News from the Town of Needham

COVID-19 Updates

Vaccinations - Boosters Now Available for 12+

The new year is off to a challenging start for many of us as we manage the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. Thankfully, in Needham the overwhelming majority of our residents (more than 90 percent) are vaccinated. Vaccinations and boosters are the single best defense against the virus and the Board of Health is strongly encouraging everyone to get vaccinated and boosted.

Needham Public Health continues to offer weekly vaccine clinics, including vaccines and boosters for eligible children. You can register for a vaccine clinic here. If you do not see available time slots, please check back as Needham Public Health is adding additional appointment times on an ongoing basis. Public Health has been administering roughly 400 vaccine doses per week.

The CDC this week approved booster shots for those at least 12 years old. Needham Public Health is offering boosters to that new group of eligible individuals.

Masks - Board of Health Requires High Quality Masks in Certain Town Buildings

Given the Omicron variant, which is significantly more transmissible than other variants, Needham is seeing an increase in cases. The Board of Health strongly recommends that people once again wear masks in indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.

On Wednesday, the Board voted to require the use of high quality (surgical grade or better) masks by both staff members and patrons in select locations where priority or high risk populations gather. Those locations include the Center at the Heights, the Library, the Rosemary Recreation Complex, and anywhere that Town departments hold indoor programs for priority populations to gather.

The Board of Health will evaluate the need for this mask mandate in select municipal locations at future Board meetings, including its meeting on January 20, 2022.

Needham Park and Recreation is currently seeking lifeguards for the 2022 Summer Pool Season. Like many employers, Park and Recreation is concerned about staffing shortages, which will impact pool operating hours. If you or someone you know is interested in a summer job as a Rosemary Pools lifeguard, please apply here. Applicants must be at least 15 years old.

More information on Pool memberships and registration for swim lessons will be available late March 2022. Check back with Park and Rec’s website for more information.

Friends of the Needham Public Library Host Native American Novelist David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Join the Friends of the Needham Public Library for a discussion with author David Heska Wanbli Weiden. Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, will discuss Winter Counts, his crime novel about Native Americans in today’s world.

The free Zoom event will take place Sunday, January 9th from 3:30 - 4:30 pm. Registration is required and will be open until 1:30 PM the day of the event. You will receive the Zoom link two days before and a reminder shortly before the presentation.

Winter Counts follows Lakota Virgil Wounded Horse, a local enforcer, as he becomes obsessed with finding, and stopping, whoever is flooding his South Dakota community, Rosebud Reservation, with dangerous drugs. Virgil is caught between his knowledge of Native ways and tradition, sorrow for his community’s struggles and his rage at the perpetrator.

Winter Counts has been called “… a Native thriller, and examination of the broken criminal justice system on reservations and a meditation on Native identity.” It was named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s choice, a Best Book of the Year by NPR and an Amazon Best Book of 2020.

Thinking about running for local elected office or Town Meeting this Spring? Come and learn about what it takes when The League of Women Voters Needham hosts a Zoom workshop: “How to Run for Office and Town Meeting” next Monday, January 10th at 7:30 pm.

A panel including the Town Clerk Tedi Eaton, Town Moderator Michael Fee, Select Board member Marcus Nelson and Needham Town Meeting Members will discuss the steps involved in running for an elected position in Needham.

Registration for the workshop is required.

In addition, the League has created a candidate guide with useful information on what’s on the ballot, how to run, how to campaign, and campaign finance.

The Annual Town Election is April 12, 2022, and nomination papers (the first step) are available now. All 240 Town Meeting Member seats will be on the ballot this year, as precincts may have changed due to the 2020 Federal Census.

Boards with elected members include the Select Board, School Committee, Planning Board, Library Trustees, Memorial Park Trustees, Park and Recreation Commission, Board of Health, Commissioners of Trust Funds, and Board of Assessors; and offices include Town Clerk and Town Moderator. Visit the League’s website or Town website for more information.

The League of Women Voters of Needham is a non-partisan organization that encourages citizen participation in government. The League does not support candidates or parties.