Comic Strips: a Naughty Kitty and Young Hockey Goalie Gets Playing Time

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.” DeMarco recently added “Here’s Trouble” to his cartooning lineup, inspired by drawings he did in the 1980s when he was in high school.

LETTER: Parent Urges School Committee to Mandate COVID Vaccinations

Dear School Committee,

As far as I’m aware, Watertown has not yet announced a policy for COVID vaccination in schools. I’m writing today to urge you to adopt a mandate as many other jurisdictions are now doing. COVID vaccines are safe and effective, and are by far the most effective way to prevent COVID outbreaks in our schools and keep our teachers and students safe. I got vaccinated at the first opportunity and will get my children vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. 

Masks, ventilation, social distancing, and testing can help, but there is a limit to what ventilation can do, and in many ways masks, social distancing, and testing are far more burdensome than getting a vaccine because the vaccine is two doses at single points in time, whereas masks and social distancing restrict what people can do every single day. It seems incongruous to mandate the less effective, more burdensome intervention, while leaving the more effective, less burdensome intervention up to the individual.

Watertown Residents Can Dispose of Medical Sharps at Upcoming Collection Event

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Health Department:

Household sharps collection will take place on Saturday, August 14, 2021 9:00 a.m. – noon at 149 Main Street, Watertown Town Hall Parking Lot at Rear of Building. Watertown Residents may bring the following items on collection days: Used Needles, syringes, and lancets, stored in sturdy puncture proof containers. Unused capped needles, syringes and lancets in original packaging. Unused EpiPen’s in original containers. Locked sharps containers.

Court Finds Watertown Company Violated Fair Labor Standards, Retaliated Against Employee

The following announcement was provided by the U.S. Department of Labor:

An employee who worked for two Massachusetts construction contractors was within his rights when he complained to his supervisor about not receiving overtime pay and requested the wages he was due. The two companies responded with a campaign of retaliation, pressuring the worker to withdraw his overtime complaint. They convinced other individuals to follow and threaten the worker’s family, and told other employees they might lose their jobs because the worker requested overtime pay that was legally due. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the contractors’ actions violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed suit against the defendants and obtained a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in October of 2020.

Watertown Church Welcomes New Priest, Returns to In-Person Services

The Rev. Andrew Goldhor and former Good Shepherd Deacon the Rev. Ken Schmidt offer outdoor communion on Easter, April 4, while services were still being held remotely. The Church of the Good Shepherd provided the following piece:

On July 18th the Church of the Good Shepherd held its first in-person worship service since the pandemic began. The Reverend Andrew Goldhor officiated at the service, which included communion and was characterized by mask-wearing, socially distanced seating, and humming to hymns rather than singing. 

Rev. Goldhor, who prefers to be called Andrew, was appointed Priest-in-Change at Good Shepherd in October of 2020. He succeeds The Very Rev. Amy McCreath, who left Good Shepherd in 2018 to accept the position of Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. Andrew has been leading Zoom services at 10 am on Sundays since his arrival. Current in-person services are also streamed online and can be found at www.goodshepherdwatertown.org.