Police/Fire

Pharmacist Assists Watertown Police in Bust of Man for Using False Prescriptions

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Watertown Police charged a man for using false prescriptions, and received help from an alert pharmacist. Just after midnight on June 1, a man came into CVS on Main Street and presented two prescriptions for Adderall, according to Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “The pharmacist identified the prescriptions to be false due to wording,” O’Connor said. “Because he didn’t want to tip off the suspect (the pharmacist) said the prescription would be ready in 20 minutes and contacted police.” When police arrived, the man had left CVS, but they were able to identify him because the man had presented a driver’s license when he gave the pharmacist the prescriptions, O’Connor said.

Entertainment

Watertown Artist’s Work Part of Outdoor Show on the Cape This Summer

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If you are heading down to the Cape this summer, you can catch the work of Watertown artist Paul Angiolillo at an outdoor exhibition at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. For years, Angiolillo made rustic furniture and some primitive figures as a hobby. He began sculpting more seriously around 1999, after taking an eight-week wood-carving class at the DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park in Lincoln taught by master sculptor Joe Wheelwright. He rented a studio in Somerville in 2002, while holding a full-time job as an editor at M.I.T. Angiolillo has since left his job and his studio, and does most of his work in his garage and basement. Along with art pieces, Angiolillo also makes more functional pieces, such as tables, stands and clocks.

Abused Dog

Fund Created for Sully, the Abused Dog Found in Watertown

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A fund has been set up to raise money for the care and recovery of “Sully Doe,” the abused pit bull found emaciated at Home Depot in Watertown on June 4. 

Watertown Animal Control Officer Karen O’Reilly said she has been amazed by the level of concern people have shown for Sully. “There has been an incredible outpouring of love and concern for Sully,” O’Reilly announced on the Watertown Animal Control Facebook page. “We have been thankfully inundated with calls from great people as far away as California asking to donate to his care.” For now, O’Reilly is caring for the dog, who was only half the weight he was supposed to be when he was found, and had what appeared to be cigarette burns on him. “He is staying with me so I can keep a close eye on him,” O’Reilly said.

Real Estate

More Than a Dozen Open Houses in Watertown This Week

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A wide variety of properties are holding open houses this weekend around town. $799,900 – 144 Lovell Road, 10 room, 4 bed, 3 bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 12-2

$360,000 – 141 Coolidge Ave., Unit 318, 4 room, 1 bed, 1 bath high-rise, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$279,900 – 20 Riverside St. Unit G-4, 3 room, 1 bed, 1 bath garden, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$299,900 – 107 Spring St. Unit 2-4, 4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath mid-rise, Open Houses: Saturday 2-3:30, Sunday 12:30-2

$519,900 – 3 Repton Unit 3401, 5 room, 2 bed, 2 bath garden, Handicap Access/Equipped, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 Sunday 12-2

$450,000 – 11 Evans St., 6 room, 3 bed, 1.5 bath cape, Open House: Sunday 1-2:30

$499,000 – 30 Bradford Road Unit 30, 8 room, 4 bed, 2 bath 2/3 family, Open House: Sunday 11-1

$900,000 – 8 Hawthorne St., 11 room, 4 bed, 4 bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 11-12:30 Sunday 11-12:30

$495,000 – 63 Olney St. Unit 63, 10 room, 3 bed, 2 bath townhouse, Open House: Sunday 12-2

Sponsored by:

$425,000 – 65 Highland Ave., 6 room, 3 bed, 1 bath cape, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30

$599,000 – 31 Harrington St.

Government

Middle School Window Replacement Approved by Town Council

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Watertown Middle School

Hundreds of windows that leak, let in breezes and do not connect well to the building will be replaced at Watertown Middle School in a project jointly paid for by the town and the state. 

