By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Marlborough – When Stephen Dlott agreed to serve as the interim superintendent for the Marlborough Public Schools in August 2012 he was stepping into a district that had been through some strife and turmoil due to a dispute involving the former superintendent. Dlott, who has held leadership positions in other districts, was praised by school and city officials for his role in helping Marlborough transition during the past year until Richard Langlois took over the role in September.
As a way to thank him, the Marlborough Early Childhood Center (MECC) recently dedicated a special “Peace Garden” at the MECC's Washington Street site to Dlott.
“Because Dr. Dlott was such an agent of peace in our district the year he was here, we decided to dedicate the peace garden to him in honor of his service to the district,” said MECC Director Rebecca Zieminski.
At the Washington Street entrance to the school, the elevated flower bed has been cleared out and a layer of rocks added. A wooden pole that reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight different languages and in Braille stands tall in the garden by the door. Students, school employees and administrators, as well as residents of the city, are invited to add to the garden with their own special rocks that have their personal messages of peace written on them.
“Each rock will be placed back in the garden to make our peace garden full of peaceful wishes and pretty rocks,” said Zieminski. “As the paint and marker decorations wash away over time, our messages of peace will be absorbed by the earth.”
Dlott noted he was “thrilled” with the honor of having the garden named for him.
“It may be a small garden, in a small city, in a small state but it's much more than that,” he said. “To my eyes, it's as grand as the Boston Public Gardens, Garden of Eden or heck, gardens of Babylon!”
Zieminski noted that special thanks should be offered to John Ghiloni , the city's director of public facilities and his staff for their “cooperation and collaboration” in creating the space. She also praised Dan Jackson, of the city facilities department, for clearing the space, fixing cracks in the foundation and weeding the garden before the ceremony.
Photos/Heidi Hayes-Pandey