The Fairhaven Police Department will be partnering with Safezones.org to sponsor the 5th Annual Safe Zones Fill the Bus Toy Drive. Please join us by dropping off a new, unwrapped toy at the Fairhaven Police Station Saturday, December 12th from 10am until 4pm.

Our goal is to “Fill the Bus” with plenty of toys to distribute to needy families throughout our community in time for the Christmas holiday. Toys for children of all ages are needed. Although the “Fill the Bus Toy Drive” will be held December 12th, toys can still be dropped of at the Fairhaven Police Department from now until Christmas Eve.

We are asking for toys for children of all ages to brighten the Christmas holiday for less fortunate children in our community. All contributions are welcome and will be greatly appreciated. The members of the Fairhaven Police Department and the Volunteers at Safezones.org would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday season and extend our best wishes for a wonderful New Year.

The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the election of two new members to the Board of Trustees on November 17, 2015. Joining the Board of Trustees are Andrea R. Daskalakis of Boston and Robert B. Feingold, Esq., of South Dartmouth. “Our two newest Board members bring talent and energy, as well as the desire to continue to strengthen the NBSO’s presence in our community. We are extremely fortunate to have them working with us,” David Prentiss, President & CEO.

Ms. Daskalakis is Chief Investment Officer of Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation and has over 30 years of experience in community development lending and investing. She is actively involved in the community, currently serving on the board of the Suzuki School of Newton and on a committee to save the Wareham Free Library. Attorney Feingold’s practice areas include commercial real estate transactions and development, business and real estate litigation, employment law, and estate planning. He is also a realtor, specializing in development and buyer representation. Attorney Feingold has a long history of community service and currently serves on the Board of Directors of both DNRT and SEMAP. Board President Terry Wolkowicz welcomed them both, “We look forward to working with Andrea and Bob to continue our mission of bringing music and music education to the residents of South Coast.”

The New Bedford Symphony celebrates its 100th anniversary this 2015-16 season! In 1915, New Bedford schoolteacher Clarence Arey founded a symphony orchestra to bring classical music to our region. Today, the NBSO is a superb professional orchestra that performs with internationally renowned guest artists, annually presenting a 7-concert series of classical and pops music and a 4-concert chamber music series, as well as providing nationally recognized educational programs for the children of South Coast. You deserve a symphony in your life–the New Bedford Symphony! Visit us at www.nbsymphony.org.

Meet Lorenzo Vazquez, a case manager with Seven Hills Behavioral Health.

He moved to New Bedford in 1997 to seek better opportunities for his family. He started his career in as an advocate at the Health Center back in 2000 when he saw the need in this city for people to stand up for those who didn’t have a voice.

Recently, after a split with his ex-wife, he has assumed full responsibility for his four children, which can be a daunting task for him. Juggling his career and raising his children alone has been tough but amidst it all, he is still chasing his other passions, which include opening a bakery.

He has always dreamed of opening his own bakery and that dream is slowly becoming a reality as he renovates its future home in the north end of New Bedford. When opened it will become New Bedford’s first Spanish bakery, serving breakfast and plenty of Spanish delicacies.

He loves New Bedford because upon arriving here he knew nobody but was made welcome by the community here. The fact that although there are many negative things going on and yet as people we persevere really encourages him.

“We need more community oneness. Although we have many cultures here, we would see a better community if we all came together to make it happen. We see too many divisions between ethnicities that stop us from being able to truly make a difference.”

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com

Follow Colton on Instagram: https://instagram.com/simmonscolton

On Veteran’s day morning at approximately 10am a male walked into the Subway Restaurant at 2072 Acushnet Ave. and walked behind the counter. He brandished a knife at the employee and demanded cash. He fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

This Monday morning at approximately 8am a similar robbery took place at WashWorld located at 2172 Acushnet Ave. The suspect entered the business, went behind the counter, and brandished a knife. After stealing an undisclosed amount of money, he fled the scene on a bicycle.

In both incidents there were no injuries.

On Tuesday morning at approximately 9:30am Det. William Sauve and Officer Stephen Brown were able to take the male into custody as he left his home on Sylvia St. The officers were conducting surveillance in the area looking for the suspect.

