Man About Canton: Deer Hunting

Did you know …

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation has given the okay to allow deer hunting in the Blue Hills Reservation. Permits of the controlled hunt will be limited to shotguns and will take place on four days: November 30, December 1, December 7, and December 8. The state has reduced the number of hunting permits from 120 to 98 and will randomly select 98 hunters for each two-day session. Each hunter will be limited to no more than four white-tailed deer each, two with antlers and two without. The areas open for hunting include parts of Canton, Milton, and Quincy. It is the first time that the state has permitted hunting in the Blue Hills since before it became a reservation in 1893. Officials estimate the population of deer in the Blue Hills to be at least 85 deer per square mile, whereas the optimal number is between six and 18 per square mile. The total estimated deer population in the Blue Hills Reservation is between 700 and 800.

A state senate committee charged with developing a plan to fight opiate abuse in Massachusetts wants to require schools to screen students for drug use, require insurers to report denials of addiction treatment, and increase access to alternative pain management.

In the bad news department, National Grid customers will see their electric bill increase approximately 20 percent in November, but it is still nearly 10 percent less than what the customers paid last winter. Eversource, formerly NStar Electric, which covers the town of Canton, will be sure to follow. All utility companies can file for new rates with the state Department of Public Utilities every six months.

Susan Scheide and Colby Ormond were recently appointed by the selectmen as part-time animal control officers.

On October 22, Gale Engineering, which is advising the town of Canton’s insurance company, will issue a report of its findings and an estimate of repair costs for the damage following the roof collapse at the Canton ice skating rink. The conclusions of Gale Engineering will go a long way in determining whether there will be a partial repair or a full replacement.

The Canton High School student representatives to the Canton School Committee for this year are Janet Johnson and Mike Larsen.

There are 36 new teachers in the Canton school system for the 2015-16 school year.

Canton-based Dunkin’ Donuts, which derives 57 percent of its sales from drinks, will be testing ice cream shakes and fruit smoothies with Greek yogurt.

There are 535 members of the 114th Congress of the United States, made up of 100 senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. According to the U.S. Congress Handbook, 91.8 percent (491) of the members identify as Christians. Of those 491 Christians, 164 are Catholic, 306 are Protestant, 16 are Mormon, and five are Orthodox. There are also 28 Jewish members in Congress.

One of the 21 best places to eat pizza in the Boston area, according to Boston Magazine, is the Lynwood Café at 320 Center Street in Randolph, which was the only bar pie pizza restaurant listed in the south shore.

The Canton High School Class of 1965 will hold its 50th reunion at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield on Saturday, October 24, from 7-11 p.m. For more information, contact Velma (Wyman) Coffey at veljc@hotmail.com or Paul Loscocco at pfal@rcn.com.

The newly formed Blue Ribbon Traffic Committee has identified the intersection of Washington and Randolph streets as a top priority (and rightly so according to MAC). They will also look at the recently redesigned intersection at Randolph Street and Route 138 and the status of the intersection of Washington and Chapman streets.

Dom Pierre Perignon was a Benedictine monk credited with advances in the production of champagne. He died 300 years ago in 1715 on September 14 in Hautvillers, France, at the age of 76.

MAC is sure not too many of you have ever heard of Dr. Forrest Morton Bird, who recently died at the age of 94. Dr. Bird was an inventor who pioneered some of the first portable and reliable ventilators for people with acute and chronic heart and lung afflictions. His invention replaced the primitive and expensive iron lung used at the height of the paralytic polio epidemic in the 1950s. Dr. Bird was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995 for also developing the first low-cost, mass-produced pediatric respirator known as the Baby Bird. Dr. Bird received the Presidential Citizens Medal from George W. Bush in 2008 and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama in 2009. Forrest Morton Bird was born in Stoughton. He graduated from Stoughton High School in 1935 in an accelerated academic program at the age of 14. He became a certified pilot at the age of 16. He was profiled on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2007. Dr. Bird was an American original who developed four generations of cardiopulmonary devices that came to be widely used in homes and hospitals … and to think he grew up in Stoughton. Rest in peace, Dr. Forrest Morton Bird.

Don’t try to be different. Just try to be good. To be good is different enough.

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=31205

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Oct 23 2015. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.