Citizens Police Academy

OP-ED: Watertown Citizen Police Academy an Eye-Opening Experience

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By Ruth Thomasian

“Understanding through Education.” That’s how Chief Michael Lawn announced the reintroduction of the Watertown Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy in the fall of 2016. Two decades ago Watertown’s first Citizen Police Academy began, and ran from 1996-2008, with Capt. Ray Dupuis as its Director. Well over 200 Watertown citizens enrolled in those 10-week classes, held in the old police station’s makeshift classroom. It was entirely funded with federal grants. Students gave it rave reviews, but when funding ended, so did the Academy.

Letters

LETTER: What’s Goes Crash in the Night – Snow Plows!

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For the first time since my husband and I moved here in 2009, snow plows at night are keeping us awake, and during the last two storms did so for ​nearly four hours after we tried to go to sleep. We’re not sure what made them so loud. They seemed to be moving fast around our intersection (we’re one of the corner houses). We and some others have bedrooms very close to the street, and most of the houses are close to the street in general, so the noise is close to many people. We watched the plow for awhile (it was clear we wouldn’t be sleeping for some time) to try to determine just what it was crashing and banging against – curbs, sewer grates, potholes?

Letters

LETTER: Resident Seeks Program Where Seniors Get Help Shoveling Snow

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Dear Sirs –

I am a 30-year resident who has finally reached the age where shoveling my sidewalk has become a bigger task than I can handle. There must be hundreds of elderly residents like me in Watertown. I have heard from friends in other towns that the town officials or the DPW in those towns have created a list of workers (some teens or others with a snow blower or shovels looking for a little extra cash) who will do the work for a reasonable price. Wouldn’t it be a valuable service for Watertown residents if our officials did the same for us? We don’t know where to look for workers like these, but our sidewalks must be cleared just the same.

Letters

LETTER: Tips to Keep Your Home Safe This Winter from the Fire Inspector

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Residents of Watertown:

I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season. As we welcome winter, and progress into the season, I felt it was an appropriate time to inform you of some important winter fire safety topics. Please promptly dispose of your Christmas trees. A dried out tree can ignite very easily and spread very quickly. Even if you have been watering your tree well, cut trees dry out fast.

Development

LETTER: Town Councilor Worries Mall Will Change Character of East End

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Dear Chairman Hawes and Members of the Planning Board,

To put this quite simply, Watertown has not seen a development of this magnitude in recent history; a city within a city with amenities galore for its prospective residents. The urban sprawl associated with this development will change the character of the East End of Watertown and community-at-large for generations to come. Due to a prior commitment, I will be unable to attend the Planning Board Hearing on Dec. 14, 2016, rescheduled from Nov. 29, 2016.  For numerous months, many residents and I have been sharing our thoughts, comments and many concerns at neighborhood meetings and at the Special Planning Board Hearing on Oct.

Arsenal Mall

LETTER: Tower at Arsenal Mall Too Tall, Will Loom Over Charles River

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To the citizens of Watertown, regarding the Arsenal Project MP/SP proposal,

As I sat in the audience of the Planning Board meeting of Dec. 14, 2016, I was again disappointed. In over a year of meetings the issue which I thought would have been a major concern to both the citizens of Watertown, the city councilors and the city planning department employees was rarely discussed. The issue I am referring to is the development of a 12 story building (building “G”) approximately 100 feet from Greenough Boulevard. Now the reason the developer wants to build this building is obvious.

Letters

LETTER: Simple Sign at Watertown Library Warms the Heart of a Resident

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Editor,

This morning I walked through the doors of the Watertown Library and was heartened to see a simple black and white sign in the door stating “The Watertown Free Public Library welcomes and serves everyone.”  

In these divisive times it was a welcome reminder that I live in a community that is diverse and that I believe takes pride in that diversity.  This diversity was evident to me in the families that came to the door trick-or-treating on Halloween, in the number of different languages spoken in the schools and in my work as a tutor with Project Literacy. As a white woman, I am unlikely to face discrimination in Watertown and I can’t presume that there is no discrimination or acts of harassment in our town.  But in general, Watertown feels like a welcoming community and my hope is that we will all look for ways to foster that sense of community as we move forward in 2017.  

Joan Blaustein
Riverside Street

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Schools Could be Renovated Without Major Tax Increase

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To the Editor,

Why is a tax override or debt exclusion needed to fund the renovation and upgrade of the 5 Watertown Public Schools? During this recent election season, tax increases were discussed with a lot of passion both for and against the proposed surcharge to fund the Conservation Preservation Act (CPA). Another discussion conflated the CPA tax and a tax override or debt exclusion to pay for proposed renovations to Watertown’s aging schools. The message presented was that if the CPA passed, residents would be facing a second tax increase to pay for the schools. I disagreed with the premise that an override/exclusion was necessary and the only option to fund the school upgrades (http://www.mass.gov/dor/docs/dls/publ/misc/levylimits.pdf).