By: Tom Duggan – February 2, 2008 Imagine that you have been voluntarily admitted to the hospital to recover from an illness or injury and another patient sexually attacks you while you are trying to recover. According to a patient’s complaint (name withheld), that is exactly what happened to her after being admitted to […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EXCLUSIVE! By: Tom Duggan – January, 2008 The North Andover School Committee is suing their former acting Superintendent Richard Bergeron for illegally giving himself a $4,484.34 raise without school committee approval. A complaint filed in Lawrence District Court claims that Bergeron ordered a payroll clerk to put the additional money in […]
Asks Community to stand with our Veterans by Wilfredo Laboy, posted 1/10/08 During a period in which the City of Lawrence and the Lawrence Public Schools have made significant steps towards ongoing improvement, we are saddened and outraged by such morally and ethically unacceptable conduct by James Stokes. In November’s School Committee elections, […]
Says he will not resign from Lawrence School Committee by Tom Duggan, posted 1/9/08 BOSTON, – January 9, 2008 – Elected Lawrence School Committeeman James Stokes was arraigned in Federal Court in Boston today after being arrested at Top Donut on Winthrop Avenue by Lawrence Police and Federal Agents. Lawrence Police took Stokes […]
City Clerk’s Internet Porn, Harassment Cost City Thousands By: Tom Duggan – January, 2008 Lawrence’s former assistant city clerk, Jennifer Padellaro, settled her workers’ compensation claims as well as her federal lawsuit against the City of Lawrence last month for $610,000. A settlement conference (called a lump sum conference) took place at the Industrial Accident […]
Mayor Promotes Robert Ward to Deputy DPW Director WEB EXTRA! January 5, 2008 HAVERHILL – Mayor James J. Fiorentini today named Michael K. Stankovich as the City’s new Director of the Department of Public Works. Stankovich comes to Haverhill from North Attleboro, where he has served as DPW Director for over nine (9) […]
Tom Duggan – December, 2007 In 1995, a devastating fire ripped through the Malden Mills factory on Broadway in Methuen. Firefighters and police officers responded to the emergency from allover the Commonwealth. As the out-of-town public safety officials began to arrive at the scene, chaos ensued as it became nearly impossible to coordinate […]
By: Lonnie Brennan -December, 2007 GEORGETOWN – Quietly, peacefully, a former naval seaman makes his way to a local coffee shop. He takes his seat on a short stool at a curved counter, smiles to a familiar server, shares quips and views on the past day’s events and the morning papers. As he sips his […]
Sandy Gleed This Monday’s special town meeting demonstrated far more about the shortcomings of municipal government than it did about the average citizen’s desire to exert control over wireless communications. The wireless article sparked very legitimate concerns about: * our town’s failure to monitor current cell tower permits * our town’s […]
By: George Vozeolos – December, 2012 With another Special Town Meeting taking place last month, I would like to make it clear what I am trying to do and why. First the why. Our existing town charter was adopted over 22 years ago and North Andover has grown considerably. Like an old sweater, we […]
By: Ralph Wilbur – December, 2007 In the late 1960’s, North Andover was one of the first communities to wholeheartedly adopt the then current fad for “open classroom” teaching. A new high school was constructed without internal partitioning walls and the result was noise, constant distractions and educational bedlam. Generations of North Andover […]
Tom Duggan – December, 2007 Last month, my 7th grade daughter at the North Andover Middle School came home from school and said that she learned in her Spanish class how the leader of Venezuela (Hugo Chavez) was a “good guy” for giving cheap oil to poor people here in the US. She also said […]
PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE By: Michael Sweeney (December, 2007) Lawrence Planning Director “Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.” -President Abraham Lincoln Good call there by President Lincoln. Unfortunately, under the weak-armed rule of Patrick Blanchette, truth has been replaced in the city council chambers by slander and personal attacks. The truth is […]
By: Tom Duggan – December 2007 WCAP radio (980/AM) may be located in downtown Lowell, but Colonel Sam Poulten and Clark Smidt say they are expanding the Lowell-based news and talk programming on the station to include Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill “and everywhere in between,” says Smidt who took over the station with […]
By: Kathleen Corey Rahme – November, 2007 METHUEN – The Massachusetts Women Veterans’ Network named Methuen resident, Sara Payne Hayden the Woman’s Veteran of the Year at a special ceremony in the State House in Boston this month. It was a privilege to nominate her for this honor and according to Heidi Kruckenberg the coordinator for […]