As the number of COVID-19 cases in the state continues to climb each week at a faster pace than the week before, town and school administration have not yet asked everyone to put their masks back on. Instead, in town buildings, recommended masking has morphed into “strongly recommended.”

Before Moderator Bill Barton took up the first article at Annual Town Meeting last Saturday, Stu Sklar, chair of the Select Board, said he wanted to start with a shout-out to the Harvard Fire Department.

With no contested races or controversial ballot measures this year, Tuesday’s Town Election was marked by the lowest turnout in at least a decade. Only 281 people—about 6% of Harvard’s registered voters—cast ballots, either in person or as absentees.

The turnout at this year's Town Meeting was the lowest this century, drawing 175 attendees—approximately 4% of registered voters—who made their way to a cloud-like circus tent on the Bromfield School’s Mass. Ave. field at noon to consider 56 measures put forward on this year’s warrant.

The site of an old Army barracks in an area of Devens known as Salerno Circle might help Harvard get out of the business of trying to provide contaminant-free water to its customers in the town’s water district.

The state reported 24 new COVID-19 cases in Harvard for the week ending May 7, 18 more than the previous week, bringing the town’s cumulative number of state-reported cases since the pandemic began to 635.

At Town Meeting Saturday, May 14, voters will be asked to approve 32 articles put forward by the Select Board and other town committees. The meeting is the first of two sessions, its agenda devoted primarily to financial matters. A second session will be convened in the fall.

Following two years of pandemic restraint, Harvard’s spending plan for fiscal 2023 seems built to make up for lost time. At Saturday’s Town Meeting, officials will ask attendees to approve significant boosts in spending.

 Don Ludwig and Charles Oliver have served together on the Finance Committee for the past five years, and Ludwig has been on FinCom for 10 years all together. Both candidates say they see the Select Board as a continuation—a logical next step—in their volunteer service to the town.

Superintendent Linda Dwight has chosen the two new principals who will be joining the Harvard schools’ leadership team as of July 1.

After searching in vain for a beach director for more than four months, the Parks and Recreation Commission is going with plan B—partnering with Marcus Lewis, who runs the beach program at Mirror Lake in Devens.

The Bromfield School again ranks among the top 10 public high schools in Massachusetts, according to the U.S. News & World Report list released in late April.

A three-building commercial complex has passed the initial hurdles of the application process on the path to receiving a permit for a mixed-use development across from Dunkin’ Donuts on Ayer Road and adjacent to Harvard Green condominiums.

As terms for many of Harvard’s volunteer board and committee members near their end dates, the Select Board is left with the daunting task of filling the seats of those who do not wish to serve again.

The state reported six new COVID-19 cases in Harvard for the week ending April 30, the same number of cases reported the previous week, bringing the town’s cumulative number of state-reported cases since the pandemic began to 611.

More than a month after reviewing the 25% design plan for the reconstruction of Ayer Road, the Select Board continues to struggle with the plan’s lack of traffic-calming measures and how best to address that deficit.

About 250 people took part in “Earth Day Show and Tell Around Town” last Saturday, sharing information on all sorts of environmental topics, from energy-saving devices to sustainable gardening to restoring the American chestnut tree.

The Harvard Press proved itself the “little newspaper that could” last week, winning awards for its reporting, photography, and special features in six categories of the 2022 Better Newspaper Competition of the New England Newspaper & Press Association.

After spending much of her first term on the School Committee dealing with pandemic disruptions, Suzie Allen hopes a second term will allow her to return to some of her original priorities.

Department of Public Works trucks rolled around Harvard Monday and Tuesday morning picking up several one-ton truckloads of yellow bags that more than 127 volunteer groups filled with trash and garlic mustard.