Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/guest-writer/page/429/)
Cartoon by James Demarco
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.”
The following information was provided by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation:
Tufts Health Plan Foundation announced today it is making an additional $1 million available to efforts driven by community and to nonprofit organizations supporting older people affected by the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Tufts Health Plan Foundation will continue to support healthy aging by funding organizations assisting with access to food, at-home support, housing, transportation, medical supplies and other services, especially for older people and those most vulnerable. Those with underlying health conditions and people over 60 have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. It is especially important to ensure resources are available to provide these supports and services. “We are grateful to the local, state and federal public health agencies, first responders, and the many community organizations who are stepping up to respond to this challenge,” said Tom Croswell, president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan.
Items collected for the Watertown Community Foundation’s food drive in January. The Foundation is organizing another one in the month of October. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) the Watertown Food Pantry will be consolidating hours and will be open one day a week. Beginning March 24, the Watertown Food Pantry will be open for extended hours on Tuesdays, but will not be open on Thursdays. The Pantry, located at the rear of the Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church at 80 Mt.
The following information was provided by MassDOT:
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing that it will be conducting overnight bridge deck repairs on I-90 westbound at exit 15 in Newton. This work is scheduled to take place from 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, through 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 22.
The bridge repair operations will require the temporary closures of right travel lanes on I-90 westbound. At 8:00 p.m., one right travel lane westbound will be temporarily closed. At 11:00 p.m., two right travel lanes westbound will be temporarily closed.
U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling warned that District of Massachusetts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office will of Justice will aggressively pursue anyone committing scams and other crimes related to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Lelling sent out the following statement:
“As our communities take extraordinary measures to confront the coronavirus outbreak, some may view this as an opportunity to prey on the public’s fears and anxieties. The Department of Justice is now focused on cybercrime, sale of counterfeit goods, treatment scams and other healthcare and investment scams arising from the pandemic. My office will aggressively prosecute anyone engaged in this kind of activity,” said U.S. Attorney Lelling. “With the outbreak of COVID-19, scammers have found a platform that preys on people’s fears and could make them more likely to be victimized,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We want you to avoid falling prey to these scams and help us stop them by reporting it at ic3.gov.”
Massachusetts residents who believe they are victims of fraud or other criminal activity related to the pandemic should contact the United States Attorney’s Office at USAMA.victimassistance@usdoj.gov or call 1-888-221-6023 and leave a message. Members of the public can also contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) by visiting www.IC3.gov. If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911.
Watertown School officials sent out the following letter about how they are responding to the closing of the schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak, including finding ways to continue the learning while students are at home. The following statement was sent out by the Watertown Public Schools on Thursday evening:
Good Evening, WPS Families, and Staff:
Tomorrow as we welcome our incredible staff to join together in virtual spaces and begin to transition to providing continuous learning opportunities for students and families, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire community for understanding that shifting from face-to-face live instruction to this new virtual learning paradigm is challenging. The next few weeks will be a time that we all learn and grow together. Our teachers and staff are learning how best to keep continuity in learning for our students, and our families are learning how best to guide and support their children at home.
Keeping Learning Moving
The Office of Teaching, Learning, & Assessment is continuing to develop excellent resources to support our families while schools are closed. On our new Extended Learning Opportunities webpage, we have posted educational resources for students from early childhood through grade 12. We hope you will find these resources to be helpful to stay engaged and provide opportunities for learning during the school closure. Please note that these activities are not intended to replace or substitute classroom instruction, but instead to keep our students engaged and thinking as much as possible while school is not in session. You may want to bookmark this site as we will be utilizing it and updating it throughout the period of closure. As our teachers are preparing for course and/or grade level specific learning opportunities, please refer to this website as it provides deeply engaging resources for you to use with your children.
Town Council President Mark Siders at the inauguration in 2018. To the Watertown community:
I want to take this opportunity to give you a brief update with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Watertown is managing our response to it. The Town Manager and Administration along with myself and the Town Council are staying on top of all measures being put in place at the state level, in addition to those regulations we have put in place locally. The Town Manager is meeting daily with the Director of Public Health, the Police and Fire Chiefs, and other Department heads to assess the effectiveness of recent state and local regulations, and to determine if other actions may be needed to best protect our community. Communications from the Town Manager are available on the Town’s website and are updated frequently.
Springwell seeks to continue to provide services to older residents during the Coronavirus outbreak, and they are looking for volunteers to deliver meals to seniors. Springwell sent out the following information:
Due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Springwell is working diligently to continue to provide services to our senior community. At this time, Springwell is seeking volunteers who are willing to provide home delivery of meals.*
Springwell is an essential part of the social safety net for thousands of older adults each year, and we are continuing to provide the services that are helping them stay safe and in their homes during this challenging time. We especially need volunteers who can work in the towns of Belmont, Watertown, and Waltham. If you are:
interested in receiving training and support to help us reach vulnerable seniors with critical in-home meals;have a reliable car, a current driver’s license, and a clean driving record;are available between 10 am – 1 pm;are able to provide these services, consistent with guidance we receive from the CDC, WHO and other governmental agencies, recognizing you may come into contact with high-risk members of our community and others; andand are successfully able to meet the regulatory pre-requisites for the position.
Please contact us! Email volunteer@springwell.com to start the process; or go online and apply to volunteer at www.springwell.com/volunteer Thank you