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WHERE ARE THE CANDIDATES?
DID YOU KNOW…
Where are all the
candidates for local town offices? Where are all the budding
politicians? Has voter apathy become our fate and
destiny? Once again our town election will be a quiet,
lackluster affair. This time, we have only one contest, and that
is for one seat on the Canton Housing Authority. In a surprise
development, CHA member and retired college professor
Ron Grinnell is
being challenged by newcomer
Jason Dupre,
who lives in the CHA Rubin Court housing complex. If he is
elected, CHA resident Dupre raises some interesting legal and
ethical questions about what he can and cannot vote for.
As usual,
longtime Selectman John
Connolly, who is seeking his eighth three-year term,
is running unopposed, as is
state Representative
Bill Galvin,
who is seeking reelection as assessor, and
Planning Board member
George Jenkins. Connolly has been a selectman since
1989.
Speaking of
John Connolly, we see his election committee held a fundraiser
at the Brookmeadow Country Club on February 28. Since he is
running unopposed, he must be getting a jumpstart on a ninth
term in 2013.
As expected,
School Committee member
Reuki Schutt is
running unopposed, and due to the unanticipated retirement of
Robert Barker,
former School Committee member (2002-2008)
John Bonnanzio
is running unopposed to take his seat and get back on the
committee for the third time. All the other incumbents are also
running unopposed. Boring.
The national champion
Canton Pop Warner A Team cheerleaders will hold a
silent auction tomorrow evening, March 5, from 7 p.m. to
midnight at the Canton American Legion Hall. There will be food,
dancing, and a lot of fun. The proceeds will go to the
cheerleaders to help fund their Walt Disney World trip.
On to other
things, in January 2010, Boston was warmer and drier than last
January. The average temperature for the month in 2009 was 24.8
degrees, while in 2010 it was 29.6 degrees, which was 0.3
degrees above the January average. As for snowfall in January
2009, 23.7 inches fell, while this past January there were just
13.2 inches of snow.
Congratulations to Skip
Pfeffer, the founder and owner of the Canton Plumbing and
Heating Company, who was recently installed as the
president of the 2009-2010 Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractor’s
National Association (PHCC) at their recent convention in New
Orleans.
Finally! The
state Highway Division recently advertised a public hearing on
its proposed highway and sidewalk improvements on Turnpike
Street (Route 138) between Randolph and Sassamon streets. The
town has been demanding a sidewalk there ever since a pedestrian
was killed several years ago.
The Canton Garden Club
is planning a busy season again this year. There will be a tree
planting on Arbor Day in April, and the annual
geranium/perennial sale will be on May 8. There will be a tour
of several outstanding Canton gardens on June 5 and 6. The club
will also continue beautifying Canton by planting thousands of
daffodil bulbs and maintaining several traffic islands and
flower boxes at the library, the Canton Historical Society, and
the Welcome-to-Canton boxes. For more information, check out the
club’s website at www.cantongardenclub.com.
In case you’re
interested, the DPW
has exhausted the $175,000 snow and ice removal line item in the
town’s budget. But don’t worry: the town overspends this line
item every year, and because public safety is involved, the law
allows the town to continue paying for snow and ice removal by
deficit spending, and the amount spent in excess of the original
budget figure will be added to next year’s tax rate.
Because of the winter
season, the Canton Fire Department will allow open burning
between January 15 and May 1. Permits must be obtained from the
Fire Department.
According to
Town Administrator Bill Friel, 32 articles were submitted for
the Annual Town Meeting Warrant, including two zoning articles.
The selectmen
have approved a new common victual license for the New Seoul BBQ
Buffet at 100 Washington Street at Cobb’s Corner.
State Senate
President Therese Murray has appointed state Senator Brian A.
Joyce to be the acting vice chair of the Joint Committee on
Higher Education.
The Canton
Men’s Over 30 Sunday Morning Softball League is looking for
teams for the upcoming 2010 season. For details, contact Ron
Morganelli at richmorgie@aol.com.
Nordstrom,
Inc. announced it is looking to hire 250 employees for the
department store it plans to open in late March at the South
Shore Plaza in Braintree. Headquartered in Seattle, Nordstrom
operates 184 stores in 28 states.
Finally, free
income tax assistance is available again to low and moderate
income senior citizens through the Tax Aid Program by the AARP.
A trained volunteer will be at the Council on Aging office
beginning February 9. Appointments are necessary and can be made
by calling the Council on Aging at 781-828-1323.
When noting
the plethora of pizza places in town, MAC mistakenly left out
several of the town’s best including
Finbarr’s,
which serves its famous Irish pizza, complete with sour cream,
mashed potatoes, Irish bacon and pizza cheese as well as a
variety of other pizzas.
Worry doesn’t help
tomorrow’s troubles, but it does ruin today’s happiness.
This is all
for now folks; see you next week.
Joe DeFelice can be reached at
manaboutcanton@aol.com
March 4, 2010
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