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The House has approved a bill aimed at preserving Barrett's Farm, a Revolutionary War landmark in Concord, Mass. snip... The farm belonged to Col. James Barrett, a leader of the Middlesex Militia. It was used to store colonial militia weapons and was searched by the British during the fighting at Concord's Old North Bridge on April 19, 1775. The Senate is considering a similar measure.

Battle of Lexington and Concord Minute Man Monument at Lexington Green "By The Rude Bridge That Arched The Flood, Their Flag to April's Breeze Unfurled, Here Once The Embattled Farmers Stood, And Fired The Shot Heard Round The World." A Brief History: On the 15 of April 1775, when General Thomas Gage, British Military Governor of Massachusetts, was ordered to destroy the rebel's military stores at Concord. To accomplish this he assembled the "Flanking units", including Light Infantry and Grenadiers, from his Boston Garrison. In charge he put Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Marine Major John Pitcairn. He also composed...

We know that children must feel safe and welcome in the classroom to reach their academic potential. To feel safe, welcome, and ready to learn, all children, and especially young children, must be able to discuss themselves and their families in a manner that is caring and respectful. Our tradition of creating an inclusive environment and embracing diversity is consistent with our core purposes: Commitment to academic excellence, respectful and caring relationships, and a culture of reflection, conversation, collaboration, and commitment to continuous improvement. These core purposes have been supported by our School Committee and have been the cornerstone of...

NEW HAMPSHIRE, October 2, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - So far the leading Democratic presidential candidates seem to be in a mad race to outdo each other in a quest for the "gay" vote.  In the most recent Democrat debate held on September 27th in New Hampshire, Clinton, Obama and Edwards once again catered to homosexual activists in responding to a question regarding pro-homosexual curriculum being introduced in public schools as early as the second grade. The pivotal question focused on a homosexual "fairy-tale" that was read to a class of seven-year-olds in Massachusetts.  The story, selected as reading for a class...

They mustered 232 years ago yesterday in what is now downtown Peabody, rushed south to battle the British soldiers retreating from Concord, and were killed in the most ferocious fighting of that first Patriots Day. Their bodies retrieved by comrades, the four Minutemen were laid to rest at the Old South Burying Ground in long-forgotten locations that now might be covered by a Peabody sidewalk or the asphalt of Washington Street. That anonymity is about to end. Thanks to city and federal officials, the ultimate sacrifices of Samuel Cook Jr., Benjamin Deland Jr., Ebenezer Goldthwaite, and George Southwick Jr. are...

Today we honor the 232nd anniversary of the first battles between the Bi-Coastal Elites (Unicoastal in those days) and the "Flyover Country" (obviously no flying over back then). I refer to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. On this day in 1775, local militias made their stand on the Village Green of Lexington under the command of Captain John Parker. "Stand your ground men; don't fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!" Parker bravely said. His bold words were matched with brave deeds as his militiamen stood against the government forces....

Americans revere a great number of dates that hold special significance for their culture and history. The Fourth of July, Veterans Day, the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. — a quick glance through any calendar provides numerous other examples. Yet the one day of most importance, to both the nation and its culture, is the one that is conspicuously absent from any mention of notable historical dates. No parades honor the fallen; no speeches in Congress remind us of their deeds; no wreaths are laid; no moments of silence requested. On this sacred date no president will stand on...

On April 19, 1775, British and American soldiers exchanged fire in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. On the night of April 18, the royal governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, commanded by King George III to suppress the rebellious Americans, had ordered 700 British soldiers, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Marine Major John Pitcairn, to seize the colonists' military stores in Concord, some 20 miles west of Boston. A system of signals and word-of-mouth communication set up by the colonists was effective in forewarning American volunteer militia men of the approach of the British troops. Henry Wadsworth...

Clay: (05:40:27.1) It's amazing though right now. They are using everybody pretty efficiently. Um, just shows you what they can do. Like I mean I don't have more than 10 hours in a hotel, any of these days that I've been on. Polehinke: (05:40:38.2) Really. Clay: (05:40:38.7) And it's been that way for all month. Now September rolls around, and I'll guarantee you it'll be a different story. Polehinke: (05:44:04.9) I guess, when I'm, I'm deciding on making a major decision, if it doesn't feel right in my gut. Or if I don't have a little voice, if it starts...

LEXINGTON -- Five years after a flock of wild turkeys showed up in the Shade Street neighborhood of Lexington, about the only thing that folks can agree on these days is that now they are gone. Whether they were harassed, forced out, or killed in the dark of night remains a mystery and, more important, a source of deep division. Over the past four months the question of what happened to the turkeys has led neighbors who have lived alongside one another for three decades to carry out a whisper campaign that has, in turn, prompted a police investigation and...

