IN THIS ISSUE
SPORTS
STAR OF THE SEA
MAKING WAVES
Magicians are on a roll!
Juvenile suspect identified in church fires
Page 9
Page 2
Swimmer shares her journey across English Channel
NONPROFIT ORG PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
Page 11
NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
OCTOBER 1, 2025
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE NO. 45
FIRST WAVE 1
. Town kicks off health & wellness survey. Page 1
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
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. Another leaky school roof; this one shuts down MHTV. Page 2
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
What are the most Police chief 3 .common 4 .talks arrests about the
in Marblehead?
town’s recent ICE incident. Page 2
News on the 5 .Village Bridge
project. What the town’s former engineer told MFD. Page 6.
Five facts from this week’s Marblehead Current.
PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
Assessing wellness in Marblehead
Why now? What are the benefits? And how will confidentiality be guaranteed? BY THOMAS A. MASSARO, M.D. Ph.D In your mailbox today along with this newspaper, there should be a postcard from the town of Marblehead c/o UMass Boston inviting you to complete a private, completely
confidential survey about your health and wellness. The Board of Health will use the results of that survey to set priorities and develop community-wide programs in the future. It may take a few minutes of your time to complete today, but the results from it will be invaluable
to the board as it makes strategic decisions for years to come. We strongly and respectfully recommend that you complete the survey as soon as possible. Wellness describes a state of optimal well-being — not merely the absence of disease. The survey is designed to measure
the eight dimensions of wellness: physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, occupational and financial. The results should provide an interesting and holistic perspective of our HEALTH, P. 4
GIANT GOURDS
’Tis the season: Locals grow giant pumpkins BY SAOIRSE STALLINGS Select Board member Jim Zisson is well-known in these parts for his giant pumpkins every fall. It has been a passion project for over 20 years, beginning with a seed every April and ending in early October. Zisson says his secret to the large pumpkins is a good seed, with the rest coming down to care and a watchful eye. His biggest pumpkin (in 2019) was named Pat and hit 1,000 pounds. In 2024, Zisson held a guess-the-weight contest in his neighborhood, raising money for the Marblehead Food Pantry and hurricane relief. (There’s no contest this year.) This year’s pumpkins are estimated at 300-400 pounds each. Zisson’s pumpkins start inside and are transplanted outside in May. The summer season can be rough on the pumpkins, with intense heat and pesky garden insects. Zisson’s wife, Laura, took over the pumpkin growing this year and said there was a huge learning curve to the practice. “I had no idea how much work they were. I thought you might just plant them, maybe water and fertilize them. I didn’t realize things that you have to do, you have to have a lot of visual queues to look for. And I didn’t know the damage that the animals could do,” Laura said. And the Zissons have company this year. Perry Asher has grown two big pumpkins; one is about 250 pounds, the other about 150. Asher got his first seed (and lots of advice) from Zisson. “Jim helped me out enormously, he even gave me a publication from the
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
Perry and Rachel Asher stand by their two prized pumpkins.
Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, and I looked at that and then I asked him questions. It was really helpful and he was the role model for pumpkin growing,” Asher said. The Ashers named their pumpkins; the largest is Faith and the smaller is
COURTESY PHOTO
Laura Zisson proudly shows this year’s pumpkin crop.
Hope (because the smaller pumpkin “hopes” it will grow bigger). Asher has no plans for his giant pumpkins, except to maybe harvest a couple seeds to grow more next year. Asher says growing giant pumpkins is a great conversation starter and can
really bring the community together. “I just had a 60th class reunion and everybody was showing photos of grandkids and stuff and I was showing photos of the pumpkins. People come by the house and I say, ‘You wanna see a giant pumpkin?’ It’s been fun.”
EDUCATION
MPS 200% over budget on legal expenses Roof troubles spread BY LEIGH BLANDER Marblehead schools spent $493,704 on legal expenses in fiscal year 2025 — nearly 200% over its $165,000 budget. Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Mike Pfifferling pointed to the teachers strike as one factor for
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
the overrun. In addition to those expenses, the town paid $98,000 to a fired employee after a legal ruling, Pfifferling said. He declined to offer additional details saying it was a personnel issue. In fiscal year 2024, the Marblehead schools’ central administration spent $334,734 on legal counsel, significantly more than the $105,000 it budgeted. During an FY25 summary, Pfifferling said MPS spent about
MCAS results were released this week after press deadline. Go to MarbleheadCurrent.org for the story.
$200,000 more than expected for out-of-district placements and transportation. The budget overruns were covered by savings in other line items, according to Pfifferling. He said the district would return $453,941 (or 1% of its fiscal year 2025 budget) to the town’s general fund, because the money
was not spent. Pfifferling attributed the extra money to several unfilled teacher positions that year, as well as coming in under budget on some supplies.
Leaky Veterans School roof shuts down MHTV Serious roof leaks at the Veterans School shut down MHTV on Sept. 25, which is located in the building. “Roof is in fact leaking over
the D wing,” Robidoux emailed the Current. “Students had been relocated prior to the roof work on that section being started. The heavy rain last night into today has found its way into the building. The company and our facilities crew have been working to remediate.” MHTV Executive Director Joan Goloboy said its entire facility, including the broadcast studio, is impacted. SCHOOLS, P. 2