Ledge Road Landfill
ANDOVER
A presentation on capping the Ledge Road Landfill is scheduled for March 7 at the Andover water treatment plant at 397 Lowell St. It is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. and include an update on continuing environmental assessment and the project schedule. For more information about the meeting, call the plant at 978-623-8350.
-- Dan Tuohy
CHELMSFORD
COMMUNITY SERVICE -- High school students in need of community service hours to fulfill National Honor Society and Scouting requirements are invited to the library's March 17 volunteer fair. Among the organizations and groups participating are Chelmsford Telemedia, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the Lowell Folk Festival, Sunny Acres Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, and the Lowell Wish Project. Other organizations offering volunteer positions can sign up at Chelmsfordlibrary.org. The event takes place at the Boston Road facility from noon to 2 p.m. For more information, call 978-256-5521, ext. 109.
-- Joyce Pellino Crane
DRACUT
ADDED DUTIES -- State Treasurer Tim Cahill recently named Thomas McAnespie, a member of the town's Capital Planning Committee, as assistant treasurer for the state's Abandoned Property Division. McAnespie's duties now include managing the Massachusetts School Building Authority, diversifying assets of the state retirement fund, and working with banking partners to create jobs and affordable housing. McAnespie, a lifelong Dracut resident, is a former member of the Dracut School Committee and has served as general counsel to the Abandoned Property Division since 1999. He will remain active in Dracut's planning committee. -- Rocco Colella
DUNSTABLE
FIRE CHIEF SEARCH -- Selectmen are forming a search committee for a new fire chief, following George Bacon's announcement that he will retire in June. Three to five members are needed for the committee, which selectmen hope to form next month. They intend to appoint a new chief by July. Interested residents interested can call the selectmen's office at 978-649-4514, ext. 224. -- Matt Gunderson
GROTON
TRANSFER STATION ACCEPTS MORE -- Residents can now donate old or unwanted books, CDs, DVDs, records, or cellphones at the transfer station as part of a program prompted by the Board of Health. As part of the program, the town will hand over the donated items to Got Books, which sells used books and other items, said Debby Butcher, Board of Health secretary. Residents can drop off their donations at the transfer station during regular business hours, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. -- Matt Gunderson
LAWRENCE
PICTURE PERFECT -- A local child could end up on the cover of BabyCrazy's fall catalog, which has a circulation of more than 25,000. Parents with children up to age 4 are invited to a special BabyCrazy photo shoot in Lawrence on March 12. BabyCrazy will also feature several winning photos in future catalogs. Company president Lee Fritts and chief operating officer Jennifer Rivaldo will choose the winning photos. The photo shoot will take place at IMAJINEthat, a 12,000-square-foot interactive play space on Merrimack Street. Founded in 2002, BabyCrazy is baby products company with sales representatives in 43 states. -- Russell Contreras
LOWELL
BASEBALL BROADCASTS -- The Lowell Spinners, the Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, have signed a three-year agreement with a new radio station, 1400 ESPN Lowell. The team's games were broadcast over WCAP for the past four years. The Spinners' season begins June 19 with a home game against the Oneonta Tigers. -- Alexander Reid
NORTH ANDOVER
INTO THE FRYING PAN -- Merrimack College is hosting an engineering contest for high school students who can build a catapult to throw an egg into a frying pan up to 60 feet away. The winner will receive a $15,000 scholarship for each of four years to the college. The second-place winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship per year to study civil engineering. The challenge is part of Thinkfest, an event promoting hands-on activities related to engineering for middle and high school students. The catapult design registration deadline is March 2. The winner will be announced March 24. More information is available at merrimack.edu. -- Dan Tuohy
METHUEN
DOWNTOWN VISIONS -- City officials have just received free advice about ways to re-energize downtown Methuen. The advice came from real estate executives and architects who are participating in an executive-level seminar at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. As part of their six-week program, the students -- all of whom have at least 15 years of professional experience -- studied the city's downtown, which once bustled with mill workers and services to support them. The students have recommended that the city establish a strolling area along the banks of the Spicket River, bring in commuter rail service to attract commuters and tourists, and host more frequent and more varied concerts in the ornate music hall. They also suggest opening art galleries and specialty shops in the city's architecturally unique shopping district. This seminar took place as the city and its consultants are drafting a sweeping master plan for the community. City officials say they want to incorporate some of the executives' advice into that plan.
-- Christine McConville
PEPPERELL
THREAT SPURS INVESTIGATION -- An investigation into a written threat sent to Hawthorne Brook Middle School continued this week, after the Townsend school went into lockdown procedures on the afternoon of Feb. 16. Superintendent Maureen Marshall was not available to comment on the specifics of the threat, but, according to district website, all "appropriate authorities were contacted." Hawthorne students were shifted to Squannacook Elementary School during the lockdown and then dismissed after lunch. The school was closed for vacation last week. -- Matt Gunderson
TYNGSBOROUGH
ONLINE PAYMENT -- Motor vehicle excise tax bills are due March 12 and can now be paid online at tyngsboroughma.gov. Late payments incur interest and penalties, according to Town Collector Gene Spickler. For more information, contact Spickler at gspickler@tyngsboroughma.gov or 978-649-2300, ext.127.