Ky. Plane Crash Survivor Asks 'Why?' By JEFFREY McMURRAY The Associated Press Wednesday, September 6, 2006; 10:47 PM LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 49 people near the Lexington airport last week told family members from his hospital bed, "Why did God do this to me?" but he hasn't mentioned the crash, a close family friend said Wednesday. James Polehinke, who was the flight's co-pilot, can move only his head, and tears often well up in his eyes, said Antonio Cruz, Polehinke's mother's boyfriend. He said the 44-year-old has been in and out of...

Family sues over deadly Comair crash By JEFFREY MCMURRAY, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago LEXINGTON, Ky. - The family of a woman killed when Comair Flight 5191 took off on the wrong runway and crashed in flames sued the airline Friday, blaming it for the nation's deadliest airplane disaster in five years. The lawsuit accuses Comair of negligence and says passenger Rebecca L. Adams suffered "conscious pain and suffering" when the plane went down Sunday morning and quickly burned with 49 people still inside. The only survivor was the co-pilot, who remained hospitalized Friday but was upgraded from critical...

The U.S. attorney’s office today joined in warning attorneys that they would be fined if they violate federal law barring unsolicited communications with family members of Flight 5191 crash victims. “We are also concerned that victims’ families may be subjected in this time of grief to unsolicited, and thus improper, communications concerning the accident by attorneys and law firms seeking to obtain clients for subsequent litigation,” said U.S. Attorney Amul R. Thapar. Until 45 days after a plane crash, federal law prohibits attorneys from contacting victims’ families about possible personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. A $1,000 fine can be...

James Polehinke, 44, of Margate, the copilot and sole survivor of Sunday's Comair Flight 5191 crash in Lexington, Ky., kept to himself, neighbors said. [snip] Ida Askew, 51, was arrested and charged with attempted murder in July 1999 after she shot Polehinke in the stomach with a handgun while the couple was arguing, police records show.

The FAA has added a second controller to the weekend overnight shift at Bluegrass Airport, following the crash of Flight 5191 Sunday. Only one controller was in the tower early Sunday morning when the CRJ100 attempted to take off a runaway too short for it to gain enough speed to become airborne. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown declined to give a reason for the decision. Brown says two controllers are in the tower on weekdays but only one controller was scheduled for the weekend overnight shift because traffic was significantly lighter.

<p>Possible plane crash in Lexington, KY. My brother works security for Lexington UK Hospital and was just called in. No news locally or on major news outlets yet. I didn't want to post anything for fear of being wrong, but he's still waiting for an official call while on stand-by.</p>

I must confess that I had trouble following David Parker's rambling version of the events surrounding the schoolyard fight between his child and his child's friend (with whom he had a play date later that week). However, a few questions clearly remain unanswered: Why is Mr. Parker subjecting his young child to nationwide publicity through the press releases of a fringe political group? How does this help his child to have normal school relationships (or even a normal childhood)? How can he use his child to gain maximum publicity for his cause and at the same time decry the fact...

Angry callers threatened to beat up the school superintendent. A school principal, bombarded by nasty e-mails, left town. Even David Parker, the father who stirred the controversy when he asked that his son be removed from class if homosexuality was covered, now is worried about his son's safety at school. The anxiety and suspicion that has gripped this progressive town over the past year shows the consequences for a community when a national political issue hits home. On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the only state to legalize gay marriage, in a nation with a president who wants to ban...

Group wages battle against Massachusetts gay culture BOSTON — The minute they spotted the mannequins in Macy's department store window celebrating the city's Gay Pride week, Brian Camenker and the watchdog activists at MassResistance jumped into action. The group quickly posted a photo of the window on their Web log under the caption: "Male mannequins with (apparently) enlarged breasts, one wearing a rainbow skirt." Within days, Macy had removed the mannequins but left up a list of pride week events. It was the latest victory for a group dedicated to battling what it characterizes as the aggressive gay and lesbian...

The superintendent of schools in Lexington, Mass., said it all started when two first-grade boys argued over who should sit where in the cafeteria. One of them punched the other several times on the playground while at least five children stood by and watched, the superintendent said. But according to a Massachusetts group that opposes gay rights, a band of first-graders singled out 7-year-old Jacob Parker for a schoolyard “beating” in retaliation for his father’s campaign to stop Estabrook Elementary School from including information about same-sex parents in its curriculum. The May 17 incident was triggered by a climate of...

