Residents who are connected to the town water supply were shocked this week to get a phone message telling them to boil the tap water they use for cooking or drinking. The order remained in effect until Wednesday afternoon.

When Harvard property owners open their third-quarter tax bills in January they’ll find the amount they owe has increased as the newly calculated fiscal 2019 tax rate takes effect.

Last week, faced with an $800,000 budget overrun, the School Building Committee made cuts to the project that brought the latest estimates approximately $200,000 below the project’s original construction budget.

The parcel of land between the General Store and the Congregational Church has been quiet since the set for “Little Women” was razed, but the Parks and Recreation Commission and others have hoped to change that by building a temporary skating rink there.

At two meetings last week, the School Building Committee tackled a long list of changes and cuts that would help to keep the new elementary school building project on budget.

While there were plenty of attendees at the Water and Sewer Commissions meeting Nov. 28, one thing was in short supply—technical information.

The Capital Planning and Investment Committee reviewed five requests from the schools at its Dec. 3 meeting.

The rainy fall has aggravated leaks in the Hildreth Elementary School roof while also delaying the repair work to reduce those leaks.

Harvard has a new finance director, appointed by the Select Board Tuesday, Nov. 20, to replace the former director, David Nalchajian, who resigned unexpectedly in October. Her name is Lori Bolasevich and she will report for work at Harvard’s Town Hall on Jan. 2, 2019.

The School Building Committee received a bit of bad news just before Thanksgiving when the latest round of estimates for the new elementary school came in about $800,000 over budget.

MassDevelopment has proposed a new development plan for Vicksburg Square in Devens, which would add up to 300 residential units mixed with commercial uses.

At its Monday, Nov. 19, meeting, the Capital Planning and Investment Committee proceeded with its annual review of capital requests by hearing from Town Hall and the Conservation Commission.

A former postal carrier in Harvard was arrested last Friday, Nov. 16, for mail theft and then arraigned in U.S. District Court in Worcester later the same day.

The Planning Board voted 5-0 to approve a special permit for Coil Brothers LLC this week, ending deliberations that spanned three meetings and lasted more than a month.

Kevin Hill, M.D., spoke about the risks of marijuana use and vaping to an audience of several dozen concerned parents, teachers, and community members on Nov. 14 in the Cronin Auditorium.

Sometime next spring, 2-year-old Harley will join guidance counselor Christine Reale in the guidance office at the Bromfield School.

The results of the traffic study in the area around Town Hall, the fire station, and Hildreth House are in, and according to TEC, Inc., which performed the study, circulation through what its report calls the “municipal complex” is adequate, although some modifications were recommended.

Last week’s election filled only one of the 24 vacancies on town boards and committees. Since the town charter was adopted, most board and committee members are appointed by the Select Board, with a few still appointed by the town moderator. But the appointers need a volunteer pool to choose from, and that pool has become shallow of late.

MassDevelopment, the agency that oversees real estate sales at Devens, will soon ask for a Super Town Meeting to approve the development of Vicksburg Square for multifamily residential and senior housing.

The Harvard Conservation Commission expects to close on the purchase of about 13 acres between Black Pond and Whitcomb Avenue before the end of this month.