Man About Canton: Ice Rink Update

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According to Board of Selectmen Chairman John Connolly, “We are still waiting for the town insurance company to determine whether the Ponkapoag skating rink building that had a roof collapse under heavy snow last winter is a total loss.” The state owns the property, but the town leases it, operates the rink, and holds the insurance policy. Connolly also said he hopes the rink “will be a total loss so a state-of-the-art rink can be built in its place.”

The Canton School Committee accepted a negotiated contract with the 25-member custodial and maintenance workers union for three years with a 2 percent raise each year.

Boston-based real estate company The Warren Group reported that foreclosure orders in the state in the first five months of 2015 increased by nearly 60 percent compared with the same period last year. South of Boston, Brockton tops the list at 147 foreclosures from January through May 2015.

According to a Harris poll, only 5 percent of adults 65 and older have a tattoo, while 38 percent of 30-somethings have been inked.

According to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, 35 potential 2016 ballot questions have been filed with her office. It is up to Healey to determine which questions pass constitutional muster.

Monro Muffler Brake Company, the nation’s largest company-owned auto service chain with 1,003 auto services in the United States and 40 locations in Massachusetts, has acquired four Mass Tire and Windsor Tire stores, including the one at 930 Turnpike Street in Canton.

The Canton DPW will be installing four three-way stop signs at Tilden and Wentworth roads; Ridgehill and Wentworth; Redman and Wentworth; and Redman and Tilden. The estimated cost to install the stop signs, paint the stop signs on the street, and install new crosswalks is $3,000. The signs and paintings are measures to improve safety in that area.

According to multiple published reports, the town of Stoughton’s deputy police chief was recently put on paid administrative leave following an internal investigation by an independent consultant.

Fifty-eight years ago, on August 5, 1957, the teenage dance show “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark, made its network debut on ABC.

The Massachusetts State Lottery ended its fiscal year (July 31, 2015) with record sales of $5.01 billion with a profit of $983.5 million. The lottery also said it paid a record amount of prize money totaling $3.64 billion.

Thirty years ago, on September 14, 1985, the Canton High School football team beat Plymouth-Carver High School 14-6 behind Mike Toomey’s two touchdowns and the defense of Doug Ragusa, Glen Piro, Sean Donovan, and Mike Ivanoski. What is interesting in that game was Plymouth-Carver had won 22 straight games, including the Division 2 Super Bowl in 1984, led by running back Bill Burkhead. Burkhead scored the only touchdown for P-C and years later went on to coach Canton High School.

Boston’s massive snow pile at the Seaport parking lot finally melted on July 14, 2015.

The executive director of the Stoughton Housing Authority, charged with stealing a tenant’s drugs, has resigned.

New Balance has acquired the Rockport Shoe Company, a leading designer and marketer of men’s and women’s footwear based in Canton, from the Adidas Group. The new entity will be called the Rockport Group and remain in Canton.

Families with children between the ages of 6 and 17 spent an average of $600 in back-to-school shopping.

Well, MAC guesses it is now okay to lie, as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court tossed out a state law that made it illegal to lie in political campaign materials, calling it “inconsistent with the fundamental right of free speech.” The law stated that no person should publish, or cause to be published, a false statement about a political candidate that is designed to affect the outcome of an election, to harm a political candidate, or influence the outcome of a ballot question. Politicians now fear that it will encourage groups, such as political action committees, to knowingly make false statements for the purpose of adversely affecting a political campaign. State Representative Brian Mannal, who was the target of one of these false statements, was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying, “You’re going to see a lot of money poured into campaigns for the purpose of attacking candidates and misleading voters.” So basically it is acceptable to lie to win an election.

At the end of the school year in 2015, there were 3,343 students in the Canton schools. In 2014, there were 3,328 students, and there were 3,255 in 2013.

One is not an expert on something until one has touched it, used it, experimented with it, broken it, and fixed it, over and over again.

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=30708

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Sep 11 2015. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.