Exclusive

New or Renovated Whittier Tech on the Way After School Building Authority Deems it Eligible

By |

A new or substantially renovated Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School is on the horizon. After five annual submissions, the Massachusetts School Building Authority last month invited the nearly 50-year-old school into its eligibility period. The designation means Whittier Tech must now form a local building committee. Superintendent Maureen A. Lynch last night told members of the Haverhill Education Coalition Whittier Tech was forced to take steps after Haverhill building officials declared no more renovations may take place. Inspectors said the school needs a modern sprinkler system, among other updates, to continue growing.

Exclusive

Three Housing Plans for Former Ornsteen Lot Emerge; Competing Proposals Offer 110-320 Apartments

By |

A committee will soon begin reviewing three new proposals for building apartments at the city-owned, former Ornsteen Heel property near the Bradford commuter rail station. City councilors rejected one of the applicants—Neighborhood of Affordable Housing—a year ago and may end up having a chance to vote on one—Princeton Properties—they preferred at the time, but the firm had not yet bid. A newcomer, Procopio Companies of Lynnfield, proposes the most housing units of all. Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, known as NOAH, of East Boston is proposing 110-130 market rate and “workforce” apartments in a single building and bidding $1.2 million. Princeton Properties, which has an ownership interest in the former Forest Acres apartment complex off South Main Street, proposes 144 market rate apartments spread between two buildings and has bid $500,000.

Exclusive

Haverhill District Court First Justice Abany to Retire This Month

By |

It’s an end of an era as Haverhill District Court First Justice Stephen S. Abany is retiring this month. Abany, well-known to defendants, plaintiffs and jurors alike, is credited not only with presiding over the law, but over the 50-year-old court building’s recent $8 million renovation. “He was not just a good steward of court business, but he was also a good steward of the court building. He oversaw the renovation of the building, including moving the court to two different places—Newburyport District Court and Haverhill City Hall. That’s not a small undertaking for anybody,” said Haverhill City Solicitor William D. Cox Jr.

Renovations began in 2017 when civil cases were temporarily moved to Haverhill City Hall and criminal cases to Newburyport District Court.

Exclusive

Passed Over Snowplow Contractor Allegedly Assaults Haverhill Highway Superintendent

By |

A Haverhill snowplow contractor was charged early Tuesday morning for allegedly assaulting the city’s highway superintendent after being passed over for work during recent storms.

Fifty-seven-year-old Daniel J. Murray, 224 Newton Road, was arrested at his home and charged with assault and battery on a person 60-years-of-age or older. According to a police report, Murray was said to have pushed Brian J. Zaniboni to the floor when the highway superintendent told him he wasn’t needed during the snowstorm. Sixty-five-year-old Zaniboni was taken by ambulance to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen where he was treated for back and shoulder pain. Murray was arraigned yesterday in Haverhill District Court, where Judge Stephen Abany ordered him to have no contact with Zaniboni. Murray is scheduled to return to court in January for a pre-trial hearing.

Crime

School Gun Aftermath: Haverhill Officials Discuss Security Issues Behind Closed Doors

By |

Members of the Haverhill School Committee went behind closed doors this morning to meet with Haverhill Police to discuss issues related to last week’s report of a teenager with a gun at Haverhill High School. A week ago, Monday, a 16-year-old Haverhill High sophomore was arrested by Haverhill Police and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, trespassing, carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds and possession of a class E drug. As WHAV previously reported, the juvenile was one of several hundred at the Monument Street building July 29 when a security guard is said to have glimpsed him with the gun and he ran, allegedly tossing the weapon outside of campus. He was taken into custody about a mile away near the intersection of North Broadway and Broadway. City councilors last night heard some details from Mayor James J. Fiorentini and school Superintendent Margaret Marotta.

Exclusive

26 Months After 3-Alarm Fire Levels Haverhill’s Cedardale, Owners Prep for May Reopening

By |

Two years after an early morning, three-alarm blaze ripped through Bradford’s beloved Cedardale Health & Fitness, the Boston Road complex owned by the Veasey family is preparing to unveil their upgraded 85,000 square-foot gym space next month. With presales underway since February, Ed and Zoe Veasey tell WHAV approximately 60 percent of former members have inked contracts for the new facility sight unseen. When they’re welcomed back, they’ll be invited into what Ed Veasey calls a state-of-the-art architectural gem. “Conceptually, I bet you couldn’t find another place in the country or in the world that would be equal to what is going to be here,” he said. Once inside, members new and old will see how the Veaseys have adopted a new approach to wellness from the inside out.

Exclusive

Veteran Haverhill Patrolman on Leave Over Alleged Deportation Talk, Handcuff Display

By |

A more than 30-year veteran Haverhill police officer was placed on paid leave Friday for allegedly displaying handcuffs and putting minority students in fear over their families’ immigration status. Patrolman Stephen Iannalfo, assigned as a school resource officer at Albert B. Consentino School, told students at the school last Wednesday they could be deported if they are inside the United States illegally, according to at least one parent’s complaint. State Department of Education figures say nearly half of the school’s 958 students are classified as Hispanic and more than a quarter of students’ first language is not English. Details of the exchange were not made public, but Haverhill Police confirmed Friday that Iannalfo was notified by letter Friday. “Officer Iannalfo has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation,” said Capt. Robert P. Pistone, police spokesman.

Bryce Finn

Ex-Delaware Treasurer: Bryce Finn Murder Preventable; Levels Charges at Suspect

By |

A former elected Delaware state treasurer says the murder of a Haverhill teen in 2017 might have been prevented if officials down south acted on his concerns about the Benner family. Instead, former Treasurer Chipman “Chip” L. Flowers Jr. told WHAV Saturday, he was forced into a political battle which forced him not to seek re-election in 2014. Flowers, who now lives in Massachusetts, said the shooting death of 18-year-old Bryce Finn in the doorway of his Rainbow Drive home might have been averted. “I will go to my grave believing that, even though I worked with law enforcement, had the State of Delaware prosecuted them for what they did to me and my family, that young man (Finn) would still be alive today,” Flowers told WHAV. He alleged 21-year-old Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner, who was charged Friday in connection with Finn’s murder, had a “horrible temper.” Flowers charged Benner threatened him and his future his wife during a 2014 Fourth of July Parade in Dover, Del.