On Wednesday at 7:34 p.m., Troopers from the State Police Concord barracks responded to a motor vehicle crash on Route 495 Southbound at Exit 34 in Chelmsford. As a result of this crash a Tractor Trailer unit jackknifed and blocked the right two lanes. The operator of one of the vehicles then carjacked a vehicle using a hatchet.

That stolen motor vehicle then struck two other vehicles. The stolen vehicle then crashed on Route 495 Southbound at Route 2 in Littleton blocking the right lane.

The operator then attempted to carjack two more vehicles. The suspect was then taken into custody by a Trooper after deployment of a taser. The suspect, MARCOS GARCIA, a 42-year-old male from Lawrence was transported to Emerson Hospital by ambulance.

*This position has been filled and closed.*

$22.42/hr
19hrs/wk

Responsible for all aspects of managing the implementation of the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act (CPA) as it relates to the City of New Bedford, and managing and organizing the activities of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), including staffing the CPC, coordinating the application process for granting CPA funds, managing the CPA budget, CPA grants, and CPA-funded projects.

Bachelor’s Degree in Community Planning, Development, Government, Public Policy, Public Administration or other related field with a minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of professional experience in municipality, grants management, and comparable State/Federal agency or experience in the private sector in which the position was directly related to and required a similar skill set. Must have a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, mandatory by MGL Chapter 6 Sec 172C.

For application/complete job description, please visit www.newbedford-ma.gov or contact the Personnel Dept., 133 William St., Room 212, 508-979-1444. Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found. New Bedford has a residency requirement. EEO

Senate Assistant Majority Leader and Rules Chairman Mark C. Montigny is pleased to announce that the City of New Bedford has been named a recipient of an Executive Office of Labor Workforce Development Industrial Accidents Workplace Safety Training Grant.

The $12,358 grant will be used to train 76 workers in Workplace Safety by June of 2018. The training will focus on safety in confined spaces and the risks associated with them. Additionally, there will be OSHA 30 training, where workers would take multi day classes hosted by an OSHA-authorized Outreach Trainer.

“No family should have to lose a loved one to a preventable accident,” said Senator Montigny. “With this training, we can reduce the number of workplace injuries and fatalities, and keep the citizens of New Bedford safe in their workplaces.”

Police arrested Ruperto Torres, 44, for the third time in less than two weeks Tuesday after he was found trespassing in the area of 149 Tinkham St. and 505 North Front St., where he had been arrested twice before.

Torres was charged with trespassing Tuesday morning after he was located walking through the yards of both properties, ignoring No Trespassing signs.

The property at 149 Tinkham St. was closed down by the city after Torres and seven other people were arrested for robbing a man at that location Feb. 14. The property had been the subject of  multiple neighborhood complaints and police calls.

He was released on the Feb. 14 charges without bail by Judge Paul Pino.

Torres was subsequently arrested again Feb. 22 on charges of trespassing after he broke into a residence at 505 North Front St. Police received a report from the building’s management company reporting that Torres had broken into the address. Torres was in fact located in the basement of the house.

Judge Pino again released Torres Feb. 22 without having to post bail after his re-arrest even though the district attorney’s office requested that he be held.

His third arrest came Feb. 27 when police witnessed him trespassing in the yards at 149 Tinkham St. and 505 North Front St., where he had been arrested previously, despite no trespassing signs at the site.

On Wednesday, Torres was released again without bail by Judge Robert S. Ovoian despite a request from the district attorney’s office that he be held without bail based on his previous arrests. When the judge refused that request, the district attorney’s office requested that bail be set at $500. The judge refused that request as well and released Torres without bail despite his three arrests.

Torres is no stranger to New Bedford Police. He has 39 arraignments in New Bedford District Court. He has been convicted of possessing a firearm, dealing heroin and twice for dealing cocaine.

There was a multi-family house fire on 330 North Front Street in New Bedford that started before noon. New Bedford Fire Department firefighters stopped the fire before it got out of control. The are no reported injuries.

The fire appears to have started in the rear hallway of the second floor. The fire is under investigation to determine the cause. The American Red Cross has been called to assist the nine adults and four children that live in the multi-family structure.

Live coverage:

Dropout rates “slashed” and milestone graduation levels. When at least three independent bodies report significant progress and high standards, it’s certainly time to give credit to the students and staff of New Bedford High School (NBHS).

New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
Several months ago the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) reported on its comprehensive evaluation of New Bedford HIgh School, finding that the school met the rigorous NAESC standards and deserved reaccreditation. Much of the NAESC committee’s commendations focused on instruction, and the strength of teaching and learning at the school is further validated by results from recent Advanced Placement (AP) tests.

The College Board
AP is administered by the College Board, a long standing arbiter of rigorous college preparatory work. Leading researcher Nat Malkus has called AP the “predominant form of advanced coursework in public schools.” The more students challenge themselves with AP curriculum the more academic standards are raised. At New Bedford High this is the bar that is set for students.

