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‘The whole house shook’: Neighbors recall Needham house explosion that injured 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

State fire officials are investigating a house explosion in Needham on Saturday morning that left a home seriously damaged and a gas worker hospitalized.Crews responding to a reported explosion on Prince Street around 8 a.m. found flames coming from the house and learned a private contractor who had been doing scheduled gas work at the home had been injured, according to Needham Fire Chief Thomas Conroy.“The whole house shook,” said neighbor Steve Hinds. “It was loud, it was a ‘boom’ and big shake.” The worker was transported to the hospital with what were considered non-life-threatening injuries and no one who lives in the home was there at the time.Conroy noted the outcome could have been much worse if more people had been home.“There’s significant damage,” he said. “They’re very lucky.” Eversource crews responded to the scene to make the area safe.The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.No add...

4 injured in Orland, Maine house explosion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

ORLAND, Maine (WHDH) — A house explosion in Orland, Maine on Friday left four people hospitalized, one of whom needed to be transported in a helicopter.Crews responding to a reported explosion on Soper Road around 9 a.m. found the residence heavily involved, according to fire officials. One of the victims was taken to the Orland Community Center baseball field to be transported by medical helicopter. The other three were taken by ambulance.The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

City Councilors continue months-long push for new accessible entrance at English High

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy are again pushing for a new wheelchair-accessible entrance to English High School after months of stalled attempts to fix an entrance that leaves kids in wheelchairs dodging through the school’s dumpsters.“We wanted to bring your attention to an issue that has been of concern to Councilor Murphy and Council President Flynn for over a year and has been a priority of our offices: your school’s accessibility, particularly for students with physical disabilities,” the councilors wrote in a letter to the English High community Friday.The current entrance used by students in wheelchairs, City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy said, is the delivery and dumpster entrance at the school. The small entrance partially blocked by poles and dumpsters presents a number of difficulties to the students and staff helping them, she said, including requiring teachers to lift the chairs.The issue was raised before city staff during Civic Eng...

Frank Mooney Invitational: Sherman-Kadish, Reilly claim boys races

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

WRENTHAM — Newton South’s Ilan Sherman-Kadish dashed across the finish line, easily winning the large school senior race at Saturday’s Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational and made a bold prediction  minutes later.“We’re going to win the All-State meet,” said Sherman-Kadish with not a hint of braggadocio in his voice. “We know they’re good, but we’re racing our best now. First and foremost I have to find Brookline’s top guy and beat him and I’d like to finish in the top five.”Whether or not the Lions can take down Mike Glennon’s Warriors in two weeks at Devens remain to be seen, but it’s a good bet Sherman-Kadish will improve on his 25th-place finish from last year. He quickly moved away from the pack and crossed the finish line of the 5K Wrentham Developmental Center route in a quick 15 minutes, 48.8 seconds.Teammate Liam Sakakeeny finished hard for second in 16:03.8 and Beverly’s Riley McGoldrick was ...

State of Texas: Hope fades for deal on school funding, education savings accounts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Time is running out on the third Special Session, and hope is fading for a deal to send more money to Texas public schools.Texas Governor Greg Abbott expanded his special session call last week to include more school funding and money for teacher pay raises. Those items have bipartisan support among lawmakers. But the governor tied those items to his priority of letting parents use public funds to pay for private school through education savings accounts. The Education Spending Accounts, or ESA, plan is opposed by House Democrats, but the opposition from about two dozen rural Republicans has so far prevented the plan from passing in the House. At a news conference Wednesday, Abbott said that he expected the House to unveil a bill that would win support from a majority of lawmakers. In addition to education savings accounts, the governor said the plan would include funding for teacher pay raises, school safety and a plan to phase out the STAAR exam in public schoo...

