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PUBLIC SAFETY
Firefighters kept on their toes
IN THIS ISSUE
SPORTS
HISTORY
MHS’ punter has no peer
Commemorating the Delaware Crossing
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MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
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NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
January 04, 2023
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VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 6
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCHES
Bauer, Murphy named finalists
District may need to replace two top school administrators CURRENT PHOTO / WILLIAM J. DOWD
Ukrainian refugees Oxana and Artem in the stairwell leading to their third-floor apartment in a Gregory Street home.
FINDING REFUGE From Kyiv to Marblehead: A mother and son find a safe haven BY WILLIAM J. DOWD Artem is 5 years old and a ball of energy. He jumps on his mother’s lap as she sits on a couch in the living room of their Gregory Street home. She half cradles him, and he brings his face really close to Oxana’s for a nose-to-nose kiss. He is Oxana’s entire world, and the tender exchange showed the strong maternal bond that the two have forged together - one that has perhaps intensified under
extraordinary and harrowing circumstances.
No place for children
Roughly 10 months ago, the pair was surviving in a war-torn Ukraine, living in and out of overcrowded Kyiv basements that doubled as makeshift bomb shelters as Russia attacked their country. Artem’s father stayed behind to fight. “It was no place for anyone, especially children,” said Oxana.
“We made our way to the train station because I heard they were taking people to Western Ukraine.” They needed to get to Lviv, the largest city in the western part of Ukraine, before they crossed the border into Poland. The pair arrived at a Kyiv station platform to find a panicked mass of shoulderto-shoulder refugees rushing to board an evacuation train. “There was so many people. Artem was crying,” Oxana said. “Everyone wanted to save their lives.” Oxana and Artem were briefly REFUGE, P. A5
2022 IN REVIEW
Never a dull moment
Bike park agreement signed After two years of heated public meetings and setbacks, it appears a bike park will finally open this spring in the Green Street woods across from the transfer station. The New England Mountain Bike
2023
New Year’s resolutions, Marblehead style Local leaders share professional, personal goals The Marblehead Current reached out to leaders across town to ask about their New Year’s resolutions for 2023, both for their service to Marblehead and in their personal lives. Here are the responses we received. Jenny Armini, 8th Distrct state representative, Marblehead resident Professional: “Apply the determination of General Glover and the heart of the Spirit of ’76 to the 21st century challenges of state government.” Personal: “Eat more Meltaways from Stowaway Sweets. Eat fewer Meltaways from Stowaway Sweets. Clearly, I’m conflicted here.”
CURRENT PHOTO/ LEIGH BLANDER
Teens ride their mountain bikes at Lead Mills in January 2021 but would later be banned from the property by the Conservation Commission.
Association has signed a five-year agreement with the Marblehead Recreation and Parks Department to build and maintain bike trails on the site.
“We are incredibly grateful to our friends at NEMBA for their support in getting the Marblehead off-road
Wishing All Our Friends and Family a Healthy, Happy New Year - Sharon and Madey
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
FINALISTS, P. A10
BY LEIGH BLANDER
BY WILLIAM J. DOWD
From a municipal election ballot shortage and the death of a longtime town moderator to a purported monk allegedly conspiring to commit fraud and the election of the successor to former state Rep. Lori Ehrlich, there was no dearth of Marblehead news stories in 2022. And so the Marblehead Current’s top stories in 2022 are a wide-ranging mix.
By Kris Olson Marblehead Public Schools may need to replace two top administrators who are finalists for superintendent jobs across three Massachusetts communities. Nan Murphy, Marblehead assistant superintendent, is one of three finalists vying for Milton Public Schools’ top job. Dedham Public Schools has also named her one of five finalists for its district’s corner office. Meanwhile, Marblehead High School Principal Dan Bauer is one of three finalists for the position of superintendent of schools in Danvers, the Danvers School Committee announced at a special meeting on Dec. 20. Candidates will be brought to Danvers for daylong site visits on different days the week of Jan. 9, during which they will meet with school staff and administrators. Milton School Committee plans next to interview its finalists in a Jan. 4 meeting, the committee’s vice chair, Ada Rosmarin, said on Dec. 21. “The School Committee will meet on Zoom at 7:30 a.m.
2022, P. A3
Thatcher Kezer, Marblehead town administrator Professional: “To put in place the tools necessary to increase our capacity of managing the town’s resources.” Personal: “Be fit and trim for this summer’s high school reunion.” 2023, P. A4