POLICE AND DA’S NOW CONTROL WHAT YOU KNOW Four men were stabbed on Kendall Street in Lawrence on the 4th of July. One man, the aggressor in the situation, was charged with attempted murder. You didn’t read that in the daily paper or see it on the news because the new norm by our public […]
In June, we were fortunate to have Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo visit the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center (VNOC) in Haverhill. I invited the Speaker to help highlight the VNOC’s exceptional programs and services, which are second to none in caring for our Veterans. The VNOC, established in 1985, has a staff of 74 […]
July, 2019 In the process of posting breaking news on The Valley Patriot Facebook and Twitter pages we often encounter reader comments that evoke serious emotion, discussion, and debate. Earlier this month, we posted a story of the Lawrence Fire Dept. searching for a reported overdose victim off Manchester Street. First responders searched for the […]
CHANGES TO METHUEN’S CITY CHARTER The Methuen City Council and the charter commission are considering changes to the city charter this year (the document that governs how the city operates). Some of the proposed changes being discussed are minor tweaks to the document to make city government more effective and accountable. But, some of the […]
Representative Linda Dean Campbell of Methuen has successfully secured $300,000 for the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center (VNOC) in Haverhill in a preliminary version of the annual state budget. The House of Representatives unanimously adopted the funding as part of a package of veteran-related appropriations. Founded in 1985, the VNOC originally provided support and advocacy […]
Volunteers from 14 different Home Depot stores in New England showed up at the House of Mercy on Baystate Road with materials and workers to renovate the facility. “They did painting throughout the building, refinishing the floor, air conditioning, installed shelving and did general cleanup for us. We are so grateful for this help,” said […]
NOW THAT WAS A BASH!!! Each year the Valley Patriot celebrates our anniversary with a charity BASH scholarship and award night. This year we raised and gave away almost $10,000 in scholarships to local students, raised money for Veterans Northeast Outreach in Haverhill, and were able to give out 8 different awards to community heroes. […]
Valley Patriot Renames Award for Good Samaritan Scott Clegg By: Tom Duggan, April, 2019 Last year a Good Samaritan in the Merrimack Valley named Scott Clegg passed away. He wasn’t famous, he never ran for office, and he had no interest in being thanked for the work he did in the community. But Mr. Clegg […]
March, 2019 There is no question that the City of Lawrence is the hub of the opioid epidemic in New England. There is also no question that while violent crime is drastically down over the last year, Lawrence is still a crime riddled city and a destination for heroin and other drug traffickers, users, and […]
Last month, hero veteran John Ratka of Veterans Northeast Outreach Center in Haverhill unexpectedly passed away. Ratka was a member of The Valley Patriot family and received the 2016, Valley Patriot Hero Veteran Award for all the work he has done to help homeless veterans, and provide services for veterans in need. Ratka was a […]
It’s no secret that print media industry is dying. It seems that almost every month we hear of another newspaper going out of business as more people get their news on-line, and with freedom of the press – and journalism itself – under constant attack. As The Valley Patriot approaches our 15th anniversary (in March […]
By: Marlene Bistany – Dec.2018 METHUEN – This is a story that should never need writing. It’s a story about apathy, irresponsibility, and disrespect. It’s a story about the bitter treatment of animals and the inadequate systems that fail in its due diligence to the community. But most of all, it’s a story about a pure […]
HEROES AND BOZOS OF 2018 While we normally reserve the word “hero” for our brave veterans, police officers, and firefighters, the use of the word hero in this yearly notebook feature “HEROES and BOZOS” is to denote community heroes who go above and beyond to make our lives better. BOZO – METHUEN SCHOOL COMMITTEEMAN […]
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 […]