture for a decade, easy. Coach Paul Funk is the right man for the job, and the possibility of DY owning the Cape for a while is real.

DY returns the mercurial Montalto, sure-handed Justin Clark, and tackling machine Victor Andrade, thus making DY a heavy favorite to rule the Cape next season. Joe Furness also returns.

I didn't hang around to see who the MVP was, but I'd go with the Haffey kid. I know his Mom, and don't want her pinning me to the bar at the next class reunion and going "Why did you make Reilly Nation MVP???"

Duxbury goes on to face the winner of the Concord-Carlisle vs North Andover game, which is ongoing.

Read the report in today's Boston Globe here.

Concord-Carlisle 35, North Andover 16

CC plays Duxbury in the Super Bowl this Saturday. Their big win was 234 years ago, and that won't change Sunday.

Cardinal Spellman 28,  Hamilton-Wenham 16

Hamilton-Wenham sounds like they should be making blenders or something.

Northeast 42, Pope John 0

The Catholics will just have to follow Cardinal Spellman now.

Somerset 28, Dighton-Rehoboth 0

If you're carrying a football, you may just want to detour around the town of Somerset.

Beverly 41, Scituate 14

Beverly, which entered the game sporting a 5-6 record, beat the formerly 9-2 Sailors like a mouthy slave. Moby Dick and The Bermuda Traingle did less damage to Sailors. Beverly was up 28-0 at the half, and Scituate scored those 14 points on Beverly's benchwarmers. Between Joe Malone, this game, and a few dozen coastal storms.... po' Scituate.

St. John's Prep 35, New Bedford 7

More than one sportswriter was shocked to see the season shake out New Bedford as the playoff team from her conference. The coach-and-four turned back into a pumpkin today, as SJP gave it to them old country style.

Gloucester 21, Lincoln-Sudbury 0

25 straight wins for G-Lobster.

Shawsheen 21, Madison Park 0

The Shawsheen Redemption literally dropped a deuce on the championship dreams of Maddy Pahhhhhk.

Brighton 36, West Bridgewater 13

Sad to see the WB catch a 23 point L, but "West Bridgewater" is worth more points in Scrabble than Brighton is.

Everett 21, Andover 0

Everett is a machine, and Andover was essentially just the next clown out of the car. John DiBiaso threw his 40th TD pass, a state record.

Mansfield 28, Walpole 0

Walpole took some prison-shower work from the Field Of Man.

Holliston 35, Rockland 20

Rockland hung tough for a while, but Holliston simply wasn't to be trifled with this year.

Bridgewater-Raynham 34, Weymouth 22

The Weymouth kids fall victim to the Bridgewater Triangle.

Reading 15, Dracut 14

A nailbiter nightcap.

2 car accident in Centerville

Accident ties up traffic at 28 and Lumbert Mill Rd.

By Jonathan Mayo

On Tuesday around 2:10 PM two vehicles collided at Lumbert Mill Rd. and Route 28.  Barnstable Police were quick to respond.  Mashpee Rescue happened to be passing and stayed briefly to assess the situation.

There didn't appear to be any injuries.

This intersection has been the site of many accidents over the years and the recent installation of traffic lights aims to make the location safer. These lights should be fully operational soon.

Mashpee flu clinic December 7th; Chatham special Town Meeting December 6th; Inside Barnstable Town Government winter classes; New flag box at Eastham Public Library; Barnstable burglar alarm registration

Chatham special Town Meeting on Monday, December 6th

The Town of Chatham will hold a special Town Meeting on Monday, December 6, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the high school on Crowell Road.

There are eight articles on the warrant including the much talked about issue of creating a regional school district with the Town of Harwich.

From Article 7 (Establishment of a Regional School District):

Shall the town accept the provisions of sections sixteen to sixteen I, inclusive, of chapter seventy-one of the General Laws providing for the establishment of a regional school district, together with the town of Harwich, and the construction, maintenance and operation of regional schools by said district in accordance with the provisions of a proposed agreement filed with the selectmen?

The article received the approval/recommendation of both the school committee and the board of selectmen (3-2-0), but did not receive the approval/recommendation of the finance committee (6-1-0).

Read the entire warrant here.

Information courtesy of the Town of Chatham.

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Mashpee flu and pneumonia clinic December 7th

The Town of Mashpee will hold a flu and pneumonia clinic on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Christ the King Parish Center on Jobs Fishing Road in Mashpee.

H1N1 is included in the vaccine. The clinic is open to all Mashpee residents 18 and older.

Call the Mashpee Board of Health at 508-539-1400, ext. 555 (please do not contact the church) for more information. Click here for details.

