Around Town

Watertown Purchasing Dog to Chase Geese From Parks and Fields

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City of WatertownVee, a border collie, will soon be arriving in Watertown where she will chase geese away from City-owned fields and parks. Watertown’s newest employee will get plenty of exercise, time outdoors, and her reward for doing a good job will be treats — doggie treats. Vee, Watertown’s goose control dog, will soon be patrolling the parks and fields around the City to make sure the flocks of birds don’t get too comfortable or leave their marks. She will live with and accompany Department of Public Works Parks and Cemetery Supervisor Bob DiRico to work, said Watertown City Manager George Proakis. “In a few days Mr. DiRico will go to Leesburg, Virginia, to pick up Vee,” Proakis told the City Council on Tuesday.

Around Town

Big Discussions Over the Future of a Small Pond in East Watertown

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Maya ShwayderThe future is uncertain for Sawin’s Pond, a small body of water between Arlington Street and Coolidge Avenue. It’s easy to miss Sawin’s Pond in Watertown. The little body of water sits squished between where Arlington and Coolidge streets come together, behind a UPS outlet that’s across from the Home Depot. It’s not much to look at: some scraggly trees and browned earth, and rubber is sticking up in some places. But the privately-owned space has been the center of a long-running debate: what, exactly, should happen to the land?

Entertainment

Budding Artist: 87-Year Old Painter’s First Exhibition Hosted by Watertown Library

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Seda MavetosianMargarita Avetian stands in front of some of the paintings in her exhibition at the Watertown Library. During the month of March, the paintings of an emerging Watertown artist have been displayed in the Library’s art gallery. Margarita Avetian has only been painting for two years, but her work has received rave reviews from other artists. Not bad for someone who never had any artistic training during any of her 87 years. Avetian’s daughter, Seda Matevosian said her mother got started by chance when she was putting on a fun artistic activity for some of her family and friends.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Busted in Drug Investigation, Crypto Currency Stolen

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

March 16, 3:52 p.m.: Security at Best Buy reported a man who had taken several video games and left the store without paying. Police located a man fitting the description near Nike at Arsenal Yards and he was unwrapping a Nintendo DS game. Officers spoke to the man who said he was at Best Buy and when he was leaving he realized he had not paid for the games, but he continued to exit the store. Police looked inside the man’s backpack and found 10 Nintendo games, plus a Nintendo DS game that had been reported stolen from a vehicle parked in the parking lot near Best Buy.

Government

Watertown’s New Director of Senior Services Has ‘a Commitment to Seniors’

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Lydia McCoy has been appointed Watertown’s new Director of Senior Services. Watertown’s new Director of Senior Services, Lydia McCoy, comes to town with range of experience working with seniors. Last week, City Manager George Proakis announced McCoy’s appointment. She will oversee the Council on Aging, the Watertown Senior Center, and the Watertown Food Pantry. “Ms. McCoy has a broad range of experience, an educational background, and a real commitment to seniors,” Proakis told the City Council.

Government

City Splitting Up Financial Positions After Failing to Find “Unicorn”

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Watertown City Hall

After the City Council struggled to hire someone to replace retired Auditor and Financial Director Tom Tracy, City Manager George Proakis recommended that the job be split into two. Last week, Proakis told the City Council of his plan to split up the duties that Tracy had, rather than trying to find someone with the same skills. Tracy retired in October after working for nearly 30 years in Watertown, and has stayed on part-time to help Proakis with his first budget as City Manager. “We’ve done a pretty broad search, we hired a consultant and we made some real progress in searching all corners for this type of position,” Proakis said. “After taking a significant look at this I have come to the conclusion that the combined chief financial officer/auditors are unicorns.

Around Town

City’s Rodent Control Program Using Smart Traps to Eliminate & Track Pests

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With the problem of rodents growing around Watertown, and more expected as a result of a pair of major road projects, the Department of Public Works will deploy more robust rodent control methods. The City will use dozens of smart traps that will both take care of rats and other rodents, and also provide information such as where the “hot spots” are, said Tom Watkins, Director of Administration and Finance for the Watertown DPW. “The Anticimix technology does represent a change in the way we are approaching our efforts in addressing rodent control in the City,” Watkins said. “The Anticimix is a SMART technology that provides us real live data for which we will use to strategically locate the traps as the program moves forward.” The City, in partnership with Modern Pest Services, will deploy 40 of the traps on Arsenal Street and 30 on Mt.

Around Town

A Look Inside the Watertown Home Selling for $2.6 Million

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Real Estate AdvisorsThe home on Robbins Road selling for $2.6 million. Perched near the top of the hill above Watertown High School sits a newly constructed home with a modern look, bright spacious rooms, and views far beyond the City limits. The asking price for the 4,718 sq. ft. single family home: $2.6 million.