Guest Commentary : Moving forward By Meg Soens and Pam Hoffman/ Guest Commentary Thursday, June 29, 2006 - Updated: 07:58 AM EST Our community has been wounded. The recent false allegation that a first-grade child was beaten by several children because of his parents’ activism has had grievous impacts on many people in our town. Amid the rancor and distrust this has created, it has left many of us wondering what we can do to regain our balance as a community. What can we do to move forward? First, we need to understand the effects of this allegation on our...

Show and tell Educators say the pre-school set needs straight talk on gay issues Despite the controversy that can arise when gay issues are talked about in elementary school classrooms, a group of educators are trying to give schools the tools they need to do just that. This year Wheelock College offered a new course for early childhood education workers on making schools and daycare settings welcoming for same-sex couples and their children. The course prompted the formation of the Massachusetts LGBT Early Childhood Education Initiative, a consortium of people in the field working to make classrooms around the state...

A mob of schoolchildren seized and beat the 7-year-old son of pro-family activist David Parker behind his school, Estabrook Elementary, in Lexington, Massachusetts, recently, on the second anniversary of same-sex “marriage” in Massachusetts. The victim, first-grader Jacob Parker, apparently is feeling the heat for his father’s opposition to forced pro-homosexual education. “When you tell children over and over that opposing homosexuality amounts to hatred, you’re setting some kids up for this sort of abuse,” said Robert Knight, Director of Concerned Women for America’s (CWA’s) Culture & Family Institute. “The school posted numerous slanted articles in the school library about Mr....

Letter: Message for Parker: ‘Stop bullying’ Thursday, June 22, 2006 - Updated: 05:28 PM EST When bullies stay in the spotlight too long, they show their true colors. Such it is with David Parker. First, he poses as a champion protecting his son from a liberal school system that tolerates all families. When his belligerent ways with teacher and principal and superintendent get nowhere, he turns himself into a media spectacle to carry his anti-gay message further. So be it. In this age of divisive hate politics, it can happen anywhere. Lexington is a community that was annealed defending the...

RADIO SPOT SCRIPT FOR 6/23 Last week, I brought up the recurring theme of the liberal indoctrination of kids. In some cases, adults persuading children to do their dirty work, which includes breaking the law. It just so happens I’ve got another example for you. Last year, a Lexington, Massachusetts man was arrested when he protested the Estabrook Elementary School's refusal to notify him when adults discussed homosexuality or transgenderism with his son, then in kindergarten. Personally, I have problems with the discussion of any kind of sexuality with kindergarten kids, call me old-fashioned. And to be consistent, high schools...

David Parker (search) of Lexington, Mass., is scheduled to go on trial on Sept. 21 for asking his son's public school to provide parental notification before discussing homosexuality with the 6-year old. The actual charge is criminal trespassing. But the real issue is whether parents or schools will control the teaching of values to children The conflict began on Jan. 17, when Parker's then-5-year-old son brought home a Diversity Bookbag from kindergarten. Included was Robert Skutch's "Who's In a Family?" that depicts families headed by same-sex couples. Parker had wanted to decide for himself the timing and manner in which...

Where’s The Outrage Over The Beating Of David Parker’s Son? By Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition The mainstream media has ignored a major news story out of Massachusetts involving a first grader who was dragged and beaten on the playground at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington. His crime? He is the son of David Parker, a concerned parent who objects to his son being taught about homosexuality. School officials have admitted that the attack on his son was planned and premeditated! In April, 2005, Parker met with the Estabrook principal and the director of education over the...

Bay State Boy's Beating May Be Linked to Dad's Stand on Homosexuality (AgapePress) - The young son of a Massachusetts pro-family activist was physically assaulted by fellow elementary school students on the two-year anniversary of same-sex "marriage" in the state. On May 17, first-grader Jacob Parker was beaten up by a group of eight to ten kids on the playground at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington. Just weeks before the assault, his father and mother had filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school. Last year, David Parker was arrested and jailed for refusing to leave the school until...

Liberals in Massachusetts have taken to beating up the seven year old children of their political opponents... ...A number of months ago,as first reported by yours truly, Superintendent Paul Ash decided to have his second grade teachers begin reading "fairy-tale" about two princes getting it on homosexual style to be read in the classrooms under his direction... ...That was the day that 10 of these thug-kins grabbed David Parker's 7 year old son, dragged him behind the corner of the school, well out of sight from the school officials, and proceeded to punch him in the groin, stomach, and chest,...

While two parents in Lexington, Mass., are upset about the fact their second-grade son was read a fantasy book in school about two princes getting married, what makes them even more angry is the fact the boy's teacher said because same-sex marriage is legal in their state there is no way a mother or father can opt out a child from such experiences. "We are outraged," parents Rob and Robin Wirthlin told the local Article 8 Alliance. "This is a highly charged social issue. Why are they introducing it in the second grade? And we cannot present our family's...

