Army of volunteers from ‘In This Together 01864’ are ready to serve you...

Apr 2, 2020 by

Published April 2, 2020 NORTH READING — With the coronavirus posing particular concern for those age 60 and older or with underlying medical conditions, North Reading volunteers have joined to form “In This Together 01864.” Volunteers, all residing in North Reading, will shop for and deliver groceries and prescriptions, provide rides to absolutely essential in-person appointments, and offer a friendly check-in by phone to connect with those experiencing isolation. Over 100 volunteers have signed up to be of service. If you would like to request support for yourself or for a family member or friend in North Reading, please call one of the numbers listed below: • Elder Services (978-664-5600) • Food Pantry (978-276-0040) • Veterans’ Affairs (978-357-5212) • Town Hall Hotline (978-357-5300) Requests may also be made through the following local churches. Please...

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Isolation Sing-a-Long brings neighbors together . . . at a safe distance...

Apr 2, 2020 by

Published April 2, 2020 By MICHAEL GEOFFRION SCANNELL NORTH READING —If you were outside last Sunday night at exactly 6 p.m. and thought you heard people singing “Sweet Caroline,” it was not your imagination. It was all the brainchild a Martin’s Pond resident Joyce Davis. First, an old friend told Davis that every night at 8 o’clock people in her Medway neighborhood would come outside and sing “God Bless America.” Then Davis saw footage on the internet of self-isolating people singing from their balconies in Italy. As it happens composer Neil Diamond had recently rewritten some lyrics to make an anti-virus version of local favorite “Sweet Caroline,” sung by Red Sox fans at Fenway Park in between the eighth inning for years. It seemed appropriate, so Davis began to organize an event she hopes...

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EDITORIAL: Who could have imagined?...

Apr 2, 2020 by

Published April 2, 2020 By MAUREEN DOHERTY Editor, North Reading Transcript Think of where you were at this time last year. What were your greatest concerns? Who among us could have imagined that a year later the phrase of the day would be “social distancing?” Or that standing closer than six feet to another person in any direction – especially in public – even sitting in the front row of a Palm Sunday church service – could mean putting yourself in harm’s way of catching a virulent illness that mysteriously spares the young – mostly – but which seems to make them the silent carriers who infect those mostly, but not always, older than 60? If I’d had told you in the spring of 2019 that one year later your state would ban groups...

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Town honors, remembers virus victims...

Apr 2, 2020 by

Published April 1, 2020 By DAN TOMASELLO LYNNFIELD — The town is mourning the loss of two residents who passed away from the COVID-19 virus last week. Historical Commission member Steven Richard passed away from the highly contagious virus on Tuesday, March 24. An 80-year-old unidentified man also succumbed to COVID-19 last week. There were 11 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in town as of Monday, March 30. Richard’s sister-in-law, Sandra Nascembeni McArthur, announced in a Facebook post that Richard was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and passed away just before midnight on March 24. Richard’s wife, Karen Nascembeni, has also been hospitalized due to the virus. “Steven was the love of Karen’s life as she was his,” McArthur wrote. “Steven was a good man with an enormous heart. A true gentleman. A loving...

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TM off to late May; could be held outside...

Apr 2, 2020 by

Published April 1, 2020 By DAN TOMASELLO LYNNFIELD — The COVID-19 virus outbreak has brought life across the world to a screeching halt. The Annual Town Meeting is no exception. The Board of Selectmen closed the Annual Town Meeting warrant last week. Town Administrator Rob Dolan told the selectmen that the warrant contains 14 articles, 13 of which were submitted by the selectmen. Town Moderator Joe Markey announced on Monday that Town Meeting will be delayed from Monday, April 27 to Wednesday, May 27 due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. “Although the governor’s orders explicitly exempt any municipal legislative body, a term that includes town meetings, turnout for Lynnfield Town Meetings can be expected to exceed 175 voters, the required quorum,” Markey stated in a letter to the editor. “The logic of the governor’s orders...

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Kristen Vogel picked as next superintendent of schools...

Apr 2, 2020 by

Published April 1, 2020 By DAN TOMASELLO LYNNFIELD — That’s a wrap. The School Committee unanimously voted to offer the superintendent of schools job to Tewksbury Memorial High School Principal Kristen Vogel, pending successful contract negotiations, during a virtual meeting on Monday. She accepted the job after the vote. Vogel will succeed Superintendent Jane Tremblay, who will be retiring this June after leading the school system for the past six years. The School Committee also interviewed Reading Assistant Superintendent Christine Kelley for the position. Andover High School Principal Phil Conrad withdrew from consideration after agreeing to become Bedford Public Schools’ next superintendent last week. Vogel has served as Tewksbury Memorial High School’s principal since 2014. She also worked as an assistant principal at Bedford High School and Swampscott High School. She taught social studies...

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