CAPTION: Pictured, left to right, are State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, MWRA Executive Director Frederick A. Laskey and Sen. Jarrett Barrios outside the new MWRA pump station located below the Tobin bridge.

A new Massachusetts Water Resources Authority facility in Charlestown will substantially reduce the amount of sewage that reaches the Little Mystic Channel and help eliminate the odor problems that have long plagued the surrounding area following heavy rainstorms.
The Little Mystic CSO Storage Facility is designed to handle combined overflow from the city’s sewage system consisting of rainwater and sewage from homes and businesses. Boston’s antiquated system carries both materials in the same pipes to treatment facilities, but when theses pipes become overloaded during rainstorms, overflow drains into the nearest body of water - in this case, the Little Mystic Channel. Overflow materials are stored in the facility until the rain subsides and they can be rerouted to the Deer Island treatment center.
The facility consists of two underground barrels adjacent to Medford Street and the Tobin Bridge that each measure 380-feet long by 10-feet wide by 17-feet high, as well as pumping and dewatering equipment and a carbon odor control system housed in an innocuous-looking brick building underneath the bridge. It cost $11 million and should be operational by the end of the month, said MWRA Executive Director Frederick A. Laskey.
While the new facility won’t prevent combined overflow materials from filtering into the Little Mystic Channel altogether, it will result in an 86-percent reduction. According to the MWRA, the rate of discharge into the channel would drop from 13 activations and 4.4 million gallons each year to 2 activations and .6 million gallons once the facility is up and running.
Laskey said most of the combined sewage material that the facility handles originates in Charlestown and is collected from the Bunker Hill heights.
The project got a boost from local legislators, including Sen. Jarrett Barrios and State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, who helped secure state funding for its construction to relieve ratepayers from carrying the burden alone.
Sen. Barrios, who toured the facility with Rep. O’Flaherty, MWRA officials and Patriot-Bridge staff last week, said his office receives at least a dozen calls a year from residents complaining about the smell from the Little Mystic Channel following heavy rainstorms.
“For people from Bunker Hill and Newtowne [housing developments], it’ll mean less odors and a cleaner Mystic,” he said.
Rep. O’Flaherty has also received many odor complaints over the years, most notably from late Charlestown resident Terry Ring.
Ring was a lifelong Charlestown resident, a social activist and founder of the Newtowne Christmas Stroll, a holiday event for the development’s children. She had hoped to launch a sailing program on the Little Mystic Channel for disadvantaged youth, much like those offered by the Courageous Sailing Center. Sadly, the condition of the Little Mystic Channel following heavy storms made Ring’s dream impossible at the time.
“If she was alive and this was happening, she would be very pleased,” Rep. O’Flaherty said of Ring’s likely reaction to the new facility. “Kudos to Terry Ring. She’s looking down on this and smiling.”

Pictured, left to right, are State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty; Rep. O’Flaherty’s wife, Patricia; Kate Resnek, daughter of Josh Resnek; Josh Resnek, vice president of the Independent Newspaper Group; Thomas Flatley, president of the Flatley Company; David Barry, Consul General of Ireland; Barry’s wife, Norma; and John O’Flaherty, father of Rep. O’Flaherty.

