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Northern Essex Community College is celebrating its Fifth Annual Giving Day with a 24-hour push to replenish its NECC Fund. It is also getting ready for its Fourth Annual Impact Awards Event. Shana Murrell, the college’s director of alumni relations and annual giving recently appeared on WHAV’s morning program to explain how the fundraiser works and how donations meet student needs. The blitz, scheduled for today, April 9, aims to unite alumni, staff, students and friends in a common goal of supporting the college and its students, Murrell said. The first Giving Day in 2022 raised $34,000 from just over 200 donors. That was the largest single-day fundraising effort in the college’s history.  (CUT: murrell-as-they-come.wav) “Essentially, our NECC Fund allows us to have the flexibility to fund different needs for the college. So, we’re very excited to have the opportunity to have that fund available so that we can meet the needs of our students as they come,” Murrell said.  Among programs the college supports through its NECC Fund is the Internship Stipend Program. Murrell said because so many Northern Essex students work part time while they are also attending classes, it can be difficult to give up a paying job to take an unpaid internship. (CUT: murrell-program-of-study.wav) “An internship stipend helps a student to be able to make up some of that income they may have had to give up while they are participating in a valuable internship that may be related to their major and program of study,” Murrell explained. Contributions to the NECC Giving Day can be made on NECC.edu. Lane A. Glenn, college president, also recently appeared on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” to talk about another college fundraiser. The college’s Fourth Annual Impact Awards is happening Wednesday, May 6. As WHAV reported in February, five awards will be given. The Community Partner Award will go to the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority, while the Outstanding Alumnus Award goes to former state Rep. Michael Costello, a member of the class of 2012; Philanthropy and Volunteerism Award to Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation and Senior Program Officer Marjorie Ringrose; and Public Service and Advocacy Award to Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger.  (CUT: glenn-have-seats-available.wav) “You’ll be happy to know, or some of the listeners might be happy to know, there’s still room for sponsors at the Impact Awards. We have sponsorships available. We have got some seats available,” Glenn said.  Impact Awards tickets are $150 each and available at NECC.edu. Support the show

Kara Kosmes, who retires in August as business manager at Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School, has witnessed a sea change in career training as well as in the tools she uses to keep a watchful eye on finances. Born and raised in Haverhill, sixty-seven-year-old Kosmes shared her experiences during a recent appearance on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” morning program. She reflected on how her job has changed in 30 years. “Everything was manual when I first started. You used paper and pencil and, in order to do bookkeeping, you had these very long, wide spreadsheets,” she recalled. Kosmes was a freshman at Haverhill High School when Whittier Tech opened in 1973. Following college, she started her career in finance at a local certified public accounting firm, a position she held for 14 years. She then worked nearly 17 years in Haverhill Public Schools as assistant superintendent for finance and operations before joining Whitter Tech in July 2013. The school was chartered in 1967 to provide a career training alternative for 11 communities including Haverhill. The other communities are Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Ipswich, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury. Kosmes remembers touring the new building and being blown away by its appearance. “At the time, it was state of the art, brand new, beautiful. It didn’t look a lot like the schools that I had been to up until then. But it was a very different school than it is now. It was primarily for the trades.” Kosmes noted the impetus to establish Whittier Tech grew out of the old Haverhill Trade School that operated in downtown Haverhill. She pointed out that 50 years later, Whittier students don’t just head to a job in the trades following graduation. With their Whittier education, students can continue their education by going to a technical school or pursuing a two- or four-year college degree. “The bonus I think for students today is you also leave with a skill so you always will have something, hopefully, to fall back on,” Kosmes said. In her position as business manager, Kosmes has been intimately involved with the effort to renovate or replace the aging Whittier building. She has been attending meetings of the committee to amend the 1967 Regional Agreement with governs how capital and operating costs are allotted to member communities. Several of which are pressing for changes in the agreement since more than half the student body is from Haverhill, but the city would pay just 44% of the share of the cost of any new construction. Rowley, on the other hand, would pay 3.5% of the cost and Newburyport 10.5%, but are only allocated 10 seats each or 2%. “We hope within a year that we’ll have some sort of new amended regional agreement that people can agree upon, at least as much as they can agree upon it, and that we may be able to move forward with a building project for Whittier,” Kosmes said. She said she plans to stay involved with the Whittier community in her retirement, though she is looking forward to spending more time at the beach. She is also a longtime member of the board of directors of the Greater Haverhill YMCA and assistant treasurer of the parish council at Holy Apostles Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Haverhill. Support the show

