Well Norwood, it's time for me to say farewell. It has been my pleasure to be the editor of your Norwood Patch for over two years now, but this will be my last week at that post. As I move on to a new position, I want to take a minute and thank you all for your contributions, your readership and your willingness to welcome me - and Patch - into your community. Norwood Patch launched in November of 2010, and since then we have covered a wide variety of local stories. This is a very involved community, and our readers have always shown great interest in local happenings. I know that Patch will …

You know that saying, "Time flies when you're having fun"? Well there must be a ton of fun here in Norwood because time is certainly speeding by. Today is Norwood Patch's two-year anniversary, and I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all our readers and contributors. From major news stories to local features and faithful bloggers, Norwood Patch has come a long way from that first day. Incidentally, your editor spent that first day getting to know the kind of service she could expect around town, after a very unfortunately timed flat tire threw a monkey wrench in the day. Luckily the …

The following are health and safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Halloween parties and trick-or-treating. Following these simple tips can help you and your family have a S.A.F.E. H.A.L.L.O.W.E.E.N. For many people, autumn events like Halloween and Harvest Day are fun times to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, attend parties, and eat yummy treats. These events are also opportunities to provide nutritious snacks, get physical activity, and focus on safety. Below are tips to help make the festivities fun and safe for trick-or-treaters and party guests. S…

Each week the Norwood Farmer's Market - held Tuesday afternoons on the Town Common from noon to 6 p.m. - offers deals to local shoppers on fresh produce, preserves, meats, cheeses and more. The special this week is from the Foxboro Cheese Company: $1 off ground veal - great for burgers, meatloaf and more. There will also be a "Farmers Friends" children's activity and story hour by the Morrill Library from 2-3 p.m. and mini whinnies from the 4-H club from noon to 4 p.m. To receive more updates on the Market and the weekly deals, sign up for the e-mail newsletter while you're there, or e-mail …

Come get your photo taken with the Patch Pup this Tuesday at the Norwood Farmer's Market on the Town Common! Norwood Patch will be at the Market's Merchant Table from noon to 6 p.m. The Pup will be available for photos at the table from noon to about 1 p.m. Vendors at the Market include Ward’s Farm, Web of Life Organic, Silverbrook Farm, Oliodimelli, Fresh Catch Inc., Foxboro Cheese Company, John Crow Farm, Hearth Wood Fired Bread and Langwater Farm. Local residents can stop by and shop for certified organic produce, fresh fire-baked breads, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, olive oils and wines. For…

Each week the Norwood Farmer's Market - held Tuesday afternoons on the Town Common from noon to 6 p.m. - offers deals to local shoppers on fresh produce, preserves, meats, cheeses and more. This week's deal is from Olio Di Melli Farms: Two containers of Hannahbell cheese for $10. This is a French Contal cheese, rich and creamy like brie. Last week, Vandervalk Farms joined the Market and brought fresh blueberries and blueberry wine.Don't forget there is a raffle every Tuesday at 3 p.m. for a Farmer's Market Basket. To receive more updates on the Market and the weekly deals, sign up for the e-…

The Norwood Police Department is now on Facebook and Twitter! "Thanks to the work of Officer Andrew Jurewich and the camera work of Officer Paul Murphy, residents can now keep up with what's going on at the NPD and view photos of the Memorial Day parade, the 4th of July parade and the sobriety checkpoint conducted with the State Police on June 15," police spokesman Kevin Grasso said in an email.  The page also features historical photos. Check out the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NorwoodPoliceDepartment and our Twitter page at Twitter.com/norwoodpolice.

In the last couple of years, we have heard from you that asking "when is Walpole going to have its own Patch? Well, the answer is today. Walpole Patch is here and we're glad to be your neighbors. As we start this online news journey together, we might have the keys to the car, but we're looking very much to share the driving with all of you. In my job as a regional editor for Patch and overseeing the local sites, I'm often asked how you describe Patch? My answer goes way back to the beginning of my time with Patch. In fact, it was the last round of interviews for this job. At that time, Patch…

This Sunday is Father's Day, and we would like to give all of Norwood the chance to honor their dads here on the Patch. Since 1972, Father's Day has been a national holiday in the U.S. But only since 2011 have you been able to show off your love on your favorite (we hope) local website. Upload a photo or write a message in the comments - we'll leave this article up all weekend so Dad has plenty of time to see it. For a little more history on Father's Day, check out The History Channel website here.

