Congratulations, Charlestown
To the Editor,
On behalf of our congregation, Christ Church Charlestown, and those in the community who have talked about it with me this week, I want to congratulate and thank Head Coach Hugh Coleman, his coaching staff, and the incredible young men who made this community so proud last weekend in winning their last game and bringing a Massachusetts basketball state championship back to Charlestown.
When I first met Coach Coleman after he became the head coach here in Charlestown, he expressed to me a four-part vision of leading young men to become men of character on and off the court, men who display academic excellence, men with a belief in Someone bigger than themselves, and — as those things happen — men who win basketball games. Coach, well done! Young men, well done!
Seeing the pride that everyone in our community felt in the Tsongas Arena as the clock hit 0:00 and the final score showed Charlestown won 61-40 was inspiring. Seeing the bus carrying these champions pull up at the Community Center and watching the community gathered to celebrate made me so proud to live here and be part of this community. The guys were pouring off the bus with the trophy held high as 200+ of us were overflowing with joy!
Coach, I love you brother. You have a gift of making each of us feel like we are the most important person in a room and a knack for making sure everyone wins as you win. I know it was never a stated goal for your program, but a fifth outcome I’ve seen this year is that Charlestown High basketball brings our community together and has only deepened our strong sense of community pride. What you could have made a very private moment of celebration for your staff and team, you instead made a public, community celebration — you let us feel like we played a part in winning that title! For these reasons and so many more, we congratulate you and we thank you — and we can’t wait for next year!
JD Mangrum
Pastor, Christ Church Charlestown
More pools open this summer
To the Editor.
Thanks to interagency collaboration between BPS, BCYF, the Public Facilities Department, and the Property Management Department, investments of City funding, and improved facilities assessment, the City is on track to have more pools open this year than in previous summers, including the BCYF Clougherty, Draper, Marshall, and Mattahunt. The BCYF Clougherty outdoor pool is in the midst of a two year renovation and is expected to open this summer with temporary restrooms and changing areas. More information will be available as we get closer to summer. The BCYF Charlestown Community Center has an indoor pool which is open.
The City also has more opportunities for lifeguards through a residency waiver which allows us to hire more lifeguards and the lifeguard academy and hiring days that BCYF has been hosting in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources. Additionally, through the SwimSafe program the City is providing more free swim lessons for children in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Boston (9 pools), Boys and Girls Club (4 pools), Dorchester House (1 pool), and USA Swimming.
Sandy Holden