The Danvers Blog

Entwistle and other horrible stuff

Posted on June 9, 2008 by cohare
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More than two years after being arrested and charged with the murder of his wife and baby, Neil Entwistle is standing trial right now at Middlesex Superior Court. The community newspaper company/GateHouse News has created a website to gather all of our coverage of the Entwistle murder trail . Go there for the latest news on the trial.

It was a horrible crime. Of course, Neil Entwistle must be presumed innocent, under the law, and this is a country of law, so I would not presume to write about his guilt or innocence without the benefit of more information from the trial.

But, I think I am free to say that anyone who did perpetrate such a horror deserves to go to jail for life.

There is entirely too much horror in the world. There’s Iraq, of course. And Pakistan. And Afghanistan. And, there’s Africa — one country after another in turmoil.

One reads about people so hungry in South Africa that some few horrid creatures are killing people from that terribly abused country Zimbabwe who have swarmed there hiding from their miserable leader, Robert Mugabe. The killers use machetes and axes and place a burning tire around necks so they’ll burn to death. How desperately hungry, however, could one be to kill? It is hard to imagine a sufficient excuse for such behavior except insanity.

And, closer to home, there is Haiti, which has suffered too much for too long.

Perhaps some of you can offer some illumination on how to make mankind act less inhumanely toward one another.

And, please see our Web site for the Entwistle info.

Cheers,

Cathryn

Help! My plants are dying

Posted on June 6, 2008 by cohare
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Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t the only place where plants are dying. But, my problem stems from the fact that I am always miscalculating how much sun I really have. So, now a lace-capped hydrangea (at least, I think that’s what it’s called) that I just bought is losing its good looks under the edge of a maple tree where I thought it would have dappled and sometimes direct afternoon light.

Every year I go off to the flower stores with so much hope. And, I am seduced by the beauty of so many sun-loving varieties. Still, I mostly pick those that say part sun or shade.

Are there gardeners out there who know what I should do?

Also, one peony has lots of buds. Another, just a few feet away, has none.

To host or not to host

Posted on May 22, 2008 by cohare
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A woman from Missouri wrote to us this week about the issue of whether parents should host a party with alcohol for their teenagers in the hope of actually keeping them safe after the prom or graduation.

It’s an interesting issue. A lot of parents realize their children or their children’s friends do sometimes do the wrong thing and drink alcohol although underage. And, obviously, they want their children and their children’s friends to be safe.

Danvers police, town and school officials and volunteers for Danvers Community Cares are against such misplaced parental solicitude. They are against kids drinking, period. They will take notice and they are engaged in a campaign to educate kids and their parents that they had better wait until the legal age.

A Danvers couple about three years ago who did the same thing. No one was hurt, but the neighbors didn’t like the rowdiness, and the parents ended up facing fines and legal fees.

Read the letter from the Missouri woman, which includes an unexpected repercussion.

“Good morning,

I hope you do not mind getting an e-mail from a total stranger, but I found your e-mail on Google searching Project Graduation.

I’m asking you to do me a favor, please, if you have time. I would like for you to forward this to your friends who have kids in high school. Some folks find it easier to say what they truly feel to someone they don’t know, who won’t go around telling everyone what they said. Does that make sense? I’m nuts, as most of you know. I’d like to take a “survey” of some sort, seeing what parents feelings are on seniors and senior parties.

It’s graduation time. The question I’d like to put before you is your thoughts on underage drinking.

Here is the story that goes with the question.

Last week, the seniors had planned on going to a field that had been mowed, tents set up and a bonfire ready, with their four kegs (much more beer than that too) to have the party the night before graduation. For an unknown reason to me, they were turned away. One of the senior girls called her mom, who is a friend of mine, and asked if they could come to their house. She reluctantly agreed, telling herself they would be safer there than on their own. They collected car keys, offered a place to sleep, rides home, etc. She thought this would be better than them being on their own, with the chance she might keep some of them from harm. Her daughter drove several girls home, in their own cars, with her mom behind her to pick her up.

