Sex Offender Santa Not Mall Employee: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Tuesday, Dec. 7. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The Salem Public Schools is taking steps to enhance security in the wake of a school shooting in Oxford, Michigan that killed four high school students. The district is installing more cameras, keyless entry systems and is aiming to improve connections to help avert mass violence.
• A New Yorker profile of actor Jeremy Strong released this week details how the "Succession" star hung out with Chris Evans during their high school days in Sudbury. Evans and Strong acted together in a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.
• Police have located the car they believe was involved in a hit-and-run in Somerville Monday night. A 33-year-old man was seriously injured when he was hit at the intersection of Mystic Avenue and Shore Drive. Police said the driver sped off after the crash.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's top story

A Dracut sex offender who hires himself out as Santa Claus does not work at Burlington Mall, despite some concern following a community Facebook post.

Boston 25 reported Joseph Bass, 80, is a Level 2 Sex offender after being found guilty in 2007 in Florida for sending a minor harmful information (Bass said it was a plea to avoid what he believed would be a costly legal fight).

BCAT News followed up on a post in a Burlington community group saying Bass is or has been employed as Santa at the mall. BCAT reached out to the program that runs the Santa photos operation, Cherry Hills Programs, which said Bass has never been employed by them.

Read more here.

Earlier today

Police in Wakefield are investigating after possible human skeletal remains were found on high school property.

Chief Steven Skory said around 11 a.m. Tuesday a survey crew working on Farm Street located the remains in a wooded wetlands area between the tennis courts and Rivers Lane.

Authorities said there was no threat to the school, but there was police activity during dismissal time.

Tuesday's other top stories

Salem schools enhance security after Michigan shooting: Superintendent Steve Zrike said the district has built strong partnerships with the police and fire departments, added security cameras and installed keyless code entry systems. But the key to preventing tragedy is strengthening connections to identify potentially troubled students and prevent students from feeling alienated from the school community, Zrike said.

How Captain America met Kendall Roy in Sudbury: A New Yorker profile of actor Jeremy Strong released this week details how the "Succession" star hung out with Chris Evans during their high school days in Sudbury. The profile goes into detail about how Strong moved with his family from Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood to Sudbury ("I had never seen a Mercedes-Benz before," he says of the move).

Police find vehicle linked to Somerville hit-and-run: Police have found the vehicle involved in a hit-and-run that seriously injured a Somerville man Monday night. The victim, 33 years old, was struck at the intersection of Mystic Avenue and Shore Drive. State police said the driver fled on Mystic Avenue after hitting the man.

Hopkinton extends mask-free trial at high school for three more weeks: Hopkinton High School was the first public school in Massachusetts to drop its indoor mask mandate. After a three-week trial, the school board voted to allow students to leave their masks off, if they choose, for the rest of the calendar year. The Hopkinton School Committee voted Dec. 2 to extend the mask-lifting trial until winter break, and revisit it in the new year.

Picture this

An alligator seen in the Westfield River since the summer was captured Tuesday and turned over to Massachusetts Environmental Police. Gators are not native to New England.

They said it

"He's worried about football. And only football."

• Former Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib on Bill Belichick's three rules for players (to the surprise of some, it did not include a dress code).

In case you missed it

First widespread snow of the season: Much of Massachusetts is expected to get 1-2 inches of snow Wednesday, with parts of the South Shore and the Cape seeing less than an inch or nothing at all. The NWS says most of the snow will fall during the evening commute, so drivers are urged to use caution while on the roads.

See the full forecast here.