MAC: Legion Community Band

Did you know …

The Canton American Legion Community Band is looking for musicians to refill its ranks, which have been steadily depleting due to advancing age, health problems, and employment/residence transfers out of the area. The award-winning band was originally founded in 1927, disbanded during World War II and the Korean War, and was inactive until it was reorganized by the late Jack Judge in 1960. Over the years, the band has performed up and down the eastern seaboard, including in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Miami, and Louisville as well as Montreal and Quebec City, Canada. The Legion has two bands — one for concerts and the other for parades — and some of the musicians play for only one. The concert band plays familiar and popular “big band” type music, including easy-listening, show tunes, marches, and polkas. The marching band plays a wide variety of traditional marches and is in demand to perform in many parades. So even though you may be a bit rusty and haven’t played in the years since high school or college, if you can read music, play the old instrument you have stored in your attic, and would like to make new friends, why not give it a try and join your neighbors in the band?

According to band business manager Bob Brown, “This is a great time to join the band. We are starting to learn new programs for the holidays and next spring. We rehearse each Thursday evening at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church at 1508 Washington Street. All experienced players, amateurs, professionals, and/or retirees of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments are invited to join. Just bring your instrument and a music stand if you still have one. If you don’t have a stand, they will supply you with one. For more information, call Bob Brown at 508-951-1229 or go to cantonband.org.

Former Cantonite Mike Pina, grandson of Bob Trayers, is setting football records at Nichols College. In a recent 39-29 win over Curry College, Mike threw for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns, giving him 15 on the season, which is the fourth highest single-season mark at Nichols.

Former Tourism Cares Executive Director Bruce Beckham of Canton received the Bob Everidge Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Tour Association Travel Exchange. Bruce has attended 48 consecutive meetings.

Papa Gino’s, the Dedham-based pizza chain founded in 1961, started the year with 150 restaurants but plummeted to 97 when they abruptly closed dozens of locations across New England without explanation. The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Some people have blamed rising labor costs and competition from the national players as well as more consumers opting for takeout or deliveries over eating at restaurants.

Congressman Bill Keating, 65, a former Canton state senator, pulled in over 65 percent of the vote to win reelection to the Ninth Congressional District. Bill will now serve a fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lowe’s home improvement stores recently closed 51 underperforming locations.

Ben Shuffain has been named the new baseball coach at Canton High School. Shuffain is a graduate of Sharon High and is a teacher at St. Catherine’s School in Norwood.

Selectmen recently appointed Regen Milani of Walpole as the town’s new conservation agent.

The town of Canton was recently awarded a $23,000 grant to complete a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program. This is a community resilience process that addresses the local impacts of climate change.

Again this year, Somerset-Berkley High School had boys on its field hockey team when it defeated Canton, King Philip, and Walpole to win the Division 1 south sectional championship. The two highest ranked players on the Somerset team are boys.

In the Division 2 central girls volleyball final, Canton High lost to Groton-Dunstable in five sets. Again, Groton-Dunstable’s best player on its girls volleyball team is a boy.

Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy had the following to say about boys playing on a girls field hockey team: “Sorry, I still have a problem with teenage boys playing girls high school field hockey. I know the rules and understand that there’s no equivalent sports for the boys to play, but there’s a physicality in that sport at that level that makes it unfair.” MAC agrees wholeheartedly that boys should not be playing on girls teams.

MAC is not the only one opposed to having boys play on girls field hockey teams. Jen Quinn, Walpole’s coach, and Kim Meehan, King Philip’s coach, have sent a joint email to 92 “coaches, parents, and supporters” calling for recipients to band together and collectively come up with a fair list of changes to present to the MIAA in March. According to an article in the Boston Globe, Quinn said, “All I know at this point is that something needs to be changed.” One of her players had surgery after her thumb broke in multiple places on a drive from one of the Somerset-Berkley boys. Coach Meehan also said one of her players suffered a concussion on a deflection from a boy’s hit. The email cited a number of “concerns and issues with boys playing against girls, the biggest issue is the safety of our girls.” Personally, MAC feels that Somerset-Berkley coach Jen Crook should be ashamed of herself for putting boys on her team.

By the way, Somerset-Berkley went on to win the Division 1 state championship over Nashoba High School 2-1 in overtime. Both goals were scored by Lucas Crook, who is the coach’s son. It was the first “mixed-gender” team to win a state championship.

Winter is around the corner, so it is time to talk about overnight parking restrictions. Town bylaws specify that all on-street parking longer than one hour between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. other than if acting in an emergency capacity is prohibited between November 15 and April 1 so that streets are clear for snow removal. Violators are subject to a $25 fine for each offense.

It will cost more than $40,000 to pay for emergency repairs to a section of the Canton Police Station roof.

According to research by First Orion, almost half of all cell phone calls next year will be initiated by scammers. Scam calls are a real threat, especially for vulnerable populations like senior citizens.

Michelle Obama’s new memoir, Becoming, is the fastest selling book of the year. It sold more 725,000 copies on its first day.

Stoughton High School (4-7) upset Canton High (8-3) on Thanksgiving Day as Stoughton senior Jeff Grier was a one-man wrecking machine, rushing for three touchdowns of 66, 18, and 78 yards as well as setting up the first touchdown with a 48-yard run to the one-yard line. Grier rushed for over 200 yards, leading the Black Knights to their fifth Thanksgiving Day win in the last six years.

The temperature in Canton on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, was 19 degrees, which was colder than the temperature in Anchorage, Alaska (28 degrees).

If we are true to ourselves, we cannot be false to anyone. –William Shakespeare

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

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

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