Courtesy of the Town of Mashpee.

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Inside Barnstable Town Government winter classes begin January 25th

The seventeenth session of Inside Barnstable Town Government, A Citizens Leadership Academy will begin January 25, 2011.  The academy is an 11-week commitment with the goal of educating the citizens of Barnstable about the operations of town government, while also obtaining valuable feedback and participation from those citizens participating in the Academy.  The program is designed to advance understanding of and participation in civic affairs as well as to increase awareness of the challenges facing municipal government.

The classes will be on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:00 pm and will be held in various locations throughout the Town.  The Academy also includes a bus tour of the seven villages.  The classes will be conducted by Town staff and provide interactive learning experiences, group discussions, and site tours.  The program is free of charge and class size is limited.  Please register early to avoid the waiting list.

Applications are available at the Town Manager’s Office, 367 Main Street, Hyannis or online at www.town.barnstable.ma.us.  To receive an application by mail or fax, please call 508-862-4610.  For specific information, you may call either of the Academy facilitators:  Susan French (508-362-2864) or Meg Loughran (508-362-5490).

Courtesy of the Town of Barnstable.

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New flag box at the Eastham Public Library

The Eastham Public Library now has a flag box where you can drop off tattered, unserviceable US flags. The box is a service of the American Veterans Post 333, who will take care of the disposing of the flags. The box honors Sgt. Mark Vecchione, U.S. Army, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2006.

Courtesy of the Town of Eastham.

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Burglar alarm registration renewals due in Barnstable

All burglar alarm registrations within the Town of Barnstable will expire on December 31, 2010. If you are an alarm user, commercial or residential, monitored or non-monitored, you need to renew your alarm registration and get your 2011/2012 decal.

An alarm registration renewal form, available at the Barnstable Police Department or online here, must be completed and submitted with the $25 registration fee.   Renew by December 31, 2010 to avoid costly unregistered alarm fines.

There have been changes to the regulations which will take effect on January 1, 2011.
Regulations are available for review/download here.

Courtesy of the Town of Barnstable.

Adrift upon the Volga

Russia's tourism: working hard to catch up 

The reward after a trip on the Volga is for my wife to be able to stand in front of Henri Matisse's Dancers.

A delightly restful way to travel through Mother Russia

By Walter Brooks. Photos by Patricia Brooks

Moscow is a world class city with countless magnificent statues and horrible traffic jams.

Our riverboat docked in the Neva River in St. Petersburg with a Zakin Bridge look alike.

The canals truly make in "The Venice of the North."

Catherine the Great's Palance out-classs Versailles.

On weekends in Moscow wedding parties (rear on right) get ripped on the city' outlook point.

Redd Square is vibrant at night.

It's been less than twenty years since Russia threw off the yoke of communism and began to experiment with western-style democracy. The ghost of Lenin lingers in crooks and crannies, but the Ivans are trying hard to get 21st. century tourism right.

This was our second visit to the former Soviet Union, the first a decade ago. That time we sailed into St. Petersburg for three days to visit The Hermitage art museum, the world's greatest largest, with its incredible once-hidden collection of impressionist paintings.

That earlier visit was in the care of the Holland-American lines, and we weren't exposed to the Russian style hospitality industry as we were these two weeks in our current visit on the Viking River Cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

The experience reminded us of earlier trips to China thirty years ago when the country first opened up to western visitors. The Chinese tourist workers hadn't a clue back then how to treat paying guests - pleasing the customer wasn't a concept they understood nor had to under their egalitarian society.

Russia, however, is European, at least the part west of the Ural Mountains, and the country had very strong ties with Western Europe for centuries before the 1917 revolution.

Just to give you a few ideas of what our cruise offered:

• Dinner was a joy every night. Our server Alexandre was a handsome, young charmer, and his service was beyond reproach.
  
• Breakfast was especially pleasant sitting by a window on this small, cozy riverboat, looking out at the passing shoreline. And you can't begin to find Müesli like this in the U.S.
  
• Internet access is spotty because we are really a long way from the metropolitan areas and Viking must depend on satellite reception which is avaible for no charge.
  
• The best part of a voyage like this is the friendliness and intimacy of a small ship, and the type of traveler choosing these excursions is almost by definition an adventurer.

