Sports

Watertown Grad Named to Women’s Track Academic All-Conference Team

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Watertown High School graduate Lea Strangio made the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Women’s Track and Field Academic All-Conference Team. 

The college sophomore at WPI made the list of honorees who have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale or 4.35/5.0 scale after the 2015 fall semester, achieved second year academic status at her institution, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire season. Strangio has also had impressive results on the track. She was named the NEWMAC women’s track athlete of the week on April 4, after a strong performance at the Coast Guard Invite. She also won the 800-meter run and qualified for the New England DIII and ECAC DIII Championships. She also was part of the WPI 4×400 meter relay team which won that race at the meet. The New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) consists of 11 highly selective institutions committed to academic excellence: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Government

Proposed Town Budget Includes New Positions, Strong School Funding

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Watertown’s town budget will increase nearly $4 million in Fiscal Year 2017, and includes big increases for the schools, and additional police officer and making the town’s Social Services Resource Specialist a permanent position. 

The budget proposed Tuesday night by Town Manager Michael Driscoll for the fiscal year staring July 1, 2016 will be $126.3 million, or $3.85 million more than the current fiscal year. Education
The School Committee requested $44.15 million – a 6.5 percent increase over Fiscal 2016 ($2.7 million) – and Driscoll said they will receive that much, though the funding sources will not all be from the town appropriation. This will allow the addition of 20.25 new positions to the school disitrict. The town will contribute $43.57 million, and there will be town adjustments of $111,908 in Minuteman tuitions and charging two instruction aides to to the Pre-K revolving account. The schools will also use $85,788 in Special Education Circuit Breaker money to support the Fiscal 2017 budget

The town will also provide $375,000 for one-time curriculum initiatives – spending that will not be an on-going part of the school operating budget in future years, Driscoll said.

Entertainment

‘Patriots Day’ to Film in Watertown, Studio Donating to Town to Hire a Cop

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The film about the Boston Marathon Bombings, and the events that followed in Watertown, will film a portion of the film at the old Police Station and a donation from the filmmakers will allow the town to hire an additional police officer. 

Watertown Town Manager Michael Driscoll revealed the news during his presentation of the Fiscal 2017 budget to the Town Council, Tuesday night. “The submitted Fiscal Year 2017 budget includes funding of one additional police officer above Fiscal Year 2016 level as a result of CBS Films providing $60,000 to the Town, primarily related to the filming of scenes of the ‘Patriots Day’ movie at the former Police Station,” Driscoll said. The police officer will bring the total uniformed officers in town up to 67, Driscoll said, including 49 patrol officers. The department also has nine dispatchers, four civilian employees and crossing guards at spots around town. In future years, the additional officer town officials will have to find room in the town’s operating budget to pay for the officer added through CBS Films’ donation, Driscoll said.

Business

New Watertown Hotel Ahead of Schedule, Could Open This Summer

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The new hotel in the East End of Watertown has gone up faster than anticipated, and an official from the group that will manage the Residence Inn by Marriott said the hotel will open ahead of schedule. The extended-stay hotel will have 150 rooms, and will focus on the business traveler who will be in the area for more than five days, on average, said Steve Battis, vice president of Sales & Marketing for Stonebridge Cos. The hotel was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals in July 2014, and it could be welcoming guests by the summer. “We are a little ahead of schedule,” Battis said. “We are looking at opening sometime in August.”

Police/Fire

Police Arrest Oxycodone Dealer at Watertown Motel

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A man faces drug dealing charges after being caught selling pills from a room at a Watertown motel. A drug investigation by the Watertown Police and the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force tracked a man wanted on drug charges to the Super 8 Motel in Watertown on April 12 at 4:45 p.m.

Officers suspected the man, Shawn Sturtevant, was suspected of dealing drugs out of his motel room, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “A surveillance team observed two vehicles pull into the parking lot of the Super 8 and the suspect exited the interior and conducted what was believed to be an illegal narcotics sale,” O’Connor said. Police stopped the vehicles and questioned the drivers. “One of the parties buying drugs admitted to police he was there and purchased five oxycodone pills,” O’Connor said.

DPW

Town Hosting Event to Recycle Styrofoam, Tires and Shred Paper

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The Watertown Department of Public Works will hold a recycling event and paper shredding in May. The event will be on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Watertown Recycle Center on 76 Stanley Ave., Watertown, (off of Waltham Street). The event features:

Paper Shredding

Styrofoam collection

Tires – NO RIMS

This event is open to Watertown residents.

Government

Council Subcommittee Searches for Ways to Cut Down on Use of Cars

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A Town Council subcommittee searched for ways to cut down on the use of vehicles in Watertown, particularly driver only trips, to reduce the traffic in Watertown as town grows. For future development projects, and some recent ones, the town will require a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan, but councilors on the Transportation Committee struggled with ways to encourage businesses and large residential complexes to reduce their use of vehicles at their meeting last Tuesday. A TDM can have many features, including having an on-site manager to oversee the program, discounted transit passes, car and van pools, guaranteed rides home for those using transit or carpools, flexible work hours and contributions to a shuttle bus. The TDM numbers are based on the traffic studies done by developers before the project is approved. Director of Community Development and Planning Steve Magoon said the traffic created by a project rarely exceeds the numbers in the study.

Around Town

Watertown Arbor Day Celebration Filled with Fun, Hands-on Activities

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Learn about tree care, plant some seeds, get your own seedling tree and enjoy food and music at Watertown’s Arbor Day of Service. The event will be held on Thursday, April 28 at the Commander’s Mansion, 440 Talcott Ave. in Watertown (off Arsenal Street), from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

The Arbor Day celebration will feature an afternoon of fun and educational programs.

Schedule of Events

11 a.m.-2 p.m. – Tree Servicing with Butler & Sons Tree Service Servicing the mansion tress and answering all your tree questions

11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Dorothy’s Garden Story time about Arbor Day and hands-on flower seed planting

11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. – Watertown Savings Bank Giving away tree seedlings

11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. – Food Trucks Gogi on the Block, Chicken & Rice Guys and Juniper Farms/Ice Cream

11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. – Butler & Sons Tree Service Enter to win a $250 gift certificate towards any tree service Butler & Sons provides

11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Watertown Main Street Florist Learn about butterfly & bee friendly flowers and plants

11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Watertown Farmers Market Check out what’s in store for the 2016 season

12-1 p.m. – Live Music Courtesy of Arsenal Center for the Arts

12:30-1 p.m. – Proper Pruning with Chris Hayward, MCA Conservation/Preservation Agent and Tree Warden for the Town of Watertown

1-1:30 p.m. – Mulching Techniques with Chris Hayward, MCA