Destiny Alicea, the winner of the Haverhill Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year award, was honored on Monday by Gov. Deval Patrick. She was named a finalist for the state's Youth of the Year award and given a tour of the Statehouse and a visit with Patrick.
The girls at Whittier Middle School had an impressive sports season during the 2011-2012 school year. The girls took every middle school championship, winning in cross country, soccer, basketball, volleyball and track. School officials believe such a feat has never happened before.
The Lamplighter encountered a strange sight on upper Hilldale Avenue late the afternoon of Memorial Day. Cars began pulling over and a police cruiser zipped into the area, the patrolman putting on his flashing lights. The reason for the excitement? A huge snapping turtle had wandered into the road from a swamp across from St. Joseph's Cemetery. The turtle was about 2 feet across and hissed when anyone got too close. The police officer took an ice scraper from the trunk of his cruiser and pushed the animal out of the road, assuring onlookers it would find its way back to its home.
Here's a tip for drivers on Main Street near the Interstate 495 overpass: Slow down or risk getting a ticket. Police have been focusing on the area lately, sometimes using radar guns to clock the speed of cars going south on the overpass. Drivers on Main Street tend to speed up when they hit the overpass, zipping across it and breaking the speed limit when they reach the area near Duston Square.
The Greater Haverhill League of Women Voters registered 104 new voters during a recent student voter registration effort at Haverhill High and Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High. At Whittier, 37 students who registered come from Haverhill, Newbury, Newburyport, Georgetown, Groveland, Amesbury, Merrimac and Methuen. At Haverhill High, all 67 newly registered student voters are from Haverhill. The league hopes to expand its efforts and cover other area high schools in the future, said Roz McKeon, the league's voter registration committee chairwoman.
