NORTH SHORE – Friday NST headlines: Danvers celebrates Duggan and Team USA; Addiction debate continues; Simons will finish out Salem City Clerk term; Peabody revisits DPW director salary
North Shore Today newscast with Bill Newell and Rick Moore
Coast Guard investigates tug collision, monitors sunken boat
BOSTON — The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of a tug collision that occurred about three miles south of Kennebunk, Maine, early Thursday, and monitoring the site where one of the stricken vessels sank.
One of the two crewmen aboard the 40-foot tugboat Helen Louise alerted Coast Guard watchstanders Wednesday that their vessel collided with the 80-foot tugboat Capt Mackintire while they had it in tow. The Capt Mackintire had no crew aboard.
A response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor, in New Hampshire, and the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark, homeported in Boston, deployed to assist.
Once on scene, the Station Portsmouth Harbor boat crew confirmed there were no injuries to the two-man tug crew. The Coast Guard then escorted the tug Helen Louise, with the two people aboard, into Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where it safely moored.
The Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark established a tow with the tugboat Capt Mackintire, with intentions to bring the boat into Portland, Maine.
While in transit to Portland early Thursday, the Capt Mackintire began taking on water, forcing the crew to cut the towline where it sunk in about 158 feet of water.
The Coast Guard is working with federal, state, and local authorities to evaluate pollution potential and respond to reports of sheening in the area where the tug sank.
The investigation is ongoing.
ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF PART OF WASHINGTON POST’S “ADDICTION IN AMERICA: ON THE FRONT LINES”
BOSTON – The Washington Post series “Addiction in America: On The Front Lines” came to Boston on Feb. 23rd to focus on the opioid crisis in New England. Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger joined Governor Charles Baker, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and other elected officials, medical experts and advocates who are on the front lines of combating the opioid epidemic.
“I was honored to be asked to participate in this important series. The solution to the opioid crisis we face must be a collaborative effort. There is no one answer but by working together and sharing best practices we are making progress,” said Sheriff Coppinger.
The event presented panels moderated by Washington Post correspondents to discuss the problem from law enforcement, medical and community perspectives. Sheriff Coppinger discussed the effectiveness of the male and female detox programs offered at the Essex County Correctional Facility. While emphasizing the importance of follow-up programs and resources for inmates as they are released back to the community. Patient advocates and community leaders shared stories of hope and resilience and offered workable options to support both addicts and the families of those struggling with addiction.
A major focus of the “Addiction in America: On the Front Lines” event was to discuss how each leader’s efforts needed to collaborate with others for more effective outcomes.
The New England region has been among the hardest hit by the nation’s opioid crisis. According to statistics released by the public health officials, in 2016 the number of opioid related deaths increased in every New England state.
