Meehan set for another tour of Iraq

US Representative Marty Meehan said yesterday he has organized a fact-finding mission to Iraq in early February. Meehan, who has already traveled to the Middle East three times since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, will lead a group of congressional leaders who will gauge troop and civilian sentiment toward President Bush's plan to add 21,500 soldiers to the region.

SALEM

An undetermined amount of money was stolen from The Salem Five bank yesterday morning, according to police. The robber, dressed in black, entered the bank at 424 Essex St. at 10:24 a.m. He passed a note to a teller and left with the money, said Detective Eric Connolly , who is working on the case. No one was injured.

MILTON

A man was killed and a woman was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on the Southeast Expressway early yesterday morning. The man, who was not identified pending notification of relatives, was driving a 1998 Ford Contour the wrong way southbound. The car collided head-on with a 2005 Toyota Highlander at 1:45 a.m. about a quarter-mile north of the Granite Avenue exit. Daisy Nagy , 33, of Kingston, who was driving the Toyota, was removed from the car with the assistance of the Milton Fire Department. She was seriously injured and was taken to Boston Medical Center, and was expected to recover, State Police said. She was wearing her seat belt. The driver of the Ford was not wearing his seat belt and died at the scene.

PORTLAND, MAINE

A Maine woman who founded an organization that helps destitute children who live in the slums in Guatemala's capital city died Thursday in a car accident in that country. Hanley Denning founded the Safe Passage organization in 1999, when she was 29, to provide assistance to children of Guatemalan families who are so poor they make their living scavenging in the Guatemala City garbage dump. Denning, a Yarmouth resident, graduated from Greely High School in 1988 and Bowdoin College in 1992. (AP)

NEW FAIRFIELD, CONN.

Environmental officials have created a task force that will look into ways to reduce drownings at state parks. Gina McCarthy, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said a "good number" of drownings and other accidents could have been prevented by improving people's swimming skills and increasing awareness of water safety. Since the DEP began keeping records eight years ago, 21 people have drowned in state parks. The News-Times of Danbury reported last month that all eight Squantz Pond State Park victims died in an area that is outside the designated swimming area and not protected by lifeguards. The newspaper said poor swimming skills and consumption of alcohol or prescription drugs were contributing factors. (AP)

MONTPELIER

About 200 bundled-up activists braved the January chill on Saturday to protest what many believe to be the illegal US-led war in Iraq and to demand that the troops be brought home immediately. Some of the speakers called for the immediate cutoff by Congress of funding for the war, while others criticized what they saw as a war for oil. (AP)

NEW HAVEN

Veterans Memorial Coliseum came down in a matter of seconds in a thunderous implosion yesterday morning, drawing more than a thousand spectators who exchanged memories about the sports and concert venue. The 35-year-old arena, which hosted concerts by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra as well as countless minor league hockey and wrestling matches, was razed to make way for redevelopment projects. "I feel sad to see it go," Mayor John DeStefano said. "Just seeing it come down this way, whatever mixed feelings we had, it's still sad." (AP)

CONCORD, N.H.

Governor John Lynch and his wife are heading to Cannon Mountain today to show tourists that there's still plenty of winter fun to be had, despite low snowfalls. They hope to remind residents and visitors that the state offers a variety of winter recreation opportunities. Visitors "can still enjoy winter sports and everything else our great state has to offer, even with the lower than-normal snowfalls," he said.