Ted Tripp, North Andover Taxpayers Association – April, 2005 That’s a fair question to ask. Just as recently as three years ago, North Andover voters showed up in huge numbers to overwhelmingly reject a $4 million tax increase by means of a Proposition 2 ½ Override. The School Committee, the Finance Committee and […]
By: Chuck Ormsby – March, 2005 NORTH ANDOVER-The Eaton family has a proud history of serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. When Ted Eaton was in his early teens, he had three brothers who signed up for duty in WW II (John and Lindy in the Army, and Frank in the Navy). In the summer […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL February, 2005 Why do we hire public employees? Is it to have them perform an important service that the public requires, or is it to provide the employees a guaranteed paycheck and great benefits? All too often, it seems that we are more concerned with providing employment than we are with ensuring […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN Tom Duggan It’s always cute when a local politician adopts a catchy slogan to help shore up the image of his campaign. And while most voters rightly dismiss these slogans as meaningless rhetoric, one campaign slogan from this year’s North Andover town election begs to be discussed. Political […]
Lisa Beamer was recently interviewed on Good Morning America. If you remember, she is the wife of Todd Beamer who said, “Let’s Roll!” and helped take down the plane that was heading for Washington, DC on that terrible morning of 9/11. She said it’s the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as […]
By: Jim Cassidy – December, 2004 Late at night, as I gaze out the front window, with the snow softly falling and the holiday lights starting to appear on the surrounding houses, my thoughts often drift back to former times when we were much younger and Christmas was — and still is — a […]
By: North Andover Selectmen Wedy Wakeman December 2004 Fans of big government and the big taxes that fund it like sneaky taxes. Taxes that can be set or raised quietly, with-out the con-sent of voters, fall into this category. Fees are often nothing more than sneaky taxes. And the best kind of sneaky tax, of […]
Kudos to Selectman Wendy Wakeman for defending free speech in North Andover. Wakeman supports an open door policy for political candidates who wish to campaign at the North Andover Senior Center. A belated three cheers for The Town of Methuen Council on aging as well as the Councils on Aging in Lawrence and Haverhill […]
By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – December 2004 Meeting North Andover resident George Henderson for the first time, you wouldn’t guess what he did during his first three years after college. Born in 1921, he graduated from St. Michaels College in 1942, approximately six months after Pearl Harbor. George immediately signed up for duty in […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL December, 2004 State Representative Barbara L’Italien has consistently supported two public policies that violate the teachings and core doctrine of the Catholic Church, abortion and gay marriage. Last month, while staunchly defending her right to espouse these anti-Catholic positions, she publicly attacked pro-life activists who were holding a sign that read […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN Tom Duggan – November, 2004 Massachusetts State Representative Barbara L’Italien should be ashamed of herself. She has not only taken a public stand against two of the Catholic Church’s teachings, abortion and gay marriage, (she favors both) the liberal legislator was seen on election day verbally attacking and […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – November, 2004 With all due respect to the Superintendent of Schools in North Andover, you might think his previous job experience in Reading would have taught him a lesson or two about listening to parents and not supporting fuzzy math programs. Unfortunately for […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL October, 2004 LAWRENCE – In the towns of Andover and North Andover, candidates running for office are not allowed into the senior centers to campaign. These are public facilities, paid for and operated with public funds. Seniors (usually the most active voters) go there to congregate, have fun, and get important information […]
Hey People! It’s Just A News Story! October, 2004 Last month The Valley Patriot ran a front page news story about Brooks School Summer Camp in North Andover conducting mock marriage ceremonies between same-sex kids (some as young as five years old). Some people were clearly offended and outraged by the headline, “Brooks Marries Same […]
By: Hanna, age 10 – September, 2004 Our new ace reporter, Hanna interviewed (Kathleen Kostan) the new principal of the Thomson School in North Andover. How do you feel about MCAS? “I wouldn’t just say it is just MCAS, because I think the Education Reform Bill which started MCAS is the best that has ever […]