On Tuesday Current School Committee Chairman Jean Bertschmann announced that she is running for re-election to the school committee. She is the first candidate to announce a bid for one of the two open School Committee seats. We featured a story about Hopkinton Painter Dustin Neece. Neece is working on a painting of two well-known Boston Marathoners. For the 30th time this year Dick Hoyt will be pushing his son 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. The duo has competed in over a thousand races but the Boston Marathon is where they started. The painting will be premiered the week before the …

1. This week our top story way about the temporary closing of Baypath Humane Society. We spoke to a veterinarian from Main Street Animal Services Hospital about the virus that several dogs had caught. 2. We featured two polls this week, both about issues affecting other communities across the state. On Wednesday we asked: Do you support the MBTA cuts? Yesterday we asked how you felt about the phrase “under god” in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. This week a third candidate for town government announced his campaign. Ken Weismantel took out nomination papers for his bid to hold onto his seat on …

1. The big story this week was about the Downtown Initiative Steering Committee and their Main Street redesign plans. On a poll that we posted Thursday we has 60 responses so far and it appears the town is split down the middle. How do you feel about the plan? There’s still time to respond and discuss your feelings in the comments before the Thursday, Feb. 16 public forum on the topic. 2. This week we featured a heartwarming story about a Watertown man who adopted two dogs from Greyhound Friends Inc. The video was one of the most popular videos this year we heard a ton of great feedback in …

Although there was no single story about the Hopkinton organizations this week, over 17 groups received running waivers for the Boston Marathon last Tuesday. The groups had one week to find a runner or they would face an increase in the sign-up fee for their runners. According to town hall workers all of the groups found their runners. We will be featuring profiles on some of the runners in the upcoming weeks. Did you see our twice-weekly regional polls? This week we asked users for their thoughts on whether religious organizations should be exempt from birth control laws and if they felt an …

It’s been an emotional week for many residents of Hopkinton. On Tuesday we shared the news that Allison Lundy had lost her battle with cancer. Allison was a fifth grader at the Hopkins School. We also shared the story of Jackie and Ralph Potenzone. The Potenzone’s are struggling with the loss of Ralph’s job while trying to provide for a family in the slow economy. On a different note we featured an update on the school budget process. Since the article ran on Friday the school has passed a budget and they definitely took the community’s concerns into account. We will have a detailed …

At Patch, Sunday morning means that it’s time to take look back at this week in Hopkinton news. With it getting to be the end of January, the town’s departments are really starting to get in to the nitty-gritty of their budgets. The Board of Selectmen heard presentations from the Capital Improvements Committee and the Community Preservation Committee about. The two groups presented the lists of projects that they had in the works for fiscal year ’13 and the years after. The School Committee also spent a large amount of time talking about budgets. At their meeting Thursday they had …

In Case you missed it, we had a lot of new stories on the site this week. We learned about some programs that the town has been working on and we talked to some great people around the town. At the Board of Selectmen meeting on Thursday they talked about merging the Hopkinton Fire Department together with the Ashland Fire Department. The conversation has been going on for a couple years and looks like the final phases of background research could be ready by the end of the year. We also had a fantastic piece about Dan Field who takes part in the Pan Mass Challenge every year to help raise …

This week on patch readers were interested in what decisions the town is making early in the budget process. Our story about the school the school committee’s hearing with the elementary school principals was very popular, as was our story from last month about the superintendent’s five preliminary budget recommendations. We had a lot of feedback from users on our polls this week too. We found out that most Patch readers prefer to get their coffee from Hopkinton Gourmet. Readers also shared with us that they prefer Samoa Girl Scout Cookies to any other kind. Our reporters helped us learn that…

This week on Patch we spent a lot of time reminiscing about Hopkinton Patch’s first year of existence. We gave you our list of top olice log entries, as well as a list of some of the top stories for the year. We also spent a lot of time planning what’s going to happen next year. We’re looking ahead to the Boston Marathon in April, A big national election in November, and the end of the world in December (maybe). We’re going to be trying some different things in the new year. We really want to start telling the stories about the people that make Hopkinton such a great place to live and work. …

This week Patch readers were interested in the good going on the community. Our biggest story this week was about Michelle Tate’s “Jammy Jam Jingle” to raise Money for Zoe Meinen, a 3-year-old who is undergoing treatment for her brain cancer. Also a popular read was our story about Dawn Mercier who is in charge of fundraising for the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K Race. The event helps raise money for ALS, a disease that is close to Mercier’s Heart. We love featuring community members that really give back, so make sure to leave a comment or email sean.odonnell@patch.com if there is someone you …

This week at Patch we learned a lot about the process of drafting proposals and making town decisions. We learned that not everyone is happy with the way the Downtown Initiative Steering committee is handling its task. Some residents felt members were sending mixed messages. We also learned that the School Committee based its rules about giving gifts to teachers on state laws. One thing that we wished we learned more about was what is the worst gift you ever received. Miss the poll the first time around? It's not too late to share your horrible gift with us.

