Around Town

OBIT: Michael Driscoll, 70, Served as Watertown Town Manager for 29 Years

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Michael Driscoll

The following information came from Nardone Funeral Home:

Michael J. Driscoll, Retired Watertown City Manger, Age 70, of Watertown & East Dennis, passed away surrounded by his loving family on Saturday February 11, 2023. Beloved husband of Jane (Ohnemus) Driscoll. Loving father of Amy Driscoll & her partner John Indeck, Allison Privitera & her husband David, Aileen Driscoll, Sarah Giorgio & her husband Nicholas. Cherished ‘Papa’ to Charlie Driscoll, Lola Giorgio and the newest arrival Brooks Giorgio. Dear brother of Brian, Paula Wheeler, Mark, Peter, Leanne Norris.

Around Town

Registration Available for Recreation Dept.’s Winter II Session

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Sports, robots, adult programs and more are available during the Watertown Recreation Department’s Winter II session. Registration has opened for the session, which runs from Feb. 27 to April 16. Sports for kids include basketball, volleyball, floor hockey, wrestling, whiffleball, and all-sports, which includes several different sports. Science focused activities include Chemical Creations, robots, and Bridges & Buildings.

Around Town

LETTER: Medicare Advantage Helps Seniors Stay Active, Healthy

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Dear Editor,

As I recently read in a news article, happiness spikes in our 70s. Seniors are staying healthier and living longer than ever before, and they enjoy their retirement years with lots of free time to spend with friends and family. However, there are health complications that come with age, and that is why it is important for seniors to have quality health insurance. For me and over 30 million other seniors and people with disabilities, Medicare Advantage delivers affordable access to care. My Medicare Advantage plan prioritizes preventative care, so that my older years are spent less frequently in hospitals.

Around Town

Longtime Former Town Manager Michael Driscoll Passes Away

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The man who led Watertown’s municipal government for nearly three decades, former Town Manager Michael Driscoll, passed away on Saturday. Driscoll worked for the Town, and now City, of Watertown for 45 years, beginning as the manager of the John A. Ryan Arena in 1977, became treasurer collector in 1985 before becoming Town Manager in 1994. He grew up in Woburn and lived in Watertown with his wife, Jane. He has three daughters and one step daughter: Amy, Allison, Aileen, and Sarah. 

The City of Watertown sent out a statement that read, in part: “We are saddened to share the news that former Watertown City Manager Michael Driscoll passed away early on February 11, 2023 after receiving treatment for cancer over the past year. …

Around Town

Local Store Buys Girl Scout Cookies for Troop to Deliver to Food Pantries

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Amy TrapassoMembers of Watertown Brownie Troop 70133 delivered donated Girl Scout cookies to the Watertown Food Pantry. They posed with Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham. A Watertown store purchased more than 100 of boxes of Girl Scout cookies from a Watertown Brownie Troop, and the girls recently delivered them to a pair of food pantries in town. A local merchant bought 128 boxes of cookies from Brownie Troop 70133, and asked the girls to donate them, said Amy Trapasso, co-troop leader. “Teresa, one of the new owners of The Meat Spot in Watertown Square, generously purchased more than $600 worth of Girl Scout cookies from Watertown Brownie Troop 70133 and asked that we donate them to the two food pantries in town,” Trapasso said.

Around Town

Our History: Tour the Inside and Out of the Home of One of Watertown’s Famous Architects

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Charles Brigham House, 84 Garfield Street, 2nd story lost in hurricane of 1938 (Courtesy of Sigrid Reddy Watson)

The following story is part of a series about local history. It was written by Sigrid Reddy Watson Terman for the October 2000 Historical Society newsletter, The Town Crier. Sigrid is a former Board member and former President of the Historical Society, as well at a former Director of the Watertown Free Public Library. For several years starting in 1997, she wrote a Watertown history column for the Watertown TAB/Press called “Echoes.”

CHARLES BRIGHAM’S HOUSES GRACE GARFIELD STREET

Recently I had the pleasure of seeing both the exterior and the interior of Charles Brigham’s house on Garfield Street at the invitation of Wilga Rivers, the present owner. It sits on a large lot, and retains many of the features for which Brigham was renowned.

Around Town

Watertown Food Pantry Needs a Longterm Temporary Location

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One of the food pantries in town must find a temporary location while their current location is under construction. The Watertown Food Pantry currently operates out of the Belmont-Watertown Methodist Church on Mt. Auburn Street, but the church will be under construction for a year or longer. When the work is completed, the Food Pantry will move back in, but it does not have a home during the interim. In 2022, the Food Pantry assisted over 140 families per week, and served around 13,000 people during the year, according to Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham.

Around Town

Watertown Group Hosts Talk with ACLU on Technology & Surveillance

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment:

The focus of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment’s February meeting is TEACHING FOR LIBERTY, NOT SURVEILLANCE on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 7 p.m., via zoom. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87290661029?pwd=Q3dnMGxmM1cyOW1OTHRrWW8yWEREUT09

Meeting ID: 872 9066 1029Passcode: 638541

Join us for a conversation with Mass. ACLU Technology for Liberty Director Kade Crockford and Mass. ACLU Community Outreach Strategist Olivia Santoro

Learn about how current systems of surveillance and control impact us as individuals, how they impact us as a society, and how people of color, Muslims, immigrants and dissidents have become primary targets. Find out more at www.watertowncitizens.org