Charity

Rotary Club Hosting Wine Tasting Fund Raiser, Selling Tickets, Sponsorships

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The Watertown Rotary Club will host a Spring Wine Tasting event at the Plumbing Museum to raise money for the club’s charitable causes. 

The Rotary Club sponsors scholarships for Watertown students, and this year some of the money will also go to the Food for Thought program. This program provides meals for students in the Watertown students on weekends so that they do not go hungry and are prepared to learn when they return to class on Monday. Find out more here. The Club is selling tickets to the event, and also seeks advertisers for the event program and sponsors for the event. For more information on tickets, ads and sponsorships email watertownrotary@gmail.com

From 2006 to 2016 the club handed out more than $300,000 to causes in the community, including:

• Watertown Families in Need

• Cancer Research

• Watertown Food Pantries

• Watertown Public Library

• Watertown Public Schools Programs

• Watertown Boys & Girls Club

• Watertown Human Services Agencies

• Arts & Theater Sponsorships

• College Sponsorships for Watertown Residents

• Flags on Main St, Mt Auburn St and Arsenal St

• Rotary Foundation – Polio Eradication

• International Aid (Disaster Relief, Clean Water, etc)

Arrests

Police Log: Small Fire Damages Home, 2 Residents Hit by Phone Scams

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrest
March 18, 3:04 p.m.: Police arrested a man for repeatedly returning items to Target which he had previously stolen from the store. The man was seen taking a mountain bike and a hat and walk out of the mall entrance of Target and putting them into his 1996 Ford Crown Victoria parked out front. Then he came back into the store with a woman, and they attempted to return a television at the customer service desk. The store discovered he had returned a number of items recently and called police, who were able to recover the bike and a box of Legos from the car.

Real Estate

Nine Homes Having Open Houses in Watertown This Weekend

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Watertown homebuyers have several properties to visit this weekend. $649,000 – 183 Chapman St., 10 room, 3 bed, 2 bath ranch, Open Houses: Saturday 11-1 Sunday 11-1

$569,000 – 14 Commonwealth Road Unit 14, 5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open House: Sunday 1-2:30

$699,000 – 54 Langdon Ave., 7 room, 4 bed, 1.5 bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 Sunday 12:30-2

$495,000 – 8 Locust Lane Unit B, 7 room, 4 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$599,900 – 6 Sparkill St., 7 room, 2 bed, 1 bath ranch, Open House: Sunday 12-2

Sponsored by:

$500,000 – 375 Arlington St. Unit 1, 5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open House: Saturday 12-3 Sunday 12-2

$300,000 – 50 Carey Ave. Unit 9, 4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath garden, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$710,000 – 43 Prescott St., 6 room, 3 bed, 2 bath house, Open House: Saturday 12-1:30

$879,900 – 63 Boyd St. Unit 63, 9 room, 3 bed, 3 bath townhouse, Open House: Saturday 1-2 Sunday 1-2

Community Preservation Act

Subcommittee Debating Who Should be on the CPA Committee

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With the passage of the Community Preservation Act in November, the town must now create a committee to review proposals and recommend to the Town Council which ones Watertown should pursue. Monday night, the Council’s Rules & Ordinances subcommittee discussed a draft ordinance for the formation of the CPA Committee. The recommendation is to have a nine member committee, some of which are required by the state’s CPA law and others to be recommended for appointment by the Town Manager and approved by the Town Council. The CPA adds a 2 percent surcharge to Watertown property taxes which will create a fund that can be used on affordable housing, historic preservation and open space. The four required positions are:

a member of the Planning Board chosen by the board
a member of the Conservation Commission chosen by the commission
a member of the Historical Commission chosen by the commission
a member of the Housing Authority Board chose by the Board of Directors 

State law requires another position to be included on a CPA committee – a member of the Parks Commission – but Watertown does not have this board.

Fallen Firefighter

1,000s Bid Farewell to Fallen Firefighter Toscano – a Loving, Renaissance Man

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Joseph Toscano, the Watertown Firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty on March 17, was a humble man who would never boast about his talents and accomplishments, but those who remembered “Joey T.” during his funeral service Wednesday morning remembered him as a great firefighter, an amazing father and as a multi-talented Renaissance man. The outpouring of love and support from friends, family and others has been very comforting to Toscano’s family, said his oldest daughter Alyssa during the funeral at St. Patrick’s Church in Watertown. Thousands of firefighters from around the Massachusetts and beyond lined Main Street to watch Toscano’s funeral procession arrive at the church. Last Friday started as a typical morning, as Toscano said goodbye to his family on his way to work, but a few hours later phone calls from the Watertown Fire Department reported a life-changing tragedy.

Police/Fire

Volunteers, Community Come Together to Welcome Attendees of Firefighter’s Funeral

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It takes a village, or in this case a town, to put on a funeral for a fallen hero. Work began in the days before the funeral for fallen Watertown Firefighter Joseph Toscano on Wednesday morning. And volunteers, organizations and business owners all chipped in to welcome thousands of firefighters from around the Bay State and across the country to Watertown. They provided food, shelter and – maybe most importantly – restrooms.

Just after dawn on Wednesday, a few canteens set up to provide breakfast, coffee, and later lunch for the many “jakes” who descended on Watertown Square. The Boston Sparks Association, a volunteer group operating out of the Boston Fire Museum, setup about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Sports

Watertown Field Hockey Player Representing U.S. on Tour of Ireland

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Watertown’s Jonna Kennedy will be traveling to Ireland in April to represent her country on the Under 17 National Field Hockey Team. The squad was one of three Junior National Teams selected following intense training camps over the weekend in North Carolina. Kennedy, a junior at Watertown High School, plays goalie for the Raiders and served as a captain this fall. The team will head to Ireland from April 11-18 to play three games against Ireland. “We are excited to have this opportunity to play over in Europe against Ireland,” said U17 head coach Martin.

Around Town

Police Warn to Stay Clear of Watertown Square for Firefighter’s Funeral

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To make way for those honoring fallen Watertown Firefighter Joseph Toscano, Watertown Square and a section of Main Street will shut down Wednesday and will not reopen until the early afternoon. Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn said that getting around the detours could be challenging. “We are asking people to stay away from Watertown Square on Wednesday morning,” Lawn said. Starting at 8:30 a.m., Main Street will be closed from Watertown Square west to Waverley Avenue. They will remain closed until the funeral services for Toscano at St.