Otis — Earlier this year, the Otis Library announced that the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved the feasibility design for the new Otis Library building. Now, the town must vote to fund a portion of the building’s construction at its upcoming Annual Town Meeting in May in order for the project to move forward. Should the town vote in favor of this action, construction of the new library at the town-owned West Center Road site will begin in mid-2027.

The Otis Library was awarded a state grant by the MBLC that covers 75 percent of qualifying construction costs for the new building. If the library cannot fund the additional 25 percent, the grant is revoked and the project comes to a halt.

The Berkshire Edge spoke with Otis Library Director Stephanie Skinner, who has been spearheading project efforts since she was appointed director.

“It’s been a whirlwind. [The MBLC grant] is an amazing grant. It covers 75 percent of eligible costs which, if you know anything about grants, particularly capital grants, that is well above what you would expect. So, it’s pretty remarkable,” stated Skinner. “We are a tiny town, though, so there is also the need to raise additional money to offset the 25 percent the town has to throw in. So we do lots of fundraising and are looking for additional grants to go side-by-side with it.”

Why a new library?

The decision to construct a new library was based on the desire to better serve the Otis community and size constraints that currently place limitations on resource selection and community programming. There are also structural concerns at play.

“[The library is] not ADA compliant and we are an aging population in general,” Skinner explained. “We also have lots of little rooms instead of a single space, which makes it hard for staffing because you want to have line of sight to whoever is in the library. If somebody’s upstairs, we have no idea if they’re up there. You want to make sure you have a line of sight, especially if there are kids in the library. Also, the building itself was built in the 1940s and could use a refresh—but we can’t tear up the walls. Apparently, there’s asbestos in some of the areas.”

With a new building, Skinner is also hoping to meet the needs of a fluctuating population by providing a larger community space. “As a town, we go from 1,700 full-time residents to 10,000 to 14,000 in the summer, so we’ve been adding programming, meaning: lots of talks, meditations on Thursday morning, and we do cookbook club and bookclub—we do tons of different things.” The community room in the current library can only accommodate up to 25 people.

The new design

Of the new design, there was little Otis Library compromised on. In fact, the wish for a larger community room was “granted,” with a planned 750-square-foot community room. A lot of the design, however, was dictated by the requirements of MBLC.

“Pretty much everything inside is specified by the MBLC,” explained Skinner. “We have to have a children’s area, we really have to have a teen area, our adult stacks, we have to have X-amount of seating—these are all prescribed by people who have been librarians all their lives, so they really do know what is needed in the library. … Things like how many bathrooms and stuff like that, there is no question about those things. It’s how it all fits together and how to make it affordable that really is the driving force right now.”

The location of the new library, which was selected by the Otis Select Board, also opens up what the library will be able to do. “So the plan is to have walking paths all around [the property], and we’ll be able to do our story walks. Right now we have to use somebody else’s land for that,” said Skinner. “In general, we’ll be able to do a lot more with the outdoors.”

What happens if Otis votes “No”

The plans are approved, the site has been chosen, and it is up to the town to vote. Otis’s Annual Town Meeting is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, from 7 to 10 p.m., per the town website.

“It’s going to cost something,” said Skinner. “At this point in time, there are other increased expenses that the town also has to vote on, so there’s a lot of uncertainty. We are applying for grants left, right, and center and raising money. We’re doing our best to offset it. ”

Should the town of Otis vote against appropriating the remaining costs to fund the new library, the MBLC grant effectively “goes away.” The Otis Library will still be operational, but the town will not get the new library, as proposed. “But that also means that at some point, [the town] will need to begin investing in the current building,” added Skinner.

As residents prepare for Town Meeting, Skinner asks them to consider the library’s role in the future of Otis. “We are the heart of the town. We are a place that welcomes everybody, and you do not have to pay anything for anything. You walk in this door and you can read anything or work on a computer all for free. There is no place else in town where you can do that. The second thing,” Skinner continued, “is that [a library] is a value increase for the town.”

For more information on the Otis Library project, or to view past meetings and presentations, please visit the library’s website.

