LATEST NEWS

A spacious house located at 339 Stow Road in Harvard has new owners. The 4,722-square-foot property, built in 2007, was sold on Aug. 28, 2023. The $1,750,000 purchase price works out to $371 per square foot. This three-story house boasts a generous living space with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. On the exterior, the home features a gable roof design constructed with asphalt roofing. Inside, there is a fireplace. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system.

With fewer and fewer people available to serve as reserve police officers, Police Chief James Babu has proposed hiring civilians to manage and direct traffic at work sites along public roads. Nearly all the surrounding towns, he said, have adopted the use of civilian agents for traffic control. The proposal is expected to appear as a warrant article at the Oct. 21 Town Meeting.

Sharlene Cronin resigned from the School Committee effective Aug. 31. Chair Abby Besse announced Cronin’s resignation at the committee’s Sept. 11 meeting. Besse said the School Committee had also officially notified the Select Board of the vacancy. Cronin was first elected to the School Committee in 2018 and reelected in 2021.

What was going on in Harvard a year ago today ... 10, 16 years ago? Here are Press headlines from previous issues on or near today’s date. Middle schoolers lead the way with hands-on recycling initiative. School Committee sets 18 goals. September 19, 2008. Embezzlement rocks Fruitlands. Shoreline garage...

CLINTON, Mass. — He grew up horribly abused in a foster home, then went to prison as an adult. Now, he's an alleged victim again, telling a judge today that he was seduced by a correction officer. Nathan Williams appeared in Clinton District Court Thursday to deliver a victim...

A draft report by Gale Associates concluded that town athletic fields, while in fair condition, are overused. While that’s not news to many coaches, players, and parents, the study backs up its conclusion with usage data from the schools and youth and adult leagues. Gale’s suggestion is to convert at least one rectangular playing field to synthetic turf, which will withstand heavier use, and possibly add lighting to extend availability.

It’s like some giant warrior, with one arm stretched out from its thick body. The white oak, bearing the scars of many storms, stands sentry at the corner of Codman Hill and Stow roads, on the boundary between Boxborough and Harvard. The boundary oak’s most recent wound is the loss of a substantial limb, weakened in storms of the past few weeks. The downed limb had considerable rot.

LEOMINSTER — This month’s flash floods, which washed out roads, partially submerged cars on highways, forced residents to evacuate their homes and turned basements into indoor swimming pools, has a Pleasant Street family uncertain if it will ever set foot in its home again. Arthur and Joanne Obin have been living in a...

WALTHAM — Police have not yet determined whether they will charge a youth in the killing of a Waltham woman during a fight this past Friday. A juvenile watching a scuffle involving two women in a Waltham home on the evening of Sept. 15, picked up a gun that was apparently dropped by one of the women and shot her multiple times, Vermont State Police report.

Interested in adopting a pet — or just looking at some adorable pets near you up for adoption? There are dozens of endearing pets up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Westford.

MARLBOROUGH — Two dozen people — 20 adults and four children — were displaced Tuesday night after a kitchen fire in a Briarwood Lane apartment building, authorities said. Two people had to be rescued from a balcony after the 6:30 p.m. fire at The Heights at Marlborough...

This year the schools hired a dozen new staff members, and the Press is profiling the 10 new full-time hires who interact with a large number of the school population. The Sept. 1 edition of the Press profiled seven new employees; this article covers three more. Nancy Labbe, Bromfield School...

Next year’s cost-of-living adjustment recommendation of 5.48%, approved by the Personnel Board last week, was met with skepticism at the Sept. 19 Select Board meeting. Member Charles Oliver did not agree with the Personnel Board’s new method of calculating the COLA, and the board decided to wait for new data before voting to approve the Personnel Board’s recommendation. Meanwhile, department budgets, due Oct. 6, need to include a cost-of-living adjustment. Finance Director Jared Mullane told the Press he will use the Personnel Board’s recommended number in those budgets since the Select Board has not made a decision.

The birthing center at UMass Memorial Hospital in Leominster is slated to close at 7 a.m. on Saturday, despite major pushback from local leaders and community activists. A group of nurses and supporters gathered at the hospital for a candlelight vigil Thursday, to urge Gov. Maura Healey to step in at the 11th hour and stop the closure. On Friday the governor announced she was ordering an immediate examination to address health care equity in the state. It will come as two reviews - one on access to specialized services like doula care and supports for nutrition, mental health and substance use issues, and another focused on regional access to essential services in northern Worcester County. However the reviews, which are scheduled to be complete by Nov. 15, will not delay the closure.

FRAMINGHAM — A local man was ordered held on $25,000 bail after he was charged last week with selling crack cocaine and fentanyl in several MetroWest communities. According to the Framingham police, the task force began an investigation recently after some "street encounters" in Ashland and Marlborough. According to a press release, the task force identified people traveling between Ashland Marlborough, selling both crack and fentanyl, which they purchased in Framingham. There was also "constant foot traffic" in downtown Framingham, authorities said.

Then-junior defender Taylor Fasnacht drives the ball out of the defensive zone during Harvard's Nov. 5 game against Columbia in 2022, where the Crimson defeated the Lions 5-0. By Zing Gee. After returning from a trip to California which included a last minute 3-2 loss to Long Beach State (5-3-2)...

Back in the day, members launched a much smaller Horseshed Fair at First Church in Lancaster. Their goal: make money for the church and have fun. Mission accomplished. The Unitarian church, on the Town Green, dates back to pioneer days as the first church established in the new town of Lancaster. Its history is rich — names such as Rowlandson, Thayer and St. Ivanyi are in its roster of ministers, as is Edmund Sears, composer of “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.”

Retired Army Brig. Gen. David Hamilton Smith, a Harvard resident, formerly of Fiske Street, died peacefully on September 5 at the Veterans’ Hospital in Bedford following a period of declining health. He was 92. The eldest son of Clifford B. Smith, Sr. and Grace (Bushee) Smith was born in Beverly, on August 20, 1931. David was raised along with his brother Clifford B. Smith, Jr., in Topsfield and Newburyport where he graduated from high school in 1948.

Select Board office hours for Friday, September 22 have been canceled. There will be office hours held on Saturday, September 23 from 8:00am - 10:00am at Town Hall, 37 Shattuck St. in room 103.Visit here for more details.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences released a report reviewing the state of the school's financial aid program, advising, and admissions practices, among other aspects of the school. By Frank S. Zhou. A Thursday report by a faculty working group at Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences characterized...