Education

Jury Clears Haverhill School Board’s Ferguson; She Says Elected Office ‘Ruined Me’

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Haverhill Ward 3 School Committee member Cheryl A. Ferguson was found not guilty Wednesday of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 as well as the lesser charge of assault and battery. The Haverhill District Court jury deliberated for about 20 minutes before returning its verdict. First Justice Cesar A. Archilla was the presiding judge. “This is the best birthday present ever,” an elated Ferguson told WHAV outside the court. Ferguson, who turned 60 Wednesday, added, “How do I feel?

Haverhill

Holy Family Allied Health Professionals Vote 46-5 for Union Representation

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Allied health professionals—lab technicians, physical therapists, pharmacists and others in similar professions—who work at the two Holy Family Hospital campuses are on track to be represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Eligible employees voted 46-5 Wednesday in favor of collective bargaining. In all, 76 employees were eligible to vote. Physical therapist David Matthews said he voted in favor of union representation because he felt his wages and benefits have lagged during the period when Steward Health Care owned the two campuses and that the new owner, Lawrence General Hospital, hasn’t taken their concerns seriously. Lawrence General purchased the two campuses last October after Steward filed for bankruptcy.

Haverhill

Haverhill Firefighters Honor Deceased Comrades at Annual Memorial Service

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Haverhill firefighters, their families and friends took a moment this past Sunday to remember those who have gone before them at the Annual Firefighters Memorial Service in Linwood Cemetery. Some 50 members of the department along with city officials gathered at the Water Street Fire Station and marched to the Firefighters monument in Linwood Cemetery. They were escorted by several pieces of fire apparatus in a solemn parade with bagpipe music provided by Shaun Hughes of Andover. At the cemetery, Rev. John Delaney, pastor of Sacred Hearts Parish in Bradford and the department’s chaplain, said a prayer of remembrance. Then, eight members of the department took turns reading the name of the 362 members of the department who have died.

Community Spotlight

Shakespeare in the Park comes to Haverhill’s Winnekenni Castle

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The Olde Essex Stage Company will present Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in an outdoor performance at Haverhill’s Winnekenni Castle. The free performance is part of the company’s Fifth Annual Shakespeare in the Park production. “Audience members should bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets to enjoy this timeless romantic tragedy about two star-crossed lovers,” James Blatchford, a spokesman for the group, said. “It will be an unforgettable summer evening of live theater under the open sky.”

The show takes place Saturday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m., at Winnekenni Castle, Castle Road, in Haverhill. In case of inclement weather, the performance will be cancelled.

Crime

Trial of Haverhill School Board Member Ferguson Gets Underway

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A jury of five women and two men were seated for the trial of Cheryl A. Ferguson, the Haverhill School Committee member charged last fall with alleged indecent assault on a person over 14. The criminal trial got underway at Haverhill District Court Tuesday and it set to continue Wednesday with First Justice Cesar A. Archilla presiding. The teen who lodged the complaint was identified in court but WHAV is not releasing the name because he was a minor at the time. Ferguson, 59, who represents Ward 3 on the School Committee, was arrested last Oct. 29 after the teenager’s mother told police Ferguson approached her son twice as he was standing outside the 7-Eleven on Dudley Street wearing a Mike Myers costume and mask in celebration of Halloween.

Haverhill

Haverhill Councilors Approve Inner City Condominiums

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The Nichols Street neighborhood will soon be home to a new four-unit condominium building. Haverhill’s City Council enthusiastically approved by an 11-0 vote a special permit for Astro Enterprise of Boxford to construct the building on vacant land at 9-11 Nichols St. now being used as a parking lot. Company owner Juan A. Valerio attended the meeting. Haverhill Attorney Paul A. Magliocchetti represented Valerio and his firm.

Haverhill

Holy Family Hospital’s Allied Health Professionals Consider Union

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Lab technicians, physical therapists, pharmacists and other so-called “allied health professionals” who work at the two Holy Family Hospital campuses are voting Wednesday on whether to form a collective bargaining unit at the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The 76 workers have been meeting with representatives of the union for the last two months, according to Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesperson Joe Markman. The Massachusetts Nurses Association already represents registered nurses at the two Holy Family campuses, as well as at Lawrence General Hospital, the new owner of the Methuen and Haverhill hospitals. The National Labor Relations Board is running the election. The vote to unionize follows the purchase of the two Holy Family campuses by Lawrence General Hospital with state financial assistance last October after the previous owner, Steward Health Care, declared bankruptcy.

Business Bulletin

It’s Cummings Grant Time—Area Hospital, School, Nonprofits Receive Share of $30 Million Grants Program

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Lawrence General and Holy Family Hospitals are among 150 recipients—including others in Haverhill and Methuen—awarded grants this month through the Cummings $30 Million Grants Program

The hospital will use a $90,000 grant over the next three years to develop a new program that specifically supports prenatal and postpartum education and monitoring for Merrimack Valley-area mothers and babies. “This grant supports the important work our teams do to care for the unique needs of women in our community,” says Diana Richardson, interim president and CEO at Lawrence General and Holy Family Hospitals. In Haverhill, Haverhill Common Ground Ministries was also awarded $75,000 and Hill View Montessori School, $150,000, to use over three years. Methuen’s On the Move will receive $30,000 to help young children from lower-income families improve their reading skills. Lawrence General Director of Maternal Child Health Michelle Young added the hospital plans to use its grant to enhance its prenatal and postnatal education and monitoring program for obstetric patients in Greater Lawrence through a maternal health app, remote hypertension monitoring and lactation support.