Lowell Sun

LOWELL -- They really are invited this time, but whether they will show up is what is in doubt. The Lowell Spinners announced this week that they have invited Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the White House party crashers, to the team's annual Lowell Spinners Alumni Dinner on Dec. Full Story »

On Saturday, my 18-year-old son will raise his right hand and solemnly swear his allegiance to the United States of America. He will vow to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to obey the orders of the officers appointed over him, according to regulations and the Uniform Code Full Story »

SHIRLEY -- The brother of the woman seriously injured in Sunday morning's fire on Phoenix Street said yesterday his sister is a recently widowed mother of three. Full Story »

GROTON -- The 12-acre Station Avenue overlay district was established in 2007 to spur mixed-use development between Town Hall and the Rail Trail. While that goal has yet to be realized, the town is now looking to expand that district to include the nearby Prescott School, which was closed by the School District last year. Full Story »

BILLERICA -- One week after interviewing the lone finalist for the school business manager job, the School Committee has decided to reopen the search process. The decision comes on the heels of protests from two committee members, Maryanne Harring Laurendeau and Joanne Barry, who said they believed that interviewing one finalist was not enough. Full Story »

CHELMSFORD -- Delays at the state Department of Revenue continue to stall town officials from setting the town's tax rate. Selectmen last night said they're trying to avoid sending out estimated tax bills for the third quarter. Full Story »

LOWELL -- No arrests have been made in a fatal weekend shooting, and Carlos Rivera's family said they are still reeling from his death. "I'm just in shock," said Dilia Rivera, the aunt who says she raised Carlos since he was 6. Full Story »

PEPPERELL -- Selectmen, Finance Committee, some North Middlesex Regional School District Committee members and residents opened public discussion last night regarding selectmen Chairman Joseph Sergi's recent request that $350,000 of Pepperell's $1 million over minimum school assessment be removed from the 2011 school budget. Full Story »

WESTFORD -- The School Committee voted to adopt the $45,462,017 budget recommendation for fiscal 2011 presented by Superintendent Bill Olsen last night. The budget, a 3.98 percent increase from the fiscal 2010 budget, was first presented at a joint meeting between the School Committee, Finance Committee and selectmen on Dec. Full Story »

LOWELL -- City police are still investigating how a "fail-safe" device meant to prevent anyone but a police officer from using a police cruiser was disabled late last month before a man stole a cruiser and crashed it in an incident that damaged six other vehicles. Full Story »

Townsend man killed in I-90 crash LUDLOW -- State Police say a 73-year-old Townsend man was killed and three other people were seriously injured in an accident yesterday morning on Interstate 90 East in Ludlow, according to a press release. Full Story »

TEWKSBURY -- Nobody disputes that Timothy Sheehan is the right man to be Tewksbury's next police chief. He has served on the police force for 22 years, climbing the ranks to deputy chief. Along the way, he has racked up more than 50 letters of commendation and recognition from local and federal law-enforcement agencies. Full Story »

LOWELL -- Sako Long heard the chants, "fresh meat, fresh meat," as he was led to his new home -- a cell inside the Billerica House of Correction. No stranger to trouble, he had been in and out of juvenile-detention facilities since he joined a Lowell street gang at 13. Full Story »

LOWELL -- Residents living near the site of a fatal weekend shooting said the neighborhood is a hub for hookers, drug dealers, junkies and drunken brawlers who often flock to nearby Santoro's sub shop, and officials say it's often difficult to find officers willing to work a police detail at the busy, late-night restaurant. Full Story »

WESTFORD -- Opponents of the proposed asphalt-manufacturing plant at 540 Groton Road have petitioned the state to conduct an environmental review of the project under the provisions of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). Full Story »

TYNGSBORO -- The demolition of the former Shur Fine Market remains a certainty. But the tearing down of the Old White Barn attached to Shur Fine is not such a sure thing, local demolition contractors learned last week. Full Story »

CHELMSFORD -- A 42-year-old Lowell man is facing charges after rolling his Chevrolet Tracker over on Interstate 495 near Route 110 about 8:10 p.m., fled the scene, and then was caught with cocaine a short distance away, police said. Full Story »

PELHAM -- Throwing a few snowballs is not a felony, but dealing drugs is and so is carrying a firearm without a license while dealing drugs. Police say three teenagers learned the hard way yesterday that mixing those three activities is not an advisable way to spend the day. Full Story »

HUDSON, N.H. -- If a 10-year-old boy who attends Hudson Memorial School is smoking cigarettes once a week at a friend's house, all parents in town should know it's going on, Superintendent of Schools Randy Bell and Hudson School Board members agree. Full Story »

SALVATION ARMY Located at 150 Appleton St., Lowell. Lunch served for Greater Lowell seniors at 11:30 a.m. Contribution of $2 is requested. 978-458-3396 MONDAY -- Salisbury steak with gravy, rosemary red potatoes, spinach, salad. Full Story »

AYER -- Despite a lengthy record of driving offenses that has led to his driver's license being yanked as a habitual traffic offender, it appears nothing keeps Ronald J. Koehler from driving. After pleading guilty in February 2008 to driving with a revoked license and paying a $500 fine, the 44-year-old Ayer man was back before Ayer District Full Story »

By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE. There were no roll-call votes in the House or Senate last week. House Speaker Robert DeLeo recently issued a memo requiring all House of Representatives staff and aides to take five unpaid furlough days between Dec. Full Story »

LOWELL -- A 24-year-old Lowell man is being held without bail after his arraignment on murder charges in connection with a double shooting in August that began with a fight at Willy Topps nightclub and ended with one man dead and another seriously injured. Full Story »

GROTON -- The fate of the town's project to turn Station Avenue into a promenade of apartments, restaurants and recreational activities remains up in the air as no prospective developers submitted bids by the deadline. Full Story »

HUDSON, N.H. -- For the Rodgers Library staff, the Christmas rush began about four months ago. As soon as the $4 million facility first opened. "We've issued 11,000 new library cards in the past four months, and that represents about 44 percent of the town's population, which is just amazing," said Connie Owen, chairwoman of the Hudson Full Story »