Star treatment for hometown guy

Michael Chiklis, the Andover native best known for his role as detective Vic Mackey on "The Shield," was honored in his hometown on June 27. The 44-year-old Andover High School graduate was recognized for his career accomplishments, which include an Emmy and a Golden Globe, awards he won for his work on the popular cable television series. In a ceremony on the steps of town offices on Bartlett Street, Chiklis received a symbolic key to the town.

-Brenda J. Buote

FORMER FARM PURCHASED - The Community Preservation Committee in June completed its first land acquisition with the purchase of 22.5 acres at Acton and Robin Hill roads. The property, a former horse farm owned by Walter Lewis, was sold by Lewis's grandchildren, George and Linda Dole of Shelburne Falls, for $1.5 million. Half the amount will come from existing Community Preservation fund reserves, according to Evan Belansky, community development director. The other half will be borrowed against future Community Preservation revenues over a five-year period. The purchase was approved at the 2007 fall TownMeeting.

-Joyce Pellino Crane

FIELDS FOR PLAY - Town officials are moving ahead with plans for the recently purchased parcel on Lakeview Avenue. At last month's Town Meeting, residents voted to purchase Canney Farm for $1.42 million, using money from the Community Preservation Fund. The land is to be used for recreational fields, and the 15-acre purchase will include an adjacent parcel on which a house sits. According to the town manager's office, a park designer is being sought to draft a blueprint for the fields to be constructed over the existing farmland. Once proposals are evaluated and one is accepted, a fee will be negotiated and details of the park can be worked out. A design subcommittee has been established, which is asking that proposal requests be drawn up by July 15 and advertised by July 21. The designer would be able to modify the conceptualized plan's concept, which was originally presented during the meeting in early June. For more information, contact the town manager's office at 978-452-1227. -Rocco Colella

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - The Board of Selectmen is looking for volunteers to fill three vacant positions in town government, according to the town website. Currently, a veterans' grave agent, an emergency management director, and a Council on Aging member are being sought. To apply for any of the positions, residents can find a form to fill out online at dunstable-ma.gov. -Matt Gunderson

SENIOR VAN - After years of delay, the town finally has a van to shuttle senior residents across town or to other nearby events and stores in the region, said Martha Campbell, director for the Council on Aging. The cost of the van is being paid for by the state through the Lowell Regional Transit Authority. Seniors who want to use the service will pay a $3 fee for a local trip and a $4 fee to reach other destinations in the region, said Campbell. The town has had a bus to transport seniors for medical issues, but was one of only a few towns in the state that still didn't have a senior van for other activities, she said.

-Matt Gunderson

MOVING UP - Mayor Michael J. Sullivan's confidential secretary has been promoted to chief of staff, Sullivan announced last week. Nora Carroll, 28 , begins her new position immediately and is scheduled to make about $63,000 a year. The position has been vacant for more than a year and a half.

-Russell Contreras

GOOD NEWS ON BONDS - Moody's Investors Services has affirmed Lowell's long-term bond rating of "A3" and removed the city's negative outlook, the city announced last week. The move means that the city has a "low credit risk" rating. In a report, Moody's praised Lowell's Hamilton Canal project, which is expected to add revenue to the city. On his blog, City Manager Bernie Lynch said he was pleased about the rating and believes the city will "sustain this momentum." -Russell Contreras

ZONING TO CURB GROWTH - The City Council is expected to vote tomorrow on a proposed overhaul of the city's zoning, a key piece of the mayor's election platform. Mayor William M. Manzi has been creating a master plan for the city as a way of using zoning rules to control growth. The new ordinance and map would divide the city into districts. The City Council and Community Development Board hosted a public hearing about the proposal in April, then city officials tweaked the plan to respond to feedback, according to the mayor's chief of staff, Matthew Kraunelis. He said the city last revamped its zoning code in the late 1980s. To view the proposed zoning map and ordinance, visit the city's community development page off the city's home page: cityofmethuen.net.

-Kytja Weir

POET LAUREATE NAMED - The town's second poet laureate will be sworn in Tuesday and already has plans to coax the town's poets into sharing their work. Resident Gayle Heney was selected to take the place of Mike Souza, whose two-year term expired after he completed the town's Poetry Passion Project this spring. Heney has previously worked to spread her love of poetry, having organized a poetry wall at Stevens Memorial Library. She founded the Write Group, a group of writers who published a collection of poems. As laureate, she has proposed hosting a poetry slam at North Andover Middle School, according to Marina Salenikas, a librarian who served on the selection committee. "She's just a really proactive kind of person," Salenikas said.

