By Eileen Qiu

The most recent data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health show there were nearly 300 suspected opioid related emergency medical service incidents in Somerville from 2019-2020, 31 of which were suspected overdoses.

The Director of Health and Human Services Doug Kress motioned to declare the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic as an existing public health emergency earlier this month during a routine health meeting.

Outgoing Somerville Mayor Curtatone took some time look back on his challenges and accomplishments in office last week at Thursday’s town hall meeting.

By Joe Creason

It is the end of a long and popular run for Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone. Since announcing that he would not be running for tenth term back March 1, the community has had time to think about what a new city administration is going to look like. In order to answer some of these questions and reflect on the legacy of Curtatone’s 18-year career as mayor, a town hall was held at the East Somerville Community School last Thursday, moderated by Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist Bryon Barnett.

Congratulations to those who were elected to public office in Somerville this week, and thanks to all who tossed their hats into the ring, whether successful or not. Every candidate should be proud of their efforts in contributing to the diversity of choice in every office. Our new mayor, Katjana Ballantyne, faces many challenges as well as opportunities in their upcoming term. Let’s wish her and our new and returning Councilors the best as they head into the new year.

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Don’t forget daylight savings time. It’s almost time to turn our clocks back one hour. Daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 7.

Eagle Feathers #241 – Holland

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

In the late 1860’s the Middlesex County Commissioners authorized the building of Holland Street which connects Davis Square to Teele Square. This opened up West Somerville to post Civil War development.

Holland, correctly acknowledged as the Netherlands, is a low-lying country on the Northwest Atlantic Coast of Europe. It is popularly known for its art, cheese, windmills and its reputation as the flower exporting capital of the world, particularly tulips.

Full Circle School student Makayla Lancaster models her latest costume creation. She hopes to go into costume design professionally in the future and has been designing them for a few years.

Arrests:
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 Herbert Smith, of Boston, October 26, 5:29 p.m., arrested at Assembly Row on charges of drug possession to distribute and trafficking in heroin-morphine-opium, and on warrant charges of malicious wanton defacement of property, trespassing, possession of a burglarious instrument, construction of larceny tools, larceny under $1200, possession of a class A drug, receiving stolen property under $1200, carrying a dangerous weapon, shoplifting by asportation, felony daytime breaking and entering, and drug possession to distribute.

Here we are again, setting our clocks and watches back an hour this coming Sunday. The days are growing shorter, and this will only shorten them further.

So, who thought this thing up anyway? Spring forward, fall back. Or is that fall forward, spring back? The only way we can ever be sure is if we’re early or late for church Sunday morning, or whatever it is you do on Sunday morning.

To be fair, there’s usually someone around smart enough to know the difference, if it isn’t you yourself.

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Review by Off the Shelf correspondent Denise Provost

I’ve just finished one of the most intelligent, funny, and beautifully written novels I’ve read in a long time. It leaves another novel I’ve recently read – a former Booker Prize winner, which shall go unnamed – in the dust. On the chance that this novel may not receive the same attention as some of the trendier material out there, I’ll tell you why Class Dismissed is worth seeking out.

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Johnna Marcus is a Clinical Social Worker in Boston, MA and resident of Somerville, MA. Her professional interest areas include substance use disorders, chronic pain and adult mental health. Her hobbies include running, weightlifting and writing articles about Social Work and addictions. She is fairly new to the art of poetry but has felt it helps her express herself in new and fulfilling ways.