The Methuen city council is made up of nine members. Two councilors are elected from each of the three districts, and three councilors are elected city-wide or “at-large”. The Methuen city council is in charge of passing the municipal budget, must ratify the mayor’s hiring or firing of department heads and must approve all […]
VOTE NOVEMBER 5th IN LOCAL ELECTIONS – HERE’S WHY ITS IMPORTANT November 5th is Election Day for cities in the Merrimack Valley. In Methuen and Haverhill voters get to decide who their mayor will be for the next two years. In Lawrence, Mayor Dan Rivera has two years left in his term and cannot […]
The race for Central District City Council is the campaign to watch on November 5th. Methuen residents will elect TWO city councilors in the Central District. Incumbent James McCarty topped the ticket in the primary as he seeks his second term, while fellow incumbent and longtime elected official Joyce Campagnone came in fourth. But, […]
July, 2019 Given the enormous conflicts and controversies that have gone on in Methuen over the last two years, you might think that the people of Methuen have had enough. But a quick look at the number of people running for city offices this year shows that they really haven’t, and that’s tragic. The City […]
Bill is among the first federal steps in addressing the 770 million gallons of sewage flowing into the Merrimack River each year SALEM, MA – Representatives Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) introduced the Sewage Treatment Overflow Prevention through Community Sanitation Outreach (STOP CSO) Act of 2019, or The STOP CSO Act. The STOP CSO Act would require local governments […]
IG REPORT HAS TONS OF ERRORS…. LIKELY, MAYBE, KIND OF One thing that popped out at me while digesting the IG report on corruption in Methuen was the fact that it never actually concluded anything. It didn’t really rule anything and contained words like “Likely illegal” and “may be” against the law. People who are […]
THE DISASTER Sitting in my office listening to the police scanner it was obvious from the time the first call went out that the explosion on Chickering Road in Lawrence was not a routine call. Not long after that call went out I was jarred out of my seat by the urgency and bewilderment in […]
By: Tom Duggan – Oct. 20, 2018 RIVERA THROWS FEENEY OUT OF LAWRENCE Despite denying responsibility for the gas explosions in the Greater Lawrence area on September 13th, and an NTSB preliminary report saying that sub-contractor Feeney Brothers may not have been responsible, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera has thrown Feeney Brothers out of Lawrence during […]
WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT WRONG BUT YOU DON’T On two occasions last month we reported a story on line that we thought we got wrong after it was posted. In one story we reported that a shooting victim from East Haverhill Street had died. Minutes after we reported the victim’s death we were […]
VOTE SEPT. 4TH, DAY AFTER LABOR DAY… IT’S IMPORTANT! Secretary of State Bill Galvin has scheduled this year’s state primary elections for the day after Labor Day when a lot of people are not even back from summer vacation. That means a very low turnout is expected and as anyone who has ever studied elections […]
By: DJ Deeb – August, 2018 As of the deadline for this article the City/School budgets have not been fully resolved or finalized, but I hope to provide more information in a future article. In the meantime members of the City of Methuen Charter Review Commission recently discussed the possibility of recommending the elimination of […]
HELP THE HOMELESS Every Wednesday night a volunteer group called “The Movement Family” serves a family style meal for the homeless at the Buckley Garage on Common Street in Lawrence. In the last five weeks The Valley Patriot has put out a call on Facebook looking for local business in the community to help with […]
The Methuen Police Superior Officers Association applauds State Representative Linda Dean Campbell in calling for a state investigation into the city’s contract with our union. We welcome the opportunity this presents. We believe that an independent state investigation will be beneficial in providing complete transparency into the process of last years contract negotiations. […]
MAY, 2018 Driving through the City of Lawrence it’s almost impossible not to notice the homeless population, whether they are pan-handling on the corners of the busiest intersections, or hassling people for a cigarette or a dollar outside local establishments. Unfortunately, most people turn their heads and pretend not to see the human carnage […]
This year’s Valley Patriot/Greater Lawrence Tech. School scholarship goes to Jordana Cepeda thanks to two donations to the Valley Patriot. Jordan was chosen among several students who applies for the scholarship thanks to the hard work and screening of Methuen City Councilor Jessica Finocchiaro who read the reasons Jordana selected for the scholarship. Mike Gagliardi, […]