Fire scorched 15 to 20 acres of woods off Sterling Lane near the North Andover line on April 25 as the state continued under a brush fire alert. Haverhill Deputy fire Chief Doug Brown said the fire was spotted by the Andover fire tower at 1:31 p.m. It took more than three hours to quell the blaze, which did not threaten any homes or structures. No one was injured. Four Haverhill crews plus a mutual aid crew from the North Andover Fire Department were at the scene until about 5:15 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation
Floating city boat docks behind the Water Street fire station and in back of The Tap restaurant off Washington Street would be off-limits to fishermen under a proposal by the Harbor Commission. The ban is being considered to allow boaters easier access to public boat docks and concern about the potential of a child falling into the Merrimack River while fishing from the docks, which can be unstable when the river is choppy. Anglers would still be allowed to fish from riverbanks.
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Covanta, which bought the Ward Hill landfill and adjacent trash incinerator from Refuse Fuels, installed a system to capture methane gas produced by decomposed trash in the landfill and convert it to energy. Trash rotting underneath quietly provides enough energy to power more than 2,000 homes. Covanta covered the landfill with a layer of plastic to stop the escape of methane gas into the atmosphere, then installed a piping system to draw the gas out of the landfill. The gas is filtered and burned in a methane gas generator that produces about 1.6 megawatts of power.
A 14-year-old student pulled a knife on a staff member at Haverhill Alternative School and ran from the building before being wrestled to the ground by several officers in a neighbor's yard. Principal John DePolo said the boy did not try to stab anyone and there are no prior disciplinary problems. Police spokesman Sgt. John Arahovites said police responded to a call from the school at 8:37 a.m. on April 29. Police charged the boy with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, threatening to commit a crime, and resisting arrest. After being booked at the Haverhill police station the boy was transported to Lawrence Juvenile Court.
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School Supt. Raleigh Buchanan will stay at the helm of city schools for at least three more years and receive a raise of more than $10,000, according to the terms of his proposed new contract. The School Committee has given preliminarily approval to a three-year deal for Buchanan, 66, which includes an option for a fourth year. The agreement includes an immediate pay raise from $130,000 to $140,675 per year, and opportunities for additional raises to be negotiated at the start of the second and third years, according to a School Committee overview of the contract obtained by The Eagle-Tribune. The agreement also includes $16,500 in annual perks, including: $5,000 payments into a retirement account; $5,000 for professional development training; and a $3,000 personal vehicle allowance. Mayor James Fiorentini confirmed the School Committee approved the terms of the contract in a closed-door meeting last week by a vote of 5-0.
Boyfriend faces rape charges — The mother of a 15-year-old girl got a court restraining order to keep the girl's 20-year-old boyfriend away from her, but it didn't work, police said. Now the man, identified as Martin Cameron, 127 How St., is facing charges of violation of a court order and two counts of statutory rape. Sgt. John Arahovites said Cameron and the girl apparently met at the public library a couple of months ago and began a relationship. But the girl's mother disapproved of the relationship. Cameron was arrested at the police station on April 27 after an investigation.
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A painter was on a ladder 12 feet off the ground working on a house at 24 Harrison St., when the bottom of the ladder kicked out, plunging him to the sidewalk below. Sgt. John Arahovites identified the victim as Bernard Calina, 44, but no address was available. Calina was treated at the scene by a crew from Trinity Ambulance Service and taken to Caritas Holy Family Hospital for treatment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which probes industrial accidents, was notified.
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The mayor wants to weave together city departments with the School Department, making them work more efficiently to save taxpayers money. The reorganization would take effect in July. The plan does not include any immediate layoffs. but several positions in finance and personnel would be eliminated when employees resign or retire. Fiorentini said the merging of school and city functions and jobs is based on recommendations by the state Department of Revenue to several financially troubled communities it audited recently, including Salem, Ipswich, Springfield and Lawrence.
The Public Works Department discovered a backlog of the 300 requests from residents to remove large tree stumps and dead trees, as well as overgrown limbs. The mayor plans to spend $59,500 to hire a company to help remove at least 100 rotted trees and stumps. Money will be transferred from the public parks salaries and wages account to the tree removal account. City Council President Michael Hart said the money the mayor plans to spend is already in the city budget.
Tim Coco, 46, founder of the local advertising agency COCO + Co., launched an advertising campaign that focuses on his international marital plight — nearly nine months without his husband, Genesio Oliveira Jr. Oliveira, who married Coco in 2005, voluntarily went back to Brazil last August when he could not get the government to recognize him as a documented alien. The advertisement is scheduled to appear on the back page of the Washington Post's Express newspaper. The ad, which includes the couple's wedding photo, is a direct appeal to the government to have Oliveira, 28, returned to the United States from Brazil. An estimated 280,000 adults will see the ad. Coco hopes that includes President Bush and 535 U.S. senators and representatives. The ad cost him roughly $2,000, which included a discount because he runs an advertising agency, he said.
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City Councilor Robert Scatamacchia received complaints from residents who say their quality of life is being affected by large vehicles that are allowed to park near their homes for days, weeks and even months at a time. He said the police can do little to stop it because of existing city laws governing registered vehicles, including boats. He is asking for a change in city laws that would prevent these kinds of registered vehicles from parking on the same street for more than 24 to 48 hours. City lawyers are studying the possibility of a change in the ordinance. It would require approval of the City Council.
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Bert LaCerte, a resident of the Wood School neighborhood, sent an e-mail to Mayor James Fiorentini expressing his concern about dead beavers on North Avenue. He told the mayor he is worried that wildlife is being driven out of its natural habitat because of the recent construction of the new Merrimack Valley Hospice House. The two dead beavers he saw were near the construction site. The mayor said he would have the city's Conservation Department investigate.
Just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday, April 30, two women and a man who had just left a downtown nightspot were walking on Essex Street near Moulton Way when a sport utility vehicle pulled up and the occupants started a conversation. A man in the SUV grabbed a purse being carried by one of the women, then the vehicle sped off. Police were called and got a description of the blue Ford Explorer. Then about a half-mile away, an officer saw the Explorer at the Xtra Mart at the intersection of Hilldale Avenue and Broadway. Police arrested five men without a struggle. One of the men had used a debit card from the stolen purse to buy $50 worth of gasoline and $102 in cigarettes. All were charged with unarmed robbery. The five men are: Ivelis Pabon, 24, 103 Portland St., also charged with possession of a class C substance and credit card fraud; Matthew McNeil, 20, 75 Temple St., warrant for possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute; Kristopher Graciale, 20, 10 Arch St., receiving stolen property under $250; Alejandro Rosado, 33, 2 Germain Ave.; and Brandon Easter, 29, 52 High St.
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An eastbound tractor-trailer ran into a snag trying to pass under the train bridge in Railroad Square on May 1, backing up traffic on Washington Street. The vehicle was too tall to fit under the bridge, so the driver had to back up. For about 10 minutes, traffic backed up into Washington Square and River Street. Eventually, the driver of the truck was able to back up onto Washington Street opposite the Comeau Bridge, before taking a sharp right turn onto River Street heading west. Police stopped traffic in both directions to allow the truck to change direction. The incident happened about 3 p.m.
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A city man who was arrested on a fifth drunken-driving charge remains behind bars without bail awaiting a hearing to determine whether he is a danger to society. Barry Beede, 65, 276 Liberty St., was to appear April 29 in Haverhill District Court, but his case was postponed to May 9, court officials said. He was arrested April 22 on Hilldale Avenue after a witness told police Beede was driving erratically and almost hit a motorcycle head-on.