-- Joyce Pellino Crane
WESTFORD
DEADLINES LOOMING -- The deadline to submit a citizen's petition for the Town Meeting warrant is March 6 at 4 p.m. at the selectmen's office. In additon, nomination papers for anyone seeking an elected position must be filed with the town clerk a week later, on March 13 at 5 p.m. The election takes place on May 2 and Town Meeting on May 5. Call Town Hall for more information at 978-692-5500.
-- Joyce Pellino Crane
NEW HAMPSHIRE
BEDFORD
STAY ON CAMPUS -- When the town's new high school opens in September, students will have the choice of taking seven or eight classes. Those who take seven courses will end up with a free period, but will have to stay on campus, said Superintendent Tim Mayes. Previously, school officials had said that students would be able to leave campus during their free period. The available courses can be seen at sau25.net. -- Meg Villeneuve
HOLLIS
SCHOOL SPENDING -- Voters in the Hollis Brookline Cooperative School District will decide March 13 on whether to approve spending articles that include a $17.7 million operating budget for the coming school year. In addition, voters will also be asked to raise and appropriate $143,000 for portable classrooms, as well as $99,000 to purchase computer and networking equipment to be used in teaching. The articles were finalized last week by the district. -- Meg Villeneuve
HUDSON
INTO THE WOODS -- Though there are still no leads on how an empty ATM made its way to the woods near Bush Hill Road this month, police say they now believe it had spent several seasons outdoors. "We think the machine was stolen one or even two years ago," said Sergeant Charles Dyac, who added that the machine may have been taken from a place that is no longer in business. Police are asking anybody with information about it to call the department at 603-886-6011. -- Meg Villeneuve
MERRIMACK
WATSON PARK UPGRADES -- Though a final report on contaminants at Watson Park hasn't been completed, plans are moving forward for a grant to improve the park. Members of the Waston Park Committee completed a grant proposal and expect to learn in March whether they will receive $20,000 in matching funds from the state. "The Town Council gave us their support to submit the grant," said Jackie Flood, chairwoman of the committee. The 12-acre Watson Park was previously the site of a tannery and a chicken-processing plant. The state Department of Environmental Services report follows a five-year study that measured the contaminants in the park.
-- Meg Villeneuve
NASHUA
WIRELESS AMBITIONS -- In May, the city hopes to become the third community in the state to provide free wireless Internet access downtown. With the help of a private-public partnership, the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce is seeking bids from Internet providers to run a Wi-Fi network along Main Street from Library Hill to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, according to Chris Williams, president of the chamber. The chamber will accept proposals until 5 p.m. on March 16. For more information, visit: nashuachamber.com. -- Meg Villeneuve
AROUND THE REGION
BURLINGTON
PRINCIPAL RETIRING -- Kathleen Burns, a 37-year veteran of Burlington public schools , plans to retire from her job as principal of the Francis Wyman School at the end of the school year. Burns began her career in Burlington in 1970 as a teacher at Francis Wyman.-- Alexander Reid
CONCORD
GRANTS AWARDED BY STUDENTS -- Students at Concord Academy recently awarded $4,000 to three area organizations as part of their Youth in Philanthropy program. Youth in Philanthropy is a program of the Natick-based Crossroads Community Foundation and is designed to educate area youth about the needs in the community, the structure of non profit organizations, and becoming engaged in philanthropy through local grant making. Crossroads started the program in several Concord schools last fall. The students participated in an after-school program and had to decide how to distribute grants to local non profit programs. The students received $10,000 from the foundation and raised an additional $2,000. They gave $4,000 each to the Acton-Boxborough-Littleton Community Partnership for Children, the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, and the Milford Youth Center. The Nashoba Brooks School and the Fenn School also participated in the program, but it hasn't yet ended. Also, the Concord-Carlisle Regional High School and the Middlesex School just started the program in January. -- Jennifer Fenn Lefferts
MEDFORD
TALK ON COYOTES -- Medford's health department and its animal control office are hosting a talk about coyotes in the suburbs on Wednesday. The key speaker will be John Maguranis, a local coyote specialist who serves as Belmont's animal control officer. The discussion, "Living with Coyotes," begins at 6:30 p.m. at Medford City Hall, in the City Council chambers. The seminar is free and open to all.
-- Christine McConville
STONEHAM
MIDDLESEX FELLS WORK BEGINS -- State rangers and volunteers have begun restoring a section of the Middlesex Fells Reservation that is an important habitat for birds and butterflies. The area is known as the 90 mm site, after the anti aircraft gun site established there from 1951 to 1958, according to the Friends of the Middlesex Fells. The Fells group, in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, has scheduled a work day at the location for March 3. For more information, see fells.org.
-- Dan Tuohy
WINCHESTER
MONEY DONATED -- The En Ka Society , a women's volunteer service nonprofit organization, has donated $1,000 to the Veterans Memorial campaign. A capital campaign is underway to fund design and construction of a new veterans memorial. The current memorial, the Veterans Honor Roll in front of Town Hall, has fallen into disrepair and a group of residents has rallied to create a new one. -- Melissa Beecher
