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AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
wickedlocaldedham.com | GateHouse Media New England Vol. 1 No. 48 75

INSIDE
SPORTS, 11

THE NEXT STEP

Most parents sticking with Avery

As school fails to make AYP, steps taken to improve math may cut some recess time
By Edward B. Colby
STAFF WRITER

Parents of nine Avery School students have sent in letters saying they want to pull their child from the elementary school, choosing an option made avail-

able to them after the Avery failed to make adequate yearly progress in math for the second straight year. The students departing for Oakdale or Riverdale are mostly incoming firstgraders or new enrollees, Principal Clare Sullivan said. One student has a

sister at another school. Im calling parents to have a discussion with them to find out what their reasons are, and to talk about possibly staying, said Sullivan, who had convinced one to remain at the Avery by last Tuesday. Im trying to touch base with

everyone that sends a letter in. With the situation in flux, the principal said she didnt think she would have a definite number until right before school starts on Sept. 8.

AVERY, PAGE 7

TEDDY BEAR PICNIC

DOGGETT CIRCLE

Dedham High football team ready for season

THE BOX OFFICE, 8

GUESTS OF HONOR

Check out Brendan Joyces newest installment

GET INVOLVED

Judge gives McGolf a month

Driving range plans to install dividers to stop errant golf balls
By Edward B. Colby
STAFF WRITER

Send your back to school pictures to dedham @cnc.com

ONLINE

STAFF PHOTO BY ERIN PRAWOKO

Richard Gillis, 3, and his mom Sandra Gillis, of Dedham enjoy a shady spot at the Teddy Bear Picnic held last Thursday. By Andrea Salisbury

The Machine Jesse Green really drives it home with carving

DA RACE, 14

Kids bring stuffed friends to annual event at Endicott Estate

PEACE WALK

STAFF WRITER

tuffed creatures of all sizes, colors and species invaded the Endicott Estate last week with their pint-sized owners for the librarys annual Teddy Bear Picnic. I have a lot of teddy bears, 7-year-

old John Techiera, admitted last Thursday. He decided to bring two friends to the event, Monks, a stuffed monkey and Ricky, a small raccoon. The teddy bears, however, stayed at home, he said. I like to keep them in my room. If I dont I could lose them
PICNIC, PAGE 3

Doggett Circle seniors will have to wait a little longer for the problem of golf balls sailing or bouncing over from the driving range next door to be resolved. Judge Paul Troy rebuffed the Dedham Housing Authoritys request to shut down McGolf until new driving bay dividers are put in place, deciding to give the longstanding golf complex on Bridge Street another month to make changes. Your suit has awakened the defendant, Troy told the Housing Authoritys attorney, Edward Kendall, as civil court proceedings got under way in Dedham Housing Authority vs.

MCGOLF, PAGE 5

More to the story

Online: Read the court documents at WickedLocal Dedham.com

Steps of his faith

From Boston to New York, Al Forte is praying for peace
By Edward B. Colby
STAFF WRITER

Follow the White Rabbit

WALPOLE MURDER

Candidates tout experience for Norfolk County spot

NUMBER TO KNOW
Number of presidents who have served as representative, senator, vice president and president. They are Lyndon Johnson, John Tyler, Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Suspects brother declines to testify

Robert Moccia says he wasnt aware of his legals rights; asks for lawyer
By Edward B. Colby
STAFF WRITER

4:

INDEX
Around Dedham 20 Higher Education 14-15 News 2, 13, 19 Opinion 8-9 People 16 Police News 17, 19 Sports 11-12

On the second day of his Pray for Peace Walk between Boston and New York, Al Forte had one request: I would like it to stop raining now. Forte and his traveling buddy Joe Ross were drinking some coffee in Cafe Fresh Bagel and staying dry, after Forte crossed from Boston into Dedham by the Hess gas station, then made his way into Dedham Square. Touch this, Ross said, holding up a Pray 4 Peace shirt Forte just took off. It was soggy and gross. Forte showed the plastic bag wrapped around his left foot. It keeps your foot completely dry because its a plastic bag, but it looks ridiculous, he said, later sharing that he sometimes wraps lambs wool between his toes to prevent blisters. His journey began last Monday at Old North Church, where the minister gave me a blessing on Paul Reveres pew. He walked to Fenway Park Beacon was a beautiful street where he met a Red Sox representative. He had been invited to go on the field for batting practice, but decided to try and backtrack by car to go to a game another day, once the rain stopped. He said he wanted a delay of the rain. Not many people are out in the rain, and those people walking in the rain are really going some place, Forte
WALK, PAGE 6