After being taken home, one of the girls drove into town. On her way home, she ran off the road, the car overturned, she was ejected and broke her back. Thank God she was not killed, or did not have any of the other girls with her (two girls refused to go with her).

Now, my question is……. how do you feel about underage drinking? If you partied when you were a senior in high school, is this okay? Is this “normal” for the seniors to want to party, it’s graduation after all?

Or, is underage drinking illegal? Would you allow your boy or girl to go to the senior party because, well, it’s their senior party? I’d like to keep track of the answers, and then, if you’d like the responses, which I hope we get some, I’ll share the information with you.

I’d also like to tell you about www.operationstop.com which talks about teen driving in our state of Missouri. There is an interesting insurance article on the 2008 victims page with Missouri statistics.

I thank you very much for your responses and your help with this. Thank you!

Lisa Butler

Webb City, MO

smbutler@fastfreedom.net

If you could please list your state in your reply, that would be helpful.”

Project Graduation Grizzly

Posted on May 9, 2008 by mfearer
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Those of you who read the story on Project Graduation now know that Bob Raiche of Toys N Things generously donated the Big Bear, that greeted visitors at his Maple Street Store or walked by, to Project Graduation for the graduating seniors.

Anyone who has had a chance to meet the impressive creature, who is really quite friendly, has been quite impressed. He’s low-maintenance and very well-behaved.

Bob brought him to Oldies Night at Family Festival because he thought the bear needed a change of scene. Though he didn’t dance, he did have a great time watching everyone else and he remained on his best behavior the entire evening

Bob loves to do things to help the kids in town and so he decided to offer Mr. Grizzly to the highest bidder. The bear retails for $1,200 (not $12,000, which I inadvertently wrote, although with the way the dollar keeps dropping, that may soon be the actual cost). Anway, Bob did pay $600 for the bear, so we’re hoping that the bidding will raise at least that amount and more for Project Graduation, the all-night-chemical-free and alcohol-free party graduation night, this year June 7. The committee needs to raise at least $15,000 and the time to do so is short.

So now’s your chance to bring home a unique gift for your kids, grandkids or your customers to enjoy. He’s sure to be a wonderful conversation piece. Bidding starts at $50 and we hope you bid often and bid high. You can submit bids online, www.mfearer@cnc.com, or call me at 978-739-1327. And remember, this is for a great cause.

Another icon toppled

Posted on May 6, 2008 by mfearer
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Et tu, Barbara!

Tsk, tsk, Barbara Walters, selling out for 30 pieces of silver doesn’t become you.

For those of you who think I’m dizzy from Circling the Square, or now, the Web, it’s because that was my reaction when I first heard that Barbara Walters, the eminent, (once) lady-like journalist, is now pandering to the salacious taste of the public by telling all. By all, I mean about her affair with the former senator from Massachusetts, Ed Brooke.

After all these years, Barbara disclosed the news on Oprah Winfrey’s show so that people will buy her book. Frankly, who cares? I would much rather read about her fascinating interviews with some of the most important people in the world. I would like to hear about those little behind-the scenes stories that might seem mundane but would humanize some of these people who otherwise may come across so prim, proper and even formidable on television.

Barbara Walters made it the hard way. She earned everything she got. She’s always been someone to admire. Until now.

Barbara has toppled from her pedestal, and unlike Ed Brooke, who is still a gentleman because he didn’t kiss and tell, her behavior is absolutely unladylike and certainly says, “I don’t care who gets hurt, I just want to sell my book.”

Well, I, for one, am not buying.

Swans, ducks and loons

Posted on May 6, 2008 by cohare
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The loon isn’t me! I actually saw (I think!) two loons as well as two swans swimming gracefully on the Mill Pond on Monday. They were lovely, and such a surprise. I am attaching photos, sh ot with my little idiot digital so I’m not sure if you can see the loons. There’s a duck, too — or maybe that’s a goose. I love nature, but I sometimes miss details while exulting in the totality of the scene.

