Dedicated, Experienced,

Hard Working, Fiscally Responsible

For LePage, it’s personal. In a letter to WHAV, the councilor writes, “…having lost my youngest son to alcohol and my oldest son to opioids, I know all too well the consequences of not having as many safeguards as possible in place to protect children from outside influences.”

I write today in support of a proposal that I asked state Sen. Diana DiZoglio to file after a discouraging incident in Haverhill — an act that would prohibit the use of billboard advertising of marijuana, essentially the same as existing law for tobacco products.

It takes a strong person to cope with the losses that have touched LePage and his family. It takes an even stronger person to talk about them, and to open up about one’s personal story in hopes of helping others. Thanks to Councilor LePage for doing both.

Four years ago, City Councilor Colin F. LePage spoke to 400 eighth graders about making healthy decisions around substance abuse and addiction, and on Friday, LePage returned to check in on those same students—now Haverhill High School seniors—for a check-up.

LePage noted the city's Youth Advisory Council ongoing youth needs survey, 70% of those ages 15 to 17 say they need more access to resources for addictions, including vaping and smoking. The survey will be discussed during Tuesday night's City Council meeting (10/22/19).

"It's a good first step, it was done locally in Haverhill and I hope it's done throughout the commonwealth and we do the best we can to limit exposure with young impressionable children," LePage said.

“That’s a Whittier Tech bus. That’s also the bus stop and route for the Haverhill High School, Nettle, Golden Hill and Bradford Elementary students. What should we do?” LePage asked.

Councilor LePage asks, “How much less would these things have cost if they had been taken care of when the issues came up? And what could possibly happen after this?”

Councillors suggested the mayor pull the funds from other city accounts previously identified by Councilor Colin LePage as having excess or from the city's $12.4 million free cash fund, but the mayor refused.

The scholarship, established in 2016, pays tribute to the late Chris and Sean, who both took part in the school’s wrestling program alongside current coach Tim Lawlor. LePage presented McCartney with the tribute award at the March 11 team banquet.

Councilor Colin F. LePage, who sits on the city’s Joint Facilities Committee, said it wouldn’t be prudent not to support the plan. “You need to ask to receive. If we don’t ask, we won’t have any opportunity to receive it,” LePage said.

"The vaping products they are marketing to our kids is that they are sweet, they're cheap and they're easy to get. Eighty-eight percent of smokers start by the age of 18," LePage said.

... there are ways to fight the opioid crisis that don’t cost money, but will call for an expenditure of courage, as LePage displayed during the meeting. He speaks to Haverhill eighth-graders about ...

He didn't tell them he was a city councilor nor did he immediately reveal the identity of a young man who died last year of an apparent drug overdose. But when he did, tears welled in the eyes of some students at Consentino School.

Scully gave an update, as requested by Haverhill City Councilor Colin F. LePage during the public participation portion of Thursday’s school committee meeting.