Pedestrian Struck

Pedestrian Struck on Main Street in Watertown on Thursday Night

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A woman crossing Main Street in the area of the Watertown Police Station was struck by a vehicle Thursday evening, but was not seriously injured. At about 6 p.m., a woman was crossing Main Street heading south and was struck by a pickup truck heading westbound, said Police Lt. James O’Connor. She suffered minor injuries, but was transported to hospital. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. Traffic was diverted into side streets around the accident scene, but cleared by about 7 p.m.

Government

Assessor’s Tax Presentation Has Good News for Some, Increases for Most

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The preliminary report on next year’s property taxes shows an increase of more than 5 percent for homeowners, but a change in the way the commercial rate is figured will result in a smaller increase than expected for some commercial properties. Town Assessor Francis Golden will be presenting the Fiscal 2017 Property Tax Classification Hearing at the Town Council meeting on at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9. If the same residential exemption and Commercial/Industrial and Personal Property (CIP) shift is adopted, the rate will be $13.70 per $1,000 of assessed value. This would result in a bill of $5,336 on the average owner-occupied residential property (worth $547,540), which is an increase of $267 or 5.27 percent.

Sports

WHS Sports: Boys Soccer Secures Tourney Spot, Runners Excel at League Meet

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The Watertown boys soccer team is back in the MIAA State Tournament after a one-year hiatus and they will play their first round match at home. The Raiders finished strong down the stretch to end the year with a 9-7-2 record and they got the eighth seed in the Div. 3 North Section tournament. They will host ninth seed North Reading (9-7-2) on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Victory Field.

Charity

Watertown Police Growing Facial Hair to Help Out Veterans

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Some members of the Watertown Police will be looking a bit scruffier in November, but they are doing it for a good cause. 

The Police Department has joined more than a dozen other law enforcement agencies in “No Shave November,” which benefits Home Base. This is a joint effort of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program which helps veterans and their families heal from the invisible wounds of war, such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and related conditions. The Home Base program helps not just the veterans, but also their families, said Watertown Police Officer Mendez said, because the effects of PTSD and TBI do not just impact veterans. The Watertown Police Department has a no beards policy. When officers get some time off, they often grow a goatee or beard, but shave it off when they return to duty, so Mendez thought it would be popular.

Early Voting

Early Voting is a Big Hit in Watertown, Still Time to Take Advantage

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After the first two days it was 890. On Friday it was over 2,000. And by the end of Tuesday night – day seven – 3,490 Watertown residents had cast their vote during the early voting period. This is the first election where early voting has been an option for Massachusetts voters and Watertown residents have flocked to Town Hall to take advantage. “This is the first time for the Commonwealth, so we didn’t have anything to judge it by,” said Watertown Town Clerk John Flynn.

21st Century Schools

School Renovation Master Plan Includes Cost Estimates, Sequence Undecided

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Watertown’s master plan for renovating the town’s five public schools is almost complete, but school and town officials – and the community – must decide which order to do the work and what to what extent the renovations should go. The Watertown Schools Master Plan Steering Committee wrapped up months of work Wednesday night by giving their final thoughts about the draft of the master plan being put together by consultants from SMMA. “It has been a great group, with lots of perspectives,” said School Committee Chairman John Portz, who chaired the group that began meeting in June. The plan includes an estimate for renovating Watertown High School, Watertown Middle School, and the three elementary schools – Cunniff, Lowell and Hosmer. Basic renovations, just to fix current issues, would cost about $160 million at current construction costs, while improving them to meet 21st Century standards the cost would be $200 million in current costs, said Town Councilor Vincent Piccirilli, who is on the Steering Committee.

Sports

Watertown Volleyball Team Preparing for First Ever State Tournament Game

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The Watertown High School volleyball team has reached a new milestone, by making the MIAA State Tournament for the very first time. The Raiders had to beat Wakefield in a road game, the final one of the regular season, to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Watertown won 3 games to 1 over Wakefield and finished with a record of 10-9, which earned the team a 13th seed in the Div. 2 North Section tournament. In the first round of the tournament, the Raiders travel to play West Roxbury, the fourth seed which has a record of 17-2.