State cross country: Mounds Park Academy’s Snider wins Class A boys title, Highland Park girls second in 2A

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Last fall, Eddie Snider was out-kicked by competitors in every single race.“Except for state,” he noted. “I managed to get one guy (there).”That was en route to an 18th place finish in 2022.In the ensuing offseason, Snider aimed to get stronger. He trained with that goal in mind, and his efforts paid major dividends. Not only was he faster this fall, but he was able to consistently finish stronger.“I feel like that really helped me build up that power and speed,” the Mounds Park Academy junior said. “This year, I haven’t lost a kick.”Saturday included. Snider overtook Redwood Valley’s William Ahrens down the closing stretch to win the Class A state cross country title at Les Bolstad Golf Course.“He got a little bit of distance on me going into the final stretch, and then I just got a little bit more momentum than he did on the final kick,” Snider said. “So I just passed him and prayed and hoped that he would not catch up, I guess.”Snider won with a time of 15 minutes, 40 seconds – o...

Class 3A state cross country: Roseville’s Mechura, Forest Lake’s Hushagen win individual titles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Things were going well for Forest Lake junior Norah Hushagen through the first two kilometers of Saturday’s Class 3A state cross country meet.Hushagen was executing her plan to perfection and had pushed herself into the top spot.Then she went around a corner, and went to the ground.“So that was something I didn’t account for, but it happens. It was pretty muddy,” Hushagen said. “It was just me (who fell down), then people jumped over me.”But it didn’t phase her.“I just kind of bounced right back up,” said Hushagen, who crossed the finish line lathered in mud on her arms and legs. “It was motivation like, ‘Oh, shoot, I just lost a few seconds, I better go even faster.”So that’s what she did. Hushagen swiftly out-paced the field over the remainder of the race, cruising to a state title in a time of 17 minutes, 27.6 seconds – 33 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Mia Hoffman of Bemidji. Hushagen’s teammate, Anna VanAcker, finished fourth. Wayzata cruised to the team title.T...

Wisconsin high school volleyball: St. Croix Falls wins Division 3 state title

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The year-long wait was worth it for St. Croix Falls.St. Croix Falls players celebrate with fans at the Resch Center in Green Bay after the Saints five-set victory over Howards Grove in the Divsion 3 championship match at the Wisconsin state girls volleyball tournament. (photo by Jim Hoehn)The top-ranked Saints defeated four-time defending champ Howards Grove in an epic five-match struggle Saturday to win the Division 3 championship at the Wisconsin girls state volleyball tournament.St. Croix Falls (36-2), which lost to Howards Grove in the title game last season, dropped the first set 25-17, but won the next two 25-23 and 25-18. Howards Grove overcame a 21-16 deficit in the fourth set to win 26-24. The Saints then overcame an 11-8 deficit in the decisive fifth set.“These girls fought hard, they played out of their minds. A few of them really stepped up and played really, really well,” said St. Croix Falls coach Stacie Hoff. “We came out a little flat again, but lik...

I-70 in Aurora reopened after man seen in median “with a gun” taken into custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Interstate 70 at Tower Road in Aurora has reopened after a man standing in the median “with a gun” was taken into custody, according to the Aurora Police Department.UPDATE: The man was safely placed into custody and officers will be reopening I-70 shortly. We appreciate your patience. Just after 3:15p, officers responded to 911 calls about a man holding a gun in the air, standing in the median of I-70. Officers responded and observed this…— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) November 4, 2023Police responded at 3:15 p.m. to reports of a man “holding a gun in the air” in the median of the interstate, police said in an X post.The interstate was completely shut down while officers worked toward a “peaceful resolution,” and police reported the man in custody just after 4 p.m.Police said the interstate will reopen “shortly.”#I70 westbound: Roadway reopened to traffic between US 40; East Colfax Avenue and Exit 286 – Tower Road. https:...

Firefighters extinguish blaze that erupted at Tustin High School

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

Fire crews were quick to respond after one of the buildings on the Tustin High School campus caught fire on Saturday. According to a social media post from the Orange County Fire Authority, firefighters responded to the engineering building at Tustin High School shortly after 1 p.m.  Right turn on red? With pedestrian deaths rising, US cities are considering bans A photo posted to X, formerly Twitter, by OCFA shows firefighters walking through the burnt interior of the structure, and another photo shows black smoke billowing out of the building’s garage doors. Firefighters walking through the structure's burnt interior (left), smoke billows out of the engineering building at Tustin High School on Nov. 4, 2023 (right). (Twitter/@OCFireAuthority)“The swift action saved a significant portion of the building from damage,” OCFA said. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.