Haverhill’s new Acting Police Chief Wayne Tracy says his first few months at the helm have seen a focus on officer training and the introduction of three canines. Tracy, who addressed listeners live as a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, says one of his goals for the department is making sure 90% of officers complete crisis intervention training. “We’re actually are ahead of the curve on that. The state wants departments to have 20% of their department trained on that. We’re at 70%,” he says.  But Tracy notes that when the department brings on new officers, that percentage falls so the training has to be a priority.  The acting chief also says he is pleased the department has added three canines to its force for the first time—two trackers and one comfort dog. Rex was the first to be sworn in last fall and his specialty is locating bombs, Tracy notes. The second tracking dog is still in training and doesn’t yet have a name. This canine’s expertise will be sniffing out drugs. The third dog will be a comfort dog. Calling comfort dogs a “good community policing” tool, Tracy adds, he expects the pup will be as helpful to his officers as to the public at large. Tracy was named to the position in October and is a 21-year veteran of the force. He grew up in the Acre section of Haverhill, graduating from Haverhill High School where he played hockey and football. After college at Southern New Hampshire University, he recalls he was working in a local pizza shop while waiting to take the state’s firefighter civil service exam. A friend suggested he take the police officer civil service test because it was scheduled sooner and the content of the exam is similar. To his surprise, he says, he passed the test and was offered a job.  While he once thought he might switch departments at some point, Tracy says he’s found his place in policing. He points out it’s his regular interactions with the community that gets him to work every day. “Obviously any day you can help somebody, whether it is saving a life to that extreme or just giving them a hand, maybe helping somebody cross the street or something small like that. Those types of things make you feel good,” Tracy says.  Tracy notes he also is continuing his education as he is close to earning his master’s degree through an online program at the University of Mississippi. Support the show

What’s better than a new playground at an elementary school? How about a new playground open to the entire community regardless of mobility issues? The parents at Golden Hill Elementary School decided to expand their dreams of replacing the school’s current playground beyond their school community and launched an effort to build what they are calling the Haverhill Community Playground. While the play area will be off limits during the school day, it will be open after school gets out at 3:15 p.m. during the week, on weekends and during school vacations. Organizer Brittany Safy, parent of a first grader and kindergartener at Golden Hill, is spearheading the effort. She and her team aim to raise $300,000 as well as get commitments of more than 1,000 volunteer hours to actually construct their dream play space in May. Safy recently sat down with WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” host Win Damon and chatted about the playground’s design and objectives. “We started with looking at the playground at Golden Hill and it serves its purpose, but it could serve a bigger purpose. It is a little—let’s just say it could use a facelift,” Safy said of the current playground adjacent to the school at 140 Boardman St. Safy said she became familiar with what playgrounds could be during the COVID-19 pandemic when she found herself driving miles so her children could experience different play spaces. “Our goal really is to create a playground that isn’t just your average playground. It’s something that is a destination playground, a place that maybe community members from surrounding towns come to,” she said. On a visit to Carlisle, she discovered a playground she and her kids liked, so she inquired as to the designer. That led to a relationship with Play By Design, an Ithaca, N.Y., firm that helps communities design unique play areas, fundraise and then build them. The lead designer interviewed students at Golden Hill on a design day in December to find out what they wanted their new playground to include. From those ideas, the group decided the new space must have swings and a basketball court. It will also have two slides, three climbing towers, two obstacle courses and musical elements. The current plan is to start construction Tuesday, May 26, and, with the help of community members, erect it by the end of the weekend on Sunday, May 31. Safy envisions teams of 10 people working four, eight and even 12-hour shifts to get it done. “So members of the community, we’re