Man About Canton: New GMS Principal is from Canton
By Joe DeFeliceDID YOU KNOW …
Dr. William Conard of Canton has been appointed as the new principal of the Galvin Middle School. For the past five years, Dr. Conard has been the principal of Randolph High School, and his appointment in Canton is a homecoming.
Dr. Conard grew up in Canton where he attended St. John’s Elementary School and Canton High School, graduating with the Class of 1987. He received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bridgewater State College, his master’s degree in teaching and learning, and his doctorate in leadership from DePaul University. He also taught English in the Peace Corps in Thailand from 1992 to 1994.
Dr. Conard still lives in his hometown of Canton with his wife and three daughters. He will be the first principal from Canton in many years, and MAC wishes him the best in his new position.
Voters at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting on April 25 will have the opportunity to accept the gift of ownership of Reservoir Pond from the present owner, Canton Development Properties, LLC. The gift article is one of more than 40 warrant articles to be considered by town meeting voters and will surely generate much debate because Canton Development Properties (Napleton) must first complete repairs, estimated at $350,000, to the Pleasant Street dam.
There is a change coming up with monthly Social Security and other government checks. If you are now getting a monthly Social Security check or other government check by mail, you will have until March 1, 2013, to switch over to direct deposit or a debit card.
MAC sends birthday greetings to Sarah Rawding, who will celebrate her 92nd birthday next week on March 17. She is the widow of the late Russ Rawding, and she has lived in the same Ponkapoag home since 1950.
David Jardin, the chief of the Stoughton Fire Department for seven years, will retire on April 2 after 30 years of service in the department. To keep active, he will take a part-time job with FEMA after he retires.
Former Stoughton police sergeant David M. Cohen has been found guilty after his re-trial on charges he tried to extort money from a man who owed money to a friend, witness intimidation, and filing a false police report. He was convicted of the same charges in 2007 and served time in prison, but the verdict was overturned in 2009 because of an error in jury selection. The re-trial lasted eight days, but jurors took just three hours to reach their verdict.
Published newspaper reports indicate the current 44-cent rate for first-class mail will remain the same for the time being, but the Postal Regulatory Commission has decided the price for each extra ounce will rise from 17 cents to 20 cents effective April 17.
You may be interested in learning that all of the road salt used on South Shore highways and streets is imported to Chelsea and trucked to local communities, including Canton. Most of it comes from Australia, Chile, Egypt, Ireland, and Mexico, and the salt is either mined or evaporated from salt water. The Massachusetts Public Works Department pays $51 to $63 a ton for road salt, and the state has already used over 450,000 tons of salt to unfreeze our roads this year.
Canton builder Don McNeice, Jr. has purchased the Jack Katz Building (formerly the Flood Building) and the adjacent building, which formerly housed the Andreotti Pharmacy, and before that the First National Store in the 1940s and 1950s. The property includes 572-582 Washington Street.
MAC was saddened by the recent passing of former Canton firefighters Chet Wentworth and Paul Hagan. Both did outstanding jobs for the town.
State Representative Bill Galvin is the chairman of the Housing Personnel and Administration Committee.
The Luce School CAPT has announced that, to date, the Luce Playground Fund has raised over $28,000 toward its goal of $40,000 necessary to pay for a new school playground on the lower field, which is badly needed. The fundraising is ongoing.
Finally, MAC is pleased to see that Canton businessman William Beale of the B&G Appliance Store on Washington Street is leading an effort to salvage the annual Homecoming Block Party, which was cancelled by the Canton selectmen and the Canton Recreation Commission. While it may be too late, his sincere effort deserves our attention and thanks.
We must do what we can to reduce, not increase, tensions. We must do what we can to present only the facts as we know them, not as we imagine them to be. We must learn to live with crisis in an age that calls for cool heads and accurate appraisals.
This is all for now folks. See you next week.
Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.
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