Fitchburg Leominster News Magazine - Local News, Articles, Sports - Fitchburg Leominster MA

A Massachusetts man has been arrested after police say he kidnapped a child at a Webster beach and assaulted her. It allegedly happened on the Patriot’s Day holiday at Memorial Beach. The girl was alone. Police say 68-year-old Walter Fanion of Southbridge has been arrested. “The gentleman had a dog with him,” said Webster Police Chief Michael Shaw. “Sparked some interaction there, conversation about the dog, she ended up in the car.” Fanion allegedly touched the girl inappropriately in the car before dropping her off near her grandmother’s home, where the girl told her grandmother what happened. He allegedly told the child he’d be back at the beach the following day at 11:30 a.m. The girl, who’s under 14 years old, was able to provide investigators with unique characteristics of the car. Officers found a car and a suspect matching the description the child provided. Investigators followed his movements and arrested him on Friday when he returned to the beach once again. “If she doesn’t come forward and disclose this, there’s nothing stopping him from thinking he got away with it,” said Shaw. “And going down there and reoffending.” Investigators want to know if Fanion may be connected to any other similar incidents. “It seems to be he frequented the beach, so we ask if anyone had any contact with him, or if their children recognize him and they had inappropriate contact with him, we encourage them to contact us,” Shaw said. Anyone with information is asked to call 508-943-1212. Fanion is facing several serious charges, including kidnapping​, enticing a child under 16​ and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He is being held on $75,040 cash bail. He is due to be arraigned Monday.

A heavy emergency response could be seen Friday night at a carnival at a high school in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Aerial footage from NBC10 Boston’s SkyRanger helicopter showed at least a dozen police cruisers at Weymouth High School, where the Weymouth Spring Carnival is being held. A fire engine and an ambulance could also be seen. NBC10 Boston has reached out to the Weymouth Police Department, but has not yet heard back. People at the scene said a massive fight broke out, with people fleeing in an effort to avoid the chaos. “Some kids got a little overexcited and had a little battle out there in the crowd,” said Ricky Luvit, who operates a mechanical bull at the carnival. “The crowd seen it and they started running back and forth, so it just caused a lot of confusion.” No further information was immediately available.

When it comes to economic impact from Boston sports, April quite literally got off to a running start with the Boston Marathon. With the Bruins and Celtics set to start the playoffs this weekend at TD Garden, excitement and business are booming. “Every year, we kind of think of the marathon as the beginning of our really robust visitor’s season,” said David O’Donnell, vice president of strategic communications for Meet Boston. “It is a shoulder season, yes, but we get into a period of sports and see a massive influx of fans.” Meet Boston estimates the marathon brings in upwards of $150 million in economic impact, from the 30,000 runners traveling here from around the world, to their friends and family who come to watch, the hotel rooms they stay in and the restaurants where they eat. “When you have the marathon, right into a healthy and, hopefully, deep playoff run for our local franchises, it is really exciting,” O’Donnell said. Outside TD Garden, fans and businesses alike are pumped for more home games. “Got our tickets about a month and a half ago, as soon as they locked up the one seed,” said John Mezzoni, who drove up to Boston from Connecticut for Sunday’s Celtics game. More on the playoffs Boston Police Department Apr 18 Boston police issue warning over fake Celtics, Bruins playoff tickets Fans traveling to Boston is good news for Orlando Abreu, who operates “Sauce” inside Hub Hall in TD Garden. “I have a business inside, so the money-making is very exciting,” Abreu said. “This is the time for Boston and the Celtics, the Celtics are looking good!” For restaurants on Canal Street, Friday also brought good news. Mayor Michelle Wu announced it will be closed to traffic on game days to create a pedestrian hub. The street will close at noon on days the Celtics and Bruins play at home until one hour after the game. “It gives us a solid extra 60-70 seats, it is all the more revenue for us, all the more fans that can get to come in here,” said Matt Skinner, manager at Hurricane’s at the Garden. “It is a testament to what kind of destination city Boston has become, but it is also cool for us.”

