Around Town

Gov. Signs Bill Allow Towns to Delay Property Tax Deadlines, Take Out/Delivery Alcohol from Restaurants; Cases Jump 1,400 in Mass.

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Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation Friday that gives cities and towns the ability to relax property tax deadlines and also allows restaurants to sell beer and wine for take out or delivery. The restaurants must already have a license to sell alcohol to take advantage of this new provision, according to the story on WCVB Channel 5. The person receiving the alcohol must be 21 or older and an alcohol must be part of an order that includes food. The bill also allows municipalities to delay the due date for property tax by one month. The City of Springfield has already delayed its property tax deadline from May 1 to June 1, according to Masslive.com.

Around Town

OP-ED: Steps to Stop Your Kids from Drinking, Using Drugs

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The following piece was signed by: Michael Lawn, Chief of Police, Laura Kurman, Senior Program Director, Wayside Multi-Service Center, Dede Galdston, Superintendent of Schools, and Larry Ramdin, Director of Public Health:

With the holiday season underway and the opening of retail marijuana shops in Massachusetts, adults are urged to pay special attention to teenagers’ behavior around alcohol and other drugs. The Watertown Youth Coalition’s (WYC) partner agencies, Wayside Multi-Service Center, and the Watertown Police, Schools and Health Departments remind adults that teen alcohol and marijuana use can lead to unsafe behaviors that put their health and safety at risk. After all, it is all our responsibility, as a community, to help teens make healthy decisions and stay safe. Underage substance use affects everyone in the community and delaying use has shown to be protective as every year a teen does not use alcohol, the odds of lifelong dependence decrease by 15 percent. In the most recent Watertown Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered to middle and high school students last year, of those who reported drinking, most reportedgetting alcohol from older siblings /friends or from home without their parents’ knowledge.

Around Town

LETTER: Resident Opposes Alcohol Sales at the Faire on the Square

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I am writing to express my concern about the recent proposal regarding sale of beer and wine at Watertown’s Faire on the Square. I don’t know if a decision on this proposal has already been approved by the Licensing Board. But whether or not that has happened, I am strongly opposed to this. Faire on the Square has always been a very special time for families. Children of all ages gather to have loads of fun, and young and old alike enjoy strolling past the many tables and booths, playing games, and learning about the richness of all that Watertown has to offer.

Alcohol

Watertown Middle, High School Students to be Screened for Drug Use Next Year

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Tuesday night, the School Committee approved a policy for screening middle and high school students to see if they are using drugs or alcohol. 

Known as SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment), the screening will be required for all schools in Massachusetts, said Donna Ruseckas, Director of Wellness and Extended Services for the Watertown Public Schools. She told the School Committee about the screenings during a special School Committee meeting Monday night (see the slide presentation here). The screenings will be verbal ones, and will be done in seventh and ninth grades, Ruseckas said. The purpose is to catch drug and alcohol use early, so that it does not become a further problem. National data shows that 32 percent of people who started drinking at age 15 went on to become alcoholics, Ruseckas said, compared to just 9 percent of those who started at age 21.