If the City of Boston and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission are successful in their quest to build a sewerage treatment facility over the objections of local residents on Everett's border with Charestown, it won't be because Everett residents didn't put up a fight.
That much became evident on Thursday, Jan. 4, as nearly 200 Everett residents, including politicians, community activists and concerned citizens, showed up for a community meting at the Knights of Columbus to object to the waste treatment facility.
The purpose of the meeting was for Charlestown residents and the Charlestown Community Council to get more information on the proposed development. However, Everett residents, who are also concerned about quality of life issues that the proposal has generated over the past two months, showed up in force to air their concerns as well.
The meeting, which included a presentation on the project by BWSC officials, was scheduled for the same night of new Gov. Deval Patrick's inauguration, which some officials saw as a deliberate attempt to keep attendance at a minimum.
Despite the dubious timing, several lawmakers showed up to register their concerns about the proposal, including Sen. Jarrett Barrios, Reps. Eugene O'Flaherty and Stephen Smith, Everett Mayor John Hanlon and City Councilor Sal LaMattina.
While those in opposition to the facility came prepared for a fight, BWSC were ready with a few curveballs of their own.
Last week, it was widely reported here and elsewhere, including in The Boston Globe, that the BWSC were prepared to give in to the demands of the opposition and re-file permit applications for the project with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.
According to Sen. Barrios, the outgoing secretary of EOEA Robert Golledge informed the senator of the BWSC decision to re-file with EOEA within the next few weeks, while a spokeswoman for EOEA informed The Boston Globe that Boston had volunteered for the added scrutiny.
However, at Thursday's meeting, a BWSC official denied that his group had ever made such a promise, and said, in fact, that the BWSC had no intentions of opening the project for further environmental review.
"The Boston Water and Sewer Commission has never announced, nor ever agreed to re-filing a second notice of project change," said Vincent Mannering of the BWSC. "I had a conversation with the outgoing Secretary of EOEA and said I would consider it."
Mayor John Hanlon ripped into BWSC officials, saying that they claimed they were basing their decision to forego further review on the fact that Everett had already filed an appeal to the project.
"They said they're not going to do it (undergo further reviews) because we appealed; this thing is coming here without notification, what did you expect us to do? Of course we appealed," Hanlon said. "What we asked for from the beginning is for a chance to look at this...now they're taking that away and they're blaming us for protecting our rights."
BWSC officials and engineering experts from CDM, a company that the BWSC hired to consult on the project, also accused the opposition of spreading falsehoods about the project.
BWSC and CDM officials claimed that the facility wouldn't be handling toxic waste, even though they latter admitted that some of the material that the facility would handle included raw sewerage, that the site wouldn't have a significant impact on traffic on Route 99, and claimed that the facility wouldn't have a negative impact on the local environment.
However, local officials and residents weren't buying the rosy picture.
Sen. Barrios, Rep. O'Flaherty and other officials noted that Charlestown, Everett and Somerville, the areas most impacted by the site, had already suffered from the consequences of heavy industry, and that the cities were trying to move in a new direction.
Barrios noted that a recent Northeastern University study named Charlestown as the sixth most polluted area in the state and that Everett was also in the top 10 most polluted. "Any suggestion that we increase these burdens has to be looked at closely and with skepticism," Barrios said.
BWSC officials also bristled at the notion that they were somehow attempting to keep the project under the radar and away from public scrutiny, saying that they followed all of the state and federal guidelines in receiving permission to move forward with the proposal.
"We followed every law, every rule and regulation to the letter," Mannering said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Hanlon added that the city had recently hired a surveyor to look into the land where the project is to be located, and that the city now believes that part of that parcel of land is in Everett. If Hanlon is correct, that would give Everett jurisdiction over the project and enhance the city's ability to stop it.
If all else fails, some in Everett broached the possibility of opening a new chapter in the history of hostility between Boston and Everett, saying that the city would take steps to prevent any of the BWSC trucks from entering Everett property.
"You better believe those trucks won't be coming into Everett, because we'll confiscate them," said Councilman Joseph Hickey. "We'll go back to the old days of the border wars."

