Smile for the camera
Film crews from Channel 5's "Chronicle" show will be downtown today, Thursday, Aug. 19.
Andover Business Center Association President Elaine LeBlanc-Baker sent out an e-mail to ABCA members about the filming.
"...They will feature a few downtown businesses that they have already selected, the Addison Gallery, and renovations at the Andover Inn," she wrote.
Filming is scheduled to take place in the afternoon and early evening. The segment is scheduled to air in September, before Andover Day on Saturday, Sept. 25.
"Let's get the downtown looking as great as we can," LeBlanc wrote.
LeBlanc-Baker will be interviewed around 3 p.m. at Old Andover Village to cover all of Main Street, since crews plan to film inside the new wine and tapas bar Bin 28 between 5:30 and 6 p.m.
- Judy Wakefield
Teacher assignments mailed this week
Elementary students and families throughout town will be watching their mailboxes as classroom teacher assignments were mailed Wednesday, Aug. 18. Andover Public School's first day for students is Wednesday, Sept. 1.
For school bus routes, see next week's Andover Townsman, the Aug. 26 issue. More school information can be found in the Townsman's special 16-page back-to-school section.
- Bethany Bray
Rat control
Two downtown businesses got brand new dumpsters as a result of the town's rat problem.
A colony of the rodents was found in the square block between Chestnut Street and Punchard Avenue (Townsman, Aug. 5). Public health officials told downtown residents to secure trash and any possible food sources as a way to get rid of the rats.
Health Director Tom Carbone said new dumpsters were just installed at CVS on Main Street and an apartment building on Punchard Avenue.
"You won't see the problem solved overnight," Carbone said. "These new dumpsters help...They close."
He has said the rat problem stems from one property, which has hired an exterminator. Most likely, the rats began to form a colony there because "it's a protected area, close to a good food source," he said.
- Judy Wakefield
Neutral turf
Lawrence's money woes have resulted in firefighter layoffs. As a result, Andover's neighbor city has relied on help from other communities to fight fires, including Andover. Discussion of mutual aid came to town on Tuesday morning as members of the Association of Fire Chiefs met at the Public Safety Center to discuss the issue. Lawrence city officials were also there. Andover Fire Chief Mike Mansfield attended and said he offered the Andover meeting site.
"I am a member (of the association) and we wanted the meeting outside of Lawrence," he said. "We wanted a neutral site...and we're passionate about our jobs, so we offered."
- Judy Wakefield
Celebrity magnet
Andover resident Leslie Noymer had an unusual week recently when she met both former president George H.W. Bush and fashion icon Ralph Loren.
Noymer happened to be in Kennebunkport when Bush and his wife Barbara pulled up to a dock in a boat with Secret Service agents. She said the crowd became quiet.
"I just said, 'Mr. President, may I shake your hand?' because it was so awkward. He gave me the biggest smile and shook my hand so warmly," she said. "He was just such a gentleman."
Later that week, she looked at a belt while shopping.
"In the Hamptons I went into the Ralph Lauren store," she said. "The woman said, 'You can't buy that belt, that belt is for Mr. Lauren.'"
Noymer looked over and saw that the owner was in the store, and they shared a nice conversation about the item, she said.
"I never meet anyone and in one week I met George Bush and Ralph Lauren," said Noymer, who shared photos from both encounters.
- Neil Fater
Town looking for a few good volunteers
At their Aug. 9 meeting, selectmen urged residents to get involved and volunteer for numerous vacancies on town boards and committees. Add one more to the list, as Selectman Jerry Stabile Jr. announced last week he will resign.
The board will decide Aug. 23 how to fill - or not fill - the vacancy until a new selectman can be elected at town election in March 2011.
Current vacancies:
Cable Advisory Committee: 3 vacancies
Conservation Commission: 2 vacancies
Council on Aging: 4 vacancies
Cultural Council: 4 vacancies
Elderly Tax Aid Committee: 2 vacancies
Housing Partnership/Fair Housing Committee: 2 vacancies
Lowell Junction Interchange Task Force: 2 vacancies
Patriotic Holiday/Street of Flags Committee: 2 vacancies
Planning Board: 1 vacancy (associate member)
Preservation Commission: 1 vacancy
Recycling Committee: 3 vacancies
Scholarship Committee: 4 vacancies
Town Yard Task Force: 4 vacancies
Residents interested in volunteering should fill out a form with their relevant experience at andoverma.gov/boards/talentbank.php
- Bethany Bray
