Man Finds Mortar Round While Doing Yard Work: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS —It's Monday, Nov. 16. Here's what Patch has been covering across Massachusetts today:

What started out as Sunday yard work ended with a call to the Massachusetts State Police bomb squad when a Westborough man found a mortar round in the yard of his Hyde Street home.

The bomb squad was able to safely remove the round and detonate it at another site. There's no word yet on how it got there in the first place.

Read the full story.

Also Today:

• More charges in 'Varsity Blues' college admissions investigation: The former fencing coach at Harvard University and a Maryland man were arrested Monday and charged with conspiring to secure the admission of the businessman's two sons to Harvard in exchange for bribes totaling more than $1.5 million. Peter Brand, 67, of Cambridge, was the head fencing coach from 1999 to 2019.
• Suspect hospitalized after chase, fiery crash: A car chase involving Peabody police, state police and a pickup truck abruptly ended on Monday when the truck crashed and burst into flames on Route 1 in Lynnfield, according to Massachusetts State Police. The driver was airlifted to a Boston area hospital.
• Coast Guard rescues fisherman off of Martha's Vineyard: A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched and safely hoisted the fisherman from the ship around 7:30 p.m. The man was transported to Providence Hospital for treatment with stroke-like symptoms.
• Merrimack Valley town does away with snow days: The new ubiquity of remote learning means a sad end for a winter tradition, North Andover Public Schools confirmed Sunday: no more snow days. The district said that if there is enough snow to impact school, all students will instead attend their scheduled classes remotely. Other Massachusetts school districts will likely follow suit.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).