Register to Vote by Aug. 17 for State Primary

The state primary is Sept. 6.

Town Clerk Onorina Maloney reminds residents to register to vote by Aug. 17 in order to be eligible to vote in the Sept. 6 state primary. The town clerk's office will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. to register voters on Aug. 17.  Absentee ballots are also available for this election. If you will be absent from town on election day, have a physical disability that prevents you from voting or cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs, you may request an absentee ballot. To have one mailed to you, call the town clerk's office at 978-250-5205. 

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School Committee Approves Aramark as Custodial Vendor

Aramark will now supply Chelmsford Public Schools with custodians and equipment.

In a short meeting last night at 6 p.m., three of the five School Committee members voted to use Aramark as a vendor for custodial services for the School Department. The move will save about $200,000 per year for each of the three years of the contract, according to school officials. The School Department has the option to renew the contract for two more years after the contract ends. School Committee Chairwoman Janet Askenburg, who did not attend last night's meeting, had recused herself from a discussion on the topic Tueday evening due to a potential conflict of interest. School Committee member Evelyn Thoren was also not present at last night's or Tuesday night's meeting. School Committee member Mike Rigney said the decision, for him, …

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Town Meeting Approves Church Renovations

After questions and debate, the spring 2011 town meeting wraps up by approving final four articles.

Town Meeting met last night for its final night of a three night marathon session in which it finished addressing the 25 articles of the warrant for the Spring Session. Chelmsford residents heard articles about restoring the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, its town-owned clock tower, removing invasive weeds in Heart Pond, and the approval of a new road in town.  Here's a recap of the final articles addressed:

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Tom Christiano

7:37 am on Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Nice summary of last night's Town Meeting Julia.   more ›

Chelmsford Municipal Election

ELECTION COMMENTARY: Top Ten Things That Take Longer Than Voting

A look at some common practices in town that hopefully can be put aside in order to vote today.

For full disclosure, my early voting habits were less then stellar.  More specifically, I didn't vote until the Presidential Election of November 2000.  I was 24.  That's 6 years of voting eligibility wasted being a punk that I can never get back.  My theory at the time was, "I hate politics, they are all a bunch of liars, and my vote is to not vote."  "Typical kid," says the wise man that looks back on his life as he ponders today's local election. In reality, I'm not that hard on myself for this lapse.  I never talked politics, I never followed politics, and as a non-property-tax-paying, apartment-renting hooligan living with his college buddies, they just weren't on my radar.  But something funny ended up happening.  I got a case of the…

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