12th annual Scrapheap Showdown 1st Place winners “Team Take Dubs” (Qijiin Chau, Gabe K-G, Samuel Saron).

By Tom Bannister

On October 30, 39 high school students on 13 teams gathered in “The Cage” in Cousins Gym at Tufts University to compete in the 12th annual Scrapheap Showdown.

Along with the usual interesting “junk” in the center of the room when the students walked in, there was paper, lots of foam and foam core, plus of string and tape. There was also a wind tunnel built in the middle of the gym. The students were given their challenge: to build a wind powered craft to sail across the treacherous gym floor.

Mayor Curtatone, Ward 3 Alderman McWatters and other city officials updated Ward 3 residents on matters related to their ward.

By Donald Norton

Last week, Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters conducted the Ward 3 ResiStat meeting at Somerville High School.

About 50 to 60 residents attended and the discussion centered on the use of bicycles use in the city, development in the Ward 3 Union Square area, with a lot of talk about the proposed new high school.

Eagle Feathers #116 – Mr. Jones and His Time

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

The year 1868 was exciting for Florentine Ariosto Jones. He was born in 1841, the year before Somerville broke away from Charlestown, and the young twenty-seven year old was free to do his own bidding.

State Rep. Denise Provost reviews Lawrence Kessenich’s new novel Cinnamon Girl. Kessenich is a managing editor for Somerville’s literary magazine Ibbetson Street. 

Karen Locascio is a graduate of the MFA program at UMass, Boston, where she won an Academy of American Poets prize. Her work has appeared in Paper Nautilus, Cider Press Review, and Window Cat Press, among others, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut collection, May All My Wounds Be Mortal, won the first Ron Schreiber Poetry Prize and will be published by Hanging Loose Press in early 2017. In her spare time, Karen enjoys genealogy research and fantasy football, and reads submissions for Spry Literary Journal. Originally from New Jersey, Karen currently lives in Dorchester.

Arrests:
*

Jose Molina, of 306 Dudley St., Roxbury, October 31, 3:15 p.m., arrested at Washington St. on warrant charges of uninsured motor vehicle or trailer, unregistered motor vehicle, and operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended registration.

Momadue Darboe, of 43 Wolcott St., Malden, November 1, 3:35 p.m., arrested at Assembly Row on a charge of disorderly conduct and on a warrant charge of trespassing.

~Photo by Donald Norton

Polls will be open until 8 p.m. Not sure where you vote? Visit www.somervillema.gov/elections where you can enter your address and find out. Please note that if you vote in Ward 6, Precinct 1 you should use the main entrance to the Kennedy School at 5 Cherry St. this year due to construction.

The public is invited to attend a public hearing and give testimony on the request for approval of the transfer of control of the cable television licensee from Yankee Cable Partners, LLC to Radiate Holdings, LP due to the sale of RCN from Yankee Cable to Radiate Holdings. The hearing will be held Wed., Nov. 16, at 6 p.m., in the Third Floor Conference Room of City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. A copy of the FCC document detailing the license transfer is available at the Somerville City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, and can be viewed during regular business hours. For more information, please call the Communications Office at 617-625-6600 ext. 2103.

Epidemic continues to take a toll

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health today released preliminary 2016 third quarter and updated 2015 data on opioid-related deaths among Massachusetts residents. The data shows deaths involving heroin continue to decline, while fentanyl-related deaths continue to rise.

Fiscal year 2017 is a State Department of Revenue (DOR) required Revaluation or Certification year for the Somerville Board of Assessors. Taxpayers should be aware that new assessments or values will be available starting on November 9 on the city website at the Assessing homepage, by calling (617 625-6600 x3100) or visiting the Assessor’s office, and in hard copy format at the city libraries.