Elections

See the Watertown Candidates Forum Live Tonight

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Candidates in the Watertown Town Election will be appearing at an election forum co-hosted by Watertown News and Watertown Cable Access Television Thursday night beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Candidate Forum will be held on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 6:30-9 p.m. It will be held in the Lecture Hall at Watertown High School, 50 Columbia St. If you cannot attend, watch the forum from home on WCA-TV’s Public Channel:

• Comcast: Channel 9

• RCN: Channel 3

• WCATV.org: wcatv.org/public-channel-2/

• Facebook LIVE: facebook.com/WatertownCable

This year’s Watertown voters will vote for Town Council President, Town Councilors At-Large, District Councilors, School Committee and Board of Library Trustees. The evening begins with statements from un-opposed candidates at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., the seven candidates for Town Councilor At-Large will be answering questions. Some questions will be prepared by the organizers, and some time will be set aside for questions from the audience.

Government

New Policy Allows Squares in Watertown to be Named for Non-Veterans

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The Town Council adopted a policy for naming squares in Watertown after non-veterans, such as the one honoring of fallen Watertown Firefighter Joseph Toscano. For many years, squares and intersections in Watertown could only be named for a veteran. The Town Council voted Tuesday night to create a policy for naming squares after non-veterans. The Council followed the recommendation of the Public Works subcommittee, which looked at policies from several area communities. They decided that Belmont’s was the one that was closest to the policy they would like.

Police/Fire

Watertown Man Arrested for Allegedly Dealing Crack Cocaine

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A Watertown man faces charges relating to dealing crack cocaine after police served a search warrant on his home, and a second man also faces drug charges. Peter F. Pierre, 72, of Watertown had been under investigation by the Middlesex Drug Task Force and the Watertown Police, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. Authorities obtained a search warrant as a result of the investigation, and it was served on Oct. 17 at 6:05 p.m.

“The search warrant was executed and as a result, several items consistent with narcotic packaging and distribution were found, and an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency,” O’Connor said. Pierre was arrested on a charge of possession to distribute a Class B substance — crack cocaine, O’Connor said.

Around Town

Group Raising Money to Provide Dogs to Veterans with PTSD

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The Order of AHEPA, Local Chapter #406 will be hosting a dinner dance fundraiser for the Service Dogs for Warriors program at Watertown’s Hellenic Cultural Center. The money will be donated to AHEPA’s program to train PTSD dogs to help veterans. “A specially trained PTSD dog can provide a sense of security, calming effects, and physical exercise that can make a positive difference in the life of those that suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder,” the event announcement said. The event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 at the Taxarchae/Archangels Hellenic Cultural Center, 25 Bigelow Ave., Watertown.

Around Town

Watertown Farmers Market Seeks Feedback Through Online Survey

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The Watertown Farmers’ Market is over for the season, let the organizers know what you thought about this year’s market. The Watertown Farmers Market has ended for the season, and organizers want to hear from attendees. They have created a short online survey to provided feedback. The 2019 market moved to a new location and a new day in 2019. It was held in Saltonstall Park, near Town Hall, on Wednesdays, and also coincided with the Watertown Summer Concern Series.

Business

Council OKs Entering Agreement to Allow Recreational Marijuana Dispensary in Watertown

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The Town Council put its support behind a Host Community Agreement with the group seeking to sell recreational marijuana at a site in East Watertown. The agreement is with Natural Selection, also known as NS AJO Holdings, which has already been approved to sell medical marijuana from the site at 23 Elm St. The location is behind the Residence Inn by Marriott and across the street from the Watertown Mall parking lot. The agreement applies to sales of recreational marijuana, which is also called adult-use marijuana. It puts into place fees to be paid by the dispensary to the Town to cover services, such as police, fire and permitting.

Cunniff School

School Officials Detail Reasons for MCAS Improvement, Areas of Concern

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Watertown Middle School teachers and staff have a plan in place to raise the MCAS scores at the school after a poor performance in 2018. Monday night, the School Committee heard about the strategies being used in the Watertown Schools that led to improvements for the town’s schools on the 2019 MCAS test. The Watertown Schools have made an effort to use data to drive lessons and to address weaknesses in classrooms and even for individual students, said Theresa McGuinness, the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning & Assessment. “Student performance data is used to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunity, as a district, grade level, cohort and individual in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science,” McGuinness said. She added that the MCAS data is used in conjunction with other assessment tools used in the Watertown Schools.