Once a staple of the annual Battle of Bunker Hill Day celebration, the Charlestown Militia Co. offered a glimpse into the events of the Revolutionary War and life in 18th century Charlestown through its historical reenactments. And while the tradition was suspended after the outfit disbanded in the late ‘80s, colonial soldiers will take to the Monument once more this June, as a new militia takes the reins.
“Reading about history in a book is okay,” said Cooperative Bank Vice President Tom Coots, who is spearheading the effort to revitalize the Charlestown Militia Co., “but when you see it come to life, it’s an amazing thing.”
A participant in historical reenactments throughout Massachusetts since 1987 —including one stint as a pilgrim on the Plymouth Plantation — Coots became intrigued by the Charlestown Militia Co. after coming to work in Charlestown nine years ago. When he began asking former members about the chances of reviving the outfit, Coots invariably met with the same response: Why don’t you do it? But, as a newcomer to the community, Coots was reluctant to take on the task.
Coots had given up on the idea of resurrecting the program himself until local filmmaker Kevin Burke approached Coots with his idea for making a movie about the Battle of Bunker Hill. Burke hoped to persuade suggested Coots to head up a new militia to take part in the film. Again, Coots was reluctant and told Burke that he thought the idea was crazy. Burke was relentless though, and, in an effort to pique Coots’ interest, he showed up at the Cooperative Bank with two drums that were previously used by the militia. Coots accepted the drums and subsequently agreed to take charge of heading up a new Charlestown Militia Co.
“The first step was getting in touch with the old members,” Coots said. “I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, and I wanted to do them justice.”

Origins of the militia

In spring 1967, 28-year-old Jim O’Neil was reading a book entitled “The History of Charlestown” when he came across a passage about The Battle of Bunker Hill. O’Neil was intrigued to learn of the original Charlestown Militia Co. Established in 1636 as the Middlesex Regiment, it was the first full-time militia company in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as well as the last outfit to leave the field at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
O’Neil took two weeks off work, determined to learn everything he could about the militia. After visiting the State House and the Copley Square branch of the Boston Public Library, he uncovered the names of all 45 original members of the Charlestown Militia Co.
Armed with this information, O’Neil presented his findings to his fellow members of the Charlestown Historical Society. While his colleagues were enthralled by this bit of Charlestown lore, they were less enthusiastic when O’Neil proposed that the Historical Society revive the militia as a vehicle for staging historical reenactments. Somewhat dejected, O’Neil retreated to Dennehy’s, a long-defunct Main Street saloon, where he told the patrons about his plan. Several hours later, O’Neil left the bar with four or five recruits, now determined that the militia would take part in that year’s Battle of Bunker Hill Day Parade.
In June 1967, 17 members of the new Charlestown Militia Co., dressed in piecemeal Colonial uniforms and armed with muskets that O’Neil procured via mail order from a Belgian gun manufacturer, marched in the parade, much to the delight of spectators.
“It was spectacular,” O’Neil said. “The response we got from the town was really amazing. They loved it.”
Soon afterwards, the militia grew to a full 45 members, with the wives and children of participants also taking part in the reenactments. Later in 1967, the outfit took part in reenactments at Concord and Lexington, and over the next few years, the militia also began organizing free family events during the week leading up to the parade, including children’s games at the Oilies and wrestling and boxing exhibitions.
After the 1975 parade, which marked the Battle of Bunker Hill bicentennial, O’Neil dropped out of the militia. Many of the other original members had also moved on, only to be replaced by younger participants who were determined to carry on with the tradition.
Today, O’Neil remembers his time with the militia as one of the best periods of his life and looks forward to seeing its traditions capture a new generation’s imagination.
“It was a really fun time, and it was something that everybody really enjoyed doing,” O’Neil said. “It will be nice to see this thing start up again.”

