Andover school day won't expand

November 2, 2008

Educators at Wood Hill Middle School announced late last month that they have decided not to expand the school day. In a letter sent to parents, principal Patrick Bucco said that a committee of parents and staff determined there were too many unanswered questions about the expansion. The school was the last in the district to decide not to pursue state funding to add 300 hours of class time to the school year. In all, six of Andover's public schools had considered applying for the funding; Wood Hill was the only one that submitted, in July, a preliminary proposal for a grant.

- Brenda J. Buote

MALL FEELS CRUNCH - A liquidation of 371 Linens 'n Things stores is leaving a hole at the Chelmsford Mall. Efforts by the Clifton, N.J., retailer to find a buyer for its ailing chain failed earlier this fall. The local retail outlet is discounting its inventory from 10 to 30 percent as it prepares to permanently close after all inventory and fixtures are sold. Linens 'n Things opened in Chelmsford in 2003. Its arrival symbolized the mall's rejuvenation after Bradlees Department store and seven other mall tenants went bankrupt during the '90s. Kohl's Department stores took over the Bradlees leases in 2001. Three years later, the mall's owner, Ray Carye welcomed Linens 'n Things and signed a 10-year lease with Staples. Carye, of Cambridge-based TRX Carex Realty Trust, could not be reached for comment. - Joyce Pellino Crane

FLU CLINIC SET - The Dracut Board of Health will hold its next flu clinic before the scheduled Town Meeting tomorrow. The clinic will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with the meeting slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Dracut Senior High School auditorium. To receive a flu shot, residents must pay $5 unless they have a Medicare insurance card. Those interested should call the department at 978-453-8162. According to the Board of Health, future clinics will be announced later this week. The board also holds routine vaccinations and childhood blood testing every Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. and again from 2 to 4 p.m.

- Rocco Colella

HOUSING VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT - The Affordable Housing Planning and Development Committee, the town's designated entity for overseeing the creation of affordable housing in town, is looking for volunteer members, according to the town website. Interested residents can reach David Johnson at 978-649-9479 or at dcjohnson99@gmail.com. The committee completed an affordable housing plan for the town in 2007 and is now trying to implement it.

- Matt Gunderson

SMART GROWTH WORKSHOP - The Nashua River Watershed Association is sponsoring two workshops on the issues of smart growth and sustainable development. The workshops run on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 from 7 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. in the river resource center on Main Street. The forums will focus on ways communities can develop sustainable local economies in the face of natural resource depletion, and difficult economic conditions. - Matt Gunderson

CONSERVATION HONOR - Groundwork Lawrence, a nonprofit Lawrence-based organization, was recently named the Conservationist of the Year by the Trustees of Reservations, said Mark Wamsley, spokesman for the trustees. Groundwork Lawrence partners with local organizations, businesses, and residents to improve the quality of life and the built environment in the city, said Kate O'Brien, executive director for Groundwork Lawrence. O'Brien said the group works on everything from poverty and economic stability in homes to public health issues related to diet.

- Kate Augusto

GROUP GETS FUEL GRANT - Community Teamwork Inc. has received a grant from the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation to help residents pay for oil this winter. The $105,300 grant would help families whose income levels exceed federal guidelines to qualify for the national Low-Income Heating Assistance Program. The federal Department of Health and Human Services eligibility guidelines call for an income limit of $42,400 for a family of four. Karen Frederick, executive director of CTI, said the grant the will allow CTI to provide families and individuals who are slightly over the eligibility limit for federal and state programs with a tank of oil, as well as weatherization services for their houses. Typical weatherization services include insulation and the sealing and repair of cracks, openings, and poorly fitting windows. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

STUDENTS REMEMBER - Methuen High School students have raised more than $2,000 for a family of a teacher who died just before the start of the school year. The students raised the money by selling spider decorations on campus in honor of special education teacher John Webb. The 57-year-old teacher died in August and left a wife and three children.

- Russell Contreras

COLLEGES COLLABORATE - Merrimack College and Simmons College School of Health Sciences recently announced an agreement for preferred admission of qualified fourth-year undergraduate students to the direct-entry master of science nurse practitioner program and to the doctoral program in physical therapy at Simmons College. The agreement offers preferred admission for up to four students from Merrimack College to the programs each year. Application to the programs does not require a specific undergraduate major, and any undergraduate discipline will be considered, the schools said.

- Russell Contreras

PAY TAXES ONLINE - Residents can now pay their property taxes at the town website, town.pepperell.ma.us. The service is offered through UniBank, an online municipal banking service. Residents may have to pay a transaction fee if they use a credit card to pay taxes online. No transaction fee is charged for paying directly through a checking account.

