Sports

Watertown’s John Cacace Named Globe’s Div. 5 Coach of the Year

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After a historic run in the MIAA playoffs, Watertown head football coach John Cacace was named the Div. 5 Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe. 

This season the Raiders finished 7-5 and won the school’s first North Section title by going on the road three straight weeks, culminating in a comeback win at Lynnfield in the North Final. Watertown made it to the Eastern Mass. final, where the team fell to a powerful Dennis-Yarmouth squad that went on to win the Div. 5 Super Bowl.

Real Estate

These Five Watertown Homes Sold This Week

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Five properties sold this week in Watertown. $421,000 – 290 Pleasant St. Unit 204, 4 room, 1 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Loft condo/townhouse

$419,000 – 478-480 Main St. Unit 480, 6 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, 2/3 Family condo/townhouse

$732,500 – 31 Lawrence St., 2 unit, 14 total room, 6 total bedroom, 2 Family home

Sponsored by:

$622,000 – 75 Carroll St., 7 room, 4 bedroom, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, single-family home

$609,900 – 131 Edenfield Ave. 6 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, Gambrel /Dutch single-family home

All-Scholastic

1 Watertown Field Hockey Player Named Athlete of the Year, Another an All-Scholastic

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Watertown High School field hockey players Sydney Poulin and Jonna Kennedy were named to the All-Scholastic teams by the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, and the Globe chose Poulin as the Div. 2 Player of the Year. The pair helped Watertown win its ninth straight MIAA Div. 2 State Championship in November, and both were co-captains for the Raiders this year. Poulin scored 28 goals and added seven assists this season to give her a career total of 52 goals and 32 assists.

Police/Fire

40 Watertown Youngsters Get to Shop With a Cop at Target

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The aisles at Target were full of police officers Thursday evening, but they were not there looking for a suspect. Members of the Watertown and Boston police departments helped youngsters pick out some gifts during the Heroes and Helpers event sponsored by the store. The program has been going on for several years, said Valerie Guite, executive team leader of asset protection the Target at the Watertown Mall. “This is the fifth year and it is the biggest year yet,” Guite said. “A total of 40 Watertown children and 20 from Boston got a $50 gift card to shop with police.”

Real Estate

A Handful Open Houses Watertown to Check Out this Weekend

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See the open houses in Watertown this weekend. $1,799,000 – 30 Lincoln St., 16 room, 7 bed, 4.5 bath victorian, Open House

$1,799,000 – 30-30A Lincoln St., 2 unit, 16 total room, 7 total bedroom, Open House

$641,000 – 49 Bradford Road Unit 1, 6 room, 2 bed, 2 bath 2/3 family, Open House

Sponsored by:

$599,000 – 16 Commonwealth Unit 16, 10 room, 4 bed, 2 bath 2/3 family, Open House

$979,900 – 137 Marshall St., 12 room, 7 bed, 3 bath victorian, Open House

Ai3

Architect Hired to Design Renovation/Rebuilding of Watertown Elementary Schools

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The Town Council approved $1.378 million to hire an architect to do the schematic designs for rebuilding, renovating and/or adding on to Watertown’s three elementary schools. 

A committee of school and town officials put out a request for proposals and received two bids. The firm they chose was Ai3 of Wayland, the same group that was hired over the summer to advise the Town and Schools about how to proceed with modernizing the town’s schools. The Town Council voted unanimously to fund the architect’s contract on Tuesday night. School Committee Chairman John Portz thanked the Town Council for approving the funding. “It is an incredibly exciting project,” Portz said.

Election 2017

UPDATED: Town Attorney: 2017 Watertown Election Ballot Contained an Error

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{This story was updated on Dec. 16, 2017 at 11:49 a.m. to correct the fact that the Library Trustee is a “public office” in the attorney’s opinion.}

The law firm that works with the town on legal issues issued an opinion that one of the candidates in the 2017 Watertown Town Election had a description next to his name that is not allowed under state election laws. 

On the ballot for the 2017 Town Election, Library Trustee candidate Michael Hanlon had the description “Former Chair of Library Trustees” under his name. Hanlon served as a trustee for 12 years and lost his re-election bid in 2015. The 2017 election for Library Trustees was unusual in that it had no incumbents. Leanne Hammonds, however, had sat on the board after being appointed to fill a vacant seat.

Around Town

Watertown High Renovation Project Accepted Into State School Building Program

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The proposal to renovate or rebuild Watertown High School was accepted by the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday morning, meaning approximately half the cost of the project will be reimbursed by the state assuming Watertown clears the remaining hurdles. 

Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out a Tweet at 11:20 a.m. announcing that the project was accepted in the the MSBA. The MSBA Board just unanimously voted to invite Watertown into the Eligibility Period for a core program project for Watertown High school! — Deanne Galdston (@WatertownSupt) December 13, 2017
This was the fourth time that Watertown School officials had applied to get funding to renovate the aging high school, and it had already made it farther than previous efforts by being considered for being admitted into the program. Galdston said simply in an email, “We are thrilled!!!” when asked about the invitation into the MSBA program.