Arrests

Police Log: Officers Chase Down Shoplifter, Property Tax Checks Stolen & More

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

Jan. 28, 6:22 p.m.: Police received a report of two people shoplifting at Home Depot. The pair had been seen in the power tool section taking items, and when officers arrived a man and a woman were running away through the parking lot. Police caught the woman at the intersection of Arsenal Street and Greenough Boulevard, but the man got away.

Around Town

Watertown School Administrator Killed by Hit-and-Run Driver in Somerville

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Allison Donovan Watertown Public School’s K-8 Literacy Coordinator and long-time educator, died after being hit in a hit-and-run incident. Watertown school administrator Allison Donovan died after being struck by a pickup truck in a hit-and-run incident in Somerville. She served multiple roles in her time in Watertown, most recently as the districts’ K-8 Literacy Coordinator. The Middlesex District Attorney’s office announced that Donovan was one of two pedestrians struck in West Somerville on Friday night at approximately 7:16 p.m. She was taken to Mount Auburn Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was 40 years old.

Real Estate

Three Watertown Homes Sold, Including a $1 Million Sale

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See the three properties that sold in Watertown this week. $825,000 – 110-112 Cypress St., 2 unit, 12 total room, 4 total bedroom, 2 Family – 2 Units Up/Down multi-family home

$499,900 – 111 Fayette St. U:111, 5 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Attached condo/townhouse

$1,100,000 – 53 Barnard Ave., 8 room, 4 bedroom, 2 full & 2 half bathroom, Cape single-family home

Sponsored by:

Perfection Towing

New Phys. Ed. Option to be Offered for Watertown High Students

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A requirement by the state that Massachusetts students must take a physical education class each year of high school has complicated schedules, especially for seniors, but Waterotwn school officials are introduced new alternatives to help the situation. On Monday, Joe Lampman, the district’s Coordinator of Health, Physical Education and Wellness, and WHS Principal Shirley Lundberg presented a new alternative to the School Committee that could allow students to take an alternative class, while still fulling the PE requirement. They also presented new classes that include wellness as well as physical education as part of the change to the WHS Program of Studies. When the requirement that students must have at least a semester of physical education each year of high school started five years ago it was not popular, Lampman recalled. “I taught senior PE when I first started five years ago,” Lampman said.

Real Estate

See All This Weekend’s Open Houses in Watertown

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Ten properties around Watertown are having open houses this week. $449,900 – 290 Pleasant St. Unit 216, 4 room, 1 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Mid-Rise condo/townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12:30-2 Sunday 12:30-2

 $445,000 – 3 Repton Cir. Unit 3107, 3 room, 1 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Mid-Rise condo/townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-12:30

$1,150,000 – 40 Fayette St., 9 room, 5 bedroom, 3 full & 1 half bathroom, Victorian single-family home, Open House: Sunday 2:30-4

$795,000 – 48-50 Carroll St., 2 unit, 11 total room, 4 total bedroom, 2 Family – 2 Units Up/Down multi-family home, Open House: Sunday 12:30-1:30

$825,000 – 22-24 Priest Road, 2 unit, 12 total room, 4 total bedroom, 2 Family multi-family home, Open House: Saturday 12-1:30

$819,000 – 9 Merrill Road, 8 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, Colonial single-family home, Open Houses: Saturday 12:30-2 Sunday 12:30-2

Sponsored by:

$699,000 – 41 Gilbert St., 8 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, single-family home, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$585,000 – 28 Puritan Road, 7 room, 3 bedroom, 2 full bathroom, Cape single-family home, Open Houses: Saturday 12-3 Sunday 12-3

$519,000 – 8 Avon Road Unit 1, 6 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, 2/3 Family condo/townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30-1 Sunday 11:30-1

$899,995 – 13-15 Columbia, 2 unit, 12 total room, 4 total bedroom, 2 Family multi-family home, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$850,000 – 486 Belmont St., 10 room, 4 bedroom, 3 full bathroom, Colonial single-family home, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30

$629,000 – 256 Sycamore Unit 1, 7 room, 3 bedroom, 2 full bathroom, 2/3 Family condo/townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12:30-2 Sunday 1:30-2:30

$559,000 – 37 Hillcrest Cir. Unit 1, 4 room, 2 bedroom, 2 full bathroom, 2/3 Family condo/townhouse, Open House: Sunday 12-2

Asbestos

School Officials Confident Asbestos Hazards Have Been Dealt With, Schools are Safe

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Responding to concerns of parents and staff, the Watertown Public Schools administration presented a report on asbestos in the town’s schools on Monday night. Afterward, School Committee members said they are confident that Watertown’s students and teachers are safe from asbestos exposure. Many of the calls and emails came after an online petition started by people concerned about asbestos in the Watertown Public Schools. The petition cites the suffering of a former Watertown teacher, and calls for the closing of the Watertown High School and Watertown Middle School buildings until the asbestos hazards are identified and dealt with. Because Watertown’s schools were built during the “age of asbestos,” Superintendent Dede Galdston said, asbestos is certainly something to be concerned with.

Around Town

Watertown Mall, Health Department Host Monthly Blood Pressure Screenings

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Judy, an active member of the Watertown Mall’s Walking Club is shown with Wil from the Watertown Health Department at her blood pressure screening. The Mall offers blood pressure screenings once a month on Friday. The following information was provided by the Watertown Mall:

Every first Friday of the month, The Watertown Mall partners up with the Watertown Health Department for a free blood pressure screening. We are so thankful to have such a great community! If you are interested in the Walking Club or our monthly blood pressure screening, call us at 617-926-4968 ext.

Letters

LETTER: Disabled Parking Spaces Being Abused in Watertown

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Editor,

The rampant and ongoing abuse of disabled parking spaces around Watertown and particularly by visitors to our schools is not just illegal (it can come with a hefty fine), but also shows no compassion or empathy for those of us who really need these spaces. I am the parent of a seventh grader and fifth grader at Watertown Public Schools, and also a wheelchair user. When I arrived at WMS on Tuesday for my son’s parent-teacher conference there was a car parked illegally in one of the disabled spaces. It did not have a disabled parking permit, and was also parked at such an angle that it encroached by several feet onto the hatched area that separates the two disabled spaces. This area provides essential space for a wheelchair user to get in/out of their vehicle or use a ramp.