Looking forward

Last fall, Coots, who was now committed to forming a new militia, approached O’Neil’s son, Kevin, about the possibility of renewing the partnership between the militia and the Green Street-based veterans club, Memorial Hall. Kevin was an associate board member of Memorial Hall and had also taken part in the reenactments as a boy, so the idea of reestablishing the connection immediately appealed to him.
At one time, Memorial Hall had served as the headquarters for the Charlestown Militia Co. Not only had it been the site where the militia housed its uniforms and other gear, the Hall’s grounds was also the site of military encampments, where members of the militia would live in tents in the days leading up to the Battle of Bunker Hill Day Parade.
Like Kevin, Charlestown resident Ed Grace took part in reenactments with his father when he was young. And although he hasn’t taken part in any since 1981, when he acted as a member of a member of the 64th British regiment at a recreation of the surrender of Yorktown, he has signed on as a member of the new militia.
“I think it’s a great thing for the town and its history, especially for the younger generation and newcomers to town to be able to see the history of the town itself,” Grace said.
As for Coots, he now has 10 people — including some old members — committed to the militia and to march in the parade and take part in the ecumenical exercises on June 17. He also hopes to recruit women and children as well. Besides performing battle reenactments, Plans are also underway for the militia to march in this year’s parade as the official honor guard of Memorial Hall. Besides staging battle reenactments at the parade, Coots hopes that the militia will take part in an encampment – most likely in the shadow of Memorial Hall.
Coots said that the reaction he has received so far has been overwhelming. Although the new militia has only been publicized via word of mouth, Coots said two or three people stop by his office each day to talk about his plans for the future.
“Bunker Hill is an important place in American history,” Coots said, adding that the release of the documentary film “The Green Square Mile: Story of the Charlestown Irish” has led to a resurgence of interest in the neighborhood’s past. “I think now is the time for Charlestown to have its history told again.”
For more information on the Charlestown Militia Co., call Tom Coots at 617-242-0380.

Due to copyright issues with several soundtrack selections, the release of “The Green Square Mile: History of the Charlestown Irish” on DVD has hit a temporary snag.
“We’re trying to nail down all the music we used,” said Ed Callahan, one of the documentary’s producers. “With some degree of confidence, we expect it will be available by St. Patrick’s Day.”
While the film was originally slated for as December release, securing the rights to the music used in the film has proved challenging. Permission must be granted from both the artist and the party who owns the rights to the songs, Callahan said, adding that determining who these parties are often requires some detective work.
And although the process is somewhat tedious and artists were difficult to reach during the holiday season, Callahan said it is going smoothly. “We haven’t had to hire an attorney or expend any addition money, which is a good thing,” he said.
Callahan also said that if an artist agrees to allow his music to be featured in the film pro bono, others will typically follow suit.
“We hope to use some of the best music ever made in Ireland,” Callahan said.
The filmmakers scored a major coup when Irish singer Mary Black granted them free use of her song “Paddy’s Lamentation,” which tells the story of 100 young Dubliners who were brought to Charlestown in the hopes of finding work, only to be detained against their will in a warehouse on lower Bunker Hill Street.
Meanwhile, Callahan said negotiations are now underway for a matinee screening of the film at Bunker Hill Community College on St. Patrick’s Day.
“So many people want to see it on the big screen that it behooves us to do it,” Callahan said.

