By: Lonnie Brennan – April, 2008 METHUEN – Her statistics from 1970 are simple: female, 5 foot five inches, 125 pounds, age 19. As she entered her Junior year at the now-closed Catholic Trinity College in Burlington, Vermont, Agnes M. Bresnahan was surrounded daily by images of the Vietnam war: Images of war protests on […]
By: Tech Sgt. James Moore, USAF – February, 2008 SALEM, NH – Airman First Class Christopher Fantasia, home on Recruiting Assistance Duty at the Air Force Recruiting Office in Lawrence, Ma., is making a difference in the world. He is a patriot and has a genuine enthusiasm for his work. Airman First Class Fantasia joined […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
By: Tom Duggan, September, 2007 Most Lawrence residents know Francisco Urena as the city’s Veterans’ Services Director, but long before Urena came to work for the city of Lawrence he was serving the United States Marines in the 1st Tank Battalion in Iraq. Urena was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in […]
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 […]
Local Hero Speaks on War on Terror Monday, May 28, 2007 Memorial Day Services were held all around the Merrimack Valley today in honor of those who lost their lives serving the United States Armed Forces. In North Andover, Massachusetts, Valley Patriot of the Month, Thomas Hudner, a Medal of Honor recipient, spoke […]
Valley Patriot of the Month By: Ted Tripp – May, 2007 CONCORD/ANDOVER – Tom Hudner was sitting in the commons area after lunch at Phillips Academy in Andover when word spread that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. As with most young people of the era, he had no idea where Pearl Harbor was […]
Valley Patriot of the Month, Hero in Our Midst Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr. Ted Tripp – (May 7, 2007) CONCORD/ANDOVER – Tom Hudner was sitting in the commons area after lunch at Phillips Academy in Andover when word spread that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. As with most young people of the era, […]
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 […]
April,2007 We’ve noticed that North Andover Licensing Commission members always give a nice little speech to each new license holder about the how strict they are and how they have a “no tolerance policy.” Oh really? Let’s Take a quick look at some recent police calls, shall we? The situations above are very serious in […]
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 […]
Valley Patriot of the Month By: Ted Tripp – February, 2007 NORTH ANDOVER– On the morning of June 6, 1944, the Allies finally began the liberation of Europe from the Nazi nightmare. Tens of thousands of American, British, and Canadian troops poured onto the shores of Normandy to engage the Germans and drive them out […]