Merrimack Valley Newsmakers WHAV Staff

Groveland voters go to the polls Monday to choose two candidates from a field of five for Groveland’s Board of Selectmen.
Edward H. Watson is seeking re-election to one of two available seats. Daniel MacDonald holds the other seat, but does not appear on the ballot. Challengers are, in ballot order, Steven F. Baker, Rebecca Megan Beaucher, William F. Dunn, Adam J. Haywood and William G. O’Neil.
All but Dunn talked live during WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program and their interviews are available on the “Merrimack Valley Newsmakers” podcast. 
Other town posts either have no candidates and subject to write-in votes or are uncontested. 
There are also two ballot questions. The first asks Should the town have its elected Board of Assessors become an appointed Board of Assessors? The second asks Should the town repeal its acceptance of the Community Preservation Act—as approved in a vote May 3, 2004—and no longer collect a surcharge imposed upon real estate within the town to be placed in a Community Preservation Fund.
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The sky is still dark when Larry Corcoran, a bus driver for Merrimack Valley Transit, starts his route outbound from Haverhill at six a.m. For the few who ride this early in the morning, the transportation is essential.

When MeVa leaders went before state lawmakers to request more money early this month, Chief Communications Officer Niorka Mendez said, for some of the people they serve, “This is the only way to get to food access, to get to medical care—even in the social aspect of visiting friends. On the bus, as a bus driver, I used to talk to them, and maybe we are the only people they talk to during the whole day. They don’t have a family member to talk to or vent [to].”

Corcoran, the most senior MeVa driver, said his job requires multitasking. He has to be “an expert motor vehicle operator, and also a personality. Truck drivers wouldn’t have to deal with passengers. They would just drive the truck, and maybe they’d listen to a radio and just concentrate on the controls of the truck.”

“Everybody on legs and everybody on wheels around you, you have to know where they are, what they’re going to do, and you have to be prepared to just deal with it, avoid a collision,” he added.

Jonathan Kay, a machinist, said he takes the bus to work every day.

He said, “I’ve always relied on the bus for transportation. I don’t have a vehicle, so it’s the best way to get around. It being free is an amazing help. If you have the time, you can get from Lawrence to Salisbury beach.”

On the podcast, hear more of Staff Writer Jacob Posner’s conversations with Corcoran and the people who rely on buses like his.


