Schools

Familiar Architecture Firm Picked to Design Watertown Middle School, Committee Concerned with Budget & Getting “A Team”

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Watertown Middle School

A familiar firm has been selected to design the new Watertown Middle School, but members of the School Building Committee had concerns about getting the firm’s “A Team,” and whether the City can afford to build the kind of school they want for the students of Watertown. Wednesday night, the School Building Committee selected Ai3 Architects to do the feasibility study for the new middle school. The firm that designed Watertown’s three elementary schools and the new high school. Ai3 was one of four finalists, and narrowly got the top ranking by the nine members of the committee. Each firm presented ideas for how they would approach building the school.

Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighters Douse Two-Alarm House Fire

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Watertown Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire on Westminster Avenue on Tuesday. (Courtesy of Watertown Fire Department)

Flames were coming out of a house on Westminster Avenue when Watertown Firefighters arrived Tuesday afternoon. The Fire Department extinguished the fire, which went to two alarms.

At about 3:45 p.m., calls came in for a fire on Westminster, said Watertown Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson. The resident noticed the fire and got out of the home before the Fire Department arrived, Nicholson said. “Members of (WFD) Group 4, under Deputy Chief (Dan) Tardiff, put a quick stop to the fire,” Nicholson said.

Around Town

Four Honored at Charles River Chamber’s First Watertown Business Awards

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Charles River Regional Chamber President & CEO Greg Reibman (left) and the recpients of the Watertown Business Awards: Archy LaSalle (accepted by Liz Helfer, second from left), Max Ritcey of Ritcey East, Tia Tilson of the Watertown Community Foundation, and O’Some Cafe’s Ricci Cheng. (Courtesy of the Charles River Chamber)

People packed the backroom at Donohue’s Bar & Grill to honor a pair of local businesses, a non-profit and a longtime arts advocate during the first annual Watertown Business Awards. Tickets sales f0r the sold-out Watertown Night raised money for the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. The Chamber presented awards for Customer Service, Business Excellence, Community Leadership, and the Nonprofit Impact Award after receiving nominations from the public. The Customer Service Award went to Max Ritcey.

Around Town

Small Earthquake of New England Coast Rattles Watertown

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A map of where Monday’s earthquake could be felt. The map came from the U.S. Geological Survey website. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of southern Maine could be felt in Watertown on Monday morning. The epicenter was 10 km (about 6.2 miles) southeast of York Harbor, Maine, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake occurred at 10:22 a.m.

Town residents on social media said they could feel the trembler. Those who felt (or didn’t feel) the earthquake can submit a report on the USGS website by clicking here.

Around Town

Watertown Woman Running Boston Marathon to Raise Money for Trauma Recovery Center

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Kailyn Lamb can be seen training with her dog Bruce in preparation for the 2025 Boston Marathon. (Contributed Photo)

Watertown’s Kailyn Fitzhugh will be taking on Heartbreak Hill and the Boston Marathon for the first time in the 2025, and will raise money for an organization that helps trauma patients recover from their injuries. Fitzhugh moved to Watertown three years ago, but she has had her eye on the Marathon even before then. “I first ran Boston virtually during COVID. I was living in Tennessee at the time and didn’t think I would be able to ever run Boston, so I took advantage of the open virtual race in 2021,” she said “We moved here to Watertown about three years ago and it’s been my goal to run Boston ever since!”

Sports

2 Raiders Named Herald All-Scholastics, Wrestlers Win 3 Straight, Basketball & Hockey Teams Looking for Tourney Berths

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Watertown senior Caroline Andrade was named a Boston Herald All-Scholastic. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A pair of Raiders made the Boston Herald’s All-Scholastic Field Hockey team, and a third got recognition for her season. Also, the Watertown wrestling team had a successful week, and three Raiders teams look like they will be heading to the state tournament. The Raiders who made the Herald’s All-Scholastic team were senior Caroline Andrade, senior Rachel Egan. Senior Adrianna Williams was an honorable mention selection.

Schools

Finalists for Designing the New Watertown Middle School to be Interviewed by Building Committee

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Watertown Middle School

The finalists for architecture firms seeking to design the new Watertown Middle School will be interviewed in public by the School Building Committee, including one with experience working in town. Four firms will be interviewed at the meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. at City Hall. In November, the City Council voted to make make improving Watertown Middle School a priority. City Manager George Proakis said the option with the most bang for the buck is to knockdown the older part of the building, constructed in 1922, and renovating and modernizing the newer section, added in 1998.