The Lamplighter was shocked last week to see a state worker practically risking his life to fix a pothole on Interstate 495. A work crew had the far right lane of I-495 south in Haverhill closed for repairs, but this particular worker took a shovelful of hot top and walked in front of oncoming cars to dump the material into a pothole in the center lane. He then ran out of the lane to avoid the approaching cars.
The Haverhill High football team might be capable of doing big things on the football field, but they’re not necesasarily geography buffs. At the end of a practice last week, while the team was doing sprints, coach Tim O’Connor used the moment to have the team practice going off at the correct snap count. The players were instructed to start running as soon as O’Connor, a history teacher at the high school, yelled the name of a third U.S. state. After a series of decoys of numbers and phrases, O’Connor yelled “Idaho,” “Connecticut” and then “Boston.” At “Boston,”half the team took off running, thinking it was a state. The entire team laughed it off after they were ordered to sprint across the width of the football field.
After The Eagle-Tribune recently ran a story about Swasey Field receiving $1.2 million in renovations paid for with a state Parks Grant and federal Community Development Block Grant money, Mayor James Fiorentini said he was bothered by some online comments suggesting the money should have been spent elsewhere. “Don’t residents of inner-city neighborhoods deserve a nice park?” he said.
The Lamplighter stopped by Joey’s Jewelry on Route 125 in Plaistow recently to have a watch battery replaced. It took just a few minutes and when the jeweler was finished, he asked for payment of just $3. The Lamplighter felt as though he’d been transported back in time to when things cost a lot less than they do now.
In preparation to paint new lines for diagonal parking along the north side of Bailey Boulevard, the city recently had the surface of the roadway sealcoated. Drivers say that has resulted in a smoother surface, but that the black surface really stands out. City officials have not said when the line painting for diagonal parking will take place. When it does, the city says it will create more than 20 additional parking spaces. Some say it will also result in more accidents because drivers will have to back into spaces.
