Around Town

Local Group Hosting Free Healthy Cooking Classes at the Library

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Head to the library on Thursday night to learn how to make Red Lentil Soup (a perfect dish for the cooler fall nights) and Panzanella Salad (made with last of the season locally grown tomatoes)! 

This is the first of two free Healthy Eating Cooking Classes presented by Live Well Watertown. The classes will be held on Thursday, Sept. 24 and Thursday, Oct. 8 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St. in Watertown.

Around Town

Goats Providing Organic Poison Ivy Removal from Banks of Charles

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People running and walking along the Charles River in Watertown this week have gotten quiet a surprise – a herd of goats roaming the trees near the riverbank. Forty goats have been brought in this week by Goats to Go, which was hired by a Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) contractor, said farmer Alan Aulson. They have been attacking the poison ivy in the wooded area near the new Braille Trail, off Charles River Road, east of Watertown Square. “They were going to get the poison ivy done anyway, and this is a safe, environmentally quiet way to do it,” Aulson said. The goats love to munch on the weeds that are so bothersome to humans.

Around Town

Celebration Held for New Mural Inspired by Coolidge Square

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A brightly colored mural now adorns a wall on Mt. Auburn Street. Called “Seeds of Change,” it features fruit, vegetables, flowers and other items that can be found in markets and stores around Coolidge Square. On Saturday, members of the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee hosted a celebration for the mural, which was painted on a wall next to Uncommon Grounds, at the corner of Melendy Avenue and Mt. Auburn Street. Artist Gregg Bernstein, who designed the mural and mentored the students’ work on the project, said the artists faced tough conditions, with temperatures in the 90s many days.

Around Town

Watertown’s John Airasian’s ‘Love Letter’ to Coolidge Square

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East Watertown native John Airasian was asked to give a history of Coolidge Square during the celebration of the new mural in the area. He provided a wealth of memories along with the history of the square in his speech – or love letter, if you will. Here are his remarks, which he supplemented with some stories during the celebration on Sept. 19, 2015.:

Coolidge Square is the heart of East Watertown and that heart has always beat strong and it keeps getting stronger. Let me take you back to the late ’40s and the ’50s in Coolidge Square.

Around Town

Wayside Receives Grant to Prevent Under Age Drinking, Drug Use

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Watertown’s Wayside Youth & Family Support Network Multi-Service Center received grant tow work  with other communities to prevent underage drinking and drug use. 

Wayside will work with the Watertown Health Department, and join with similar efforts in Belmont, Waltham and Brookline, said Wayside Community Organizer Melanie St. Pierre. The group of communities, or cluster, will form the Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative (SAPC) and will receive $100,000 for five years from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (MADPH) Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS). Underage drinking is an important thing to target, she said, because it can leads to other substances. “People question with the opioid crisis why we are focusing on drinking,” St.

Around Town

Watertown Church Hosting ‘The Greatest Yard Sale’

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A Watertown Church will hold what they have dubbed “The Greatest Yard Sale.” Church of the Good Shepherd will hold the sale on Saturday, Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The church is located at 9 Russell Ave., at the corner of Mt. Auburn Street, and the sale will be held in the Parish Hall. Along with the sale there will be good food to enjoy and activities for kids.

Around Town

See the Watertown Police Take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

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The Watertown Police ended the summer with a chilly bath to help fight ALS. On Friday, dozens of members of the Watertown Police, and their family members, took the ice bucket challenge. The icy water chilled some, but one said it felt nice after being out directing traffic on Galen Street all day. The Watertown Police have one of their own to thank for taking the challenge. Officer Patricia Grady presented the idea to interim Police Chief Raymond DuPuis.

Around Town

Drivers Beware of New Traffic Patterns at Intersection on Common St.

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger warns drivers to be aware of changes to in the traffic lights at an intersection near the Watertown-Belmont line due to work on Trapelo Road. Brownsberger recently published this post on his website:

Change is hard and important change has happened at the intersection of Common Street and Trapelo Road. It used to be that traffic with a green light on Common Street could turn left.  Only one direction of Common Street had the green at a time. Now there are separate signals for left and straight. Both directions of Common Street go green for left turn at the same time now.