Sudbury Select Board moves toward peace banner, blue lights after Israel attack

SUDBURY -- October 24, 2023, Sudbury Select Board commits to peace banner and explores blue lighting on Town Hall after Israel attack. The board on Oct. 24 directed Town Manager Andy Sheehan to procure a general "call for peace" banner and source exterior blue lights, and to explore a menorah display via Chabad, after three residents, including Alexandra "Sasha" Papalilo of 11 Bowen Circle and Sharon Schmidt-Gross of 298 Maynard Road, said the town's response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack had been invisible. Member Lisa Kouchakdjian, who is Jewish, pushed for Israel-specific recognition and separately read a statement on the September depopulation of roughly 120,000 ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Member Charlie Russo warned the displays could open "that Pandora's box" of First Amendment scrutiny. The board also unanimously appointed Rich Gallup and Kanika Pandey to the Sudbury Cultural Council and debriefed Monday's Fall Town Meeting, which drew 251 voters, about 2 percent of the electorate.