On Tuesday night the Board of Alderman met to discuss and vote on next year’s President and Vice President. Alderman at Large Bill White was elected for the third year in a row as the Board’s President for the coming year. Ward 7 Alderman Katjana Ballyantine was elected the Board Vice President. Katjana is a freshman alderman, just finishing her first year in office. The Board President appoints members to the various board sub-committees at his discretion. We wish Alderman Bill White the best of luck in this his third year as President. He certainly is knowledgeable in the rules of the board.

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Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers, we hope everyone has a wonderful, peaceful holiday. We all have a lot to be thankful for, good friends, family, good times and memories. Just about 30 days left for Christmas holidays.

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We are having a contest here over the next few weeks. We are asking anyone here in the Ville who would like to write a poem on the Christmas holiday and what it means to them to send it in to us. Deadline is Friday, December 12. You can email it to news@thesomervilletimes.com, mail it or drop it off at 699 Broadway, Somerville 02144. Poems will be selected by the The Times staff and the three top winners will have their poem published in time for Christmas. The best one submitted will receive a $100 gift certificate for the Mt. Vernon Restaurant, a $50 Mt. Vernon certificate for second choice and a $25 Mt. Vernon gift certificate for third place. Submit your poem to be published by The Somerville Times in time for the holiday.

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If you’d like to send a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays greeting to your special person or to anyone across the city, we are going to have a section in the December 24 edition set aside for your holiday greeting. Mail your greeting or deliver it to The Somerville Times, 699 Broadway, Somerville 02144.   Cost is only $5 for 25 words. Deadline for entry for the Christmas edition is December 19. Cash or check is due when submitting your greeting. Here’s your chance to show your loved ones and family or friends how special they are to you!

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Happy Birthday to some of our readers and fans here in the Ville and around: First of all, we forgot our good friend and helper around The Times, Bobby Potaris, who celebrated the big one last week. You know, the dreaded 30th. Another reader and fan, Joe Beckman, celebrated last week as well. A Happy Birthday and we hope he had a great day for himself. This week a good guy, John Height, who is also celebrating his anniversary, we wish him the best on both. Celebrating her birthday this week is the very nice lady and good friend of the paper is Diane Johansen, a lifelong resident here in the city and well known. We wish her the very best. A very good friend and someone who is here almost daily in Somerville, Ms. Malitta Knaut. We hope she has a great day. A Happy Birthday to Karen MacLeod-Fraser, who grew up here and is known by many. We hope she has a great day as well. A Happy Birthday to Jim Baxter, who is a resident here in the Ville. And finally, we wish the ever popular and very nice lady Ms. Charlene Harris, who is always giving of her time and energy here in the Ville, from a large family here in Winter Hill, the very best and a great day.

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An Alderman who has been doing a good job representing the residents of Ward 5, Mark Niedergang is having fundraiser, Thursday December 4 at Daddy Jones in Magoun Sq., 525 Medford Street. Mark’s special guest is our own very popular Congressman Mike Capuano. Cong. Mike is a former mayor and some will remember he once served as Alderman in Ward 5 in the seventies.

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A fundraiser for Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin is being held on Wednesday, December 10 at 6:00 p.m. at Casey’s Bar, 173 Broadway, Somerville. Matt’s another alderman who has been fighting hard for the people of East Somerville. So much so that he hasn’t had a fundraiser yet. Please attend and donate so that he can continue to represent the people.

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Speaking of Matt, on the first Saturday of every month, the Ward 1 Alderman hosts a Community Council meeting to give a voice to residents. The subjects vary every month. The next Ward 1 Community Council meeting will be Saturday, December 6, 3 p.m. at 165 Broadway. This month’s topic will be opiate abuse, a subject that affects everyone in this community directly and indirectly. McLaughlin will host a community dialog where neighbors will discuss what we as a city and community can do better to address this problem. McLaughlin will bring these findings to the city and suggest changes or improvements to address the problem. Anyone is welcome to attend, but Ward 1 residents are strongly encouraged.

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This Thursday, Nov. 27 is Thanksgiving and in honor of the holiday, City and public School offices will be closed on both Thanksgiving and Friday, Nov. 28. Parking meters will not be in effect either day and street sweeping is canceled for Thursday. Trash, recycling, and yard waste pickup will be on a holiday schedule Thursday and Friday. If your normal collection day is Thursday, please put any waste out on Friday. If your normal collection day is Friday, please put any waste out on Saturday.

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The Somerville Retirement Board is seeking applicants to fill the 5th Board Member position, which is currently vacant. The Somerville Retirement Board is responsible for providing retirement allowance benefits for retirees while guiding, protecting, and serving the interests of all members, retirees and their beneficiaries. The Retirement Board performs all duties and functions in a fiduciary manner using the skill, diligence and prudence that a prudent expert would exercise solely in the interest of all of the members, retirees and their beneficiaries. The 5th Board Member position shall not be an employee, a retiree or official of the City of Somerville. The term is 3 years. Interested applicants should submit a statement of interest and resume to retirement@somervillema.gov or to the Somerville Retirement Board, City Hall Annex, 50 Evergreen Ave., Somerville, MA 02145-2819, Attention Executive Director, prior to December 16, 2014.

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Mayor Martin J. Walsh will be heading to Tufts University next week on Tuesday, December 2 at 9:00 a.m. a part of the Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series. The event will take place in Alumnae Lounge (http://campusmaps.tufts.edu/medford/).

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Don’t forget to check out Somerville Local First’s “Local is for Lovers” Holiday Markets on November 30 and December 14 at the Arts at the Armory, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Fun for all!

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The Somerville High School Track PAC invites you to stop by for a day of gift shopping at the Somerville High School Atrium/Field House during their annual Craft Fair. 9:00am to 3:00pm on Saturday, November 29th.