going to need 180 volunteers a day, are going to build this playground in six days,” Safy said. Making sure the playground is inclusive and welcoming to all children regardless of mobility issues means the play surface will be heavy rubber and the main climbing structure will have ramps wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. There will be several sensory panels as well as a quiet play area, Safy said. “Some of the great things that are going to make this playground stand out and apart from neighboring playgrounds is that it is going to be fully ADA compliant,” Safy said. Among the fundraising ideas so far is a tile project. For a price, anyone can decorate small pottery squares that will be used to enhance the playground’s entryway, Safy said. The group is also writing grants and seeking in-kind donations of materials. Support the show

DiZoglio, a Methuen Democrat, has been locked in a three-year battle with legislative leaders and state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell over her initiative to undertake an administrative audit of the legislature. Legislators opposing DiZoglio argue an audit of the Legislature by another state agency violates the separation of powers clause in the state Constitution. Instead, they propose hiring of an outside audit firm. In a wide-ranging interview with WHAV host Win Damon, DiZoglio outlined her new strategy for breaking the deadlock with legislative leaders and the state’s top judge. She asked the public to support a new ballot question she is supporting which would expand the state public records law to include the governor’s office and the legislature. If the petition passes in the state’s November general election, DiZoglio said the financial and contract records she is seeking would be available to the general public as well as the state auditor. Support the show

After holding traditional classes for more than three decades, Urban College of Boston has moved entirely online, bringing its two-year degree and certificate programs to a larger student base.  Yves Salomon-Fernández, president of Urban College of Boston, recently explained the transition and its benefits on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. She said students at Urban College Boston convinced the administration to move from in-classroom courses to virtual. “Urban College has been around for about 35 years. About three years ago, students pretty much voted with their feet and told us they primarily wanted to be online. So, all of our programs are online and we can reach anyone in Massachusetts and elsewhere, but primarily in Massachusetts,” Salomon-Fernández said. The school continues to maintain administrative offices in Chinatown. Salomon-Fernández added new programs are available in several fields, both courses leading to a two-year associate degree and certificate programs that prepare students for so-called “middle skills” jobs that do not require a four-year college degree. “We have got some exciting new programs coming up in business, in digital marketing, in project management, in paraprofessional studies, early childhood education. So, lots of options, something for everybody,” Salomon-Fernández said. For those considering college later in life, she said they’ll be in good company. The average age of the student body is 34. “We’re getting mostly adults. But I got to tell you, something happened to those kids who went to school during the pandemic, that a lot of them graduated and they said, ‘You know, I don’t know if I want to go away for school. I don’t know if I want to sign up for four years. I don’ t know if I’m ready.’ So, we are seeing some kids who also took some time off and they are working and they said, ‘You know, I can do this online thing,’” she said. The president also noted the school is particularly attractive to non-English speakers because courses are offered in Mandarin, Haitian-Creole, Portuguese and Spanish. Students do need to be proficient in English to graduate, she said, adding the college provides tutoring and other supports to help students succeed. “The goal is for you to master college level English for you to graduate because we are in America, after all, and we want people to be able to get jobs in their disciplines,” she said. Salomon-Fernández is herself an immigrant as she arrived in the United States from Haiti at 12. She is a graduate of Boston Latin School and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her master’s degree is from the London School of Economics and her Ph.D. is from Boston College. Originally founded in 1993 by Action for Boston Community Development, a Boston-based anti-poverty agency, Urban College Boston is a private, nonprofit college accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. Support the show

