Haverhill News in Brief

By Mike LaBella
Staff Writer

May 11, 2008 02:23 am

—

Teacher travels to Brazil through Rotary

Joanna Clement of Haverhill, a lead preschool teacher with Community Action's Head Start program, will join four other area residents on a Group Study Exchange trip to Minas Gerais, Brazil, for four weeks in May. Their trip is sponsored by Rotary International District 7930. Clement applied for the trip through the Rotary Club of Haverhill.

The GSE program of the Rotary Foundation annually arranges the exchange of approximately 500 teams of business and professional people between two paired Rotary districts in different countries to enhance international understanding and good will. While living with Rotarian families, team members study the culture of the host country and how their professional peers practice their vocations. Each team is led by an experienced Rotarian. A team from a Rotary district in Minas Gerais will visit the Boston area in May.

Nintendo Wii raffle benefits Penacook

Penacook Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is raffling off a Nintendo Wii video game system to raise money for the Friends of Penacook Place Fund. Tickets are $5 each and are available at Penacook Place, 150 Water St. The winning ticket will be drawn May 16 as part of National Nursing Home Week. For more information, call 978-374-0707.

Local track star excelling in college

Former Hillie football player Carlos Olivera, Class of 2006, dabbled in track and field events while in high school — turning in a personal best of 12.24 in the 100-meter dash. He is now down to 11.37, or 11.2 hand-timed.

His track coach at Northern Essex Community College says he placed sixth overall in the 400-meter at the recent NJCAA Division III Northeast District. He ran a 52.16 and had a personal best in the 200-meter running 22.93 and placing 10th overall. His 200-meter performance qualified him to compete in the 100- to 400-meter events at last weekend's NJCAA Division III Nationals in Delhi, NY.

Olivera will graduate from NECC this month and plans to transfer to a four-year college and major in broadcasting. He is currently the sports editor for the NECC Observer, a student run newspaper.

Web site in need of update

The Haverhill Means Business Web site is looking a bit behind the times. Its "Working With Haverhill" Web page lists a number of former or retired city employees and officials. The problem is, the list is more than a year out of date. It shows the mayor's chief of staff as Brian Elworthy and his assistant as Jennifer Gariepy. John Michitson is still a City Council member, as are Lou Fossarelli and Bob Des Marais. The acting fire chief is Lewis Poore Jr. and the library director is Nancy Rea. The Highway Director is listed as James Flaherty. Time to update that Web site.