Man About Canton: Canton Area Helpline
By Joe DeFeliceUpdate: The airport park dedication referenced below was moved to Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m.
Did you know …
According to Janet Pratt, president of the Canton Area Helpline, over 3,000 people were serviced through our Canton Food Pantry last year. They continue to expand and serve the needs of Canton families and seniors. Tax-deductible contributions to the Canton Helpline and the Canton Food Pantry can be sent to P.O. Box 202, Canton, MA 02021. The Canton Area Helpline recently donated $2,000 to the Recreation Department to purchase camp and pool passes for families in need.
The state will hold the opening and dedication of the Farnham and Connolly Memorial Park (the former Canton Airport site) on Neponset Street on Tuesday, July 22, at 2:30 p.m.
Premier Fence of Avon plans to move to 1010 Turnpike Street and build a 20,000-square-foot building that will house 32 employees. The site has been vacant sine 2009.
The highest court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court, has ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools does not discriminate against atheists.
The $79 million Canton town budget for fiscal year 2015 represents a $2.3 million, or 3.1 percent, increase from the fiscal year 2014 figure.
The state legislature has approved a bill allowing consumers to buy most products that cost under $2,500 on Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17, without paying the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax.
The senate and the house approved a bill that would increase the current $8 an hour minimum wage to $9 in 2015 and to $11 by 2017.
According to Canton-based Dunkin’ Brands, a global coffee bean shortage will result in coffee prices rising at least 10 percent from now until the end of 2015.
The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth marked 50 years since the university’s groundbreaking on June 14, 1964.
Talking about 50 years, the Canton High School Class of 1964 will hold its 50th class reunion on Saturday, October 18, from 7-11 p.m. at the Canton American Legion Hall. For more information, contact Anne Paige Jorgensen at mrsjorgy@comcast.net.
In the Patriot Ledger column “Whatever Happened to,” it listed Canton’s “Survivor” star Rob Mariano, who is married to fellow Survivor star Amber Brkich, and who won the $1 million prize in Survivor Redemption Island, as a 37-year-old father to four girls living with Amber in Pensacola, Florida.
London, England tops the billionaire list with 72 residents in that city with fortunes exceeding $1 billion. That’s well ahead of Moscow at 48, New York at 43, and Hong Kong at 34. The richest men in England are the Indian-born brothers Srichard and Gopichand Hinduta with a $20.04 billion fortune.
At the other end of the spectrum, in Massachusetts, 19,029 people are homeless and 12,335 families in the state have no permanent home. In fact, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development, 2,094 families in Massachusetts are living in motels. A sad case of “the haves and the have nots.”
Wal-Mart opened its first Massachusetts store in Fairhaven in 1992. Presently, there are 45 Wal-Marts in Massachusetts, including eight in the south shore towns of Avon, Abington, Hanover, Brockton, Halifax, Quincy, Weymouth, and Walpole. Wal-Mart now plans to open 270 to 300 small stores to cater to shoppers looking for more convenience, making quick trips for bread and milk. There are 11,088 Wal-Marts in 27 countries under 55 different names. Wal-Mart is the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees.
The Canton Police Association is led by President Scott Connor, Vice President Brian Wanless, Secretary Ken Drinan, and treasurer Errol Lane.
The Stoughton Redevelopment Authority recently voted to buy the former commuter rail depot station for $350,000 from the MBTA, and it is negotiating with a developer who hopes to set up a restaurant in the building, which dates to 1888 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Former Cantonite and developer Douglas A. King has received approval to build a new 42-unit townhouse development on the former Foxboro State Hospital property. It is the final phase of a redevelopment plan that began in 2005 and includes a shopping plaza and a variety of housing.
The Canton Planning Board has approved a tentative commercial subdivision plan on the 42-acre former Plymouth Rubber site on Revere Street. The approved plan will allow developer Bernard Plante to pursue potential commercial businesses.
And finally, now that the recent annual town meeting is over, MAC will again point out that the great majority (98 percent) of registered voters did not bother to attend, and they left it to a few voters (163, and only 83 at the end), many with special interests, to run our town affairs and spend our tax money.
Remember you live in a community. You have a responsibility to be accountable to your family and your community as well as yourself.
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=26117
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on Jul 17 2014. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion.
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