ONE DAY, TWO GUNS: As you may know, Monday, July 16 at 12:32 p.m., there was a shooting at 404 Technology Drive at the Lodge at Stoughton apartment complex. The victim was shot in the lower back and was transported to Boston Medical Center. Stoughton Police investigators do not believe this to be a random act of violence and a person of interest has been identified in the case, SPD Executive Officer Robert Devine said in a press release posted on the town website. Monday night? There was a man with a gun at 408 Technology Drive in the same apartment complex, threatening to commit suicide. …

PAVING THE WAY TO SAVINGS: Stoughton is one of the first towns in the area to using a new paving method, out of New York, that recycles the asphalt already on the ground. DPW Superintendent John Batchelder told About Town, "This a new process that has been used successfully in New York and Connecticut. The western part of the state is using it, and Attleboro was the first around here." Trucks were seen on Turnpike Street on Thursday and Friday last week. The process re-uses the asphalt, which is rejuvinated in VERY high heat, mixed with oil, and rolled back into the road. Then, a light coat …

NEW MEXICAN RESTAURANT OPENING: In the tiny strip outside Village Mall in Cobbs Corner, which houses Randolph Savings Bank, a dry cleaners and an eyeglass store, Stoughton will welcome its first Mexican restaurant. Owned by Stoughton native Jesse Rosen, and his business partner Josh Katz of Sharon, Roxanne’s Taqueria in Cobbs Corner will be a brand new, independently owned restaurant that prides itself on bringing in quality, fresh, local ingredients to make some of the finest Mexican food in the area, according to Katz.  He tells About Town, "Our head chef and co-owner, Jesse Rosen, is a …

STOUGHTON SELECTMEN SUPPORT OVERTURNING SUPREME COURT'S "CITIZEN UNITED" CAMPAIGN FINANCING DECISION: The Stoughton Board of Selectmen voted 4-1 on Tuesday, July 10, to endorse a Moveon.org petition, presented by Steve Wilkinson of the Stoughton Democratic Town Committee, to overturn the Citizens United decision of the United States Supreme Court. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50 (2010), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by …

IMPROVING TOWN MEETING: A meeting was held in the Yaitanes Room in Town Hall on June 28, chaired by Selectmen Cynthia Walsh and Bob O'Regan, on policies and procedures Selectmen may take on improving Town Meeting. There has been much discussion about the length of Stoughton's Town Meeting's after it went nine sessions this year and went 10 sessions in 2011. O'Regan said he really just wanted to meet with Walsh and discuss the parameters of the subcommittee, and that's why he posted the meeting. The two selectmen are the only members of the Town Meeting Subcommittee. They propose to collect …

STOUGHTON HEAVYWEIGHT WINS AT BROCKTON FAIR: Stoughton's own Sean Bettencourt won his heavyweight boxing match Saturday, July 7, at the Brockton Fair's Brockton Fairgrounds ring. Bettencourt is a four time New England Golden Gloves Champion and a one-time United States Northeast Regional Champion.  Travis Demko, a former Black Knight football running back, was also scheduled to box, but his opponent pulled out of the fight. Bettencourt fought three rounds and won a unanimous decision over Worcester heavyweight Bryan Daniels. The 6'4" Bettencourt went to the Olympic trials in the light-…

SENATOR BROWN CALLS WARREN "A JOB DESTROYER": About Town caught up with U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) in Sandwich, MA on Thursday, July 5. Brown, who was introduced by State Representative Randy Hunt (R-Sandwich), said that the 19 new taxes on business, included in President Obama's Universal Healthcare mandate, are "putting a wet blanket on business."  His Democratic opponent, Professor Elizabeth Warren, has already said she backs "Obamacare" as it was passed.  "The half a trillion dollar cut to Medicare included in the legislation will hurt seniors," according to Brown.  He said that the …

THE PARADE DODGES A STORM: The Stoughton Community Events Committee did it again - another amazing Parade! The day began with a soaking rain on Wednesday, but the skies held out and the parade started at 2:30 p.m. on the 4th of July. Leading the parade was Stoughton Police Chief Paul Shastany, followed by many of the department's vehicles. The final vehicle was a fire department vehicle driven by Acting Deputy Chief Greg Goldberg. In between, there was the usual groundswell of politicians walking the parade, including Stoughton's State Senator Brian Joyce (D-Milton), Norfolk County District …

MORE ON THE CHILDREN'S FIELD DAY CANCELLATION: While the other July 4th activities like the carnival, concert, fireworks and parade will be taking place, the popular children's field day (kids day) - with numerous games, contests and prizes - won't be taking place this year because there was a shortage of volunteers to help organize it. (Take a look at highlight's from last year's Children's Field Day here.) Regarding the cancellation of the Children's Field Day, Stoughton Firefighter/EMT Peter Denneno wrote About Town on Saturday afternoon, June 30: "I saw there was no children's day for the…

MERGING OF THE MINDS: Ahavath Torah Congregation of Stoughton has a newly-named religious school, combining its school with that of Temple Beth Am in Randolph, starting in September, 2012.   The new school is named  B'Yachad South Area Religious School.  B'Yachad meaning “Together," symbolic of the merging and collaboration of the two synagogues' religious schools, staff and curriculum.     The religious education merger is a way to save costs and deal with declining enrollment for the two Hebrew Schools. There are no plans at the moment, however, to merge the Stoughton and Randolph …

