Over February break, volunteers, students and teacher Allison Oropallo teamed up to to renovate an outdated technology education woodshop and classroom at Ottoson Middle School. The project started when Oropallo, of "All American Handyman" fame, received a call from an old high school classmate, P.J. Davey, who runs New Hampshire nonprofit Paint It Forward. Together they are repainting the entire technology education wing, replacing the flooring and putting in improved lighting. All of this is to create a more usable and innovative learning environment for students, Oropallo said. Oropallo …

It's official: Adam Chapdelaine has signed his paperwork and is Arlington's new town manager. In January, the Board of Selectmen offered Chapdelaine the job after a final round of interviews. Until then, he had been Arlington's deputy town manager. Chapdelaine on Friday signed his paperwork with Town Clerk Stephanie Lucarelli presiding. He will make his first appearance at the Board of Selectmen's meeting tonight, Feb. 27, 7:15 p.m., at Town Hall. Town officials are planning a meet and greet with Chapdelaine on March 8 at Town Hall.  Chapdelaine replaces retiring Town Manager Brian Sullivan, …

They were not at their home school, but Thompson Elementary School students were just as energetic when they got together on Friday to read through the script of this year's play, an annual tradition at the now-demolished school. "The kids were very excited to get their parts and see the script for the first time," said Kelli Murphy, one of the event organizers. For a a few years now, the Thompson community has come together to produce semi-original plays that celebrate students and delight parents. The shows are usually written, produced, directed and designed by parents and caregivers while…

The past year was full of news in Arlington. And we here at Patch were busy capturing all the action with stories, photo galleries and videos. Here's a collection of some of the most memorable shots from 2011. For more, check our Viewfinder page, where we store all our photo galleries in one convenient location. Do you have pictures to share? Feel free to add them to this gallery or email them to arlington@patch.com.

Solid defense and opportunistic offense granted Reading Memorial High School a 3-2 win over Arlington High School in the opening round of the Ed Burns Tournament Tuesday night. Cody Macaluso's goal 6:12 into the third period stood as the game winner. The teams tussled through a close first period until a Reading outburst in the last minute. Pat Manzi's goal with just 37 seconds left put Reading up by a goal, and less than 20 seconds later Garrett Phelan took a Ryan Thompson feed and slid the puck past Arlington goaltender Luke Trembley. The game got chippy in the second period, and Arlington …

'Tis the season to decorate. And we over here at Patch want to create the best gallery with photos from Arlington homes decked out for the holidays. Do you have the best yard? Are yours the most creative ornaments? Please upload them directly to the site by clicking the button above the main image or send them to pedro.oliveira@patch.com. Happy decorating!

Capitol Square businesses hosted East Arlington First Lights on Saturday, December 3.  The annual holiday celebration included family entertainment, caroling, tree lighting, shopping specials, and plenty of holiday treats. The Capitol Theatre showed classic Christmas cartoons, elves twisted balloons into holiday shapes at Artbeat, Kidcasso hosted a holiday party with painting projects and at 4:30 there was a tree lighting accompanied by carolers from the Cape Cod Choraliers in front of the Summit House.

Arlington Catholic (9-1) faced off against in-town rival Arlington High School (3-8) Thanksgiving morning in their annual matchup. Coming off of a season in which they remained undefeated until a loss in the title match against Cardinal Spellman, Arlington Catholic was looking to capitalize on the Spy Ponders' three-win season and avenge their 42-14 loss to AHS last Thanksgiving. They did just that. Not allowing AHS to put any points on the board until well into the second half, the Cougars held the Spy Ponders at dock and emerged victorious with a 28-7 score.

The first concert of the 2011-2012 Menotomy Concert Series took place Friday at Arlington Town Hall and featured the Wicked Pickers, a Boston area-based quintet that plays jazz, swing and bluegrass. About 60 Arlingtonians showed up for the concert. The Menotomy Concert Series celebrates the bicentennial of the town Arlington, which was called Menotomy until 1807. The remaining concerts are scheduled for Jan. 7, Feb. 11 and May 13.

