METHUEN — Boston sports fans can forget about the ups and downs of the Red Sox for at least two hours tomorrow, when Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell will be in town.
The 1981 Finals’ most valuable player will be at Ted’s Stateline Mobil signing autographs from 3 to 5 p.m. He will be there promoting a new Celtics lottery ticket.
Fans can receive cards with number 31’s statistics, as well as Celtics shirts, according to Tony Amico, co-owner of the gas station and convenience store at 551 Broadway (Route 28).
I went on the radio show, Hotline with Nancy Greenwood, on WCCM 1110 am yesterday. Myself, Nancy, Bruce Arnold and several callers discussed the newspaper business, Methuen City Hall and crime in Lawrence.
I had a great time and Nancy talked about having me on again. I’ll try to give people notice before my next appearance.
To hear the podcast of the show, click on the link at the bottom of this blog post, then click on the link to hear “Hotline with Nancy Greenwood
August 6, 2009-12:00PM.” http://www.1110wccmam.com/default.asp?pid=9355
A wet microburst tore through Andover and Lawrence today, knocking down trees and ripping a hole in a building, officials said.
“We think that there was probably a wet microburst in that area,” said Bob Thompson, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Taunton. “Looked like North Street in Andover was probably the area most impacted.”
The weather event happened about 5:25 p.m., and it reportedly produced hail the size of quarters. No injuries were reported, Thompson said.
A microburst is when there’s a downward acceleration from a strong thunderstorm. A wet microburst is when there’s heavy precipitation, Thompson explained.
In this case, public safety officials in Andover and Lawrence said trees were downed and a hole was ripped open in the building at 94 Glenn St. in Lawrence, which is near North Street in Andover.
“Generally you encounter strong winds either just ahead, or as you’re getting the heavy rain,” Thompson said. “It sometimes can have a roaring sound like a tornado.”
Wet microbursts tend to be heavily localized — if it doesn’t go through your neighborhood, you probably won’t know it happened, Thompson said.
“We get a number of these every summer,” he said.
Yesterday’s storm flared up in Central Worcester County and grew stronger as it went across the Chelmsford area. It traveled through Essex County and eventually crossed the mouth of the Merrimack River in Newburyport, then dissipated over the ocean, Thompson said.
National Grid reported on their Web site that one customer in Andover was without power, along with 42 in Lawrence and eight in Methuen.
Forecasters are now on the lookout for overnight flooding, Thompson said.
METHUEN — Firefighters extinguished a two-alarm blaze at 4 Darrens Way this evening and saved a dog that hid in the basement.
Firefighters received the call about the fire at 6:32 p.m. An off-duty Lawrence firefighter had spotted the blaze. He rushed to the home, kicked in the front door and shouted to see if anybody was there, said Deputy fire Chief Charles Ripley.
Nobody was home at the time, and nobody was injured, Ripley said.
Firefighters are investigating to determine the cause of the fire, Ripley said. Ripley didn’t have a damage estimate, but the large yellow house was heavily damaged and had holes in the roof and wall.
“There’s nothing,” said Kelsey Surette, 20, who lives there with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.
She said the dog, an Argentinian Mastiff named Cali, would be Ok.
Methuen’s budget woes are worse than expected. The schools are facing a $747,400 shortfall, according to Superintendent Jeanne Whitten.
The $57.6 million school budget approved last week banked on receiving $37,369,988 in Chapter 70 money from the state. But the state budget now only calls for $36,622,588 in Chapter 70 cash to be given to Methuen. That’s a difference of $747,400.
Whitten meets with School Committee members at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at 10 Ditson Place to figure out how to handle this problem.
METHUEN - Superintendent Jeanne Whitten said today that the purpose of tomorrow night’s budget meeting, which is being held one week after the $57.6 million school budget was approved, is to make more cuts.
“We have to make some additional cuts to the budget,” she said.
This will be tough news for Methuenites, who were waiting to hear how many jobs Whitten would be able to save. Stay tuned to The Eagle-Tribune for more information.
Join Eagle-Tribune reporter J.J. Huggins in a live chat with Merrimack College Professor of Political Science Curtis Martin on the issues surrounding both Iran and North Korea.
With concerns over nuclear advancements in North Korea and political unrest in Iran, the two countries are focal points of U.S. concerns abroad. Martin, an expert in U.S. political history with these two countries will chat with Huggins today at 1 p.m. about the various issues and concerns.
Please join The Eagle-Tribune for a live Web chat with Merrimack College political science Professor Curtis Martin at 1 p.m. Monday, when we will talk about North Korea and Iran.
Martin has written extensively about foreign policy and diplomacy with the two countries. Given the news about North Korea’s alleged plans to fire a missile toward Hawaii this weekend and the election chaos in Iran, this is a good time to talk to Professor Martin.
The text-based chat will allow readers to ask questions live. People can also submit questions ahead of time to Staff Writer J.J. Huggins at jhuggins@eagletribune.com.
Please check back on the Reporters’ Notebook blog Monday at 1 p.m. or log onto eagletribune.com to watch Monday’s chat.
The Methuen School Department will be able to pay its bills after all.
The City Council begrudgingly passed the $57.6 million school department budget tonight, with councilors rhetorically kicking and screaming. The council rejected the budget earlier this month. Without council approval of their budget, the school department can’t spend any money.
Councilors complained that Superintendent Jeanne Whitten didn’t give them details about what layoffs she plans to prevent, and that she didn’t take a pay cut.
Councilor Kenneth Willette Jr. even referred to the school budget as a “dog with many fleas.”
Councilors and School Committee members are planning to hold a joint meeting with school administrators in September, which may help them work through their differences. The School Committee usually has a spread of fruit and cheese at their meetings. No word on whether they’ll bring Milk Bone biscuits in September.
