MAC: Canton’s Amazing Ice House

Did you know …

MAC was recently given the grand tour of the new Canton Ice House skating facility by one of it owners, Bill Dadasis. Believe it or not, the Canton Ice House will have its grand opening over this coming Labor Day weekend, less than one year after construction began. The Ice House is the newest state-of-the-art ice rink facility in the New England area, and it’s right here in Canton at 55 North Street.

The Ice House will be home to the Canton High School Bulldogs and the Xaverian Brothers High School hockey teams. It will also serve several other local teams. It will have a private club program, several local youth hockey programs, and will host a premier figure skating club. Throughout the year, it will also offer public skating. In addition, the Boston Junior Huskies hockey team will be a full-time tenant.

The Ice House will offer not one, but two NHL-sized rinks under the same roof. Dadasis showed MAC the coaches rooms, fitness room, two conference rooms, a skate sharpening room, the skate rental area, and a food concession area, all of which had great views through the many glass enclosures.

The Ice House will utilize two brand-new electric Zambonis to smooth the ice and an inside pit in which to drop the accumulating ice slush. It is amazing how quickly the facility went up (in less than one year). Dadasis gave credit to Canton contractor Bill Cohen, who was responsible for the ground work and the use of his heavy equipment to keep things moving as the facility was being constructed. With this ice rink, MAC doubts that Canton will need another. The Canton Ice House at 55 North Street is truly an amazing facility.

At the 2016 annual town meeting, voters approved all of the spending recommendations of the Canton Community Preservation Committee (CCPC). The recommendations totaled $385,815 for the following projects:

The preservation of a receiving tomb and vaults at Canton Corner Cemetery; upgrades to the exhaust system and electrical outlets at the Hagan Court senior housing complex; a needs assessment and master plan for the town’s outdoor recreation facilities; restoration and preservation work at the Old English Burying Ground, Canton’s first and oldest cemetery; and restoration and preservation of the 1820s Crane’s Guard militia flag in the collection of the Canton Historical Society. Voters also authorized $30,000 in CPA funding for administrative costs. The CCPC had over $1 million to spend on open space, historic resources, outdoor recreation, and community housing, and the remaining funds will be carried over to the next fiscal year.

The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents voted to oppose the state ballot question that would legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The Canton Republican Town Committee recently elected Neal Durham as its chairman and Larry Overlan as vice chairman. John Friel was elected treasurer and Tony Pate is secretary. The terms are for four years (2016-2020).

The Canton Republican Town Committee appointed Daneene Pate to a three-year term as the town registrar.

Dr. Chris Flieger was recently appointed as the new principal at St. John the Evangelist School in Canton. Dr. Flieger was the associate superintendent of schools for the archdiocese of Boston and holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. St. John’s has an enrollment of approximately 225 students in preschool through eighth grade. St. John’s School was established in 1883 and had a high school until 1954. The school is led by experienced and Massachusetts state-certified childhood educators.

According to a recent report, last year 196 hunters killed 64 deer over a four-day period with the permission of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. It cost the state an estimated $2,300 per deer to shoot 64 of them in the Blue Hills area. This year, the state is giving hunters six days with shotguns and bows and arrows to cull more deer in the Blue Hills Reservation.

For the second consecutive year, the cost of a University of Massachusetts Amherst education is going up. The UMass Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase that will bring the yearly average to almost $14,000. Add in room, board, supplies, books, and other expenses, and the new total is about $28,000 per year. The national average cost at a four-year state school is $19,548. UMass is ranked 29th out of more than 600 public state schools according to a recent article in the Boston Globe.

The Canton-based Dunkin’ Brands Group plans to open 1,400 stores in China over the next 20 years. In its largest development deal ever, Dunkin Brands announced a franchise agreement with Philippines fast food giant Jollibee Foods and Jasmine Asset Holding of Hong Kong for $300 million in a joint venture named Golden Cup that will open Dunkin’ stores in China. The donuts on the menu will include one topped with chili oil, another dusted with slivers of dried pork, and one with seaweed at little more than $1 each.

MAC read with great interest George Comeau’s July 21 column in the Canton Citizen, “Red, White, and Blue,” which told the story of the Marino and the Ammendolia barbershops on Washington Street in downtown Canton. MAC received his first haircut back in the 1940s by barber Joe Ammendolia.

According to a recent article in the Patriot Ledger, Canton Biotech firm Organogenesis has operated its skin regeneration business in Canton since 1992 and was the first company to get federal Food and Drug Administration approval for a commercial medical product containing living cells. The company on Dan Road has surpassed $100 million in annual revenue and has about 250 employees at its Canton location.

For the first time in eight years, Massachusetts gas prices have fallen during the heat of the summer. Regular gas has dropped to an average of $2.16 per gallon, which is 50 cents lower than the price a year ago and a far cry from 2008 when the price at the pump reached as high as $4.08 per gallon in Massachusetts. MAC has found self-serve regular gas selling for as low as $1.88 per gallon but also as high as $2.59 per gallon.

Albert Einstein once said, “Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”

That is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

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Posted by Joe DeFelice on Aug 26 2016. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.