October 10,2007 Election season is in full swing here in the Valley with a special congressional election in the 5th district this month and the general municipal elections in November. Few people, however, seem to care. During the Lawrence primaries last month, only 12% of registered voters bothered to brave the 80 degree weather and […]
“I will Support a Border Fence and Deporting Illegals” September 21, 2007 Fifth District Congressional candidate Jim Ogonowski visited Lawrence again Friday morning holding a press conference at the Lawrence Fire Station on Lowell Street. Ogonowski spoke for ten minutes before a small crowd of Lawrence residents declaring his support for deporting illegal […]
By: Tom Duggan – August,. 2007 When Methuen resident Mike Beshara tried to join the Navy in January of 1942, he was initially told that he could not join the service because of his age. “I was only 17 years old at the time,” Beshara recalled. “After December 7, 1941 I really wanted to enlist […]
PAYING ATTENTION! with Tom Duggan Former Congressman Jim Shannon Endorses Tsongas By: Tom Duggan, May 16, 2007 Niki Tsongas, the front runner in the race for the 5th congressional district visited the city of Lawrence last night at the opening of her Essex Street headquarters only feet away from city hall. Tsongas is […]
Valley Patriot of the Month PART 2 By: By Ted Tripp April, 2007 (read part 1) METHUEN – It was late in the summer of 1943 and Tom Petrillo was a shell loader on one of the twenty 5″ guns onboard the battleship USS Massachusetts. After serving 16 months on Big Mamie, and having […]
Valley Patriot of the Month By; Ted Tripp – March, 2007 METHUEN – Sixteen million Americans served in World War II. Only a fraction of this number saw action in both the European and Pacific Theaters. And only a handful of those served on both a battleship and an aircraft carrier. This brings us […]
Defends Grant Spending, Says Eagle~Tribune Attacks on Him and Dept. Motivated by “Racism Against Arab-Americans” By: Tom Duggan – February, 2007 Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon said in an exclusive interview with The Valley Patriot this week that federal grant money from the Department of Justice for thecity’s Weed & Seed program was spent legally […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – December, 2006 The grandstanding, self praise and speech-making at Lawrence City Council meetings have got to stop! Too often these meetings go on for hours with no end in sight because certain councilors have a deep personal need to speak on every single issue whether […]
By: Methuen Councilor Debbie Quinn – December 2006 A recent newspaper article in the Boston Globe quoted me as saying that I am “definitely pro-blue.” That is an accurate quote, and one I am proud to make as a city councilor and citizen. Our police officers serve and protect us all year long. They miss out […]
December, 2006 Last month, Methuen city councilors tried to inject themselves into the so-called controversy between Police Chief Joe Solomon and the officers and union members under his command. What’s more, they tried to subvert the Methuen City Charter by interfering with Mayor Bill Manzi’s clearly defined duties as the chief executive officer of the […]
PAYING ATTENTION! With TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – November, 2006 BACKGROUND….. Upon learning that Deval Patrick had fought to free admitted cop killer Carl Roy Songer, I, like many of you, was outraged that this man was a finalist for the top seat at the State House in Massachusetts. Songer pumped five bullets into Florida State Trooper Ronald Smith […]
By Ted Trip – July 05, 2006 METHUEN – Joe Messina was taking a shower below decks on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock after his Curtis SB2C Hell-diver returned from another grueling mission attacking Japanese shipping in Manila Bay. Shortly after the ship’s General Quarters sounded, there was a tremendous explosion just over his head and […]
RED CROSS NIGHTMARE Winner of the New England Press Association Award for General News Excellence Tom Duggan -June, 2006 Flood victims from Lawrence, North Andover and Methuen who were staying at the Red Cross shelter in Methuen during the immediate aftermath of last month’s flood say that they were treated so badly by the National […]
May, 2006 There used to be a well-known guy from Methuen named Greg Hyatt – he who would cry about conspiracies, the corrupt court system, and how everyone was wrong but him. He had a Web site where he would slander and vilify people he did not like, blaming everyone but himself for his problems. […]
(READ PART 1) By: Ted Tripp – May, 2006 METHUEN – As 85-year-old Luther McIlwain slowly walks around the kitchen table in his Pleasant Valley home, it is obvious that this Tuskegee Airman has a lot more story to tell about his military experience during World War II. Each little parcel of information he shares […]