Man About Canton: Selectmen in Lockstep

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It seems that all five selectmen are in lockstep with one another on all decisions. MAC would like to see at least one of them vote in opposition so that residents can at least have a dissenting view. It’s hard for MAC to understand how all five selectmen voted to approve the roundabout, but they did (even though the vast majority of townspeople were against it). Even tight-fisted Avril Elkort approved the $300,000-plus mess at Bolivar and Pleasant streets.

It was also pointed out to MAC that in addition to the monstrosity of the roundabout at Bolivar and Pleasant streets, you will no longer be able to park your car beyond centerfield at Devoll Field to watch soccer or softball games due to the new sharp curbing installed. MAC also wonders how the DPW will be able to navigate its snowplows around the narrow roundabout without ruining its snowblades, and MAC still wonders why the selectmen ever approved this rotary, which many residents are calling a debacle. They have created a problem where no problem ever existed.

Town wiring inspector Paul Reynolds will retire on February 13.

As part of the Energy Independence and Security Act signed in 2007, Thomas Edison’s greatest invention, the incandescent light bulb, has effectively been banned. Consumers must now buy the approved light bulbs, which include florescent light bulbs (CFL) and LED light bulbs. Environmental groups decided that the incandescent bulb wasn’t energy efficient enough. So there we have it again — government and special interest groups interfering in commerce and stripping consumers’ choices.

Canton police are reminding residents to remain on guard against scammers. Several residents, including MAC on two occasions, have received calls on their home phones from scammers posing as U.S. Treasury Department workers. Known as the IRS scam, the caller, in a thick foreign accent, says he is from the U.S. Treasurer’s Office and tells residents they owe money and threatens legal action. When you get a call like this, hang up. The IRS would not contact you like this.

Louis Raffetto of Canton, one of the top distance runners on the south shore, recently won the Reebok Canton Road Race and the Canton Fall Classic Road Race. In the Fall Classic, Raffetto finished the 10k (6.2 miles) in 33 minutes, 30 seconds. The women’s winner was CHS junior Catherine Song with a time of 43 minutes, 21 seconds. The men’s winner of the 5k (3.1 miles) was Canton resident Christopher Klucznik, clocking in at 16 minutes, 15 seconds, while the top woman was Molly Maxbauer, who finished in 21 minutes, 42 seconds. Seven hundred runners participated in the 5k, 10k, and fun run sponsored by Canton’s Temple Beth Abraham.

George Foreman, who will turn 66 on January 10, made over $200 million on the George Foreman Grill. Foreman said, “There were months that I was being paid $8 million per month.”

Mass Development has issued $3,577,470 in tax-exempt and taxable bonds on behalf of Premier Fence. The company is using bond proceeds to build a facility at 1010 Turnpike Street in Canton that will include a factory, office, and showroom space. The company installs and sells fencing, decking, and outdoor living products for residential and commercial use. Premier Fence maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Selectmen agreed to share with the school department the additional $43,000 needed to complete the renovations to the Canton High School tennis courts. The original estimated cost was $365,000. However, two of the five courts had to be increased for high school play, bringing the total to $408,000.

Canton now has a Domino’s Pizza chain. Selectmen recently issued a common victualler license to franchise owner Robert Rivard to open at 100C Washington Street. The restaurant will seat 27 people.

If you have dunked your cell phone in water, Consumer Reports offers some tips. First, don’t turn it on. Remove the battery, SIM card, and memory card. Wipe them down, and then seal them in a jar of uncooked rice. A week later, reassemble everything and push the “on” button with fingers crossed and hope it works.

Good news for seniors: The Medicare Part B premium, which covers doctors’ visits and outpatient services and is currently $104.90 a month for most beneficiaries, will remain the same in 2015.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average Medicare spending per beneficiary per year is $11,328.

Jill Rossetti, 44, the new principal of Blue Hills Regional Technical School, is a 1988 graduate of Stoughton High School.

The Hansen School was recognized as one of only 42 elementary schools in the state, and the only school in Canton, to attain a Level 1 status for meeting all of its improvement targets on this past spring’s MCAS exam.

When you make a choice, you change the future.

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=27926

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Dec 18 2014. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.