The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce moves next month from Harbor Place on Merrimack Street to a storied Washington Street storefront. Greater Haverhill Chamber President and CEO Katie Cook appeared on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program Monday and said the business organization moves to the city’s retail heart about the middle of January. “The Chamber should be storefront, down, usually accessible for individuals to pop in and ask questions about businesses. We’re excited for the opportunity,” she said. In fact, the 29 Washington St. location once housed Kaleidoscope Gallery, a pottery shop founded in 1976 by urban pioneer Raymond F. Eason and his and his wife Mary-Ellen. They were among the first to see the potential rebirth of the street from manufacturing to retail uses. The building was recently renovated by developer Jonathan Cody’s Atlantis Investments. It’s the latest move for the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce that last moved in 2018 into two offices on the third-floor incubator space at Harbor Place. Then-Chamber President and CEO Dougan Sherwood brought the Chamber from the second floor at 80 Merrimack St., to help support the then-UMass Lowell Innovation Hub. Prior to Merrimack Street, the Chamber’s longtime home was 87 Winter St., where poet John Greenleaf Whittier went to high school when the brick building served as Haverhill Academy. The new offices are between The Hill Downtown Tavern, just formerly known G’s, and Kwik Stop Convenience on the north side of Washington Street. Cook told WHAV, the Chamber will need a couple of weeks to get the location ready. “Don’t judge us when we first get in there. We got to take some time to decorate and re-arrange our furniture, but we‘ll get it figured out.” Cook also emphasized the “greater” in the Chamber’s name, noting surrounding towns are also very much part of the organization. She recently launched the Methuen Business Alliance and plans similar groups for Georgetown and Groveland. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to let each community feel seen and connect to their business communities. I think we do a really great job here in Haverhill, but the rest of the communities feel a little ignored,” she explained. Now, for example, the Methuen Business Alliance will launch Methuen Restaurant Week during the last week of January. Much like Haverhill’s Restaurant Week, it will showcase Methuen’s dining establishments with about 15 restaurants signup so far. Support the show

Television personality Tom Bergeron returned to his roots Tuesday, sitting down at WHAV with photographer Kelly Giordano to tell audiences about a recent photo shoot that celebrated his broadcasting career and Haverhill roots. Bergeron told WHAV “Win for Breakfast” host Win Damon that he found Giordano when he realized he needed an updated set of publicity photos. His niece, Ally Vallieres, convinced him Kelly Giordano and The Haverhill Studio were more than up to the task. Vallieres owns The Yoga Tree and Giordano is her near neighbor in downtown Haverhill. “I think my last professional head shot—my hair was much darker. It’s been a while. And also I am not great with still photos typically as Kelly now knows. Like on the red carpet in Hollywood or something when you have a bunch of photographers yelling at you to smile at them and all that, I always look as if I am passing a kidney stone,” Bergeron joked. Bergeron’s career was launched in 1972 at WHAV after he was mentored by his Haverhill High School public speaking instructor and WHAV News Director Edwin V. Johnson. Giordano, 38, who opened her photography space in 2024, said she was definitely up for the challenge of capturing Bergeron’s famous mug, but in a way that expressed his inner spirit. “When I had him against my backdrop and he’s saying this, I said, ‘Wow, this is going to be fun for me’ because it was a chance to connect like I do with all my clients. And we really created some great material,” Giordano said. But Giordano knew she needed to go beyond the common, staid headshot image to capture Bergeron’s playful side as well. She also understood that Bergeron wanted to ground the images in his hometown of Haverhill as he started his broadcast career at WHAV while a student at Haverhill High School. “We’re like, this can’t be the corporate headshot. That’s just not Tom. Everyone knows what Tom looks like. We don’t need to tell that story. What we wanted to do was give him more of an editorial, elevated, authentic use of images he could use across media platforms but really tie his community roots to that,” Giordano said. Bergeron said he had ideas about what he wanted, but was happy to allow Giordano to bring her own creative influences to their session. “She had a wealth of ideas about how to do it and got props like the very microphone that she’s talking into that has the WHAV logo on it. So, it really was for me a wonderful way to, through her skill as a photographer, kind of pay tribute to my 50-plus year career,” Bergeron said. He said he couldn’t be more pleased with the portfolio of pictures Giordano produced from their 90-minute photo session. “What we did together was really focused on kind of celebrating, not only my broadcasting career, but its roots here in Haverhill because this is where I started when I was in high school,” Bergeron said. Bergeron said he also came away with a new respect for the number of business owners, particularly younger women, who are making downtown Haverhill a thriving business and creative destination. “You’re indicative, I think, of some real entrepreneurial spirit in Haverhill, particularly among young women like my niece, like you, like the gang at Stem. That whole area has really become very vibrant in downtown Haverhill,” Bergeron said. Fellow Haverhill student Phil Primack stopped by to give Bergeron a black and white photograph of Bergeron taken when he studied mime at Northern Essex Community College. Bergeron is pictured in, what he describes as, an “unfortunate Abe Lincoln-type beard,” with two partners performing as part of the trio, “Vaudomime,” five decades ago. Bergeron, longtime host of ABC-TV’s “Dancing with The Stars,” recently made an appearance—the first time in five years—as a guest judge for the 20th anniversary show. He also sports numero Support the show

