Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/guest-writer/page/317/)
State Rep. Steve Owens. Representative Steve Owens announced he will be hosting virtual office hours Friday, December 3 at 1 p.m.
For those looking to join, they can register for the meeting with this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81819705696?pwd=K2xRNUM2NFVGcWRtbUdqMm8xNUJmUT09.
Arsenal YardsArsenal Yards will host Winter Wond-AY-Land in December. The following announcement was provided by Arsenal Yards:
Watertown’s Arsenal Yards invites guests, residents and visitors to experience a Winter Wond-AY-Land all month long, with festive decorations, special events and yuletide photo ops! Holiday merriment abounds at Arsenal Yards this holiday season, along with plentiful opportunities to give back to the local Watertown community. Visitors can head to Bond Square, the newly unveiled community courtyard space at Arsenal Yards, to immerse themselves in a forest of dozens of evergreen “Giving Trees”. The trees make the perfect backdrop for family photos, and will be donated to families in the Watertown community later in December through the Watertown Boys and Girls Club and other local community organizations.
The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:
In coordination with the Watertown Middle School, Watertown High School, Recreation Department, Council on Aging/Senior Center, and the Marshall Home Fund, the City of Watertown is offering a snow-shoveling program specifically for our senior residents over age 60 and those who are disabled. Watertown Middle School and Watertown High School students are matched with senior residents in their neighborhood, and assigned to be responsible for shoveling snow from the sidewalks and driveways for the duration of the winter season. This year, thanks again to generous support from the Marshall Home Fund, students will have an opportunity to earn community service as well as gift cards by assisting with snow shoveling in their neighborhood. Applications for both the residents in need of assistance, and the students volunteering to help them, are available here.
The following announcement was provided by the Pigsgusset Initiative:
On Thursday, Dec. 2nd at 3:30 P.M., members of the Pigsgusset Initiative, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, will deliver petitions to the City Council requesting a name change for the area now called “Columbus Delta.”
The delivery will be made by Mishy Lesser, Learning Director of Upstander Project and co-founder of the Pigsgusset Initiative, along with other Pigsgusset members and local youth, to the office of the Clerk of the City Council who is responsible for accepting the signatures. The petitioners are requesting that the City Council begin a process of reconsidering the name of the delta in Watertown Square, whose official name is the Columbus Delta. The goal is to initiate a process that will generate a new name that is more inclusive of all members of our community and the history of the place we all call home. Eighty years ago, the Selectmen of Watertown voted to name the delta, which today is the public meeting place where hundreds of diverse neighbors often gather for a variety of reasons.
It is disheartening when I hear inaccurate and contradicting statements that collectively refer to sitting Town Councilors; inclusive of myself.
I fully dispute the allegation that follows:
“…..Some Council members have indicated privately that they were not aware of BB&N’s switch from natural grass to synthetic turf.”….. Please note the following email, and attachment, that were sent to the Town Councilors on 11/10/2020 at 12:59 P.M., as Executive Session material for the evening’s meeting at 6:00 P.M. A full two weeks prior to the vote for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 11/24/2020. At this time; there is nothing privileged within this communication that I share. One of the submissions stated:
“most updated rendering”, at that point in time, dated 11/04/2020. Clearly printed on the document is the statement: “PROPOSED MULTI-PURPOSE SYNTHETIC FIELD”. The email, and accompanying materials, were sent to all nine Town Councilors, confirming synthetic turf.
Indigo Fire will host a Holiday Pottery Sale at its studio in Watertown. The sale will be Dec. 10 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Dec. 11 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Indigo Fire recently expanded to the location at 79R Grove St. this past summer, and would love to open up our doors for Watertown residents to take a peek at this new space, to celebrate our studio artists, and maybe to find a gift or two for a loved one!
The following Watertown residents were named to the first quarter Honor Roll at Arlington Catholic High School. Andrew Airasian
Matthew Brown
Donald MacMillan
Matthew Taggart
Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam. The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Watershed Association:
The Dam Removal Movement Why Watertown Dam Should Be Next Virtual Event Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at 7 p.m.
Across Massachusetts, there is a growing movement to remove aging, defunct mill dams and restore free-flowing, climate-resilient rivers. There are numerous benefits and considerations to dam removal, including reinstating migratory fish passage, restoring the ecosystem, and protecting downstream communities from catastrophic flooding.