High school teacher wins national award

A Topsfield high school teacher has been named the best history teacher in the nation. David Mitchell was presented the 2008 Preserve America History Teacher of the Year award by Laura Bush in a New York City ceremony yesterday. He has taught American history at the Masconomet Regional High School since 1995. He advocates the use of authentic original sources to teach history. Mitchell started his career in 1991 in Baltimore in the Teach for America program, which requires two years commitment to teach in urban and rural public schools. Bush is Preserve America's honorary chairwoman. (AP)

A 16-year-old male wearing headphones was struck by a train in Wareham yesterday, police said. The teen, whose identity was not released, was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment, police said. His condition was not known last night. Wareham police and Onset fire responded to the railroad tracks near Main Avenue at about 4:15 p.m. The teen was walking on the tracks when a Massachusetts Coastal Railroad train approached, and sounded several warnings before striking him, police said.

Shawsheen Valley Technical High School was placed under a lockdown yesterday because of concerns that a student or students might have firearms, police said. No one was injured and no firearms were found, but the school was locked down at 11 a.m. as a precautionary measure, police said. "Law enforcement and school officials will continue over the weekend to investigate this case, and ensure the safety of our students," police said in a statement. Students were released from the school by about 4:30 p.m., police said. All school activities were canceled yesterday.

The family of a Middleton man who has been missing for almost three years has increased the reward for information leading to his whereabouts. The family of John Lima, who has been missing since Oct. 28, 2005, has increased its reward offer to $25,000 from the previous amount of $20,000, according to a statement from the Essex district attorney's office. Lima, who would now be 29, was last seen at his family's home in Middleton. Anyone with information is urged to contact Middleton police at 978-774-4424.

Mayor David Cicilline says he's signing an executive order prohibiting city departments from spending taxpayer money on bottled water. The ban on single-serving bottles would take effect Jan. 1 and is intended to reduce environmental waste and promote confidence in the city's water supply. Cicilline's move follows a vote by the US Conference of Mayors in June to encourage its 1,100 members to phase out use of bottled water in their own governments. That vote was a blow to the beverage industry, which called the idea "sound-bite environmentalism." Cicilline announced the coming bottle ban at a press conference yesterday to recognize five Rhode Island restaurants that have also stopped selling bottled water as part of a national "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign. (AP)

Three school buses carrying 79 middle school pupils crashed in a chain reaction yesterday in western Connecticut, injuring 19 children. The seventh-graders from Sage Park Middle School in Windsor were returning home from a trip to White Memorial Conservation Park when the crash occurred yesterday about 1:15 p.m. on Route 202 in Litchfield, State Police said. Police said the crash occurred when the first two buses in the convoy yielded for a car, but the last bus failed to stop. School officials said 19 pupils were taken to a hospital for observation after complaining of minor injuries. They were met there by their parents, the officials said. "We're fortunate there were no serious injuries," said Windsor's School Superintendent, Elizabeth Feser. (AP)