Santa Claus is getting ready to return to Haverhill later this month and bringing along some friends from the “Island of Misfit Toys,” the theme of the 61st Annual VFW Santa Parade. During an appearance on WHAV’s morning show, parade Chairman Daniel Plourde discussed the theme, taken from the 1964 television special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” “Yeah, the parade is coming up. It’s on the 23rd of November, Sunday afternoon at 1 o’clock. We leave from the Bradford Fire Station promptly at 1 and we go down Main Street, cross over the Merrimack River, turn left on Merrimack, turn right at the post office and end at the Boys and Girls Club at the corner of Emerson,” Plourde said. Planning for the parade started in May and it costs about $50,000 to mount the parade each year—all covered by donations from both corporate sponsors and individual donors. Expenses include hiring the marching bands and other acts. More than 50 entries from high school marching bands across the region, floats from local organizations, antique cars and other performers will pass down the parade route, Plourde said. “We’re doing very well so far. We have 20 plus floats, over 20 marching groups and about a dozen high school marching bands and other performing acts. So, we are in pretty good shape so far but there is always room for more,” Plourde said. Floats and marching units set up at the Caleb Dustin Hunking School behind the Bradford Fire Station on the morning of the parade and are judged. Prizes are given in five categories, including Most Parade Spirit and Best Overall Float, Plourde said. “Especially this year with it being the ‘Island of Misfit Toys,’ I expect to see some very creative things going down the street this year. It should be very entertaining,” Plourde said, noting this year’s theme is apt because the misfit toys debut as part of the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer animated movie which was released in 1964, the same year the Haverhill Santa Parade was launched. Plourde said he expects every inch of space along the entire route will be filled with parade goers. “Everyone has their favorite spots that some of them have been sitting in for generations. It’s always very entertaining for me to drive down Main Street the morning before the parade and see the chairs lined up marking territory,” Plourde said. Some 50 people have volunteered as parade ambassadors and will be on hand dressed in red coats to assist on the day of the parade. The parade committee will also have its own float to collect donations. Those who wish to contribute before parade day may made donations at HaverhillSantaParade.com. The parade was established by the late John T. Sullivan when he was commander of Haverhill’s VFW Lorraine Post 29. In addition to Plourde, other members of this year’s parade committee are Sullivan’s son, Thomas J. Sullivan, who serves as vice chair; Jessica Plourde, secretary; and Heather Powers, treasurer. Support the show

Daniel R. Diodati, a fourth generation Hillie, is competing with Veronica A. Rodriguez, also a Haverhill native, to represent Ward 2 on the Haverhill City Council in January. The winner replaces Katrina Hobbs Everett who chose not to run again. Diodati manages Berkshire Hathaway real estate offices in Haverhill. Rodriquez works for the Lawrence office of the state Department of Children and Families. Each recently appeared on WHAV’s morning show and answered six questions on challenging issues in the city. Here are their answers in the order their names appear on the ballot. Why do you want to serve on City Council? “With the skills that I have I really feel like I can contribute and I thought it was time to throw my hat in the ring. The reason is civic engagement being so low, it was time for someone like myself to step up and try to make a difference.” Diodati said. “I love Haverhill first of all and, lately, it’s been in the news for some of the wrong things. I don’t think you can complain if you don’t try to make a difference so that’s why I want to serve,” Rodriguez said. There is a perception Haverhill is building too much housing. Do you agree? “I do think there could be a smarter way to develop residential housing if we really look at homeownership. Homeownership is super, super important in any community,” Diodati said. “I think that we should fix the places that we have that are abandoned first. I think we need to get more creative because all that housing is going to bring a lot traffic, it is going to bring other problems. So, we need to maybe think outside of the box to help because we do have a housing crisis,” Rodriguez said. What can the City Council do to promote more affordable housing? “Between homeownership, development of new construction that is based on owner-occupied projects, mixed in with ADU (accessory dwelling unit) use, I think it is a great start. And, things are in motion to do that. I just hope to simplify things and make it a little bit better,” Diodati said. “We do have a housing trust but there’s no money in it. I think maybe if some of these new developments, we should maybe make them pay into that so we do have some funds so we can think of some