Man About Canton: John Connolly for Selectman
By Joe DeFeliceDID YOU KNOW …
John Connolly told MAC that he will be running for reelection as a Canton selectman, and MAC is endorsing him because, for the past 30 years, I have watched him demonstrate a firm and untiring commitment to making Canton a better place to live, to work, and to raise our children. John has served us with distinction for those 30 years — six years on the School Committee and the past 24 years as a selectman.
MAC has always liked the way John Connolly approaches his responsibilities as selectman and how he always tells it just as it is and gets things done when called upon. John’s accomplishments over these years as selectman are too numerous to list. In MAC’s opinion, John Connolly has been an invaluable asset as a selectman of the town of Canton, and MAC feels he should be reelected for a ninth term because of his dedication, enthusiasm, responsiveness, integrity, honesty, and his past performance. So MAC is voting for John Connolly because he will keep the town of Canton moving in the right direction, and I urge you to vote for him too.
The next Rules of Golf will be published on January 1, 2016, and among the rule changes, the U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club will outlaw the anchored strokes for long putters, or so-called “belly putters.”
The top four baby names for girls in 2012 were Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella. The top four boys’ names were Aiden, Jackson, Ethan, and Liam.
The new Canton fire ladder truck, if approved at annual town meeting, will cost $810,000 and will be paid for with ambulance receipts.
Norfolk County District Attorney Mike Morrissey recently asked the Canton Board of Selectmen to publicize two programs aimed at limiting the damage of drunk driving. One is to ask Canton restaurants and pouring establishments to pay for the cost of a soft drink, coffee, or tea for a designated driver. The second program is to raise the awareness of waitresses, waiters, and bartenders in a program called “Observe, Don’t Over Serve.”
The town of Canton has 249 public housing units, the most on the south shore. Sharon has only 102 units, and Milton has even less at 65 units. Stoughton has 238 units while Randolph has 244 units, according to the Department of Housing and Community Development. Amazingly, Hanover has no-state subsidized public housing apartments.
Jed Marum, the Celtic/American folk singer who played at the Open Book Coffeehouse last month at the Canton Public Library, is a graduate of Canton High School. His album Cross over the River won the Album of the Year Award by JP Folk Awards Program, the world’s largest grassroots music organization.
According to the Beer Institute, an industry lobbying group in Washington, D.C., New Hampshire consumes more beer per person — an average of 31.9 gallons in 2011 — than any other state in the country. Utah consumes the least at 12.3 gallons per person, while Massachusetts was 38th with an average of 19.2 gallons per person. According to Beer Marketer’s Insights, Anheuser-Busch had a 46.9 percent American market share in 2011, followed by MillerCoors at 28.4 percent, Crown Imports at 5.7 percent, and Heineken USA at 3.8 percent.
Senior citizens age 80 and older who would like to receive a White House birthday card signed by the president should mail their name, address, and birthday to: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500. Requests take at least eight weeks in advance of the birthday. Make a birthday special by receiving a commemorative card from the White House.
Citizens Energy heat assistance programs give financial help to low-income Massachusetts residents who cannot afford to pay their heating bills. Citizens Energy has a program for people who use heating oil and a program for people who heat with natural gas. The oil heat program gives a voucher for free heating oil to low-income families and elderly residents of Massachusetts. For information, call 1-877-563-4645.
Ingrid Hartfiel was recently appointed by the selectmen as the new senior account specialist for the town treasury office. It is a 25-hour position. She was chosen from a field of 56 applicants.
The current law in Massachusetts provides unlimited 411 calls for seniors over age 65, disabled persons, and state and local governments; but you have to call your phone company and request the necessary paperwork.
According to FBI records, there have been 1.5 million gun permits issued in Massachusetts since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System was launched in 1998. Massachusetts is still one of the hardest states in the U.S. in which to legally obtain a gun. The process includes training, fingerprinting, screening, and several background checks; but it does lack in-depth mental health screening. Police do not have access to mental health records unless a patient has been institutionalized. In MAC’s opinion, the real problem is not being able to identify mentally disturbed people before they commit horrific acts.
The average temperature in Boston for December 2012 was 38.4 degrees, which was 3.7 degrees above the monthly average of 34.7. The average temperature in January is 29. In 2012, the average was 34.2 and in 2013, temperatures in January are running above normal.
Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
This is all for now folks. See you next week.
Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=18556
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on Jan 23 2013. Filed under Featured Content, From One Citizen to Another, Opinion.
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