WHAV (https://whav.net/author/editor/page/10/)
Haverhill’s Museum of Printing is offering children a chance to “Get Inky! Get Spooky” Oct. 24. It’s offering Lego printing, cookie decorating and skeleton building as part of a collection of Halloween activities Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the museum, 15 Thornton Ave., Haverhill
Required tickets are $23.18 with fee, and include admission to the museum, and available at Eventbrite.
A New York woman, alleged more than a year ago to have managed a Methuen house of prostitution, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to related charges in Essex County Superior Court. At her arraignment, 39-year-old Suping Zhu answered to charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, and keeping a house of prostitution. As WHAV reported more than a year ago, Methuen Police obtained a search warrant to enter Beauty Garden Spa, 5 Wallace St., Methuen, after receiving complaints from nearby resident. Officers said they conducted surveillance and undercover operations. The matter was originally heard in Lawrence District Court.
Northern Essex Community College is adding women’s flag football to its varsity athletic offerings beginning with practice in the fall of 2027 with competitions the following spring. The fastest growing sport at the collegiate level, the National Junior College Athletic Association will offer a national championship in the sport for the first time at the same time. The Knights are also expected to be taking the field by then on its outdoor athletic complex at the Haverhill campus. “We’re excited to join the growing number of schools to sponsor Women’s Flag Football, and offering new opportunities for women to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level,” said Knights Athletic Director Dan Blair, adding, “Right now, the sport has its greatest number of participants in Massachusetts within the Merrimack Valley and this will help us tremendously in building our program.”
The college said, girls flag football participation at the high school level has increased nearly 50% over the previous year across the nation and more than 80 high schools in Massachusetts will sponsor the sport in the spring 2027. Participation at the NJCAA has more than doubled since it began recognizing the sport in 2025.
Amazon’s North Andover general manager addresses Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce members when they convene for the annual awards dinner in Haverhill. Gareth Watkins will be the keynote speaker as Greater Lawrence Family Health Center CEO Zandra Kelley takes the Chamber’s highest honor—the Ralph B. Wilkinson Award. Other award winners are Princeton Properties, Business Development Award; Lawrence Partnership, Community Service Award; and Mary DeDonato and Sal Lupoli Jr., Emerging Leaders Award. The Merrimack Valley Chamber’s annual awards dinner takes place Wednesday, Oct. 28, starting at 5 p.m. with appetizers and 6 p.m. dinner, at Michael’s Function Hall, 12 Alpha St., Haverhill.
All four of Haverhill’s cannabis retailers are taking part this Saturday in the first-ever Haverhill Cannabis Walk—part of a larger weekend “No on 8 and Yes on 10” ballot campaign that also brings NFL stars Ricky Williams and Kyle Turley Sunday to Haverhill. Stem, Mello, CNA Stores and Full Harvest Moon co-sponsor the Cannabis Walk. Stem Owner Caroline Pineau said the two events are designed to educate voters about statewide Question 8, which would overturn legal cannabis sales, and Haverhill Question 10, which would pave the way for permitting of a social cannabis consumption site in Haverhill. “It’s vital that Haverhill voters are fully educated on the questions before them on Nov. 3 because they will have a dramatic impact on local jobs, city tax revenue and whether the cannabis market is controlled by licensed, responsible operators or by street dealers who don’t check IDs and don’t know or care what’s in the product they sell,” Pineau said.
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More than 200 took part in a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month this Sunday in downtown Haverhill with performances, food, entertainment and activities for children. The Haverhill Hispanic Heritage Celebration, not widely publicized in advance, brought mariachis from Mexico and a variety of Dominican, Peruvian, Guatemalan, Puerto Rican, Columbian and Cuban entertainers. There were also free foods from different cultures largely provided by the Latino Coalition with help from local bodegas; Hispanic arts and crafts for sale; informational tables with voter registration forms and local health resources; and kids activities featuring vibrantly dressed clowns, all within the third floor of Pinnacle at Harbor Place. Eridania Nieves, director of Haverhill High School’s Girls Empowered Means Success, or GEMS, summarized the day, saying, “Unidos Somos Mas, Together We Are More.”
Besides Nieves, also of ERI Entertainment, organizers included Carmenza Bruff, president of the Columbian Cultural Committee; Kathy Rurak, community organizer and fundraiser; Latino Coalition President Argenis Marte and Treasurer Penelope Guerrero Perez, also a member of the Haverhill School Committee; Aliesha Grandison; and Yojani A. Sosa Guerrero. Besides Guerrero Perez, other elected officials taking part were Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, state Rep. Andy X. Vargas and Governor’s Councilor Eunice D. Zeigler.
Note: The event has been postponed to a later date. An Artisan Fair, featuring hand-thrown pottery to stitched textiles, carved woodwork and one-of-a-kind jewelry, is coming up at Buttonwoods Museum. The fair also gives the public a chance to talk with the artists, learn stories behind the art and find one-of-a-kind items. There will also be raffles including a 50/50 split. The Artisan Fair takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Buttonwoods Museum, 240 Water St., Haverhill.
Jennifer Jackowski last month joined Northern Essex Community College as dean of STEM. She says the path she took to becoming a dean, a job she described as “beyond her wildest imagination,” may be familiar for other community college graduates. “I never thought I’d be a college student, let alone an instructor, let alone a dean. I can relate to community college students because I have some of the same lived experiences. I can set a really high standard and help give them the support to get to that level,” says Jackowski.