Portion of Park Street Will Lose Water Thursday Night

The Department of Public Works is repairing older valves that were to blame for last week’s water main break that left a portion of town without water for eight hours.

A portion of North Reading will be without water Thursday night and early Friday morning, according to the Department of Public Works. In a letter dropped off to impacted houses Tuesday morning, the DPW's Water Department said it will need to shut off water on Park Street from Winter Street to Main Street, as well as Damon and Gould streets. That area has experienced two major water main breaks within the past five years, including one last week that left the area without water for about eight hours. The cause of the breaks was older valves used to supply water to the area. The DPW will perform the work at night “to minimize the impact on the majority of the residents and businesses supplied by the North Reading Water Department,” …

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UPDATED: Winter Storm Warning Extended to 11 p.m.

Snowfall causes minor spinouts, but no injuries reported. National Weather Service expects snow to change to freezing rain and then rain later today.

Updated, 3:55 p.m. The National Weather Service has extended a winter storm warning for the North Reading area until 11 p.m. Tuesday as snow changes over to sleet and freezing rain. As of 1:30 p.m., four inches of snow had fallen just over the border in Reading, according to the National Weather Service. The snow began changing to sleet and freezing rain shortly thereafter. North Reading Public Schools announced the cancellation of all afternoon and evening activities. Schools were dismissed at their normal times Tuesday. According to the Massachusetts State Police, some troopers on patrol in Troop A, which includes North Reading, reported the start of icy conditions on some roadways in northeastern Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon. …

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You Ask ... Patch Answers

How Do North Reading Snow-Removal Costs Stack Up?

Patch checks out North Reading's snow and ice removal spending.

North Reading’s roads seem cleaner than those of neighboring communities during and after snowstorms. Does North Reading spend more than its neighbors on snow removal? If Mother Nature worried about municipal budgets, she’d send only light snow during the weekdays, when Department of Public Works staffers are on regular duty and can be quickly deployed to sand, salt and plow as needed without overtime or outside contractors. But Mother Nature shows little concern about stressed municipal finances. “[Snowstorms] never happen during the weekdays,” said Dick Carnevale, North Reading’s DPW director. “It’s always on evenings and weekends.” Despite uncooperative storms, Carnevale said DPW procedures aim at controlling costs. In fiscal year 2010…

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Reporter's Notebook

Town Receives $11K in Gifts

News and notes from this week’s Board of Selectmen meeting.

The town received a belated Christmas gift for three of its departments, the Board of Selectmen learned Monday night. The William P. Kadlec Trust donated $5,000 each to the Flint Memorial Library and the Council on Aging, to be used without restriction, Town Administrator Greg Balukonis told selectmen. The North Reading firefighters union donated $1,500 to help the North Reading Fire Department purchase of a battery operated chest compression system, Balukonis said. The chest compression system costs $13,000, Balukonis said. The fire department was unable to cover the total cost of the equipment, so the firefighters union donated the money to pay the balance, Balukonis said. Selectmen voted unanimously to accept all three gifts. Town …

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