Santa Claus is getting ready to return to Haverhill later this month and bringing along some friends from the “Island of Misfit Toys,” the theme of the 61st Annual VFW Santa Parade.

During an appearance on WHAV’s morning show, parade Chairman Daniel Plourde discussed the theme, taken from the 1964 television special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“Yeah, the parade is coming up. It’s on the 23rd of November, Sunday afternoon at 1 o’clock. We leave from the Bradford Fire Station promptly at 1 and we go down Main Street, cross over the Merrimack River, turn left on Merrimack, turn right at the post office and end at the Boys and Girls Club at the corner of Emerson,” Plourde said.

Planning for the parade started in May and it costs about $50,000 to mount the parade each year—all covered by donations from both corporate sponsors and individual donors. Expenses include hiring the marching bands and other acts. More than 50 entries from high school marching bands across the region, floats from local organizations, antique cars and other performers will pass down the parade route, Plourde said.

“We’re doing very well so far. We have 20 plus floats, over 20 marching groups and about a dozen high school marching bands and other performing acts. So, we are in pretty good shape so far but there is always room for more,” Plourde said.

Floats and marching units set up at the Caleb Dustin Hunking School behind the Bradford Fire Station on the morning of the parade and are judged. Prizes are given in five categories, including Most Parade Spirit and Best Overall Float, Plourde said.

“Especially this year with it being the ‘Island of Misfit Toys,’ I expect to see some very creative things going down the street this year. It should be very entertaining,” Plourde said, noting this year’s theme is apt because the misfit toys debut as part of the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer animated movie which was released in 1964, the same year the Haverhill Santa Parade was launched.

Plourde said he expects every inch of space along the entire route will be filled with parade goers.

“Everyone has their favorite spots that some of them have been sitting in for generations. It’s always very entertaining for me to drive down Main Street the morning before the parade and see the chairs lined up marking territory,” Plourde said.

Some 50 people have volunteered as parade ambassadors and will be on hand dressed in red coats to assist on the day of the parade. The parade committee will also have its own float to collect donations. Those who wish to contribute before parade day may made donations at HaverhillSantaParade.com.

The parade was established by the late John T. Sullivan when he was commander of Haverhill’s VFW Lorraine Post 29. In addition to Plourde, other members of this year’s parade committee are Sullivan’s son, Thomas J. Sullivan, who serves as vice chair; Jessica Plourde, secretary; and Heather Powers, treasurer.

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Daniel R. Diodati, a fourth generation Hillie, is competing with Veronica A. Rodriguez, also a Haverhill native, to represent Ward 2 on the Haverhill City Council in January. The winner replaces Katrina Hobbs Everett who chose not to run again.

Diodati manages Berkshire Hathaway real estate offices in Haverhill. Rodriquez works for the Lawrence office of the state Department of Children and Families. Each recently appeared on WHAV’s morning show and answered six questions on challenging issues in the city. Here are their answers in the order their names appear on the ballot.

Why do you want to serve on City Council?

“With the skills that I have I really feel like I can contribute and I thought it was time to throw my hat in the ring. The reason is civic engagement being so low, it was time for someone like myself to step up and try to make a difference.” Diodati said.

“I love Haverhill first of all and, lately, it’s been in the news for some of the wrong things. I don’t think you can complain if you don’t try to make a difference so that’s why I want to serve,” Rodriguez said.

There is a perception Haverhill is building too much housing. Do you agree?

“I do think there could be a smarter way to develop residential housing if we really look at homeownership. Homeownership is super, super important in any community,” Diodati said.

“I think that we should fix the places that we have that are abandoned first. I think we need to get more creative because all that housing is going to bring a lot traffic, it is going to bring other problems. So, we need to maybe think outside of the box to help because we do have a housing crisis,” Rodriguez said.

What can the City Council do to promote more affordable housing?

“Between homeownership, development of new construction that is based on owner-occupied projects, mixed in with ADU (accessory dwelling unit) use, I think it is a great start. And, things are in motion to do that. I just hope to simplify things and make it a little bit better,” Diodati said.

“We do have a housing trust but there’s no money in it. I think maybe if some of these new developments, we should maybe make them pay into that so we do have some funds so we can think of some projects we can do for affordable housing,” Rodriguez said.

The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld?

“Just to have a little bit more transparency in the process and how it is messaged to the public whether it be through an actually press conference, not necessarily through just making social media posts, etc. If there is no news to report, then report that there is no news to report,” Diodati said.

“I think they did a good job informing the public. They put it out there right away. I do think that out of respect for her family, the cause of death and those types of things should be kept private just out of respect. I think they should be transparent. The public is what put them in. We pay for their jobs so we definitely need to know what’s going on. We need to know,” Rodriguez said.

Do you believe residential property taxes are too low, too high or about right?

