Children’s author in Wellesley wins award for science book
Elizabeth Suneby is the author of “Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet.” The book has won Best Children’s Science Picture Book from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Subaru of America. As the winner, Suneby will win a cash prize and Subaru will distribute the book to children across the country for free. Though Suneby is from Wellesley, the book is about a Bangladeshi boy named Iqbal who invents a solar cooker so his mother can stop cooking over a fire indoors. Indoor fires cause health problems for many people, particularly women and children, across the globe. Suneby collaborated with the Clean Cooking Alliance who then connected her to a person in Bangladesh so that she could ensure the book was accurate and culturally sensitive. The book is published by Kids Can Press as part of their CitizenKid series.
Wellesley’s oldest resident turns 108
Herlda Senhouse turned 108 this past Thursday. An active member of the Wellesley community, Senhouse had her party at the Glen Grove Apartments with a variety of guests, including Wellesley police officer William Griffin and his 6-year-old daughter. The Griffins have developed a close relationship with Senhouse. Also present at the party was the Boston Post Cane. The gold topped cane was part of a 1909 promotional campaign by the Boston Post and were distributed to towns across New England to give to their oldest resident. Wellesley is one of the few towns to possess an original cane. Senhouse has been given the cane by the Board of Selectmen since she turned 105, though she returns it to the Wellesley Historical Society for safekeeping.
Ban on conversion therapy gains general but not full support from Governor Charlie Baker
There are two bills in the Massachusetts legislature in both the house and senate that seek to ban conversion therapy in the state of Massachusetts. Governor Baker was asked about the bills at a press conference on road safety. Baker said he was aware of them and that if a “conversion therapy bill gets to my desk and we don’t see any other issues with it, it’s something we’d be inclined to support.” Kay Khan, the representative of 11th Middlesex district and introducer of the bill, wants the bill to pass quickly because she fears the longer it sits around, the more opposition it can gain. Last year identical legislation passed both the house and the senate but stalled right before reaching Governor Baker’s desk.
Connecticut child’s rare condition prompts Wellesley support and dip into Morse’s Pond
Members of Wellesley’s community jumped into the frigid Morse’s Pond on March 2 for the Plunge for Elode to raise money for the Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) Research Partnership. Elodie Kubik is a two-year-old who lives in Connecticut and was born with the rare condition that causes the skin to be fragile, causing blisters and cuts all over. The life expectancy is 30 years. Elodie’s mother, Emily Kubik nee Thomas, is a native of Wellesley and so Thomas’s Wellesley High School friends stepped up to help support the family and the condition. Last year’s event was able to raise $150,000 and prompted as a virtual plunge from actress Jessica Biel. The plunge was followed by a breakfast at the Wellesley College Club.
