Around Town

Watertown Runner Honored by the Boston Celtics

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Legally blind since she was a child, Watertown’s Marla Runyan did not let her impairment stop her from reaching her goals as a long-distance runner. 

On March 4, the Boston Celtics honored Runyan before the game against the Utah Jazz. In 2000, Runyan became the first legally blind athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. She ran in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games and stands as the only woman to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic games. She was the top American finisher in the Twin Cities, New York, Chicago and Boston Marathons. Marla now teaches at Perkins School for the Blind and serves as their official spokesperson.

Business

See Which Groups Received Grants from Watertown Savings Bank

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Watertown Savings Bank recently handed out $75,000 in grants to 28 local community organizations as chosen by customers of the bank in the annual Customer Choice Awards. During the awards ceremony, a representative from each of the winning organizations had the opportunity to speak about the work they do and how they will use the funds. It is a unique event that celebrates the efforts of the hard-working people who do so much to add to the quality of life in the local communities. “Letting our customers’ votes determine how the funds are distributed creates a wonderfully diverse group of winners each year,” said vice president Carole Katz, emcee for the event. For further information about WSB’s Customer Choice awards program, contact the coordinator at (617) 928-2336.

Charity

Change of Date for the Hibernians’ Ham-O-Rama!

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The date of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians annual Ham-O-Rama, has been moved! The event, featuring raffles, food and the chance to win all the fixings for your Easter meal, will be held Friday, March 27 at Hibernian Hall, 151 Watertown St. in Watertown. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event is open to the public. Ham-O-Rama is the primary fund-raiser for the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians 2015 charitable program.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Owner of Watertown Boat Describes Finding the Marathon Bombing Suspect

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The owner of the infamous “Watertown Boat” described finding the Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston Federal Court on Tuesday. 

Dave Henneberry, a lifelong Watertown resident, had shrink wrapped up his boat, SlipAway II, and parked it in the yard of his Franklin Street home. The testimony comes from live social media reports from reporters at the Boston Federal Court House. When the “shelter in place” had been lifted on the evening of April 20, 2013, Henneberry went out and noticed the wrapping had come loose. When he looked closer, he saw the zipper to the plastic covering was open, so he looked inside. “I noticed a lot of blood …

Police/Fire

Police Log: Driver Arrested on OUI after Hitting UPS Truck and More

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. 
Arrests
March 3, 10:26 a.m.: Police patrolling on Mt. Auburn Street spotted a man who they knew had an outstanding warrant. The 51-year-old man from Watertown was arrested on the warrant from Charlestown District Court for traffic offenses. March 3, 10:45 p.m.: An officer responded to a minor accident on Arsenal Street and found a pickup truck had struck a UPS truck. The officer detected an odor of alcohol on the driver’s breath.

Development

Planning Board Invites Public to Comment on Proposed Zoning Changes

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The Watertown Planning Board will review the proposed changes to the town’s Zoning Ordinance, and seeks input from residents. 

The board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in the Town Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. The board will consider implementing Design Standards and to adopt a separate set of Design Guidelines which are not part of the Ordinance, that together provide requirements and guidance for new development and redevelopment within Watertown. See the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance here: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16416

Boston Marathon Bombing

Watertown’s Day at Trial of Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect

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Nearly two years after the suspected Boston Marathon bombers interrupted a quiet April night in Watertown with gunfire and homemade bombs, the events of April 18 2013 and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s role in them were examined in Federal Court in Boston. On Thursday, jurors in the trial of Tsarnaev saw testimony about the killing of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier by the Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev while Collier sat in his police cruiser in Cambridge. Then the jurors heard from Dun Meng, the owner of the now infamous black Mercedes SUV that was carjacked Tamerlan. He rode in the vehicle for 20-30 minutes, eventually pulling over on a street in Watertown where another car pulled up behind him and loaded something in his SUV. Meng said the other man was Dzhokhar.

Sports

Raiders Notebook: Watertown Celebrates First Boys’ Hockey State Title

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Watertown hockey coach Mike Hayes worked with what he was given, and took the Raiders to the state title on Sunday. He hopes to stay in the hunt next year even after losing some key seniors. The Raiders skated to the MIAA Div. 3 state title at the TD Garden Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Agawam. The team did it with a roster of 19, and Hayes said five of those players did not hit the ice.