Thomas Kelley received the “Profile in Courage” Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Somerville Heroes Salute on May 19. ~ Photo by Shira Laucharoen

By Shira Laucharoen  

The 2018 Somerville Heroes Salute honored eight Somerville residents who served the nation in war, during a ceremony at the Holiday Inn on May 19. Held for the third time annually, the Salute gave tribute to the heroes by recognizing their loyalty and dedication, as well as the ways they impacted their home communities.

(L to R) Filmmakers Nina Either, Nino De La Cruz, Rachel Napoliello, and Gustavo Rosa, and the Somerville Media Center’s Erica Jones. — Photos by Courtney Young

By Courtney Young

It takes a substantial amount of expertise and entrepreneurial spirit to take only 90 minutes and use it to empower a community, but that is exactly what the filmmakers and organizers did during the 3rd Annual Cinema Somerville Outdoor Film Festival on Saturday evening.

Somerville Education Foundation Funds Summer Learning Programs (SEF) is seeking additional donations from the public. The Foundation has funded expanded enrollment in summer programs across the city. SEF worked with the city and Somerville Public Schools to identify quality programming that could be expanded via targeted grants. During summer months, all students are at risk for summer learning loss – especially low-income students who lack access to high-quality enrichment that reinforces their school year gains. Fundraising from community leaders and businesses resulted in commitments of over $12,000 thus far. This will give 60 Somerville children free access to a variety of camps and activities, including programs with Parts and Crafts, Parkour Generations, Somerville Media Center and Mystic Learning Center. SEF continues to raise funds to further expand access for this summer and support future programming. SEF invites individuals, organizations and businesses to join their efforts. This is the first part of a longer-term program to raise and distribute funds to support educational excellence across the city. All donations are tax exempt charitable contributions and should be sent to: Somerville Ed Foundation17 Kidder Avenue, Somerville MA 02144.

By Donald Norton

The Somerville High Scholarship Foundation had its annual $10K drawing this past Friday night at the High School Highlander Café. Former Mayor Eugene Brune started calling out the numbers around 8:00 p.m.

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Last week I made homemade ice cream. Since it only called for egg yolks I had a bunch of egg whites leftover. Not wanting to waste all those egg whites, I thought I could make an egg white omelette but what fun is that when I could make a bunch of cookies! This recipe will produce about 120 cookies, enough to share with your neighbors. If you don’t want to make that many, this recipe can be halved. See below note for storing leftover egg whites.

Despite the touch-and-go weather in recent weeks, we are clearly running headlong into the bright, sunny days of summer after Memorial Day weekend.

What is more delicious to the young mind than that savory and unrivaled treat, summer vacation? A well-deserved reward for all the hard work and irreplaceable time invested in the previous school year.

(L to R) President & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Andrew Dreyfus joins Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Brookline Select Board Member Heather Hamilton, Mayor of Somerville Joseph Curtatone, CEO of Motivate Jay Walder and Mayor of Cambridge Marc McGovern to celebrate National Bike to Work Day and the launch of Blue Bikes.

In celebration of the new partnership between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and metro Boston’s public bike share system, Blue Cross joined city leaders of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville at the City of Boston’s Bike to Work Day Festival. Blue Cross President & CEO Andrew Dreyfus joined Mayor Martin J. Walsh and other municipal leaders in introducing the newly rebranded and expanded system, Blue Bikes, and highlighting the positive impact the new partnership will have on access to bike sharing for residents of Greater Boston.

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In spite of suffering from cancer and all that entails, poet Neil Silberblatt fights on and presents poets, readings and other events through his organization Voices of Poetry. This one-man dynamo has become a major player in the poetry scene on the Cape, Connecticut, Somerville and the region.

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Susan Tepper was a TWA stewardess during the Vietnam War years and flew with the troops on the MAC charter flights into Vietnam. Today she is the author of seven published books of fiction and poetry. Her newest title, Monte Carlo Days & Nights, is set in the South of France and narrated by a stewardess of a later time period. www.susantepper.com.

Join Somerville VETS on Wednesday, May 23, 2018  for a roll call commemorating fallen military personnel.

The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery (on Broadway across from Clarendon Hill Towers).