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December 31st: Rabbi Robert Shapiro
dies, 71. The very popular Rabbi, instrumental in promoting understanding
and friendship in Marblehead died on Friday after a lengthy illness.
Rabbi Shapiro served for 30 as senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El,
from 1962 to 1992. Cloutman Lane residents
resist the plan to build 6 houses near wetlands resource in an
already congested area. The Reporter announces
plans to convert to broadsheet from tabloid in their next issue. 9/2/99 Terry Boylan, former Principal of the Coffin and Gerry schools was placed on paid administrative leave by the superintendent amid allegations that he assaulted a school teach in May 1999. Selectmen celebrate "Tyler Hamilton Day" at their meeting. Tyler Hamilton, the second American to cross the finish line in the Tour de France cycling marathon, and the one credited with facilitating the victory of Lance Armstrong, only the second American to win the presitgeous race, appeared at the Selectmen's table with the bike he rode. In a packed Selectmen's room, Tyler was bagpiped into the room by Cliff Smith and treated to proclamations from the US Senate, US House of Representatives, Massachusetts State Senate and House and the Town Of Marblehead. Harry Wilkinson, longtime columnist for the Reporter and Messenger dies at the age of 91. 8/26/99 Finance Committee Chairman, Charles Gessner, announced that one of his main goals this year is to combine all building maintenance and grounds maintenance into a brand new department. Following a Town Meeting vote to have the Selectmen appoint a seven-member committee to study and recommend solutions to the perceived problem of faulty maintenance of the building and grounds in Town, a committee was formed. A formal report is being prepared. 8/19/99 Marblehead Reporter announced that for the first time in its 33-year history it will be published as a broadsheet newspaper instead of its traditional smaller tabloid format. It's parent coorporation, Community Newspaper Company, which owns numerous small town community newspapers, is converting all of its papers to broadsheet. he Marblehead Messenger which is still published as a section within the Reporter, was published as a broadsheet during its stand-alone history. 8/12/99 A 28-foot Cape Dory caught fire this week in the harbor near Fort Sewall and the people on board were removed by US Coast Guard personnel. The fire was extinguished by Marblehead Harbormasters aboard the "Stacey H. Clark." Longtime Building Commissioner, Alan Hezekiah announced his resignation this week. After ten years managing the public buildings and inspection for the Town he is taking on a new career in teaching and music. 7/5/99 Tyler Hamilton plays a major role in Tour de France American win. Dave Rogers, fisherman and Recreation & Park Commission, is appointed to suceed George Carruth as Veterans Agent for Marblehead. 7/29/99 Nothing notable. 7/22/99 Two Marbleheaders, Chris Erbetta and Damon Seligson, who happened to be on Philbin Beach on Martha's Vineyard when John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s plane crashed killing him, his wife Carolyn and her sister, were thrust into the national eye when they were among the first to find debris from the crash. Specifically they found Lauren Bissette bag. The two shocked headers appeared on all national news shows and morning shows in a wild two day moment of fame. 7/15/99 School Committee selected Symmes, Maini and McKee Associates of Cambridge as architects for the new Marblehead High School. The Board of Health demands that the Salem power plant, owned by US Generating, be cleaned up and immediately comply with current standards of clean air and clean water. Glover's Regiment completes its 1999 encampment at Fort Sewall. The Marblehead To Halifax race start was held off Marblehead Harbor on Sunday, July 11th to a full array of high flying spinnakers of the 1200 contenders watched by hundreds. 7/8/99 The Marblehead School Department, under the direction of Superintendent Philip Devaux, has an ongoing inquiry into the conduct of Terry Boylan, school administrator. A teacher, Kathleen Roeser, claims that Boylan "twisted her arm behind her back while yelling at her" during a May 24 incident. Boylan faces charges of assault. Shortly after closing on Saturday night, an electric fire in the generator room left the floating Rockmore Restaurant engulfed in flames. Repairs are underway with plans for a rapid reopening. Superintendent Phil Devaux gets mixed reviews from the Marblehead School Committee. The Committee cited better communications as an issue that needed attention as well as more leadership, teamwork, and renewed focus. Jeff King, recreation supervisor, is leaving after five years of service to take a position with the Saugus Parks and Recreation Department. James L. Nelson, author of the "Revolution at Sea" saga will sign his book and meet with visitors at the encampment of Glover's Regiment at fort Sewall this weekend. MHS football and spring track coach, Kevin Callagy, leaves Marblehead to coach in his native North Andover. This leaves the MHS Athletic Department with a big void to fill before the start of the season in two months. 