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When it comes to making an impact in the world of music, it often takes a lot of time to become an “overnight” success, and success knows no zip code. But, when you love to play, you play!
Haverhill native Brian McGravey has released his new album “Feather in the Wind.” McGravey was a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. McGravey has been playing in bands and composing music for the past 20 years—some of his work is in the form of production music that can be heard on dozens of TV channels including HBO, Nickelodeon and the History Channel.
“It’s really kind of a dream come true, and it’s usually not that I go and listen, or I just hear it randomly, ‘cause I usually don’t know ahead of time when it’s going to be used, or where, but I use the website called TuneSat, and basically it will detect any music that’s used. I can later go in and watch the episodes, so I found out. I’m on some Netflix things. I could go through the big list of it, but it’s quite a big list,” he says.
McGravey has been playing the piano since he was 10 years old when he strung together a few notes from “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” before taking lessons and eventually majoring in music at college.
“I studied music business at UMass Lowell—great, great school. I learned all kinds of stuff about classical music, jazz and music theory and did a lot of writing, a lot of ensembles, jazz, big bands, orchestras.”
McGravey found himself as a busy musician while he was in high school, but was able to make a few school events.
“My senior year was the only time I could fit it into my schedule, but I was in the jazz band and we kind of combined with the concert band that year, part of both of those. I was always doing the talent shows every year. Funny story, my old band Paradox, two times during talent shows, I was a bass guitar player. I wasn’t even a piano player of that band. You know how back in the days those old classic rock things like Jimi Hendrix smashes his guitar. So, two different times in my high school talent shows I smashed my bass guitar. That’s a little bit of a claim to fame there.”
McGravey isn’t smashing bass guitars these days. He’s a member of two busy bands and writing music. 
Hear the music at BrianMcGraveyMusic.com.
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In a wide-ranging interview with WHAV this week, Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett took listeners behind the scenes on recent moves affecting the futures of both the “big” and “little” Whittier schools.
Barrett, in her fourth month working out of the corner office at City Hall, took some time Wednesday to appear on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. The mayor said she spoke with Gov. Maura T. Healey recently as plans took shape to explore a shared campus for Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and Northern Essex Community College.
“So, the idea would be to build a Whittier Vo-Tech and align it with NECCO so they could capture some different dollars rather than just the 11 communities relying on (Massachusetts School Building Authority) and their own tax levy capacities. This would open up even more grant opportunities, some federal funding, take advantage of job training monies that might be out there from both the state and federal government to try to reduce the cost to the communities and produce a school that will produce workers for the future,” she said.
During January’s vote of Whittier Tech communities, only Haverhill supported plans for a $445 million replacement school.
As WHAV reported first, Barrett recently met with other communities and made clear the city’s opposition to reopening the 1967 Whittier Tech agreement.
“I don’t know the motivation behind the other communities as far as how they feel. We had a meeting last week with all 11 communities and many of them want to open up the charter and basically shift the cost burden to Haverhill more than it already is. I told them I would not approve opening the charter due to that fact.  I won’t vote for that. When I did tell them that, one of the town managers from a different community said ‘Of course you wouldn’t. If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t either.’”
The mayor also related the backstory about how the John C. Tilton School came to be considered as part of the replacement of the John Greenleaf Whittier School on Concord Street.
“When they came to tour, I guess last year at some point, they toured the J. G. Whittier and they also looked at the Tilton. Initially, we only put in for the J. G. Whittier, and they let us know that if we wanted to consider a combined school, similar to what (Caleb Dustin) Hunking is, that we would have to put in a statement of interest for Tilton also, so that they could, in their concept, consider doing a combined school. Without our application for Tilton, they would not have considered it,” Barrett explained.
She said the J.G. Whittier middle school application has already been accepted by the state, but she doesn’t have a timeline for the Tilton application.
The mayor also previewed a lead hazard reduction grant the city received which she called, a “whopper.” It will, in part, benefit families in older housing.
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From firefighters to fresh lettuce, Congresswoman Lori Trahan discussed local advances made possible with federal dollars on the 50th anniversary of Community Development Block Grants.
During a visit Wednesday to WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, she told listeners she is impressed with how the YMCA used CDBG funds to help with its Freight Farm project, saying it’s helping young students develop unexpected skills at school.
“Highly interactive, experiential learning, biology, chemistry and business all in real time, and it’s just great to see this program getting support from private sector partners like Beth Israel Lahey and the city in the form of nearly $33,000 in funding from the city’s Community Development Block Grant award,”  she said.
Trahan says she is a big fan of Community Development Block Grants, because of their flexibility.
“So, it is a vehicle for federal funds to make their way directly to cities and towns. They don’t go through the state, so they can use those funds on local initiatives, local projects. They can help nonprofits with capacity building. It’s true that a city and town is closest to where the gaps are.”
To emphasize her point, Trahan says cities and towns can make better decisions on how to dispense the money to address local needs. “Obviously a project like the Y’s Freight Farm, providing students with such a cool interactive learning experience is just a great example of those funds at work.”
Trahan told listeners she was given some lettuce and kale from the Freight Farm to take home to her family.
As WHAV previously reported, Trahan is the Northern Essex Community College commencement speaker Saturday, May 18.
“It’s always an honor to go to speak to graduates as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. For me, it’s so motivating and energizing to see the future of our country kind of move onto the workforce with all their aspirations,” she said.
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Small business owners from around Massachusetts are making plans to attend the annual National Small Business Week Awards ceremony, which is coming this year to the Merrimack Valley.
This year, Merrimack Valley Chamber member Stephanie Vanderbilt, owner of Coastal Windows and Exteriors in Beverly will receive the Massachusetts Small Business Person of the Year award, earning her an invitation to the White House with other winners from around the country. The awards breakfast is being hosted by the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Vice President Michael Bevilacqua spelled out the details this week on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program.
“There will be businesses coming in from all across Massachusetts. We have the Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao will be attending as well. We’ll also have people from Washington, from the White House, from the Presidents’ Cabinet, will be at this program as well,” he said.
Bevilacqua says the “Washington connection” is Marlene Cintron, appointed by the White House to be regional administrator, overseeing U.S. Small Business Administration programs in the Atlantic Region, and also currently serving as acting administrator for programs in New England. Representing the Massachusetts Small Business Administration will be District Director Robert Nelson.
The breakfast takes place Friday, May 10, from 8 to 11 a.m., at DoubleTree by Hilton, 123 Old River Road, in Andover. Tickets are $45 per person, $450 per table, and may be purchased by calling the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce at 978-686-0900 or online at merrimackvalleychamber.com
The entire interview may be heard on WHAV’s Merrimack Valley Newsmakers podcasts on WHAV.net and also available via Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, iHeart, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and Alexa.
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