PHOTO BY SEAN BROWNE

From left, Eric McGowen playing the White Rabbit, Julia Ragusa playing the Dormouse, and Fabiola Garza as Alice, listen to Josef Silvia, the Mad Hatter, rant during a scene in last Saturday afternoons Dragonfly Theater performance of Alice in Wonderland at the Fairbanks House. The interactive production will run Thursday, Aug. 26 and Friday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 28, and Sunday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. Admission is free.

Providing the newest piece of drama in a Norfolk Superior Court murder case full of intrigue, Robert Moccia expected to be a key witness for the prosecution against his younger brother told a judge that he wasnt aware of his Fifth Amendment right protecting him from self-incrimination, then declined to testify. Robert Moccia, 51, was set to speak in a pretrial hearing last week about statements his brother Paul Moccia, 50, allegedly made about the murder of a Framingham man last year. Paul Moccia, of Dedham, and Daniel Bradley, 49, of Westwood have pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the case. Assistant District Attorney Robert Nelson said that in exchange for Robert Moccias testimony to the grand jury and then at the trial, that he would not be charged with being an accessory after the fact with regard to the homicide, or with conspiracy for the homicide. Before Moccia entered the courtroom last Wednesday afternoon, Judge Kenneth Fishman made clear that any testimony he gave would not be considered admissible at the trial if Moccia were unavailable for any reason then.

COURT, PAGE 6

Thursday, August 26, 2010 Dedham Transcript wickedlocaldedham.com

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

FOR BREAKING NEWS during the week visit wickedlocaldedham.com.

PICNIC
From Page 1

and they are kinda special to me. At one picnic table, childrens librarian Patricia Reilly greeted all the animals and children to the Teddy Bear Picnic and was quick to notice if something was out of place. This isnt a teddy bear, its a lion, Reilly said as she carefully tied a red ribbon to the stuffed animals paw. All the animals, no matter the species, received a ribbon. By 10:40 a.m. the East Street estate became a sea of blankets and smiling children happily munching away on teddy bearshaped cookies and sipping apple juice.

On one blanket a blond girl with red sugar sprinkles outlining her mouth, proudly held up her stuffed golden retriever. This is Fluffy, 3-year-old Meryl McCormick said, with the half-eaten, bear-shaped sugar cookie in one hand. Her sister Mable, 6, brought two animals a Christmas-themed Beanie Baby bear named Gingersnap and a Hello Kitty doll. I have a lot of stuffed animals, she thought for a moment, like 15 stuffed animals. Just before 11, Debbie and Friends got the kids dancing and clapping but only if they were happy and they knew it. Yet, in between the dancing and snacks, decisions were being made. Six-year-old Siena Oliveri-

Kunnle brought a stuffed Webkinz dog to the picnic. But, Siena said the animal didnt have a name. Her twin sister, Sarina, looked at the tiny pup that was dressed in an oversized wedding dress and veil and decided her name should be Peace, because of the colorful peace signs on the dogs fur. Siena wasnt so sure. I was thinking Rainbow, she said, but that is too long. The girls admitted that naming an animal was the hardest part of owning one. Sarina said she just usually uses her own name for all of her stuffed friends. How many does she have? Well, Sarina estimates about 100 or 35. Their cousin Isabella Antonitis, 10, said she just names her animals based on their col-

or. Her companion at the picnic was Marshmallow, a white Build-A-Bear that was wearing the wrong pants. I think they were made for a bunny, she said, tugging the jeans up.
Dedham Transcript editor Andrea Salisbury can be reached at 781-433-8322 or by e-mail at asalisbu@cnc.com.

STAFF PHOTOS BY ERIN PRAWOKO

Left, 4-year-old Skylar Young runs down a hill with Maddie Cosgrove, 4, both of West Roxbury, and Braden Place, 2, of Needham at the Teddy Bear Picnic held at the Endicott Estate last Thursday. Above, Cooper Bolton, 3, of West Roxbury tosses his stuffed bear in the air.

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