projects we can do for affordable housing,” Rodriguez said. The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld? “Just to have a little bit more transparency in the process and how it is messaged to the public whether it be through an actually press conference, not necessarily through just making social media posts, etc. If there is no news to report, then report that there is no news to report,” Diodati said. “I think they did a good job informing the public. They put it out there right away. I do think that out of respect for her family, the cause of death and those types of things should be kept private just out of respect. I think they should be transparent. The public is what put them in. We pay for their jobs so we definitely need to know what’s going on. We need to know,” Rodriguez said. Do you believe residential property taxes are too low, too high or about right? “Too high. Because mindset is everything to me. And I do think we act upon on our thoughts. As long as we are controlling in our head that taxes are too high, we are going to work to keep them as low as possible,” Diodati said. “When I am paying them, I think they are too high but when I compare them to other cities, they’re not so high.” Rodriguez said. What specific city dep Support the show

In one of only three contested ward city council tests this year in Haverhill, Oliver Aguilo, a city engineer with Lawrence and 20-year resident of Haverhill, is taking on incumbent Michael S. McGonagle, a Haverhill native, to represent Ward 6 on Haverhill’s City Council. McGonagle owns a real estate company. Both candidates appeared on WHAV’s morning show and answered a series of questions about issues facing the city. Here are their answers in the order the candidates appear on the ballot. Why are you running for City Council? “Well, this would be my ninth term and I’ve done a lot of good things, I believe, and I would like to continue working for the people of Haverhill,” McGonagle said. “As a city engineer, I notice a lot of things that are really bad in the city that need to be addressed right away. That’s what I am running for,” Aguilo said. Is Haverhill building too much housing? “I believe that if we build more, we get more tax revenue.  You increase the tax base,” McGonagle said. “We need to grow with the city. If we are going to build more houses, we need to make sure we have enough water for everyone,” Aguilo said. What can the City Council do to promote more affordable housing? “We passed a nice project last night (Oct. 28) at the City Council meeting of four units in a place where there was run-down garage over in the Bradford area. That’s the type of development we need so people can have homeownership,” McGonagle said. “If we have more houses, then probably prices will go down,” Aguilo said. The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld? “I do believe that the public deserves to know. The families deserve to know. The reputation of the Haverhill Police Department needs to be cleared if there is a cloud hanging over it, and I believe that’s what the mayor has done by making these changes at the top,” McGonagle said. “I think the public has the right to know everything that is going on. The only thing that I think the police department has to cover is any information related to the investigation. If it is going to interfere with the investigation, it has to be private. Other than that, it has to be public to every resident,” Aguilo said. Do you think residential property taxes are too low, too high or just right? “About right. And if you want an explanation, I can go there. I just think Haverhill is one of the most affordable towns or cities in the Merrimack Valley. With all we have to offer we’re a good place to be,” McGonagle said. “There are lot of families struggling right now. It is a bad situation right now. Economically, a lot of people are struggling and I am one of those persons having trouble with the economy,” Aguilo said. What city departments would be your top candidates for cuts? “The budget is pretty substantial, over $200 million. And you have to look at line item by line item. I couldn’t just tell you, ‘Hey, this is something we’re going to cut’”, McGonagle said. “Right now I don’t really have an answer to that question right now,” Aguilo said. The final day to vote in Haverhill’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To check on a poll location, residents may visit the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office online. Support the show

Guy E. Cooper, a retired Haverhill police officer, is challenging incumbent Melissa J. Lewandowski for the Ward 4 seat on Haverhill’s City Council in next Tuesday’s general election. They each sat down with on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” and answered a series of questions about their candidacies. Here are their answers in the order the candidates will appear on the Ward 4 ballot. Why do you want to serve on City Council? “I’ve been a contributor to civic organizations even before I held office because I like being boots on the ground, showing up, answering the call, doing the work. I’ve had some successes in moving some items forward while I’ve been on Council, but there is an opportunity obviously to do much more and I aim to finish what I started,” Lewandowski said. “I want to continue my civic duty for the City of Haverhill. Haverhill is my home, what I consider my hometown and I want to continue serving the citizens of Haverhill in that capacity now,” Cooper said. There is a perception Haverhill is building too much housing.  “What’d I like to see is senior housing similar to what they did with the YMCA in Methuen where they had particular senior housing for the 55-plus demographic. I’d also like to see conversion of some of our buildings that we might be able to identify as surplus properties,” Lewandowski said. “I believe in growth, but growth with a purpose. The growth that we have now, the apartments and buildings that are going in, they’re not very affordable for people at this point. Also, as we now know, there is a very big strain on our infrastructure,” Cooper said. What can City Council do to promote more affordable housing? “I along with a lot of my colleagues are interested in home ownership, not rentals. We need a combination of state and city funding, in my opinion, to allow nonprofit developers to build homes,” Lewandowski said. “I think the city can put some type, I believe, they can put some type of a limit on, having an idea of what their out cost will be when completed to what you are going to rent or what you are going to lease and what it’s going to cost a person to rent or lease. I think that is something we should look at first,” he said. The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld? “What can be shared, in my opinion, is general information—date, time, location of incidents, facts and circumstances surrounding those incidents; an overview of what an investigation entails; what is the scope of it and; most importantly, in my opinion, we think that we need to be better on progress reports and timelines for the public,” Lewandowski said. “I do believe 100% that we should be telling them what’s going on or even if that the process is still moving on. But I think the silence, that’s very hurting. I do believe everybody needs to know everything that’s happened,” Cooper responded. Do you believe that residential property taxes are too low, too high or about right? “Well, too high. If people are hurting and they can’t afford to stay, then the answer is too high. We need to ensure our taxpayers can continue to live here. This year we saw an increase, the debt exclusion made up the majority of that increase, but there were other factors, of course, employee benefits, general inflation, not getting enough money from the state. But going forward we can’t allow our property taxes to be our out,” Lewandowski said. “Because of inflation, prices of everything is going up. I do believe now, though, again being a tax Support the show

Political newcomer Brandon F. Burns is challenging incumbent Melinda E. Barrett for mayor of Haverhill in the city’s general election Tuesday, Nov. 4. A small business owner for 23 years, Barrett, 62, served on Haverhill’s City Council for 10 years before making history when she became the city’s first female chief executive. Burns, 23, graduated from Haverhill High School in 2020 as part of the classical academy program. He currently works as an accountant in Boston. Both Barrett and Burns sat down in separate, live WHAV interviews during WHAV’s morning program, “Win for Breakfast.” Each answered five questions on major issues facing the city. These are their answers in the order their names will appear on the ballot. Why do you want to be mayor? “Well, we have done a lot and we’ve made a lot of progress. But there is so much more to do. Two years for a mayoral role is rather short. All our surrounding communities have gone to four years. We have a lot of things in the pipeline. We’ve accomplished a lot. I’d like to see them through,” Barrett said. “I want to make sure I serve the community and I think the status quo isn’t working for many individuals anymore. And we really need to see some new leadership from the top down and make sure that we accommodate to everybody in the city,” Burns said. Is it ever appropriate to use free cash to avoid tax hikes? “It can be. But right now, we are in such a deficit. When I came into office, we were well over 60% using free cash, which by our financial rules we are only supposed to have 20% being used for continuing funding of operations. Right now, we are making strides, but we’re still well above where we should be. We are down to 2%. Every year we are going to chip away with that. So, we are in a position to do something like that,” Barrett said. “I think that using the surplus to your advantage, I mean that’s kinda of the way accounting works is you make sure you have a safety net, for example, and if ever times were to get tough, you should be able to use any resources available to alleviate the stress from homeowners and your residents,” Burn said. Do you support raising taxes closer to the city’s Proposition 2 ½ cap and, if not, what spending would you cut? “Well, the goal from this last two years is to get into a position where we are living within our means for a long-term period. We have to be disciplined, keep our costs below 2 1/2%. Some departments may edge up a little, but that we will take from others. So, 2 1/2% is where we have to be per Mass. state law so that where we are going to be. We just had to correct some major financial problems the last two years,” Barrett said. “I believe that the budget was very firm under Fiorentini. I’m sure that there are those that say we kicked the can down the road. But, after the recent override, we’ve increased the budget over the