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For first time in 30 years,
town plans Fourth without fireworks; summer concerts also suffer
By Kathy Anderson
Citizen Staff
Throughout
town American flags are heralding in the Independence Day
holiday, but the red, white and blue are tinged with a touch of
gray this year. For the first time in its nearly 30-year
tradition, the fireworks that have illuminated the sky over
Memorial Field and the festive three-day accompanying carnival
will be conspicuously absent this Saturday.
Recreation
Department chairman Jeff Kaylor said the department and the
Recreation Commission made the difficult decision to cancel this
year’s July 4th celebration due to lack of funding,
and instead pool available resources into the annual Block Party
and Homecoming Parade at the end of September.
“It was all we
could do to run both events last year,” Kaylor said. “In March
we made the decision to have one and not the other, and the
feedback we got from around town was in favor of the block
party.”
Another
popular tradition in town, the Wednesday evening summer concert
series, has been trimmed down from eight performances to four
this year.
With finances
strapped across the board among municipal departments, Kaylor
said private and corporate contributions have also suffered this
year.
“People are
still coming out in support of our programs,” he said, “and
donations from local companies has always been great but are
scaled back now because the economy is so difficult.”
The summer
concert series, sponsored by the Recreation Commission, kicks of
with a performance by the Canton Community Band July 8 at 7 p.m.
July 15 will feature the Mood Elevators, an all-women band
performing a variety of music. The classic rock band Leafmen
returns to town on July 22, featuring Canton’s Sal Rizzo on
drums. The series wraps up on July 29 with oldie’s band The
Corvairs. (Click here for full
article)
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Canton Knights of Columbus honor police, fire,
DPW for efforts in train crash rescue
By Mike Berger
Citizen Staff
“Team Canton”
was the theme of the night on June 19 as the Canton Knights of
Columbus saluted the efforts of the police, fire and public
works crews and other regional emergency response teams who
heroically rescued 123 injured victims of the commuter train
crash, which occurred last March 25 near Canton Junction.
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John Shea, Public
Safety Committee chairman for the Knights of
Columbus (center), welcomes Dan Teague, DPW
operations manager (left), and Mike Trotta, DPW
superintendent (right). |
Twenty-six
fire and police departments and other emergency agencies were
involved in the rescue when a runaway boxcar collided with a
Stoughton-bound commuter train near the Junction and the
neighborhoods of Otis Way and Culloden Drive around 5:20 p.m.
The accident brought 35 ambulances from 15 communities, as well
as dozens of off-duty Canton firefighters, EMTs and even retired
officers to the crash site. Within 65 minutes, victims were
triaged at the scene and transported to area hospitals.
For the ninth
year, the Knights of Columbus have sponsored a Public Safety
Awards ceremony, named in honor of the late Richard Stein, who
helped initiate the event. The awards dinner is presented
annually to Canton public servants who have gone beyond what is
expected of them in the performance of their duties. This year,
the K of C honored 51 members of the fire, police and public
works departments with individual plaques featuring the
honorees’ names. Proclamations from the Massachusetts House of
Representatives and Senate were sent to the town congratulating
each department for their efforts and were read to the crowd by
K of C member John Thornton.
The honorees
from the Police Department were Police Chief Ken Berkowitz,
lieutenants Patty Sherrill, Tom Keleher and Helena Findlen, Sgt.
Ken Drinan, Detective Sgt. Jim Quigley, detectives Eric Wade and
John Ruane III, and officers Ted Lehan, Brian Wanless, Brendan
Healy, Errol Lane, Mike Lank, Chip Yeaton, Glen Nix, Paul Ezepik
and Joe Silvasy. (Click here for full
article)
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Prominent developer excited to
begin new chapter as member of zoning board
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
He was one of
the Zoning Board of Appeal’s most consistent visitors, but after
three-plus decades making a name for himself as a successful
developer, Canton’s John Marini will now be on the inside
looking out, having recently been tapped by selectmen to replace
outgoing ZBA member James Fitzgerald, Jr., who retired in April
after many years on the board.
“I’ve been
before that board, realistically, at least 30 times,” Marini
said in a telephone interview last week. “It’s going to feel
awful funny to be on the other side of the bench.”
Although
currently still the owner of Marini Management Company and
Marini Framing Company, both of which are headquartered on
Neponset Street, Marini has indicated plans to “slow down” on
the business front in the coming years, while BOS Chairman Sal
Salvatori said selectmen were assured that he “does not intend
to do any further development in Canton and that he was in fact
retiring.”
“Mr. Marini is
greatly winding down his business,” added Paul Schneiders, an
attorney for the developer. “He hasn’t done anything in the town
for the past couple of years.”
According to
Marini, who half-jokingly attributed his retirement to a
combination of his age and the poor economy, the idea of joining
the zoning board was one that had intrigued him from the moment
someone first suggested it to him.
“The more I
thought about it, the more excited I got,” he said.
Citing 40
years of experience in the residential construction business,
Marini said he will bring a wealth of relevant knowledge to a
board that also features an architect in Greg Pando and an
attorney in Paul Carroll. (Click here for full article)
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