William J. Dowd - Marblehead Current

Marblehead Rotary surprises volunteer extraordinaire Siegel on 90th birthday

23Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Marblehead Rotary surprises volunteer extraordinaire Siegel on 90th birthday

Marblehead Rotary Club members pulled out all the stops for fellow Rotarian Carl Siegel’s surprise 90th birthday on March 16. The club devoted the entirety of its weekly meeting to showering praise and commendations on the volunteer. Carl Siegel blows out the candles on his 90th birthday cake during a surprise party staged by his fellow Marblehead Rotary Club members on March 16. CURRENT PHOTO / NICOLE GOODHUE BOYD Select Board Chair Moses Grader presented a proclamation declaring March 16 as “F. Carlton Siegel Day” in Marblehead in honor of Siegel’s decades in public service. Grader read the citation recognizing everything from Siegel’s work with youth football and baseball and the town signs he has fashioned to his military service in the Navy and his current...

Target set: Proposed override would permanently add $2.5M to tax base

22Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Top Stories

Target set: Proposed override would permanently add $2.5M to tax base

Marblehead Select Board members will now place one general override, not two, before Town Meeting in May, and Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer put an estimated $2.5 million price tag on it. “I don’t want anybody to get misguided by the raw numbers,” said Kezer during the Select Board meeting on Wednesday night. "There will be tweaking." As they assembled the fiscal year 2024 budget, Marblehead Finance Director Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin and Kezer arrived at the $2.5 million number by subtracting projected revenues of $94.5 million under a no-override budget from projected expenditures of $97 million under a level-services budget. Departments made sacrifices to help address the structural deficit. "You'll see departments that have taken a good amount of cuts," Kezer told ...

END OF AN ERA: After century in business, Bartlett’s Garage to shutter March 30

22Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Business, Local News, Top Stories

END OF AN ERA: After century in business, Bartlett’s Garage to shutter March 30

Bartlett's Garage, an Old Town institution whose owners have repaired 'Headers vehicles for three generations, will soon close after more than a century in business. Thursday, March 30 will be the last day for one of the oldest continuously operated independent auto shops in the county, according to Greg Quillen. Marblehead natives and brothers Greg and Mike Quillen will retire March 30, closing Bartlett’s Garage, one of the country’s oldest continuously operating independent auto shops. COURTESY PHOTO / STEVEN ROOD A private buyer has bought the Stacey Street garage and has other plans for the property. "It's not going to be an auto shop after we leave," Quillen told the Marblehead Current. By "we," he means himself and his older brother, Mike. The brothers are re...

Marblehead fire captain commends National Grid crew for life-saving actions

21Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Public safety, Top Stories

Marblehead fire captain commends National Grid crew for life-saving actions

Fire Captain Eric Ridge commended two National Grid employees for their life-saving actions in rescuing an 80-year-old woman on Marblehead Neck at 4:10 a.m. on March 10, when a storm had closed the Veterans Memorial Causeway during high tide. "During winter storms that close the causeway, we stage an engine on the Neck along with a National Grid crew, a water and sewer crew, light department crew and a police officer," Ridge said. "We do this to ensure we can respond to emergencies such as fires, medical situations, gas leaks, etc." The Eastern Yacht Club hosts the public safety and utility crews, a protocol that Ridge credited with saving the elderly woman's life. National Grid employees Mark Weinberg, Michael Plunkett and Derrick Cutter discovered the woman lying on her side in th...

More than two dozen seats open in 2023 municipal election

18Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Municipal Matters, Top Stories, Uncategorized

More than two dozen seats open in 2023 municipal election

Marblehead’s 2023 municipal election season is underway. As of Monday, March 20, nomination papers were available for voters interested in running for local office in the Tuesday, June 20 municipal election. Between expiring and unexpired terms, there are 25 elected positions up for grabs across various boards, committees and commissions in Marblehead's decentralized municipal government, even as much decision-making authority over town affairs lies with Town Meeting and the Select Board. Open Town Meeting is essentially the town’s legislative branch, where voters authorize expenditures and budgets, sign off on home rule petitions and enact bylaws. The Old Town House, 1 Market Square, was built in 1727. It is often referred to as 'Marblehead’s Cradle of Liberty' and is one o...

