News

Voters Approve Rebuilding Decrepit DPW Facility; Easom Says It’s "Like A Hooverville"

by Connie Sartini, By a 2/3 majority, Groton Town Meeting voters approved the proposed reconstruction, equipping, furnishing and new construction to upgrade the Department of Public Works facilities at their existing site on Cow Pond Brook Road for $4,620,250. The proposed construction and...

Lawrence Academy Apologizes "Unconditionally" For Employee’s Sexual Misconduct in 1990s

by Russell Harris, Last Thursday Lawrence Academy released a 13-page report summarizing the findings of an independent investigation into allegations by seven female former students of sexual misconduct engaged in by Mr. Peter Regis, a former Lawrence Academy employee of the Buildings and...

Select Board's Pine to Move to Eliminate New FireFighter Funding At Town Meeting

by Connie Sartini, Select Board member Becky Pine confirmed to The Groton Herald that she plans to make a motion at the April 29th Spring Town Meeting to amend the Town’s 2020 budget to eliminate the funds for the hiring of two additional firefighter/EMT’s. Pine said she made this decision...

Bids Higher Than Expected for Library Roof, DPW Garage

by Russell Harris, Bids on two major town projects have come in much higher than architect and committee extimates. DPW Garage At the Select Board meeting Town Manager Mark Haddad announced that the bids for the new DPW garage had come in $800,000 higher than the original estimate of $4 million...

Select Board Rates Town Manager’s Performance as Overall ‘Good’

by Robert Stewart, The Select Board completed its annual performance review of Town Manager Mark Haddad and gave him an overall performance rating of “Good.” The Board was nearly unanimous in rating Haddad’s financial management as “Outstanding” (Exceeds Expectations) or “Good.” However, the...

Select Board Limits Parking At Groton Place To Reduce Incidents At Site

by Russell Harris, Chris Pryor, Director for Stewardship for the New England Forestry Foundation, along with Groton Police Chief Michael Luth appeared before the Select Board to request that the town limit parking near the entrance to Groton Place, a property on Long Hill Road in West Groton,...

Aerial view of MIT Haystack Observatory, a discreet and shy presence in the area, has burst into internationl public recognition with the first image of a black hole.

Groton Scientists Help Bring Image of Black Hole To Earth

by Russell Harris MIT Lincoln Labs and Haystack Observatory - just across the far eastern border of the town in Westford - has been a discreet, shy and private presence in Groton since its founding in the 1950s.With almost 130 forested acres in Groton buffering Haystack Observatory from public...

Select Board Supports Prescott School Funding

by Connie Sartini Spring Town Meeting Warrant Article #14 requesting voters to approve $77,000 in operational funding for the Prescott School was supported by three of the Select Board members. Members Barry Pease, John Giger and Becky Pine voted to support the request, while Alison Manugian was...

UMass Lowell Researchers Track Mercury Pollution In Forests

by Nancy Cicco A UMass Lowell expert on mercury is studying how much of the toxic substance accumulates in forests with an eye toward reducing the dangerous pollutant worldwide. Understanding the presence and causes of mercury in the environment is critically important because the toxic...

Select Board Punts On Ticket Tax: Let The Voters Decide

by Connie Sartini Discussion of whether to inlcude an initiative petition article for a ticket tax on the Spring Town Meeting warrant was finally concluded on a split vote of the Select Board with two yes votes to keep it on the warrant from Selectman Josh Degen and Alison Manugian, two no...