The 21st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at the Schrafft Center Saturday afternoon was a classic Charlestown St. Paddy’s Day event. Sponsored by real estate man Tom Flatley, the dinner, the music, the politicians, the local celebrities – well, everyone had a hand in making it what it has come to be – about the largest, warmest gathering of old Charlestown from year to year.
Mr. Flatley, one of the wealthiest men in the state and a devout Catholic who is very proud of his Irish heritage, greeted nearly everyone personally as they came into the hall. To his credit, Mr. Flatley remembers nearly everyone’s name from year to year, a remarkable accomplishment for a man as busy as he is.
Emcee for the event was popular Charlestown Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty.
As usual, the Joe Joyce Band provided the Irish music so necessary for this St. Patrick’s Day event. Dancing along with the music and to it were the members of the Hansen Keohane Irish Dance School of West Roxbury.
A number of prominent elected public officials were on hand for the annual event.
State Sen. Jarrett Barrios and Charlestown City Councilor Sal LaMattina were on hand, as was Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy. Mayor Thomas Menino was represented by his Charlestown aide Jack Kelly, and Congressman Mike Capuano sent his assistant Dan Ryan.
Counsel General of Ireland David Barry added substantially to the propriety of the afternoon corned beef and cabbage feast with his presence at the dinner table with Mr. Flatley, Representative O’Flaherty and his father, John.
Mr. Barry also delivered brief remarks to the large crowd, who greeted his presentation with a huge ovation.
In all, it was a quintessential Irish time at the Schrafft Center once again.

Charlestown’s streets are a little brighter now thanks to the efforts of Mayor Thomas M. Menino and City Councilor Sal LaMattina.
Some of the historic gas lanterns that adorn streets in the Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill and Charlestown have grown dimmer in recent months, but the cause wasn’t immediately clear.
Councilor LaMattina learned of faulty gas lanterns in Charlestown from residents after he launched the Charlestown Neighborhood Response Team in November and brought the problem to the mayor’s attention. Modeled after the East Boston Response Team that Councilor LaMattina piloted in 2004, the Charlestown Neighborhood Response Team brings together the police, city services, the Chamber of Commerce and other agencies to resolve problems.
After reaching out to Keyspan, the city concluded it wasn’t a gas issue but rather the mantles -a small piece of fabric found in each lamp that glows when ignited, according to mayor’s spokesperson Jen Mehigan.
Earlier this month, a shipment of mantles arrived from Indo International in India – one of only two companies that manufacture the parts worldwide. The city has ordered 7,200 mantles, enough to furnish 2,400 of its 2,800 light fixtures. The cost of each mantle is approximately $7.
“On account of our good relationship with the Department of Public Works, we were able to coordinate a timely response,” Councilor LaMattina said. “The issue with the gaslights highlights the effectiveness of the Neighborhood Response Team.”
Meanwhile, Jack Kelly, the mayor’s liaison to Charlestown, also attributes the timely resolution to the effectiveness of Charlestown Connects, the community-based collaborative between police, city agencies and local non-profit organizations initiated by the mayor’s office last fall.
“This is exactly what the mayor is trying to stress,” Kelly said. “There is a priority in Charlestown to get things done quickly and efficiently.”

