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Bully for you
Posted on October 22, 2007 by macmcentire
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Bully behavior continues to be of concern for parents, guardians, school personnel and any individuals who work with children. In Tewksbury on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m., the Town-Wide Parent Advisory Council (PAC), will host an important program about bully behavior. The program will take place in the auditorium at the John Christian Doherty, from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, followed by a panel presentation by Tewksbury Educators.
Christian Doherty was named General Counsel by Middlesex District Attorney, Gerald T. Leone in January 2007. As General Counsel, Doherty serves as top advisor to the District Attorney on policy, legislation, prevention, communication and outreach. Doherty serves as top advisor to the District Attorney on policy, legislation, prevention, communication and outreach. He served as supervisor in the Lowell Courts under the direction of District Attorney Martha Coakley. He also served as advisor to United States Congressman Marty Meehan, where he worked on initiatives such as the “No Tobacco for Kids Act.” He was raised in Billerica, and attended Billerica High School, the University of Massachusetts and Suffolk University Law School.
Doherty’s presentation will include, an overview of the bullying issue; including a definition of bully behavior, characteristics and signs of bully behavior. It will show the seriousness of this problem on a local and a national level, as well as recent patterns and trends, some of which include disturbing national data around middle schools. The presentation will also include a discussion of when law enforcement intervention is necessary, and the best practices to address and prevent bully behavior.
The presentation will be followed by a team of Tewksbury educators. Dr. Linda Hamilton, school psychologist, will address elementary anti-bully programs, Robert Ware, behavior Management Specialist and Adam Colantuoni will outline the initiatives that we have undertaken at the Middle School. Athletic Director Brian Hickey, and his coaches, will discuss how athletic programs can serve as a deterrent to this behavior at the secondary level.
Oohh, scary
Posted on October 19, 2007 by macmcentire
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Halloween is my favorite day of the year, so it’s nice to see both towns have some fun but spooky activities available in the upcoming weeks.
In Tewksbury, the haunted house and hayride on Livingston Street, sponsored by the Tewksbury Recreation Department, will be held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 7-10 p.m. from now through Halloween.
In Wilmington, on Sunday, Oct. 28, the Wilmington Recreation Department will sponsor the 40th annual horribles parade. A fire engine will lead the children from Church Street to the high school cafeteria, where many treats will await them. The parade will start at the public safety building at 4:30 p.m.
If anyone knows of any other Halloween happenings in either town, e-mail me and let me know at tewksbury@cnc.com or wilmington@cnc.com
This time, the owls are what they seem
Posted on October 18, 2007 by macmcentire
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There’s a fun and interesting activity for Wilmington kids coming next week.
On Thursday, Oct. 25, naturalist Marcia Wilson will share her passion of owls with the Shawsheen third-graders, as part of the “Eyes on Owls” program. This interactive program includes a slide show, hooting lessons and an up close encounter with six lively owls.
Did you know these secretive birds are specially adapted for living in many diverse environments, ranging from winter marshes to open grasslands? With such keen senses of sight and hearing, owls can hunt their prey in almost complete darkness. Most owls thrive on small rodents like mice and voles. For some, insects, ducks, snakes and bats are on the menu. Some owls eat frogs and fish while one prefers a meal of skunk.
The best part is, the students will be able to see the nocturnal birds up close, an opportunity not many people get. For those not in the third grade, check out “Owl Cam” at www.owlcam.com, for images captured by camera and microphone from the nesting box of Ward and June, a pair of wild barred owls living in eastern Massachusetts.
About snout
Posted on October 17, 2007 by macmcentire
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The issue of smells coming from the Krochmal Farm’s pigs in South Tewksbury is not as black-and-white as it first appears.
Yes, residents of the neighborhood surrounding the farm do indeed have a right to be concerned about the smells coming from the pigs, which they allege has lowered the quality of life in the area.
In an official statement, the farm’s owners state that they are in full compliance of the law, and that it is regularly inspected by state and federal inspectors. Throughout the years, families from the neighborhood have been known to frequent the farm, and say they enjoy living near agricultural land. As easy as it might be to point at the farm and make its owners the bad guys here, the truth is that they’re just being farmers.
That being said, something must be done.
An evening drive through the neighborhood last week revealed that the smell really is overpowering, even in a car with windows rolled up and the air conditioning on. For folks living around there, the putting up with the smell all day and all night must be a constant source of aggravation. That’s no way to live.
Allegedly, there are companies that produce machines that can control or lower the smell of the animals. Perhaps these are incredibly expensive, but there might be other ways to relieve the odor. Farming is the world’s second-oldest profession, and farmers tend to surprisingly innovative when it comes to problem solving. In the thousands of years of farming history, surely someone, somewhere has come up with a simple, cost-effective means of keeping pigsty stink under control.
Pigs aren’t going to stop living in filth. They’re pigs — that’s who they are. Farms aren’t going to get rid of pigs. They’re farms — that’s what they do. Still, something must be done to put the neighbors at ease, and let them get back to their lives without constantly being bothered by the pigs’ unique aroma.
Welcome
Posted on October 15, 2007 by macmcentire
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Mac McEntire here, editor of the Tewksbury Advocate and the Wilmington Advocate. This is the debut installment of “From Mac’s Perch,” the Tewksbury/Wilmington blog.
Normally, I stay behind the scenes and let the paper’s stories, photos, and features speak for themselves. Blogging, however, is a new form of spreading the word, one in which there are fewer rules. This means I can write in first person if I want to, and I can use silly made-up words like “blogosphere.”
