Top 10: Best Place to Live, Car Theft and Incumbent Selectman Defeated

Here are the top 10 most-read stories on Hamilton-Wenham Patch last month.

What have they been reading in the two towns in April? Here's a look back at the top 10 most read stories on Hamilton-Wenham Patch in April: 1. Pingree Senior from North Reading Victim in Fatal Car Crash 2. What's Open and Closed on Patriots' Day 3. Hamilton Named ‘5th Best Location to Live' in State 4. Car, Purse Taken in Overnight Thefts 5. One Incumbent Reelected, Another Ousted in Town Elections 6. Hamilton Man Survives Fall From Empire State Building 7. Wenham Board of Selectmen Election Results 8. Two Women Face Multiple Drug Charges After Allegedly Driving Erratically 9. Developer's Unpermitted Sign Ordered to Come Down 10. Recent Home Sales Include 'Arts and Crafts'-Style Home and Sharon Road Ranch

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'Drive-by' Verbal Attacks Being Taken Seriously

Police and college officials are investigating multiple occurrences of "drive-by verbal attacks" on Grapevine Road.

Officials at Gordon College say they are taking seriously reports of "drive-by" verbal attacks on students walking along Grapevine Road. President D. Michael Lindsay said in an e-mail to students and staff in recent days that the school is investigating recent incidents along Grapevine Road where students said they were "verbally harassed in a 'drive by' fashion." The verbal attacks are coming from vehicles being driven by "people outside our community," Lindsay said, later adding that school officials "are treating this seriously and taking added measures to ensure student safety and peace of mind, especially in the evening." Nobody has been injured in any of the incidents. Gordon College Public Safety is working with Wenham Police to …

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Police to 'Takeback' Expired, Unused or Unwanted Drugs Saturday

A drug takeback day will be held at the Hamilton and Wenham police stations on Saturday.

The Hamilton and Wenham police departments are working with the Drug Enforcement Administration on a National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day that takes place on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is free and anonymous with no questions asked. “This is a great opportunity for those who have missed previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications,” according to an announcement from the Hamilton police. Residents who want to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs or syringes should bring it to either the Hamilton Police Department or Wenham Police Department on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ln the four previous Take-Back events, the DEA in …

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Police: We've Found 'Stolen' Planter

The planter that went missing from an intersection in Wenham last weekend has been located.

Case Closed. That's the word from Wenham Police Chief Tom Perkins. On Wednesday, Hamilton-Wenham Patch reported that a planter at the intersection of Cedar and Cherry streets had been stolen. As it turns out, it was a fear that it would get stolen that prompted it to be removed until it was filled with soil and flowers. "A DPW foreman took it for safe keeping so it would not get stolen," Perkins said in a message to Hamilton-Wenham Patch. So there was no theft and all of the new planters constructed by the Wenham Highway Department are in safe hands, and the planting has been completed.

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Thief Targets Newly Built Planter in Wenham

A brand new planter on a traffic island in Wenham was stolen just after it was built and before it could be filled with soil and flowers.

When a new planter was installed at the corner of Cedar and Cherry streets in Wenham last week, it wasn't even there long enough for volunteers from the Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club to fill it with soil and flowers before it was gone. Wenham Police Chief Tom Perkins said the theft was reported to the police. There are no suspects and there have been no charges, he said. The hand constructed box was one of several completed during the winter by the Department of Public Work's Mark Gates, under the supervision of Bill Tyack, and installed during the first week in April, according to the Garden Club's Sue Shepard. The box was three feet long and worth $300, Shepard said. "We think that the box was stolen at some time on Friday, April 19," …

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Police Log

Attempted House Break-in Reported in Wenham

The following is an excerpt from the Wenham Police log. Where charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

The following activity for the Wenham Police and Fire Department comes from the Hamilton-Wenham Emergency Center for Monday, April 8 through Wednesday, April 10. Monday, April 8 Tuesday, April 9 Wednesday, April 10 For any questions on this blotter, please contact robertg@patch.com.

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Police Log

Danvers Teen Caught Allegedly Driving with Suspended License

The following is an excerpt from the Wenham Police log. Where charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

The following activity for the Wenham Police and Fire Department comes from the Hamilton-Wenham Emergency Center for Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7. Friday, April 5  Saturday, April 6 Sunday, April 7

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Wenham Now Has Permanent Police Chief

Tom Perkins has dropped the word "interim" from his title as Wenham police chief.

He's interim no more. Thomas Perkins was unanimously named the permanent chief of the Wenham Police Department on Tuesday by the Board of Selectmen. Perkins has been the department's interim chief since last July after then-Chief Kenneth Walsh retired. He now works as Director of Safety and Security at Endicott College in Beverly. Walsh made the transition easy for Perkins, he said, and left a "good foundation." Perkins has been with the department for 25 years and was previously captain for four years. "Over the past nine months you have shown exemplary leadership and we couldn't be any happier, pleased and proud to have you as our permanent chief," said Molly Martins, chairwoman on the Board of Selectmen. Selectmen took the vote with his…

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Anne Sweeney

12:52 pm on Monday, April 15, 2013

Good, now he can get rid of those plate scanners :-)   more ›

Two Women Face Multiple Drug Charges After Allegedly Driving Erratically

A woman from Beverly and another from Groveland are facing multiple drug charges after their car was allegedly swerving on Topsfield Road.

Two women face multiple drug charges after a police officer saw their car allegedly swerving all over Route 97 in Wenham. The arrests happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. Kristina Thumm, 46, of 31 Groveland St. in Groveland was allegedly driving a green Oldsmobile northbound. Behind her was Wenham police officer Shane Kavanagh, who saw the Oldsmobile cross the centerline. The first time Thumm corrected but the second time a vehicle headed the other way had to swerve and hit their brakes, according to a police report on the arrest. Kavanagh stopped the Oldsmobile near the rail trail crossing, not far from the Topsfield and Danvers town lines. After conducting some tests, Thumm was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of…

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