Man About Canton: Happy New Year

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At midnight on December 31, 2013, an old and decrepit Father Time, representing the year 2013, will finally come to an end. For some, it will be a happy passing while others will be sad about it. For many, it is a time to make a lot of New Year’s resolutions, most of which, if not all, will be rapidly ignored or forgotten in just a few days. Many of us will be looking forward to 2014 in the hope that it will in some way be better than 2013.

Most of us won’t bother to actually go down to New York’s Time Square, the New Year’s Eve mecca for millions, to watch the big lighted ball drop down at midnight, opting instead to watch it on television. Of course, if you had a mind to, and a warm set of long johns, you can always brave the usual icy-cold weather by going into downtown Boston for the First Night festivities and the impressive fireworks display. It is not Times Square, but you may consider it a reasonable alternative. In any event, suffice to say that MAC wishes you and yours a happy and healthy New Year, and he hopes you have a safe and prosperous 2014.

Now back to what’s going on around Canton: The Canton Food Pantry, in the past month, has received $14,500 in donations from the Bank of Canton and $5,000 from the Canton Association of Business and Industry. More people in the town of Canton are requesting help and have signed up with the food pantry. For Thanksgiving, 167 turkeys were distributed to Canton families. The pantry is staffed entirely by volunteers who wish to help their fellow townspeople by providing a basic human necessity. Financial donations can be sent to the Canton Food Pantry, P.O. Box 202, Canton, MA 02021.

Talking about the Canton Association of Business and Industry, at its annual holiday party held on December 4 at the Blue Hill Country Club, President Gene Manning presented donations of $5,000 to the Canton Fire Department, $5,000 to the Canton Food Pantry, and $3,500 to the Mass. Hospital School. The Canton organization, which started back in 1972, now has 102 active members. Their top fundraiser, the Reebok Canton Road Race, has given back to the Canton community more than $500,000 since 2005.

The 2013 final attendance records for the Massachusetts senators revealed that Canton’s State Senator Brian A. Joyce missed only one roll-call vote for an excellent yearlong attendance record of 99.6 percent. The senate held 232 roll call votes in 2013.

It is interesting to note that supporters of seven proposed ballot questions in Massachusetts have submitted over 68,911 certified signatures to the secretary of state’s office, which are needed to continue on in the process that could lead to the questions appearing on the November 2014 ballot. Among the proposed initiatives are ones that would repeal the state’s casino gambling law, raise the minimum wage, expand the bottle deposit law to include sports drinks and other beverages, and repeal a new law linking future hikes in the gas tax to the rate of inflation. If approved by the state legislature, another 11,485 new certified signatures will be needed by July 2 to secure a spot on the 2014 ballot.

Canton School Superintendent Jeff Granatino has projected the repairs and architect’s fees to fix the Canton High School tennis courts at $356,000 with the Community Preservation Committee paying $260,000 (if approved) and the remaining $96,000 coming from a combination of school and town resources. It has been estimated that to relocate and build five new tennis courts would cost approximately $1 million.

Finally, many of you will be celebrating New Year’s Eve (December 31) in one form or another. If you plan to have a few drinks to celebrate the arrival of 2014, MAC suggests you make arrangements to have a designated driver take you home.

Now and then, it is good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy!

Again, MAC wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

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=23496

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Dec 26 2013. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.