Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/cbreitro/page/820/)
Santa Claus has arrived at the Watertown Mall, and you are invited to come get a photo with him. Santa’s Village is located near Carter’s and will open on the following dates:
December 4-6
December 9-24
Santa’s Village Hours:
Monday – Friday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Christmas Eve: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Please Note: Santa’s Village is closed from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. daily.
The Perkins School for the Blind will hold two holiday concerts at 3 p.m. Dec. 6 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at Dwight Hall, 175 North Beacon St. The Perkins School for the Blind orchestra, handbell ensemble, student chorus and chamber singers will perform holiday music featuring traditional and popular classical, barbershop harmony and seasonal carols sung in Spanish, Hebrew and Latin. The school will also host a marketplace with logo items and handmade gifts as well as refreshments from the Perkins bakery.
A familiar sight in Watertown Square will be gone after nine decades when the town cuts down a large shade tree in the Watertown Delta on Tuesday. The Norway Maple has stood in that spot since at least 1927, and was one of three tree planted there at the time. It has grown as tall as the next door Watertown Savings Bank building and has been lit during the holidays. The tree, however, is splitting apart and is literally being held together by wires, said Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward. In July, a major limb came crashing down from the tree, and Hayward worried another limb could fall – and this time hurt someone.
A Funeral Mass for William F. McCusker will be celebrated on Wednesday Dec. 2, 2015 in the Church of Saint Patrick, Watertown, at 9 a.m.
Mr. McCusker, a son of the late Joseph P., Sr. and Catherine M. (Skehan) McCusker died in his home in Acton on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. He was 58. Born in Boston, William was brought up in Watertown, graduating from Saint Patrick High School, Class of 1976. William has lived in Acton for the past 10 years.
An increase in the cost of replacing the windows at Watertown Middle School gave the Town Council some pause, but councilors ultimately unanimously approved the cost of designing the project, in part because the state will pay for nearly half the bill. Originally, the cost of the windows was estimated at slightly over $300,000, but when representatives from the Massachusetts School Building Authority came to look, they decided to increase the scope of the project can with it the price tag – which is now $2.7 million to $2.9 million. Last week the council was asked to approve $224,400 to cover the schematic design costs of the project. The windows cover the old portion of the middle school, and are a few decades old. Teachers said they are a distraction at best, and can be a real obstacle to learning at times.
Tufts Health Plan announced it has been named the No. 1 fundraising team in Massachusetts and No. 5 in the country for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The Watertown-based company sent out the following announcement:
More than 150 Tufts Health Plan employees and family members walked to end Alzheimer’s last month, raising a combined $160,000 that included a match from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. The money will go toward advancing research and supporting those living with the disease. “My father had Alzheimer’s, so I know how valuable the Association’s support services are,” said Tom Croswell, Tufts Health Plan’s president and chief operating officer.
A Watertown group will be holding an event to support welcoming refugees from Syria coming to the United States.
Watertown Citizens sent out the following information:
Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment invites you to a vigil welcoming all refugees to Massachusetts on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to noon in Watertown Square. We will gather to affirm our support for U.S. policy that welcomes Syrian refugees and to stand in opposition to those who would have us turn our backs on the men, woman, and children who are fleeing the Syrian civil war. Our banners will read, “Compassion Not Fear,” “Mass. Welcomes All Refugees,” and “Refugees are Not Terrorists.”
Watertown Police tracked down and arrested a woman wanted for allegedly trying to rundown an officer during an incident on Coolidge Avenue earlier this month. On Nov. 12, police responded to a disturbance at 131 Coolidge Ave. involving a woman they later identified as 28-year-old Deanna Beaucher of Reading. After the incident, police discovered she had given them a fake name, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn.