Field House in Serious Disrepair

The property is said to be plagued by rat holes and broken windows.

Several members of the Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator Thomas Younger and Public Works Director Gino Cresta are surveying the Field House to determine the extent of its decay and disrepair. The Field House is on Humphrey Street at Phillips Park. The building includes locker rooms for home and visiting high school teams. Selectman Glenn Kessler said at th eboard's last meeting that the field house is in "serious disrepair," noting that the building suffers from rat holes and broken windows. Private citizens have made some emergency repairs at their own expense, he said. He said the town may someday have a beautiful new field or fields and a field house that is falling down.

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David Arsenault

12:02 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Should be used as a shelter for Us suckers getting flooded from our homes every year. We could live there untill our homes are fixed next time.   more ›

Not Just for Kids: Get a Workout at Swampscott Playgrounds

Playground fun doesn’t have to be reserved for kids. Adults can enjoy these outdoor play spaces too—and get a great workout at the same time.

Getting a good workout doesn’t require being stuck in a gym during the late summer heat or those deliciously crisp fall days that follow. To change things up a bit in your workout routine, consider making use of a free and easily accessible resource: your local playground. While playgrounds themselves are nothing new, in recent years, adults are returning to them in greater numbers—and not just to entertain their kids. Thanks to the rise in popularity of outdoor boot camps, which often make use of equipment available in parks and playgrounds, many adults are taking a second look at playgrounds as an affordable way to exercise their inner child and outer adult—and make exercising seem less like a chore and more (dare we say it?) fun. …

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Swampscott Stories

In Memory of Dave Whelan: Family Man, Friend and Swampscott Advocate

Swampscott's Dave Whelan died this morning, Saturday, Sept. 1. He was a tireless advocate for the town, in general, and education, in particular.

  Good friends of Dave Whelan say it was not just his family and them but the whole town that was dealt a huge loss this morning when Dave died after a battle with cancer. Rick Bessom knew Dave since kindergarten. They went to Clarke School, played Pop Warner football and for Big Blue, graduating Swampscott High in 1975. Later, following college, they shared an apartment in town and, after each of them got married, they remained close. "I lost a good friend," Rick said. "Dave was top notch. He loved his family. He loved the town. He was committed to bettering education for generations to come — and incredibly unselfish, having donated so much of his time." Swampscott Recreation Director Danielle Strauss said Dave was a dedicated friend who…

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Marblehead Teen Held For Alleged Attack at Phillips Park

The teen was the fourth suspect arrested in connection with a Sunday night incident at the basketball court. He was ordered held on $17,500 cash bail Tuesday in Lynn District Court.

  A judge ordered a Marblehead teen held on $17,500 cash bail in Lynn District Court Tuesday for his role in an alleged armed robbery at Phillips Park Sunday night. John Michael Murray, 18, of 54 Glendale Road, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon (wooden board) and assault and battery. Murray's co-defendants were Bradley Conrad, 18, of 53 Cloutmans Lane, Marblehead; Christopher LeClerc, 18, of 2 Berkshire St., Swampscott and Fiorenzo Lecce, 19, of 317 Paradise Road, Swampscott; all of whom were arraigned Monday afternoon. LeClerc and Lecce were ordered released on their own personal recognizance. Conrad's bail was set at $1,500 cash and he was ordered held until his pretrial conference next …

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A Peek Under the Grown Ups 2 Big Top

The only sound stage we know of in Massachusetts is a world unto itself, the world of a nice house, sprawling yard and 12-foot-deep pool.

  For all the expense and time that Adam Sandler's movie Grown Ups 2 has invested in filming its wild party scene it must have a central place in the film. A look inside the sound stage at Phillips Park — it's the only one we have heard of in Massachusetts — reveals an enchanted and sprawling suburban setting. There's a nice house with a grand front porch. A grassy sloping yard landscaped with shrubs and trees. And a below-ground pool that is 12 feet deep. A pool house fronted by pillars stands nearby. A few hundred movie extras including many from Swampscott have been working on the interior set the past few weeks — some of them decked out in 1980s costumes as colorful as exotic birds. Here are some photos of their workplace — the …

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Grown Ups 2 Pulls Up Stakes at Phillips Park

Filming for the Adam Sandler continued into the early morning hours Friday at the sound stage at Phillips Park before the final bit of footage was shot and the actors and crews said goodbye.

  The Adam Sandler tent city that was Grown Ups 2 Central at Phillips Park is starting to come down today. Workers are hauling away lighting, audio and other equipment from the big-top tent at the end of Bondelevitch Way. Soon the fake trees, the house, the pool and shrubs and other props inside the white and silver sound stage will be hauled away. Then down will come the roof, the steel frame and, finally, the freight container foundation. Filming on Grown Ups 2 wrapped up at the sound stage in the early morning hours Friday, according to movie employees at the scene. Gone from the entrance to Bondelevitch Way this morning were the clusters of screaming fans, the police officer directing traffic and the train of black vans with orange New…

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Residents Named to New Athletic Field Committee

Selectmen approved the seven members out of about 13 applicants.

  Selectmen have named seven residents to a new artificial turf field committee. Of about 13 people who applied to be on the committee, Selectmen Chairman Rich Malagrifa proposed and the board approved the following to the committee: Scott Faulkner, Doug Southerland, Matt Bergeron, Linso van der Burg, Richard Feinberg, Mounzer Aylouche and Chris Urbano. The committee was created to review the town's options after the Town Meeting last spring rejected a proposal that included rebuilding the field with artificial turf. Selectmen named the committee members at the board's July 25, meeting.  

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Grown Ups 2 Filming Update

The Adam Sander comedy is scheduled to start filming inside its big-top sound stage at Phillips Park on Monday.

  Grown Ups 2 has been filming at the quarries in Westford this past week and will be there today, according to fans who have visited the site. Meanwhile, preparations for the Grown Ups 2 wild party scene are winding down and movie action inside the 80-foot high sound stage at Phillips Park is slated to start Monday. At least that is what the movie makers have told Swampscott Recreation Director Danielle Strauss. Prospective movie extras for the party scene need to be prepared to work starting Tuesday, and be available through the first week in August, according to the casting company booking extras. The extras will be surrounded by lots of star power since the entire cast is expected to be in the wild party scene, according to location …

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Youngsters George Spellios and Mattea Kaiser Take Town Races

The July 4, town races had categories from 4 years and younger to 30 years and older.

  Courtesy of Lianne Belkas Here are the results of the town races at Phillips Park, a July 4, tradition in Swampscott. 50 yard 4 and under Boys                                                                                      Girls George Spellios                                                                Mattea Kaiser Michael Collins                                                                  Elise Guilmet                                                                                          Faye Cohen   50 yard 5 years Boys                                                                                      Girls Liam Keaney                                                                      Morgan Bilodeau Alex Heath…

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Newly Updated Gallery: Grown Ups 2 Sound Stage Going Up

Photos from a neighbor near the movie set shows it taking shape over three weeks.

  It’s the Taj Majal of tents this sound stage. In three weeks a Phillips Park corner has gone from a cleared field to a foundation of shipping containers to a high-rise, steel-frame tented building. When complete the sound stage will be 45,000 square feet and 80 feet tall. It will allow the movie crew to film a night "wild party" scene during the day.  The tent will have black drapes to block out the sun and will include a pool and a facade of a house inside the tent, location manager Charlie Harrington told zoning board members. The sound stage, which may be the first of its kind in the state, is targeted for completion in about three weeks.

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The voice of reason

5:19 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012

You are not alone with that thought. What a great opportunity for a worthwhile fundraiser. I'd pony up $ 10 for a viewing.   more ›