Town forms drug, alcohol diversion program
Published in the September 22, 2017 edition. WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Police Department has formed a Wakefield Youth Diversion Program for individuals under the age of 21 who are found to be in possession of alcohol or illegal drugs. Early intervention strategies, such as diversion programs, are essential to identifying issues early and connecting individuals to services. Numerous studies have shown that drug and alcohol use in the developing brain can have grave consequences, to include higher rates for substance use dependence, chronic health issues, potential for drug overdoses, depression, and suicide. The purpose of this program is for youths to take ownership of their actions and provide them with an evidence-based educational component that will hopefully prevent future issues with either drugs, alcohol, or the criminal justice system. This pre-court program was developed through partnerships with the Wakefield Police Department, Wakefield Unified Prevention Coalition (Wake-Up), the Wakefield Public Schools, and the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School. This will consist of a diversion contract with multiple components that youth must complete over a six-month period. Classes will be taught by a team of instructors that may include WPS and NMRVS faculty, Wakefield Health Department staff, and a clinician. After participating in the class, the individual will have a follow-up meeting with a mental health professional. Other components of this program during the contract period will include, but not limited to: a written essay focused on prevention, community service hours,...
read moreTo the rescue
Published in the September 22, 2017 edition. By GAIL LOWE WAKEFIELD — Most of the weather in the area this week has been dismal, with overcast skies and periods of rain, but it’s nothing like what has been taking place in the Caribbean and a few weeks ago, in Florida, when Hurricane Irma walloped the state. In response to the massive destruction and power outages throughout southern Florida, the Gulf Coast and portions of the Atlantic side, a crew from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department (WMGLD), left Wakefield in line trucks and other vehicles after receiving an SOS from the Florida Municipal Electric Association. WMGLD General Manager Pete Dion said that Dan Flynn electric superintendent, Rich Fedele and Ralph Brown, both lead linemen, left on Sunday, Sept. 10 and arrived two days later ready for work. They are expected to return to the area by the end of the week. Other linemen also arrived from Merrimac, Danvers, Middleton and other Massachusetts cities and towns. Once the crew crossed over the state line, they headed to New Smyrna Beach along the Atlantic coast and then headed west to Barto and Lakeland, inland communities east of Tampa. With a combined effort, workers got power up and running again. Work crews from Connecticut and the mid-Atlanti states also responded. As of Monday, Sept. 18, 7,000 Florida residents were still without power. NEPA, an acronym for Northeast Public Power Association, reached...
read moreName shaming
Published in the September 21, 2017 edition. By MARK SARDELLA Wakefield’s gradual slide from a proud, blue collar, working class town to the precious PC world inhabited by communities like Cambridge, Concord and Lexington accelerated just a bit this month when the Board of Selectmen decided that it would, after all, like to change its name to one that does not have the word “men” in it. They say it’s a move toward “gender neutrality,” and that may be the intent locally. But what’s brought us to this day is rooted in a place much darker than that. There’s a segment of the population that holds men responsible for everything wrong in the world and this kind of self-neutering is in part a sop to that crowd. At the same time, it’s a nod to those who are forever seeking to blur any differences between the men and women, telling us that sex is not determined by genetic science but rather by human will. We got a glimpse of the mindset that got us to this point last week when Michael Burstein, a member of Brookline’s Town Meeting, filed an article to change the name of that town’s Board of Selectmen to “Board of Selectwomen.” “To be quite frank, I wanted to make a point here,” said Burstein, apparently unaware that “Frank” is a man’s name. Not content to simply change the name to something gender neutral, he wanted to stick it...
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