"I was certainly in a bad place at the time when it happened. This is probably where I hit bottom. It's made me a better person."
— Republican Congressional candidate Jon Golnik on his 2001 drunken driving arrest. He was arrested in Arlington on May 4, 2001 while driving home with a flat tire from an AC/DC concert in Boston. He was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The drug charge was later dropped.
Cousin Earl
As Hurricane Earl set its sights on New England last week, Methuen Emergency Management Director John Santoro was prepared to treat the tempest like a visiting relative.
"I made an extra bed for him in the spare room at my house," Santoro joked while discussing Methuen's plans to weather the storm.
Stocking up
Speaking of Earl, Methuen Mayor William Manzi posted an Eagle-Tribune story about the storm on his Facebook page on Thursday and said the city was continuing to prepare.
"I bought six gallons of milk and a gross of toilet paper (had to wrestle for it at Market Basket). I should be all set," West District City Councilor Jim Hajjar said in a note posted on Manzi's page.
Manzi said he forgot to stock up on toilet paper, so Hajjar offered to sell him some.
Not all kids want to go to Whittier
A lot has been made of late of complaints from parents and students who have been turned away from Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School due to admission standards that some feel are too high.
But the school does occasionally interview students who don't want to attend, according to Chris Kelley, one of Haverhill's representatives to the Whittier Tech School Committee.
He told the Haverhill School Committee these students will say things like, "I don't want to go to Whittier. My mother wants me to go to Whittier."
Needless to say, Whittier Tech does not accept those students, Kelley said.
Under the bus
Governor's Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney, D-Watertown, said she hopes Christopher Maclachlan doesn't get "thrown under the bus."
Maclachlan was nominated for an administrative law judgeship in the state Department of Industrial Accidents, but after Governor's Councilor Mary-Ellen Manning revealed that Maclachlan told her he voted in New Hampshire, he sent a letter to Gov. Deval Patrick asking to withdraw his name from consideration for the post.
Maclachlan promptly registered as a voter in Haverhill and said he still hoped to be named to the administrative law judgeship. But according to a statement from the governor, he is no longer a candidate for the post.
Maclachlan, a Suffolk Law School graduate, has served as general counsel to the Industrial Accident Review Board for 15 years.
"He is exceptionally qualified," Devaney said.
Judge-mental
Manning, D-Salem, whose sprawling 5th Councilor District includes Haverhill and Lawrence as well as Lynn, Peabody, Beverly, Salem and Gloucester, is known for being tough on nominees.
She was elected to the post in 2002 by defeating the incumbent, Patricia Dowling, in the Democratic primary. Then, when Dowling was nominated for a District Court judgeship, Manning voted against her.
Shrinking student body
In recent years, enrollment numbers in area schools has mostly been on the rise. But in Pelham, that's not expected to be the case going forward.
"The numbers are down and we expect 120 fewer students," Adam Steel, business manager for the Pelham School District, said of next year's enrollment at Pelham Elementary School. Based on this data, he plans to propose a reduced staff at the school.