Marblehead’s tree enthusiasts help warden build out canopy

15Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Environment, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories, Uncategorized

Marblehead’s tree enthusiasts help warden build out canopy

Several initiatives to further cultivate and grow Marblehead’s “urban forestry and tree canopy” are afoot. As the springtime approaches, Sustainable Marblehead is raising awareness about Marblehead’s tree fund and urging members of the public to send in donations. “Every spring in April, Sustainable Marblehead’s tree group collaborates with the tree warden to do tree planting,” the nonprofit organization’s executive director, Louise Yarmoff, told the Marblehead Current. “So, the more people know about this tree donation fund, the more money he will have to buy trees to replace all the trees that do die and have to be taken down.” Jon Fobert, Marblehead’s tree warden, said the town established the tree-donation fund in the mid-1970s after disease decimated the Dutch elm tree popul...

From 10,000 Maniacs to Marblehead: Neilds return to Me&Thee

14Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Culture, Entertainment, Life Style, Local News, Uncategorized

From 10,000 Maniacs to Marblehead: Neilds return to Me&Thee

Me&Thee Music continues its 53rd season with a concert by The Nields in their only Greater Boston appearance Friday, March 24. Nerissa and Katryna Nields will be featured at Me&Thee Music on Friday, March 24 in their only Greater Boston appearance. The Nields have appeared in concert with James Taylor, The Band, 10,000 Maniacs and many others. COURTESY PHOTO Sisters Nerissa and Katryna have been making music professionally since 1991. With 20 CDs, major and independent record and publishing deals, performances with The Band, James Taylor, Dar Williams, 10,000 Maniacs, Ani DiFranco and the Indigo Girls, they have lived the rock ’n’ roll life. Their Marblehead concert marks their first time back in years. The Nields have been lauded for their gorgeous, lilting sibling harmo...

ANNUAL AWARD: Help honor a worthy teacher

14Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Nonprofit corner, Uncategorized

ANNUAL AWARD: Help honor a worthy teacher

Nominations are currently being accepted for the Margaret Voss Howard Teacher Recognition Award, a fund of the Essex County Community Foundation. The yearly award honors the contributions of one teacher from the Salem school district and one from the Marblehead district, each with a $500 unrestricted award. Teachers, other school employees, parents, students and citizens may nominate a teacher by submitting a detailed letter explaining why the teacher should be honored and sending it to: howardteacheraward@yahoo.com (preferred) or Teacher Award, 190 Bridge St. #2301, Salem, MA 01970. Nominators should include their full contact information or a nomination form. Nominations must be postmarked by April 21. Honorees are selected by a committee of local educat...

Vulgar, antisemitic graffiti discovered at Marblehead Village School

13Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Municipal Matters, Public safety, Top Stories, Uncategorized

Vulgar, antisemitic graffiti discovered at Marblehead Village School

Police are investigating graffiti that includes vulgar and homophobic language and antisemitic symbols found at Marblehead Village School, Principal Mandy Murphy reported in an email to the public on Monday. “It is with great disappointment and frustration that I write to you concerning recent graffiti found on the roof and bricks of Village School,” said Mandy. “We immediately reported this to the police department and the superintendent.” She added, “While the area the graffiti was drawn on may not be seen by many students, it makes us sad to see the graffiti of such hate on our building.” Murphy said they are making security footage available to police. “We hope this was not one of our students and has become a police investigation,” Murphy wrote. “We...

13Mar

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Community resources, Local News, Municipal Matters, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Library transformation gets underway

A bundled-up crowd gathered in the Abbot Public Library courtyard the morning of March 8 to celebrate the start of a $10 million renovation to the library's Pleasant Street building.The event brought together elected officials, contractors, employees and residents weeks after the project kicked off in late January."Our motto throughout this campaign has been 'Our 17th-century town deserves a 21st-century library,' and we are truly thankful for everyone who has supported us in that vision," Gary Amberik, chairman of the Abbot Public Library Board of Trustees told the small crowd fanned out before him. "Today, we celebrate the start of the transformation of the Abbot Public Library."More than 30 years have passed since the library's building underwent significant upgrades. Once the renovati...