Winning team “Back to Basics” (Elliot Rippe, Arjun Singh, Daniel Portillo).

By The Times Staff

On October 26, eight teams of three high school students each from Somerville gathered in Gantcher Gym at Tufts University to compete in the tenth annual Scrapheap Showdown. Along with the usual interesting “junk” in the center of the room when the students walked in, there were many pieces of paper, some foam core, lots of string and tape. The students were given their challenge: to build two ziplines, one to move supplies to and the other to move logs back from a logging camp which lies across a river. The goal was to move as many logs as possible and return with as little as ballast as possible on the shuttle, without anything hitting the river and being destroyed.

The Somerville First Source Jobs Initiative’s Job Fair held at the Cambridge Health Alliance building brought job seekers and potential employers together to see what possibilities existed for job placements.

By Tom Bannister

On Wednesday of last week, the Somerville First Source Jobs Initiative (SFSJI) celebrated a job fair exclusively for residents of the Somerville area at the Cambridge Health Alliance building, in Somerville. It was the second job fair that the SFSJI held this year as part of their effort to connect Somerville residents with Somerville jobs, particularly those with barriers to employment.

For the past five years I have taught a College Writing Seminar at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. Bunker Hill serves an inner-city, and multiethnic population. Many of the students are older than traditional college students; many of the students are working full and part time jobs, and many will go on to four year institutions to continue their education. The college even offers midnight classes to accommodate the needs of this student population, and provides technical, nursing, and traditional liberal arts courses. Here is an essay from one of my students describing her first weeks in college. — Doug Holder

Lee Varon is a writer and social worker. Her poetry and short stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and published in Artful Dodge, Blue Mesa Review, Euphony, Hawai’i Review, High Plains Literary Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Pleiades, Permafrost, So To Speak, Soundings East, and Willow Review, among others.

(Updated as of 2 a.m.)

GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS

Charlie Baker (R) 979,127

Martha Coakley (D) 951,782

Evan Falchuk 66,915

Scott Lively 18,069

Jeff McCormick 15,161

— From the City of Somerville Election Dept

SENATOR IN CONGRESS

EDWARD J. MARKEY 18931

BRIAN J. HERR 2916

WRITE IN 91

BLANK 830

Arrests:
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Sergio Aparicio-Jimenez, of 75 Jaques St., October 27, 12:08 p.m., arrested at 115 Broadway on warrant charges of uninsured motor vehicle, number plate violation, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and unregistered motor vehicle.

Andrew Booth, of 117 Cross St., Malden, October 27, 2:59 p.m., arrested at Holland St. on a warrant charge of larceny over $250.

Somerville residents five years and older eligible for vaccine
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With cold and flu season rapidly approaching, the City of Somerville’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces its annual flu vaccine clinics for Somerville residents ages five and older (children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian). The clinics will be held weekly through December, or until the city’s supply of vaccine is exhausted. Due to limited supply and availability of nurses, vaccines will be offered during official clinic hours only.

The city’s Elections Department reminds all residents in advance of the State Election on Tuesday, Nov. 4, that polling locations have changed for six of the city’s 21 voting precincts. Affected voters have been mailed appropriate information and instructions. However, if you are a voter at one of the following locations and need additional information or have not received a postcard, please call the Somerville Elections Department at 617-625-6600 extension 4200.

— Photos courtesy of Lynne Lenoir

By Donald F. Norton

Going through some old boxes recently, Lynne Lenoir, a lifelong 4th generation resident of the city, found some of these interesting photos of old Somerville.