While it is still in the planning stages, Tom Desmond, president of the Charlestown Community Centers Council, hopes to introduce a new program called Training Centers that would more thoroughly integrate the Community Centers into the Boston Public Schools.
Desmond said the mission of the Training Centers is “to provide a method for the youth of Boston to develop their academic and athletic skills.” Besides the fact that the Community Centers are commonly located in the schools themselves, he believes that the partnership between the Community Centers and the schools would be a natural fit because the schools already have staff in place that help bring the program to fruition, as well as athletic facilities and other resources (e.g. computers that could be used for training purposes). The program, which would run after classes end, would potentially lead to an increase in sports-related scholarships via improved performances on the athletic field and a boost in college admissions because of available SAT and academic tutorials, he said.
Although Desmond hopes that the Training Center program would eventually expand to all 42 Community Centers throughout the City, he now is concentrating on bringing the program to Charlestown High School. He took the first step towards implementing the program at Charlestown High when he began offering financial seminars for teens and young adults in November. Drawing from his knowledge as a certified public accountant and business analyst, he teaches youths the fundamentals of personal finance, including how to manage their own money, the pros and cons of renting and buying.
“When I sat down with these kids, they were riveted,” Desmond said. “Nobody has ever approached them and said this is what you have to do to have a comfortable life financially when you get older.”
Using the Nike Corporation as a model, Desmond is also teaching kids how to analyze a financial statement and track the price of a stock. He also hopes to bring other professionals, including a lawyer, investment banker and stockbroker, to speak the kids about possible career options.
Another component of the Training Centers would make the program mandatory for varsity athletes. While he believes that many athletes receive mentoring during the sports season, he believes that many are somewhat neglected during the rest of the year.
“To lose those kids for six months out of the year is inexcusable, if it can be avoided,” he said.
Erin Coppinger, clerk of the Charlestown Community Centers Council, describes Desmond’s plan as “innovative” and believes that all youths could benefit from mentoring offered under the Training Centers model.
“It shows what the Community Centers and the council are cable of,” Coppinger said. “You can’t just rely on the school to get them through.”
Council board member Neal Boyle said that the Training Centers model would allow the education that students receive to overlap into their lives outside of the classroom.
“The whole Community Centers model is to take school time and extend it to the time from 2 to 10 p.m.,” Boyle said. “[The Training Centers] fulfills its mission of operating programming and providing services within the school.”
Meanwhile, Desmond said now is the time to implement that would provide mentoring and more supervision for adolescents, citing a recent rash of crime and youth violence in the community.
“On a personal level, I’m very concerned with where the town is at now,” Desmond said, adding that his house was recently broken into while his young niece was at home sleeping. (Fortunately, she wasn’t harmed, which Desmond credits to the police’s quick response).
In order for his plan to become a reality, however, Desmond said he needs Mayor Thomas M. Menino to reach out to Charlestown High School on his — and the program’s — behalf.
“The only way this is going to work is if the mayor calls the principal [of Charlestown High] and tells him to get it done and work directly with the community,” he said.
The mayor’s office wasn’t available for comment at press time.

Teachers should not strike

It is against state law for public school teachers to go out on strike in Massachusetts.
Despite this ironclad law, Boston public school teachers are apparently considering or have begun actually planning a one-day strike in protest of the fact that they are presently working without a contract.
Hundreds of Charlestown residents with children in the public schools here should let themselves be heard. They should let their children’s teachers know that striking only hurts the kids, not the teachers, and that over the years, the hurt on the students in general has been far worse than anything put upon the teachers.
Teachers are held to a higher standard. They are, in many respects, our children’s first brush with what is right and what is wrong, what is accepted and what is not inside the classroom.
Decorum and following rules is a large part of what public education is all about.
Teachers breaking the law to strike sets the wrong example with our children.
We urge Boston’s teachers not to strike and for school officials and the mayor to work out an agreement that gives the teachers a contract that is fair for them and fair for the city’s taxpayers.
And if the teacher’s strike, we urge the city to seek a fine against their union that makes them think twice about breaking the law again.

Congratulations to Ian Bowles

Charlestown’s Ian Bowles has been sworn in as the state’s Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
As positions go for Charlestown residents, this is almost as big as it gets in state government, where Bowles is certain to have the ear of Gov. Patrick and an ability to chart public policy when it comes to energy and the environment.
As a Charlestown resident of Adams Street and as a Harvard man with a master’s from Oxford University, we urge Mr. Bowles to use his influence to influence environmental quality in our neighborhood and, perhaps, if he can, to begin with being heard on the efficacy of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s plans to locate here a handling facility for catch-basin refuse on Alford Street.
Who better than the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to pass a personal and professional judgment on those plans?
We wish Mr. Bowles the best in his new position. We trust and we hope he will keep the best interests of his hometown residents close to his heart.
If there is a way for him to chime in on his feelings about the sludge plant, we hope he will feel compelled to do so.

Showing remarkable strength

The Charlestown real estate marketplace showed remarkable strength in 2006, with figures coming very close to those achieved during 2005. In this respect, Charlestown joins Beacon Hill and Back Bay as among the most stable remaining real estate marketplaces in a rapidly changing local real estate world.
Million dollar sales and higher in number remained virtually the same from 2005 to 2006 in this neighborhood and in the others mentioned.
While other cities and towns near to us are experiencing double-digit declines in condominium sales and development, Charlestown’s condominium marketplace remains steady.
Inventories are higher and sales are not quite as brisk or as fast, but Charlestown remains one of the premier places to live in the City of Boston.
If there are any residents here who do not already understand this, please call the Bridge-Patriot office for proper indoctrination.