- Matt Gunderson

LOCAL ANGLE IN DOCUMENTARY - A PBS documentary about the devastating effects of polio and the scientific race to find a cure will feature a local museum, the Public Health Museum in Massachusetts, which is housed in the old administration building at Tewksbury Hospital, 365 East St. The "American Experience" documentary is scheduled to air in February. It will focus on the life of a young man who, at 13, was diagnosed with polio and placed in an iron lung. The museum provided the PBS film crew use of an iron lung and the space needed to recreate a 1950s hospital room; the room was used by the crew to recreate scenes from the young man's perspective. For more information about the museum, visit www.publichealthmuseum.org.

-Brenda J. Buote

VOTERS CAUTIONED - Less than two weeks after four fulltime school positions were eliminated, the School Committee is opposing Question 1 on the state ballot. Members have posted a statement at tyngsboroughps.org cautioning residents about the initiative to eliminate the state income tax. "Passage would cut the state budget by 40 percent, cause massive reductions in local aid to cities and towns, and result in drastic reductions in school programs," according to the posting. On Oct. 21, teaching specialists and administrators were laid off and line items for materials, equipment, and supplies were slashed in an effort to cut about $300,000 from the $16.6 million budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.

- Joyce Pellino Crane

SPORTS GEAR SOUGHT - Used skates, snowboards, and skis are wanted for Boy Scout Troop 159's annual winter sporting goods sale at First Parish Church United, 24 Main St. Drop-off hours for the consignment items begin Nov. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m., and the next day from 7 to 9 a.m. Purchase equipment from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 8. Proceeds benefit troop activities. For information, contact Rick McNeill at 978-692-8077.

- Joyce Pellino Crane

BUDGET TRIMS CONSIDERED - Residents may see a slowdown in town services in the future as officials look to trim next year's budget because of the flagging economy. Without getting into specifics, Town Administrator Gary MacGuire said that residents may see cuts to address the rising costs in the "legal, insurance, and welfare" areas. In an e-mail to the Globe, MacGuire said that "ultimately, this could lead to a decrease in the level of service delivered if other economies cannot be found. The town has a longstanding tradition of doing 'more with less.' However as the necessary costs of doing business continue to increase, the necessity may be to do 'less with even less.' " Other savings measures were discussed at a recent joint meeting of the Souhegan and Amherst school boards and selectmen. - Melanie Plenda

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Town officials have approved the formation of an economic development commission, according to Town Manager Russ Marcoux. The council approved the commission at its Oct. 22 meeting. The nine-person panel will recommend ways the town can attract new business and development and retain business. The Town Council will interview six candidates chosen by Marcoux, with confirmation on Nov. 5, Marcoux said. The panel will include three people representing local government, two representing institutions, and four citizens with backgrounds in banking, marketing, development, and software, Marcoux said. All of the commissioners will be volunteers. The commission will not cost the town anything this year, Marcoux said, but $50,000 has been appropriated to running the commission in the 2009 budget. - Melanie Plenda

FARM LAND AVAILABLE - Town officials will be offering leases on town-owned land to farmers in an attempt to preserve the land for agriculture. The move started because a local vineyard owner, Al Fuchino, asked if he could lease a portion of the town-owned Woodmont Orchard in an effort to expand his vineyard, according to Oct. 13 selectmen's minutes. Fuchino's proposal spurred selectmen to recommend sending out public notices offering to lease land to other farmers. The board may also create an agricultural commission in the future.

- Melanie Plenda

VETO SPARKS PROTEST - The mayor's recent veto of city firefighter contracts has sparked picketing by firefighters. Aldermen approved the agreement Oct. 14 in an 8 to 6 vote. The proposed bargaining agreement would add $650,000 to the $1.2 million budgeted for firefighters, Mayor Donnalee Lozeau wrote in a letter discussing the veto. One reason Lozeau gave for the veto was that the cost increase may cause aldermen to cut funds from infrastructure improvements and city programs. Lozeau has asked that negotiating teams return to the bargaining table.

- Melanie Plenda

POLICE GRANTS - The Salem Police Department has received two $1,000 grants from the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council. The money will be used to send two officers to the Massachusetts Police Leadership Institute in Lowell, said Police Captain Shawn Patten at a recent selectmen's meeting. The department also received $750 from Target Stores, which will be used to purchase additional barricades for their emergency management trailer, and it received a $400 donation from a resident for the department's K-9 program.

- Melanie Plenda