Around Town

Hundreds Run the 13th Annual Donohue’s Turkey Trot Despite Arctic Conditions

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Fifteen minutes before the 2018 Donohue’s Turkey Trot was scheduled to begin, Bigelow Avenue was nearly deserted. As race time approached, however, hundreds of runners emerged from Donohue’s Bar & Grill for the Thanksgiving morning 5K on the streets of Watertown. Despite temperatures in the low teens, 567 runners ran the 20th edition of the race. Many ran in duffle coats, others in head to toe furry costumes, and many had turkey headwear. One brave runner came out in shorts.

Around Town

Winter Parking Ban Starts Soon, Includes Earlier Removal Time for Vehicles at Some Lots

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With Thanksgiving coming up, that also means the winter overnight street parking ban will soon begin in Watertown, but this year drivers will have to move their vehicles earlier from some parking lots. 

On Monday night, the School Committee officially approved a change to the hours people can park in school parking lots. The rule change was made so that the lots will be ready for the opening of school, said School Committee member Eileen Hsu-Balzer. “It used to be you had to clear cars by 7 a.m., now it is 6 a.m.,” Hsu-Balzer said. “The reason they need to move by 7 a.m. is students are already arriving at school and the plows have not had the opportunity to work on the lot.” School Committee Chair John Portz said he expects that people will comp

\[=-lain about the new hours.

Around Town

Watertown’s Police and Fire Chiefs Appear on Watertown Cable’s ‘Inside Watertown’

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Watertown’s Police and Fire Chiefs appeared on the latest episode of Watertown Cable’s Inside Watertown. Co-hosts Charlie Breitrose and Bob Airasian spoke to Police Chief Michael Lawn and Fire Chief Robert Quinn about some of their department’s efforts to reach out to the community and connect with residents. Chief Lawn spoke about the Citizen’s Police Academy, the Cops and Rec programs for kids and other ways police officers are trying to get out of their cruisers and interact with the public. The Fire Department has a variety of programs for the public, too. Chief Quinn spoke about how firefighters visit Watertown’s schools to teach fire safety and meet with seniors to put up free smoke detectors.

Around Town

CatholicTV Network Announces Initiative in Response to the Church’s Sexual Abuse Crisis

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The following information was provided by CatholicTV Network:
The CatholicTV Network announced today its launch of a 6-month initiative called Together We Rebuild in response to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. From now until Easter Sunday, 2019, CatholicTV will focus on penance and prayer for the healing and restoration of the Church. Each month of the campaign will be guided by a theme related to rebuilding and will include corresponding programming and resources such as video series, blogs, magazine articles, and social media initiatives. On November 11, CatholicTV and its viewers will begin a Novena of Penance and Prayer for the healing of abuse victims and the purification of the Church. Those nine days of prayer will culminate in a 12-hour Day of Penance and Prayer broadcast live from CatholicTV’s Chapel of the Holy Cross on November 19.

Around Town

Watertown Residents Gather to Honor Veterans Day, Bid Farewell to Veterans Agent

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Watertown’s veterans gathered Sunday morning to mark Veterans Day. They also bid farewell to the town’s Veterans Services Officer. 

The celebration of those who are serving and who have served in the United States Military was held at the Pvt. Charles Shutt Detachment of the Marine Corps League on Mt. Auburn Street. Along with the annual events to mark Veterans Day, those gathered bid farewell to Mark Comeiro, who has served as the town’s veterans agent since 2015.

Around Town

Sports, Crafts, Music, Yoga & Sports Tickets Available from Watertown Recreation

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The Watertown Recreation Department has a wide range of offerings this winter, from youth sports to crafts to music lessons to yoga. The Rec Department also has tickets to the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics for sale. See all the Watertown Recreation Department’s Winter Program offerings, and download the signup sheets by clicking here. Registration information can also be found on the Watertown Recreation website, www.recreation.watertown-ma.gov, or in the office on the bottom floor of Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. Find out more about the Recreation Department on Facebook (facebook.com/watertownrecreationdepartment), Twitter (twitter.com/watertownrec) or Instagram (instagram.com/watertownrecreation)

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Watertown Youth Leaders Attend Summit on Tobacco-Related Issues

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The following information was provided by Health Resources in Action:
Young leaders of The 84 Movement from the Watertown Youth Coalition attended the Youth Power Summit on October 27, 2018 at the UMass Medical Center in Worcester. 
Youth activists from around Massachusetts learned how the history of tobacco mirrors and is influenced by the history of race in the U.S.
They shared stories and discussed activities to address tobacco-related inequities in their communities.  

Around Town

Watertown Library Screening Film on Impact of Placing Native American Children with White Families

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The Watertown Free Public Library provided the following announcement:
For most of the 20th century, U.S. government agents systematically forced Native American children from their homes and placed them with white families. The new documentary Dawnland explores the legacy of this practice in Maine, capturing moments of truth telling and healing among the Wabanaki people. In the past few weeks, advance screenings of Dawnland have been selling out across the country. A PBS national premiere is scheduled for Monday, November 5th. On November 15, the Watertown Free Public Library, World In Watertown, and The Upstander Project will co-present a screening and discussion of the “powerfully illuminating” (Cross Cut) documentary, free and open to all.