BOSTON- In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that all entrance and parking fees to state parks and forests will be waived for visitors starting on Thursday, November 26, 2015 to Sunday, November 29, 2015, as a way to give thanks to all those who have served and continue to […]
By: Helen Mooradkanian – February, 2014 They called it “the Valley of Death”—the dreaded Hiep Duc Valley in Vietnam. The enemy’s stronghold. A major battleground. One where American units were nearly annihilated. Sergeant Dudley H. Farquhar, A Troop, 1/1st Cav, Americal Division (23d Infantry), as a member of Americal’s Reactionary Forces was sent in with […]
By: Helen Mooradkanian – December, 2013 In the early dawn hours of March 25, 1969, in the rice paddies of South Vietnam, near Bong Son, in the province of Binh Dinh, 22-year old Sergeant Thomas F. Siopes, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (separate), was leading a patrol on a “search and […]
Mayor Stephen Zanni and the City of Methuen Board of Health want to inform residents that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced today that West Nile virus (WNV) has been detected in mosquitoes collected from Methuen along the I-93 corridor. The City is working with Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control (NEMMC) to identify a […]
By: Helen Mooradkanian – August, 2013 Nineteen-year old Corporal William T. Poulios, of Chelmsford, 87th Infantry Division, 347th Regiment, swept across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, central Germany, to Czechoslovakia—in 154 days of combat! From December 6, 1944, to May 8, 1945 (when Germany unconditionally surrendered), the 87th drove relentlessly from Metz, France, to Plauen on the […]
Methuen Mayor Steve Zanni announced last month that Methuen has qualified for matching funds through the Department of Conservation & Recreation’s (DCR) Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Grant Program. Mayor Zanni and members of the Methuen Arbor Group joined with Groundwork Lawrence last November to apply for this funding through DCR. The coordinated grant proposal […]
VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH By: Helen Mooradkanian – June, 2013 In that assault landing on Morotai, 45 LSTs (landing ship, tank) lined the shore. Offshore coral reefs and boulders caught landing craft. Troops, vehicles, and supplies were unloaded onto the beach—with no opposition from the 500 or more Japanese caught there by surprise. But […]
By: Paul Murano – March 2013 This past month saw two stories in the news that speak volumes beyond their headlines. Not surprisingly they were about sex and death respectively, and they focused on two women, one young and one elderly. Their names were Melissa King and Lorraine Bayless. One gave up her title as […]
By: Tom Duggan – November 1, 2012 METHUEN – The City of Methuen’s Police Department has one more tool in it’s’ arsenal when responding to public safety emergencies in the many waterways of the city. Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon told the Valley Patriot Thursday that for approximately $7,000 the City of Methuen now […]
The North Andover Republican Town Committee held their annual Spring Fling last month and as they do each year the committee honored some of our local veterans in town. Selectmen Rosemary Smedile and Dan Lanen presided over the honors and presented each veteran with a certificate of appreciation. Here are the four heroes they […]
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: Ted Tripp – November, 2006 NORTH ANDOVER – On June 25, 1950 the North Korean Army, bolstered by Soviet tanks and aircraft, invaded South Korea. Immediately, President Harry Truman ordered General Douglas MacArthur to transfer ammunition and supplies from Japan to the ROK (Republic of Korea) Army and provide limited air support. On June […]
By: Charles Ormsby – September, 2005 NORTH ANDOVER – Alexander Milne rarely speaks of his wartime experiences, even with fellow veterans. Such conversations were uncommon even with his brother, Donald, who served on the Battleship Texas at Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and who passed away two years ago. Alex found it difficult to […]