Sports

Two Raider Runners Star at Eastern Mass Cross Country Meet

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Continuing a their stellar seasons, Watertown High School runners Emily Koufos and James Piccirilli finished first and second, respectively, in the girls and boys Div. 5 Eastern Mass. Cross Country Championship on Saturday. 

Koufos, a junior, took the lead about halfway through the 5K race at the Wrentham Development Center, and finished well ahead of the other runners. Her time of 19:05.96 was 20 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. In the boys race, Piccirilli came in second place, just two tenths ahead of the third place finisher.

Transportation

State Officials to Discuss Improvement to Mt. Auburn St./Fresh Pond Pkwy.

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Hear about the state’s project to make changes to the intersection of Mt. Auburn Street and Fresh Pond Parkway at a meeting on Monday, Nov. 14. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will hold its second public meeting where the public can give input on the Mount Auburn Street Corridor Study. The project focuses on an area in the Cambridge, but the changes to traffic patterns will effect how Watertown residents and commuter travel through Cambridge; access to Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Hospital and many other destinations.

Sports

Watertown Field Hockey Claims 9th Straight North Section Title

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NORTH ANDOVER – The Raiders had their hands full for much of the North Section Div. 2 final against Ipswich, on Saturday, but Watertown pulled away for the 3-1 win at North Andover High School. The win gave the Raiders their ninth straight North Section title, and Watertown seeks its eighth straight State Championship. The first half of a rough and tumble game with the team from the Cape Ann League ended 0-0. Watertown co-captain and senior Kourtney Kennedy changed that early in the second half, banging home a goal 2 minutes into the second stanza.

Sports

Watertown’s Football Playoff Drive Ended by Triton in North Section Final

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The Raiders battled hard to keep their MIAA football tournament run alive, but a combination of a hot Triton offense and turnovers resulted in a 42-36 loss for Watertown in the North Section Div. 3 final at Victory Field, Friday night. After scoring first on a Deon Smith to John Korte 19-yard pass, the Raiders (8-2) suddenly found themselves down 21-6. Triton quarterback Lewis L’Heureux scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground, and then the Vikings scooped up an errant lateral and ran for a third score. Watertown’s spirit would not been held down despite, however, and they battled back again and again.

Around Town

Watertown’s Military Men and Women Honored During Veterans Day Ceremony

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On Friday, Watertown celebrated its servicemen and women, past and present, with breakfast and a Veterans Day ceremony packed with patriotism and a few surprises at the Marine Corps League’s Charles Shutt Detachment. A number of people spoke about the importance of veterans, but the person who stole the show never served in the military and is too young to enlist. Watertown High School junior Jeremy Ornstein delivered a rousing and impassioned reading of an essay he wrote about the importance of Veterans Day. He recalled how as a young child his parents would not allow him to have toy guns, and protected him from some of the harsher parts of life, such as his grandparents experience surviving the Holocaust. Ornstein thanked the veterans for picking up weapons to fight enemies overseas so that he never has to worry about a foreign power invading his country or his hometown of Watertown.

Real Estate

Open Houses Around Watertown This Weekend

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Multiple open houses to view this weekend across Watertown. $475,000 – 125 Coolidge Ave. Unit 610, 3 room, 1 bed, 1 bath mid-rise, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$359,900 – 32 Whites Ave. Unit D21, 4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath mid-rise, Open Houses: Saturday 11-12:30 Sunday 1:30-3

$615,000 – 145 Waverley Ave. Unit 145, 6 room, 3 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 Sunday 12-2

$569,900 – 100 School St.

Government

Town Council Gives Homeowners a Bit of a Break on Property Taxes

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The Town Council voted to give Watertown residents living in their property a bit of a break on property taxes Tuesday night be increasing the residential tax exemption, but some on the Council wanted to increase it more. 

Since 2002, the Town Council voted to have a 20 percent owner-occupied exemption, but this year – Fiscal Year 2017 – Councilors increased the exemption to 22 percent. With the 22 percent exemption and the tax shift of 175 percent from residential to commercial/industrial and personal (CIP), the tax rate will be $13.90 per $1,000 of assessed value, said Watertown Assessor Francis Golden. See the tax levy presentation here. With those factors, there will be a $192 (3.80 percent) increase on bill of the average valued owner-occupied home, worth $547,540. With the 20 percent exemption, the increase would have been $267 (5.27 percent), on the same property.

Basketball

Three Watertown High School Athletes Sign Letters to Play in College

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Three Watertown High School athletes signed their letters of intent to play their sport in college next year, two field hockey players and one girls basketball player. 

Kourtney Kennedy will play field hockey at UConn next year, while her teammate Olivia Venezia will move on to Holy Cross. Joining Venezia will be Shannon Murphy who will play basketball for the Crusaders. WHS Athletic Director Michael Lahiff said he was proud to have three athletes taking their games to the next level. “A lot of people don’t know how difficult it is to do,” Lahiff said. “It is an honor to be moving on and continuing their athletic careers.”