Tuesday night, the Town Council approved the town borrowing $3.08 million, of which 48.47 percent will be reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The price of the project grew from about $300,000 to over $3 million after the state’s project manager, Gale Associates, examined the school and found that 207 windows, instead of just a few dozen, needed replacing. Some windows let in water, others have gaps that let in the cold in the winter and some are permanently closed, said Siva Sivalogan, of exPERTcon Inc., who will serve as owner’s project manger on behalf of the Watertown Public Schools. “(The middle school) is solidly built, unfortunately the windows are not in good shape, to the extent that they are not compliant (with state standards),” Sivalogan said. Sivalogan showed photos of windows that show they are not well connected to the building.

Schools

See the WHS Award Winners, Teacher Honorees from Graduation

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Here are the student award winners and teacher honorees from the 2016 Watertown High School graduation ceremony. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Valedictorian

Zoe Grodsky

Salutatorian

Christopher Rohlicek

CUMULATIVE G.P.A. OF 4.0 OR HIGHER

Kareem Alhady           Julia Harrington

Olivia Almeida             Sasha Helfner                         

Niko Carvajal-Janke    Jeremy Holt

Karl Elbakian               Robert Kennedy

Sofia Farhadi               Christa Knell

Gabriella Fiorentino   Austin Lin

Kyle Foley                    Hannah McCall

Karina Franca              Cristopher Patvakanian

Sara Fulton                  Kira Peterson

Tyler Gardiner             Rachel Quinlivan

Briana Guillory            Melissa Rose

Arshdeep Singh

 

2016 TEACHER HONOREES

Cunniff School    Ms. Maryann Fitzpatrick & Ms. MaryKate Fitzpatrick

Hosmer School Mrs. Susan Bellis

Lowell School           Ms. Debra Garabedian

Watertown Middle School    Ms. Eleanor Donato

 

2016 RETIREMENTS

Mrs. Joan Corkery, School Nurse

Mrs. Gaylene Fantasia, Ceremony Coordinator

 

2016 ABCD AWARD (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty)

Ms. Adrienne Eaton, Lead Guidance Counselor

 

2016 TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Mr. Charles Duggan, Physics

 

2016 CLASS OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Farid Mawanda, President     Katelyn Rourke, Vice-President

Tyler Gardiner, Treasurer       Jeremy Breen, Secretary

Kyle Foley, Robert Kennedy, Ally McCall, Hannah McCall, Steven Mey

 

2016 GRADUATION CEREMONY STUDENT PERFORMERS

Rivers and Roads – Zoe Grodsky & Kira Peterson

Never Alone – Jeremy Breen, Niko Carvajal-Janke & Ivana Mendez Juliao

The Call – Dominika Bondaryk & Hannah Cook

See the names of all the graduates here, and check out photos and highlights from the ceremony here.

Around Town

PETA Offers $5,000 for Info Leading to Arrest of Abuser of Watertown Dog

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The animal rights group PETA has stepped forward to offer $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for abusing the dog found in Watertown. 

The story of “Sully Doe” – the emaciated dog with possible cigarette burns found at Home Depot – has spread far past Watertown and been met with sadness and disdain. On Wednesday, PETA announced it would offer the reward. Sully, a young pit bull, was taken in by the Watertown Animal Control Officer on June 4 and then taken to a veterinarian for treatment. The 1-year old dog had several wounds that appeared to be cigarette burns on his chest and hind legs, and notches cut into his ears. He weighed only 26 pounds, which is about half the expected weight for a dog of his size.

Environment

Ban of Single-Use Plastic Bags in Watertown Approved by Council

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Businesses in Watertown will no longer be able to give customers single-use plastic bags when the ordinance approved by the Town Council takes effect next year. 

Tuesday night, the Council deliberated for more than an hour on details of the legislation, called the Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance, before passing it 8-0. Councilor Ken Woodland voted “present.” The ban will go into effect on July 1, 2017. Businesses will be able to sell paper bags for a small charge to customers or offer reusable bags for sale. A single-use bag is considered one less than 4 mils (thousands of an inch) in thickness. Those businesses violating the ban can be fined $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $300 for the third more more offense.