Local News

FITCHBURG - A raging fire at the Bartley Nolan Condominiums at 7 Beekman St. sent residents into the street after explosions rocked the building shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday.The fire was a tough one for firefighters, who experienced water problems and other challenges as flames found their way into inaccessible spaces in the renovated school that houses 24 condo units, fire officials said.Firefighters heard an explosion as they were arriving, Fitchburg Fire Capt. Dante Suarez [...]

FITCHBURG - In 1969, Fitchburg State College may have been the best place for a staff of student journalists to push the envelope and rattle cages.The school, now Fitchburg State University, was a quiet, conservative teachers' college with a conservative president. Students working on the school's newspaper, The Cycle, were looking to open people's eyes to what was going on around them. What they did became a landmark legal case in federal court that is still cited as legal precedent [...]

ASHBURNHAM — A 52-year-old Gardner man died late Saturday when his all-terrain vehicle crashed in woods near Old County Road, according to the Worcester district attorney’s office.Timothy J. Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., said the victim had been at a barbecue at the West End Beagle Club earlier in the day, but had not returned home.A friend went out to look for him, and found his body underneath the ATV just off a cart [...]

ASHBURNHAM — A 52-year-old Gardner man died late Saturday when his all-terrain vehicle crashed in a wooded area near Old County Road, according to the Worcester district attorney’s office. Timothy J. Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., said the victim had been at a barbecue at the West End Beagle Club earlier in the day, but had not returned home. A friend went out to look for him, and found his body [...]

Ashburnham$350,000, 5 Lashua Rd, Nowlan Builders Inc, to Cortes, Jose A, and Cortes, Jaime L. $297,000, 243 Lake Rd, Stiles, R Lincoln, to Plante, Kathleen D. $165,000, 7 Wellville Beach Trl, Coburn IRT, and Ray, Jane K, to Haley, Clayton I, and Fee, Emily R. $150,000, 5 Willard Rd, Petersen, Sharon, to Kakavitsas, Nikolaos. $62,500, 121 Harris Rd, Jomo Properties LLC, to Hamel, Chase, and Meunier, Brandy.Ashby$245,000, 833 Fitchburg State Rd, Fisher, Linwood, and Fisher, [...]

It happened on July 3, the day before the busiest holiday of the summer. A hacker infiltrated the Athol Police Department’s computer network, paralyzing day-to-day operations and leaving officers to rely on the assistance of neighboring municipalities.After working around the clock to mitigate the breach, the department was able to perform some of its regular functions. But, more than two months later, the police department in this northwestern Worcester County town of about 12, [...]