Dozens of Arlington residents paid their tributes to our nation's best on Friday. Veterans Day was celebrated in a beautiful fall morning, starting with a parade down Masachusetts Avenue and ending at Monument Square in Arlington Center. Retired Arlington Police Officer Dennis Corbett, a Navy veteran, served as this year’s parade grand marshal. Other guests were Joe and Joan Connor, whose son John was killed in action in Panama, and Mildred Hurd, whose son David Williams was killed in Vietnam. Also present were Combined Veterans Council of Arlington Color Guard, police and fire honor guard, …

Battling for the title of Central Catholic League champion, Arlington Catholic High School football hosted Cardinal Spellman Saturday in a match between undefeated teams. The Cougars struck first, scoring a touchdown from a 16-yard run by senior Bernard Lynch. A successful two-point conversion gave Arlington Catholic a lead of 8-0 in just more than two minutes into the game. The Cardinals came back with a 17-yard touchdown run by senior Dan Kustka with 5:42 left in the first quarter, and the extra point left Arlington with a one-point lead. Arlington's next drive was quickly squashed, when …

In just one half of play, Bernard Lynch had done enough damage. The senior running back left the field at halftime with four touchdowns and 210 total yards, his 66 receiving yards coming from only one reception. A scoreless game for the first 6:30 quickly turned into a scoring frenzy. Lynch's only reception came first, a 66-yard run to put Arlington Catholic on the board first. Bishop Fenwick responded two minutes later on a 4th-and-4 with a 72-yard touchdown by sophomore James Traversey, and a successful two-point conversion put Bishop Fenwick up 8-7. Arlington Catholic would have none of …

Several East Arlington businesses opened their doors for trick or treaters on Monday, attracting a crowd young children looking for a place to score candy before sundown.  Artbeat, Marbella Kitchen and Bath, Maxima Gift Center, Quebrada Baking Company and other businesses received children with candy, games and other activities.  Do you have pictures from Halloween? Feel free to send them to us by clicking on the green button on top of this story.

Nearly 20 middle-schoolers from Ottoson Middle School were reportedly infected as zombies and were spotted lurching around downtown Arlington. After boarding the 77 and raising some eyebrows from passengers, they visited Henry Bear's Park, Derby Farm Flowers & Gardens and Coldwell Banker, acquiring treats referred to by some zombies as "low-fat brains." After about an hour the outbreak dissipated. There have been no further reported zombie sightings around Ottoson Middle School. Some say the contamination came from the Arlington Enrichment Collaborative, an after-school program for middle …

On Tuesday, Arlingtonians foclked to Town Hall for Taste of Arlington, where they sampled the cuisine of restaurants and bakeries from around town. Fifteen different options were available to attendees, with a wide variety of styles of food. Cookies, baked goods and desserts were available, as well as American, Indian, Asian, Mexican and Italian foods.

A first-game 25-22 victory coming back from a deficit for Arlington High School was not enough to fend off the Belmont Marauders. The second game started off even, the score tied at 1, 2 and 3. A few minutes later—the score 21-15 in Arlington's favor—a second victory seemed certain. However, Belmont came from behind and won the game 25-23. Game 3, a crucial turning point in momentum for both teams, resulted in a 25-20 Belmont victory, and it was over from then on. Belmont led by as many as 9 points in game 4 before winning by 10 with a score of 25-15.

After the first two volleyball games ending in Medford victories, it looked like the match was in the bag. Arlington, however, had different plans. The Spy Ponders rallied to win the third game 25-15, and when down 0-5 in the fourth, tied up the score at five and kept it close the rest of the game. The score was tied again at 11, and the game ended with a score of 25-21 in Arlington's favor. In the final game, Arlington quickly took a 5-0 lead, and led by as many as 12 points before securing victory with a score of 15-7.

Even playing an away game, Wakefield Memorial High School showed their confidence from the very beginning. Starting a game with an onside kick is a bit risky and unorthodox, yet Wakefield decided to go that route Thursday. The risky opening move ended up benefitting neither team, the game remaining scoreless until 2:59 left in the first quarter when Wakefield running back Josh Puccio made a run in excess of 50 yards for a touchdown. He then scored again with 6:46 remaining in the half, and after Arlington High School quarterback Seth Coiley was tripped up in the backfield, forcing them to …

What started off as a close match between Arlington Catholic and Cambridge Rindge and Latin School ended in an Arlington victory with more than double Cambridge's points. A back-and-forth scoring cycle in the first quarter resulted in a 13-12 Arlington lead heading into the second. A relatively quiet second quarter got exciting when Arlington scored in the final minute of the half, going into the break leading Cambridge 21-12. By the end of the third, Arlington was up 28-12 and a victory seemed to be in sight. But with 1:18 into the fourth quarter, Cambridge running back Rafael Guzman Jr. …

Built in 1916, the Regent Theatre has seen its share of acts in the 95 years it has been active. To celebrate it nearly century of showbiz, theatre director Leland Stein set up a series of nine performers to entertain guests in a variety-style show, bringing the theatre back to its roots as a variety & vaudeville venue. The Sunday show was a mix of solo acts, music groups and comedy, entertaining for hours the crowd of theatre members and Arlington residents.