[Petrella]: Hello, everyone, and welcome to your show, Medford Happenings. I am John Petrella. This is a show for and about the city of Medford. The purpose of this program is to give Medford citizens facts and information to help you make informed choices. First of all, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I hope everyone enjoyed. Thanksgiving's over, and we're going to be moving on to Christmas. Tonight's program, we want to start with Mustang football. So we have to talk about the Method Mustangs high school football team. We want to congratulate coach John Curley, his assistants, and every player on this team. The Method Mustangs are the Greater Boston League champions for the first time since 1985. And how about quarterback Justin Marino, named GBL Most Valuable Player, named the GBL Player of the Week five times by the Boston Herald. the all-time leading rusher with 1,638 yards, the all-time most points in a season with 185, and most touchdowns in a single game with six, if you can believe that. He is also the recipient of the New England Football Officials President Award. What an incredible season for the Medford Mustangs and for Justin. And a special thank you for the butt-kicking you guys gave to Malden on Thanksgiving Day. A 34-14 win for Medford. It's always great to end the season with a victory on Thanksgiving Day. So a big thank you to the Medford football team. Great season, guys. And while we're on the topic of Medford sports, I'm going to mention a few things. I don't know if anyone's aware of this, but let me explain this. Method High sports program now has 30 current teams for boys and girls. Our middle schools also have a half dozen sports. Athletics at Medford High School are open to all students who meet and maintain standards of academic eligibility, meet basic physical health qualifications, and are good citizens in the Medford High School community. If you would like to learn more about Medford Sports, please check out meffitthighschoolathletics.com. A big thank you to everyone who has been involved with Medford sports in any capacity. You are very much appreciated for all that you do. And I also want to congratulate the Medford Middle School Mustangs baseball team on their great season, finishing first in the Greater Boston League and earning their first Greater Boston League title. Congratulations, champs. Staying on Method Schools, how about a big, big thank you to Ernie Bach Jr. and the Music Drives Us organization. They just donated $60,000 worth of musical instruments and equipment to the Roberts Elementary School, and now that's music to your ears. Thank you, Ernie Bach Jr. I also want to mention coming up is a holiday concert on Saturday, December 14th at 7 p.m. and that's taking place in the Koran Theater at Medford High School. This is a free concert. Donations will be accepted. Performances by the Medford Community Chorale and the Youth Young Adult Chorus. A portion of any proceeds will be donated to the MSCI, which is a local 501c3 nonprofit that is a primary advocate for Method's older adults. And let's give a big thanks to all our local organizations and the people who step up and support the good works they do. Method really has a lot of good things going on. Community's been great. Donations, helping each other out. We got to mention the Method Firefighters local 1032 Holiday Toy Drive taking place. New and unwrapped toys can be dropped off at any fire station in the city. I also want to bring up, as usual, the annual Jingle Bell Festival and the METFED winter extravaganza that took place at City Hall, and we can say that they were a huge success. All proceeds benefit the Buddy Collin Alzheimer's Daycare and METFED. So thank you for everyone who attended, purchased raffles, and I heard it was a great time. Everyone enjoyed it. Another event that we want to mention is SantaCon on the Mystic starts on December 7th at 1 p.m. is going to be live music, costume contests, giveaways, lots of specials on drinks, snacks. The schedule is Deep Cuts Brewery from 1 to 3, the Ford Tavern for 3 to 6, Razzle's Bar and Grill, 6 to 9, and finishing up, the Great American Beer Hall, from 9 to 12.30 a.m. So if you want to have a good time, Santa Con on the Mystic. Another great program going on is another Medford Holiday Toy Drive. This is Tuesday, December 10th. It's going to take place at Razzo's Bar and Grill from 5 to 8 p.m. This is in support of the Medford Family Network in collaboration with the Metague Realty Group. For each toy you bring in, you will be entered to win a $50 gift card to Clover's Wonderland. Everyone knows Razzo's Bar and Grill. While you're there, you can have a delicious drink and enjoy a great meal. So please support all our local businesses. We have some great activities going on everywhere in Medford. I also, while we're on it, let's mention that the Ford has a great December lineup. Great entertainers, musicians, all for your enjoyment. Okay, and I just want to mention a few more city happenings. Snow shovelers are needed for the 2024-25 season. For more information and how to apply, you can go to methodma.org slash snow. Shovelers can volunteer or be paid for their services. Payment is arranged directly between the resident and the shoveler. To be added to the list, You need to send your name, contact information, the neighborhood you are available to shovel, and a completed core reform to Pam Kelly, Director of Elderly Affairs, pkelly at medford-ma.gov. And now I'm going to move on to one more item that we want to discuss. And that's a City Council Planning and Permitting Committee zoning meeting. This is scheduled for December 11th, 2024 at 7 p.m. You can go in person at City Hall Council Chambers, and you can also go on Zoom. This is on what is now being called the Salem Street Corridor. If you live anywhere along Salem Street, you really need to attend this meeting. It's important that you're informed and you understand what this meeting is all about and what's going to be going on on Salem Street. I want to thank everyone for listening tonight. And once again, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. You will be able to see a replay of this show on Medford Community Media by visiting medfordtv.org. And you can visit us on Facebook and YouTube, Medford Happenings. For more information about our future program, you can visit the Medford Community Network at mcno2155.com. For Medford Happenings, I'm John Petrella, and please stay informed. Thank you, have a great night.