Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/guest-writer/page/226/?sfw=pass1705501616)
James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal–then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”
Charlie BreitroseA cadet in the Middlesex Youth Public Safety Academy uses the fire hose as at Saltonstall Park. The following information was provided by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office:
Registration for the 2023 Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA) will open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 12, Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian has announced.
YPSA is an educational, low-cost summer camp option for Middlesex County families. The camp is open to children ages 8-12 and will be held at the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Training Academy in Chelmsford.
“Thanks to our highly dedicated staff and our incredible public safety partners, YPSA has become one of our most recognizable and powerful community-based programs,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “Throughout the course of the summer, cadets will learn valuable public safety lessons from the same corrections professionals, police officers and firefighters who protect our communities each day. By participating in a variety of fun-filled activities, cadets also build critical teamwork skills that they can carry into their everyday lives.”
YPSA is comprised of five, one-week camps. This year, the camp will kick-off during the week of July 10 through July 14, and will continue through the week of August 7 to August 11.
Registration for each week is $100 per child and includes transportation to and from designated bus stops, daily breakfast and lunch, and graduation ceremony held each Friday. Participants are not required to reside in communities with a designated bus stop, but they will be picked up and dropped off at these locations. Cadets from Billerica and Chelmsford will be dropped off and picked up at the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Training Academy.
The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:
The Watertown Historical Commission is holding the 2023 Preservation Awards event for the first time in several years and is soliciting nominations from the public.
Information and the application can be found here. Please drop off, mail or email completed nomination forms to: Watertown Historical Commission Office, Administration Building, 149 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472 by Wednesday, April 12, 2023. If you have any questions, please call 617-972-6426 or email sjenness@watertown-ma.gov.
Save the date: Please join us on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 7:00 PM for the ceremony at the Carriage House at Gore Place, 52 Gore Street, Waltham. A reception to follow.
The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:
The City of Watertown is seeking Residents to serve on the Traffic Commission, Council on Aging, Cultural Council, Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee, and Affordable Housing Trust
City Manager George J. Proakis is seeking Watertown residents interested in serving on the following City Boards, Commissions and Committees in accordance with Ordinance # 2007-46, an Ordinance on the Timing and Process of Appointments to City Boards, Commissions and Committees. Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest accompanied by a resume or other information concerning background or experience by email to citymgr@watertown-ma.gov or City Manager’s Office, 149 Main Street, Watertown, Massachusetts 02472. Traffic Commission
Description: The duties and responsibilities of the Traffic Commission shall include: study the traffic situation in the City and shall suggest and advise the City Manager in ways and means to regulate traffic in the City and recommend changes and amendments to the Traffic Rules and Orders of the City with a view towards reducing accidents and relieving traffic congestion. The Traffic Commission meets the last Wednesday of each month. One current member holding the position wishes to serve another term.
Lt. Paul Sullivan was killed in Vietnam in 1968, and a scholarship in his name has been given out for 54 years. High school seniors can apply for the 55th Lt. Paul Sullivan Scholarship. The deadline to apply for the scholarship named for a Watertown resident who was killed serving in Vietnam is April 13, 2023. The organizers provided the following information:
We are looking for well-rounded student-athletes who are actively involved in their school, religion, and community. While grades and athletics are important components, CHARACTER is by far the most essential quality we look at in determining finalists.
The directors for New Rep Theatre’s 2023 season, clockwise from top left: Shira Helena Gitlin, Pascale Florestal, and Lois Roach. (photo by New Rep)
The following announcement was provided by New Repertory Theatre:
New Repertory Theatre is excited to announce the Directors for each of the plays of its 2023 Season, as the company continues to build on its nearly 40-year legacy of excellent, provocative theatrical productions that speak to the vital issues of our time.
Shira Helena Gitlin will direct Larry Kramer’s Tony Award winning autobiographical drama, The Normal Heart, opening June 22 for a three-week run through July 9. Set in New York City in the early 1980’s, Larry Kramer’s powerful, passionate and controversial play was the first to treat seriously the poignant and devastating subject of AIDS. Shira is a trans nonbinary, Boston-based director, dramaturg, gender consultant, and musical theatre enthusiast. They have directed for the National Women’s Theatre Festival, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Moonbox Productions, Flat Earth Theatre, Sparkhaven Theatre, Playwrights’ Platform, the Boston Theatre Marathon and more. Shira is a graduate of the Arden Professional Apprentice Class 26, was an Artistic Fellow at SpeakEasy Stage, and is an alumni of Directors Lab North in Toronto, Canada. Says Shira: “The Normal Heart is a perfect example of a part of our history that is already being erased by the history books. It is vital that we remember and engage with the challenges that the LGBT+ community has faced in the past to help us move forward against the most recent attacks on our human rights.”
Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece drama, A Raisin in the Sun, will be directed by Lois Roach. A searing and timeless portrait of a family on Chicago’s South Side, and an American classic, A Raisin in the Sun opens September 6 through October 1. Lois is a writer, award winning producer and stage director, and Resident Artist at New Rep. She received the IRNE Best Director Award for the Lyric Stage production of The Old Settler which also received the IRNE Award for Best Production and the Elliot Norton Award for Best Production (Small Theater).
The City of Watertown will be installing a structure in Saltonstall Park which will become a hub of activity in the area next to City Hall. Various designs have been discussed, and people can take a look and cast their vote by stopping by the Watertown Library, 123 Main St. The City of Watertown sent out the following announcement:
Help Watertown pick a structure to be installed at Saltonstall Park to not only be a focal point for the redesigned park, but to also serve as a hub for community & cultural events & performances in the City! Visit the Watertown Library’s first-floor lobby by the end of the week of April 3, 2023 to cast your vote for your favorite structure! Please visit the Saltonstall Park Project webpage to learn more about the project!
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:
The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) will open the 2023 application process for Institutional and Program grants starting April 3. These grants support local non-profits, community-based organizations, programs, and projects that serve Watertown. Approximately $130,000 in grants will be awarded. WCF’s Program Grants will support new or existing programs with an educational focus (broadly defined) that are run by local organizations that serve Watertown and are not offered through Watertown’s public or private schools. Eligible organizations may apply for grants of $500 up to $5,000. WCF’s Institutional Support Grants will support non-profit institutions central to the Watertown community by providing funds to support the organizational mission, staffing and operating costs.