FRUSTRATED BY THE PACE OF TOWN MEETING? Selectman Bob O'Regan certainly was.  O'Regan and Selectwoman Cynthia Walsh are hosting a meeting tonight in Town Hall of the newly-formed Board of Selectmen's Subcommittee on Town Meeting.   The agenda lists "Citizen's Comments" and "Goals and Procedures for Improving Town Meeting."  It's scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Great Hall on the third floor of Town Hall.      Town Moderator Howard Hansen told About Town, “I really take offense to this meeting. I know they are trying to improve the selectmen's end of things. Where do they get off having selectmen …

ARMY LT. GENERAL TO SPEAK IN STOUGHTON: Ahavath Torah Congregation's Hausman Memorial Lecture Series presents an evening with retired Lieutenant General William G. "Jerry" Boykin for “A General’s Perspective: US/Israeli Relations – The Ties That Bind." It takes place Wednesday July 11 at the Ahavath Torah Congregation, 1179 Central Street in Stoughton. The meet and greet BBQ with Boykin will begin at 5:30 p.m. - $100 paid RSVP (cash or check only). The general event will begin at 7 p.m. - $20 checks to be made payable to ATC. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Homes for Our Troops (…

STOUGHTON LIONS CLUB ANNOUNCES 2012 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES LINEUP: I don't know about you, but nothing says summer more than the fabulous Sunday evening concerts at the Charles Large Gazebo at Faxon Veterans Memorial Park on Rt. 27, across from the Stoughton Public Library. The upcoming 2012 Stoughton Lions Club "Concerts in the Park" series begins on Sunday, July 8.  All concerts are from 5-7 p.m. and are FREE OF CHARGE. Concerts are open to all Stoughton residents. Please bring your own chairs/blankets to sit on. And, just a reminder: there are no bathroom facilities at Faxon Veterans …

A FUN 4TH OF JULY IN STOUGHTON - BUT NO KIDS DAY: The schedule for all of Stoughton's July 4th festivities has been released. You'll notice there is no Kids Day, but all of the other usual activities, like the carnival, concert, fireworks and parade will still be held. TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2012 4th Annual Carnival, from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the O’Donnell Middle School Parking Lot The Ronnie Lewis Expedition Concert, hosted by About Town's Mark Snyder, runs from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Stoughton High School Football Field The Concession Stand, run by the local AMVETS, will be open and serving…

EXCHANGE STUDENT GETS INVOLVED AT SHS: Stoughton High principal Matt Colantonio writes, "AFS Intercultural Programs (formerly known as the American Field Service) would like to thank the Stoughton community for their wonderful embrace of our student from the Netherlands, Thomas Berntsen.   Colantonio continued, "Thomas thrived at Stoughton High School making many friends, participating in the Mr. SHS pageant, and even learning the American sport of baseball.  Mary and Kevin Roane and their daughters, Abby and Samantha, welcomed him into their home as the newest member of their family.  We …

ATTENTION WIFFLE BALL PLAYERS! There's a huge wiffle ball tournament coming THIS WEEKEND to STOUGHTON June 23 & 24 at the West School Athletic Complex. Check in time begins at 10 a.m. Deadline for entry has been extended! Call Jeff at 603-490-3943 for entry info! All Team Members are asked to bring a canned good to donate at the registration table.   Wiffle Rock sponsors tournaments in many locations. The Tournament will be played Rain or Shine!  Teams consist of 2-5 players with a skill level termed "backyard ability." The top two teams from each division after play on Saturday will advance …

ONE HUMAN RACE: The Project Moves Dance Company is doing a very special benefit performance of One Human Race, a critically-acclaimed evening of dance theatre that has moved and inspired sold out audiences across New England.   Its powerful messages of human acceptance and respect are the cornerstones of the Project Moves non-profit mission.  VIP Tickets are $100 each, and include gourmet refreshments, mingling with special guests, guest speakers and presentations, gift bags, and raffle prizes.  The VIP Seats will help to pay for 350 tickets given FREE to local middle school and high school …

SHS FRESHMEN FOOTBALL CAR WASH A SUCCESS, BUT "JESUS" SIGN OFFENDS ONE RESIDENT:  The Stoughton High Freshmen Football team had a car wash this past weekend at Walgreen's parking lot, and raised $1900, which will pay for new jerseys for the entire team (they are replacing some from the 1980s), and also some new helmets.  Freshmen Head Coach Eddie Rodrigues told About Town he would like to "thank everyone for coming down to our carwash last Saturday [June 16]. It was an overwhelming success in which we raised enough funds to buy new jerseys, screening for the numbers, and pay for equipment…

STOUGHTON STUDENT WINS MWRA AWARD: Stoughton resident Elizabeth Hanson, a seventh grader at St. John the Evangelist School in Canton, won Honorable Mention in MWRAʼs annual writing contest, according to a press release from the MWRA. A ceremony honoring the winning students and their teachers was held at Deer Island on May 25. Bill Galvin, Jr. attended the event to present a Special Citation to Hanson on behalf of Rep. Louis Kafka. This year, students from schools across MWRAʼs service area were challenged to write about the benefits of water conservation or to create posters about what …

BOND RATING IS UPGRADED:  The Stoughton Finance Committee was informed on Wednesday that on June 5, 2012, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the bond rating for the Town of Stoughton from an A1 to an Aa3. According to FinCom Vice Chair Rick Hill, "This goes hand in hand with the discipline the Town Meeting showed in directing over $3 million to the town reserves via the stabilization account. This brings our reserves to over $4.6 million dollars as you pointed out in your article." Hill told About Town, "Without the higher bond rating, the town’s expenses would rise to pay for higher interest…