Man About Canton: Pleasant Street Dam Repairs

DID YOU KNOW …

The long-awaited repairs to the Pleasant Street Dam will begin shortly, and a work permit will be issued to the J. D’Amico Company. Owner Jim D’Amico, a Canton resident, hopes to begin work this month. He estimates that the project will take about six weeks to complete, and residents around the Reservoir Pond can look forward to fishing and boating as the full water level is restored. Once the dam repairs are made and inspected, the town will assume full ownership of Reservoir Pond.

According to the executive director of the Neponset River Watershed Association, the lack of rain and snow this winter has resulted in record low levels of the Neponset River in Canton. It is about 20 percent below its average for this time of year.

The total precipitation for March was only 1.18 inches, while only 0.6 inches of snow was recorded. The average monthly temperature was 46.9 degrees, while the normal average for March is 38.1.

A Stoughton woman was recently indicted by a state grand jury on three counts each of deriving support from prostitution, owning a place of prostitution, and keeping a house of ill fame. Three spas, including the Sparkle Day Spa at 95 Washington Street in Canton, were allegedly offering sexual activity between massages in exchange for cash characterized as “tips.”

Dr. Douglas Dias, principal of Canton High School for the past five years, will be leaving to take over as principal of Medway High School, closer to his home in nearby Milford. According to School Superintendent Jeff Granatino, a search will soon begin for a new principal with the goal of making an appointment by July 1.

Janet Maguire of Canton has been appointed as the town’s new recreation director.

Developed countries, including the United States, France, England, and Japan, are working on a deal to tap strategic petroleum reserves to reduce gasoline prices, at least for a limited time. Oil prices have risen due to sanctions against Iran and reduced exports from Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan and increased oil demand from India and China.

Exxon Mobil is no longer the world’s biggest publicly traded producer of oil. The new giant is 13-year-old PetroChina, the Beijing company created by the Chinese government to secure more oil for that nation’s booming economy. PetroChina pumps out 2.4 million barrels a day, surpassing Exxon by 100,000.

Selectmen recently approved the transfer of an all-alcohol license from Rosario’s Restaurant Group, owned by Jeff O’Brien and Jeff Wilson, to the Junction Bar & Grille at 601 Neponset Street. The new owner, Enrico Coppola, who managed the Stockyard in Brighton for 11 years, will change the menu to more of a pub fare.

The astronomical odds of winning Mega Millions are 1 in 175,111,536. While no one in the state of Massachusetts drew a winning ticket in the record-breaking $640 million drawing, the state will receive a net profit of $16.4 million into its general fund. More than $39 million in tickets were sold in the state, with $13.2 million in tickets sold in the final day. Mega Million tickets are sold in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Stoughton School Superintendent Marguerite Rizzi announced that Stoughton native Juliette Miller will be the new principal of Stoughton High School.

The Canton Council on Aging recently voted to pursue trying to purchase the K of C building at 500 Pleasant Street for a senior center. It has plenty of parking spaces, one floor, and a hall that holds over 200 people. The trustees of the Canton K of C recently recommended to the K of C officers and members that they get out of the hall rental business and sell the building. Most of the private clubs in the area are experiencing loss of membership, lack of people to run the clubs, and an “aging problem,” i.e., the older members are still there, but there is no influx of younger members. The K of C building is assessed for $502,000, but according to a real estate broker, in this market, the building and its property is worth about $350,000.

A bill raising the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour recently cleared a legislative committee, creating a possible vote in the Senate. The current minimum wage is $8 an hour.

Former CHS softball all-star Olivia Kenyon was recently named rookie of the week in the Little East College Conference. Kenyon, a freshman playing for UMass Dartmouth, registered at least one hit in each of the four games during the week, including one game in which she had three hits, including a triple, and scored three runs. Olivia is currently on a seven-game hit streak.

Congratulations go out to Wes Rawding on celebrating his 40^th anniversary with the Bank of Canton on April 3. Wes, a 1970 graduate of Canton High School, started as a teller back in 1972 and worked his way up to head teller, assistant treasurer, assistant vice president, and to vice president/treasurer over the years. Wes played a key role in starting up the many bank branches. Bank of Canton officials said, “We are fortunate to have such a dedicated employee.” Wes is also a corporator of the bank.

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are at least 50 years old.

The best way of forgetting how you think you feel is to concentrate on what you know you know.

This is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

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Posted by Joe DeFelice on Apr 11 2012. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.