Major Intersection on Arsenal St. Undergoing Repaving

The area of Arsenal Street near School Street will be repaved beginning this week. The project, which is being overseen by Athenahealth. is slated to begin with milling (scraping off the top layer of asphalt) on Nov. 19, weather permitting. The work on Arsenal Street goes from School Street to the entrance to the recently built West Garage in the Arsenal on the Charles.

Watertown Food Drive Provided Food for Hundreds of Residents

The Watertown Community Foundation’s food drive held in October brought in hundreds of bags of donation. Here are just some of them. A food drive organized by the Watertown Community Foundation this October, in conjunction with Watertown schools and businesses provided hundreds of bags of food for the two local food pantries. The directors of the food pantries thanked the organizers and people who donated to the drive. “Just want to say that we are so grateful for everyone’s help, we have very well stocked shelves which is wonderful with winter coming,” said Beverly Concannon, director of the St.

Eversource Invites School Children to Enter Energy Challenge

The following information was provided by Eversource:

 Eversource invites Massachusetts students to demonstrate their energy efficiency knowledge by entering its seventh annual Eversource Challenge. The competition promotes energy conservation, energy efficiency and sustainability and is open to kindergarten to high school students in Eversource’s Massachusetts electric service territory. Deadline for registration is March 17, 2020. All entries must be received or postmarked by March 27, 2020. “Year after year, our students continue to amaze us with their creativity and innovative energy efficiency ideas,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Penni Conner.

See When Watertown’s Tree Lighting Ceremony Will Take Place

The Watertown Tree Lighting Ceremony returns to Watertown Square in December. The Rotary Club of Watertown are pleased to announce that the ninth annual Tree Lighting event will be held on Friday, Dec. 6 in Watertown Square. A reception will follow at the Watertown Savings Bank (WSB) main office in Watertown Square. Santa Claus will arrive to the Square by fire truck at 5:15 p.m.; the tree lights come on at 5:30 p.m.; and the reception to follow immediately after at WSB, where attendees will enjoy refreshments, holiday music, and visit with Santa Claus.

Giving Tree Full of Children’s Gift Wishes Up at the Watertown Mall

The Watertown mall Giving Tree is up and filled with wishes from children who are members at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. Brighten the holidays for these children by taking an ornament from the tree and purchasing their wish. The Watertown Mall’s giving tree is adorned with ornaments for this Holiday season and will benefit the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. The Giving Tree is located in the common area of the mall, near Miss Maria’s School of Dance. All are invited to simply take an ornament off the tree, buy the gift listed on the tag, and return it to mall staff unwrapped (Management Team, Maintenance Staff, Security Officers).

Letter from Nobel Winner Malala Helps Watertown Man Avoid Jail Time

The Nobel Prize Medal

A Watertown man convicted of tax fraud avoided jail time in part due to a letter on his behalf from Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Burnham Ud Din, 50, of Watertown, was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and to pay a $140,372 fine for his involvement with a scheme to not pay taxes for two fried chicken restaurants — Kennedy Fried Chicken in Roxbury and Crown Fried Chicken in Chelsea. Federal prosecutors had sought a year in jail and a $212,224.01 fine to repay the withheld taxes. The sentence was handed down on Nov. 7 by Boston Federal District Court Judge Judge George A. O’Toole, who took into account letters in support of Din, including one from Yousafzai, according to a post on Universal Hub.

Pair Who Helped Asylum Seekers at Border to Speak in Watertown

Several Watertown citizen groups announced they will host the event “Stories from the Border: Roots and Realities with Raquel Bauman and Sylvia Cowan.” The group sent out the following information:

Wednesday, November 20 7:00 p.m – 8:30 p.m. First Parish of Watertown 35 Church Street

Raquel Bauman and Sylvia Cowan of First Parish Bedford went to the Border as Spanish-speaking volunteers in a detention center to assist asylum-seekers and to observe events in Mexico and Texas last February.  They will share stories they heard and events they witnessed first-hand there, along with updates and a look at origins of this growing humanitarian crisis on our Mexican Border. Since that time, the situation has continued to escalate into a heartbreaking humanitarian crisis—both on the U.S. border and in neighboring Mexico. Sylvia & Raquel invite you to accompany them vicariously on their journey. Come hear what they learned, aspects of the current realities, and exploration of roots of this crisis.  In the end, we are invited to consider what steps we all might take to live our values of justice for all and helping one another. Sponsored by First Parish of Watertown, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment, World in Watertown, Watertown Welcomes Immigrants, and Survival Education Fund, Inc.

Winner of Watertown Mall Scarecrow Contest Announced & Kids in Costumes

The Watertown Mall announced the winners of the 2019 Scarecrow Contest, and that was just one of its Halloween events. The mall also invited children to come down in their Halloween costumes. The Watertown Mall provided the following announcements:

We would like to thank all of this year’s Scarecrow Contest participants. The Watertown Mall is proud to announce the winners this year. 1st Place – Perkins School for the Blind, “The Minions of Potter”

The 2019 Scarecrow Contest First Place winner.