High School First In MA To Drop Indoor Mask Mandate: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, Nov. 1. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Hopkinton High becomes the first school in the state to make masks optional indoors for vaccinated students and staff.
• The Salem School Committee Monday night will discuss expanding the district's student and staff vaccine order beyond "high-respiration" winter extracurricular activities.
• Voters are going to the polls on Tuesday in Beverly, Peabody and Salem.
• The Marblehead Police Department is collecting unwanted Halloween candy for Operation Troop Support of Danvers.
• Coast Guard teams are searching for a small plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of Cape Cod Sunday night.
• A Boston man is safe after getting separated from his group while hiking in New Hampshire.
• The Middlesex County District Attorney's office identified the victim in Saturday's fatal shooting in Framingham.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Some Hopkinton High School students became the first in Massachusetts to attend classes without masks since the coronavirus pandemic started in March 2020.

In late October, the Hopkinton School Committee voted to initiate a three-week trial period of optional masks for vaccinated students, since 98% of students are vaccinated. In order for a school to lift mask mandates, the state requires a vaccination rate of at least 80% for students and staff, and approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Hopkinton High School was the first school in the state to receive such permission on Oct. 7. Despite the school's near-universal vaccination rate, Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh said only 50% of students and parents have submitted their paperwork, so she expected that at least half of students will still be wearing masks on Monday.

Read the full story.

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Monday's Other Top Stories

Salem School Committee to consider student/staff vaccine mandate: One week after expanding the Salem Public Schools vaccination order to include all vaccine-eligible students in "high respiration" curricular activities such as athletics, chorus and band, the Salem School Committee plans to discuss expanding that order even further during its meeting Monday night.

Tuesday is Election Day on the North Shore: Read up on the candidates and polling locations for Beverly, Peabody and Salem as same-day voters prepare to go to the polls.

Marblehead police candy drive for Operation Troop Support: Marblehead police are once again collecting extra candy for a good cause this fall. The department is bringing back its annual candy drive from Nov. 1 to Nov. 13 where parents can drop off "extra candy" they might rather their youngsters not consume for donation to Operation Troop Support of Danvers.

Boston man safe after night on NH mountain: Conservation officers responded to the area and determined the hiker Michael Papale, 31, of Boston was hiking to Mt. Isolation with friends. He stopped before reaching the summit while the group he was with continued the hiking. The group said they planned to meet him on the way back down the mountain, but he was gone when they returned.

Shooting victim identified: The Middlesex County District Attorney's office has identified the victim in Saturday's fatal shooting in Framingham as Eric Hargrett, 34. Hargrett was shot near 1:30 a.m. Saturday at a home along Hayes Street, according to police and DA Marian Ryan. Authorities did not immediately announce any arrests after the incident. Hargrett's death is the second homicide in Framingham this year.

Mass Pike work will close exits: Drivers who get off at Mass Pike exit 117 to Route 30 may experience detours this week. MassDOT will close both sides of exit 117 overnight on Monday and Tuesday for paving work. Detours will take drivers west to the Route 9 exit at the Framingham-Southborough line to access Route 30 and eastbound I-90. On Monday night, MassDOT will close the exits to Route 30 in both the eastbound and westbound directions. Tuesday night will see the closure of the on-ramps from Route 30 to both east and westbound I-90.

Search for plane, pilot after reported crash: Coast Guard teams are searching for a small plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of Cape Cod. The plane went down around 10:30 p.m., Sunday, about 3-and-a-half miles from Nauset Beach. The pilot was the only person on board, authorities said. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane left Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania, and was headed to Chatham Municipal Airport.

Picture This: Woburn's Halloween Parade

Woburn's annual Halloween parade returned Sunday for its 67th year, after the coronavirus forced the city to miss the event in 2020. The Woburn Public Media Center captured part of the parade on a live stream, available above.

In Case You Missed It

Some state workers quit over vaccine mandate: Hundreds of executive branch employees have been suspended or left state government work altogether nearly two weeks into enforcement of the Baker administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. As of Wednesday, 362 executive branch workers were on a five- or 10-day suspension for failing to either attest that they are immunized against the virus or seek a religious or medical exemption, according to Gov. Charlie Baker's office. Another 141 employees departed their jobs in response to the mandate, with 130 of those resignations voluntary, Baker's office said.