Haverhill

Groveland Fire Chief Confirms Chronic Lung Disease Brings Exit

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Retiring Groveland Fire Chief Robert E. Valentine confirmed Monday he is leaving the department for medical reasons. The fire chief said in a statement Monday he is suffering from a progressive lung disease. Valentine said he first became aware of a problem in November of 2024 when he visited his physician for, what he believed to be, “a seasonal respiratory infection.”

“…My doctor found inconsistencies with my chest X-ray, and I was referred to a pulmonologist. At the follow-up appointment, which included scans and blood testing, I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a chronic, incurable progressive lung disease. After serving for nearly 50 years as a firefighter, my body was starting to show the telltale signs of my career,” Valentine said.

Community Spotlight

Haverhill Church Seeks Sneaker Donations Ahead of Block Party

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Haverhill’s Calvary Baptist Church is collecting new sneakers for its Second Annual Back-to-School Community Block Party and Sneaker Drive. Last year, the church gave out 125 pairs of sneakers to young people entering kindergarten through grade 12. This year’s party is Saturday, Aug. 15, at the church, 15 Ashland St., Haverhill. In addition to providing sneakers, there will be food and beverages, resource tables from several community organization, a safety demonstration Smoke House from the Haverhill Fire Department, a clinic by Merrimack Health and mobile book cart from the Haverhill Public Library.

Haverhill

Tarr Calls Out Haverhill ‘Failure’ in Winning Amendment to Pay for Sewer Reviews

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Haverhill received a rebuke of sorts over its recent force main sewer break when the state Senate last Friday debated what became a $575.4 million economic development borrowing package. Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr won an amendment that adds $800,000 to conduct a review of every wastewater plant permitted to discharge sewage into the Merrimack River, inventory administrative consent orders and determine if infrastructure is in a good of state repair. “Many people in the chamber have been paying attention to the horrific events when millions of gallons of untreated sewage were discharged into the river because of the failure of the City of Haverhill. It did incalculable damage to the regional economy. That untreated septage made its way from Haverhill to affect all the communities that are down river from the point of that discharge,” Tarr said on the Senate floor.

Election Central

Podcast: Moulton Spells Out Differences in U.S. Senate Run, Says Feds Can Help Haverhill

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U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton says he believes the federal government will come through for Haverhill to fix infrastructure and, with his help, continue to make good on health and education. Moulton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Senate against incumbent. Edward J. Markey, expressed his confidence and answered questions during a live interview Friday on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. Following Haverhill’s force main sewer failure, Moulton and 3rd District Congresswoman Lori Trahan, proposed raising the ceiling on federal money to upgrade Haverhill’s wastewater infrastructure from $40 million to $50 million. Moulton said he is confident the federal government would come to the rescue.

Haverhill

Public Meetings This Week: Haverhill Council Subcommittee Considers e-Bike, Scooter Rules

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The public has opportunities to shape policy this week as various Haverhill boards meet. In the interest of transparency in government, WHAV provides this list of upcoming meetings every week on air and online. Final recommendations on how Haverhill should regulate uses of e-bikes, scooters and other motorized vehicles could emerge Wednesday when a City Council subcommittee meets. Haverhill city councilors will consider proposed ordinance when its Public Safety Committee, headed by Ward 6 Councilor Michael S. McGonagle, meets. The full City Council took up the topic early this month after noting an uptick in scooter and bike accidents involving young teens—the most serious of which took the life of a 12-year-old girl.

Community Spotlight

Registration Open for August Hike Haverhill Jaunt

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Merrimack River Watershed Council Deputy Director Matthew Cranney and John Macone, a river educator, are leading August’s Let’s Hike Haverhill walk along the Merrimack River. Required registration is open and spaces typically fill quickly spaces for the walk Tuesday, Aug, 18, from 5:30-7 p.m. The Let’s Hike Haverhill summer walk series is a joint project of Team Haverhill and Essex County Greenbelt Association. The pair will begin their guided walk on the Bradford side of the Sgt. Joseph C. Comeau Bridge, in front of the new First Nations Park, at the corner of South Elm Street and Railroad Avenue. Cranney and Macone will talk about the past, present and future of the river.

Education

Haverhill Schools’ New Food Truck Platform for Culinary Students, Expanded Servings

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(Additional photographs below.)

The new Hillie Food Truck rolled up to Swasey Field Park Thursday morning shortly before noon and served its first customer, none other than Haverhill School Superintendent Margaret Marotta. As she munched on pizza and a chickpea salad, Marotta could hardly contain her excitement. “I just felt this was something we could provide that would be a lot of fun,” Marotta said, adding she knows of just a few other districts in the state that operate similar mobile food delivery vehicles. She said, in addition to offering free meals with a varied menu at parks and playgrounds during the summer, the van will be a familiar presence at school events, including football games when the school department will be able to charge for its offerings. Marotta proposed purchasing the $175,000 mobile cafeteria a year ago with excess restricted federal money the schools were required to spend on food or food-related items. In arguing for the truck initially, Marotta said a mobile food truck would allow the district to provide perishable items not normally offered in the individual food pantries at many schools.

Crime

Pair Facing Charges in Haverhill Mill Fire Due in Court Sept. 2

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Isabella A. Sargent and Bianca Leonhart, two of three teens charged with setting fire to a vacant mill complex on Stevens Street, are due back in Haverhill District Court early in September for a probable cause hearing. In the meantime, both have been released from home confinement. Leonhart, who lives in New Jersey, was released on personal recognizance by Haverhill District Court Judge Cesar A. Archilla Wednesday, July 8. A week later, Sargent was released by Archilla from home confinement and placed on a nighttime curfew, from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to a clerk at the Haverhill District Court. The third teen’s case is being heard in Essex County Juvenile Court because she was under 18 at the time of her arrest, according to Michael Keefe-Feldman, a spokesman for the Essex County District Attorney’s office.