“Too high. Because mindset is everything to me. And I do think we act upon on our thoughts. As long as we are controlling in our head that taxes are too high, we are going to work to keep them as low as possible,” Diodati said.

“When I am paying them, I think they are too high but when I compare them to other cities, they’re not so high.” Rodriguez said.

What specif

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In one of only three contested ward city council tests this year in Haverhill, Oliver Aguilo, a city engineer with Lawrence and 20-year resident of Haverhill, is taking on incumbent Michael S. McGonagle, a Haverhill native, to represent Ward 6 on Haverhill’s City Council. McGonagle owns a real estate company.

Both candidates appeared on WHAV’s morning show and answered a series of questions about issues facing the city. Here are their answers in the order the candidates appear on the ballot.

Why are you running for City Council?

“Well, this would be my ninth term and I’ve done a lot of good things, I believe, and I would like to continue working for the people of Haverhill,” McGonagle said.

“As a city engineer, I notice a lot of things that are really bad in the city that need to be addressed right away. That’s what I am running for,” Aguilo said.

Is Haverhill building too much housing?

“I believe that if we build more, we get more tax revenue. You increase the tax base,” McGonagle said.

“We need to grow with the city. If we are going to build more houses, we need to make sure we have enough water for everyone,” Aguilo said.

What can the City Council do to promote more affordable housing?

“We passed a nice project last night (Oct. 28) at the City Council meeting of four units in a place where there was run-down garage over in the Bradford area. That’s the type of development we need so people can have homeownership,” McGonagle said.

“If we have more houses, then probably prices will go down,” Aguilo said.

The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld?

“I do believe that the public deserves to know. The families deserve to know. The reputation of the Haverhill Police Department needs to be cleared if there is a cloud hanging over it, and I believe that’s what the mayor has done by making these changes at the top,” McGonagle said.

“I think the public has the right to know everything that is going on. The only thing that I think the police department has to cover is any information related to the investigation. If it is going to interfere with the investigation, it has to be private. Other than that, it has to be public to every resident,” Aguilo said.

Do you think residential property taxes are too low, too high or just right?

“About right. And if you want an explanation, I can go there. I just think Haverhill is one of the most affordable towns or cities in the Merrimack Valley. With all we have to offer we’re a good place to be,” McGonagle said.

“There are lot of families struggling right now. It is a bad situation right now. Economically, a lot of people are struggling and I am one of those persons having trouble with the economy,” Aguilo said.

What city departments would be your top candidates for cuts?

“The budget is pretty substantial, over $200 million. And you have to look at line item by line item. I couldn’t just tell you, ‘Hey, this is something we’re going to cut’”, McGonagle said.

“Right now I don’t really have an answer to that question right now,” Aguilo said.

The final day to vote in Haverhill’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To check on a poll location, residents may visit the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office online.

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Guy E. Cooper, a retired Haverhill police officer, is challenging incumbent Melissa J. Lewandowski for the Ward 4 seat on Haverhill’s City Council in next Tuesday’s general election.

They each sat down with on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” and answered a series of questions about their candidacies. Here are their answers in the order the candidates will appear on the Ward 4 ballot.

Why do you want to serve on City Council?

“I’ve been a contributor to civic organizations even before I held office because I like being boots on the ground, showing up, answering the call, doing the work. I’ve had some successes in moving some items forward while I’ve been on Council, but there is an opportunity obviously to do much more and I aim to finish what I started,” Lewandowski said.

“I want to continue my civic duty for the City of Haverhill. Haverhill is my home, what I consider my hometown and I want to continue serving the citizens of Haverhill in that capacity now,” Cooper said.

There is a perception Haverhill is building too much housing.

“What’d I like to see is senior housing similar to what they did with the YMCA in Methuen where they had particular senior housing for the 55-plus demographic. I’d also like to see conversion of some of our buildings that we might be able to identify as surplus properties,” Lewandowski said.

“I believe in growth, but growth with a purpose. The growth that we have now, the apartments and buildings that are going in, they’re not very affordable for people at this point. Also, as we now know, there is a very big strain on our infrastructure,” Cooper said.

What can City Council do to promote more affordable housing?

“I along with a lot of my colleagues are interested in home ownership, not rentals. We need a combination of state and city funding, in my opinion, to allow nonprofit developers to build homes,” Lewandowski said.

“I think the city can put some type, I believe, they can put some type of a limit on, having an idea of what their out cost will be when completed to what you are going to rent or what you are going to lease and what it’s going to cost a person to rent or lease. I think that is something we should look at first,” he said.

The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld?

“What can be shared, in my opinion, is general information—date, time, location of incidents, facts and circumstances surrounding those incidents; an overview of what an investigation entails; what is the scope of it and; most importantly, in my opinion, we think that we need to be better on progress reports and timelines for the public,” Lewandowski said.

