CALLA AND CREW
STEP UP…AGAIN DPW has done a fine job in a hard winter
Department of Public Works director Steve Calla and his staff drew some much-deserved praise at the Town Council meeting Tuesday night.
Council President Peter Gill, Vice President Nick DelVento, Councilor-at-Large Rich Boyajian, and Councilor Linda Calla all commended the DPW leader and his staff for their outstanding efforts in the wake of the latest snowstorm that arrived Tuesday.
It’s been a challenging stretch for the DPW’s work force as Mother Nature seems to be piling it on with one snowstorm after another this winter.
But Calla and his department have responded well to the wintry blasts, clearing the streets and public ways so people can travel as safely as possible through our town — no small feat when you consider the configuration of some of roadways and the little room available for snowplowing on some of the smaller side streets.
It’s supposed to warm a bit just ahead and let’s hope it’s a sign that spring is just around the corner.
TRIBUTE PAID TOÂ
LONG-TIME RESIDENTS
The Council paid tribute to two residents, local physician Dr. Peter Ferrino and Paul Facella, with a moment of silence at the start of the Tuesday’s meeting. President Gill said Dr. Ferrino, who was approaching his 100th birthday, was “a classy guy that a lot of people got a lot of help from.” Dr. Ferrino practiced medicine at his offices on Meridian Street in East Boston and many of his patients, to whom he would make house calls, were from Winthrop. He was a popular figure at community events, often accompanied by his well-known brother, the Honorable Justice Joseph Ferrino.
According to Gill, Mr. Facella was “probably the largest donor of Winthrop High School scholarships over the years,” making significant donations to the Winthrop Scholarship Fund.
We join the community in extending our condolences to the families of Dr. Ferrino and Mr. Facella.
MORE GOOD NEWS FOR THE PARKS
There was some good news on the local parks front as the Council gave its support to Assistant to the Town Manager Joseph Domelowicz Jr. to pursue a substantial grant for the refurbishing of the Coughlin Playground. We remember well the great work done by the Winthrop Parks Committee that led to the beautiful new look of Pico Park and now it looks like the town has targeted Coughlin Playground for substantial work and improvements.
VIKING PRIDE FOR A DECADE
Like our many readers, we love reading the “Through the Years” column and see some of the great names associated with town government, community events, and of course, our succession of outstanding sports teams. All too often, as we’re reading the column, we think to ourselves, “Where did the time go?” and that happened this week when we read about a committee, led by Rich Fucillo, launching the Viking Pride organization 10 years ago. For Viking sports fans and residents, we don’t tell have to tell you what a great organization Viking Pride has become after its crucial contribution of virtually saving the WHS athletic program with some generous financial assistance.
Vin Crossman is the current chairman of the Viking Pride Foundation and Al Petrilli and others have worked hard to maintain the group’s strong presence in our town. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since the Viking Pride organization was first formed, but we trust that with the type of community spirit we have in Winthrop, which transcends the generations from one to the next, it will be around for many more decades to come.
IS T.J. OSHIE THE NEXT MIKE ERUZIONE?
The most exciting sports moment of the week was undisputedly T.J. Oshie’s goal in the shootout that gave the U.S.A. hockey team a 3-2 victory over Russia in the Winter Olympics.
The comparisons to Mike Eruzione’s goal that beat the Soviet Union and launched Mike onto international fame began immediately after Oshie’s goal — although we have to say upfront, that there really is no comparison.
Yes, there is an opportunity for Oshie to become, like Eruzione, a national sports hero, but it will likely depend on the U.S.A. team coming home with the gold medal, just as Mike’s team had to defeat Finland in the gold medal game after they had beaten the Russians in the semifinal, creating that incredible scene of Mike on the gold medal platform as the National Anthem was played and the Captain then signaling with open arms to his teammates to join him on the platform.
Mike has been right on the mark in his assessment of the U.S.A. hockey teams’ chances for gold. He correctly predicted that the U.S.A-Canada women’s hockey team’s gold medal game would be “the one to watch” — and that showdown is today at noon, while he also said that the U.S.A. men’s hockey team had a very good chance to bring home a medal, possibly gold.