By Jim Clark

It was a year filled with many challenges, surprises and changes for the City of Somerville and its residents. As we look back on the events of 2015, it becomes vividly clear how eventful such a relatively short period of time can be.

It began with discussion on what would become a major issue for the region in the months ahead: snow removal.

By Amy Swain

Former Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz is looking forward to life after 10 years of faithful service to her ward and the city as a whole.

“The experience of a lifetime” is how Rebekah Gewirtz will think of her time as Ward 6 Alderman. Her term began in 2006, and her replacement has just taken over her post on January 4. “At the risk of sounding cheesy, it’s been a privilege,” she said. “To be elected by the people, and to serve as their representative.”

We are back after a well-needed rest. Our team here at The Times is ready to get started bringing everyone here in Somerville another good year. We wish everyone a very happy new year and hope that 2016 will be bright, prosperous and healthy for everyone.

By Donald Norton

This past Monday night, about 150 residents joined together at Somerville High School to witness our own city Somerville Board of Alderman and School Board members, along with Mayor Joe Curtatone, get sworn into office to serve for the next two years.

Eagle Feathers #94 – The Ice Men

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Years ago, when the winter weather set in and the thermometer approached freezing, many teenagers would begin scouting their local ponds for ice. They didn’t fear the cold, the frost, or the snow that came with it because their winter carnival had begun. Every town and village had access to a pond. When the time was right, scarves, hats, mittens, and gloves were donned and they were off sledding and skating. Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Spy Pond in Arlington, and the Middlesex Canal were popular destinations for Somerville ice fans.

By Donald Norton

This past Sunday, January 3, the City of Medford held their inaugural ceremony. A standing room only crowd of about 500 witnessed the swearing in of the City Council and School Board. In particular, the first woman elected as mayor of Medford, Stephine Muccini Burke, was also sworn in. Attorney General Maura Healey administered the oath of office for the new mayor. Also attending was Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Please follow these five steps to keep animals safe during this cold weather warning:

1. If possible, bring pets or feral cats that you’re familiar with indoors to a garage or basement.

2. Bundle up your pup in a jacket or sweater during their walk, especially if their coat is made of hair (vs. fur)

Early Morning, Union Square. I walk down Bow Street—Goodyear’s lights are on– and a slow stream of people with tired treads, dirty transmission fluid, in need of change—of oil, in need of alignment, enlightenment—make their way into the office. I hear the jocular good morning from the Hispanic crossing guard—we are all her children, as she guides us through the gridlocked traffic of the Square. In the post office—I exchange gossip with the clerk—she told me a SWAT team was here earlier, “Well—I figured I would tell my journalist—thought you would like to know…” She tells me she is going to retire next year… “Maybe I will work the election booths with the other old ladies,” she laughed. At the Community Laundromat on Bow Street—a gaggle of homeless men are in semi-coherent chatter: “Hey you are a weird dude—stop touching me,” one tells the other. There is an argument about which liquor store opens the earliest—vodka nips are in vogue for them. Bloc 11 is open—and there are the usual. A tall man with a reddish beard engrossed in his book, and the handsome woman I have seen for years, with a helmet of stylish gray hair– (me thinks she works at Harvard), props a book up for her before work read. Hip baristas croon at me “The usual?” Honey grain bagel –tomatoes– dry– I add my hummus and fish in the back room. Outside the parade starts– mothers with their strollers, the tight spandex of the bicyclists.

Gilmore Tamny is a writer, musician and artist living in Somerville, MA. She is a committed artist, feminist, rawker, lover of paintings and audiobook junkie. She may have also made the very first infomercial for a book of poetry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUNcvKI0hLc&feature=youtu.be&spfreload=10. Here is a sampling of Haiku … for you.

~Photos by Donald Norton

The 240th annual “Grand Union” flag-raising ceremony at Prospect Hill Park took place on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, at 12 p.m. A processional led by a re-enactor portraying General George Washington on horseback left from the City Hall Concourse at 11:30 a.m. Members of the public were invited to participate, and were encouraged to wear traditional colonial clothing. The annual ceremony commemorates the raising of the nation’s first official flag, featuring thirteen red and white horizontal stripes, atop Prospect Hill on New Year’s Day, 1776. At the time, Prospect Hill was a key site in a string of fortifications created by Washington and the Continental Army in their siege of British troops in Boston during the first year of the American Revolution.