On Sept. 21, David Parker was scheduled to go on trial in Lexington, Mass., for an incident that resulted from him disputing the 'right' of a local public school to introduce his then-5-year-old son to the issue of homosexuality. The Parkers wanted to control the timing and content of that discussion. His trial has been delayed. The Parker conflict, the ferocity of community reaction, and the trial's delay constitute a microcosm within the culture war raging between conservatives, liberals and everyone in between. Even kindergarten children are not spared. Before exploring how the second Battle of Lexington typifies the larger...

Two couples who say a suburban school district undermined their parental rights by giving out and reading storybooks with gay themes without telling them first have filed a federal lawsuit against school officials. The couples claim the officials broke state law, violated their civil rights, and were trying to teach their children about a lifestyle they consider immoral. Meg Soens, left, and Laura Tully, of Lexington, Mass., who both have children in the Lexington school system, speak to reporters in support of the school system's position involving a lawsuit in Boston, Thursday, April 27, 2007. Two other Lexington families had...

David Parker was arrested one year ago Thursday when he refused to leave his son's elementary school while protesting a gay book in his second-grade son's curriculum Parker had gone to the Estabrook School to criticize teachers for giving his 6-year-old a book about gay families. Parker is now one of two sets of parents expected to file a civil-rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston against the principal, the superintendent and other school officials. The suit, according to the parents' attorney, will contend that the school system violated the parents' civil rights because they weren't notified about the...

There is more controversy at a Lexington elementary school, where once again a parent is upset about gay themes being inserted into the curriculum. This time, the mother of a second-grader is upset that her son's teacher read the class a book highlighting two gay princes. NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that some parents of students at the Estabrook Elementary School are upset that the students were read a book called "King and King," the story of prince who is interested in the brother of the princess. "My problem is that this issue of romantic attraction between two men is...

Students testify that ex-Lexington school janitor exposed himself By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff | October 14, 2005 Prosecutors dropped a charge of disorderly conduct yesterday on the opening day of the trial of David D. Swan, the former Lexington school janitor charged with exposing himself and talking inappropriately to preteen students. And for the first time since his arrest, a nervous Swan took the stand to see whether he understood the impact of waiving his right to a jury trial. Swan, 44, is now charged with two counts of open and gross lewdness and one count of disorderly conduct in...

On April 27th of this year, the heavy hand of Bolshevism clamped down upon David Parker, a Lexington, MA. citizen and father of a six year old son. David was arrested on trumped up charges, handcuffed like a dangerous felon, and led off to jail. His heinous crime? Parker is guilty of being a morally principled man with the courage to request that he and his wife be given advance notification when issues of sexual unnaturalness and perversion (transgenderism, sodomy, and same-sex headed relationships) were going to be discussed in his son's classroom. Said Parker, "certain authorities insist that I...

LEXINGTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The crown prince rejects a bevy of beautiful princesses, rebuffing each suitor until falling in love with a prince. The two marry, sealing the union with a kiss, and live happily ever after. That fairy tale about gay marriage has sparked a civil rights debate in Massachusetts, the only U.S. state where gays and lesbians can legally wed, after a teacher read the story to a classroom of seven year olds without warning parents first. A parents' rights group said on Monday it may sue the public school in the affluent suburb of Lexington, about 12...

Parents rip school over gay storybook Lesson reignites clash in Lexington By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | April 20, 2006 In a controversy with a familiar ring, parents of a Lexington second-grader are protesting that their son's teacher read a fairy tale about gay marriage to the class without warning parents first. The teacher at Joseph Estabrook Elementary School used the children's book, ''King & King," as part of a lesson about different types of weddings. A prince marries another prince instead of a princess in the book, which was on the American Library Association's list of the 10 most...

Americans revere a great number of dates that hold special significance for their culture and history. The Fourth of July, Veterans Day, the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. — a quick glance through any calendar provides numerous other examples. Yet the one day of most importance, to both the nation and its culture, is the one that is conspicuously absent from any mention of notable historical dates. No parades honor the fallen; no speeches in Congress remind us of their deeds; no wreaths are laid; no moments of silence requested. On this sacred date no president will stand on...

WHO knew the Minute Man has sex appeal? My daughter, Gabrielle, 15, took one look and announced, "He's hot!" She had a point. Strapping and rifle-toting, with a luxuriant mop of curly hair and sleeves rolled up to expose muscular arms, the Minute Man on the green in Lexington, Mass., may be made of bronze, but he looked more than capable, on the March day when we visited, of defending not only his country, but any damsel threatened with distress. Lexington, where the Revolutionary War began, is dotted with sites made historic by real minutemen, resonant places scattered on country...

