Coming on Thursday, December 15, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., the Somerville Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly Business After Hours at the Armory on Highland Avenue. This is an excellent networking event featuring appetizers and a free business card drawing, along with a cash bar. Guests are welcome to bring unwrapped Toys for Local Children. Sponsored by the Bonney Family and the Law Offices of Isaac M. Machado. Hosted by Somerville Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Chair Dana Iacopucci of Cubby Oil & Energy.

************************

Don’t forget to park on the EVEN side of the street this winter during snow emergencies. The Board of Aldermen voted to alternate every year, and this year it is the EVEN side. So scramble to get your spot as soon as they declare. Hopefully, the city won’t be calling any false alarms. Commissioner Stan Koty will give the signal when it’s about to snow.

************************

Happy birthday to a lot of our friends and fellow Villens here this week: Happy birthday to Bobbie Toner from The Times. She’s a great person. We took her out for breakfast this week. Happy Birthday to Maria Curtatone, the Register of Deeds. She’s doing a great job and we hope she has a great day. Happy birthday to our good friend Douglas Carriger, a good guy and a great family guy. Happy birthday to local realtor Irene Bremis. We hope she has a great birthday this week. Another local, Stacy Hersey-Buckley is celebrating this week. We wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday as well to Cheryl Callahan from Winter Hill. We hope she has a great day for herself. A good friend and someone who’s looking to move back here, we hope Ron Lakervald has a great day for himself. We wish Ann Cassesso-Ercolini, an East Somerville lady, a very happy birthday. We hope she has a great day as well.

************************

Have you noticed a lot of construction and streets being torn up all over the city? Everywhere you look there are signs reading “do not enter.” It’s either the utility companies or municipal work, all over the city. Our good friends down at Goode Gas on Medford and Pearl Streets have been effectively closed due to the construction that was slated to end last week, now they say this week and some are even saying next week. It’s so bad that they even went out to post signs so that customers can do a quick drive in and get serviced. Why wouldn’t the people tearing up the street do the sign?

************************

Somerville Rotary is looking for some new members. Rotary is a service club for businesses and local non-profits. Somerville Rotary meets at 12:15 p.m. every Tuesday at the Holiday Inn. If you’d like to find out more about Rotary and what it does here both in the city and internationally, go to the their website at www.somervillerotary.org.

************************

A special election to fill the Ward 6 School Committee seat vacated by Paul Bockelman, who has accepted the position of Town Manager of Amherst, MA, was held on Tuesday, December 6. Running unopposed, Paula G. O’Sullivan succeeded in filling the Committee seat.

************************

Get well and Best wishes for speedy recovery for Caroline Shea Rosas who is at MGH. We hope she’s home soon and on the road to recovery.

************************

We’re on vacation (at least some of us are), so The Somerville Times will not be publishing the week between Christmas and New Years. The last edition for the year will be the 21st. There will not be a paper on the 28th, but we will keep up with things online. A vacation is needed to rev up for the coming new year. 2017 looks to be a good year for us all.

************************

For those that might be interested in obtaining certification for firearms should look up the Lawrence Rod & Gun Club. They provide 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. We’ve been told that the course has seen a major increase in people applying for it, especially women. We can tell you first hand here that it’s a great course and quite thorough. The same goes for this in Newstalk. The club has informed us that many residents of Somerville have called or gone to the club to find out about certification.

************************

It’s that time of year again, when we’re thinking of shoes and boots and much more. Head online to www.shoebuy.com for the best prices and fastest delivery right here in Somerville. We think Shoebuy is great. You go online to order, and within the next couple of days you get them delivered. Go see for yourself the vast inventory they have online for sale.

************************

When you’re home and looking for a place to go out to that is sort of like the Cheers of Somerville, head down to Sally O’Brien’s on Somerville Avenue. Different entertainment every single night, from Open Mic to Texas holdem. Don’t forget to order up a cheeseburger. We like Open Mic night – we like watching not participating – but for those hams out there, maybe you’d like to try out your talent.

************************

The Marathon Sports “Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run” will be having toy drop-offs at all of their locations this week. Please consider donating a toy to the Somerville based “Toys for Local Children” program. See http://baevents.com/jinglebell/registration.html for race bib, tee and merchandise pick-up locations, dates and times.

************************

Purchase your holiday tree and support a great cause. Stop by the annual Christmas Tree Fundraiser at Foss Park through December 18. Proceeds from tree sales help fund scholarships, special programs and events for Next Wave and Full Circle students. The Tree Lot is open from 4:00-8:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekends.

************************

The Somerville Arts Council invites you to a presentation about Demystifying Investing for the Penny-wise Creative. Whether you’re new to investing or you need a refresher, they will explore the tools and strategies that are available to assist you and your family in working toward your financial goals – and they will help you feel more comfortable with the investing process. The educational workshop with financial advisor Haley C. Adams will be held at Arts at the Armory Café, Thursday, December 15, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

************************

Check out the complete list of upcoming Somerville Family Learning Collaborative events and workshops at www.somerville.k12.ma.us/families.