This week, we were glad to see Hopkinton cared about the presentation, 'Understanding Adolescent Behavior.' The presentation included facts presented by Jean Vazza and Danielle Petrucci, and focused on behaviors of Hopkinton youth, including bullying and drug use.  We also learned that only six people who read Patch have ever received a bad gift! We know you're out there and we still want to hear from you. On a personal note, I learned that I'm not the only person who ever got a banana hanger. Finally, we learned that Redford the dog is in need of surgery, and Baypath Humane Society is …

1. Armed Home Invasion Reported in Hopkinton was the most-read story of the week. The press release from the Hopkinton Police Department about a break-in. Patch is staying in top of the report and will bring you information as it becomes available.  2. Anne Burtenshaw's Stuffing Recipe was a top article on Patch during this shortened holiday week. Her recipe got 11 Facebook recommendations and was tweeted 18 times. Stay tuned as Christmas approaches; we want to feature more recipes from residents. 3. With the big football game against Ashland this week, Hopkinton Patch featured pictures of …

1. Volunteers at Baypath Humane Search for Skittish Dog was the most read and tweeted article on Patch this week. The follow-up, Runaway Beagle Continues to Evade Volunteers, was also very popular. It's great to see how much residents respond when animals are involved. 2. Residents Weigh in on School Districting was the number two most popular story this week. The ongoing discussion about the Center School is definitely a huge topic around town. 3. The third best-received story this week was 5 Things You Missed at Selectmen Last Night. Among the topics selectmen discussed was changing the …

Each week we here at Patch take a look at what we learned, what our top stories are, and what folks are chatting about. Here are this week's top three: 1. IRS Agents Temporarily Close Hopkinton Gas - Everyone wanted to know why Hopkinton Gas was shut down for several hours Wednesday morning.  2. Cheap Gas in Hopkinton was another one of our top stories this week. If you keep reading this we will make sure it becomes more of a regular feature. 3. Since we first launched in Hopkinton almost a year ago, readers have been reading and commenting on our articles about the Center School. This week, …

Each week we here at Patch take a look at what we learned, what our top stories are, and what folks are chatting about. Our goal is to be your community resource for all things Hopkinton so this allows us to keep track of what is being well received. Here are this week's top five: 1. No Carve Pumpkin Decorating - Lisa Stukel's popular Busy Mom's Column is number one again this week. This week she shared how to make beautiful pumpkin decorations sans the knife. Check it out. 2. National Merit Scholarship Program Names One Senior Semifinalist - This story about Max Vumbaca is our Whiz Kid of …

Each week, the Hopkinton Patch takes a look back at our top five stories. It's an opportunity for us to see what you, the readers, want to know more about and it's also an opportunity for those of you who may have missed something important to catch up with the news that mattered. Here are this week's top five: 1. Hopkins Fifth Graders Want a Longer Recess (POLL) - UPDATED - This was a look at a letter that Principal Greg Martineau was given from a clever group of fifth graders. They want a longer recess and they know how to go about getting it. 2. These Girls are Card Makers - This is our …

Each Friday, the Hopkinton Patch, recaps our top stories for the week for those of you who were away or simply not able to visit us multiple times during the day. We consider it a public service to keep you in the loop of what happened in your town that mattered to our readers, and we would love to hear your thoughts in our comments section below. Here are this week's top five: 1. Controversy at Hopkinton High (Poll) - This was our coverage of the high school's decision to ban tagging and different colored T-shirts at their upcoming pep rally. See how folks voted by clicking above and …

Each week we take a look back at our top five stories based on number of hits each received. It helps us to know what our readers want to know more about, and keeps our content fresh. It is also a chance for you to catch up on what you may have missed while on vacation or too busy living to be reading Patch hourly. Here are this week's top five: 1. Peace One Day or Peace All Days? - This was our story on Peace Day 2011 and Hopkinton's participation in the event. We shared events and talked with Donna Blackstone about how she and other Hopkintonites got involved. 2. Price Chopper Plaza on …

Every week, the Hopkinton Patch takes a look back to see what we learned and what we covered in the previous week. It is a way of catching those of you who may not have gotten to us seven times a day, everyday, and replaying what we learned. It also gives us an idea of what you'd like to see more of for news. As always, if you have an event or story you'd like to see covered email Faith594@msn.com or join us on our facebook page and tell us in the comments. Here are this week's top five stories: 1. Out of Tragedy, New Hope - This is the story of survival, love and hope. It is the story of the…