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Peabody, MA
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Friday, September 1, 2017
Ice Bucket Challenge continues to thrive Licensing Board asked
to stand with police
By Christopher Roberson
I
State Rep. Paul Tucker (left) and State Sen. Joan Lovely (right) poured the first of two buckets of ice water on ALS patient Kathryne McKenna (center) during the Aug. 24 Ice Bucket Challenge event in Chelsea. (Advocate Photo by Christopher Roberson)
By Christopher Roberson
T
hree years after millions of Americans began pouring buckets of ice water over their heads to raise money and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Kathryne McKenna, who has spent the past two years battling the disease, continues to be a proponent of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. On Aug. 24, McKenna was drenched with two gallon-size buckets of ice water during an event that she organized at the Leonard Florence Center for Living in Chelsea.
“Our star today is Kathryne McKenna, she spearheaded this idea,” said Sharon Loveridge, the center’s activity services director. The first bucket was from McKenna’s childhood friends State Rep. Paul Tucker and State. Sen. Joan Lovely, while the second gallon was courtesy of her older brother Robert. “It’s amazing what a few plastic buckets could do when this thing went viral,” said Tucker, adding that his son and Peter Frates, reportedly the innovator of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, were classmates at
St. John’s Preparatory School. Lovely said the Ice Bucket Challenge will continue to be a late-summer event. “It’s international now, every August until there is a cure,” she said. “What they’ve done is nothing short of amazing.” Prior to being diagnosed with ALS in 2015, McKenna had worked as a flight attendant, an assistant to Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan and as a physical therapy assistant for Lahey Healthcare. A second ALS patient, Steven
CHALLENGE | SEE PAGE 7
n response to the rise in the number of alcohol-related medical calls in downtown Peabody, Police Sgt. David Bonfanti went before the Licensing Board with a request for assistance. He asked the board to send out a letter warning package stores about the consequences of selling alcohol to someone who is already inebriated. “One of the questions when you arrest someone for OUI [Operating Under the Influence] is ‘Where did you get your last drink?’” said Bonfanti. He said that, thus far, his officers have not been able to identify which stores are the repeat offenders. Bonfanti said that a letter from the board would have the desired effect. “That way we can also hold the establishment accountable,” he said. In response, the board voted unanimously to send the additional correspondence to every alcohol license holder in the city. “It’s ultimately someone walking into a package store intoxicated,” said Member Deborah Baglio. “The business has to take some liability, because we would hold a restaurant liable.” Bonfanti asked if the warning letters could be sent before October when the liquor license renewal letters usually go out. “We have events coming up and I don’t want to see them ruined,” he said, adding
that the East End Veterans Memorial Park on Walnut Street has become a hotbed for public drinking. In other news, Karen Scorez was on hand to represent the Peabody Coffee House on behalf of her husband William who was away on Cape Cod. During the past several months, the board had become frustrated with the closed establishment, as a business timeline as well as an application for a change of officers, directors and managers had not been filed. Communication from the restaurant had also come to a standstill, and board members said the establishment’s liquor license had continued to go unused. Therefore, the board had insisted that representatives from the coffee house attend the Aug. 28 meeting. However, Attorney John Keilty sent notification that that date would not be possible. The hearing has now been rescheduled for Sept. 11. While addressing the board, Scorez said there are currently “two or three” individuals who are interested in purchasing the property at 59 Walnut St. Although Scorez said she had “no interest and no information,” Member Frederick Murtaugh was not satisfied.“We were never notified; it’s long overdue, something’s got to be done,” he said. “Someone’s got to get the message to William Scorez; this has been going on for a year and four months.”
City schools to receive $196K for early education and care By Christopher Roberson
P
rograms under the umbrella of early education and care will be getting a $196,418 infusion, as Peabody was recently chosen as a partial recipient of a $46 million state grant. “As part of our commitment to early education, we are proud to announce more than $46 million to help strengthen early education services and programs for young children and their families in cities and towns across Massachusetts,” said Gov. Charlie Baker in a written statement. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said the funds will provide teachers with
the support they need to be successful. “Our administration is pleased to issue these awards that equip early education and care programs and teachers with the resources they need to provide high‐quality care and enrichment for their students,”she said. “The $46 million in funding will go a long way in providing quality early education and care for families in every corner of the Commonwealth.” Thomas Weber, commissioner of early education and care, echoed the sentiments of Baker and Polito. “The services and supports
that these initiatives provide to the early education and care field are critical to helping them positively impact the lives of Massachusetts’ youngest learners,” he said. “Increasing the capacity of our early childhood workforce to foster children’s learning and healthy development strengthens families and our communities.” In April, the Baker‐Polito Administration put forward a six-percent increase in the state’s early education budget, the largest since 2007, for the purpose of “increasing quality for early education and care for low-income families.”
Education Secretary James Peyser lauded the benefits that the new increase has brought forward. “Our underlying theme in early education is focused on quality, and in particular, on the workforce as the lever by which we are going to improve outcomes for children,” he said. School Committee Member Brandi Carpenter said the money will be used for the Coordinated Family and Community program, which continues to grow. “It covers more than just Peabody,” she said. However, Carpenter said she would still like to see higher
teacher salaries as well. “I believe that while the increase is welcome for the state and Peabody, our early childhood educators across the nation are the lowest paid professionals working with the most vulnerable, needy, valuable and important person in that family’s life,” she said, adding that the overhead costs of early education are astronomical. “Most early child educators earn less than fast food workers, leaving the person that cares for your child living close to the poverty level – yet you pay them probably more than half of your paycheck.”