Letters

LETTER: Thank a Nurse During National Nurses Week 2015

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Dear Editor,

As a registered nurse with 57 years of experience, I want to let readers know that May 6th through the 12th is National Nurses Week 2015. During this week, national celebrations are occurring to thank nursing professionals for their tireless efforts in caring for patients in all clinical areas. In fact, On Wednesday May 6 nurses will gather at Fenway Park and be honored in a pregame ceremony. Massachusetts’ 120,000 plus active registered nurses compassionately provide excellent health care to all the citizens of our Commonwealth. The vital contributions of nurses is paramount to the success of our health care system in improving lives of Americans.

Police/Fire

WBUR Series Tells the Story of a Former Watertown Cop Murdered in Her Home

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A two-part story about the murder of a former Watertown Police officer whose murder remains unsolved, will air on WBUR 90.9 FM on Monday and Tuesday. Gail Miles was Watertown’s first, black female officer and she was killed under mysterious circumstances in December 2011 in her Roxbury home. The killing remains unsolved. Her career in Watertown was not always a smooth one, as she sued the department claiming she had been the victim of discrimination. In late 2001, Miles received $150,000 in a settlement out of court, and the settlement contained a stipulation that Watertown Police complete a mandatory officer training program aimed at preventing sexual and racial harassment, according to a Boston Globe report at the time of her death.

Schools

Education Speaker Talking About ‘Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up’

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Watertown SEPAC will host a talk by an education expert titled “Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up.” Dr. Ellen Braaten, PhD, associate director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy
Minds, director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP)
at Massachusetts General Hospital. She will speak on May 14 about her new book, Help Your Child Overcome Slow Processing Speed and Succeed in a Fast-Paced World. This presentation is free and open to the public. presented by Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Committee. The announcement asks: Do you find yourself constantly asking your child to “pick up the pace?”

Real Estate

Two Townhouses and a Colonial House Sold This Week

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This week a townhouse condo in the near westside of Watertown sold. 

$715,000 – 220 Edenfield avenue Unit 1, 7 room, 3 bedroom, 3 full & 1 half bathroom, Townhouse condo

$789,000 – 11 Elton Ave., 8 room, 5 bedroom, 2 full & 2 half bathroom, Colonial single-family home

$351,000 – 56 Duff Street Unit 56, 6 room, 2 bedroom, 2 full bathroom, Townhouse condo

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Police/Fire

Watertown Police Arrest Drug Dealer After a Joint Investigation

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Watertown Police arrested a drug dealer after a months-long investigation. The police department teamed with the Suburban Middlesex Drug Task Force during the investigation, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn

“In January 2015, police received complaints of a drug dealer in the area of Waverley Avenue,” Lawn said. The man was identified as 44-year-old Preston Mitchell of Watertown, Lawn said. On the evening of April 21, police arrested Mitchell on three counts of distribution of a Class B substance – Percocet pills, Lawn said.

Around Town

See How The Walk for Hunger Will Impact Watertown

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The annual Walk for Hunger will wind through the Boston area, including a section in Watertown on Sunday, May 3 – see how it will impact your day. Thousands of people will take part in the 47th annual Walk For Hunger. The 20-mile walk benefits Project Bread and raises awareness about the issue of hunger. The Project Bread website says: “The Walk brings together people from many different communities and cultures – and attracts parents, kids, students, and corporations. But everyone comes to offer hope to hungry people and to support Project Bread’s fresh approach to ending hunger: programs that help to provide sustainable access to healthy, nutritious food to those in need.

Police/Fire

Beware of Phone Scammers Claiming to be Middlesex Sheriff Koutoujian

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Residents should beware of a phone scam being done using the Middlesex Sheriff’s number claiming people owe taxes. The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has received more than 30 calls from individual reporting having been contacted over the phone by men and women claiming to be with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office and threatening arrest for failure to pay federal taxes, according to an announcement from the Sheriff’s Office. A number of those who reported the calls to the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office said a male caller specifically identified himself as Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian. The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office also determined that many of those who received scam calls yesterday were affiliated with Tufts University and immediately notified the university once that connection was made. The Tufts University Police Department encourages students or employees who receive such calls to let TUPD know as soon as possible.

Government

Council Subcommittee Wants to Require Residents to Shovel Snow from Sidewalks

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This winter’s heavy snows left many Watertown residents fed up with not being able to walk sidewalks covered with feet of snow, and many came out to support having an ordinance to require residents to clear snow off their sidewalks. 

The Town Council’s Public Works subcommittee discussed a possible residential snow shoveling requirement Wednesday night. After hearing from a largely pro-requirement set of residents they approved supporting a residential snow ordinance and sent it on for more study. The town already has a commercial snow shoveling requirement, and this is not the first attempt at adding a residential one. In 2012 a proposed ordinance made it to the full Council, but it was soundly defeated, recalled Council Vice President Steve Corbett, who supported it then and still wants to have a residential requirement. Bevin Croft said she did not feel safe walking with her son around her neighborhood during the snowy months this year, and prior years have been almost as bad.