We here at The Somerville Times wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving Day this week. This is a time for all of us to be grateful for what we have. To reflect on the many blessings we have, in family and friends.

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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 18. 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 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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Ever wondered what Somerville was like back in the 60’s? A special media event will be happening here in the city on Wednesday November 25 at the Davis Square Theatre at 255 Elm Street. Tickets are at a suggested price of only $10 for a donation that is gladly accepted. The name of the show is Class of 1969 Reunion, a media event hosted by Charles Kelley, who grew up on Winter Hill and graduated from Somerville in 1969, and later became a neighborhood activist throughout the 1970’s. Charlie has put together a collage of both video and still pictures of Somerville in the 60’s. Next week, we will be giving more information but in the meantime you can contact Charlie Kelley at his email kelthink22@gmail.com.

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Our sincere condolences to the family of Maria E. Nunes who passed away on the 17th. She was way too young to leave her very close family and many friends. Maria was well liked by everyone, always cheerful and helpful and will certainly be missed. The Nunes family, from Winter Hill, is a large and very close and well known family. She was waked this week at Dello Russo Funeral Home in Medford, and a funeral mass was celebrated at St. Ann’s here in Winter Hill. It will be a sad Thanksgiving Day with her family missing her this holiday season.

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Happy Birthdays this week to some of our Villen and friends as well as friends of The Times: Happy birthday to Diane Johansen, a lifelong resident and great lady. We wish her the very best. Happy birthday to our good friend Malitta Knault, who’s in Somerville daily with her work. She’s a great person and we hope she has a great day for herself. Happy birthday to Jason Fucile, of the famous Victor’s Deli in Ball Square. He and his wife Nancy are seen daily at Victors managing the front lines. A big happy birthday as well to Karen MacLeod-Fraser, who grew up here in the Ville, is married and is raising her own family. We hope she gets the royal treatment for her birthday. Finally, to a nice lady and family person, Charlene Harris is celebrating this week. Send her birthday greetings. We hope she also has a great day for herself.

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There’s a new website in town. Check it out at www.somervillema.com. The Somerville Times is on the site. Also check out www.medfordma.com.

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Word of the Week: Swindler. To cheat or defraud money or property. To obtain by fraudulent means: swindled money from an individual or company, like an insurance company or swindled out of an estate property or money even if it does not belong them. To practice as means of obtaining money or property or individuals. To practice fraud as a means of obtaining money or property. The act or an instance of swindling. Sound familiar?

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Those who might be interested in obtaining certification for firearms should look up the Lawrence Rod & Gun Club. They offer an extensive program at the end of which you receive certification for Massachusetts/NRA Certified Firearm Safety Classes. They run a class once a month, which is limited to 10 people and we hear that this is the place to go to learn safety when handling guns. Email gunclub@earthlink.net for more information and or go to their website at www.lawrencerodandgunclub.org and read up about the course.

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Our condolences to the family and friends of Judith (Judy) Barbour, who lived in East Somerville all her life. She passed away from cancer. Our deepest sympathy to her many friends and relatives. Judy lived for the last few years in Wakefield. Her family is not planning on a wake or services at this time. A memorial will be done sometime in the future. Many will remember her and her mother Bertha, who was very involved in the garden club and various other local clubs. Judy leaves behind many nieces and nephews as well as others in the family. She was a wonderful person, and all who knew her will tell you she was always a positive thinking person. God Bless and keep her.

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Winter Hill Better Block is coming. We’re holding a Winter Hill Better Block festival on December 12 from 4:00–8:00 p.m. and December 13 from 12:00–4:00 p,m. The Winter Hill Better Block will be centered in the area between the new Winter Hill Brewing Company (328 Broadway) and the vacant area behind the post office as well as along some areas of Marshall Street. Team Better Block works with cities, developers, and stakeholders to create quick, inexpensive, high-impact changes that improve and revitalize underused properties and highlight the potential for creating great places. The goal for this Winter Hill Better Block project is to test out short-term ideas for Winter Hill. While much of the ongoing neighborhood planning work is medium and long-term focus, there are many things we can do in the short-term, like this Better Block project, to help test out ideas quickly and help spur longer-term change.

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Do you feel like we’ve been invaded by the utility companies and MassDOT with all the work going on in Somerville, throughout the city? Really, to some that have come to us and mentioned it, they are very upset. It seems like it’s all happening at the same time and traffic in our city is so bad it’s hard to get through some of the squares. What is the Board of Aldermen, better yet the Mayor’s Office doing about it? One local business told us they have lost better than 40% of their business over the past several months.

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The permit process is still moving slowly through the maze of “Citizen Serve.” We still hear that individuals and contractors out there are waiting for weeks and months for their permits to be issued. We heard that about an average of 150 permits are in the process of working all the time. Now, we can understand why the mayor thinks they are doing a great job. He’s being told that from those who are in charge. The Board of Aldermen has asked repeatedly for an update from the Inspectional Services Department, and frankly the Board has been ignored. What ever happened to budget time? The BOA has power over the budget, so maybe if they weren’t so giving and agreeable and never saying no, some of these departments here in the city might respond to their requests.

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The Board of Alderman met in caucus Tuesday night to vote unofficially on the new President and Vice President of the Board for next year. We heard and have confirmed it’s going to be the same slate, Alderman At Large Bill White as President and Alderman Ward 7 Katjana Ballantyne as Vice President. The President of the Board appoints all committee members and chairmen plus he sits on the School Board as an ex-official member representing the Board of Aldermen. We wish the new and old President and VP well. They have done a great job making meetings more streamlined and efficiently run.

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Happy recent anniversary to Bill and Gale Chambers of Somerville, celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary. They’re a great couple and we wish them many more years of happiness and bliss.

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A meeting will be held on December 1 to present initial plans for redevelopment of the former Union Square Post Office Building. The owners, Union Square Partners, are excited about sharing their plans and are eager to hear feedback from the community. Where and When: 6:00 p.m. at the Argenziano School, 290 Washington Street.

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The Technical Assistance Program for Union Square Small Businesses, sponsored by US2 and Union Square Main Streets, delivered by business consulting firm Retail Visioning, and operated by the City of Somerville Office of Economic Development’s Small Business Suite, is an initiative with multi-lingual support from the city’s SomerViva program. It provides assessments, recommendations and implementation support for business improvement in the areas of identity and positioning, store and restaurant design, visual merchandising and retail marketing. Businesses selected to participate in the program will have a one-on-one consulting relationship with a Retail Visioning expert who will work with the business owner at their place of business to help address their specific needs. The program is free for the four businesses selected. The deadline for applications for the City of Somerville’s Technical Assistance Program has been extended to November 30. For more information about participation in the Technical Assistance Program, please contact Max MacCarthy at mmaccarthy@somervillema.gov or at 617-625-6600 x 2515 or visit http://www.somervillema.gov/businesses/small-business-assistance.

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Attention Somerville residents who have your streets swept on the second and fourth Thursdays! Beginning in November 2015, streets on the fourth Thursday route will be swept on the Monday immediately following Thanksgiving. Please park according to normal street sweeping requirements for your street on Monday. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and unpredictable weather late in the season, sometimes these streets are not swept from early November until April. To avoid this going forward, city crews will conduct one additional street sweeping day each year for the fourth Thursday route only. Reminders will be sent each year. Please note that streets on the fourth Friday route will be swept on the day after Thanksgiving as per the normal schedule. If you have questions or concerns, please call 311 (617-666-3311), and remember that you can always sign up for street sweeping reminders via email at http://www.somervillema.gov/sweeper.