Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/guest-writer/page/10/)
The following announcement was provided by Watertown Cable Access TV:
Watertown non-profits and organizations are welcome to sign up between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to film a PSA at WCA-TV’s Studio. All you need to bring is your script and smile! WCA-TV will edit the PSA for you. The PSAs created will then be broadcasted on WCA-TV’s Public Channels, as well as uploaded to our site. You will also receive a copy of the PSA.
The Papas Elite Summer Basketball League finals begin Thursday at Saltonstall Park. (Photo by Natalie Nigito Photography)
The following information was provided by the Recreation Department:
The 2025 Papas Elite Championship is set as the third seeded Zards will face the fourth seeded Donohue’s Kaos Club in the Papas Elite best of three finals. Donohue’s Kaos Club edged out the defending champion New Day by a score of 43-38 behind a nine-point night from Bo Brace. Greg Kelley and Guilien Smith followed up with eight, while Akeem Williams led New Day with 18 points. In the second game of the night the Zards bested the Beavers 57-38 behind Joey Flannery’s 12 points.
Candle boats in the Charles at Watertown Square. The following piece was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice & the Environment:
In 1912 Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City, gave 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C. to celebrate the growing friendship between the United States and Japan. Thirty-three years later, on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki three days later. Over 100,000 people’s lives were ended instantly and by the end of that year, over 210,000 people were dead. Countless others were maimed or suffered long-term effects of radiation. In what he called his “anti-poem,” Original Child Bomb, Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton described the events leading up to August 6 in a stark, bureaucratic style.
The City seeks residents to serve on the Memorialization Committee, a new board that will create a process for naming public places such as parks, streets, squares, and municipal buildings, and making recommendations to the Council about how “Watertown honors its people and stories.” See the announcement from the City of Watertown below. Are you interested in Watertown’s rich history? Would you like to play a role in how our public places are named and remembered? The City of Watertown and City Manager George J. Proakis are seeking Watertown residents to serve on the newly formed Memorialization Committee.
Both of the 2025 Watertown Summer Basketball League Semifinal series will be decided in a winner-take-all game 3 on Tuesday night. (Courtesy of Watertown Recreation)
The following information was provided by the Watertown Recreation Department:
The 2025 Papas Elite Semifinals is all tied up at 1-1 with wins from the second-seeded Beavers and fourth-seeded Donohue’s Kaos Club. The Beavers evened up the series with an 80-54 victory of the third-seeded Zards in the first game on Monday night. Thomas Ferdinando dropped 17 points on the Zards, while Sam Longwell led the Zards with 18 points. In the second semifinal game of the night, Donohue’s Kaos Club pulled out the 68-60 overtime win over the top seed New Day.
Employees at Point32Heath packed care packages for American servicemen and -women, which will be delivered by Operation American Soldier. (Photo from Point32Health)
The following announcement was provided by Point32Health:
The Point32Health finance team turned a summer BBQ into something unforgettable. More than 150 colleagues in the finance organization came together for food and camaraderie and to make a meaningful impact in support of Operation American Soldier. Point32Health employees assembling the care packages. (Photo from Point32Health)
Together, the team assembled and donated 115 backpacks filled with snacks, toiletries, and handwritten notes of appreciation.
The following announcement was provided by the Mount Auburn Cemetery:
On Friday, August 15, Mount Auburn Cemetery will host Branches of Hope: Reflecting on the Past, Healing for the Future, a reflective, cross-cultural evening marking the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing and the end of World War II. Through art, remembrance, and quiet contemplation, the event invites the public to reflect on the costs of conflict and the enduring human pursuit of peace. The program will include a keynote by Cannon Hersey, filmmaker and cultural organizer, and grandson of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Hersey, whose landmark 1946 book Hiroshima brought the voices of atomic bomb survivors to a global audience. Hersey is also currently producing a feature film inspired by his grandfather’s work, titled What Divides Us, set to begin production in 2025. “Eighty years after my grandfather, John Hersey, gave voice to the survivors of Hiroshima, their stories still feel deeply urgent,” said Cannon Hersey.
The Papas Elite Summer Basketball League semifinals are underway at Saltonstall Park. (Photo by Watertown Recreation)
The following announcement was provided by the Recreation Department:
Top seeded New Day and third seeded Zards take a 1-0 series advantage in a best-of-three 2025 Papas Elite semifinals.
Led by Jamari Robinson’s 17-point night, New Day edged out fourth seed Donohue’s Kaos Club by a score of 51-46. Akeem Williams followed up Robinson netting 11 points. Bo Brace led Donohue’s with a total of 12 points.