An impact in Namibia

Andover resident Kathryn Martorana has launched a sustainable development project in Namibia in southern Africa. In August she was awarded a Kristen Linnea Skvarla Foundation grant to develop a computer lab and adequate library at the Lano Primary School, a private school known for academic excellence. The Lano Primary School had to ensure that the room in which the computers would be housed would be secure, so school officials had metal bars installed on the windows and put in a metal door and tile floor. The school was also responsible for purchasing software to protect the five new computers from viruses. The project is in its final stages, but additional contributions would be welcomed. To donate, contact Martorana at kmartorana@gmail.com. To learn more about the project, visit http://lanoprimaryschooldevelopmentproj.shutterfly.com. Martorana is working in Namibia as a participant in WorldTeach, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. The organization provides participants with the opportunity to contribute to international education by working as teachers in developing countries.

- Brenda J. Buote

HOLIDAY EVENT TODAY - The Holiday Lighting and Prelude takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. today in the town center. Dacey Zouzas, host of the Chelmsford Telemedia cable show, "Dacey's Divas," will videotape the events for broadcast the following week on Channel 8. Activities include dance contests, hayrides, and face painting. Shopkeepers will have merchandise on sale, and Santa will pay a visit. For information call Jean Kydd, 978-256-2893. - Joyce Pellino Crane

CRIME WATCHED - A special meeting was held Nov. 24 at the Dracut Police Station to discuss an increase in crimes in East Dracut. Selectman John Zimini called the meeting after a number of telephone calls regarding incidents in the area. According to police, 15 crimes in the neighborhood were reported this year, including four car thefts and three house break-ins. Police say the best things for residents to do are to form a neighborhood watch, know when neighbors will be out of town, and be alert for unusual cars in the area. Making sure houses and vehicles are locked was also stressed, as more than 75 percent of the targeted vehicles were unlocked. Also discussed at the meeting was the prospect of instituting a bylaw requiring pawn shops to receive more information before purchasing goods. For more information, contact the Dracut Police at 978-957-2123 or the Board of Selectmen at 978-452-1908.

- Rocco Colella

HOUSE BREAKS - Local police have made four arrests in connection with two burglaries earlier this fall. Police were able to recover the stolen property and have charged the suspects with receiving it, according to the town website. They held a public information meeting on the crimes Nov. 24, warning of the increased possibility of such crime during lean economic times. - Matt Gunderson

STUDENT HEALTH PROBLEMS - The nurse's office at the Florence Roche Elementary School has seen a flurry of activity this fall. Head lice continues to be a pervasive problem among the student population, and there have also been several cases of what appears to be a stomach virus, according to a recent school newsletter. There has also been an increase in headache complaints. - Matt Gunderson

DONATION FROM SAMMY SOSA - Former major league star Sammy Sosa recently donated $15,000 to the Lawrence Family Development Charter School, said school superintendent Ralph Carrero. Sosa, a native of the Dominican Republic, seeks to improve educational and health standards for children there and in the United States through his Sammy Sosa Foundation in Santo Domingo. Lawrence Family Development, a kindergarten through eighth grade school that aims to track students on to higher education, has a large Latino enrollment. The donation will go to the Patricia Foley Karl Scholarship Fund, established in 2007 as an endowment to provide scholarships to students at the school. School officials have the goal of raising $1 million in 10 years, Carrero said. - Kate Augusto

CANALWAY OPENS - The city and the National Park Service held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to mark the opening of the Western Canalway. The walkway and green space between Dutton and Broadway streets is designed to link the Riverwalk and canalways projects. When completed, the city will have a system of walkways in the downtown area along the Merrimack River. It will eventually be connected to the Hamilton Canal District redevelopment, a new project that is expected to add retail, housing, and restaurants to the downtown.

- Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

CITY APPLIES FOR GRANT - After failing to receive a federal Community Development Block Grant last year, the city is trying again. This year's application will attempt to win $800,000 to rehabilitate run-down housing, enforce health codes, and provide social services, according to Patricia Antoon, the city's assistant director of community development. If awarded, the 18-month grant will go toward a designated target area in the east and central parts of the city. A public hearing was held last week for the final application, due Feb. 13, Antoon said.

- Connie Paige

TEN UNIONS WITHOUT CONTRACTS - Employees for 10 of North Andover's 13 unions continue to work without contracts as the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen are working to finalize new agreements. The contracts expired in 2007 and 2008. The Professional Librarians and Public Works unions agreed to new contracts with the Board of Selectmen in November that offer no wage increases in the current budget year; and the North Andover Teachers Association finalized a contract with the School Committee in November for a 1.9 percent wage increase, which was opposed by the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee. The Board of Selectmen has four other contracts to negotiate while the School Committee has six. - Brad Kane

CAR BREAKS - Nighttime car break-ins, which began to be an issue in town last year, continue to be a problem, according to Sergeant James Peters. In the majority of recent break-ins, the cars have been unlocked, said Peters in a recent senior newsletter, adding that locking cars is the best safeguard.

