Man About Canton: Lions Club Breakfast

Did you know …

The Canton Lions Club will hold its 37^th annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, April 13 (Palm Sunday), from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the Canton American Legion Post 24, 950 Washington Street behind Canton High School. Tickets are only $5 per person with a $15 family maximum. Proceeds will benefit eye research and blindness prevention as well as other Canton Lions charities.

Kudos to the Canton Public Works employees. They have done an outstanding job plowing, sanding, and handling all of the snow and ice we have been getting this past winter. And recognizing that the DPW workers have had their hands full, the downtown merchants have been especially complimentary on how fast they have cleared away all the piles of snow from the center.

Free income tax assistance is still available for low- and moderate-income senior citizens though the Tax Aid Program by the AARP. A trained volunteer will be at the Council on Aging office. Appointments are necessary and can be made by calling 781-828-1323.

MAC knows that many of you may not remember this date, but the Canton annual town election will be held on Tuesday, April 8, between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., even though, unfortunately, there are no contests on the ballot for the second year in a row and the third in the last four years. There are 12 candidates for 12 open seats. One of the newcomers on the ballot is Michael Loughran Jr., who will run for the two-year term on the School Committee created by the resignation of David Emhardt. Mike’s father, Attorney Michael Loughran, Sr., was a longtime member of the Canton School Committee and still works for the selectmen in contract negotiations. Michael Mitcheroney is also running unopposed for a five-year term on the Planning Board in place of Kristin Mirliani, who did not seek reelection this year.

There is a question on the ballot to see if the town will vote to extend the Community Preservation Act (CPA) tax exemption of the first $100,000 to commercial and industrial property owners.

Although there are no contests and only one ballot question, it is still our civic duty to vote. As MAC said before, many people grumble about our town government and seemingly rush to criticize just about every important decision our incumbent leaders make, but when election time comes around, no one bothers to come forward to run for office to try to change things, which, in a democracy, is a sad state of affairs.

The Canton High School Alumni Association will hold its annual Trivia Night with DJ Gary Titus on Saturday, March 28, from 7-11 p.m. at the Canton Town Club. There will be cash prizes for the winning team.

The Luce School field will be named in honor of Billy Cravens, a longtime Recreation Department employee and a Luce School alumnus.

Vehicle fees will increase on July 1. Under a plan proposed by the state Department of Transportation, registration fees will jump from $50 to $60; inspection stickers will go from $29 to $35; and the road test fee for licensing will increase from $20 to $35. It is estimated that the new fees will generate an additional $55 million to $63 million.

Done Deal Motors is moving from 705 Turnpike Street to 1027 Turnpike Street, the former Joe Downey Chevrolet facility. Empire Motors will take over the property at 705 Turnpike and will buy and sell cars.

In case you missed it, the selectmen recently approved a new Greenlodge Street Parking Sticker Program effective July 1, 2014. The new stickers will permit parking for periods of three months, six months, or one year. The stickers will cost Canton residents and non-residents less than $2 per day, which is less than half of what it costs to park at the Route 128 railroad station and at the Canton Junction parking areas.

The Ion the Ball Company has donated $75,000 to the town for use of an electronic billboard for a one-year period.

The Canton American Legion Post 24 will be installing a second flagpole adjacent to the American Legion Hall, which is on school property. The School Committee recently approved the request.

Fifty-eight percent of adults think K-12 schools have a duty to address acts of bullying that take place outside of school.

During the weekend of April 12 and 13, the Hannington’s of Canton men’s softball team will be participating in the second annual Sandy Hook Memorial Softball Tournament in Wallingford, Connecticut, in the memory of those who lost their lives on December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The tournament will take place at Westside Field and Doolittle Park. All proceeds raised will be donated to the Newtown Cares Fund, a charity run by Newtown Youth and Family Services. Twelve men’s and eight women’s teams from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York will come together for this great cause. Last year, with the help of teams from all over New England, the tournament raised over $8,000. Last year, Hannington’s finished fourth. Attorney Glen Hannington stated that the team is participating once again because it is a “great cause and honor to be invited to play in such a great surrounding with the entire community of Newtown.”

Take all the fools out of this world, and there wouldn’t be any fun living in it … or profit.

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=24822

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Mar 27 2014. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.