National Guard Called To Get MA Kids To School: Patch PM

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — It's Monday, Sept. 13. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Gov. Charlie Baker is calling up 250 members of the National Guard to help with the school bus driver shortage in the state.
• A Milton man apparently fell to his death from a staircase deemed unsafe near the JFK/UMASS train station.
• A Massachusetts cannabis retailer is being bought for $91.2 million.
• Salem is welcoming back tourists this Halloween as long as they are willing to mask up indoors.

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

Today's Top Story

The Massachusetts National Guard is being called in to help kids get to and from school.

Gov. Charlie Baker's office on Monday said that 90 guard members will begin training on Tuesday to help communities experiencing severe bus and van driver shortages. Up to 250 will be made available to districts where they are needed in the coming weeks.

The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said the Guard members will be trained as school van drivers. They will begin training in Chelsea, Lowell, Lawrence and Lynn.

The state said: "The mission will not interfere with the Massachusetts National Guard's ability to respond to and assist in emergencies within the Commonwealth."

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Today's Other Top Stories

Milton man dies after falling from stairs near MBTA station: Police say a man from Milton died over the weekend after using stairs near an MBTA train station that had been deemed unsafe. State police were notified by MBTA Transit Police around 1:30 p.m. Saturday that a body was found across from the JFK/UMASS station at 599 Old Colony Avenue.

MA cannabis retailer Nature's Remedy bought for $91.2M: A national cannabis company will pay $91.2 million to buy the Massachusetts retailer Nature's Remedy, which operates dispensaries in Millbury and Tyngsborough, and a grow operation in Lakeville.

DA releases name of man killed in Northborough fire: A two-alarm fire that broke out at 129 Maple St. early Friday morning claimed the life of one of the residents. When firefighters arrived, flames 30 to 40 feet high were blowing out the second floor front window, Fire Chief David Parenti said.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton condemns racial profiling on North Shore: U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) spoke out Monday on two potentially racially charged interactions on the North Shore last week. Moulton issued a statement on incidents at a Danvers farm and Beverly school committee meeting saying: "I shouldn't have to say this, but let me be perfectly clear: Racism, racial profiling and any form of discrimination have absolutely no place in our community or anywhere else."

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Salem Halloween 2021: Tourists welcome, but mask up indoors: A year after Salem officials made the painful and unprecedented decision to tell tourists to "stay away" for Halloween amid the coronavirus crisis, the holiday's unofficial hometown is once again opening its arms to visitors during the spooky season as long as they are willing to mask up inside businesses.