Peabody High Police Memorial Stirs Emotions: Patch PM

Peabody MA

20 November, 2020

4:06 PM

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PEABODY, MA — Today is Friday, Nov. 20. These are the stories Patch has been covering on the North Shore and across Massachusetts. Nearly 300 people have signed a Change.org petition supporting a Peabody Veterans Memorial High School teacher's "Remembrance Wall" honoring police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2020. The wall, which has been up for six years and is updated each year with officers killed that calendar year, has been the center of controversy in the city amid social media reports that it was ordered removed from a school hallway because of complaints that it made a student and teacher uncomfortable, and could be considered a political statement. Peabody Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala told Patch Friday morning that is not the case. "Unfortunately, there seems to be quite a bit of incorrect information on social media," Vadala said. "The display remains in its original location and has not been moved." Read the full story here. Also on the North Shore Marblehead Schools To Remain Hybrid Amid Coronavirus Surge Marblehead Public Schools will maintain their current hybrid learning model despite a recent surge of cases in the town. Marblehead Superintendent of Schools John Buckey said Friday morning that the decision to maintain some level of in-classroom learning was made after consulting district leaders and the Marblehead School community. Salem To Offer More Resident-Only Coronavirus Testing Salem residents will have additional opportunities to get a coronavirus test during the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Danvers Schools Could Have Rapid Coronavirus Testing In December Danvers Superintendent of Schools Lisa Dana said rapid coronavirus testing could begin in early December after the district was one of 134 across the state to receive phase one approval for in school testing supplies this week. MA High School Basketball, Hockey Players To Mask Up This Winter High school basketball and hockey will be played with masks and social distancing modifications, while indoor track is pushed to February with the hopes of a spring wrestling season, after the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Directors voted on sport-specific modifications because of the coronavirus health crisis at their Friday meeting. The MIAA Board of Directors voted to set a Dec. 14 opening to the indoor school sports season. The season was to begin on Nov. 30. Across Massachusetts Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Falls For Fourth Straight Month The state's unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in October, down from 9.6 percent in September. Massachusetts was one of 37 states to see its unemployment rate drop in October, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the fourth straight month the state's unemployment rate has declined since peaking at 17.7 percent in June. Brookline Town Meeting Passes Proposal To Phase Out Tobacco Use Brookline Town Meeting Thursday voted to remove all gendered pronouns in its bylaws, started the process for a new tax exemption for some seniors and approved the phase-out of the sale and use of tobacco in town. The Warrant Article regulating tobacco use would ban anyone born after a certain date from purchasing cigarettes, rather than putting a set age limit of 21 on the purchase of tobacco, eventually reducing potential buyers to zero. Child Rapist Wayne Chapman Now Living In Medford A notorious Massachusetts sex offender is now living in Medford. Wayne Chapman was released from MCI-Shirley in 2019 after 40 years in prison. He was convicted in 1977 of luring two Lawrence boys into the woods and sexually assaulting them.