past two years by $30 million when under the previous administration it was only projected to increase by $16 million. So, we have an additional $14 million now annually within our budget. I think there is plenty of money. So, my first thing is that I think we need to start with a zero budget. That means we are going to perform an audit first. That is going to be one of my first actions,” Burns said. Would you favor a debt exclusion to build a replacement John Greenleaf School? “I believe that’s probably the way it will have to go, up or down. If it goes down, we’ll figure out another way to do it because those children definitely need a newer facility to learn in. I think J.G. Whittier, some argued at the time, would have been the next school to do. Former Mayor Fiorentini chose to do the Consentino first. Both were in need, no denying that,” Barrett said. “My big question to everybody on City Council and the Mayor Support the show

Sheriffs in other counties are drawing scrutiny for their spending and other practices, but Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger appeared live on WHAV to demonstrate how Essex County shines. This week, the legislature withheld $162 million request from county sheriffs following complaints in Norfolk, Hampden and Suffolk counties. Coppinger, who stopped by WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program last Friday, discussed instead how his office prepares inmates for re-entry and helps correctional staff stay on top of mental health. Among the job training and re-entry programs the Sheriff’s Department runs is the farm at the Pre-Release and Re-Entry Center in Lawrence. “We average about 3,600 pounds of produce. This is our time of year. That’s one of the things we do. We teach the inmates also vocational skills. The farm is incredible. We hire an actual farmer to come in and teach the inmates, but the inmates do all the cleaning of the fields in the spring. They plant them. They take care of them all summer. Then they harvest them and we take the harvest. We take some of it to feed our inmates in all our facilities. We also donate a lot of it to charities and non-profits,” Coppinger explained. The department also has a partnership with Northern Essex Community College which runs classes for inmates. “Our philosophy is, while they are in there, no pun intended, we have a captive audience. Let’s do what we can and we partner with President (Lane A.) Glenn and the staff at Northern Essex to come in and teach the inmates, whether it is high school equivalency or maybe a college level course. It’s amazing when you see the inmates transition to a learning environment,” Coppinger said. Finally, the sheriff talked about an initiative to help relieve his staff’s stress level—a comfort dog. “His name is Pasky. Pasky was named after Officer Anthony Pasquarello, who was one of our correctional officers and it’s a sad story. But, at the age of 37, he passed away during the peak of Covid. He was a great officer. He just caught COVID, got a bad case of it and we lost him and it was troubling. So, in his memory in cooperation with his family we got our first comfort dog and we named it Pasky in honor of Officer Pasquarello. It just kind of keeps his memory alive with our officers. He’s there for the staff,” Coppinger said. The former chief of the Lynn Police Department with 40 years in law enforcement, Coppinger was first elected Essex County Sheriff in 2016 for a six-year term. He is currently serving his second term. Support the show

When signing up for a website or cell phone app Massachusetts consumers in the future would be able to decide how much of their personal information they want to share under a data privacy and security bill being sponsored by state Sen. Pavel M. Payano. Payano discussed the importance of the legislation being debated by the state Legislature during a recent interview during WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. The senator said even when consumers are careful, their personal data and even their precise GPS location can be shared and sold to third party vendors without their knowledge. “We are not aware of the type of data we are constantly sharing with these apps. We think we might be sharing it with the app that connects you to a dog walker. But then app goes in and they sell the data to a bunch of third-party folks and God knows what they do with that data,” Payano said. The legislation, which will be taken up next by the state House of Representatives, would give broad enforcement powers to the state attorney general, Payano said. The bill would put even tighter controls on data sharing by minors and would allow consumers to opt out of ads that target them based on their personal preferences. “You’d be surprised how they are able to target these ads and manipulate you into choosing something that maybe you wouldn’t have chosen, or how a bad actor can get this information and then use that information maybe to hack you,” Payano said. Payano also discussed the importance of the $234 million emergency medical package recently passed by the state Legislature. It is expected to bring much-needed relief to Merrimack Health, the new name for Lawrence General Hospital and its sister hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill, as well as the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center by supporting efforts to provide services to low-income patients. Support the show