Despite fighting and being wounded in nearly 30 battles, Charles Price Jr. is still going strong. The Lexington resident takes part in the annual re-nactment of the historical battle against the British that kicked off the American Revolution. In the early morning hours of April 19, 1775, His Majesty's Tenth Regiment of Foot marched to Concord, where word had it the troublesome Colonials were hoarding stores of gunpowder and ammunition. That mission would take them through Lexington, where the town's minute men were armed and waiting. Of the Lexington Minute Men who responded to Paul Revere and William Dawes' midnight...

Behind the sale of an 18th-century gold box in New York today lies one of the saddest love stories of the American Revolution. When the box, embossed with the arms of New York, was presented with the freedom of the city in 1773 to Thomas Gage he was the commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America and was deeply in love with his American-born wife. Gen Thomas Gage, Margaret Gage and the 18th-century gold box Two years later, the general was a broken man, his career was in tatters and he was estranged from Margaret Gage for ever after...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Jan. 10, 2006) -- The commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Lt. Col. Julian D. Alford, has his hands full as the senior commander in the Al Qa’im region. Almost daily, Alford moves from battle position to battle position, meeting to meeting … managing and controlling his forces and the reconstruction efforts in his area of western Al Anbar province. Keeping him safe is his personnel security detachment or Praetorian as they’re called. Lexington, N.C., native, Sgt. Phillip J. Michael, is a member of Praetorian. “We’re tasked to escort (Alford) and provide security for him...

One of the most breathlessly anticipated revolutions in U.S. aviation is poised to take off in 2006, as new super-fast, relatively cheap airplanes called "very light jets" finally go into service. Thanks to breakthroughs in the performance of engines for small jets, along with better airplane manufacturing techniques...a new breed of aircraft for a new category of travel: jet-speed transportation between as many as 5,500 U.S. airports, in planes that cost as little as $1.5 million. That's a fraction of the price of today's private jets. Pending final certification by the Federal Aviation Administration this winter...Eclipse's six-seater E500 could be...

David Parker says the past year has made him think more than ever about what it means to be a good father. He wants what's best for his two young sons, but it has put him at odds with the community in which he lives. ''We have to know what other adults are saying to our children," Parker said during a recent interview in his Lexington home. He and his wife, Tonia, felt their son's school was not upfront about presenting topics that the Parkers deem contentious in his kindergarten classroom. In January, their youngest son brought home a "diversity...

LEXINGTON, Ky. Some University of Kentucky students are planning to start a Muslim sorority that will stress sisterhood and community service among its members.

David and Tonia Parker of Lexington, Mass., saw a red flag when their son came home from kindergarten with a "diversity book bag" that included "Who's in a Family," a book promoting acceptance of gay marriage. The Parkers thought it was their parental right to decide when and how to introduce their son to the issue of homosexuality. They believed the school, Estabrook, is right to teach tolerance of gays but wrong to raise it in kindergarten. The Parkers did not attack the book bag program. They requested notification of any future school discussions of homosexuality so their son could...

Live right now on Webcast: (11-12am PST) David Parker did not want his child indoctrinated with pro-homosexuality material on a taxpayer-supported school campus. He was arrested and jailed during a peaceful visit to arrange an opt-out option for his five-year old child. He is being interviewed by Janet Folger, of Faith to Action. Folger is formerly with CFRA.org. The incident happened at Esterbrook Elementary School Lexington MA Folger has written a book, The Criminalization of Christianity. People, especially residents of Massachusetts, are being urged to contact the school.... 781 861 2550 Superintendant's Office

Dad Embroiled In Gay Book Dispute Goes To Court Parker Plans To Sue Lexington, School System POSTED: 5:51 pm EDT August 2, 2005 UPDATED: 7:08 am EDT August 3, 2005 LEXINGTON, Mass. -- A trial date has been set for David Parker, the Lexington, Mass., parent arrested after a dispute with his son's school principal over a book with a depiction of a gay family. NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that Parker's attorney said the trial may never start and he is negotiating with school officials. Although Parker's court appearance was quick, supporters gathered outside the courthouse. "There's a larger...

From the press conference after the hearing - David Parker and his lawyer, Jeffrey Denner Denner: The expectation is that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will comply with the discovery laws. There are laws in place that control the flow of information to children and the classroom protects the rights of parents who are essentially guardians of what their children learn. And we're assuming Lexington, as all other towns in Massachusetts, will comply with that. Reporter: What is this trial all about? Denner: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has decided to charge my client with trespassing. We don't believe he in fact...