There were also these delights:

• Young Russian hospitality workers with vast local knowledge and intelligence who tried very hard to make up for any shortcomings.
• A chance to see St. Petersburg's rebirth as again the "Venice of The North" under the protection of UNESCO as a World Heritage City.
• Excellent food served well and a series of outstanding and unusual soups at both lunch and dinner daily.
• Really comfortable beds in a good-sized cabin.
• A blond, blue-eyed tour guide Paulina who resembled Uma Thurman, a beautiful receptionist named Sasha who was last seen at Troquet one of Boston's best French restaurants as hostess, and another receptionist, Alexandra, who was a web whiz when needed.
• A trip to the ballet to see Giselle performed superbly. Unfortunately it was still Giselle rather than any of the countless great modern Russian ballets from Tchaikovsky through Stravinsky and Prokofiev. You'll be luckier we're sure on your trip.
  
• Tours to St. Petersburg's truly magnificent palaces which make Versailles look dull by comparison.
• Very well organized and informative tours with first class guides in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.
  

Lest you think me some poor, easily impressed naif who has never traveled abroad, let me assure you that after over 100 countries and several dozen cruises - even one on the Mekong River run by a Burmese company - I know the standard for civilized travel.

The Volga

We look forward to taking another Viking voyage like the portion of the Volga south of Moscow to the Black Sea which is even more picturesque.

This trip north to St. Petersburg was the final voyage of the season, and the weather turned against us. This is, after all, Russia, where they really know how to do winter. Some days we might pass a deserted bell towers left in the middle of a canal by high water, and one onion-domed Russian Orthodox Church after another.

One day we put into an island which was a Northern Russian version of something like our Williamsburg, an ersatz peasant village and tourist park.

A brave & beautiful city

During World War II, Leningrad, as St. Petersburgh was renamed by the Soviets, was besieged by Nazi Germany and its co-belligerent Finland for 872 days from September 1941 to January 1944.
     The siege was the longest, most destructive, and most deadly in modern history, and more than a million civilians died, mainly from starvation, as many as 30,000 a day.
   From this depth this city has risen to challenge Venice and Amsterdam for its canals and graceful architecture.

This is a luxury cruise, and it can cost upwards to $9,000 per couple when you include the airfare, Matryoshka Dolls and other trinkets, and a few optional tours.

The two sides of Russia

There are two sides to Russia: her great cities Moscow and St. Petersburg, and ancient villages like Yaroslavl, Uglich and Goritzy.

On this river cruise you will get both.

First you'll spend several days touring the cities' important landmarks-Moscow's Kremlin and Red Square, St. Petersburg's Pushkin, Peter & Paul Fortress and the Hermitage, my favorite museum in the entire world.

From 1917 until Perestroika the communist government hid the great impressionist art collections of the ousted notability in the museum basement, and only today can the world see these unique treasures.

The State Hermitage (Russian: Государственный Эрмитаж) is one of the largest and oldest museums of the world. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise nearly 3 million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.

The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors, and it's ours at the end of this two week voyage.

Our guide Paulina had told us last week, "It's time to leave Russia when you've met the third Tatiana."

I met her today.

The staggering size of The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg can only be imagined from this photo which was taken from the third floor in the Impressionist wing.

"Miniature Masterpieces" debuts this Saturday in Hyannis

Pearl Street Holiday Art Show and Guyer Art Barn opening reception for Miniature Masterpieces features over 20 artists

Visit with local artists, celebrate new original art and give the gift of creativity

   "Lovers", 10" x 15" pigment print by Anita Winstanley-Roark. Courtesy of the Town of Barnstable.

Visit with local artists on Pearl Street during the Pearl Street Holiday Art Show and opening reception for the group show, Miniature Masterpieces at Guyer Art Barn, 250 South Street, Hyannis  on Saturday, December 4th from 6 to 8pm.  The exhibit features over 20 local artists and all works are under 25 inches.  Miniature Masterpieces  is on display December 4th through January 9, 2011.  Guyer Art Barn hours are noon-4pm Saturdays and Sundays.  The artist studios also will be open during the day on Saturday, December 4th as a part of the Main Street Hyannis Holiday stroll.

Sarah Holl's Artspace, the artist work studios @50 Pearl and the Guyer Art Barn welcome visitors to share in the holiday spirit all month long.  Enjoy the colorful studios with works as individual as the artists who create them, on display and advantageously priced for the season.  Sarah Holl Artspace is open every Saturday, 1pm to 4pm and always by appointment.

The Guyer Art Barn is a showcase for emerging and established local artists in a wide variety of genres.   It is a working artist studio and professional artist gallery supporting and promoting the arts where visitors gather to enjoy changing exhibitions, classes and workshops. The Barn plays a key role as part of the artist campus of the Shirley Blair Flynn Center for the Arts, a unique artist live/work space developed by the Town of Barnstable.

Courtesy of the Town of Barnstable.

Yeah, Those Noisy Windmills Are Really A Drag.