6/24/99 MHTV-3, the cable television service provided for the town by MediaOne may undergo changes. MediaOne has offered mostly local programming since 1986 but now proposes a more regional approach. The changes are still under negotiation. A Marblehead High School subcommittee composed of students, teachers and parents defined cheating and assigned punishments for those caught violating this school policy. The new policy will be included in the handbook for the fall. A building committee of seven voting members, two School Committee Members, a Finance Committee Member, the High School Principal Marilyn Hurwitz, and three professionals in the field (architects, contractors, etc.) and three non-voting members, the superintendent Phil Devaux, town administrator Tony Sasso, and a high school teacher will manage the design and construction of the new high school. The Board of Selectmen appointed three new faces to the Finance Committee, J. David Moran, James Dearborn, and Scott J. Smith. Publisher Ken Tate of "Good Old Days" magazine presented Harry Wilkinson, a contributor for 33 years, with a plaque in honor of his contributions. 6/17/99 The referendum for a $43 million new high school and multi-purpose fields passed with 61% of the vote (4,569 votes). Every precinct voted in favor of the new school. Local clergy reacted strongly to literature of the World Church of the Creator or W.C.O.T.C. that appeared in Marblehead on Saturday. The tract includes no reference to the supernatural whatsoever, but draws attention to RAHOWA or a call for Racial Holy War. Marblehead High School students participated in the 350th Anniversary celebration in their own way. Students Blythe Purdin and Emily Evans prepared a time capsule, while fifth grade students presented a proposal to name Necco Wafers the official state candy. Other students from the Drama Club re-enacted the first town meeting. The events were sponsored by the 350th Anniversary Committee's Education Subcommittee. Marblehead police will be adding a small sub-station to the downtown area. The station will be a community-oriented station geared toward residents and businesspeople. The State Police bomb squad discovered after detonating a suspicious device with a 12-gauge bomb that the device was a dud. The device found on the beach of the Eastern Yacht Club could have been a homemade homing device that a sailor dropped. Marblehead was officially named the "birth place of Marine Corps aviation" in a recent ceremony. The dedication plaque rests at Hammond Park. This July, the Boston Yacht Club will host the 29th biennial Marblehead to Halifax Race. 6/10/99 Marblehead High School graduates take on the future following a tearful commencement ceremony. The Grande Parade of June 12th, staged exactly six months after the 350th anniversary celebration began, may well be the grandest in all 350 years. The parade will began on Village and Pleasant Streets and end at the Coffin School. Numerous complaints about pedestrian safety not a history of accidents were enough to prompt the Board of Selectmen to adopt the recommendation of the Traffic and Safety Advisory Committee. There will now be a permanent traffic island to force Beach Street traffic to stop before proceeding on the Devereux Beach and The Neck. After 30 years with the department and nearly 18 years as chief, Police Chief John B. Palmer plans to retire July 3, 2000. The Board of Selectman did not accept the resignation letter of Ruth Strachan, Chairwoman of the Old and Historic Districts Commission. Instead they assigned Chairman Diane St. Laurent to persuade Strachan to stay. In the words of Bill Purdin, "We don't want her to resign." Mason Daring and Jeannie Stahl excited the crowd at a well-attended Crocker Park concert. The duo played Daring's "Marblehead Morning" among other favorites. Historian and author Virginia Gamage presented a plaque to the town to marl the downtown intersection of Washington and Pleasant Streets as "Moses Maverick Square". Maverick, a pre-Revolutionary War leader, served on the first Board of Selectman. At 25 years old, he helped to pull the town together. Marblehead High School junior, Shalane Flanagan broke both a state and school record in the two-mile event posting a time of 10:24:21 at Saturday's State Championship. 6/3/999 Thousands paid their respects to Marblehead's veterans and families during Monday's Memorial Day parades and ceremonies. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Gary R. Mace reminded the crown of "the high cost of freedom" and recalled the origins of our national holiday. 5/20/99 New Board of Selectman sworn in by Town Clerk Betty Brown. The new board includes: Diane St. Laurent (correction: Second Woman in Town's History), Jeff Shribman, Bill Purdin, Bill Woodfin, and Bill Conly. 5/13/99 Diane St. Laurent reelected to the 351st Board of Selectmen is the first woman to serve as chair woman of the board. St. Laurent is an eight- year veteran and the fourth woman to serve on the board. School committee incumbent, Joan Rosenthal, loses her seat to Rob Dana and Larry DiGiammarino after three years in office. The election results for the 351st Board of Selectmen were William Conly- 2,436, Bill Purdin- 2,582, Diane St. Laurent- 2,563, William Woodfin II- 2,698, Jeffrey Shribman- 2,620. Long-time Marblehead resident, Rollo Arno, passed away in March 1999 in Fairfax, VA, where he had resided in recent years near his niece and nephew. Memorial services will be held in Marblehead's Waterside Cemetery chapel at noon, Saturday, May 15. 