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IN THIS ISSUE
SENIORS
SPORTS
WELLNESS
Doliber was nation’s ‘outstanding teacher'
Magicians outlasts Pembroke in tourney opener
Former attorney seeks to help others
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MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
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NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
March 08, 2023
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VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 15
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Officials speak to handling of accounts Absence of treasurer cited for failure to shop for better rates BY WILLIAM J. DOWD Prompted by reporting by another local news outlet, Abbot Hall’s cash management practices and interest yields have become the talk of the town. In a series of interviews, most town officials attributed the town’s failure within the past year to seize higher interest rates than those offered by National Grand Bank to turnover in the Marblehead
Finance Department. The lack of a treasurer essentially made moving money impossible for months because state law vests the town treasurer with exclusive authority over where to deposit taxpayers’ money. After the Select Board hired Amesbury resident Thatcher Kezer as town administrator in the middle of 2022, he made filling the treasurer and finance director positions a top priority.
Yet the positions remained vacant for months until the Select Board hired native Rachel Blaisdell in early December as town treasurer and Gloucester resident Aleesha NunleyBenjamin as finance director in early February. But the turnover is just one of several long-standing issues, Select Board member Erin Noonan said. “The absence of a town treasurer and finance director
certainly precludes the ability to move municipal funds among banks,” Noonan told the Marblehead Current. “However, the town’s finance department has been beleaguered for years with many challenges. Chronic underfunding has resulted in an understaffed department with obsolete technology and the inability to reconcile cash, accounts receivables, payroll, etc., in a timely manner.” She added, “This has also
Turning the page
Local women plan to write next chapter for town bookstores BY KRIS OLSON Marblehead may be slightly behind the trend that has brought a renaissance of independent bookstores to the local retail landscape. But thanks to two determined local women, the town is poised to catch up quickly. Laura Cooper, the former owner and proprietor of the flower shop Aster, will once again have a storefront in Marblehead’s historic downtown at 134 Washington St. with the Saltwater Bookstore. Meanwhile, another local woman, Tracy Lessor, has decided to walk away from the corporate world and pursue what she said has been her dream since high school. Little Harbor Books is still in the planning stages, including the hunt for an ideal location, she told the Current. Cooper says her vision for her small boutique bookstore is that it will be “thoughtfully designed, carefully curated and community based — a place people will want to return, again and again.” “I’m passionate about books, and I’m looking forward to interacting with others — of all ages — who love to read as well,” she said. Like many, Cooper said she has been inspired by the resurgence of BOOKS, P. A5
prevented the town from modernizing certain operations to meet 21st-century governing needs.”
The state mandate
State law creates a firewall between the Select Board and cash-management functions. “[State legislators] have specifically mandated that this role be independent of select ACCOUNTS, P. A11
Her job is for the birds (and more) Mass Audubon taps Marblehead's McCauley as region director BY KRIS OLSON
COURTESY PHOTO
Laura Cooper poses in front of 134 Washington St., the future home of her Saltwater Bookstore, which she hopes to open in May.
By her own admission, Marblehead's Carole McCauley stumbled backwards into her environmental career. A newly minted Peace Corps volunteer, McCauley was dispatched to the eastern Caribbean for what was supposed to be an assignment performing adult literacy work. But upon her arrival, she discovered that her job opportunity had fallen through. At that point, McCauley was given a choice: Go home, or accept a hastily COURTESY PHOTO conceived substitute Carole McCauley of Marblehead is assignment with responsible for Mass an environmental Audubon's wildlife nonprofit that had a sanctuaries from staff of one. McCauley Newburyport to would be employee Nahant. number two. Pressed to decide, McCauley said her mind traveled back to her days as a camper at Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm wildlife sanctuary in Lincoln. "Literally, the credential that came to my AUDUBON, P. A11
Seat at the Table Sidman part of response to massive increase in demand for meals during pandemic BY CHRISTINE MCCARRISTON As his 40th birthday approached six years ago, Jason Sidman of Marblehead reflected and knew he wanted to give back to his community. He could never guess that following through on that goal would lead to him becoming president of My Brother’s Table in Lynn during a pandemic. Nor could he imagine that
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
MBT would provide guests over three million meals since the start of the pandemic, essentially matching the number of meals the soup kitchen had given out in its first 37 years. Sidman started his service with MBT as a member of its fundraising committee. “One thing I really wanted to do was broaden the sense of community,” he said. SIDHAM, P. A8
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Jason Sidman is shown outside My Brother’s Table in Lynn, which he served as board president from 2019 to 2022, as the soup kitchen saw a sharp spike in the demand due to the pandemic.