Public safety

Marblehead police log: Aug. 12 to Aug. 18
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Marblehead police log: Aug. 12 to Aug. 18

Friday, Aug. 12 9:19 a.m. Woman came into police station to discuss ongoing issues with her neighbor. She claimed that she was now being evicted due to the neighbor's "exaggerated and false reports." She was advised of her rights under M.G.L.c. 258E and the process for obtaining a harassment protection order. 3:50 p.m. An officer responded to the scene of a vehicle crash on Pleasant Streeet. 4:18 p.m. A caller on Crowninshield Road reported boats making noise. 6:42 p.m. While conducting a property check at Seaside Park, an officer discovered graffiti on a bench and a trash barrel by the basketball court. Graffiti found on bench at Seaside Park basketball court on Aug. 12. Saturday, Aug. 13 8:18 a.m. Officer spoke with woman who at around 2 a.m. had heard people talkin...
Swastikas, racial slurs spray-painted on Marblehead’s Hamond Nature Center
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Swastikas, racial slurs spray-painted on Marblehead’s Hamond Nature Center

Marblehead's Hamond Nature Center Marblehead Police are investigating antisemitic and racist graffiti discovered Thursday, September 8, at the Hamond Nature Center, 30 Everett Paine Blvd. The property is owned by the town's Recreation and Parks Department, which runs programming there. It's also the site of the former Camp Shore Lea. “The whole back of the building was covered with bad stuff,” said Rec and Parks Dir. Peter James. He discovered the graffiti yesterday when he went to the building to check on its new roof. “There were swastikas and racial slurs, antisemitic slurs. Not a lot of good stuff. I’ve seen graffiti before, but not in this amount.” James said the building's back wall is 70-100 feet long and it was covered.  The vandals used white, yellow and blue spray p...
Marblehead Police continue to investigate latest instance of racist, homophobic vandalism
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Marblehead Police continue to investigate latest instance of racist, homophobic vandalism

Chief reports uptick in graffiti Marblehead police are continuing to investigate a case of racist and homophobic graffiti discovered July 26 in a vacant Marblehead Housing Authority apartment on Barnard Hawkes Court.  Barnard Hawkes Court “Somebody used a marker to go throughout the apartment and write different things. There were about a dozen markings on the wall -- homophobic and racist comments,” said Chief Dennis King. There were also comments targeting a person at the Housing Authority, King added. He declined to elaborate because the investigation is active. King will report the incident to the Anti-Defamation League and the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination. While the incident was noted in the police log, the department did not proactively seek to...
Despite a very dry summer, MWRA membership spares Marblehead from water restrictions
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Despite a very dry summer, MWRA membership spares Marblehead from water restrictions

In a season marked by yellowing lawns, community water bans and even the occasional brush fire, Marblehead residents have enjoyed a summer free of water restriction - despite one of the driest summers in years. As many North Shore communities face outdoor water bans, the town’s membership in the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority for its water supply has spared the town from the worst effects of the regional drought, Marblehead Water, Sewer and Public Works Superintendent Amy McHugh told the Marblehead News. A map of the Massachusetts Water Reasource Authority's communities and their color-coded tier of water service. [COURTESY PHOTO / MWRA's WEBSITE] That’s because the Quabbin Reservoir, the 412-billion-gallon water reserve in central Massachusetts that supplies water to 46...
Marblehead officials suspect transfer station blaze was set intentionally
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Marblehead officials suspect transfer station blaze was set intentionally

Marblehead public safety officials suspect someone intentionally ignited the fire that spread to several large piles of yard waste at the transfer station off Woodfin Terrace Aug. 1. Officials estimate the hours-long response and overnight cleanup cost $65,000. "It is suspected that the fire was set," Fire Chief Jason Gilliland told the Marblehead News, adding that Sgt. Sean Brady and Capt. Eric Ridge are conducting the criminal] investigation. Marblehead firefighters battle blaze at the transfer station on Monday, Aug. 1. [STAFF PHOTO / WILL DOWD] Gilliland said the fire had already spread to multiple piles of yard waste by the time firefighters arrived on scene, which he immediately found suspicious. “I just find it hard to believe it went from this pile, to that pile, to t...
Marblehead firefighters, police to observe 21st anniversary of Sept. 11
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Marblehead firefighters, police to observe 21st anniversary of Sept. 11

The Marblehead fire and police departments will join others across the country in conducting a remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. sharp on Memorial Park to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent losses suffered at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. "This ceremony will be part of a nationwide salute to fallen firefighters, police officers and civilians, and to the extraordinary response to tragic events that have changed all of our lives," Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said. The Marblehead fire and police departments invites local leaders and members of the community to participate in the remembrance service as a way of providing them with the opportunity to pay tribute the lives lost on Sept. 11....
Marblehead News Spotlight: Harbormaster Mark Souza
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Marblehead News Spotlight: Harbormaster Mark Souza

Harbormaster Mark Souza on Marblehead Harbor PHOTO BY LEIGH BLANDER You might imagine that Marblehead Harbormaster Mark Souza spends his August workdays on the water, enjoying the summer sun and sea breezes. Not exactly. “We don’t just drive around,” Souza said. “We’re monitoring the radios, responding to emergency calls and maintaining gangways and docks. We’re very hands on." “We’re carpenters, plumbers, firefighters, ambulance drivers,” he added. “We wear a lot of hats.” Souza manages the 1,800 moorings in Marblehead Harbor and another 1,200 on the Marblehead side of Salem Harbor. He is in charge of the 20-year-long wait list for moorings in Marblehead Harbor, which has the third highest demand for moorings in the state behind Barnstable and Hyannis. (The mooring wait l...
On a hot summer day, Marblehead brings out the ultimate sprinkler
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On a hot summer day, Marblehead brings out the ultimate sprinkler

Marblehead Fire Department pulled out all the stops on Thursday afternoon to keep local kiddos cool and have a little fun. Hundreds of families descended on the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center parking lot as water rained down from Marblehead Fire Department’s centerpiece ladder engine, outstretched in all her glory. The apparatus can reach 105 feet, according to Fire Chief Jason Gilliland . "This is the second year that we've done this," said Firefighter Mark Tentindo, standing among his fellow firefighters. "We've done it when camps request it." Firefighters gave a big thanks to Marblehead Water and Sewer Department Superintendent Amy McHugh, who unmetered the water for the summertime event. https://videopress.com/v/BeNjjpVA?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&...