Around Town

Statement by Library Board Chair on Request to Remove Book from Suggested Reading List

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Watertown LibraryThe Watertown Free Public Library. The following statement was read by Watertown Board of Library Trustees Chair Leanne Hammonds about the request to reconsider including a book in the summer reading suggested reading list. Hammonds read the statement regarding “A Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child’s Search for Home,” during the July 31 Trustees meeting. The statement reads:

As chair of the Board of Trustees, I acknowledge the library’s receipt last month of a Request for Reconsideration from a Watertown Resident. A Request for Reconsideration is a process outlined in our Collection Development Policy to consider moving a book to a different area within our collection or removing it from our collection entirely.

Letters

LETTER: Even With Trash Resumed Pickups, Residents Still Feeling Effects of Strike

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Dear George,

When I wrote my first open letter to you, I hadn’t meant for it to be a habit, but circumstances being what they are, I guess it was meant to be. First of all, I stand by my last letter in Watertown News, where I complimented you and Tom Brady (Director of the Department of Public Works): https://www.watertownmanews.com/2025/07/15/letter-thanks-for-trash-collection-concerns-about-utility-work-notifications/

Let me explain why I’m writing this letter to you. It’s been a full month now since the trash strike began, and I think that you would agree that we’re handling this quite well as a community. But here’s the thing: whether residents notice this or not, between the extreme heat and the uneven and unpredictable trash pickups, it puts stress on people. It’s not the kind of stress that you experience when you’re in a car accident or lose a job.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Shares Concern About Response to Book Reconsideration Request

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Dear Neighbors:

I’ve never been so disappointed in our city. Last week I attended the Library Trustee’s monthly Board meeting which included an agenda item on the policy for reconsideration of a book the summer reading list. This was largely due to a letter that I and other Jewish residents sent regarding concerns with one book on the second grade summer reading list curated by the Watertown Free Public Library and Watertown School District. We shared our concerns with how it framed Israel as the oppressor and sought to teach a young reader a history of Palestine with ideological views often seen as anti-Israel propaganda. In our letter we asked for a dialogue so we could share our concerns and have a conversation. Did we expect the book to be removed from the list?

Around Town

Police Officers, Firefighter Speaking at Empowering Women in Watertown Workshop

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The second Empowering Women in Watertown event is a summer workshop featuring members of the Watertown Police and Fire departments. See the announcement below. We’re thrilled to welcome Officers Kerry Kelley and Anna Margaryan and Firefighter/Paramedic Kate Boudreau as our keynote speakers at our Empowering Women in Watertown: Summer Workshop! Join us on Thursday, August 14, 2025, from 8–10am at the Commander’s Mansion. This workshop is focused on Wellness, Community Action, and Communications, and designed to connect, empower, and inspire women across Watertown.

Around Town

Registration for Fall and Winter Recreation Department Programs Now Open

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The Watertown Recreation fall and winter programs are now open for registration. See details in the announcement from the Recreation Department below. Fall & Winter Recreation registration is now open on our amazing new registration portal from Rec Technologies. Follow the instructions below to register today! The wait is over — our new registration system with Rec Technologies is officially LIVE!

Entertainment

Small Saves Gets a New Pair of Pads in This Week’s Cartoon

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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.”

Around Town

Project Saves Receives $500K in Gifts as Photo Archive Celebrates 50th Anniversary

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Nigol Bezjian, center, filming in NYC, 1981. (Photo by Berg Zobian)

The following announcement was provided by Project Save:

Project Save Photographic Archive, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving the global Armenian experience through photography, has secured $500,000 in new financial gifts along with significant archival donations, marking major milestones for the organization’s 50th anniversary. “These transformational investments in Project Save’s future affirm the urgency and impact of our mission,” said Executive Director Arto Vaun. “They help ensure the continued preservation of Armenian social history and culture for generations to come.”

An anonymous donor has pledged $400,000 to Project Save. In addition, New York-based philanthropist Sabine Hrechdakian has made a $50,000 gift.

Letters

LETTER: Library Should Resist Effort to Remove Book on Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

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(Note: The Watertown Board of Library Trustees will meet Thursday, July 31 at 7 p.m. at Watertown Middle School. The agenda includes a statement of policy in response to feedback on the suggested summer reading list read by the Board Chair.)

Dear  Kim Long (Hewitt), Library Director and Board of Trustees, 

I’m writing about the pressure the library faces to remove the children’s book, “A Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child’s Search for Home.” I hope the library resists this pressure and lets parents and children make their own choices of reading material and draw their own conclusions. This issue matters greatly to me for two reasons, my connections with Israel-Palestine and my connections with Watertown. I have been many times to the West Bank and Gaza and most parts of Israel.