“I do believe 100% that we should be telling them what’s going on or even if that the process is still moving on. But I think the silence, that’s very hurting. I do believe everybody needs to know everything that’s happened,” Cooper responded.

Do you believe that residential property taxes are too low, too high or about right?

“Well, too high. If people are hurting and they can’t afford to stay, then the answer is too high. We need to ensure our taxpayers can continue to live here. This year we saw an increase, the debt exclusion made up the majority of that increase, but there were other factors, of course, employee benefits, general inflation, not getting enough money from the state. But going forward we can’t allow our property taxes to be our out,” Lewandowski said.

“Because of inflation, prices of everything is going up. I do believe now, though, again

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Political newcomer Brandon F. Burns is challenging incumbent Melinda E. Barrett for mayor of Haverhill in the city’s general election Tuesday, Nov. 4.

A small business owner for 23 years, Barrett, 62, served on Haverhill’s City Council for 10 years before making history when she became the city’s first female chief executive. Burns, 23, graduated from Haverhill High School in 2020 as part of the classical academy program. He currently works as an accountant in Boston.

Both Barrett and Burns sat down in separate, live WHAV interviews during WHAV’s morning program, “Win for Breakfast.” Each answered five questions on major issues facing the city. These are their answers in the order their names will appear on the ballot.

Why do you want to be mayor?

“Well, we have done a lot and we’ve made a lot of progress. But there is so much more to do. Two years for a mayoral role is rather short. All our surrounding communities have gone to four years. We have a lot of things in the pipeline. We’ve accomplished a lot. I’d like to see them through,” Barrett said.

“I want to make sure I serve the community and I think the status quo isn’t working for many individuals anymore. And we really need to see some new leadership from the top down and make sure that we accommodate to everybody in the city,” Burns said.

Is it ever appropriate to use free cash to avoid tax hikes?

“It can be. But right now, we are in such a deficit. When I came into office, we were well over 60% using free cash, which by our financial rules we are only supposed to have 20% being used for continuing funding of operations. Right now, we are making strides, but we’re still well above where we should be. We are down to 2%. Every year we are going to chip away with that. So, we are in a position to do something like that,” Barrett said.

“I think that using the surplus to your advantage, I mean that’s kinda of the way accounting works is you make sure you have a safety net, for example, and if ever times were to get tough, you should be able to use any resources available to alleviate the stress from homeowners and your residents,” Burn said.

Do you support raising taxes closer to the city’s Proposition 2 ½ cap and, if not, what spending would you cut?

“Well, the goal from this last two years is to get into a position where we are living within our means for a long-term period. We have to be disciplined, keep our costs below 2 1/2%. Some departments may edge up a little, but that we will take from others. So, 2 1/2% is where we have to be per Mass. state law so that where we are going to be. We just had to correct some major financial problems the last two years,” Barrett said.

“I believe that the budget was very firm under Fiorentini. I’m sure that there are those that say we kicked the can down the road. But, after the recent override, we’ve increased the budget over the past two years by $30 million when under the previous administration it was only projected to increase by $16 million. So, we have an additional $14 million now annually within our budget. I think there is plenty of money. So, my first thing is that I think we need to start with a zero budget. That means we are going to perform an audit first. That is going to be one of my first actions,” Burns said.

Would you favor a debt exclusion to build a replacement John Greenleaf School?

“I believe that’s probably the way it will have to go, up or down. If it goes down, we’ll figure out another way to do it because those children definitely need a newer facility to learn in. I think J.G. Whittier, some argued at the time, would have been the next school to do. Former Mayor Fiorentini chose to do the Consentino first. Both were in need, no denying that,” Barrett said.

“My big question to everybody on City Council and

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Sheriffs in other counties are drawing scrutiny for their spending and other practices, but Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger appeared live on WHAV to demonstrate how Essex County shines.

This week, the legislature withheld $162 million request from county sheriffs following complaints in Norfolk, Hampden and Suffolk counties. Coppinger, who stopped by WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program last Friday, discussed instead how his office prepares inmates for re-entry and helps correctional staff stay on top of mental health. Among the job training and re-entry programs the Sheriff’s Department runs is the farm at the Pre-Release and Re-Entry Center in Lawrence.

“We average about 3,600 pounds of produce. This is our time of year. That’s one of the things we do. We teach the inmates also vocational skills. The farm is incredible. We hire an actual farmer to come in and teach the inmates, but the inmates do all the cleaning of the fields in the spring. They plant them. They take care of them all summer. Then they harvest them and we take the harvest. We take some of it to feed our inmates in all our facilities. We also donate a lot of it to charities and non-profits,” Coppinger explained.

The department also has a partnership with Northern Essex Community College which runs classes for inmates.

