On Saturday, May 18, Salem State University conducted its 203rd commencement exercises. In two separate ceremonies, the university awarded over 1,400 undergraduate degrees. Among the members of the Salem State Class of 2013 are the following local residents:

Earlier in the week on May 16, 2013, Salem State conferred over 400 graduate degrees, including three from Dracut:

On May 30^th, Lakeview Junior High School will be hosting an evening with Holocaust survivor Rena Finder.  Mrs. Finder was born in Poland and her family was forced to live in the Krakow Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland.  In 1942, her father was sent to Auschwitz and killed.  Mrs. Finder and her mother were sent to Plaszow; a work camp under the direction of Nazi Amon Goeth.  However, Mrs. Finder and her mother were fortunate enough to be selected to work at Emalia, a factory owned by German industrialist Oskar Schindler.  Mrs. Finder and her mother survived the Holocaust because they were on “Schindler’s List”—a list of Jewish workers under the direction of Oskar Schindler.

The events Mrs. Finder experienced were first written in a novel by Thomas Keneally, “Schindler’s Ark” (1982), and later made into the movie, “Schindler’s List” by Steven Spielberg.  This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the film which earned seven Academy Awards.

Lakeview is honored to host Mrs. Finder.  The presentation will be May 30^th in the Junior High School cafetorium at 7 pm and is open, at no charge, to the entire Dracut Community.

Kevin Willett, we were told by the Town Manager, is working to line up funding for the July 4th fireworks.

Some money still exists in the concert fund, so we may be able to have the concert as well. Anyone willing to donate towards this contact Barb at the Town Hall Selectmen’s office.

Last weekend, a large turnout showed up at the Water District annual meeting.

The commissioners were given an opportunity to try to sell an increase in their stipend, but the people did not go for it, voting 50-13 against.

I was happy to hear the turnout was so great (I was out of town for the weekend, but paying attention).

I really think the use of water fees should be as carefully protected as every other taxpayer dollar, and saw no reason to be increasing these fees other than to benefit the commissioners personally.

The quote in the paper by Mike Blatus indicating that commissioners used to make $8000 bothered me, as I seem to remember being told that as clerk he was taking an annual fee of $20,000.

There is no reason to go back to those days.

The school committee meeting welcomed the new member, Betsy Murphy. A number of students were recognized for achievements, and the board asked that they return next month so that they can be more formerly recognized.  Oh, and it looks like Dr Mike McNamara is the chairman again.

At the Board of Selectmen’s meeting, we finally had the start of a discussion regarding the properties whose use the School Committee is currently considering.  Right now, they are presenting to the Selectmen the leasing of the Parker Elementary to the Middlesex special ed group.

There were no numbers presented, and it seems that the town’s lawyer is in communication with the School Department’s lawyer (anyone want to complain about town/school spending here?  wonder what those meetings are costing us to have us talk to ourselves).

The school committee did add a new meeting for next Monday evening to discuss their town meeting strategy (push for a proposition 2-1/2 tax override).

As you can see in the previous posting, The Library continues to have interesting events. This weekend on Saturday from 9:00 to 3:00 is the book sale, including the Jr Friends bake sale. Stop by and get some summer reading material.

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Wednesday, May 22nd at 6:30 pm. 

M.G. Parker Memorial Library.  28 Arlington Street.  Dracut, MA.  978-454-5474.

Raised in a South Boston housing project, James “Whitey” Bulger became the most wanted fugitive of
his generation. In their riveting book, award-winning Boston Globe reporters Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy follow Whitey’s extraordinary criminal career—from teenage thievery to bank robberies to the building of his underworld empire and a string of brutal murders. Join them for
an evening of intrigue.

Kevin Cullen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has written for the Boston Globe since 1985, was the first to raise questions about Whitey Bulger’s relationship with the FBI. A frequent commentator on NPR and the BBC, Cullen has won major journalism prizes including the Goldsmith Prize, the George Polk Award, and the Selden Ring Award.

Shelley Murphy has covered Whitey Bulger and organized crime in Boston since 1985, beginning at the Boston Herald and moving to the Globe in 1993. She has won a George Polk Award for National Reporting.

This program is free and open to the public.  Please register online at www.dracutlibrary.org.  Sponsored by the Friends of Dracut Library.

Dracut resident and DHS junior Peter Goulet will be a running bone marrow screening drive Tuesday May 21 from 2:30 to 7:30 at Harmony Hall located on 1660 Lakeview ave, Dracut MA.

All donors must be between the ages of 18 and 44.

The drive consists of swabbing your cheek and testing it to see if you are a possible match to a patient that needs a Bone Marrow transplant.

There will be a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses and all proceeds will go to the be the Match foundation.

If you would like to donate raffle prizes or money to the Be The Match Foundation please contact Peter Goulet at (978) 957-5236

Just a note to those who might have missed it.

While many are claiming mismanagement of money in the town, nobody is watching what is happening over at the water district, where two of the commissioners have proposed doubling their own pay.

Where is all the outrage about wasted money?

When you look at your water bill, which has gone up significantly over the last few years, don’t you wonder why some of that money didn’t go to the schools? Do the schools get a discount? How do they measure the water use at the schools?

Yet at the DWSD town meeting this upcoming Saturday morning (9:00 a.m. at Harmony Hall), it will probably only be about 20-30 people who show up.. mostly employees and family members, to decide on the spending of those funds.. in this case to the benefit of the elected officials.

But yeah, we can’t blame that on George Malliaros or Cathy Richardson, so we don’t care about that.

Will he run against Colleen Garry as a Democrat, and thus have a primary election.. and then a final election against a Republican (Richardson?).. or will he run as an independent?

But we have been informed that former Selectman George Malliaros may run for State Reprentative against Colleen Garry in the next election.

The Lowell Sun has the story on its front page, I actually bought this issue.

Seems like a “fight” or “altercation” or “incident” occurred at the Sports Zone following the election this week.

Billy McMahon and Dan O’Connell seem to have gotten into some sort of disagreement.. police are involved, charges flying..

I had heard about this a couple days ago, but the fact is I just attribute it to the anger and division that has settled on the town.