Last year ArtFarm was award approx. $700,000 in CPA funding with certain conditions. Now that the ArtFarm project has been confirmed as permanent, the project has re-applied for $1 million in CPA funding.

The Somerville Community Preservation Committee invites all interested community members to hear about the FY 2018 Community Preservation Act (CPA) historic resources and open space/recreational land project proposals before the Community Preservation Committee, and offer feedback on which deserve to receive funding, at two community meetings in January. The first will be held on Tuesday, January 16 and the second will be held on Wednesday, January 24. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m., and will be held in the community room at the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) at 259 Lowell St. Parking is extremely limited at the VNA, so please make arrangements to walk, bike, or carpool if possible, or use street parking.

By The Times Staff

Outgoing Board of Aldermen members Jack Connolly, Maryann Heuston, Robert McWatters, and Dennis M. Sullivan offer their thoughts and feelings on their tenure on the Board. They are presented in alphabetical order based on last names. We thank them for their service and wish them the best in their future endeavors.

Cleanup crews are still hard at work, clearing the snowfall from last week’s extreme winter storm. — Photo by Mike Moccia of Ball Square Café.

By Jim Clark

The ominous warnings about the impending so-called “bomb cyclone” became a reality last week, as a record-breaking winter storm of massive proportions lashed the East Coast with freezing winds and a thick lathering of snow all along the eastern seaboard.

The Human Rights Commission invites you to the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration event, entitled, “Growing Our Community,” to be held on Monday, January 15. The annual event will be held at the East Somerville Community School, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. The celebration will be emceed by Marcus Santos, and features musical performances by El Sistema and the World Percussion Ensemble as well as readings by winners of the student essay contest. This year, the Somerville Human Rights Commission will be recognizing the work of the late Ralph Hergert. For eleven years, Hergert served as the Director of Human Services for the City of Somerville. In this role, he helped create the Human Rights Commission, as well as the city’s Martin Luther King Jr., Celebration. Please note that they will be holding a food drive at this location. Feel free to bring canned goods and nonperishable items.

— Photos by Greg Krill

Photos from last week’s storm in and around East Somerville.

This month’s Beyond The Call Of Duty Award, presented to Officer Matt Khoury, is based on a recommendation from Officer Anthony Manzelli, and from an in-depth conversation with George Mihos, the owner of Tech Auto Body in Union Square.

On Thursday, December 28, 2017, a man and his young son drove down from Marston Mills intending to buy a car from Tech Auto Body in Union Square. The car was for the man’s son, who had worked long hours to save up the $3,000 he was going to use to buy this car. Of course, the money was all cash and in a white envelope. You can guess where this one is going.

Eagle Feathers #144 – The Minutemen

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Over the years, Union Square has been referred to as Sand Pit Square, Liberty Pole Square, Milk Row and the road to Newtown or Cambridge. When Somerville was still Charlestown’s oldest daughter, the Square was witness to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and its heroic Minutemen of April 19, 1775.

Enough is enough. But have we seen the end of it yet? Only time will tell, but we surely must be near the end of our tethers when it comes to putting up with the tiresome digging out and warming back up.

As if clearing our sidewalks and driveways isn’t hard enough, we have had to contend with ridiculously cold, record breaking low temperatures.

The Somerville High School Girls Varsity Basketball played against Lynn Classical last week on Wednesday, January 3, losing by a score of 47-27. The Junior Varsity team won over Lynn Classical 38-24, while the Freshman team lost to Lynn 29-19.

If you are a Somerville resident but cannot come to the Library because of a physical disability, they will come to you. They will bring books, videos, magazines, or printouts, or whatever materials they normally loan out. Materials are loaned on a special-services card for six weeks and can be renewed.