Is there anyone out there who has seen the swans, duck (?) or loons? Or are they cormorants? I really think they were loons, but Library Director Doug Rendell says they’ve had cormorants before. I didn’t see them later that afternoon, so I need some help here.

Patriotism on your sleeve

Posted on April 29, 2008 by cohare
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Do you wear a flag pin? If not, does that mean you are not patriotic?

That’s what some people assert about Barrack Obama. I think it’s a pathetic excuse to criticize someone. If one doesn’t like someone’s policies, that’s one thing. The fact that someone doesn’t wear a pin hardly seems indicative of one’s love of country or crucial to the wellbeing of the country.

There are some symbols one wouldn’t wear because they are so offensive. A swastika, for instance, is now a symbol of hatred towards Jews and others who don’t fit some mandated definition of being.

There are other symbols that are sometimes worn and don’t mean much of anything at all — a smiley face, for instance.

Others are worn because they are also a piece of jewelry, like a cross pendant. Wearing it does not make one a better person, however, or more holy than someone else.

Wearing a flag pin — or not wearing one — does not make one a better American or politician or leader of the country.

Railroad right-of-ways

Posted on April 25, 2008 by cohare
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This is one of the most controversial topics in town right now. Does the fact that the MBTA could cancel its lease to Danvers Electric, as reported this week in the Danvers Herald, have any impact on your thoughts about the town entering into a 99-year lease for the trail?

Torture approval not OK

Posted on April 10, 2008 by cohare
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I just saw this and decided to share it (statement from Sen. Kennedy). I couldn’t agree more with the conclusion that this administration has done our country a tremendous disservice. It’s a travesty.

KENNEDY REACTION TO NEW TORTURE REPORTS

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to new reports that high-ranking members in the Bush Administration authorized the use of torture in CIA interrogations.

“Today’s press reports bring yet another astonishing disclosure about the Bush administration and its use of torture. According to ABC News, officials at the highest level of the administration in dozens of meetings signed off on specific CIA interrogation practices for particular prisoners—such as waterboarding, slapping, pushing, sleep deprivation, and combinations of these techniques. Who would have thought that in the United States of America in the 21st century, the top officials of the executive branch would routinely gather in the White House to approve torture?

Attorney General John Ashcroft reportedly said that “History will not judge this kindly.” He was right. History will not judge kindly the CIA’s so-called “enhanced interrogation program” or the legal fictions invented to justify it. History will not judge kindly an administration that authorized brutal and illegal interrogation techniques that shamed America in the eyes of the world and put our own soldiers at greater risk.

Congress and the American people still have much to learn about the administration’s approval of torture, warrantless wiretapping, and other abuses. Long after President Bush has left office, our country will continue to pay the price for his administration’s renegade repudiation of the rule of law and fundamental human rights.”

More school funding ideas

Posted on April 4, 2008 by cohare
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At least we’re not Beverly, where the superintendent hopes to compete with North Shore Education Consortium, offering his own special education school to earn money while closing the newest elementary school as a grammar school to house this new venture.

He has other really radical ideas, like closing another school, classrooms of 30 or more, firing kajillions of teachers. Whew.

So, when our School Committee, again way back in January as in my prior post, spoke about cost-cutting ideas the group hardly seems crazy. Besides naming buildings and rooms for corporations, the members talked about not requiring physical education for kids who can show they get the same value from outside athletics, or membership in the YMCA, or outside dance lessons, etc.

It was a very preliminary idea, and more information is needed, like how many students and how much money would be involved and whether the savings would be worth the reduction of the program. But, at least they are proposing less frightening ideas than firing kajillions of teachers and closing schools.

And, then there’s Salem. …

keep looking »