ANDOVER — A neighborhood hearing will be held tonight to discuss the construction of playing fields on Blanchard Street.

The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Emanuel, 7 Haggetts Pond Road.

The town purchased a 13-acre farm at 15 Blanchard St. in 2007 for $2.1 million.

With Deyermond Field expected to close in 2010 for landfill recapping, two Little League fields and two multipurpose fields for soccer, baseball and softball will be built on the farm, according to preliminary plans.

The project is expected to cost $1.8 million.

Methuen OKs community policing grant

METHUEN — The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to accept $306,870 in state grant money for community policing.

The money will cover the salary and benefits of four full-time officers, overtime costs for various community policing initiatives, cellular communication costs, vehicle maintenance, miscellaneous supplies and software updates, according to council documents.

Council approves Castle Fund spending

METHUEN — The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to authorize spending $7,700 from the Edwin J. Castle Fund.

The Castle Fund commissioners voted at their Nov. 12 meeting to approve spending $4,200 for kindergarten through eighth-grade enrichment programs at Marsh Grammar School and $3,500 for the Methuen Bicentennial Commission to research, collect and archive materials from the 1976 Bicentennial celebration, according to council documents.

Boxford Dems to elect delegates to convention

BOXFORD — Registered town Democrats will hold a caucus at the Boxford Community Center, 4 Elm St., on Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m., to elect three delegates and two alternates to the 2009 Massachusetts Democratic Convention.

The state convention will be June 6 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. At that time, Democrats from across the state will gather to adopt a party platform.

David Plouffe, campaign manager for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, will be the keynote speaker.

According to party Chairman John Walsh, "David will share the insights he garnered during the campaign and his vision for where we need to go as a party to build on those successes."

The caucus is open to all town Democrats, who registered prior to Dec. 31, 2008. All ballots will be written and secret.

Delegates and alternates will be divided equally between men and women. Those not elected as a delegate or alternate, but who meet the qualifications may apply to be add-on delegates in the categories of youth, minority and disabled. Challenges to the selection process may be filed with the Massachusetts Democratic Party, 56 Roland St., Suite 203, Boston, MA 02129 no later than 10 days after the caucus date.

For more information on the caucus, contact Marianne Rutter at mariannerutter@yahoo.com or 978-609-1554; or visit www.boxforddems.org.