Government

Residents Invited to Give Input on Watertown Comprehensive Plan

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Come share your thoughts about the draft of the Watertown Comprehensive Plan, specifically the Land Use section of the plan, on Monday, June 30. Town Councilor Tony Palomba sent out the following announcement about the meeting:
You are invited to a meeting to discuss the draft Comprehensive Plan and development in Watertown on Monday, June  30 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the auditorium at the Apartments at Coolidge School, 319 Arlington Street in Watertown.  Parking is available at the back of the complex. The discussion will focus on the Land Use chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, the developments pending on Arsenal Street, and the moratorium recently initiated by a citizen petition. It would be greatly appreciated if those planning to attend had read all or part of the draft Comprehensive Plan before the meeting.  You can find the Plan on the Town’s website at http://www.vhb.com/watertowncompplan/.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Driver Nearly Strikes Police Cruiser, Shoplifter Eludes Target Security

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

June 16, 9:20 p.m.: A 35-year-old Waltham man was arrested on a charge of domestic assault and battery. June 19, 12:33 p.m.: Target security spotted a woman take several items and tried to leave the store. The merchandise was worth $67.97. The 38-year-old woman from Clinton was arrested on a charge of shoplifting.

Around Town

Watertown Boys & Girls Club Offering Lots of Fun Activities this Summer

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Summer is here and enrollment is now open for the Watertown Boys and Girls Club summer camp and other activities! Summer Adventure 2014 – Applications for campers ages 7-13 and Junior Camp Leaders ages 14-16 are available on the Boys and Girls Club website at: www.watertownbgc.org/programs/. This year, Summer Adventure will travel to Camp Hale in Westwood for six weeks, and Camp Chickami in Wayland for two weeks. Both camps offer swimming, hiking, archery, arts and crafts, athletics and more! We also offer Trip Week August 25–28.

Government

Town Will Hire Third Party Auditor to Look at School Budget

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After a long and detailed look at the Watertown Public Schools budget this year left Town officials with questions, an outside auditor will be hired to look at the school budget – particularly the special education portion. The rising cost of special education this year concerned Town Councilors. School officials said the district had an unusual number of new students move in with high-cost special needs, plus the town has had a spike in students who need special needs services. Part of this was due to the students who lived near the area of the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects having emotional problems. (Read more here). After the Fiscal 2015 was approved, the Town Council voted unanimously to approve Town Manager Michael Driscoll’s request to hire a third-party auditor to examine the school budget.

Around Town

You May be Seeing More of Eliza Dushku Around Watertown

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Watertown’s very own Hollywood star will be moving back to the area, so look for Eliza Dushku around her hometown! Dushku told the Boston Globe that she is heading back to Watertown after breaking up with her longtime beau and former NBA player Rick Fox. (See the Globe story here)

She has purchased a condo in the area and may be going back to school, Dushku told the Globe. Know for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Dollhouse,” Dushku is filming a movie at a former psychiatric hospital in Michigan this summer (find out more here). She graduated from Watertown High School and has family in the area still, including her mother, a former Suffolk University professor, and brother Aaron, who is on the Watertown Town Council.

Around Town

Good Samaritan Law Allows Reporting of Heroin Overdoses Without Being Arrested

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The number of overdoses from Heroin and other opiates has risen sharply in the last few years in Watertown, and a local group wants to spread the word that reporting an overdose is important and those doing so won’t be prosecuted. The exact number is not known, but people tracking overdoses get an idea from the number of deaths. From 2010-13, 19 people in Watertown died from drug related causes and there are 11 more deaths where the cause may be related to drug, said Stephanie Sunderland-Ramsey, a program coordinator with Wayside Youth and Family Support Network in Watertown. Watertown has teamed with Cambridge, Somerville and Everett to work on opiate abuse. They helped the Watertown Fire Department get anti-overdose medication – Narcan – which is now carried on all fire vehicles.

Schools

Watertown High School Honors Athletes Who Played Sports Every “Season”

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When Watertown Athletic Director Michael Lahiff took over he saw that some WHS teams lacked numbers so he created an award for people who played sports in all three seasons in each of their four years at the high school. 

The numbers have fluctuated through the years. Two years ago there were 17, last year 12 got the award and this year 11 seniors were honored at a recent School Committee meeting. The Athletic Director’s Award winners this year are:

Matt Donnell

Greg Dorian

James Garbier

TJ Hairston

Casey Halle

Joe Kelland

Jessica Lamposano

Eliza Portz

Jessica Rodriguez

Marrisa Russo

Daniel Shin

Obituaries

OBIT: Gerald Raymond Boudreau, Master Pipefitter, St. Pat’s Graduate

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A Funeral Mass for Gerald Raymond Boudreau, 69, will be celebrated on Tuesday, June 24, 2014 in the Church of Saint Patrick, Watertown. Mr. Boudreau, a son of the late Joseph R. and Gertrude M. (Poitras) Boudreau, was born in Waltham. He was a lifelong Watertown resident and a graduate of Saint Patrick High School, Watertown. Afterwards he graduated from Northeast Institute of Technology with a concentration in Heating and Refrigeration. In addition Mr. Boudreau studied for 5 years at the Pipefitters Union trade school.