He was arraigned later in the day in New Bedford district court;

James Pritchard, Jr. age 44 of New Bedford is facing two counts of armed robbery. He also had warrants out of Roxbury district court for drug charges.

Students in New Bedford High School’s Academy of Information Technology gained firsthand experience in media production at the Connecting for Change conference in October and the TEDxNewBedford summit earlier this month, through a partnership with Big Ocean, a city-based multimedia production agency.

The students – Seniors Savon Baptista, Owen Fraga, Vanessa Pimental, and Drew Fraga and Junior Elioson Jasem -worked at the Marion Institute-sponsored Connecting for Change conference and the TEDxNewBedford summit, broadcasting the conference, where they were compensated for their work. It is the second year Academy of IT students from NBHS worked Connecting for Change, which focuses on sustainability of the planet’s natural resources.

“It’s very important that our students helped to share the work on a global level,” said Bob Perrotti, Academy of IT teacher and advisor. “Our seniors enrolled in the Academy of IT worked all weekend by setting up camera equipment, and then filmed, directed and broadcast the event.”

“This is a great opportunity for our NBHS students to gain real-life work experience in the fields they’ve selected for their academy majors,” said Headmaster Bernadette Coelho. “With events like the ones our Academy of IT students worked on, it’s also a chance to be part of a larger community project that gets them involved in what is happening both locally and globally.”

Organizers who worked with NBHS students lauded their involvement in the projects.

“We’ve worked with the students on a number of events over the past few years, and I’m always impressed with their technical knowledge and enthusiasm,” said Kevin Kertscher, senior producer at Big Ocean. “They know how to set up the gear and work together on the filming, and then we try to teach them a few extra things about how to meet professional standards. I think they like to get big expectations put on their shoulders, and they also seemed to enjoy hearing all of the interesting talks from a variety of great speakers. We appreciate the chance to be involved with the students, and I think it is a great learning experience for them.”

“TEDxNewBedford was about bringing the community to have a conversation of what it looks like to go uNBound, beyond what we thought was possible,” said Dolores Hirschmann, organizer of TEDxNewBedford. “Having a group of New Bedford High School students be part of our team for the event, was another way to include the community. They worked along Kevin Kertscher, from Big Ocean Studios, in the filming of our 17 speakers throughout our seven hour event. It was a long day but they did an amazing job. It was a pleasure working with them.”

The Academy of Information Technology is one of four National Academy Foundation-based academies at New Bedford High School; the others are the Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Finance, and the Academy of Health Sciences, as well as New Bedford High School’s independently designed Academy of Arts & Humanities.

On Saturday, November 21st at approximately 10:30 p.m., Norton Police received a 911 call reporting a woman screaming for help on Azalea Road in Norton. While officers were responding to the scene, Norton police received a separate call from the woman who was seeking help. The caller said that she had a fight with her boyfriend, later identified as Kevin J. Murray, 48, of Norton, and that there were weapons in the home. She also reported that Murray had taken steps to access a firearm located in a wall safe that he tore from the wall as she left.

Norton uniformed police officers arrived at the home located at 25 Azalea Road, parked their vehicles away from the residence and approached on foot. As officers approached they observed a single occupant in the house opening an item that appeared to be a box or safe. Officers gave commands for the person to raise his hands for officer safety. The person then fired multiple shots through the front door at the officers. As officers moved to safety, one officer returned fire into the house.

After a very short period of time, the officers heard one additional gunshot coming from the inside of the home.

At approximately 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 22nd, officers were able to confirm that Kevin J. Murray was deceased inside of the home. An autopsy conducted by the Medical Examiner found that Mr. Murray killed himself by means of single gunshot to the head. The manner of Mr. Murray’s death has been determined to be a suicide.

Photo by Gundrun Stone

The Zeiterion welcomes award-winning actress Jasmine Guy (“A Different World”) and the critically-acclaimed jazz ensemble the Avery Sharpe Trio in “Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey” on Friday, February 5 at 8:00pm. The production is inspired by the 1923 novel “Cane” by Jean Toomer and the works of the musicians, composers, poets, and actors of the Harlem Renaissance. Hear the words of Langston Hughes, the music of Duke Ellington and see the art of one of the biggest movements of cultural and artistic expression in American history. Tickets from $27 to $45 are available at www.zeiterion.org, 508-994-2900 or at the Zeiterion box office, 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Jasmine Guy and the Avery Sharpe Trio visit New Bedford. This production is a rare opportunity for the community to experience the power, passion and excellence of the Harlem Renaissance through these outstandingly talented performers,” said Rosemary Gill, Zeiterion Executive Director.