“Our philosophy is, while they are in there, no pun intended, we have a captive audience. Let’s do what we can and we partner with President (Lane A.) Glenn and the staff at Northern Essex to come in and teach the inmates, whether it is high school equivalency or maybe a college level course. It’s amazing when you see the inmates transition to a learning environment,” Coppinger said.

Finally, the sheriff talked about an initiative to help relieve his staff’s stress level—a comfort dog.

“His name is Pasky. Pasky was named after Officer Anthony Pasquarello, who was one of our correctional officers and it’s a sad story. But, at the age of 37, he passed away during the peak of Covid. He was a great officer. He just caught COVID, got a bad case of it and we lost him and it was troubling. So, in his memory in cooperation with his family we got our first comfort dog and we named it Pasky in honor of Officer Pasquarello. It just kind of keeps his memory alive with our officers. He’s there for the staff,” Coppinger said.

The former chief of the Lynn Police Department with 40 years in law enforcement, Coppinger was first elected Essex County Sheriff in 2016 for a six-year term. He is currently serving his second term.

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When signing up for a website or cell phone app Massachusetts consumers in the future would be able to decide how much of their personal information they want to share under a data privacy and security bill being sponsored by state Sen. Pavel M. Payano.

Payano discussed the importance of the legislation being debated by the state Legislature during a recent interview during WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. The senator said even when consumers are careful, their personal data and even their precise GPS location can be shared and sold to third party vendors without their knowledge.

“We are not aware of the type of data we are constantly sharing with these apps. We think we might be sharing it with the app that connects you to a dog walker. But then app goes in and they sell the data to a bunch of third-party folks and God knows what they do with that data,” Payano said.

The legislation, which will be taken up next by the state House of Representatives, would give broad enforcement powers to the state attorney general, Payano said. The bill would put even tighter controls on data sharing by minors and would allow consumers to opt out of ads that target them based on their personal preferences.

“You’d be surprised how they are able to target these ads and manipulate you into choosing something that maybe you wouldn’t have chosen, or how a bad actor can get this information and then use that information maybe to hack you,” Payano said.

Payano also discussed the importance of the $234 million emergency medical package recently passed by the state Legislature. It is expected to bring much-needed relief to Merrimack Health, the new name for Lawrence General Hospital and its sister hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill, as well as the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center by supporting efforts to provide services to low-income patients.

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The newly renamed Merrimack Health Haverhill Hospital could soon be home to the healthcare system’s expanded state-of-the art sleep study center.

Diana L. Richardson, interim president and CEO of Merrimack Health, formerly Lawrence General and Holy Family Hospitals, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast,” discussed what will stay the same at Haverhill’s hospital and what services are expanding.

As of Oct. 1, any patient who comes into the emergency department and needs to be admitted will be transported to another healthcare center— most likely to its sister Merrimack Health Methuen Hospital, formerly Holy Family Methuen, as the few in-patient beds in use will be shut down, Richardson explained. Services provided by the stand-alone emergency department, however, will not change, she said.

“The actual services are the same. You have an ambulance that needs to get you care in Haverhill, you come to our emergency room. You have a condition at home you want to come into the emergency room, we are there. Full service, lab, radiology, all the things you are used to today will not be any different come Oct. 1,” Richardson added.

Because so few in-patient beds were occupied in recent years, an average of nine a day, Richardson said this change will impact few of the hospital’s patients.

“Every hospital has different capabilities. Sometimes you need the really advanced services of some of our academic partners in Boston. So there could be times when you come into an emergency facility and your are transported there or transported to another facility in the region that has services that are only available in a few locations,” Richardson said.

Richardson added the local healthcare center has an upgraded wound management center and that hospital officials are considering making its Haverhill location the headquarters for a state-of-that-art sleep study center.

“So one thing we’ve already done is we’ve put in new hyperbaric chambers and really expanded our wound care service there. And the next service we’re looking at. . . there is a small sleep center there in Haverhill now. But we have the opportunity to really make it a showcase for our system and make it a much larger system-based sleep center that provides all services so we are going through that process now,” Richardson said.

Lawrence General Hospital, now Merrimack Health, purchased the two Holy Family campuses in Haverhill and Methuen from bankrupt Steward Health Care last year for $28 million with state assistance. In May the new owners announced plans to close Haverhill’s general in-patient beds and keep its emergency department as a free-standing service.

Haverhill has had a hospital since City Hospital opened in 1887. It was renamed Hale Hospital in 1898 and moved to Buttonwoods Avenue in 1901. The city acquired it in 1931 and built a modern hospital at its current location in 1984. By 2001 the hospital was insolvent so the city sold it to Essent Health Care but kept most of its debt. The city finally paid off all but pension liabilities in 2021.

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