L-R standing: Jim Bowdring, Bob Nissenbaum, Jack Connolly, Darcie DeLuca, Dawn Austin, Tom Austin, Bill Lemos, Gene Brune, Paul Zimmerman; L-R front: Chairperson Haley Adams, David Blumsack, Patricia Ng.

On August 20, the Somerville Kiwanis Club wrapped up the second successful year of a month-long drive to collect school supplies for local children who are most in need. The drive was officially closed when 200+ backpacks stuffed with school supplies were dropped off at two Somerville Schools.

Location update:

The City of Somerville and the Somerville City Council Committee on Public Health Public Safety invite all interested community members to attend and speak at a co-hosted Public Hearing on Airplane Noise.  The Hearing will take place on Wednesday, September 18,  in the auditorium of Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave.

Jeanne Leyden is an RN and director of Adult Family Care, a non-profit program at Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services that helps people receive in-home care across the Greater Boston, North Shore, and Merrimack Valley areas. For more information, visit adultfamilycare.org or call 617-628-2601.

By Jeanne Leyden

Caring for a loved one who requires daily assistance can be challenging. Medicaid recognizes this by providing great programs designed to support family caregivers. Unfortunately, some of those programs are not available for caregiver spouses here in Massachusetts.

A proposal known as S28 seeks to change that. Properly titled an Act Allowing Spouses to Serve as Caregivers, S28 would allow spouses to receive support from home and community-based services funded by MassHealth, the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program. Fifteen other states already allow similar measures, and we would like Massachusetts to join that list.

General: 1st Prize Lucy Borodkin, 27 Milton St.

Congratulations to the winners of the Somerville Garden Club’s Greening Somerville Garden Contest. On Wednesday, August 14, Mayor Joseph Curtatone presented the prizes for each category at Tufts Administration Building, Tufts University.

On September 15, Somerville resident Lexi Beckwith (EF Educational Tours Production Coordinator) and many others will enjoy a bike ride down car-free Storrow Drive and across the Emerald Necklace, exploring Boston’s vibrant neighborhoods by bike, and all for a good cause in Boston’s 15th Annual Hub on Wheels Citywide Ride.

A War Memorial walk is planned as part of an expansion of the current memorial in place at the site.

Please join the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development and Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen on Monday evening, September 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for a community meeting to discuss the plan for the Central Hill Campus (Phase I). The meeting will be held in the Somerville High School cafeteria, 81 Highland Ave. Phase I of the Central Hill Campus Master Plan includes the renovation of Central Hill Playground and the installation of Memorial Walk East, a celebratory walk for the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials, and a new Service Memorial. This will be the second in a series of meetings to discuss the plan; a meeting was previously held on July 22, 2019.

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

By Joseph A. Curtatone

Taking a closer look at notable city data—and interesting numbers. 

97%: The Somerville Fire Department responds to 97% of calls – including fires, medical calls, and other emergencies – in fewer than five minutes. The National Fire Protection Association has set a guideline of five-minute response times, which include both travel to the location of the call and the time it takes fire fighters to respond and prepare to go to the call.

Two former high school chums, Rich Keane (L) and Wayne Daley (R), met up for the first time in 59 years at the monthly reunion luncheon for the Somerville High School class of 1960 at Bickford’s Grille in Woburn on July 23. A good time was had by all who attended.

By Jim Clark

A man identified as Reginal Joseph came in to the Somerville Police station last Thursday to dispute a citation that was issued to him the day before.

The officer that issued the citation happened to be inside the station and once again explained the appeal process to Joseph.