Around Town

Volunteers Needed for 2023 Watertown Arts Market

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Preparations are being made for the third annual Watertown Arts Market, but organizers still need volunteers to help before, during and after the event. This year’s Arts Market will take place at Filippello Park near the Grove Street entrance on Saturday, Aug. 19, from noon to 5 p.m.

People can volunteer for various shifts during the event, said Kristen Kenny, a member of the Arts Market Committee. “We need mostly people for set-up and break-down,” Kenny said. Individuals or groups from companies, organizations, schools and others are welcome to lend a hand.

Schools

Former Students, Educators Get Final Look Around Watertown High School

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Photo by Charlie BreitrosePeople lined up to get one last look at Watertown High School before it is torn down. The hallways of Watertown High School buzzed with activity one last time last week, as former students, teachers, even principals took a look around the old school and shared memories. The school, parts of which date back to the 1920s, will be torn down in the fall to make way for a brand new, state-of-the-art building. While many looked back on their memories at WHS fondly, most agreed it was time to say goodbye on June 22. Photo by Charlie BreitroseFormer students and staff milled around the hallways at Watertown High School one last time.

Around Town

Watertown-based Asperger/Autism Network Receives $25,000 Grant

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Joan McGrath, left, Executive Director of Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts & Rhode Island (PLAN of MA & RI), presents a $25,000 grant to Brenda Dater, Executive Director of Watertown-based Asperger/Autism Network (AANE) to support the organization. (Photo courtesy PLAN of MA & RI)

Watertown-based Asperger/Autism Network received a $25,000 grant from the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. PLAN of MA & RI Executive Director Joan McGrath presented the check to Brenda Dater, executive director of ANNE. The nonprofit PLAN of MA & RI is recognized as an expert in operating special needs trusts and, since 2020, has granted more than $1 million to nonprofits supporting individuals with disabilities. For more information, visit www.planofma-ri.org.

Sports

Watertown Girls Basketball Coach Leaving for Div. 1 Boys Position

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Watertown Girls Basketball Coach Patrick Ferdinand announced he will be leaving to take a job in Framingham. Here he is pictured working with a player in 2018. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Leaving a community that has grown to be like family will be difficult, said Watertown Girls Basketball Coach Patrick Ferdinand, but he is taking a job as boys coach closer to his home which will allow him to spend more time with his wife and daughter. After more than a dozen years leading the Raiders girls team, Ferdinand announced this week that he will be taking the job as coach of the Framingham High School boys basketball team. “It’s a major change, from Division 3 to Division 1 and girls to boys,” Ferdinand said.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Man Attacked After Altercation at Boston Club

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

June 14, 1:15 p.m.: The Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force, which includes a Watertown detective, had been conducting a narcotics investigation. During the investigation, they observed a man driving on Rosedale Avenue whom they had probable cause to arrest. The man’s car was stopped at Rosedale Avenue near Acton Street. Inside the car, officers observed in plain view a small plastic bag with a white powdery substance that is believed to be fentanyl.

Government

This Week: Main Street Project, Traffic Commission Discusses Changes for High School at Moxley Field

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A view of the project proposed for 104-126 Main St. viewed from Main Street. (Illustration by Icon Architecture)

The fate of the proposed six-story mixed use project on Main Street may be decided by the Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, and the same night the Traffic Commission will discuss the plans to accommodate the temporary high school at Moxley Field. The City Council and School Committee will also meet this week. The Zoning Board of Appeals will continue its public hearing on the project proposed for 104-126 Main St., the six-story mixed use project on Main, Pleasant and Cross streets.

Schools

Watertown Students Get Their Chance to Run Their Own Radio Station

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Watertown High School senior Henry Broadstone got experience as a radio DJ during WHS’s pilot program through the High School Radio Project. (Photo by Todd Robbins). A group of Watertown High School students got a taste of what it’s like to be a radio DJ, putting together their own shows and recording song introductions, banter between tracks, and even interviews with fellow hosts. Their work can be heard on a streaming audio station that airs 24/7. The students from Watertown, along with a high school in Nebraska, were the first to test the High School Radio Project program, designed to empower students with the opportunity to experiment with radio as a potential career, said WHS Radio & Television Broadcasting Teacher Todd Robbins.