Police/Fire

Watertown Assistant Fire Chief Accredited by Mass. Fire Service Commission

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Watertown Fire DepartmentWatertown Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson. The following information was provided by the Massachusetts Fire Service Commission:

The Massachusetts Fire Service Commission granted accreditation to Assistant Chief Ryan Nicholson of the Watertown Fire Department on March 18, 2021 who has demonstrated the required fire service experience, education, and certifications for accreditation. This accreditation is granted through the Massachusetts Fire Service Commission, a gubernatorial appointed board that has established a process for uniform credentialing for the level of fire chief. Palmer Fire Chief Alan Roy, who serves as chair of the commission says, “The program establishes requirements based on education, training, and experience in areas relevant to serving as fire chief. It establishes benchmarks for training in fire and emergency service management so that chiefs may be better prepared to serve their department and their community.” The applicant’s documentation is reviewed by a subcommittee of the Massachusetts Fire Service Commission to determine if the individual has attained a minimum level of credits for education, training, and experience.

Fiscal 2022 Budget

Town Budget: Watertown Will Pay for New High School Without Tax Override, Fund to Buy Land to be Created

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Ai3 ArchitectsA view from Columbia Street of what the new Watertown High School could look like. The new Watertown High School will be built without a tax increase from a debt exclusion, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced during Tuesday night’s presentation of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. The FY22 budget will total $164.43 million, which is an increase of $976,720 — or 0.6 percent — above the current fiscal year. The budget includes a $1.5 million increase in State Aid from FY21, but does not include an expected $10 million that Watertown will receive as part of the Federal American Rescue Plan Act in FY22 and FY23. High School Funding

Driscoll saved the announcement of the high school project funding to the end of his budget highlights.

Schools

Watertown Student Wins $20K College Scholarship from Thoreau Foundation

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Watertown’s Daysia Charles won the $20,000 Henry David Thoreau Foundation Scholarship. The following announcement was provided by the Henry David Thoreau Foundation:

Daysia J. Charles, a student at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School, will be entering college this autumn as a Thoreau Scholar. The scholarship, named for the 19th-century naturalist and author, Henry David Thoreau, is a prestigious award given annually to only eight Massachusetts high school seniors. The daughter of Yolanda Mclean, Daysia and her mother often walked through local arboretums discussing a wide range of topics. When her mother could not provide in-depth answers to Daysia’s many questions, together, they would theorize possible answers.

Around Town

New Lights Will Illuminate Softball Field at Park in Watertown

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Charlie BreitroseThe softball field at Filippello Park is undergoing a renovation and upgrade, including seven new lights on poles, new dugouts and backstop and a scoreboard. This spring, the softball field at Filippello Park has undergone a modernization, with new lights, a scoreboard, and a new backstop going up at the East Watertown park. Work continues at the field, and when it is complete seven light poles will light the softball field, which sits near the parking area off Grove Street. The project has been many years in the planning, said Watertown Recreation Director Peter Centola, who wanted to make facility upgrades at the Town’s parks a priority when he was hired in 2009. “I was here with Musco Lighting, we met on this field in the spring of 2010,” Centola said.

Around Town

Watertown Farmers Market Opening in June, Volunteers Wanted

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The Watertown Farmers’ Market will be opening for the season in mid-June and runs through late-October. Organizers sent out the following information:

Opening Day is on Wednesday, June 16th! Watertown Farmers’ Market Wednesdays 2:30 – 6:30 pm 2:30 – 6:30 PM, June 16 – October 20Rain or Shine, Saltonstall Park, Corner of Main St. & Whites Ave. (next to Town Hall, 149 Main St.)

Market planning is underway for the 2021 Season — keep an eye out for news and updates. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the market this summer!

Entertainment

Band Making Music Video in Town With Grant from Watertown Cultural Council

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Lucretia’s DaggersLucretia’s Daggers (from left – Maxx Charvelle, Lucretia X. Machina, and Donni Darko) is making a music video in Town with the help of a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council. The group’s lead singer Lauri Murphy, aka Lucretia X. Machina, has lived in Watertown for 30 years. Most know her as Lauri Murphy, but the Watertown resident goes by Lucretia X. Machina when she sings lead for Lucretia’s Daggers, a band that is celebrating its 20th anniversary. To celebrate, the group is making a video of one of their songs around Watertown with the help of an arts grant and funds raised through a crowd-funding website. Murphy has lived in Watertown for 30 years, and is a founding member of the Watertown Environment & Energy Efficiency Committee (WE3C).

Arrest

Police Log: Customer Threatens to Harm Tufts Health Plan Employees, Food Delivery Man Stiffed for Bill

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The following information is provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrest

April 11, 11:57 p.m.: An officer patrolling in Watertown Square saw a white Toyota at the traffic light, and when the light turned green the vehicle did not move. The officer honked his horn to try to gain the driver’s attention but the person did not respond. The officer then saw that the driver appeared to be passed out with the car in drive and the driver had her foot on the brake pedal. After several attempts to wake her by knocking on, and shaking the vehicle the operator woke up.

Schools

Watertown Student Awarded Highly Selective Scholarship to do Scientific Research

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Middlebury CollegeBen Morris of Watertown has been named a 2021 Goldwater Scholar. The following announcement was provided by Middlebury College:

Ben Morris ’22, a molecular biology and biochemistry major from Watertown, Massachusetts, has been named a 2021 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The highly selective scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors planning research-focused careers in natural sciences, engineering, or mathematics who were nominated by their home institutions. This year, 410 students received the award from an estimated pool of 5,000 candidates. “The Goldwater Scholarship supports the next generation of outstanding researchers in math, science, and engineering,” said Lisa Gates, associate dean of fellowships and research at Middlebury.