There was no doubt which of Friday’s 24 MIAA basketball tournament quarterfinals served as the game of the night, as the Shamrocks rode their post prince’s 36 points and 18 rebounds to a 65-60 double-overtime win over No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham, despite trailing by 7 midway through the fouth quarter.

That was one of two upsets on a night that saw 23 teams punch their semifinal ticket, with another 13 slated for Saturday, alongside five hockey semifinals.

Find all of Friday’s scores here, sign up for Varsity News here, prep for New England wrestling with beat writer AJ Traub’s preview, read Bob Hohler’s latest on a Sharon football player’s catastrophic brain injury, and check out everything we wrote:

Whitman-Hanson senior Dylan Hurley got her 1,000th point out of the way early so she could focus on beating Oliver Ames in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Hurley entered Friday needing just 2 points to reach the mark, and she did so less than eight minutes into an eventual 51-47 victory.

Hurley, who is committed to Saint Anselm, finished with 17, including the tying bucket with 29 seconds left, plus two key free throws, giving her 17 points on the night and 1,015 for her career, putting her fourth in program history.

All 13 girls’ games went to chalk, but there were a pair of lower seeds winning on the boys’ side. We already covered No. 14 Bishop Feehan taking out No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham, just two days after the Spartans eliminated No. 3 Needham. Thus far, they are the lowest-seeded team to reach the semifinals in any division across basketball and hockey, with a baker’s dozen basketball quarterfinals still to be played Saturday.

Also pulling off a quarterfinal upset was No. 6 Lynn Classical, which knocked off No. 3 Tewksbury, 68-59, in the Division 3 bracket, led by 29 points from senior DJ Reynolds and elite defense from seniors Shyheim Babb and Deshawn Rucker.

Abby Broderick, Medfield — The sophomore exploded for 31 points and five rebounds as the top-seeded Warriors took care of business against No. 8 Norwood, 66-46.

Grace Higgins, Millis — The senior wasn’t the team’s leading scorer (Ella Maher had 17) but she made her presence known in the paint, blocking eight shots to go with 9 points and nine rebounds.

Jimmy Farrell, Masconomet — The senior captain chipped in everywhere, spreading out his impact with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a 61-25 win over Burlington in Division 1.

Brody Bumila, Bishop Fehan — Where to start? The 6-foot-9-inch senior was absolutely dominant in a 65-60 two-overtime upset of Bridgewater-Raynham, scoring 18 of his team’s 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to finish with 36 points and 18 rebounds. Committed to play baseball at Texas, Bumila has 117 points and 55 rebounds over three playoff games, which have featured six overtime periods and two Shamrocks wins.

Six observations as we enter the MIAA boys’ and girls’ hockey semifinals Saturday and Sunday. Find the full schedule here.

• The lowest seeds remaining are No. 9 St. Bernard’s in Division 4 boys and No. 9 Medfield in D2 girls. No double-digit seeds made it out of the quarterfinals.
• Only one of the top five seeds made the Division 1 boys’ final foursome, which is a 50-50 split between public (No. 4 Arlington, No. 6 Hingham) and private schools (No. 7 Pope Francis, No. 8 St. John’s).
• The other three boys’ divisions feature 11 public schools and one private: St. Bernard’s, bringing the boys’ total to 13 publics and three privates.
• The final eight girls’ teams include three privates, all in D1 (No. 1 Notre Dame-Hingham, No. 2 St. Mary’s, No. 5 Archbishop Williams) and five publics.
• Of the 24 remaining teams, 18 are public and six are private.
• Of the six divisions, only three No. 1 seeds reached the semifinals, with Catholic Memorial (D1 boys), Stoneham (D4 boys), and Westwood (D2 girls) getting eliminated. Yet five of the six No. 2 seeds are still dancing (the exception, Xaverian in D1 boys)

Milton Academy senior wide receiver Kash Kelly, who hails form Northampton, announced he will play football at Amherst. The 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pounder averaged 21 yards per catch

▪ Southern California sophomore Ellie Thomas, a Needham graduate, was selected as Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week for women’s lacrosse. She went wire-to-wire in the cage, producing a career-high 16 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter, during a 16-14 road win at Arizona State. She also picked up two ground balls.

