Haverhill

Podcast: In Advance of 50th Anniversary Celebration, ‘Spike’ Sprague Reveals Little Known Facts

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It won’t be long before members of Haverhill High School’s 1973-74 hockey team gather for the 50th anniversary of the program and one of the organizers is revealing decades-old details. The celebration takes place Saturday Feb. 17, at Haverhill High School’s Veterans Memorial rink with a game against Shawsheen. Richard “Spike” Sprague, who scored Haverhill High’s first varsity goal, gave away some secrets during a visit last week to WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. “I guess you’re going to find out why I scored the goal, because he went into emergency duty because the starter was out.

Haverhill

Podcast: MakeIt Haverhill’s Boucher Tells of Motivation by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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This week’s observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day brought back memories for some and reinstilled long held values motivated by the slain civil rights leader. Among them, Keith Boucher, founder of MakeIt Haverhill, who first became aware the concept of equity when he was a child. “When I was young, back in the early 60s, we used to eat a lot of grapes during the summer, I don’t know why, but my mother, one time just said we can’t have grapes. We said ‘Why, where are the grapes?’ She said because there’s a gentleman out in California, Cesar Chavez, who is organizing people because they aren’t getting paid enough to pick those grapes, so we are going to support those people. And, that just started for me the whole issue of diversity, equity and inclusion that everybody has the right to a decent wage and a decent life, so that’s kind of how we got started,” he told WHAV listeners.

Community Spotlight

Haverhill Police Hockey Club Again Takes on Boston Bruins Alumni Hockey Team March 30

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The Haverhill Police Hockey Club is again up against the Boston Bruins Alumni hockey team in a charity match this spring to benefit the Haverhill Police Relief Association. The match takes place Saturday March 30, at 1 p.m. at Veteran’s Memorial Rink, 137 Monument St., Haverhill. Proceeds will go towards the Haverhill Police death and disability benefit fund. Spectators are asked to bring canned goods to the game for the Sacred Hearts Food Pantry. The game will also feature a 50/50 raffle.

Education

Podcast: Community Colleges are ‘Hot’ Right Now; Dolan-Wilson Explains How to Avoid Debt

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Community colleges are seeing enrollment growth with new state initiatives and are poised for more if the state Senate is successful in providing free community college for everyone. Northern Essex Community College Vice President of Institutional Advancement Allison Dolan-Wilson, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, is delighted with the focus. “First and foremost, community colleges are so hot right now. I love that. I love any attention because it is absolutely well deserved.

Community Spotlight

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Haverhill, HP3 Launch ‘The Bridge’ Job Skills Program Next Week

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The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Haverhill and the Haverhill Public-Private Partnership, known as HP3 for short, join forces next Wednesday to launch a new workforce development program for high school students. Called “The Bridge,” meaning Building Relationships & Integrating Dynamic Growth Experiences, Club, the program will span five months and is designed to help students discover their interests and skills through assessments, living wage discussions, visits from career representatives and exposure trips to local businesses and schools. It begins Wednesday, Jan. 10, with 13 students ranging in age from 13 to 18. Recently appearing on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program was Boys and Girls Club of Greater Haverhill Executive Director Javier Bristol, who says the project even pays a small stipend while members participate.

Education

Podcast: Whittier School Drama Club Readies for Disney ‘Descendants: The Musical’

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A new theatrical season is about to open at the John Greenleaf Whittier School in Haverhill with the production of Disney’s “Descendants: The Musical.”

Music teacher and JGW Drama Club Executive Director Robert D. “Bobby” Gariepy III explained how to audition for a part during a recent appearance on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. “Jan. 8 is vocal audition. Come prepared to sing 30-seconds of your favorite song. Tuesday, Jan.

Haverhill

Podcast: Coach ‘Spike’ Sprague Prepares to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of HHS Hockey Team

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This season represents a milestone for the Haverhill High School hockey team. It was 50 years ago that the first Haverhill High Varsity team hit the ice. For those oldest enough to remember, Gerald Ford was sworn in as vice president in December, the film “The Exorcist” made its debut and Richard “Spike” Sprague scored the first goal for the Haverhill Hillies hockey team. “I was fortunate enough to be on the ice for the first shift, and I got lucky enough to score the first goal, and the only thing that upset me the whole time was my coach said whoever scored the first goal would get a cigar. I never got the cigar,” he said.

Haverhill

Podcast: Looking Back, Fiorentini Details 20-Year Path to Haverhill’s Turnaround

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Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini was sworn in almost 20 years ago against the backdrop of the largest municipal debt in state history, downtown buildings that had been mostly vacant for decades, the recent layoffs of 43 city workers and even ragged carpets in City Hall held together with duct tape. The downtown commercial district had been in decline for decades, worsened by such efforts to prop it up as the federal urban renewal demolition program. It was the financial collapse of the city-owned Hale Hospital, part of a national trend, however, that turned simmering hopelessness into full-blown panic. As he prepares to leave office, the mayor detailed during an extensive WHAV interview how the city turned around. During a live appearance on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, Fiorentini said, for example, downtown’s renaissance came down to parking, but not in a conventional sense.