Salem Patch Reader Comments of the Week

How Will Sale of Shaw's Impact Salem's Store?

Sue: Bring a TRADER JOE'S back over this way or Wegman's

Diane H: I agree! Bring back Trader Joes....Wegman's would be great too!

Edward: Wegmans would be interesting, but the size of the stores they plan to open, are around 100,000 sq. ft., if not larger. But I believe the size of the Salem Shaws isn't that large.

john: Costco or BJ,s

chester suchecki: law and order at market basket instead of the dog eat dog frenzy that exists there now.

Edward: 'dog eat dog frenzy'? Chester - you're being too kind! I think it's even worse than that! LOL!

Erin Cyr: Trader Joe's only opens about 8 locations nationwide per year, we're actually pretty lucky to have the one in Peabody.

George Smith: The people that work at the Salem store are great and caring. Too bad Shaws never gave this store the ability to compete against Market Basket

Edward: Regarding Hannaford, they do have experience competing with Market Basket up in New Hampshire.

Governor's Proposal All But Abolishes Salem Housing Authority:

John Merrett: Welcome Agenda 21

christine: Leading by example Please he should talk about the state crime lab scandle and how many convicts had to be set free, where is the accountability at the state level. The state only takes over the budget or so called management accountability when there is money to be made!

Josh Turiel: In theory it's a good idea - I like the idea of cutting layers of management but on the other hand local accountability is a good thing. Also, there are some housing authorities that are awful and corrupt, but most of them are run fairly well. So this kind of throws out the baby with the bathwater.

Glad or Sad? St. Joseph Church Demolition

Jack Carver: To me the building was not historic, The buried Statue on the church grounds has some historical value and was worth looking for, I didn't see much in the way of any one look for it at all. I also wonder how the Catholic church can sell properties like this one. A property that was bought and paid for by the parishioners and not the church itself. Parishioners who for years prayed in a burned out cellar of the old church saving their money, going with out till they had enough money to build a new church.

pamela boucher: they should of left this church alone, it was the people that saved money to build it.

Mark Steele: I'm sad to see it go. It was a unique architectural building that will be missed. But when the question of who pays for it comes up, I guess the building has to go. Before the church was built there was another unique build on the site that was torn down to make room for it. I hope the new structure will be an asset to Salem and not just another nondescript building housing crappy store on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. If so, this will be the legacy of our generation.

melas: I'm sad because of what's coming in its place. Who looked at the Point neighborhood and said, "We need to expand this!" More low income apartments - not the city's finest decision.

Marie: What will be used to replace St. Joseph's Church will not be in the best interest of the Point or the city. After demolition, it should be left alone as an open area. God knows the city needs parking during the winter months when they declare snow emergencies. The open spaces could e used for the Lafayette Street residents.

Jack Carver: I saw Father John standing outside St Joes this Morning as they continued the destruction, He was wearing a hard hat.

Thomas Monaco: My 5 yr old Brother was buried from this church in 1975. My older brother was married from this church in 1981. What a sin for the catholic church to tear down a church that they had NO right to destroy. What a sin.

Paul Boudreau: Sad for the City really. As someone who went to school there, served as an altar boy of course I have personal ties. More than that though, this building was a testament to the strong French-Canadian influence last century. Like the building or not, it IS historically significant; both for it's International Style and for a physical reminder of French-Canadian contributions to the City of Salem. I'm sad to see it go.  Preservation efforts started way too late.

Sarah NadeauEu: I am extremely sad to see St.Joseph's go. I grew up in that church, went to St Joseph's school for 10 years and worked there for 3. It's like your childhood is being torn down and being ripped away from you, and the dream you had as a child of being married there is now erased forever. Ever since the archdiocese closed the church my faith in being a Catholic has been slowly edging way from me and when they closed the school it has been nonexistent.

Karen: I am sad as well. I was married in there as well by Father John. He had left the parish but came back to marry my husband and I. It just doesn't feel right. To see the gold alter standing in the half torn down mess made me so sad. Now that is gone too. I'm sad that I won't be able to share with my children's children (someday) where I was married. :(

Marie Chalifour Cahill: I am saddened to see the demolition of St. Joseph's Church. This was such a beautiful church. I attended St Joseph's grammar school, as well as the academy.  I sang in the choir there, was confirmed there and was also married in this church over 50 years ago. I was sorry when it was closed, I am heartbroken to see it  destroyed. So sad.

Council Compromises on Legault to Replace Lovely

john: So, we will see if Legault is in the mayors corner.

Cwheels: Congratulations Councilor Legault

Jim Plummer: Councilor Legault Congratulations and please do what is right for this GREAT City!

Matt Buchanan: Congratulations Councilor Legault I am proud to have you as a representative.

drew from salem: I trust Bill to actually think through all the issues on a matter and do what is best for Salem. This might mean he votes in ways I disagree with, but at least I will know that he is doing so out of his genuine belief that it is the best course of action. Congrats Councilor Santa! And what's all this with Sosnowski and conspiracy theories? Somebody needs to delete the X-Files from his Netflix queue.

Jared Robinson: now... why couldn't this have happened on the FIRST night... after say... 50 votes?

Mike Blatty: Anything to keep that little ticket book out of his hands! He was WAY too quick at it!  (We love you, Bill.)

:

Don Nadeau: Well, now investigators have loads of data. They have the location (if they know this address): the exact direction and elevation based on the shadows, the exact distance based on the sound delay (about a thousand feet), the size and type of explosive based on the "fingerprints" of the sound and the flash and the specs of the recording devices.

Nancy Santos-Pacheco: Reports are all over the internet similiar to this one here in Salem and many are not here in Mass. Most recently the Coast Gaurd was searching Narragansett Bay due to so many reports in Warwick and Barrington of an explosion. But nothing was found. How very curious that all these different communities are reporting a simliar "loud bang" and lights but no one knows the origin. Can't wait to read more about it, and excited Salem caught it on tape!

Anthony Paecht: Possibly a Transformer further away? I have heard one explode before and seems plausible.

Irishjedi: Not necessarily will someone show up. I had transformer blow a fuse in front of my house 3 times and no one showed up. It was loud and shook my house. I had to call the electric company to tell them about it.

Marilyn : Have had at least three of these sounds in my neighborhood in Novato, California. First time I thought it was a gun shot, a friend said they thought it was a pipe bomb. Each time it spooked me and my daughter. It was VERY loud. Coincidences??

Mark Steele: With that kind of flash and being anywhere from 600 - 1200 feet away it wasn't made by ordinary fireworks.

Meg Elizabeth: maybe it has to do with the sewer pipes that go out into the harbor?

Jes: They're always in the middle of the night, too. There have been some around the Collins Cove area a while back. You have the big tanks off of Bridge St , many high tension wires, and the power plant. Maybe it is aliens though?!?

Danielle: Cue Twilight Zone music...

Bob: You ever see War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise?? Very similar. Just saying.

Rebecca Richardson: I've heard the exact same sound/ noise where I live [ Pacific NW]. I've always assumed it was someone shooting off an illegal firework or a loud gun. It happens so fast I just assume there's a plausible reason and don't give them much thought although it's disturbing.

Roxie: About 11 years ago there was a mysterious explosion in Stamford, CT when I lived there. It shook the house. It was in the papers the next day that everyone who called 911 thought it had happened right near them or in their house. They never found out what caused it, but it was so memorable that 10 years later the local newspaper ran a story about it's "anniversary."