As someone who has overcome many obstacles in his life, Charlestown Community Centers tennis instructor Eric Rosales understands the importance of hard work both on and of the court.
Born in Guatemala in 1960, Rosales went to work ate age 7 and left school after the sixth-grade to work in a company that built religious statues. In his early teens, Rosales was introduced to the game of tennis after he landed a job as a ball boy at the American Club, a country club in Guatamela City. He taught himself to play the game by hitting a ball against the wall, and by 17, he was a tennis instructor at Guatemala City’s German Club.
In 1981, Rosales joined Guatemala’s professional soccer team, Aurora FC, but he resumed work as a tennis instructor after just one season.
“The salary they were offering me as a pro was not enough,” he said. “I was making more money in the tennis field.”
Unable to speak a word of English, Roslaes moved to Dallas in 1985, where the language barrier prevented him from finding work as at ennis pro or soccer coach. Instead, he worked a variety of odd jobs including painting, landscaping and glass cutting.
In 1986, Rosales relocated to Boston and soon began learning English at the Jackson Mann Community Center in Allston. He earned his GED from Jackson Mann in 1994 and gained employment there as an English as a Second Language instructor two years later – a position he still holds today. “I never would’ve believed that I could have been in English teacher,” Rosales said.
For Rosales, the true reward of teaching English is helping other immigrants overcome the language barrier and attain success in the U.S.
“The best thing about an English as a Second Language program is giving others the opportunity to have a better life,” he said. “Speaking English should be a priority for all foreigners. In America, you gain respect if you know how to speak the language properly.”
Also in 1996, Rosales began working as a tennis instructor at the Harvard Tennis Camp, a summer program for 6- to 18-year-olds. While his dexterity on the court ultimately landed him the job, he acknowledges the staff was reluctant to hire him at first because of his background.
“They were surprised because they never saw a Spanish tennis instructor,” he said, adding that the language barrier provided an additional challenge.
In 1998, Rosales was still working at Harvard when a pro from the Winchester Indoor Lawn Tennis Club saw him play and recruited him to join the club’s weekend program. The following year, Rosales found full-time employment as the Charlestown Community Centers tennis instructor.
Today, Rosales and fellow instructor Hajji Glover teach tennis to youth from the Warren-Prescott Elementary School, the Harvard-Kent School and the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School, as well as the Nazzaro Center and Citizens School’s after-school programs. They also teach tennis to special needs students and ROTC participants from the Charlestown High School. Most recently, Rosales assumed coaching responsibilities for the women’s Mel Stillman tennis team.
Tom Desmond, president of the Charlestown Community Centers Council, said Rosales’ positive influence on Charlestown youth goes far beyond tennis.
“He shows a deep and genuine concern for children.” Desmond said, adding that Rosales has done very important outreach work to the Hispanic community.
In spite of Rosales’ athletic ability, education is what remains most important to him. He has earned certification in both a general education and foreign language from Bunker Hill Community College and hopes to return to school to earn his bachelor’s degree when money permits.
Rosales also pays the tuition for 11 relatives in Gutemala, so they won’t have to face the same obstacles he once did.
“I don’t want them to go through the same struggle I went through without an education,” he said. “There is nothing worse than to go through life without a proper education.”

A new memorial is warranted
The life and times of John Boyle O’Reilly was an extraordinary journey. Poet, writer, Irish patriot, Charlestown resident, he was the most exalted voice of the Irish here during the time they struggled for a place with the Protestant majority before the turn of the last century.
O’Reilly was a giant of that time. He was a commanding figure in Charlestown. Boston Irish Catholics beset by religious intolerance looked to him for leadership. Through his editorship of the Catholic newspaper The Pilot, he set a standard for discourse with the opposition that could not easily be set aside, overlooked or marginalized. The man knew of what he spoke. His following was huge. He was the true Irish Catholic patriot for his brothers and sisters in the new land.
More than 110 years after he died at 46, the only statue dedicated to him in Boston is the bronze sculpture of his head that sits atop a lovely granite monument near Symphony Hall.
At the St. Patrick’s Day dinner at the Schrafft Center sponsored by Tom Flatley, we spoke with Mr. Flatley about O’Reilly. We told him we felt it was a shame there is no statue of him nor memorial to his memory in Charlestown, where his greatest years of influence in the Irish cause were spent.
Mr. Flatley said he would be pleased to look into properly memorializing O’Reilly. We at the Patriot-Bridge said we would stand by his side and contribute to such a cause.
With that knowledge, we ask those leaders in the Charlestown Irish-Catholic community who feel as we do to get in touch with us, or with Mr. Flatley, to discuss the possibility of properly enshrining the memory of John Boyle O’Reilly.
We ask all those who have an interest in history, and especially in local history, to join us in beginning a campaign to give O’Reilly what he truly deserves – a memorial fitting to someone of his great character, genius and humanity.

At Best
By John Boyle O’Reilly
The faithful helm commands the keel,
From port to port fair breezes blow;
But the ship must sail the convex sea,
Nor may she straighter go.

So, man to man; in fair accord,
On thought and will the winds may wait;
But the world will bend the passing word,
Though its shortest course be straight.

From soul to soul the shortest line
At best will bended be:
The ship that holds the straightest course
Still sails the convex sea.