New Bedford most recently had almost 240 AP test takers, meaning a greater proportion of NBHS students than ever before are participating in rigorous AP. Actual performance in AP is also approaching record levels, with approximately 35% of school students scoring a three or higher. The College Board notes that scores of three or higher are an important indicator. Student participation in AP moves them closer to college level work and those students who score three or higher are statistically more likely to succeed in their chosen college path.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
With higher levels of AP performance, and independent approval of teaching and learning by NAESC, little wonder that the Massachusetts Department Of Elementary & Secondary Education states NBHS has achieved milestones in its higher graduation rates and lower dropout numbers.

There you have it, according three of the most credible judges of high schools standards, the NAESC, the College Board and MADESE, hard work by the students and staff of New Bedford High School is paying off.

Andrew B. O’Leary
Business Manager
New Bedford Public Schools

Bishop Stang High School and the Greater New Bedford Catholic Elementary Schools joined together for a Shakespeare performance. On February 8, 2018, the Bay Colony Shakespeare Company performed an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet at Bishop Stang for the freshman and sophomore classes as well as the seventh and eighth graders from All Saints (New Bedford), Holy Family Holy Name (New Bedford), St. Francis Xavier (Acushnet), St. James St. John (New Bedford) and St. Joseph (Fairhaven). Following the 75-minute performance, actors participated in a “talk back” with students, deepening understandings and answering questions.

Bridget Borque, Stang English teacher, commented on the collaboration between Bishop Stang and the Greater New Bedford Catholic Elementary Schools. “As educators, we all recognize how daunting Shakespeare’s language can be for our students, but also how important it is for them to be exposed to his works. Our main goal became to provide resources for our GNBCS students so they could continue building a connection with Shakespeare and his language. Because of the communal relationship between the GNBCS, we were able to look into the audience and know all of our students had the tools needed to watch and appreciate the play with confidence.”

Bay Colony Shakespeare Company’s Education Director, Thomas Grenon, is a 1979 graduate of Bishop Stang High School. The Company will visit Bishop Stang again in March to perform Macbeth for the junior and senior classes, and Grenon will also conduct a Master Class for the Bishop Stang Theater Company.

PAY: $11.00hr – $13.09hr

Assists Police Officers with administrative duties.

Maintains and files records, operates office machines, answers telephones, receives complaints, enters and indexes official documents, prepares routine reports, prepares and tabulates facts and figures for statistical purposes, and performs similar duties of an administrative rather than an enforcement types.

Shall not carry arms, nor shall he/she have any power of arrest other than that of an ordinary citizen.

Must be a New Bedford resident for the duration of employment. Cadet must be (eighteen) 18 years old. Employment is terminated on the Cadet’s 25th birthday.

High school graduate or GED equivalent. Possession of a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and good driving record.

Must be willing to work nights, weekends and holidays.

For application/complete job description, please visit www.newbedford-ma.gov or contact the Personnel Dept., 133 William St., Room 212, 508-979-1444. Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found. EEO

New Bedford has a residency requirement.

New Bedford Police arrested two people with lengthy criminal histories Sunday in connection with a vehicle break-in at McDonald’s at 486 County St. and the theft and subsequent use of stolen credit cards.

Betsy Lambiase, 49, of 347 So Second St., New Bedford, was charged with breaking and entering into a vehicle, receiving a stolen credit card and improper use of a credit card over $250 after she broke into a vehicle at McDonald’s at 486 County St.

This arrest comes 10 days after she was arrested Feb. 15 and charged with armed robbery for robbing a man at knifepoint in the 700-block of Purchase Street.

She has a lengthy criminal record, including 46 adult arraignments in Massachusetts.

She was released without bail by Judge Robert Ovoian following her Feb. 15 arrest despite her lengthy record. She is being held on $500 bail by Judge Bernadette Sabra following Sunday’s arrest. Lambiase has not made bail.

The second person arrested in connection with the Feb. 25 break-in, Jesse Ray Rebelo, 38, of 119 Griffin Court, New Bedford, was charged with receiving a stolen credit card, improper use of a credit card over $250, furnishing a false name, and on two warrant arrests.

Rebelo also has a lengthy criminal record, including 35 adult arraignments. He served time in prison for unarmed robbery, possession of a firearm, threats and armed robbery.

He is being held on $1,000 bail by Judge Sabra. He has not made bail and his next court date is March 19.

New Bedford Police gang unit took a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun and a large-capacity magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition off the streets Monday and made an arrest after locating a firearm on a person stopped for a traffic offense.

Zahkuan Sweeting-Bailey, 18, of 23 Independent St. Apt. 3rd, New Bedford, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a large capacity firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

The gang unit stopped the vehicle that Sweeting-Bailey was riding in after it was observed in a near-collision in the area of County and Kempton streets. Police stopped the vehicle and located a firearm on Sweeting-Bailey.

The arrest was made at 7:39 p.m. He is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing March 5.