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1.11.23 - Volume 1, Issue 7

Page 1

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IN THIS ISSUE

OPINION

SPORTS

MOVIES

A charge to keep

Magicians’ track future

Page 6

Page 13

Warwick Cinema rolls out the blue carpet

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MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25

Page 20

NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.

TM

January 11, 2023

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VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 7

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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG

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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT

LOOKING AHEAD

Administrator: Make government ‘boring’ again General override proposal may generate most discussion BY WILLIAM J. DOWD If it is up to Marblehead Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, 2023 will not be as politically charged or as busy as 2022. “My goal is to make the municipal government look really boring,” he told the Marblehead Current recently. “That’s my goal, because when it’s boring it means we’re wholly focused on getting the work of the town done.” Nonetheless, one proposal

could draw lively debate before, during and after May’s Town Meeting: a general override of the property tax cap set by Proposition 2 1/2, sometimes referred to as a “permanent” override, which would be a break from town tradition. “The debt-exclusion override is what Marblehead has been using to fund capital projects for years,” Kezer said. “You have the tax increase [only] while you’re paying off debt.” The tax increase from a

Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion disappears when taxpayers fully repay the money that they borrowed to fund a capital project. But with a general override, as the Massachusetts Division of Local Services explains, “Once approved, the override amount becomes a permanent part of the levy limit and increases by 2.5 percent each year after its acceptance.” Still unknown is the cost of the general override that town

leaders will propose, though Kezer said that should come into focus before the Town Meeting warrant closes at the end of the month. “That is the analysis that I’m trying to get at,” said Kezer when asked for a specific number. “That will happen during the budget-building process.” A general override would cover a projected deficit in GOVERN, P. A9

COMMUNITY

Christmas tree burning draws hundreds

Marblehead Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer says 2023 may not be as politically charged and busy as 2022.

POLICE

Lieutenant honored for daring rescue BY LEIGH BLANDER

CURRENT PHOTO/ NICOLE GOODHUE BOYD

People are silhouetted against the Christmas tree burning on Friday, Jan. 6, at Riverhead Beach. More Photos, Pages 5 and 17.

A slow start to spark after days of precipitation BY WILLIAM J. DOWD Hundreds of bundled-up Marbleheaders turned out for the annual Christmas tree bonfire at Riverhead Beach on a bitterly cold Friday evening, following a light

snow and a week of near-constant precipitation. “For the first time in a long time, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, it was a slow start,” Fire Chief Jason Gilliland told the Marblehead Current as the bonfire raged behind him. “It’s

been raining for the last three or four days, so the trees were quite wet.” The pile of Christmas trees was much smaller and less impressive than years past, the chief said, even

Just one month before retiring, Marblehead Police Lt. Sean Sweeney Sr. risked his life to rescue a woman in choppy waters off Point O Rocks Lane in December. Responding to a call, Sweeney found a distraught woman on slippery rocks, with waves crashing in. Suddenly, the woman was in the water. “Lt. Sweeney immediately jumped in the frigid water to assist the woman back to safety,” according to Officer Dennis DeFelice, who also responded to the emergency. “As he was waist deep in the water, holding onto a shore rock with one arm, he seized maybe the only opportunity to grab her as the tidal surge brought her back in.” Sweeney, with DeFelice’s help, pulled the HONORED, P. A18

FIRE, P. A5

Meet the ’Header behind Redd’s Pond Boatworks BY LAURIE FULLERTON

COURTESY PHOTO / DOUG AND ELIZA PARK

Doug and Eliza Park and their kids, Eleanor, 7, and Griffin, 4, pose for a photo next to Doolittle.

Doug Park, 39, grew up sailing in Marblehead and was officially introduced to the world of wooden boats as a young student aboard the Harvey Gamage with The Ocean Classroom Foundation. Subsequently, Park spent many summers apprenticing for Thad Danielson at the boat shop at Redd’s Pond on Norman Street. His apprenticeship sparked a passion for wooden boat building and became

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his career choice when he attended the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, Rhode Island. In 2011, Park was able to launch his business Redd’s Pond Boatworks at the same Norman Street location where he once apprenticed. Over the past decade or more, Park has worked hard to preserve wooden boatbuilding traditions, techniques and classic designs. In 2017, PARK, P. A12

COURTESY PHOTO

Police Lt. Sean Sweeney Sr., center, is surrounded by friends and family. Left to right: Miriam Valkenburg, Officer Sean Sweeney Jr., Nick Valkenburg and Officer Charles Sweeney.

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