Community Spotlight

Team Haverhill’s Neighborhood Clean & Green Team Seeks Volunteers for Tuesday

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Team Haverhill’s Neighborhood Clean & Green team is looking for volunteers to help clean a stretch of South Main Street on the Bradford side of the Merrimack River. The group gathers Tuesday, May 30, from 6-7:30 p.m., at the start of the Rail Trail behind Dunkin’ Donuts to pick up litter from the Basiliere Bridge up to Haverhill Bank and areas nearby. In addition, with ward-based elections happening this fall, Team Haverhill Neighborhood Clean & Green is partnering with friends and organizations across the city to hold cleanups in all seven wards. Team Haverhill will provide supplies, but asks volunteers to bring gloves and trash pickers, if they have them.

Haverhill

Haverhill Democrats to Elect State Party Convention Delegates and Alternates June 5

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Haverhill Democrats are sending 32 delegates and 28 alternates to the party’s state convention this fall and plan to choose attendees during a caucus Monday, June 5. Registered Democrats in Haverhill meet that night at 7 p.m., at the Haverhill Public Library Auditorium, 99 Main St. The caucus is open to all registered and pre-registered Democrats in Haverhill that are at least 16 years old as of May 23, who may vote and be elected as delegates or alternates during the caucus. Youth, ages 16-25; people with disabilities; people of color; and members of the LGBTQ+ community not elected as delegates or alternates may apply to be add-on delegates at the caucus or by visiting massdems.org/massdems-convention. Delegates and alternates join non-voting delegates in person at the 2023 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention, taking place Saturday, Sept.

Business Bulletin

Bethany Community Services to Add Club Connection Memory Café with Cummings Grant

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Bethany Community Services plans to add a Club Connection Memory Café with $75,000 over three years coming from the Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. The Haverhill-based organization was selected from a total of 630 applicants during a competitive review process and becomes one of 150 nonprofits to share in $30 million. Bethany Communities is comprised of three downtown Haverhill properties including Merrivista, Mission Towers and Phoenix Row apartments which provide affordable senior housing. With both independent and assisted living options available, there are nearly 400 senior residents who have access to supportive services, affordable nutritious meals and transportation and a diverse range of engaging activities and events. Jered Stewart, president and CEO of Bethany Community Services, said “With support from Cummings Foundation, we will now be able to provide an added supportive service, with the Club Connection Memory Café.

Crime

Boston Police Identify 33-Year-Old Haverhill Man as Murder Victim Found Monday in Dorchester

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A 33-year-old Haverhill man, pastor of Family of God church in Haverhill, was identified Thursday afternoon as the victim of a fatal shooting Monday in Boston. Boston Police said Daniel T. Mayers died of “apparent gunshot wounds” and is asking the public to come forward with any information. Boston officers were dispatched Monday, just before 5 p.m., to the area of 264 Columbia Road where there was a report of shots fired. Mayers was taken to a local area hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Family of God Church is located at 76 Merrimack St., Haverhill.

Haverhill

City Council Considers Truck Exclusion on Haverhill’s Poet’s Bridge on Whittier Road

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The Haverhill City Council agreed Tuesday to look into the possibility of a truck exclusion for the Poet’s Bridge on Whittier Road. Councilors Thomas J. Sullivan and Melissa E. Barrett said, while recently attending an event at the Whittier Birthplace, they were approached by residents of the area expressing concern about the number of 18 wheelers and other large trucks using the bridge. “Apparently when that bridge was fixed not too long ago, workers said that it’s fixed, but it should not be having 18 wheelers use it extensively. In recent years, there’s been a lot of cut-throughs from 108 to 110 so they’re just concerned that they will lose their access point,” Barrett said. Barrett said the loss would hurt not only the residents of the area but the Whittier homestead as well.

Election Central

Haverhill Opens Early Voting May 31 for Consentino School Election; Evening, Weekend Times Available

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Four days of early voting, in advance of Haverhill’s upcoming special election, begins next Wednesday. The City Clerk’s office says it plans early voting from Wednesday, May 31, to Saturday, June 3, at Haverhill City Hall, in the former basement offices of the Registry of Motor Vehicles, 4 Summer St. Hours are Wednesday and Friday, from 8 a.m.- 4p.m.; extended hours Thursday, from 8 a.m.- 8 p.m.; and weekend hours Saturday, from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. The standard election day is Tuesday, June 6, at regular polling locations. Voters are being asked whether they support a debt exclusion to finance the construction of a new school. The ballot question asks, “Shall the city of Haverhill be allowed to exempt from the provisions of Proposition two and one-half, so called, the amount s required to pay costs of constructing a new Dr. Albert B. Consentino Middle School located at 685 Washington St.

Community Spotlight

Local United Way Solicits Partnerships to Target Poverty in 12 Cities, Such as Haverhill, Lawrence

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United Way of Massachusetts Bay is looking to invest $8 million next year to ensure “financial wellbeing” among residents of, what it calls, a dozen “historically under-resourced” communities such as Haverhill and Lawrence. The nonprofit is seeking to form partnerships “focused on expanding avenues to financial wellbeing throughout the region” as part of its new strategic direction. “Our new Request for Partnership grows out of our commitment to our communities and people—all of them—as knowledgeable, resource-rich and vibrant,” said Bob Giannino, Ansin President and CEO at United Way of Massachusetts Bay. “It also recognizes that significant disparities persist across race and ethnicity in our region on key indicators of financial well-being. Our goal is to help change entire systems by investing in resources and services, developing evidence of what works and what needs to change, and bringing solutions to scale.”

United Way said its grants will be targeted to “agency partners whose activities exemplify building more equitable communities, lifting the voices of people with lived experiences, leveraging data to inform solutions and collaborating for greater impact.

Business Bulletin

TD Bank Offers Anti-Fraud Tips at Greater Haverhill Chamber Leads Lunch June 7

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Greater Haverhill Chamber members network over a free “Leads Lunch” during the first Wednesday in June. TD Bank will be on hand to give tips and tricks on how businesses can avoid becoming a victim of fraud. Lunch is provided. Nonmembers may attend for $10 per person. The Leads Lunch takes place Wednesday, June 7, and every first Wednesday of the month, from noon-1 p.m., at UMass Lowell Innovation Hub, Harbor Place, 2 Merrimack St., third floor, in downtown Haverhill.