Sentinel & Enterprise (Newspaper) - February 28, 2002, Fitchburg, Massachusetts SPORTS Leominster girls fall to Shrewsbury Page Dl LOCAL NEWS Lunenburg schools in dire need of selectmen warned Page A4 U2 big Grammy winners Page Bl interims e THE VOICE OF NORTH CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS SINCE 1838 SENTINEL 4 ENTERPRISE USA DUPILL New homeowners Lia second from and his Chou Lee stand on the staircase of their Plymouth Street house with two of their six and sweet home Fitchburg sees benefits in Route 12 proposal New owners close on sales of homes built through city of Fitchburg initiative By Lisa E. Dupill Wednesday was a day for tears of joy for three first-time home buyers now living on Plymouth The identical homes were constructed all at a collaborative effort of the Twin Cities Community Development Corporation and the The sales closed earlier in the day for two families and one woman who opened the door to a new Damans Tremblay said when she heard she was picked as a buyer in the bidding process for her she wanted to keep it a secret from her A mother of Tremblay said she kept up the hope until she knew for I told the they said as if I was Tremblay know sometimes you have good but you never Like the others who had all lived in rented apartments before buying the it's the family's first There are two full one on each two large master bedrooms with walk-in two smaller a full kitchen and a full There is also a small deck to the rear of the house for outdoor The teal color of the house matches the teal color of Mazda which good-natured jibes from community development officials on Tremblay offered a tour of every commenting on the smell in the She planned to move in later in the don't have a I lived in an so I never collected a lot of things because it's hard to move she She will live in the home with her Joseph and her two Limari 18, and Marilyn 17. Please see HOMES A5 Public hearing on project to be held tonight By Andrienne Clark FITCHBURG Up and down Main business owners believe widening Route 12 will bring more people to downtown and help their think it would help rather than said Linda M. owner of Espresso located at 584 Main St. for 35 got to bring more ple If more people come then Espresso Pizza should see an increase in she adding that by widening Route 12 will not turn Main Street wish they would work on getting those empty stores rara The Massachusetts way Department engineers will explain Phase 1 of the CHENG Traffic streams northward toward Fitchburg along Route 12 in Route 12 project at a public hearing at 7 tonight at the Fitchburg Public Phase 1 would involve widening Route 12 from the vicinity of Fitchburg at 692 North Main St. in to just beyond the intersection of Benson and Water streets in Ferrara's views and those of other Main Street ness owners contrast sharply with the views of many Fitchburg and Leominster businesses located along the section of Route 12 that would be Many of those Please see ROUTE 12 A5 Lawmakers forfeiting pay By Frank Tutalo Sentinel Enterprise State House Bureau Making a small yet bolic cut to the state House Speaker Thomas M. is asking House lawmakers to forfeit eight days of pay between now and 30. Finneran calls the move yet noted Wednesday his leadership team is required to surrender their Area ing instantly embraced the already put in my letter telling the speaker I would participate and I would support any quent furlough said Rep. Emile J. Goguen Rep. Brian D- If all 1-57 sitting the ure would save taking said Rep. Emile J. be a little because I give a lot of my money to my Finneran touted the plan as a way of showing the public they are impacted by recent cuts given their station in or their circumstances at home are more easily able to bear their sacrifice than Finneran tried to make sure we pledged responsibility On average over the last House ers participated in one for- Please see FORFEIT A5 State's mayors ask lawmakers to raise income tax By Erik Arvidson Sentinel Si Enterprise State House Bureau BOSTON Facing their own budget which are microcosms of the state's mayors from around the state urged makers Wednesday to raise the state income tax back to 2000 levels to help plug a billion budget Thirty three of the state's 44 met at the State House with House Speaker Thomas M. and Senate President Thomas R. D- urging the lawmakers not to make cuts in local aid that would force cities and towns to raise property taxes Their primary concern is the three-phase personal income tax cut which will take an ad- million out of the state's coffers next Most of the mayors want to see the income tax raised to 5.95 the rate prior to the tax understand that the voters voted for Please see MAYORS A5 Police believe body found is that of missing California 7-year-old The Associated Press EL Calif. The nude body of a child found day in a rural area east of San Diego is believed to be that of a 7-year-old girl who vanished from her home nearly a month authorities Volunteers who have searched for Danielle van Dam since her ance discovered the body near a cluster of oak A plastic necklace similar to one Danielle was wearing was found on the An earring matching the tion of a pair the missing girl wore was also said San Police and sheriff along with personnel from the San Diego District Attorney's stand Wednesday in El near a grove of trees where a child's body was Diego County District Attorney Paul A positive tion of the body could take several A cause of death has not been Authorities charged a neighbor of the family with killing the David 50. pleaded cent Tuesday to charges of 7iapping and possession of child FOR THE RECORD Icy roads cause crashes Ice. snow and rain left roads throughout the region slick Wednesday which led to some traffic accidents most Page A2 WEEKEND raves Theatre at the production of the musical a reviewer Sylvia Page Bl BUSINESS Sox sale a done deal Financier John Henry closed Wednesday on the purchase of the Red Sox franchise from the Yawkey Page D4 VISIT Us AT Gear low in the teens Automotive Business D4 Classified D6 Comics B5 Crossword 85 A6 Entertainment j 34 Lotteries A2 Obituaries B5 Weekend Benefit Concert March 2, 2002 Featuring the Symphony Seepage AID for NE