Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Feb. 17

Today's news reel includes the following: Big Blue goes blond; and police have reached agreement on a contract and are expected to ratify it today.

  1) Newsbit of the Day:  Police have reached an agreement on their contract with the town and are expected to ratify it today, Friday, Acting Town Administrator Dave Castellarin told selectmen on Wednesday.  The Department of Public Works union is still negotiating a contract with the town, he said on Wednesday. 2) Swampscott Scholars:  Michael F. Phelan, of Swampscott, was named to the Dean's List at Saint Anselm College in Manchester for the fall semester, 2011. He is a politics major and a member of the class of 2012. 3) Swampscott Athletics: Word is the Swampscott High hockey team's players have dyed their hair blond. The Big Blue blonds play their final game of the season against Marblehead on Saturday then tournament play starts. 4…

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Pumping Station Back on Line By Mid-Feb

The town remains on the sewer by-pass system while the broken system gets rebuilt.

  Public Works Director Gino Cresta hopes to have the town sewer system off the temporary bypass and returned to the permanent pumps and motors at the Humphrey Street station by the middle of next month. In September, a system failure resulted in wastewater pouring into the basement, flooding it and half the floor above it. Swampscott pumped wastewater into container trucks and ferried it to the Lynn treatment plant until the basement was dry and a sewer bypass was installed. The temporary system remains in operation while contractors rebuild two pumps and motors at the station, the director said. The town's insurance is paying for the station's interior costs — rebuilding the pumps and motors, he said. But the insurance company has only …

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