Around Town

Watertown Resident’s Blood Donation Earned a Trip to Opening Day

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Donating life-saving blood recently turned into an experience of a lifetime for Watertown resident Rachel Jacobs! She was named Blood Donor of the Game and was honored with tickets the Boston Red Sox Opening Day game against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, April 11. Rachel entered to win the chance to become Blood Donor of the Game after recently donating blood with the American Red Cross. Together with the Boston Red Sox and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Red Cross is proud to honor lucky presenting donors through the Blood Donor of the Game program. Fans are invited to enter to win after stepping up to the plate and volunteering to help patients in need.

Around Town

TriCommunity Coalition Hosting Forum on Homelessness and Housing

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Individuals can make a difference in combating the challenges of homelessness and in promoting the development of more affordable housing. That is the message of the April 24th forum presented by the TriCommunity Coalition to End Homelessness, the coalition announced. The event will explore housing initiatives in the communities of Belmont, Waltham and Watertown. Supported by local civic and religious organizations, the event focuses attention on the realities of housing costs and limits on housing units in these towns. Chrystal Kornegay, Undersecretary, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development will be the keynote speaker.

Around Town

Sign Up Open for the Middlesex Sheriff’s Youth Public Safety Academy

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Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian announced applications are now available for youngsters interested in participating in the Sheriff’s 2016 Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA). Celebrating its 17th year, YPSA provides a safe, educational, low-cost summer camp option for Middlesex County youth. “I am excited to once again be able to offer this program for youngsters from communities across the county,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “Thanks to our tremendous staff and our public safety partners, YPSA provides a fun-filled and educational environment for children to learn about public safety and get to know not only our officers, but also the police officers and firefighters from their own communities.”

YPSA is open to children ages 9-11, with six one-week camps beginning on July 5. Transportation and lunch are provided for all participants.

Around Town

See How to Dispose of Hypodermic Needles and Other Medical Sharps

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The Watertown Public Health Department will host a Household Sharps Collection Day on Saturday, April 23 from 9 a.m-noon. 

The collection will take place in the parking lot behind Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main St. Watertown residents may bring the following:

Used Needles, syringes, and lancets, stored in sturdy puncture proof containers
Unused capped needles, syringes and lancets in original packaging
Sharps containers

Note: No Medical Waste or Commercial sharps accepted. Proof of Watertown residency is required. This Public Service has been organized and sponsored by: Watertown Health Department

For more information call 617-972-644 or go to www.watertown-ma.gov

“Like” Watertown-MA Health Department on Facebook

Around Town

Watertown Police Hosting Prescription Drug Take Back Day

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If you have unused and expired medications, you can dispose of them safely and in and environmentally friendly way at the Watertown Police Station. Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be held on Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Watertown Police Department, Overdose Prevention & Education Network (OPEN), and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network. Bring medication you no longer need to the Watertown Police Department, 552 Main Street, Watertown. A medication drop-box is available 24/7 in the front lobby. For more information, call 617-665-3872 or email naschiller@challiance.org.

Entertainment

Blue Heron Brings 14th Century Music to a Watertown Church

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Blue Heron presents Songs About Hope at the Church of the Good Shepherd on April 29. 
The group, which featues three singers and three players presents Esperance & Amors in 14th-century songs by Machaut, Senleches and others. Proceeds from this concert will benefit Watertown Family Network and the Church of the Good Shepherd. The concert will be held on Friday, April 29 at 8 p.m. at Church of the Good Shepherd, 9 Russell Ave. in Watertown. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The vocal ensemble Blue Heron has been acclaimed by The Boston Globe as “one of the Boston music community’s indispensables” and hailed by Alex Ross in The New Yorker for the “expressive intensity” of its interpretations. Combining a commitment to vivid live performance with the study of original source materials and historical performance practices, Blue Heron ranges over a wide repertoire, according to Blue Heron’s website.

Arsenal Project

Kids Can Paint Their Own Flower Pot to Celebrate Earth Day at the Arsenal Project

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The Arsenal Project will host a special children’s event to celebrate Earth Day. 

Join the Arsenal Project for a collaboration with Indigo Fire Studio in a fun-filled FREE event for kids. Kids will paint a flower pot to plant seeds and celebrate Earth Day! Step by step instruction will be provided by Indigo Fire Studio. Recommended for children ages 7+

The event will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 1-3 p.m.

Registration Required, space is limited. RSVP to Emily at emandeville@wilderco.com or call 617.923.9944

The activity will be at the Innovation Space across from Dunkin Donuts in the Arsenal Project (Formerly the Arsenal Mall) 485 Arsenal St., in Watertown.

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Parents Group Wants Solution to Overcrowded Schools, Soon

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For the past several years, the growing student enrollment numbers in Watertown, particularly at the elementary level, along with the demands of good quality 21st Century general and special education, have placed increasing space pressures on our school buildings.  We have reached a point where our three elementary schools are out of space. Addressing these space issues has been on the back burner for far too long; we need to make major progress in the near term. To date, we have placed the responsibility for managing these space constraints and for maintaining safe and effective learning environments on the school principals and faculty.  They have done and continue to do a tremendous job – showing remarkable flexibility, creativity, and care to try and give all students a positive educational experience. We have reached a point where the physical space limits exceed their ability to solve the problem in both the immediate and longer term at the school level. There are several classes in each Elementary school that are projected to be above Watertown’s unofficial class size guidelines (18-24 students depending on grade level) next year, and quite a few that are right on the cusp of turning into a situation like what the Cunniff is facing right now.