▪ Northeastern freshman Xavier Abreu, a Phillips Andover graduate from Lynn who was the 2025 A Shot for Life Challenge champion, was named to the All-CAA Rookie Team. Abreu set the Northeastern freshman scoring record, averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 46 percent from the field.

▪ Brandeis senior Ragini Kannan, a Westford Academy graduate, opened her season with a five-inning no-hitter of Emmanuel for her first career no-no. She struck out four and issued one walk in a 14-0 win in Clermont, Fla.

▪ Brandeis senior Hannah Du, a Winchester graduate, make the All-Northeast Fencing Conference women’s second team for the first time. She led Brandeis with 12 wins at the NFC Meet, and finished the season with 39 victories, good for second on the team.

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 36

Abby Broderick, Medfield, 31

Anna Freeman, Medway, 29

J’Dore Reece, Renaissance, 29

DJ Reynolds, Lynn Classical, 29

Josh Roux, Andover, 27

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 26

Lily Denomme, Douglas, 23

Cece Levrault, Apponequet, 23

Logan Volkringer, Plymouth South, 23

Caprese Conyers, Pittsfield, 22

Addie Harrington, Frontier, 22

Ryan Nikiforow, Millbury, 21

Rolky Brea-Arias, St. Mary’s, 20

Thomas Denton, Andover, 20

Dylan Hurley, Whitman-Hanson, 20

Maliah Pierre, Whitman-Hanson, 20

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 18

Lamar Valentina Jr., West Bridgewater, 15

Thomas Denton, Andover, 12

Tyrese Wanliss, Roxbury Prep, 12

Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11

Tamia Darling, Cathedral, 10

Jag Garces, West Bridgewater, 10

Emma Smith, Bishop Feehan, 7

Jimmy Farrell, Andover, 3

Naya Annigeri, Medfield, 5

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 4

Grace Higgins, Millis, 8

Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.

Attention all non-traditional pet lovers! A non-profit organization in Massachusetts received a boatload of pet rats in need of new homes. 

An individual in northeastern Massachusetts surrendered 163 rats in early February. That’s almost 60 percent more than the total number of rats that were adopted from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell (MSPCA-Angell) in 2025 alone. 

“A well-meaning person got into a tough spot, and we were able to help,” Mike Keiley, Vice President of the MSPCA-Angell’s Animal Protection Division, said in a statement. “As a humane law enforcement department, we want to work with people who love their animals to make sure those animals are getting the care they need.Sometimes that means helping with resources, other times it means facilitating a surrender, which was the case here.”

MSPCA-Angell must have also found itself in need of a hand, because the sheer size of the rat surrender prompted the organization to request support from adopters as well as other animal welfare organizations. Ultimately, MSPCA-Angell kept 53 rats, increasing the total number of rats the organization is caring for to over 70, which is almost 75 percent of all the rats they adopted out last year. 

Massachusetts’ Dakin Humane Society, Lowell Humane Society, Berkshire Humane Society, and the Animal Rescue League of Boston, and New Hampshire SPCA and the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire also took in rats from the surrender. 

“Taking in so many of one kind of small animal or bird really taxes resources,” Keiley said. “It pulls our attention to accommodating one species when we’re caring for so many at the same time.This kind of surrender wouldn’t be possible without the amazing support we’ve received from other shelters—and we’re hoping we get a similar level of amazing support from the community!”

MSPCA-Angell’s plans to bring the rats to their four shelters—Boston, Salem, Methuen, and Centerville—despite the fact that the Salem location normally only hosts cats and dogs. This surrender was so big that the organization had to use every location. 

So if you’re looking for a pet rat—or just a small furry animal—now is your time. Keep an eye on the websites of MSPCA-Angell, Dakin Humane, Lowell Humane, Berkshire Humane, ARL Boston, NHSPCA, and ARL New Hampshire for information on where there are rats up for adoption, and stop by during open hours to adopt the next member of your family. 

“Rats have a bad reputation, but they actually make really great companion pets,” Keiley pointed out. “They’re smart and clean. They also form deep bonds with their owners,” he continued. “We’re hoping that rat lovers—and anyone looking for a less conventional small pet—comes out and gives these great animals the happy homes they deserve!”