By: Craig Floyd – January, 2005 WASHINGTON – As of December 23, 154 law enforcement officers across the nation were killed in the line of duty during 2004. This is the third year in a row that the number has been well below the decade-long average of 164 annual law enforcement deaths. According to the […]
By: Lawrence City Council President, Patrick Blanchette – December 2004 Unfortunately the City of Lawrence is dealing with tough financial problems this year. When I was first elected to the Lawrence City Council (over five years ago,) the annual operating budget was roughly $170 million, with a contingency reserve account of $3 million. The […]
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 […]
By: Hanna -December, 2004 Valley Patriot kid reporter Hanna interviews local celebrities and politicians each month. This month Hanna interviewed Haverhill School Committeeman Scott Wood. What do you think about calculators in the elementary schools? Does Haverhill use them? Haverhill does have them for their classrooms, However they are not used very often. Do […]
By: Hartley Pleshaw – December, 2004 Columbus Day, 1967, was a very important day in my life. It was the day that I learned, for the first time, about life’s disappointments, and how reality can shatter dreams. It was the day I learned that there was no Santa Claus, no Never- Never Land, no […]
By: Methuen City Council President, Billy Manzi – December, 2004 With Methuen’s City Council prepared to set a “tax rate” at the December 6th meeting, it was an opportune time to discuss the process, tax classification, and general budgetary matters. While the Mayor’s recommendations were not yet available at press time, Methuen’s budget does […]
By: Tom Sharkey – September, 2004 The development of the mill buildings, the construction of a new rail center, and the repairs to City Hall and to Veterans Stadium speak to a community coming together to shape its future. Though still in its early stages, emerging as another success story for the City is Lawrence […]
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 […]
By: Hartley Pleshaw – September, 2004 You probably don’t realize it, but if you live in Lawrence, you live in a place which should be as hallowed as Lexington and Concord, Gettysburg or Normandy. If you have an ancestor who worked in the Lawrence mills in the early part of the 20th Century, you […]
By: Amber Pawlick – September, 2004 The “assault weapon” ban is set to expire in just weeks. Because of this, there has been much chatter about it in the media. It seems like many if not most people agree that they are for the second amendment but against those big bad “assault weapons.” I have one question for them: why? […]
By: Ted Tripp – September, 2004 Since the 1960s, science has become increasingly politicized with large, well-organized groups using a particular scientific theory or research result to further their political agenda. In many cases, scare tactics are used to stir up citizens and the groups bringing you this news have a solution to the […]
By: Hanna, Age 10 – October, 2004 What is the difference between a teacher, a principal and a superintendent? Teachers work most directly with the students in the classroom. Principals run the schools and are in charge of everyone in the school building. Superintendents are in charge of all the schools. We make sure that […]
By: C. Zelman and Ethel Kamien – August, 2004 This column was prompted by a letter written by Mr. Andy Beresford, which appeared in the Letters to the Editor column in the July 2004 edition of The Valley Patriot. Mr. Beresford points his finger at Israel as the source of problems in the Middle East […]
By: Rod D. Martin – August, 2004 In a report which might alternately be termed “stunning” or “terrifying”, United Nations weapons inspectors confirmed last week not merely that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but that he smuggled them out of his country, before, during and after the war. Late last week, the UN Monitoring, […]
Frederick Hess, Beacon Hill Institute – June, 2004 (Guest Columnist) A Measure of the Need for Reform America’s schools are in a state of crisis. Few of our schools are excellent, many are mediocre, and yet we, the adults responsible, are content to tinker and theorize. Demands for radical change are consistently met by protestations […]