Police/Fire

Council’s Public Safety Committee Gives Priorities for New Police Chief

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As he prepares to hire the next Watertown Police Chief, City Manager George Proakis heard the priorities of the members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee as well as the public on Monday night. The hiring of the Police Chief will follow the Civil Service process, Proakis said, and the first step is running an assessment center, where candidates will be tested on how they perform in real world situations. The assessment center is scheduled to take place in October, Proakis said, which means a new chief should be hired this fall. Jack Parow, founder and principal of Parow Consulting & Associates, said the assessment center will include multiple scenarios, such as a problem employee, a media exercise, an inbox exercise where the candidates respond to emails and letters, and a problem-solving exercise where all the candidates will work together. Each scenario will be tailored to Watertown, and will include issues that arise in departments like Watertown’s, or even issues from the past or that have come up in surveys of Police officers and the public.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Scammer Sells a Fake Kitten, Employee Busted for Stealing Merchandise

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

Aug 28, 12:48 a.m.: An officer on a traffic detail saw a vehicle with no headlights on and the hazard lights blinking driving on Mt. Auburn Street near Arlington Street. The vehicle struck the curb while pulled into the parking lot at 7-Eleven. When the vehicle left, the driver swerved across the double yellow line, and then went back onto the correct side.

Police/Fire

Car Crashes Through Storefront, Closes Arsenal Street to Deal with Gas Line

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An elderly driver drove through the window of a vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. on Thursday. (Courtesy of Watertown Fire Department)

An elderly man driving on Arsenal Street on Thursday left the roadway and crashed through a vacant storefront, breaking a gas line. Watertown Police received multiple 911 calls about a vehicle that drove through the window of an unoccupied and vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, said Watertown Police Sgt.

Around Town

LETTER: Great Turnout, Comments & Questions at Community Meeting

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This may be the shortest letter that you’ll ever see from me. If you want to see an example of an excellent Watertown community meeting, (about 50  Watertown residents in attendance … the day after Labor Day … and lots of insightful comments and probing questions), a meeting that wasn’t supposed to happen, keep an eye out and watch the developer’s meeting for the 10-30 Manley Way project, recorded September 5th. This is an example of why residents should be given an opportunity to speak on all of these projects, not just the brand, spanking new ones.  And this is Exhibit A that Watertown residents are knowledgeable people who care about their community and are striving to make our community better while saving us from ourselves. Watch it and be proud! Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Sports

Watertown High School Sports Teams Using Alternate Facilities During 3 Years of Construction

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Natalie Nigito PhotographyWatertown High School’s football team begins the 2023 season with a road game in New Hampshire. They finished the 2022 season playing Belmont on the home field of the Boston Red Sox. Moving to a temporary school and dealing with a field undergoing a turf replacement has required Watertown High School’s athletics program to be creative. Watertown High School moved out of the old building on Columbia Street into the temporary modular school at PFC Richard Moxley Field for the start of the 2023-24 school year. WHS will also make use of facilities at the nearby Watertown Middle School, including for some of the sports programs. The new high school is expected to take three years to be constructed, and will be built on the same site as the old school.

Around Town

Watertown’s Fall Recreation Programs Begin Soon

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This fall, the Watertown Recreation Department will run multiple sports programs for all ages, as well as some crafting groups. The session begins on Monday, Sept. 11. Programs include Sports programs for PreK, Juniors (grades K-2), All Sports (grades 3-5), plus flag football, youth tennis, youth volleyball. Middle school students can participate in volleyball school basketball open gym.