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4 days ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - Middlesex Superior Court has issued a preliminary injunction barring the Conservation Commission from acting on a notice of intent filing for the Murphy's Farm Chapter 40B proposal in East Dracut.
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1 week ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - The second time was the charm for Don Plummer. He will join the Board of Selectmen after finishing first in the just-concluded three-way race for two open seats on that board. Turnout for the town election, held Saturday, was extremely low. Only 1,836 of 25,322 registered voters cast ballots, representing just over 7% of the electorate. Tony Archinski, who is the current board chair, finished second and will serve his fifth term in office.
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1 week ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - A quiet election season winds down on Saturday, coming to an official end when polls close at 4 p.m. Prior experience with early voting is responsible for the early closing on the last day of the election period. Both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee races are contested, with three candidates for two seats on each board. On the Board of Selectmen side, incumbents Tony Archinski and Jennifer Kopcinski are seeking reelection.
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1 month ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
TYNGSBORO - The costs of special education, especially out-of-district tuition and transportation, are "unsustainable," Superintendent of Schools Michael Flanagan told a recent tri-board meeting with state Rep. Colleen Garry and state Sen. Edward Kennedy.
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1 month ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - The Richardson Middle School will open in September just as it always has. That's despite the U.S. Department of Education slashing $648,702 in funding for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning project at the school. Superintendent of Schools Steven Stone told The Sun, "The state is prepared to support us." In a letter to school systems across the state, "It made clear there is a waiver process to pursue to recover the funds," Stone said. Meanwhile, the state will cover the costs.
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1 month ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - As of April 1, Dracut will ban the manufacturing, sale and distribution of the herbal substance kratom within town limits, Health Director Dave Ouellette has announced. The Board of Health imposed the regulations on kratom in late February. The board's action followed similar decisions in Lowell and Chelmsford. The ban took effect on Jan. 2 in Lowell and March 5 in Chelmsford.
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1 month ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - One thing is now certain about the 2026 budget year. By a unanimous vote of the Board of Selectmen, residents and businesses will be assessed trash removal fees beginning July 1. The trash fees will minimize the amount of free cash needed to cover an $8.3 million deficit. In a town historically averse to increasing existing fees or the tax levy, introducing a new fee could signify a major change in thinking about fiscal matters.
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1 month ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - The town has failed for eight years to fund an account intended to pay post-employment benefits to retired workers. In a meeting with the Finance Committee on March 20, Town Manager Kate Hodges called this circumstance "concerning and shocking, really, that the town has not put a penny into post-employment benefits."The account in question is not the pension fund. Rather, it is the Other Post-Employment Benefits account, which covers items such as health and life insurance.
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1 month ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - The town is unlikely to join the list of communities to seek an exemption from the MBTA Communities Act anytime soon. While no one who spoke at the March 11 Board of Selectmen meeting expressed support for the act, the consensus seemed to be to let other communities bear the expense of fighting the law.
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2 months ago | 
lowellsun.com | Prudence Brighton
DRACUT - Donations from family, friends, neighbors and a foundation have given the Dinh family freedom and safety in the form of a $75,000 white van. "The van will make the family independent and empowered," Gabriella Costa, marketing director of the Jett Foundation, said. Except for its color and the special equipment on board, the van is like the Amazon vans making deliveries on local streets. The van was presented to the Dinhs in late February to coincide with National Rare Disease Day on Feb.