5/6/99 In Sunday's Incorporation Day ceremonies, the watch word celebrated by Glover's Marblehead Regiment was "Independence". Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Dr. William Fowler, Jr. noted that groups such as glover's Regiment set the tone for the American revolution and for all of American History. The $53 million plan for a new Marblehead High School won by a landslide at a lively town meeting attended by 1,230 citizens. The need for serious repairs, low-interest rates, and increased enrollment for some of the reasons suggested for support of the plan. Selectmen F. Reed Cutting, Jr. attended to issues of town meeting and the 350th celebration as part of his last day on the floor. He is not seeking reelection. Disagreement over the proposed restoration of the "Capt. William Blacker Building" at Tucker's Wharf arose during discussion of the fiscal 2000 budget. Dissenters felt that the plan does not present direct services to local boaters and that boaters, who will pay for the restoration through excise taxes and mooring fees, were not well-represented at the meeting. Dr. Albert F. McNulty, a native of Marblehead, Alum of Marblehead High School, and an East Boston Dentist, passed away at age 56 following a long illness. 4/29/99 Marblehead police have been exonerated of all charges resulting from the breaking-up of a teenage drinking party in July 1996. The mother of the two "hosts", Pauline Howes, suggested that the department has "a policy of custom of abuse of power". The charges were that her sons' Fourth Amendment right to protection against unreasonable search and seizure had been violated. 4/22/99 Project to bury overhead wires in the downtown area is estimated to take between one and three years. Daily updates on the work, progress, and disruption will be given during morning newscasts on WESX radio, 1230 AM. The Finance Committee will unanimously recommend phase one of the Master Plan Option Two- a new high school- to Town Meeting for approval. The overnight parking ban in place for the winter in Marblehead has been lifted and discussions of how to change it have begun. Through a survey conducted by Donna Neff and Deborah Schneider, They found that the overwhelming majority of residents would favor a prohibition of on-street parking only during "snow emergency". Police officer Marion Keating was promoted to sergeant by a 3-2 vote of the Board of Selectmen over Officer Donald Decker. The Second Annual Walk for Beautiful Town will be held May 1. The Walk raises money for the renovation of Gatchell's Playground and the beautification of Abbott Hall. 4/15/99 The School Committee will ask Town Meeting to approve a new high school as part of a comprehensive "master plan" to reconfigure Marblehead's schools. Congressman John Tierney asks Marblehead selectmen to help him build support for a federally funded study of the health effects of cellular phones and cellular towers. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 currently allows telecommunications companies to build towers in virtually any town, so long as they comply with federal regulations, in order to ensure complete coverage of their services. So far, health studies in Europe have not been conclusive and the results of an industry study were never released. Local fishermen meet with Superintendent of the Water and Sewer Department, Dana E. Snow, to discuss the effects of a new treatment facility on fishing grounds. They claim that the new facility has produced clean and clear swimming water, however, the chlorine levels in the water have produced sterile fishing grounds. A new $10 "Town Sticker" has been approved to combine two other stickers and allow residents to both park at Devereux Beach and use the facilities at the transfer station ("the dump"). 4/8/99 Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a new high school as the first step in a $120 million school construction program. Charter School per pupil funding is under scrutiny. The state allocates a flat rate of $7000 per student for grades five through eight, however, public school funding per pupil varies with each grade. ($5000 for elementary and $7000 for high school for example). Principal Commeret argued that more money is necessary to allow the school to meet its fiscal responsibilities and to maintain the integrity of its environment and programs. 4/1/99 Lobstermen are considering a class-action suit against the South Essex Sewerage District because of chlorine discharges and alleged damage to the lobster population. Since the plant in Salem Harbor went on line, lobster fishermen have been forced to go farther and farther out to sea in search of lobsters. Finance Committee and othe Town officials while supportive of the Conservation Administrator have nixed the idea for this year, despite cogent and persuasive arguments forewarded by the Conservation Commission. "while we can't do it this year, we have set the wheels in motion to move forward in 2001," stated Charles Gessner, as reported in this week's Marblehead Reporter. Marblehead's "Big Dig," the
burying of the overhead wires on certain streets in the historic
district is set to begin phase one on April 26. Minimum purchase price set for the old
Firehouse on School street at $150,000, and it is determined
that it shall be used as a non-profit, community-based performing
arts center. |
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