Patch Facts

Five Things to Know on Oct. 24: Cell Phones for Soldiers Deadline

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 24. Here are five things you need to know in Hamilton and Wenham: 1. Sun: The skies should be sunny for most of the day on Wednesday, with the forecast calling for temperatures to top out in the 50s. 2. Cell Phones: Wednesday is the final day of a Miles River Middle School student’s Cell Phone for Soldiers public service project. Susan Smith has set up collection bins at Hamilton Town Hall, Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, First Church in Wenham and the Miles River Middle School. 3. Food Day: Wednesday is Food Day, a day designed to celebrate “more healthy, affordable, sustainable food and a better food system.” The event is being coordinated by the state Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and …

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Hamilton One of Few Remaining Towns With Evening Activity Ban

The ban will remain in place until temperatures drop below 28 degrees for four hours or more.

Hamilton remains one of a handful of communities north of Boston where the evening outdoor activity ban will remain in place after Saturday morning’s cold snap. Earlier this week, scores of communities from the greater Newburyport area to Cape Ann lifted the ban, citing the temperatures into the 20s on Saturday morning. On Thursday, Hamilton Town Manager Michael Lombardo said that the temperature in Hamilton dropped to 29 degrees for just an hour on Saturday morning. When the ban was put in place on Oct. 1, the Board of Health said that it would only be lifted only after a hard freeze – temperatures of 28 degrees or less for four hours or longer – or the threat level is lowered. The ban was put in place to protect residents from the threat…

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As Threat Level Remains 'Critical,' Mosquito Spraying Planned Thursday in Hamilton

Mosquito spraying will occur along Essex and Sagamore streets in Hamilton on Thursday night.

Chemicals will again be sprayed on Thursday night in a portion of Hamilton to kill mosquitoes, as the town’s threat level for mosquito-borne illnesses remains at the highest level - “critical.” On Monday, the Hamilton Board of Health voted to ban all organized outdoor activities on both public and private property from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. until the threat level drops or there is a hard frost. The move to enact the outdoor activities ban came after a horse in Essex tested positive for Eastern equine encephalitis last weekend. Since Hamilton borders Essex, has similar habitat and had a mosquito test positive for EEE earlier this summer, the threat level was raised to the highest level – critical – by the state Department of Public Health. The …

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