3+ week, 3+ day ago (269+ words) LOWELL " The Greater Lowell Road Runners do more than run races and stage races. The organization is an instrument of good in the community, as evidenced by recent developments. Westford Academy cross country and track star Abigail Hennessy, one of the top runners in New England, is a former Greater Lowell Youth Team member. When she was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Track & Field Player of the Year, Hennessy was awarded a $1,000 grant to donate to a social impact partner. Hennessy decided to donate it to the Greater Lowell Road Runners Youth Team. The team was honored to receive the grant and was able to purchase new uniforms thanks to Hennessy's generosity. The middle distance and distance talent earned All-American status at the New Balance National Outdoors in the mile run this past season, and her state-record time of 4:34.69 ranked No. 4 nationally…...

4+ week, 14+ hour ago (39+ words) LOWELL " Six years ago, Keara Page was a senior member of the Lowell High volleyball team. She vividly remembers counting on her two hands how many spectators were in the stands. "The wooden field " More in High School Sports...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (147+ words) Division 2 champion Lowell High picked up two major awards when the Merrimack Valley Conference announced its field hockey honorees. Junior Anthony Ford named the Div. 2 co-Player of the Year, while head coach Lisa Kattar was chosen the Div. 2 Coach of the Year. Named the Div. 1 Goalie of the Year was senior Brooke Cannata of Chelmsford. Dracut received the Team Sportsmanship Award. Ford and Cannata headline the eight local players chosen first team All-Conference. Selected were Cannata, junior Julia Salerno and senior Amelia Stroud of Chelmsford; senior Elania Wilkey of Dracut; Ford, senior Julia Soucy and senior Hannah Oung of Lowell; and senior Jennalise Mercer of Tewksbury. Picked second team All-Conference were junior Cara Grundy and junior Carly Hartman of Chelmsford; junior Kate Wilson of Dracut; senior Alana Cohen and junior Kate Moriarty of Lowell; and senior Kamryn Frechette of Tewksbury....

3+ week, 23+ hour ago (746+ words) DANVERS " As far as first losses go, this one was especially tough to take. Garrison Murphy scored the lone goal, as No. 17 Lowell boys soccer team was shut out by top-ranked St. John's Prep 1-0, in a Division 1 round of 16 game Saturday. The Eagles advance to play No. 8 Weymouth or No. 9 Cambridge Rindge and Latin. "They don't come any more painful, but I'm proud of them," said Lowell coach Bill Bettencourt of his team. "I'm proud of the way we played the whole season. Unfortunately our first loss came at the wrong time" Fresh off a thrilling 2-1 double overtime win against Beverly, Lowell (16-1-3) appeared ready for anything. But the Red Raiders were unable to generate much momentum, getting outshot 9-4 in a classic defensive showdown. Murphy's goal early in the second half was all the Eagles (17-1-2) would ultimately need. "I thought we…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (345+ words) LOWELL " On Nov. 17, 1978, Lowell Police Officer Christos G. Rouses chased down an armed robbery suspect after responding to a silent alarm at Limby's Pharmacy on Branch Street. The veteran patrolman caught up with the suspect near 11 Smith St., where he was shot twice during a struggle. He died a short time later at St. Joseph's Hospital. Rouses, who the Lowell Police described as a fixture in the city, joined the department 13 years after graduating with the Lowell High School Class of 1943. He and his wife, Stama, raised four children: George, Sally, Sandy, and Diana. Rouses is the last Lowell police officer killed in the line of duty. He now rests in Lowell's Edson Cemetery, with his badge number, 33, carved into the headstone as a lasting tribute. A ceremony drew dozens of officers along with members of Rouses' family, including his surviving…...

4+ hour, 57+ min ago (550+ words) Lowell was always there. When my family moved to greater Boston in 2012, we had to figure out a place to live. We visited a couple of places in Lowell, and were very interested in the Western Avenue Lofts. A woman named Maxine Farkas showed us around. It was a cool space, with cool people, and hard to forget although ultimately it wasn't the right fit for my wife's Boston-centric job. Maxine was just the first fascinating character I met on my inexorable journey to the Mill City. Fast forward many years later, and an opportunity to oversee The Sun and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise presented itself. The city of Kerouac, the city of Paul Tsongas, the city of Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward. Who could say no? I said yes to Lowell and so have a lot of other people....

3+ week, 6+ day ago (178+ words) LOWELL " Police are seeking the public's help after a woman struck in a hit-and-run crash last week died from her injuries at a local hospital. LOWELL " Police are seeking the public's help after a woman struck in a hit-and-run crash last week died from her injuries at a local hospital. In a statement Monday afternoon, the Lowell Police said officers responded to the 700 block of Chelmsford Street Thursday at 11:55 p.m. after reports of a pedestrian being struck by a motor vehicle that fled the scene. Police did not identify the adult woman who was struck, but they said she received emergency medical treatment on the scene before being transported via ambulance to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead soon after arrival. The fatal hit-and-run crash is being investigation by the LPD's Accident Reconstruction Unit and Criminal Investigations Bureau, as well…...

3+ week, 1+ hour ago (360+ words) LOWELL " A predawn water main break under Andover Street left about 75 residents without service on Thursday, underscoring what officials said is the reality of the city's aging infrastructure. Lowell Regional Water Utility workers responded to the break and spent more than 18 hours restoring service. The rupture was reported at about 4:30 a.m. near the Tewksbury town line, where an 8-inch main gave way beneath a foot of concrete, according to a press release from the Department of Public Works. Because of what the press release describes as Lowell's aging and interconnected water system, crews spent hours locating the proper shut-off valves. Water was not fully shut off until about 10 a.m., allowing workers to begin cutting through the foot of concrete on Andover Street to reach the break. The DPW said crews relied on decades-old maps to open the street, first uncovering the general…...

2+ week, 17+ hour ago (1830+ words) ALTHOUGH THEY do yeoman's work, it's probably fair to say that the members of Lowell's Planning Board had no earthly idea the scale of the Markley Group's then-proposed data center when they approved the site plan back in 2015. The paper drawings for the plant were accompanied by detailed notes regarding the 8-foot height of the chain-link fence surrounding the property, the 6-foot width of the back gate, the almost 3-foot-wide sidewalk, even the mulch-covered depth is recorded, among other measurements. But the length, width and height of the diesel-fueled back-up generators are not in the documents, which are simply marked as 29 blank rectangular spaces on the schematics filed with the Department of Planning and Development. At that June meeting, a Markley engineer was frank about the company's plans for on-site diesel-powered, back-up fuel generators. "This is a large facility " could…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (323+ words) LOWELL " District 3 City Council candidate Belinda Juran appears to have won the Belvidere seat, beating out Dan Finn by just four votes. The unofficial vote may be among the closest in the history of Lowell, with Juran taking home 1,143 votes, and Finn getting 1,139, based on numbers coming out of the polling locations. The pair faced off in the general election for the seat after they both took home more votes than incumbent Corey Belanger in the preliminary election in September. At her post-election party at the Worthen House Cafe, Juran thanked the many people who worked on her campaign, and said she was "humbled and honored" by their support. She echoed a message she gave to her supporters in a campaign event in August. "Win or lose, I'll do what I've always done: I'll collaborate with anyone to serve our…...