Leominster News

Sue Avallone of Gardner, who has worked as the school nurse at Samoset Middle School in Leominster for more than a decade, was among 84 women honored recently as the state's 2013 Unsung Heroines by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.

A Holden police officer, Leominster firefighter, two area state troopers and a good Samaritan from Pawtucket, R.I., were among those honored by the Massachusetts State Police at the Statehouse Friday for heroic lifesaving actions.

The chicks are a big hit, and the kids all want to hold them. They have names - Herman, Henry, Chickie, Chiquita, Butterscotch.

The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg & Leominster is hosting a regional art exhibit for club members from throughout the Northeast on Saturday and Sunday, and at least one local artist's work is scheduled to compete in a national exhibit in Atlanta.

Mayor Dean Mazzarella raised the ante in a friendly community rivalry with Fitchburg and Gardner during a Light the Town Purple celebration that bathed City Hall in purple lights Thursday to recognize the upcoming Relay for Life of Greater Gardner.

Local real estate sources have confirmed that two struggling Massachusetts malls - the Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster and the Silver City Mall in Taunton - are on the cusp of resolving their deep financial issues, albeit with completely different outcomes.

Riverfront Theatre will present "Gingerbread Stories," directed by Janet Cragin and written and produced by her daughter, Sally Cragin, at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Fitchburg Public Library.

Students from St. Leo School in Fitchburg pitched in to clean up the banks of Baker Brook in Fitchburg at a clean-up event April 27 organized by the Nashua River Watershed Association.

Senate leaders proposed a $33.92 billion budget for fiscal 2014 on Wednesday that would level-fund municipal aid while boosting local school assistance along with state funding for day care services, state colleges and universities, senior home care, mental health and veterans programs.

A search is underway in Concord for an inmate who walked away from his minimum security work release this morning in the town center, according to Concord Police.

Train Wu has found time and again that Asian Americans are often the least likely group to tap into the community health resources that are available to them.

The City Council on Monday night agreed to pay $10,000 toward chemical treatment of Rockwell Pond to kill invasive vegetation, including purple loosestrife.

Philanthropist Ronald M. Ansin, whose foundation office is in downtown Leominster, was honored with the Greater Boston Federal Executive Board's Sen.

A Leominster man arrested for drunken driving early Saturday after he allegedly told a state trooper he drove up over a John Fitch Highway curb because he enjoys "off-roading," according to court documents.

Approval of the expansion of Grandview Golf Course will head in another direction after the City Council voted Monday night to allow the owner to withdraw his application.

Wendy Wiiks' job as the city's grants administrator sounds like fun as she pores through databases and mailing lists looking for free money.

Mychelle Phillips, Leominster Credit Union assistant vice president/operations manager, and Ellen Coughlin, human resources manager, were selected as recipients of the Credit Union Rising Stars Award.

Maedon Coburn, president of Leominster-based staffing agency Appleseed Personnel, said teens and young adults looking for summer work have a lot to be excited about.

Sounds of the Seacoast Women's Barbershop A Cappella Chorus was awarded First Place Medals at Harmony, Inc.'s Regional Barbershop Singing Contest and Convention held April 26 in Leominster, MA.

The Leominster Recreation Department is offering an Introduction to Mountain Biking program in two sessions in May and June.