The Harlem Renaissance, 1918-37, is known as the most influential movement in African American literary and creative arts history — a blossoming of African American culture that embraced literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts. In the years leading up to the Harlem Renaissance, there was a sense of building artistic expression. Up until then, outlets and avenues for its poets, musicians, novelists, artists, and actors were few. But in 1918, as the first great World War concluded and thousands of African-American soldiers returned home victorious, this mountain of artistic expression was ready to explode.

The words and thoughts of Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. Du Bois and many others, became the voice of a new generation of African Americans, looking forward but still struggling with the past and present. These thoughts, songs, and images are woven into a panoramic experience that spans this extraordinary outpouring of artistic endeavor. “Raisin’ Cane” is a window on this critical point in history.

Starring the award winning actress, singer, and Alvin Ailey dancer Jasmine Guy and the acclaimed Avery Sharpe Trio, “Raisin’ Cane” celebrates and honors the legendary voices of the Harlem Renaissance through text, song, music, movement, and imagery.

Tickets to “Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey” on Friday, February 5 at 8:00pm range from $27-$45 and are available for purchase at www.zeiterion.org, by calling 508-994-2900, or in person at the box office at 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford, MA. Box Office Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and two hours before each performance.

A Massachusetts State Trooper was injured when he was struck by a suspected drunk driver while manning a traffic post following the Patriots game.

The trooper was on foot working a traffic control assignment on Route 1 southbound in Foxboro when he was hit by a 2012 Jeep Liberty at approximately 11:47 p.m. He was ambulatory and alert — but was in pain — after being struck and was transported by ambulance to Norwood Hospital for evaluation of his injuries.

The operator of the Liberty, CATHERINE E. WILLIAMS, 29, of Beverly, was placed under arrest for operating under the influence of alcohol.

No further information is being released at this time.

At about 3:15 p.m. this afternoon, State Police from the Andover barracks responded to a two-vehicle crash on Route 93 South, south of exit 43, in Andover.

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Kyle Flanagan indicates that a 2006 Hyundai Tiburon became disabled in the breakdown lane. A 2006 Honda CRV, which was traveling in the breakdown lane, subsequently struck the operator of the Hyundai, who was positioned behind his vehicle at the time.

The operator of the Hyundai, a 21-year-old man from Manchester, New Hampshire, was transported to Lawrence before being flown by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The operator of the Honda, a 48-year-old man from Andover, was uninjured in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation. No charges have been filed at this time.

State Police were also assisted on scene by Andover Fire and Rescue and Mass Highway. Traffic was impacted for more than two hours during the investigation and cleanup.

There is no further information available at this time. Please do not contact the barracks for media inquiries.

The Neediest Families Prize-A-Palooza event takes place on Sunday, December 6th at the Seaport Inn in Fairhaven to benefit the Neediest Families fund.

Every penny raised will go to provide underprivileged children and families of the greater new Bedford area with food, toys and clothing. There will be an all day prize raffle event on the from 12:00p-8:00p. There will be over 200 prizes to raffle off plus various raffle tables throughout the day, a Chinese raffle and some individual big ticket item raffles as well.

Well known locals will be coming that day to tend bar (mayor, sheriff, city councilors, Fairhaven selectmen, Chris Markey, Bruce Oliveira, housing authority, etc). You can get your picture taken with all 3 of the Red Sox world series trophies which will be shown from 1:00pm-4:00pm.

This is a free admission event with free food from lots of local places, while it lasts. There will be face painting all day, some local singers will be performing a few songs and the event is being DJ’d all day by Lima Entertainment!

Can you help spread the word? There is a Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/NeediestFamiliesPrizeaPalooza/
If you have any questions, call 774-263-1412. If you would like to donate you can reach out through the Facebook page or email: neediest1970@gmail.com.