Government

Councilors Gathering Ideas to Battle Opiate Epidemic in Watertown

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The Council’s Human Services Committee wants the town to take steps to battle the increasingly deadly problem of addiction to heroin and other opiates, and plans to put together an action plan with the help of the Police, Health Department, doctors and local addiction and recovery experts. 

Tuesday night, the Human Services Committee held an unfortunately timely meeting, just days after two Watertown residents died from drug overdoses and a third went to hospital for treatment. This brings the death toll from drugs up to eight this year, said Watertown Police Lt. Dan Unsworth, after just one death all of last year. The meeting packed the Lower Hearing Room of Town Hall, and the discussion lasted more than 2-1/2 hours. Follow the exchange of ideas, the subcommittee – Tony Palomba and Aaron Dushku – came up with some recommendations to bring to the full Town Council. The first recommendation was to have all Watertown Police officers carry Narcan – a medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose.

Schools

Watertown Athletes Honored, League Champ Recognized

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Playing a high school sport requires a lot of effort, dedication and time, so playing three sports a year for four years is a feat that deserves being honored, which is what Watertown High School Athletic Director Michael Lahiff did this week. A dozen Raiders received the Athletic Director’s Award for participating in sports every season for their whole career at Monday’s School Committee meeting. Lahiff created the award to encourage more participation in a small high school. This year’s award winners are:

Brendan Berkeley – golf, hockey and baseball

Anthony Busconi – golf, hockey and lacrosse

Angel Carrion – football, basketball and lacrosse

Brian DallaCosta – football, basketball and indoor and outdoor track

Molly Day – soccer, indoor and outdoor track

Keegan Duguay – field hockey, indoor and outdoor track

Nick Giordano – football, hockey and lacrosse

Najmul Sahar Kahn – field hockey, indoor and outdoor track

Emily Loprete – field hockey, hockey and lacrosse

Austin Farry – football, hockey and baseball

Prosper Lubega – cross country, soccer, indoor and outdoor track

James McDonald – golf, basketball, indoor track and baseball
Girls’ Lacrosse
Watertown’s latest Middlesex League champions also received their due from the School Committee. The girls’ lacrosse team won its third straight title this year, and made it to the State Tournament where it won its first ever tournament game.

Around Town

Marshall Home Fund Celebrates 10 Years, Awards $50K in Grants

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The Marshall Home Fund celebrated 10 years of supporting the needs of Watertown residents age 55 and older and handed out $50,000 in grants. 

The annual Program Grant Awards Ceremony was held Wednesday, May 20. Over the past decade, MHF has given out $450,000 in program and individual grants to benefit Watertown older adults, according to the announcement from Marshall Home Fund. Co-President Susan Flint expressed appreciation to this year grantees, adding that “the Marshall Home Fund is proud to be able to support the important work that all of you do.”

Outgoing Co-President Will Twombly who ushered the fund into existence in 2005 was duly recognized for his many years of service and leadership by Representative Jonathan Hecht. Rep. Hecht offered congratulatory remarks and presented Citations from the Senate and House of Representatives. Town Councilor Tony Palomba read a proclamation from the Town in honor of the Fund’s 10th Anniversary on behalf of Council President Mark Sideris.

Entertainment

Watertown Greek Church Hosting Festival Full of Music, Food and Fun

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Watertown’s Taxiarchae-Archangels Greek Orthodox Church is hosting its annual Grecian Festival on June 26, 27, and 28. Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, and Noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, according to the festival announcement. The Festival features homemade Greek cuisine (including its famous gyros), pastries, Greek frappé coffee, Greek music and dancing, Greek imports and souvenirs, a bookstore, children’s games, Church tours, and a raffle. Music will be provided by Orfeas Band (Friday and Saturday, 7-11 p.m.) and Greek Music and Video (Sunday, Noon-8 p.m.). The Festival will be held in the Church’s Hellenic Cultural Center and under the tent in its parking lot, both located at 25 Bigelow Ave.

Around Town

Watertown Police Lend a Hand at the Special Olympics

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Four Watertown Police officers gave Special Olympics athletes the VIP treatment by giving them a police convoy and handing out awards. 
On June 6, the Watertown Police joined the Special Olympics Cruiser Convey that ended at Harvard University, said Capt. Raymond DuPuis, one of the participating officers. Once they got there, the group headed to the aquatics center to hand out medals to the athletes in the swimming competition, and the Lavietes Pavilion for they gymnastics.  

Around Town

Author to Speak About Book Chronicling Her Father’s Lynching

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Author Josephine Bolling McCall will speak about her book she wrote about the  true story Of her father’s lynching in the 1947, and what she learned when researching the book. The event will be on Wednesday, June 17 at 7 p.m. at First Parish Church, 35 Church Street, Watertown. Event organizers sent out the following information:
Just weeks before Christmas, 1947, Josephine Bolling was five years old and learned that her father, Elmore Bolling, just 39 and the father of seven was dead. Elmore Bolling was a leader in Lowndes County’s black community, had established himself as a man who volunteered to serve the less fortunate and had worked hard to build a small trucking business and provide for his family and others. In this moving and important book, THE PENALTY FOR SUCCESS: My Father Was Lynched In Lowndes County Alabama, the author tells the story of the murder of a black man in 1940s Lowndes County, Alabama.  It is a story that reveals the scheme to cover up a “lynching”.  Josephine Bolling McCall’s story of her father’s murder presents convincing evidence that he was lynched, although he was  not hanged, mutilated, or burned before a crowd of people.  Elmore Bolling was shot six times in the front of his body with a pistol and once in the back with a shotgun.

Police/Fire

Two Dead From Series of Overdoses in Watertown Over Weekend

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Police are investigating the deaths of two Watertown residents from drug overdoses over the weekend and a third who was treated in hospital. 

On Friday at 11:49 p.m., police received a call about a 25-year-old Watertown man who had fallen near 7-Eleven in Watertown Square, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “Officers found him unresponsive, administered (anti-overdose medicine) Narcan and took him to the hospital,” Lawn said. The second call came in at 1:02 a.m. on Saturday from Bradshaw Street for a possible overdose. A 22-year-old Watertown woman was taken to Mt. Auburn Hospital where she was pronounced dead, Lawn said.