Graduation – 1966
Over 800 graduates plus family and friends at Dilboy Field – standing room only. The Beatles, Herman’s Hermits and The Supremes were all hits on WMEX AM Radio. The Senior Prom was held in the gym (now the school library) and it was packed with couples. Three Junior High Schools at that time – Western, Southern and Northeastern. The war in Vietnam was in full swing and if you were a male and about to turn 18 years old, the draft was the only thing on your mind – busloads of 18 year old Somerville kids were taken to South Boston for physicals and all-day exams and there was a good chance you would be off to Vietnam within months of graduating. Race riots were happening in Boston and Somerville and Charlestown had a strong rivalry. The cool place to be was Revere Beach (the amusement park) or in your hot GTO, Mustang or Barracuda racing on South Border Road or the Jerry Jingle Highway. Stoneham was the ‚Äúcountry‚Äù and where you might go with family or friends for a picnic on a Sunday afternoon.

Trane: Sciortino’s claims don’t pass ‚Äúsmell test for credibility‚Äù

By George P. Hassett

The incumbent state representative for Somerville and Medford will be seeking re-election without his name on the ballot.

State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville, said he will not continue his appeals to try and get a spot on the ballot. Sciortino submitted 114 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office, 36 shy of the 150 required to appear on the ballot. According to Sciortino the remaining signatures were stolen from his State House sometime before May 6. Two judges refused to allow him on the ballot.

By Matthew McLaughlin

Somerville Cares About Prevention held an annual meeting at City Hall May 28, where they reviewed the prior year’s accomplishments and honored individuals who contributed to making Somerville more substance free.

One accomplishment SCAP made last year was to prevent alcohol advertisements within 500 feet of any public or private playground, school, place of worship or childcare facility.

By Alex McKnight

On Monday, underneath a blue sky and basking in beautiful temperatures in the mid-70s, the 320 students of the Somerville High School Class of 2008 walked across the stage to pick up their diplomas.

The ceremony took place at Dilboy Memorial Stadium, attended by hundreds of faculty and administrators and at least 1,000 parents, siblings and other family members. Also present were members of the Somerville School Committee and Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who said, ‚ÄúThese are a great group of kids, and I’m very proud of them.‚Äù

By Mia Lamar

The Massachusetts State Senate has approved the additional funds needed to maintain the personal needs allowance of elderly nursing home residents at its current level of $72.80 a month, correcting an initial whack from the House of Representatives which left the PNA at $65. The Senate’s proposal, along with the rest of next year’s budget, was sent to conference committees late last month where it will await deliberations for a July 1 deadline.

For those residents affected by a potential cut to the allowance – money used to supply basic items such as toothpaste, socks and soap, as well as pay medical co-payments – the next month is simply a waiting game.

Local man lied to many, including a newspaper

By George P. Hassett

On April 7 Ron Craven walked into the Somerville News office and continued a lie he had told friends, family and anyone who would listen. The difference: this time he was trying to get his elaborate deceptions published in the local paper.

And he was successful. Two days later in the April 9 edition, The Somerville News published an admiring story crediting Craven as an “NBA bigwig” Рhe said he was the director of player development for the Seattle SuperSonics Рstill in touch with his local roots.

The case of the missing money, this time at the Registry of Probate’s Office Рapparently the keen eyes of our Registrar John Buonomo and his Deputy caught a county employee who apparently was dipping into the till, rumors all over the court house and the amount estimates vary, but they’re still investigating it we hear. We know the Registrar Рwe all know he’s relentless when it comes to something like this and we know he will get to the bottom of it and soon.

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This year’s theme is green and in conjunction with participation in Art Beat 2008 (July 19 2008), Happening Publications is very pleased to announce that it is accepting submissions from all young writers through the 12th grade for GREEN! A special edition of poetry, stories, articles and comments relating to anything green or environmental. The deadline is June 30 and submissions can be emailed to happeningmagazine@yahoo.com, or submitted via e-form at www.happeningnoweverywhere.com (easiest way). Or, submissions may also be mailed to Happening Now, Box 45204, Somerville, MA 02145.

By George P. Hassett

On Friday morning Vinny Vicente opened his Gilman Square gas station for the day the same way he had six days a week since 1978 — waving to early-morning commuters who pass by his station each morning and honk hello. But this wasn‚Äôt a beginning it was an ending. After 30 years on Medford Street, the Vicente‚Äôs ‚Äì Tito, Vinny and Aderito ‚Äì have sold their business, a neighborhood landmark, and Friday was the last day the station was Vicente-owned.

Throughout the day, customers came into the station to say goodbye, exchanging hugs, well wishes and stories. Brian Langton said he would miss more than the gas. “I’m going to miss the conversation and the laughter and the banter.”

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

This summer represents something of a milestone for me. I’ve now been in Somerville longer than I lived in California, where I am ‚Äúfrom.‚Äù So, I’m thinking about the differences between there and here.

Just about every year when December arrives, I think that I must be self-destructive to live here. Decades ago, I stopped having the flashbacks and anxiety attacks associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. But depression is one of its legacies that I must regularly deal with. For some reason, the dark of Somerville’s winter gets it going.

Off The Shelf By Doug Holder

Blue Land by C.D. Collins (Polyho Press 10 Howard St. Somerville, Mass http://www.polyho.com).

In Somerville C.D. Collins, lives amidst the east coast literary establishment. The fiction that is produced in these parts is often first rate. It often deals with the young, the disaffected, the urbane and privileged. The characters often are jaded, over-educated, underemployed, and, in short, not reflective of the hinterlands south, west and even north of the Brahmin waters of the Charles River.
But in the west of Somerville, Collins writes about the folks who habituated the bygone tobacco farms of rural Kentucky, and other gone-to-seed burgs. Like William Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor she writes with a gothic and highly emotional acumen that is at times striking. Collins who moved to Somerville from Kentucky some years ago, is an accomplished singer/songwriter as well as poet, who now has written a collection of short stories titled ‚ÄúBlue Land.‚Äù  It examines the lives of mostly agrarian, poor white folks in an unsentimental, authentic, and even spiritual style.