Marshalls Fire Ruled Arson After Clothes Lit Up: Patch PM

Today is Monday, Aug. 17. Here are today's top stories.

Fire officials said the fire at a Waltham Marshalls in early August was set on purpose.

The police and fire departments, in conjunction with the Mass State police Fire Explosion Section are now asking for the public's help in identifying the arsonist who lit clothes on fire at the Marshalls on Market Place Drive.

"The Massachusetts State Fire Marshal's Office is offering up to $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the identity of the suspect," according to a joint statement.

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Other top stories

Police 'All Lives Matter' Sign Report Portrays Unwitting Sergeant, Furious Mayor

The police sergeant responsible for a controversial traffic sign on Main Street last month told the mayor it was on him to calm the uproar from people who found its "All Lives Matter" language hurtful, but insisted he never meant any offense and did not recognize it as a political statement, according to an external report commissioned by the city and a preliminary report by the police department.

The reports paint Mayor Paul Brodeur as apoplectic upon learning of the message and detail swift action and cooperation from all involved resulting in its removal. The reports also identify a longtime police sergeant as the person responsible for the message.

The external report, conducted by attorney Jay Sullivan of the Cambridge law firm Sullivan & Reed at a cost of $3,420, found the city and its officials — including the mayor and police chief — blameless in the drafting and posting of the message.

Salem Students, Staff Quarantine After Positive Coronavirus Test

Five students and five to seven staff members at Salem Public Schools' LEAP Saltonstall Summer program have been asked to quarantine after another staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.

The program has been closed for the week, Salem Public Schools said in a statement. The staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 had not been at the program since Aug. 11 and was not an employee of Salem Public Schools but a staff member "working at the LEAP Saltonstall Summer program."

The people asked to quarantine had "worked closely with this staff member," the school system said. The decision to close the program for its last week of the summer was made "because we are short-staffed due to some of the staff needing to quarantine."

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