Salem's Top 5 Stories of the Week

Here are our top five stories of the week, they are listed in no particular order. Click on the headlines to read the full story.

Salem 'Junk Collector' Twists Scrap Metal into Masterpieces: Don't call Herb Mackey an artist - he prefers the title "junk collector". And while Mackey may not consider himself an artist, the whimsical scrap metal sculptures that are scattered across his Blaney Street yard can't be considered anything but works of art.

Woman Allegedly Forced into Salem Bank of America: A Marblehead man is facing assault and kidnapping charges after allegedly forcing a woman to go to the Bank of America on Paradise Road to take out money Tuesday afternoon.

Cafe Polonia Closing Salem Location: Pretty soon, Cafe Polonia fans will have to drive to Boston to get their pierogi fix. The Eastern-European and Polish restaurant's downtown Salem location will be closing its doors sometime in the next few weeks, owner Darek Barcikowski said Tuesday.

Salem Celebrates Designation as 'Birthplace of the National Guard': Congressman John Tierney, Mayor Kim Driscoll, Major General L. Scott Rice, Commander, Massachusetts Air National Guard and other local leaders hosted a ceremony earlier today to mark Salem’s federal designation as the birthplace of the National Guard.

Sunday Morning Attic Fire Displaces Salem Family: Salem firefighters extinguished a fire early Sunday morning that broke out on the third floor of a Lafayette Street apartment building and left a family of three looking for somewhere to stay.

For more of this week's stories, check out our news section.