Included in this year’s 2016 State Budget is an amendment, sponsored by State Representative Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen), for $25,000 toward the Lawrence-Methuen Community Coalition (LMCC)’s recently formed Merrimack Valley Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative. The LMCC is a resident-based coalition focused on the prevention of substance abuse, child abuse and domestic violence through the establishment of […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – July, 2015 The US Supreme Court recently ruled in King v. Burwell that the health insurance subsidies written into the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) not only applied to insurance exchanges run by the State, but also to exchanges run by the Federal Government. Ruling otherwise would have thrown the […]
By: Stephanie Jaskot – July, 2015 Making the best decisions for your family isn’t an easy thing to do. Questioning the ‘norms’ in America can cause you to be degraded and shut out by others who don’t share your views. What people fail to understand, is that when it comes to our children, parents will […]
By: State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives July, 2015 In June, I attended the Methuen City Council’s special meeting where Kinder Morgan, a Houston-based energy infrastructure company, presented their plan for a proposed natural gas pipeline that would travel through Methuen, Massachusetts. I joined Representative Linda Dean Campbell and concerned residents to speak during the public […]
Former Lawrence School Committeeman Jim Vittorioso has passed away. Vittorioso was a teacher in the Lawrence public schools and at the Greater Lawrence Technical School. He served as a school committeeman under Dr. Gene Thayer’s reign as superintendent in the mid to late 80’s. He then returned to the school committee in the early 2000’s […]
By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell July, 2105 Francis “Fran” Gradzewicz, longtime resident of Methuen, was joined by her husband Thomas, her daughter Karen Hayden, and myself, as they brought their case regarding the lack of clarity in current law governing end-of-life medical care to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. Fran testified in front […]
July 14, 205 11PM Lawrence Police responded to a murder suicide late Tuesday night at133 Park St. at the back of 187 Lawrence Street near the corner of Park and Lexington. Police sources confirm that two people are dead. Sources told the Valley Patriot late Tuesday night that when Lawrence Police arrived at the scene they […]
Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon said it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Just before 4AM Saturday morning, Methuen Sgt. Shawn Moore happened to be patrolling Lawrence St. when he saw three suspicious men near Methuen Liquors, who fled when they saw the officer. Sgt. Moore was […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – July 3, 2015 Valley Patriot readers may be familiar with the 17 month long ordeal suffered by young Justina Pelletier at the hands of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the huge effort it took from 100,000 ordinary people from across this great land who came together to […]
Next month The Valley Patriot will be publishing an interview with one of the writers of Faith of Our Fathers, Tom Saab of Salisbury. The movie will be shown at Visionmax on Rt. 110 in Salisbury, MA on July 1st-5th. Any group interested in purchasing 750 tickets can contact Tom Saab to bring a movie […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan, MD June, 2015 Human beings are hardwired towards addiction. Modern society has evolved a mind-boggling number of traps that ensnare members of the human family in all sorts of compulsions or addictions. Compulsion drives a large part of our economy. Think about it. Advertisers and marketers want to know what buttons […]
By: Dani Langevin: June, 2015 Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Methuen High School and sitting in on a meeting of the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance). Several of my colleagues and I are currently organizing such a group at the Marsh Grammar School and wanted to see one in action. I was very […]
PUBLIC RECORDS SIDENOTES By now you know I’m in a fight to change the state’s fake public records law. One of the things not really discussed in the many stories this month about that fight is the MMA, or the Massachusetts Municipal Association. This is a group that opposes putting penalties on public officials who […]
By: Jessica Finocchiaro – June, 2015 NORTH ANDOVER—Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump is the first female to serve as Auditor in the Commonwealth’s history, and she spoke frankly about her experiences at the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce’s “Women in Business Series” last month. Members of the Chamber fielded questions as last minute attendees checked […]
Massachusetts Legislators, members of the media and 1st amendment advocates testified last month before a joint House and Senate committee on Beacon Hill, asking legislators to add penalties to the state’s fake public records law. The law, MGL Ch. 66, states that the keeper of records in any municipality or public agency must turn over public […]
