Wishing you, a very happy and safe 4th of July.

 

Gloucester Horribles Parade - A Look Back With The Tarr Crew

Getting ready to celebrate the Gloucester "Fishtown Horribles Parade" tomorrow.   See you soon. Here's a look back at the Tarr crew in 2015.

MVRTA BUS EXTENDS TO GROVELAND

The #18 Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority MVRTA) bus leaving Washington Square in Haverhill at 6:00 am on July 5th will go where no MVRTA bus has gone before. For the first time in history, after serving Rivers Edge Plaza in Haverhill, the bus continues over the Groveland Bridge into Elm Square in Groveland, before heading left on Main Street/Route 113 until River Pines Drive, serving the town offices, Council on Aging and Library, before terminating at the Groveland Housing Authority. 

While Groveland is one of the sixteen communities that make up the MVRTA, it had previously only been served by the Ring & Ride van service, which requires advance reservations. With the extension of the #18 bus, people living, working or visiting Groveland will now have service every hour from 6:00AM until 6:00PM Monday through Friday and 7:00AM until 6:00PM on Saturday. The change is part of a larger service optimization that the MVRTA rolled out this month for all Haverhill-based routes, to make trips more direct. Check https://www.mvrta.com for details on all route changes. 

The MVRTA went fare-free back in March, so a ride from Groveland, or anywhere else in the MVRTA service area, will not cost riders anything. The added service will not cost the town of Groveland anything either, since municipalities served both by an RTA and the MBTA may deduct their RTA assessment from their MBTA assessment and in Groveland’s case, the MBTA assessment exceeds their MVRTA assessment. The Town and MVRTA will be holding a ribbon-cutting for the new service at noon on Tuesday, July 5th in front of Groveland Town Hall.

Operation Paddle Smart

The hot weather brings many people to rivers and the beach and some will bring paddle craft like kayaks and stand-up boards. Importantly, the U.S. Coast Guard reports that they often have to respond to reports of craft unattended and adrift. Mostly these turn out to be false alarms and recreationalist are not in danger. However, searches draw federal, state and local responses that are not only costly they put crews and search volunteers at risk. 

Unmanned adrift vessel search and rescue responses are the 4th response activity in the Coast Guard nationwide. The Coast Guard urges the public to do the following things: 

* Mark It. Use an 'If Found' sticker. This label allows responders to confirm if someone is actually in trouble and collect information to help search efforts. 

 * Take responsibility for recovering your paddle craft. Adrift kayaks, canoes, dinghies, and rowboats can cause hazards to navigation and increase risks for response crews.

 

Rachel Lee is a Commonwealth Heroine for 2022

Each year the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women names women from across the Commonwealth as Commonwealth Heroines. I nominated Rachel Lee for her extraordinary efforts in protecting the public during the COVID0-19 pandemic. Rachel, in her capacity with the Hamilton, Massachusetts Health Department, used her skill and knowledge as a registered nurse to become a leader in the process of collaborating with 10 surrounding communities to form the Greater Cape Ann Community Collaborative. As the incident commander for the collaborative, her team formed a command staff and conducted daily vaccine clinics in several of the participating communities. Under her oversight, the collaborative continues to vaccinate residents. Today, she continues to protect public health at the Eastern Essex Regional Public Health Coalition.

 

Advisory: Ipswich Daytime Lane Closures Scheduled on Route 133 (Essex Road)

The closures are scheduled for weekdays, Monday through Friday, from Tuesday, July 5 through Friday, July 15 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

No work on Monday, July 4 

IPSWICH – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing it will be implementing daily lane closures on Route 133 between Route 1A and the Ipswich/Essex Town Line in the Ipswich. The lane closures will be implemented Monday through Friday between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to allow crews to conduct maintenance resurfacing operations safely and effectively. In observance of the holiday, no work on Monday, July 4. The work will primarily consist of micro resurfacing of the existing pavement, including utility structure adjustments and pavement marking improvements. This pavement preservation work is being done under a District-Wide Pavement Preservation and Repair contract with Sealcoating, Inc as the prime contractor. The estimated value of this work assignment is approximately $350,000. The anticipated completion date for all work is July 15, 2022 for all related work. Two-way traffic will be maintained for much of the related work. Roadway detours are anticipated for at least two days within the above time frame. 

Appropriate signage, law enforcement details, and advanced message boards will be in place to guide drivers through the work area and all detour routes. The schedule for this work is weather dependent and subject to change without notice. 

Drivers who are traveling through the area should reduce speed and use caution.

 

Tony Corrao Named Paul Harris Award Recipient

The Rotary Club of Gloucester gave Tony Corrao the distinguished Paul Harris Award yesterday. Tony has been a member of the Rotary for more than 20 years and served as President too. In addition to his contributions to the community as a business owner, he has served on many non-profit boards and aided many organizations that support others including as a member of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, and the Friends of the Rose Baker Senior Center Gloucester.