Watertown’s Camndon Reed joined the robotics program at West Virginia University after completing a summer program. (Contributed Photo)
A Watertown High School graduate took part in a robotics program to use robotics to solve real-world problems in Appalachia. Camndon Reed got involved in the summer program run by West Virginia University in 2024, and he was featured in a piece in The State Journal. At the time he was attending James Madison University, but after taking part in the program he transferred to WVU. “It was a great experience.
We can never know about the days to comeBut we think about them anywayAnd I wonder if I’m really with you nowOr just chasin’ after some finer day…… Anticipation, anticipation
Well, of course, Carly Simon’s song Anticipation is a love song, not a football anthem. Then again, the song isn’t about ketchup, but it had a good run helping to advertise the condiment years ago. Anyhow, the point is, after a tough 2024 season, a winter, spring and summer to prepare, and weeks of training camp this August, the Watertown Football program anxiously anticipated Friday night’s Sept. 5th game versus Whittier Regional Vocational Tech High School. It was a first chance to put last season behind them while at the same time building on a two-game winning streak at the end of last season (a non-league game and a Thanksgiving win over Belmont). The Raiders came into this game feeling stronger thanks to a commitment to off-season lifting. They felt deeper with an additional twelve new football players. And they felt even more comfortable with a head coach in his second year and having their back, and having them prepared to play. The Senior/Junior-heavy lineup included the following on offense: junior Coleman Keuchkarian-McKeen at QB, senior running backs Patrick McHugh, Gabe Oliveira and Mike Ramirez and Junior Jayden Pineda, senior Wide Receivers Joe Wilson and Lucas Bray, Junior Shane Garey and Sophomore Mason Lamacchia, at Tight End Juniors Joe Connors and Cash Bailey, and on the line Seniors Caleb Hardy, Pedro Tancredo, Jayden Ortiz and Zac Wolfe, and Juniors Peter Pavlidis, Flavio Valenzuela and Billy Werra.
Baby Madeline and her late-mother Karine Asatryan. A GoFundMe campaign has started to raise money for baby Madeline, and in memory of her mother Karine Asatryan who died in the apparent murder-suicide on Boyd Street on Aug. 31. Madeline’s aunt is seeking to get legal custody. The campaign, called “Support Baby Madeline in Loving Memory of Karine,” seeks to raise $50,000.
The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:
West Nile Virus (WNV) is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.
By taking a few, common sense precautions, people can help to protect themselves and their loved ones:
Avoid Mosquito Bites
Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Aug. 18: Wood shelving was discarded at the side of the roadway on Fletcher Terrace. Aug. 18: A set of keys were found on Fifth Avenue that belong to a Hyundai.
Trash and recycling bins on Main Street. (Photo by Dean Martino)
The strike by union members working for Republic Services will continue after Teamsters Local 25 voted to reject the latest proposal on Wednesday. The strike began more than two months ago on July 1. Union members, representing 400 workers, voted down the offer by more than 84 percent, according to an announcement from Teamsters Local 25. “This group is one of the strongest groups I’ve ever worked with in my more than three decades as a Teamster,” said Teamsters Local 25 President Tom Mari.
The house on Boyd Street shared by the three killed in an apparent murder-suicide discovered on Aug. 31. (Google Streetview Image)
The three people killed in an apparent murder-suicide in Watertown were part of a “blended family” in which the younger couple helped care for the elderly owners of the home on Boyd Street. The husband of the older couple passed away in early August; and the younger couple had a baby, for whom extended family is seeking a new home. On Tuesday, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office and the Watertown Police announced that the preliminary investigation suggests that Nadia Abrahamian, 80, and Karine Asatryan, 35, were shot and killed by David Minasvand, 31 inside their home.
The deaths by gunshot of three people on Boyd Street in Watertown are being investigated as a murder-suicide, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The three were identified, and the DA’s office said the couple had a young child, who was not there at the time of the shootings. The bodies were discovered on Aug. 31. WCVB Channel 5 reported that District Attorney Marian Ryan said, the older woman lived on one floor of the home, while the other two lived together with their newborn baby on the bottom floor in a separate living area of the same unit, and that the baby was not present during the time of the shooting.
