Hopkinton Students Are First In MA To Go Maskless: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, Nov. 1. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Coast Guard teams are searching for a small plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of Cape Cod Sunday night.
• A Boston man is safe after getting separated from his group while hiking in New Hampshire.
• The Middlesex County District Attorney's office identified the victim in Saturday's fatal shooting in Framingham.

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

Today's Top Story

Some Hopkinton High School students became the first in Massachusetts to attend class without masks since the coronavirus pandemic started in March 2020.

In late October, the Hopkinton School Committee voted to initiate a three-week trial period of optional masks for vaccinated students, since 98% of students are vaccinated. In order for a school to lift mask mandates, the state requires a vaccination rate of at least 80% for students and staff, and approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Hopkinton High School was the first school in the state to receive such permission on Oct. 7. Despite the school's near-universal vaccination rate, Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh said only 50% of students and parents have submitted their paperwork, so she expects that at least half of students will still be wearing masks on Monday.

Read the full story.

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Monday's Other Top Stories

Boston man safe after night on NH mountain: Conservation officers responded to the area and determined the hiker Michael Papale, 31, of Boston was hiking to Mt. Isolation with friends. He stopped before reaching the summit while the group he was with continued the hiking. The group said they planned to meet him on the way back down the mountain, but he was gone when they returned.

Shooting victim identified: The Middlesex County District Attorney's office has identified the victim in Saturday's fatal shooting in Framingham as Eric Hargrett, 34. Hargrett was shot near 1:30 a.m. Saturday at a home along Hayes Street, according to police and DA Marian Ryan. Authorities did not immediately announce any arrests after the incident. Hargrett's death is the second homicide in Framingham this year.

Mass Pike work will close exits: Drivers who get off at Mass Pike exit 117 to Route 30 may experience detours this week. MassDOT will close both sides of exit 117 overnight on Monday and Tuesday for paving work. Detours will take drivers west to the Route 9 exit at the Framingham-Southborough line to access Route 30 and eastbound I-90. On Monday night, MassDOT will close the exits to Route 30 in both the eastbound and westbound directions. Tuesday night will see the closure of the on-ramps from Route 30 to both east and westbound I-90.

Search for plane, pilot after reported crash: Coast Guard teams are searching for a small plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of Cape Cod. The plane went down around 10:30 p.m., Sunday, about 3-and-a-half miles from Nauset Beach. The pilot was the only person on board, authorities said. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane left Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania, and was headed to Chatham Municipal Airport.

Picture This: Woburn's Halloween Parade

Woburn's annual Halloween parade returned Sunday for its 67th year, after the coronavirus forced the city to miss the event in 2020. The Woburn Public Media Center captured part of the parade on a live stream, available above.

In Case You Missed It

Some state workers quit over vaccine mandate: Hundreds of executive branch employees have been suspended or left state government work altogether nearly two weeks into enforcement of the Baker administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. As of Wednesday, 362 executive branch workers were on a five- or 10-day suspension for failing to either attest that they are immunized against the virus or seek a religious or medical exemption, according to Gov. Charlie Baker's office. Another 141 employees departed their jobs in response to the mandate, with 130 of those resignations voluntary, Baker's office said.