By Peter Larocque – March, 2013
In spite of all that may be wrong with the City of Lawrence, including all the negative press surrounding the State and Federal investigations concerning allegations of wrong doing by Mayor Lantigua and his administration, in spite of it all, there’s Good in Lawrence. How do I know this? Very simple, because of the people!
In spite of all that our Mayor, The Divider in Chief, and his administration have done to keep the citizens separated by ethnicity, this paradigm for the most part has been rejected by the people!
How do I know this? I know this because the one thing that is Good and Strong in my opinion in the Great City of Lawrence which has not surrendered to the influence of City Hall are The Neighborhood Associations!
In spite of all that may be going on in the City of Lawrence, the one thing the Mayor has not been able to divide and conquer are The Neighborhood Associations. As far as I know we have five strong Neighborhood Associations, there may be even more, but there are five that I am aware of that are doing well.
So, note to all Lawrence Citizens, it would do you and your families good to be members of one of these Neighborhood Associations. What is good about these Neighborhood Associations is the dissemination of information dealing with the City of Lawrence. Major City Department Heads like Police and Fire attend these meetings and share current, important information with the members that is for their benefit. Also City Elected Officials and State Representatives attend these meetings on a regular basis and also share information, but just as important, the members get to share with them what is important to them. Another benefit that being a member has and probably the most important is finding out who your neighbors are and meeting them and getting to know them. So as far as I am concerned, joining one of the Neighborhood Association is a win, win for you and your family.
The following information, to the best of my knowledge, list the names and contact information for these five Neighborhood Associations.
#1, The Mount Vernon Neighborhood Association: Mr. Wayne Hayes, 978-688-2942.
#2, The Colonial Heights Neighborhood Association: Mrs. Susan Laplante, 978-683-6910
#3, The Tower Hill Neighborhood Association, Mr. Dan Clark, Cell# 978-902-0595.
#4, The Prospect Hill/Back Bay Neighborhood Association, Mrs. Gloria Schwarz, 978-688-7731.
#5, The Sacred Heart/Brookfield Street Neighborhood Association, Mrs. Brenda Rozzi, 978-590-3715.
I highly recommend to all citizens of The Great City of Lawrence that they become a member of one of these Neighborhood Associations as soon as possible. This coming Spring, Summer and Fall will be our City’s Elections for Mayor, City Councilors, City Councilors-at- Large and School Committee. Belonging to one these Neighborhood Associations will afford to you information concerning the candidates, candidate forums and debates.
Finally, these Neighborhood Associations present to you a wonderful avenue for you as a citizen of Lawrence to get involved with the goings on of the city. There really is no excuse for not knowing what is happening in your neighborhood. Neighborhood Associations with many members help make safe neighborhoods.
These Neighborhood Associations are what make this City Great! They help in making the positive attitude of the glass half full rather than half empty a reality!
God Bless you and God Bless the Great City of Lawrence.