2014 Year in Review: Notable Stories

Editor’s note: The following are a few of the many compelling stories that made headlines in Canton during the past 12 months. For an in-depth review of 2014 from a local perspective, check out the January 8 issue of the Canton Citizen.

Former Bulldog legend inspires ice bucket craze

Billy Cravens and his wife, Rosey, at the official unveiling of “Billy Cravens Field” at the Luce School in April (Kim White photo)

From the dedication of Billy Cravens Field at the Luce School to the countless donations made to ALS research and awareness in his memory, no one touched more lives in Canton in 2014 than the late William “Billy” Cravens, who passed away in April at age 56. A former Bulldog legend and a longtime employee of the Recreation Department, Cravens courageously battled ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, for nearly 10 months, maintaining his trademark sense of humor and zest for life despite enduring a host of debilitating physical symptoms.

At the field dedication held just weeks before his death, hundreds turned out to show their support and to thank him for his service to the community. And as spring turned to summer and the nation embraced the ALS ice bucket challenge, the attention was again drawn to Billy’s memory as hundreds of Cantonites joined the effort, either by posting their own challenge video, donating to one of several ALS organizations, or doing both — often with a shout-out to Billy or a hashtag such as #friendsofbillycravens or #weloveubilly included in their message.

Sadly, Billy’s father, William Sr., also passed away in 2014, and the Canton athletics community found an appropriate way to honor both father and son as they hosted a massive group ice bucket challenge in advance of a CHS football scrimmage. The ceremony also included a dedication of a chair in the Memorial Field bleachers in honor of Bill Sr., a longtime Canton “superfan” who attended thousands of CHS games over the past 30-plus years.

CPA bears fruit with first round of projects

After successfully adopting the Community Preservation Act by ballot initiative in the fall of 2012, the Canton community was finally able to realize some of the benefits of the new funding source with the approval of six community projects at the 2014 annual town meeting. In keeping with the requirements of the CPA legislation, all of the projects were fully vetted by the town’s Community Preservation Committee and addressed one of four priorities: open space preservation, community housing, historic preservation, and outdoor recreation.

Among the projects that received CPA funding were the high school tennis court renovations ($200,000), a grave marker restoration project at Canton Corner Cemetery ($25,000), and the restoration of “Infantryman,” the town’s Civil War statue ($30,000). The latter project, which was spearheaded by Canton Veterans Agent Tony Andreotti, even managed to be completed this year, culminating with a memorable dedication ceremony in front of Canton Town Hall on Veterans Day.

Controversial election petition squeaks by at TM

It was a modern-day David versus Goliath story at Canton’s 2014 annual town meeting as former ConCom member Bruce Rohr overcame a wave of opposition from town officials to secure a narrow passage of his proposed home-rule election petition. The proposal, which ended up passing by a vote of 43-40 following more than an hour of debate, sought to improve voter turnout in municipal elections by moving them to November — an emerging trend that has taken hold in nearly a dozen other states.

From Rohr’s vantage point, the move was the very definition of a no-brainer; however, critics of the plan, led by Town Clerk Tracy Kenney, argued that it was not worth it due to cost and logistical concerns, while others said they were simply comfortable with the status quo.

Interestingly, one of the petition’s critics was state Representative William Galvin, who will be tasked with bringing the proposal before the state legislature. However, despite his personal feelings on the election change, Galvin said he fully intends to file the petition at the start of the next legislative session and will honor the will of the voters by doing all that he can to get it passed …

Read about more top stories from 2014 in this week’s issue of the Citizen. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jan 8 2015. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.