Letters

LETTER: Watertown Gridiron Club Thanks Business Supporters

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To the Watertown Business Community:

The Watertown Football Gridiron Club, coaches, and players would like to thank you for your generosity and support during this football season! Many of our local businesses paid for an ad in our Program Book—we thank you and hope you had an opportunity to see your ad displayed. Others donated items, food for our players’ lunches, or for our snack shack on game nights: Boston House of Pizza, The Chateau Restaurant, Donohue’s Bar & Grill, Gerry’s Italian Kitchen, Friendly’s Restaurant, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Supercuts, The Talk Restaurant, Tri-City Restaurant, and” W” House of Pizza. Your generosity was truly appreciated. The Watertown Raiders had a great 9-2 season this year and part of that success is due to the support you and the Watertown community has given them.

Business

Planning Board’s Vote a Blow to East Watertown CVS Proposal

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The East Watertown CVS proposal did not pass muster with the Planning Board, but the Coolidge Square project is not dead. Wednesday night, the Planning Board heard from developers about changes made to the proposed 13,300-square-foot pharmacy at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets. Architect Kevin Patten of BKA Architects showed drawings of the new facade which included a scaled down front entrance that would not protrude as much above the roofline, and the glass split up by glazing so they do not look like such large panes of glass. Another alteration was the addition of more landscaping and a wall that curves to “blur the line” between what is CVS and what is the public sidewalk, Patten said.

Obituaries

Memorial Service for Quinn Centola, 64, Watertown Native

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Quinn “Querino” Philip Centola, 64, passed away after a very courageous battle on Nov. 7, 2014. He was the devoted husband of Carmen (Gardea) Centola – who was present when he passed – loving father of Trina Lee Centola, dear brother to Peter R. Centola and his wife Karen of Watertown. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, brother in law of Anthony, Ronald, James Gardea and Mary Dalby of Santa Ana who were also present and supportive during his illness. He was the son of the late Philip and Anna Centola.

Sports

Hockey Season Starts Soon – See When Watertown Plays

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The Watertown High School boys’ and girls’ hockey teams hit the ice soon. See when you can catch the Raiders. Both teams had runs in the MIAA state tournament last year, and look to return. The teams play their home games at John Ryan Arena, 1 Paramount Place, off of Pleasant Street. The girls share a team with Belmont, and will play some of their games at Belmont High School.

Government

Town Council Rejects Watertown Firefighters Contract

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Despite pleas from firefighters to end the long standing contract dispute and an award decided by a neutral arbitrator the Town Council rejected the Watertown Firefighters contract on Tuesday. Members of Local 1347 have worked for more than five years without a contract. When negotiations failed, the town and the union went to mediation and finally they took the process to a state arbitrator. The arbitrator’s award came out in October, and called for $2.74 million in back pay for raises, longevity payment and for EMT qualifications. The firefighters had plenty of backing from the Watertown Fire Department – which filled the room at Town Hall, along with labor leaders from the local, state and national level.

Sports

2 from Watertown Earn All-NCAA Field Hockey Tourney Honors

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Stonehill College juniors and Watertown natives Lauren Giordano and Erika Kelly were named to the All-Tournament team for their performance in the NCAA Div. II semifinals. Giordano, who graduated from Watertown High School in 2012, scored both goals for Stonehill it its 3-2 loss to LIU Post in the semifinal played on the campus of University of Louisville on Dec. 4. Kelly, another 2012 WHS grad, got the assist on the second goal.

Police/Fire

Shoplifter Caught After Pushing His Luck at Watertown Target

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A man who was spotted shoplifting at Target came back for more the next day and was caught and arrested. On Dec. 7 at 10:53 a.m., Target security spotted a man who they recognized because he had been spotted taking a cellphone the previous day, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “The next day he came back and got another cellphone and some toys,” Lawn said. “He paid for the cellphone and tried to leave without paying for the toys.”

Around Town

See Which Groups got Grants from the Watertown Community Foundation

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The Watertown Community Foundation handed out more than $19,000 in Healthy Watertown grants – see which groups got them. The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) Board of Directors awarded the grants, which funded by Tufts Health Plan Foundation. The following ten nonprofit organizations serving Watertown got the grants:

Families for Depression Awareness: A grant to conduct a Teen Depression Program in Watertown to educate a minimum of 100 families. Improbable Players and Watertown Middle School: A grant to present WMS sixth graders with a performance about substance abuse prevention and healthy choices as well as to provide six related theater workshops for the seventh graders. Lowell Elementary School: A grant to expand the school’s Learning Garden so each grade level will have designated space for curriculum-connected, project-based learning.