The suggestion for the headline for Monday’s outdoor Town Meeting, from reader Bill Coale was, “Annual Town Meeting Held In A Cool, Comfortable Fog” and that felt just about right to the 214 Manchester voters who showed up to easily pass the 14 articles on the Warrant.  They funded a town op…

With town elections quickly approaching, officials are racing to find people to fill the current vacancies, which we've compiled into this list.

At Monday’s Town Meeting, BOS Chairman Eli Boling said no one serving on any town board could have anticipated the year’s “agenda” would end up managing the community’s response to a global pandemic.  Anyone volunteering for town service, he said, indeed deserves credit for leading the town through the events so far in 2019.  This is especially true for two BOS members, Margaret “Muffin” Driscoll and Arthur Steinert, both retiring to a well-deserved rest.  Steinert has served for three years.

When non-essential businesses had to close on March 28 under orders by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, many wondered how health clubs would emerge and embrace the constraints of social distancing.  Well, we’re getting an idea of what that might look like when the Manchester Athletic Club kicked off its staged opening to the public, starting with its renowned tennis program, appointment training and group fitness under outdoor tents and the outdoor pool.  How did they do it?  A great team.

Tuesday, a “Retirement Parade” consisting of over 130 cars accompanied by Essex fire engines, MBTS police and Essex police surprised Sue Hardy and Jeannine Stanley at the Essex Elementary School with a show of love and respect for the many years they put into their careers.  To thank the community for this show of love and respect, Hardy and Stanley have written a letter to be included in this week’s Cricket.

On March 10, Governor Charles D. Baker declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  Pursuant to my authority contained in M.G.L. Ch. 39, §§ 15 and 17 to regulate the proceeding and preserve order at town meeting, I adopt this Public Health Protocol for the Annual Town Meeting to be held on June 22 at 6:30 p.m. with check-in open at 5:30 and a rain date of June 24.

Essex held its Spring Town Meeting last week at Essex Elementary School, with 177 residents weighing in a whopping a 37-article warrant.  In the end, residents successfully voted to formalize Essex as a “one cannabis retailer” town and postponed a vote to establish a new downtown zoning district to a later time.  They also voted to widen the number of senior citizens eligible for real estate tax relief.  It all felt like “business as usual.”

Massachusetts Center for the Book is pleased to announce another successful year in its flagship program for young people, Letters About Literature (LAL), a reading and writing initiative that invites students from Grades 4 to 12 to write letters to authors about the books that have had prof…

Finally, it is here!  Our Annual Town Meeting, delayed from the usual early April date, will be held on Monday, 6/22, at 6:30PM (check in begins at 5:30) on the turf field at the high school (rain date is 6/24).  Moderator Alan Wilson and Town Clerk Christina St. Pierre, with thoughtful guidance from our Board of Health and state guidelines, have spent considerable time mapping out a safe, detailed set of procedures and layout for the meeting (see related article). 

Two weeks ago, approximately 150 people participated in a spontaneous vigil at Masconomo Park in Manchester to honor George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.  Last week, three more such events took place in Manchester, including this one organized by MERHS freshman Bella Wright and …