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)

Around Town

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.

Around Town

Water Main Break on Greenough Blvd. Impacts Traffic, Some Without Water

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A water main broke on Greenough Boulevard, near Arsenal Street Tuesday morning, and the Department of Public Works hopes to have the pipe fixed the same day. 

The break occurred at about 5:30 a.m., and closed the road. Residents of one of the towers on Coolidge Avenue did not have water due to the break, said Public Works Superintendent Gerry Mee. As of 12:30 p.m., crews had removed the broken section of the 12-inch pipe, Mee said. “They are getting pipe to put in, but it is still a slow, long process,” Mee said. “Our goal is to get water back on today.”

Around Town

Watertown Senior Center Hosting Holiday Boutique This Week

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Get your holiday shopping started with the Friends of the Watertown Council on Aging’s Holiday Boutique. The sale features handmade knitted items, jewelry, ornaments and holiday décor. The Boutique will be held at the Watertown Senior Center, 31 Marshall St., on Thursday, Nov. 8 and Friday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Around Town

Work of Watertown Police, Firefighters Recognized by Post Office with Special Stamp

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The U.S. Postal Service honored Watertown’s police officers and firefighters  Thursday with the unveiling of a stamp recognizing first responders. 

The Post Office is presenting local departments with a plaque featuring a larger image of the limited edition stamps. Linda Beattie, manager of Watertown’s three post offices, presented the plaques to Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn, Watertown Deputy Fire Chief Dan Tardif, and Watertown Firefighter and EMT David Meagher during a ceremony at the Watertown Police Station. “For the work they did with the Boston Marathon bombers, we wanted to recognize them for their heroic actions,” Beattie said. “It has a special meaning for this town.” The stamp features three figures: a red firefighter holding an ax, a white paramedic holding a medical bag, and a blue police office shining a flashlight into the dark background partially filled with smoke.

Around Town

Watertown Citizens for Black Lives Announces November Meeting

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Watertown Citizens for Black Lives sent out the following information:

Our Mission: Watertown Citizens For Black Lives is a community member organization that campaigns against violence and systemic racism in our local community. Please join us for our monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5 at the Watertown Free Public Library. We are meeting in the Raya Sterns Trustees Room, which is behind the Reference Desk. Newcomers are especially welcome.

Around Town

Watertown Vigil Remembers Victims of Pittsburgh Shooting, Denounce Violence

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

On Tuesday evening Oct. 30, 60 people gathered in Watertown Square to remember the victims of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and to reaffirm the importance of denouncing violence against all victims of religious, political, racial and gender intolerance. 

Candlelight streamed down Main St. during the vigil organized by Watertown
Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment. Mourners later gathered in a large circle around the delta as First Parish Unitarian minister Mark Harris spoke to the crowd about the increasing hatred spewing across the country, and the urgency with which citizens must speak up and speak out against the acts of violence that surround us. Watertown Citizens President Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin then honored the many wounded first-responders and officers, followed by a reading of the names and ages of each of the eleven victims killed in the attack. After a moment of silence, Sue-Ellen read excerpts from the response to the shootings by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, emphasizing the need for more than just words or condemnation to combat the pervasive aggression and hatred.