What was going on in Harvard a year ago today … 5, 10, 15 years ago? Here are Press headlines from previous issues on or near today’s date.
Aug. 31, 2007
- Bye-bye to sorting recyclables?
- Boards want more seniors eligible for 40B housing
Aug. 29, 2008
- Selectmen draft Devens disposition success criteria
- Board grapples with approach for affordables
- School Committee takes stand against Question 1
- Harvard couple to take over Acton Real Estate
- State rep candidates answer voters’ questions
Aug. 28, 2009
- Selectman Blair resigns mid-term
- Protests fail to stop construction over Ayer aquifer
- Route 2 noise may skew Evergreen Solar measurements
- BOH learns: To target Lyme disease, aim at deer
Aug. 27, 2010
- Residents to be fined for tree removal
- EEE virus confirmed in Lancaster horse
Aug. 26, 2011
- Chief Sicard issues storm readiness update
- Consultant to be hired for housing study
- Town Meeting OKs sewer project
- Harvard solar project nears threshold for price drop
Aug. 31, 2012
- Long discussion of Article 4 leads to three amendments
- Special Town Meeting passes entire warrant
- Zoning violation delays Town Hall construction
- Investors say Devens film studio will rival Hollywood
Aug. 30, 2013
- School start brings changes to services, staff, and curricula
- Anonymous donor promises Bromfield new sound system
- New staff at Hildreth and Bromfield schools
Aug. 29, 2014
- Council on Aging votes to ask town for money to renovate Hildreth House
- Education secretary calls pace of reform ‘too fast,’ but says teachers ‘have to adapt’
- Police to file charges in not-quite-cold case
Aug. 28, 2015
- School’s open: What’s new for 2015–16 at Hildreth Elementary and Bromfield
- New attendance policy recognizes family travel but tightens rules
- Teachers and staff expect new website to improve communication
- School lunch program continues focus on fresh, healthy foods
Aug. 26, 2016
- HES administrators announce new communication initiatives
- COA seeks to advance Hildreth Phase 2 funding to FY19
Sept. 1, 2017
- Selectmen to vote on future of retired teachers’ health insurance
- All-boards meeting will test charter-proposed budget cycle
- Cable studio gets an ‘infinity wall’
- State board OKs next step for HES building project
- School Committee gives Dwight high marks
Aug. 31, 2018
- Trichome Health, marijuana retailer, will pursue license to open in Harvard
- Capital committee hears request to replace old library roof
- Building committee examines new cost estimates
- Rowe steps down as school business manager; no replacement yet
- New at Bromfield: A pop culture seminar and a sign language course
Aug. 30, 2019
- Select Board votes for all-wind electricity for Harvard
- Boards recommend EEE personal protection measures, not roadside spraying
- Planning Board proposes relaxing several commercial zoning bylaws
- Hildreth House Phase 2 project could top $4 million
- Surprises, both good and bad, as schools open
Aug. 28, 2020
- School Committee approves ‘hybrid’ reopening, and most families agree
- Mail-in ballot applications surge; voters question readiness of U.S. Postal Service
- Caught on video, three Harvard juveniles summoned for vandalizing town beach
- Town officials ready slimmer, deficit-free budget for Fall Town Meeting
- Algal bloom forces no-swimming order at town beach
- State primary is Tuesday; in-person voting available
Aug. 27, 2021
- Back to school: A return to in-person learning —with masks
- HES work will be complete in October, with money to spare
- Contract negotiations at impasse as DPW pushes for more competitive pay
- Building committee chooses site and architect for alternative senior center
- Old library roof project delayed until April; drainage issues emerge
- Swimming prohibited at town beach due to algal bloom; cyanotoxin testing underway
- Fall sports return; but COVID-19, fields, and program costs haunt reboot
Aug. 26, 2022
- Fort Devens opens its gates to celebrate 105th anniversary
- General Store and Fivesparks urge quick action to preserve entertainment licenses
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion in Harvard’s schools, but more remains to be done
Sept. 1, 2023
- Newman reappointed town constable, a modern office with a colonial legacy
- Select Board drops curb extensions from Ayer Road renovation plan
- Unexpected resignation forces school to consolidate fourth grade into three class sections
- Hildreth Elementary crosswalk updated to improve visibility and student safety
Aug. 30, 2024
- Protests continue against closing of Nashoba hospital; end-of-week shutdown appears certain
- Assistant town clerk already in the groove, open to effecting change for public benefit
- Ayer and Harvard councils on aging prepare for Nashoba Valley Medical Center closure
Aug. 29, 2025
- Citing concern for General Store’s future, residents urge board to postpone vote on town center zoning
- Two candidates vie for open Select Board seat in October election
- Select Board calls for level-service and level-funded budgets for FY27, no mention of override
Logged-on subscribers can read the stories behind these headlines and more in the Harvard Press online archives.