- Matt Gunderson

BANK GIVES OUT GRANTS - The Eastern Bank Corp. has awarded grants to two nonprofit groups in Tewksbury through the bank's charitable foundation. The Tewksbury Community Pantry and the Tewksbury Hospital Equestrian Farm were each awarded $2,500. The awards are being distributed in celebration of Eastern Bank's recent merger with Massbank Corp. In all, Eastern Bank awarded $80,000 in grants to organizations throughout Middlesex County. The bank originally intended to award $2,500 grants to 20 nonprofits in communities with a Massbank branch, but so many organizations were nominated by bank customers that the bank ultimately decided to award additional $500 grants to more than 60 organizations headquartered in those communities: Chelmsford, Dracut, Everett, Lowell, Medford, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Westford, and Wilmington. Founded in 1818 and headquartered in Boston, Eastern Bank is the largest independent, mutually owned bank in New England. Its foundation seeks to aid area communities by contributing to nonprofits. -Brenda J. Buote

ADS SOLD ON SPORTS WEBSITE - The Friends of Tyngsborough High School Athletics are selling advertising on their website, www.tyngsborosports.org, including space on the individual teams' schedule pages at $250 and $500 per ad. Advertising displays on the high school sports fields are also available for an annual fee. The nonprofit charitable trust raises funds to support team sports at the high school. For information, e-mail info@tyngsborosports.org. - Joyce Pellino Crane

HOLIDAY PARTY TRADED TO CHARITY - Employess of Red Hat Inc., the open-source computer specialists, elected to forgo a holiday party and donate the money instead to Feeding America, which supplies meals to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Company spokeswoman Kara Schiltz declined to specify a dollar amount, but said the donation will pay for about 800,000 meals. Employees at the 314 Littleton Road building have also organized a canned-food drive for the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, which serves the Westford Food Pantry. Red Hat has 20 US locations. The Westford site employs about 160 people and is the company's second-largest location, just behind its Raleigh, N.C., headquarters. - Joyce Pellino Crane

ANNIVERSARY BASH COST RISES - A 2010 bash celebrating the town's 250th anniversary could cost residents an extra $15,000 before all the planning is finished. Will Ludt and Carolyn Quinn, cochairs of Amherst's 250th Anniversary Celebration, recently asked the town's Board of Selectmen to support a $10,000 warrant article to defray the costs, according to the selectmen's minutes. Part of the money would go toward providing jugglers, magicians, and horse-drawn carriage rides for the three-day event scheduled for September 2010. For the past two years, the town has supported allocating $5,000 per year for the celebration. Quinn said planners would ask for the $10,000 in 2009 and another $5,000 in 2010.

- Melanie Plenda

WETLANDS ORDINANCE CONSIDERED - A new ordinance is in the works that would allow the town to charge a fee for encroachment on a wetland, with the proceeds going toward future purchases of other wetlands. The fee would be based on the number of feet a setback encroaches on a wetland, according to the minutes from a recent Town Council meeting. Councilor Michael Scanlon, who is proposing the ordinance, said that numerous small encroachments into wetlands ultimately devalue land the town is trying to protect. The proposed ordinance would not stop the encroachment into wetlands, but would give the town a mechanism by which officials could eventually fund the purchase of more valuable parcels of wetland. The fees collected would go into the Conservation Commission's land fund. - Melanie Plenda

SCHOOL SEEKS STAPH ADVICE - School officials said they are prepared to take steps recommended by the state to deal with a wrestler who contracted MRSA, a bacterial infection that is resistant to certain antibiotics and usually takes the form of a skin rash. It is contracted by skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or if a person comes in contact with an infected object. According to a letter issued to parents in the Londonderry School District, officials said that the incident has been reported to state health officials and the district will take whatever steps the state deems necessary to prevent future cases of infection. The letter says the wrestling mats are cleaned daily with an antibacterial solution.

- Melanie Plenda

NOISE CONTROL REQUESTED - Local officials are looking to get the state to erect noise barriers around a contentious bridge expansion project. Town Manager Keith Hickey said recently that the Department of Transportation is unwilling to erect sound barriers around the Merrill's Marauders Bridge renovation project due to cost, according to the minutes from a recent meeting. The noise from the project has already caused consternation among residents in the area. Concerns now center on future noise and safety concerns once the bridge is constructed, since a buffer of trees next to the bridge was removed to make way for a third traffic lane. Town officials plan to request a public hearing that includes local officials, residents, and the state. - Melanie Plenda

PARKWAY PROJECT APPROVED - The Broad Street Parkway project will go forward, despite attempts by the city's Board of Public Works to stop it. The multimillion-dollar road project would provide a third way for drivers to cross the Nashua River by connecting Broad Street with Hollis Street. Recently, the public works board voted, 4-1, against supporting a bond to fund the parkway, according to Board of Aldermen minutes. But at Mayor Donnalee Lozeau's request, aldermen overturned the decision, 9-4, with two members absent, according to the minutes.

- Melanie Plenda