-Kytja Weir

OVERRIDE AFTERMATH - Voters will probably convene in October to decide what to do with the town budget in the wake of a failed $1 million Proposition 2 1/2 override in June, said Town Administrator Robert Hanson. The two options are either using money from the town's stabilization account to cover the spending gap or making substantial cuts to the municipal budget. Hanson said Ashby and Townsend, the two other schools in the regional school district, and Pepperell have already approved the school budget, making it impossible to make cuts to the school budget for the current fiscal year. Therefore, any cuts would have to come out of the municipal side of the budget, if the stabilization money isn't used, said Hanson. -Matt Gunderson

SCHOOL COMMITTEE RESIGNATION - In a letter to the town clerk, School Committee member Keith Rauseo has announced his resignation, citing the strains on his family and "the feeling that I am working very hard to accomplish very little." This spring, Rauseo and four other Tewksbury residents proposed several amendments to the budget that had been proposed by Town Manager David Cressman for fiscal 2009, which began July 1. Their defeated amendments would have shifted $831,637 to public safety, public works, and the local schools; the money needed for those changes would have been realized by eliminating about a dozen municipal positions. Rauseo had served on the School Committee since 2004.

-Brenda J. Buote

VOLUNTEERS WANTED - The town is seeking several volunteers to serve on departments and committees. Residents interested in sitting on the following are being asked to send letters of interest to Town Hall: Council on Aging, Citizen's for Taxation Aid Committee, Economic Development Committee, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The mailing address is Town Administrator, 25 Bryants Lane, Tyngsborough MA 01879. -Joyce Pellino Crane

HOUSING LOTTERY - JTE Realty Associates of North Andover is advertising a lottery drawing for six affordable-housing units on South Chelmsford Road. The two-bedroom residences will be sold for $149,000 to qualified buyers who earn no more than $61,500 as a family of four, or $43,050 as an individual dweller. Applications for the Southgate development lottery are available at the town clerk's office and the J.V. Fletcher Library. An open house showcasing the 1.5-bathroom residences will take place on Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The application deadline is July 21. For more information, e-mail southgate@jterealtyassociates.com, or call 978-258-3492. -Joyce Pellino Crane

FISCAL REVIEW - The Town Council and School Board recently approved creating the Bedford Fiscal Committee. The committee will have no decision-making ability, but will review upcoming budgets based on anticipated expenditures of the School Board and Town Council prior to budgeting sessions, according to Russ Marcoux, the town manager. The committee will be made up of financial directors from the school district and town, the school superintendent, Marcoux, and two School Board and Town Council members. The committee will hold its first meeting in September. - Meg Villeneuve

SUMMER SCHOOL CHOICE - The Derry Cooperative School District is offering a "Create Your Own Camp" summer enrichment program for students in all grades, with many topics and subjects available. Camp weeks are July 7-11; July 14-18, and July 21-25, and run at different times during the morning and early afternoon. Some of the offerings for the one-week classes are: archery, flower arranging, Latin dance, rocketry, karate, chef's club, quilting, Mexico, poetry, digital photo, and cake decorating. Information on the programs can be found on the Derry school district website at derry.k12.nh.us.

-Meg Villeneuve

CAR BREAK-INS - Police are still looking for whoever is responsible for a series of car break-ins that occurred in the early-morning hours of June 24. Three vehicles on Woodland Drive and two on Corning Road were broken into, according to police Lieutenant Gerard Millette. Police suspect that the break-ins were done by the same person or group, and involved unlocked cars. Among the items stolen were a computer and a GPS system.

- Meg Villeneuve

DPW NEEDS NEW DIRECTOR - Town officials have begun looking for a new public works director, following the resignation of Ed Chase, whose last day on the job was June 27. At its meeting the day before, the Town Council discussed the parameters of the job, and decided to waive the requirement that the next DPW director live in town, said Keith Hickey, town manager. The town's administrative code calls for heads of the Fire, Police and Public Works departments, as well as the town manager, to live in Merrimack. - Meg Villeneuve

SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY - The longest-tenured member of the Board of Education, Edwina Kwan, resigned from her position as a member and clerk, and the board is now trying to fill her vacancy. Kwan was appointed to the school board in 2001 and her term was set to expire Dec. 31, 2009. The City Charter says there must be an election to fill the vacancy. However, school board policy states that a replacement can be appointed. Superintendent Christopher Hottel said the district is awaiting a legal opinion to see what his options are. He said he expects to know more in the coming week. -Meg Villeneuve