Town 'Traumatized' In Wake Of H.S. Hockey Team Scandal: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Wednesday, Nov. 17. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A man who appeared intoxicated will face charges after being accused of urinating on a fellow passenger while riding a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus on Monday night.
• A bullet was found on a Bourne school bus full of elementary school students Tuesday.
• A 55-year-old New Hampshire man was identified Tuesday as the person killed during a double shooting on Technology Way in Salem Monday night.

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

Today's Top Story

The Danvers School committee released statement Tuesday saying the town is "traumatized" by recent accusations of racist behavior and homophobic hazing within the high school hockey program while also saying it would not comment on aspects of its ongoing investigation.

"We all agree on the importance of moving forward together and to ensure the district lives our values," the statement said.

The committee met in executive session Monday to consider a motion to place Superintendent Lisa Dana on administrative leave. Dana remains in her position, according to the statement.

Both the Danvers Teachers Association and parents speaking during public comment at last week's meeting slammed district officials for a lack of transparency with staff and the community about investigations into the abuse accusations over the past 18 months, which include players shouting racial slurs and locker room hazing rituals involving a sex toy. And state Sen. Joan Lovely, who represents Danvers, says she supports an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General.

Read the full story.

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Wednesday's Other Top Stories

Man accused of peeing on fellow bus passenger: A man who appeared intoxicated will face charges after being accused of urinating on a fellow passenger while riding a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus on Monday night, police said. At around 9:55 p.m. Monday, MBTA officers responded to a radio call for a male who urinated on another passenger in the area of 70 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, police said. Officers located the victim, an adult male, who said while the bus was traveling on Massachusetts Avenue, he was "alerted to a stream of liquid running by his feet and other passengers looking at him with their 'eyes wide open,'" police said.

Murder-suicide shooter identified: A 55-year-old New Hampshire man was identified Tuesday as the person killed during a double shooting on Technology Way in Salem Monday night. The Essex County District Attorney's Office said Richard Lorman, of Wilton, NH, was found dead at the scene Monday night. Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said Monday night that a 55-year-old man was the suspect in an apparent murder-suicide attempt that left a 33-year-old woman hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Bullet found on school bus: A bullet was found on a Bourne school bus full of elementary school students Tuesday, according to Superintendent Kerrie Anne Quinlan-Zhou. Shortly before 9 a.m., a small group of Bournedale Elementary School students discovered the .22 caliber round on the floor of a school bus. A student handed it to the bus driver as the bus pulled into the school, and the driver then reported it to administrators, school officials said. The district then immediately called Bourne police to begin their investigation.

Vote tallies go missing in Newton: Voting tallies from six precincts in Newton were found to be missing after the "official results" were posted on Friday, according to the city's website. The results were taken down Saturday due to missing results for all four precincts in Ward 1 and precincts 1 and 2 in Ward 2. According to City Clerk Carol Moore, the main discrepancies were in the hand ballots that are entered after the voting machine have been closed out. These can include provisional ballots accepted by the state, overseas ballots, and those dropped off at City Hall by those who couldn't make it to the polling stations. However, there were not enough mistakes for the outcome to be affected and the election results will not change.

Massachusetts: Tell Someone You're Grateful For Them This Holiday Season

Picture This: Leonid Meteors Peak Over MA

The Leonid meteor shower — known to produce fast, bright meteors as Earth plows through a trail of debris left behind by the comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle — peaks Wednesday and Thursday mornings just before dawn. It depends on the weather, of course. AccuWeather calls for partly cloudy skies — although Thursday morning shoulder be much warmer than other days this week.

They Said It

"After consulting with the Quincy Health Department and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the parents of the other students in the classroom have been notified that their students should remain home and quarantine for the next seven days."

• Janet J. Loftus, the principal of the Beechwood Knoll Elementary School in Quincy. A kindergarten class at the school will quarantine for the next week after seven students and staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

In Case You Missed It

MA preps to give adult COVID boosters: All vaccinated adults in Massachusetts will soon get the opportunity for a booster shot of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant emergency use authorization for the booster shot as early as Thursday. That would open the door for millions of fully vaccinated Americans 18 and over to get another shot. Pfizer received authorization in September to provide booster shots to people 65 and older and those 18 or older with an elevated risk of serious illness.

By The Numbers

30: The approximate number of miles covered in a police chase early Wednesday morning. The chase started in Hopkinton before the driver was eventually stopped and arrested in Dorchester.

And, Finally Today...

A dog who became a celebrity in her Somerville neighborhood thanks to her eagerness to meet – and get lots of pets from – new friends needs some "extra love" after she was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Sparkle, an 11-year-old Corgi mix, has been a fixture in her front yard for years, lazing on the walkway alongside a sign that introduces her to passersby: "My name is Sparkle. I LOVE to be outside and meet people all year! But I also go inside whenever I want."