Business

Watertown Resident Helps Clients Get Lively With Health & Fitness Coaching

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These days, Jan Taylor focuses her life on the fitness of her clients: physical fitness, nutrition and even fitness of their minds. However, the Watertown resident hasn’t always been a personal fitness trainer and health coach, and she left a stable job to make fitness her business. 

Taylor has run Get Lively out of her Westside home since 2014. She describes the business as mindful health and fitness coaching. Since starting to work as a personal trainer, Taylor has expanded to health coaching via phone or internet, and produces her own podcast. Taylor has transformed the basement of her home into a fitness studio, where she teaches a variety of classes, including Pilates, kettlebells, and Barre.

Real Estate

Open Houses All Over Watertown to Visit This Weekend

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Watertown has nearly two dozen open houses to check out this weekend. $850,000 – 39-41 Townly Road, 2 unit, 10 total room, 5 total bedroom, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$539,000 – 97 Poplar St. Unit 97, 8 room, 3 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Friday 12-1:30 Saturday 11-1 Sunday 11-1

$709,000 – 112 Edward, 7 room, 4 bed, 2 bath cape, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30

$1,190,000 – 23 Phillips St., 3 unit, 15 total room, 6 total bedroom, Open Houses: Friday 12-1 Saturday 12-2 Sunday 12-2

$689,000 – 238 North Beacon St., 8 room, 4 bed, 1 bath colonial, Open Houses: Friday 11-12:30 Saturday 12-2 Sunday 11:30-1:30

$639,000 – 56 Westminster Ave., 9 room, 3 bed, 3 bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 2-3:30

$949,900 – 11 Hill St., 14 room, 6 bed, 3 bath colonial, Open House: Saturday 1:30-3

$1,320,000 – 64-66 Waltham St., 2 unit, 16 total room, 10 total bedroom 2 family, Open House: Sunday 12-2

Sponsored by:

$645,000 – 64 Waltham St. Unit 64, 9 room, 5 bed, 4 bath 2/3 family, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$629,000 – 688 Belmont St. Unit 688, 6 room, 3 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$1,095,000 – 35 Otis St., 8 room, 4 bed, 2 bath victorian, Open House: Sunday 1-2:30

$470,000 – 11 Wollitzer Lane Unit 11, 5 room, 2 bed, 1f 0h bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30-1 Sunday 12-1:30

$450,000 – 9 Wollitzer Lane Unit 9, 5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30-1 Sunday 12-1:30

$449,900 – 32 Whites Ave.

Schools

Neighbors Concerned About Proposal for New Hosmer School, Loss of Field Space

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The School Building Committee debated what the new Hosmer School should look like, but for residents living near the school the more important issue is where the new building will go. The Hosmer School will have a new classroom building, which may or may not be attached to the building with the gym, auditorium and cafeteria. The current classroom building (closest to Chauncey Street), will be torn down eventually, but not until after the school serves as the temporary home for students from Lowell and Cunniff schools while their buildings are renovated. AnnMarie Cloonan lives Winthrop Street, across from the field next to Hosmer where the new school building is proposed to be built. She had not even heard about the plans for Hosmer until recently. Her husband Fred said he thinks the Town should have alerted neighbors about the project.

Around Town

Main Street to Remain Closed for Oil Spill Cleanup, Will Reopen This Weekend

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The spill of mineral oil over the surface of Main Street will take a few more days to clean up, meaning the stretch of road will remain closed through Saturday at the earliest, said Watertown Public Works Superintendent Gerry Mee. 

The oil must be cleaned off the road surface, and the remaining oil (from the casing of an Eversource electrical line) must be removed before the line can be repaired. The process is a lengthy one, Mee said. “They have to freeze the line above and below the point where it broke to stop the last oil from leaking out,” Mee said. “The freezing process takes 24 hours.” To clean the road, sand is put down followed by Speedy Dry, which soaks up the oil, and then the area must be power brushed and swept up, Mee said.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Officer Signs Off for Last Time, Hear His Police Radio Farewell

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Watertown Police Officer David Gilchrist did not want a big deal made about his last shift before retirement, so his fellow officers gave him a final farewell via the Police Radio. Gilchrist, who worked on the overnight shift his entire career, completed his last shift Wednesday morning after serving the residents of Watertown for more than 32 years. The Watertown Police captured this moment and shared it on its Facebook page. See and hear it below:

Sports

Watertown’s Lauren Kelly Signs to Play for Boston’s Pro Women’s Hockey Team

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Watertown native and Northeastern graduate Lauren Kelly is going pro. The defender signed to play for the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). Kelly completed a successful career at Northeastern this spring, scoring 25 goals and adding 39 assists in 140 career games. In the 2017-18 season, she led all defenders in NCAA Div. I women’s hockey with eight power play goals.

Main Street

Oil Spill Closes Part of Main Street, Could be Closed for Days

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An oil leak on Main Street caused quite a mess on the roadway, and with traffic, which had to be rerouted late Monday and into Tuesday near Watertown Square. 

An underground pipe leaked and leaking mineral oil, on Main Street between Whites Avenue and Cuba Street, was discovered around 8 p.m. on Monday, according to an announcement from the Town of Watertown. Eversource and Clean Harbors responded to the area, and traffic was diverted from Waverley Avenue to Spring Street in Watertown Square. “This is one big mess we got going on right here,” Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn told WHDH Channel 7. An environmental consultant working for Eversource examined the oil and found that no PCBs were present in the spilled liquid, according to the Town. The mineral oil encases some pipes owned by Eversource that contain electrical lines, police told Fox Channel 25.

School Bus

School Committee Changes Rules for Who Gets Priority on School Buses

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Students who live farther from school will get priority for seats on the school bus under the changes to the Watertown Public School’s Transportation Policy, passed by the School Committee last week. The state requires districts to provide free transportation for students in grades K-5 who live 2 miles or more walking distance from school, said School Committee member Eileen Hsu-Balzer, who is chair of the Policy Subcommittee. In Watertown the limit for free bus transportation is dropped to 1.5 miles for those going to Hosmer Elementary School. Also, sixth graders who live 2 miles or more from Watertown Middle School get to ride for free. The Watertown Schools also provide free transportation for students attending the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington.