The City of Somervelle recently held a rededication ribbon cutting ceremony at Henry Hansen Memorial Park to pay tribute to our local veterans. — Photos courtesy of City of Somerville

A community space that pays tribute to those who put their lives on the line for our freedom

By The Times Staff

Honoring veterans and remembering soldiers of Somerville who served in the U.S. Armed Forces protects their legacy and inspires future generations to learn from the past to safeguard the future.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 4 Councilor Jesse Clingan, and city staff invite you to an open house to learn more about flood relief and water quality improvement efforts planned for Winter Hill, Ten Hills, and the surrounding neighborhood. Wednesday, November 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mystic Activity Center (530 Mystic Avenue). The open house will feature multiple stations describing different aspects of the project. Drop-in anytime during the event to review the preliminary design, talk with project team members, ask questions, and share your feedback. Following the event, information about the preliminary design will also be available on the project website at somervillema.gov/mysticoutfall.

By Jeffrey Shwom

For folks that know me, another random bus story adventure is par for the course. I love taking public transportation, even if it takes longer, and especially if it takes me to a place I have never been. I once took an overnight bus, then high speed train to Toronto, just to try it.

The City of Somerville has honored the late Francis “Franny” Dacey, a 25-year member of Local 7 and a veteran of the U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division who served in Vietnam. Franny was a lifelong resident and has been honored with a city square named after him at the intersection of Delaware and Pearl streets.

We see them every year and we regard them with awe and deepest admiration. Stoic and humble in countenance, they seem to simply play their part in our ritualistic celebration of their courageous contributions to the wellbeing of our nation. The wellbeing of ourselves as a society.

The flesh and blood reality is even more awe-inspiring as we realize how fragile life truly is, and yet these brave men and women each took a stand and declared that no harm should come to their fellow countrymen. Not on their watch.

Eagle Feathers #317 – The Dilboy Post

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

It was exactly one century ago in 1920 when 155 veterans from World War I returned home from France. Early on, they founded and named The George Dilboy Post 529 V.F.W. honoring one of their heroic brothers in arms, Army Private George Dilboy.  He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions above and beyond the call of duty and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.   Somerville honors him with a memorial in front of City Hall and the George Dilboy Memorial Stadium.

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I met Richard Oxenberg at Endicott College where I have taught for 15 years. Oxenberg, a professor of philosophy at Endicott has a new book out Two Philosophers Wrestle with GOD: A Dialogue.

 The book concerns a series of conversations that he had with another distinguished philosopher Jerry Martin. Martin has claimed he had an actual conversation conversation with God. Oxenberg and I have talked about his book on a number of occasions; so I decided to interview him.

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Michael Minassian lives with his wife in Southern New England. He is a Contributing Editor for Verse-Virtual, an online poetry journal. His poetry collections Time is Not a River, Morning Calm, and A Matter of Timing as well as a chapbook, Jack Pays a Visit, are all available on Amazon. For more information: https://michaelminassian.com.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

I have written this Op-Ed to bring to the community’s attention the fact that Somerville is in danger of losing its largest arts organization due to a lack of urgency and  mismanagement by  the City of Somerville. If you are interested in learning more, please read on.