While Friday marked a pause in jury selection for the Karen Read murder trial, jurors are still top of mind. Or, more specifically, the jury box, which is the latest focus of defense attorneys who say the seating for jurors in the courtroom at the Norfolk Superior Court violates their client’s constitutional right to confront witnesses face-to-face because of poor sight lines. “The defendant’s right of confrontation is affected, because that’s why we have juries is to determine the credibility of the witnesses, and what the facts are, and if they are not able to do that fully, there is a legitimate argument that that affects her confrontation clause under the sixth amendment,” explained NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne. In a high-profile and controversial case, Read is accused of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV in Canton, Massachusetts, in January 2022. Her attorneys say she is being framed in a wide-ranging coverup. NBC10 Boston Political Commentator Sue O’Connell, who has been inside the courtroom for jury selection, noted that Read seems very involved in her defense, frequently consulting with her team during the juror interviews. Read’s lawyers have a motion – asking to change the seating so jurors will look directly at witnesses during testimony. They say jurors must be able to see them so they can access their credibility. They’ve even submitted images of defense attorney David Yannetti on the stand, claiming at least six jurors will only see the back of a witness’ head. “Never have I seen a courtroom in which the jury box is positioned in such a way that a segment of the jury can only see the back of a witness’s head while testifying,” Yannetti wrote in the motion, comparing the setup to his experiences in numerous other courtrooms in the state. The defense says it has offered an alternative seating arrangement. Coyne agreed with the concerns of Read’s lawyers, saying seeing witnesses is important for the jury and lawyers. “The way that courtroom is set up the lawyers can’t see all the jurors and what you want be able to do as the lawyers is see what’s resonating with jury, what’s their reacting to, what they’re ignoring, ‘cause that helps you shape the balance of your trial.” The courthouse in Dedham is an older building and seating is already tight. It remains to be seen if the judge will make changes. Four more jurors are needed before opening statements can get underway. All parties will return to court next week to finish jury selection. More on the Karen Read case canton 13 hours ago Understanding the Karen Read trial: Who killed John O'Keefe? Karen Read 20 hours ago With 4 jurors short, selection in Karen Read case continues next week Karen Read Apr 17 Who's who in the Karen Read case: Names you should know as trial begins

Reports of antisemitic incidents reaching an all-time high led a local Jewish organization to reshape its goal to create a safe space for Jewish teenagers. The Anti-Defamation League released a new report this week citing record-high numbers of antisemitic incidents in New England, showing a total of 623 recorded incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism in the region in 2023 — about a 200 percent increase from the year prior. Of those 623 incidents, 351 happened after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. “It’s very important for people from all backgrounds to understand the complex situation that our Jewish teens are in right now: they’re really struggling,” Rabbi Yudi Riesel, the Director of the NCSY/JSU Boston division, said. Rabbi Yudi Riesel, the Director of NCSY/JSU Boston The National Council of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) is an Orthodox Jewish organization that started in the 1950s with the goal of getting Jewish youth to connect with their heritage. JSU, Jewish Student Union, is a subset of NCSY that started in the 2000s. It’s a public high school Jewish club that serves all Jewish teenagers from different backgrounds. There are hundreds of JSU and NCSY divisions – including Boston. Yuval Levy, a senior at Brookline High School, said JSU is her place of Jewish joy. “I was in so much pain from the war. I was grieving, and I didn’t have a community and I felt so isolated and so alone,” Levy, who has family in Israel, said. “[JSU] was a spiritual experience of just being together. I didn’t realize how much I needed that.” The organization services about 450 students in Boston and according to their website, they service about 14,000 students with more than 350 clubs nationwide. Brookline High School Senior Gabriel Spagat, Brookline High School Senior Yuval Levy and Newton South High School Junior Reuben Setboun “I realized that there was a place here for me to be able to embrace my Judaism,” said Reuben Setboun, a junior at Newton South High School. Rabbi Riesel said that before the Hamas attack on Israel, JSU was a fun place where students attended events and dinners and looked forward to trips to other cities including Miami and New York, but now the organization has taken on a new meaning. “After Oct. 7, the amount of tears I had to watch these young teens shed in school,” Riesel said. “We felt like we had to rise to the occasion.” Brookline High School senior Gabriel Spagat said he has felt the rise in antisemitism personally. “Most people – they look at me and they don’t see someone who has family in Israel, who is Jewish myself,” he said. “People have talked to me and have said very anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, anti-Israel things and they expect me to agree because in their minds, I’m just an Asian kid, there’s no way I’m Jewish.” Spagat said JSU is the only place he feels safe to talk about how he feels: “It’s given me that one small bright light of hope that things will get better.” More on Israel news 22 hours ago Israel and Iran: All-out war, or measured retaliation? Israel-Hamas War Apr 19 Soldiers who lost limbs in Gaza fighting are finding healing on Israel's amputee soccer team Israel-Hamas War Apr 18 The number of hostages still alive in Gaza is a mystery, officials say