Police/Fire

Watertown Police Complete Interactive, Scenario-Based Training with Support of the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office

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Middlesex Sheriff’s Officer Ryan Abrams and Watertown Police Sergeant Tom Dicker stand outside the MSO’s Mobile Training Center. Photo courtesy of Watertown Police Department

The following announcement was provided by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office:

Watertown Police Chief Justin Hanrahan and Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian have announced that 43 Watertown police officers recently completed interactive, scenario-based training facilitated by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO). Training was completed between April 22-26 in Watertown utilizing the MSO’s Mobile Training Center (MTC). During the training, officers were put through a series of video-based scenarios that replicated situations they may need to respond to on any shift. This included traffic stops and incidents in which individuals were in mental health crisis. These scenarios allowed officers to focus on the effective use of communication and de-escalation skills, with Watertown PD training staff able to provide immediate feedback.

Government

Watertown Budget Hearings Begin This Week, See When Departments Will Speak to Council

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The City Council will hold the first of three hearings on the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget on May 21. The dates of the meetings, and the departments which will be on the agenda are listed in the information provided by the City of Watertown, below. The annual City Budget is the single most important policy decision made each year by the City Council. All citizens of the City are invited and encouraged to participate in these meetings to express the opinions of this budget and the priorities it establishes. A copy of the proposed budget is available for examination at the City Clerk’s Office and available on the City’s website: https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/Browse.aspx?id=44491&repo=r-5ece5628.

Entertainment

Small Saves Gets Creative in the Kitchen in This Week’s Cartoon

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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal – then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Seek Information About Missing Woman

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Bogalech Gedore

The Watertown Police Department announced it is seeking information from the public on the whereabouts of 34 year-old Bogalech Gedore. Bogalech came from the United Arab Emirates eight months ago to serve as a nanny for a family in Watertown. She was last seen by the family on the evening of Friday, May 10th. Bogalech does not speak English well and she is not known to have friends or family in the area. If you have any information that could be helpful, please contact the Watertown Police Department at 617-972-6500.

Around Town

Watertown Housing Hosting Community Meetings on Willow Park Redevelopment Project

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An illustration of the proposed redevelopment of the Watertown Housing Authority’s Willow Park property. The Watertown Housing Authority will host a pair of community meetings about the planned redevelopment of the Willow Park property. One will be in-person and the second will be a virtual meeting. The Watertown Housing Authority provided the following information:

Notice of Project Community Meeting

The project applicant will be hosting Public Information Meeting(s) as required by the Watertown Zoning Ordinance. This notice is for the required community meeting that is required prior to formal application.

Around Town

Group Seeking to Pass Nuclear Disarmament Resolution Showing Film at Next Meeting

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:

The Peace and Security Working Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment continues their efforts to petition the town to pass a nuclear disarmament resolution with an event this Saturday. On May 18 at 4 p.m. (Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St.) the group will hold an event entitled “How Watertown Can Build Community to End Nuclear Weapons.” Besides open discussion and reflections from the organizer, Lillian Koizumi, the meeting will feature music by Todd Gross and the film, “The Beginning of the End of Nuclear Weapons.” The continuing quest follows the points outlined by the organization Prevent Nuclear War (preventnuclearwar.org) and comes three months after an online presentation entitled “Let’s Pass a Back from the Brink Resolution in Watertown!” The speakers were local leaders from such organizations as International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Pax Christi Massachusetts.

Around Town

Applications Being Accepted for Elderly Housing Project in Watertown

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Housing Authority:

Beginning Monday, May 13, 2024, the Watertown Housing Authority (WHA) will accept applications to establish a waiting list for its Project-Based Voucher Waiting List for 25 elderly units (22 one bedroom units and 3 two bedroom units) at St. Joseph’s Hall, 2 Rosary Drive, Watertown, MA. A lottery system will be used; there is no advantage to being first to apply. The waiting list opening period will end at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31, 2024, at which time the waiting list will close until further notice. The WHA has not been awarded any additional project-based vouchers, nor are there any vacancies anticipated in the near future.

Around Town

Bosch Fund Gives Trees for Watertown $25K Grant to Start City’s First Miyawaki Forest

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Future site of Watertown’s first Community Miyawaki Forest at Lowell Elementary School. The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:

The Bosch Community Fund has awarded the volunteer group Trees for Watertown a grant of $25,000 toward creation of a special new kind of green space in Watertown: Watertown’s first Miyawaki Forest, to be planted this November on the grounds of the Lowell Elementary School. “TFW’s Forests For Watertown working group (FFW) was just beginning to realize how much funding and support the creation of a Miyawaki Forest would need, when out of the blue came Bosch Community Fund’s invitation to TFW to apply for a grant,” said Libby Shaw, President of TFW. “We are over the moon to receive the Fund’s support for this project!” Bosch Community Fund’s invitation spurred an intense period of further research, site- searching, and collaboration with Watertown!s Department of Community Development and Planning and Department of Public Works, the Watertown Public Schools, and Watertown Community Gardens, as well as outside consultants and members of the wider Watertown community, in order to propose a strong project in time for BCF!s January 31 deadline.