Government

Residents Can Take Survey on Town’s Priorities for Spending & Preparedness

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The Town of Watertown put out a survey called Resilient Watertown, in which people can rank their priorities for how the town should be addressing issues such as the infrastructure, transportation and preparation for extreme weather. The online survey asks people to rank their priorities, where they would like to have the town spend money and how well they think various services are being handled in Watertown (such as transportation, bike and pedestrian safety and public infrastructure). The survey also has information about how to sign up for programs to alert residents in emergencies, or for information put out by the town. These include the WatertownAlert App and the Notify Me program on the Town’s Website. Click here to take the survey: https://resilientwatertown.metroquest.com/

Sports

WHS Girls Basketball Seniors Helped Rebuild the Program

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The five graduating seniors on the Watertown High School girls basketball team, from left, Ashley Shaughnessey, Milagros Ortiz, Brianna Williams, Brittany Catsoulis and Annabella Beck. The season ended miles from home for the Watertown High School girls basketball team when they fell at Amesbury in the State Tourney, and suddenly a long journey they had taken together ended. But the four year trek was a successful one. WHS girls basketball head coach Patrick Ferdinand said the end of the season is always hard, and this year’s group of five seniors helped reestablish Watertown as a team to reckon with. When they were sophomores, Watertown only won one game, but they not only qualified for the tournament in their junior and senior years, but won a game each year.

Schools

Lowell PTO Walkathon Raises More Than $18,000

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Students at Lowell Elementary School took to the obstacle house in the school gym for the second annual PTO Walkathon. The Lowell Elementary School PTO’s fundraiser brought in tons of money to help the school, and provided fun and prizes for the kids. Students got active and raised more than $18,600 during the second annual Walkathon, said Lowell PTO Co-President Lauren Coughlin Unsworth

“We decided to hold it on February 14th and call it the Happy Hearts Walkathon,” Coughlin Unsworth said. “We chose this date because we thought it would give us the opportunity to celebrate and promote kindness and get the kids moving in the middle of winter.” 

Lowell physical education teachers, Eileen Donahue and Tina Loguidice, created an obstacle course in the gym. “So, the kids were all smiles that they were doing more than just walking!,” Coghlin Unsworth said.

Around Town

Alcohol, Drug Use Down Among Middle, High Schoolers, Vaping More Common Than Smoking

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Watertown High School and Middle School students are drinking, smoking and doing drugs less than they have in previous years, according to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The study also looked at depression, suicide and bullying. Stephanie Sunderland-Ramsey, Program Coordinator of the group that organized the survey — Wayside Youth & Family Support Network — spoke to the School Committee on March 2. She believes the decrease is the result of efforts to education students and try to prevent them from using alcohol, tobacco and rugs. “We’ve existed on grant funding for the last 20 years, and so I would say it is prevention at work,” Sunderland Ramsey said.

Around Town

Proposal for Filippello Park Lights to be Heard at Town Council Meeting

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Filippello Park’s two athletic fields, picnic area, playground and more draw lots of visitors. The proposal to put lights on both playing fields at Filippello Park will be presented to the Town Council on Tuesday night. The presentation will be made at the Council meeting, which begins at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. The vote on approving the funding for the project will be made at a future meeting, said Town Council President Mark Sideris. The proposal calls for replacing the existing lights on the Grove Street Field with LED lights on seven poles, and installing LED lights on four poles on the Arlington Street Field.

Arrests

Police Log: Possible Home Break-in, Man Tries to Steal Water Heater

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

Feb. 24, 11:04 p.m.: Police pulled over a vehicle near the intersection of Edenfield and Main Street for an equipment violation. The car had a brake light out and a license plate light out. After looking at her record, police found the driver had a suspended license and outstanding warrants.

Around Town

Watertown School Staff Member Sent Home as Precautionary Measure Related to Coronavirus

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A teacher from Watertown High School who had recently traveled abroad, was sent home as a precaution measure after the possibility of having been exposed to the COVID-19 “Coronavirus,” the Watertown Public Schools announced. Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston said the measure was taken out to be cautious, and was in line with recommendations by local, state and federal health officials. She also talked about a planned WHS trip to Europe during spring break. School officials said there has not been a confirmed case of the Coronavirus in the Watertown Public Schools, however, there is a staff member who went home just in case the person was exposed to the virus. “I can confirm there are no known or suspected cases of Coronavirus in Watertown,” said Galdston, who said she could not comment specifically about the case, or even if the person had been tested, due to federal HIPAA regulations protecting people’s medical records.

Schools

Watertown High School’s New Principal Introduced, Has Local Ties

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Watertown High School’s next principal, Joel Giacobozzi, right, shown with WHS students on the day he visited the school for his final interview in January. Watertown High School’s next principal has a wide breadth of educational experience, and also has ties to town. The School Committee formally met Joel Giacobozzi at Monday night’s meeting. Superintendent Dede Galdston picked Giacobozzi from the three finalists, who visited Watertown at the end of January. He currently serves as associate head master at Boston Latin, and previously was assistant principal at Scituate High School and took part in the principal internship program in the Boston Public Schools.