The Boston Marathon is coming up on Monday, April 16, and Norwood Patch wants to know who in town will be running. According to the Boston Athletics Association's website, to qualify to run the Boston Marathon, entrants must run a qualifying time at a certified marathon. Qualifying times are determined by your age on the date of the Boston Marathon in which you will be participating. The race is 26 miles, 385 yards or 42.195 kilometers. Last year 25 Norwood residents took part in the race, which starts in Hopkinton and finishes at Copley Square in Boston. If you're undertaking this epic run, …

No, you're not losing it! Patch looks different today. We did a quick visual nip-and-tuck to the homepage to make it even more user-friendly. And we've moved a couple pieces of furniture. For those keeping score:  We tweaked some words in our navigation bar to save space (e.g., "Traffic & Gas" is now "Commute")  We moved the weather icon next to the Patch branding so you can find it more quickly!  We moved, well, YOU closer to the top! (Our "shout stream" is now front and center to show all your comments off.)  And of course we prettified a few things.  While the site might look a little …

Calling all Norwood residents: We need your help. If you haven't visited us on Facebook lately, the Norwood Patch page on Facebook has transitioned to the new timeline format. For those of you that have already embraced the new format on your personal page, you know that one giant photo dominates the screen. And we want that one giant photo that dominates the Norwood Patch page to be good - really, really good. Currently we have a photo of the gazebo on the Norwood Town Common, which is great, but we want more! We also want it to be a graphic representation of Norwood. When you think of …

Thursday was the first real preview of spring in Norwood, with sunshine and temperatures in the high 60's. In an attempt to get a little vitamin D, and see what the rest of the town was up to, I set out for Norwood Center. Thought Norwood Patch was only good for when you're sitting at your computer? Well check this out. While I was out today, I took pictures with my phone that I could immediately upload to Twitter and share with my followers. I checked in with Foursquare when I stopped at Perks for a mid-afternoon cup of joe. I used the Patch app to check out the directory, and read comments …

Happy Birthday to you! Finally, all those folks celebrating Leap Year birthdays can enjoy their special day this year. If you are a Norwood, Massachusetts, resident born on February 29, Norwood Patch wants to interview you! Contact Local Editor Kelly Glista at kelly.glista@patch.com and share your plans for celebrating on the big day this year. Patch wants to share how you celebrate and the unique ways all you Leap Day babies enjoy your birthdays. Feel free to add a comment in the comments section below, or upload a birthday photo. Happy (early) Birthday, folks!

Patch is unveiling Best of Patch next week, which will allow readers to vote for their favorite businesses and places in Norwood. Each Monday morning, we will post an article with a poll and ask readers to take part by voting in the poll and/or posting reviews on those businesses’ directory listings on Patch. On Friday morning, we will announce the winner of the Best of contest for that week. For our first Best of Patch next week, we will ask you: Where is the best sandwich shop in Norwood?

Valentine's Day doesn't just have to be about couples and candy.  It's a love holiday, and we all know there's lots to love about Norwood. To start, there's: Town pride.  Whether it's on Norwood Day in September, or at a high school football game, or just stuck at a red light in the Center, you can't turn your head without seeing blue, yellow, and the running Mustang. Food, food, and more food!  There is a restaurant or shop for every taste in Norwood - breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Steak tips and burgers, to fine Italian and Thai fusion.  All right here in Norwood. Community involvement.  …

Happy Valentine's Day from us here at Norwood Patch. Here are a few V-Day fun facts to get you in the mood for the rest of the day. One billion: The number of estimated Valentine’s Day cards sent every year according to the Greeting Card Association. This is second only to Christmas when 2.6 billion cards are sent. 8 billion: The amount of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts manufactured each year for Valentine’s Day. That’s about 100,000 pounds a day.  650 million: The number of Valentine’s Day cards children exchange with classmates, teachers and family. $15.7 billion: Estimated amount that …

When Norwood Patch launched in November 2010, editors and freelancers ventured to local businesses in order to collect information for our directory. Now, 14 months later, Patch places is a spot where users can find descriptions, hours, accepted payment methods, and much more for spots around town. All users can add events taking place at local spots, can rate the business on a scale of one to five stars, and can add a review. But owners of local businesses get extra bonuses when they claim a listing. Owners or managers should search for their business listing and select "claim you listing" …

We all know that February 2nd is Groundhog Day, and that our hopes and dreams of a shortened winter rest on whether or not the little guy sees his shadow on that Pennsylvania knoll. But in order to shed a little light on the history and purpose of this furry holiday, I would like to share the answers to some frequently asked questions about Groundhog Day, straight from the official website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club: On Feb. 2 Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter. …

Just one more week until the biggest day of the year for American advertisers. Oh, you thought it was the biggest day of the year for football fans? A few fun facts, then: According to USA Today, the average cost of a 30-second advertising spot in this year's Super Bowl broadcast is $3.5 million. For those of you not doing the math, that's about $116,666.66 per second. The Super Bowl, and thus the commercials shown during that time, are seen by an average of 111 million viewers. About 162.9 million viewers watched "some part" of last year's Super Bowl, breaking the previous year's record by …