With a brief lull in the weather, Hopkinton Patch managed to grab a few minutes with Mike Mansir, who oversees the town’s highway department and therefore the efforts to remove snow and ice and keep roads, sidewalks and parking lots passable and safe. He shared his thoughts on the winter so far and the prospect that bare ground will be showing before too long. Hopkinton Patch: What has been the most difficult part of this winter for snow removal? Mike Mansir: With all of the snow storms we have received over the last 6 weeks with not much melting, the snow banks are so high that our smaller …

It's fitting that Hopkinton Patch would launch so close to the start of a new year.In many ways, Hopkinton is all about beginnings.From the thousands of runners filled with hope and determination to reach the finish line 26.2 miles away at the Boston Marathon's dramatic start each April to the modest streams that become the sources of the Charles and Sudbury rivers, Hopkinton gives rise to new starts.And Hopkinton Patch launches as the town sees a fresh slate of potential new beginnings. The year 2011 will likely bring the start of Legacy Farms, by far the largest single planned development …