Stoughton Year In Review: Top Stories Of 2017

STOUGHTON, MA — The year is almost in the books and needless to say, 2017 had some notable stories.

If you were looking for something to talk about, there were plenty of controversies in town ranging from the town manager situation, the recall election, a sex scandal involving a high school teacher, to debate about how to handle a hate incident.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom around town. Stoughton's favorite songwriter Lori McKenna won another Grammy, the town broke ground on the new Stoughton High School, and speaking of the schools, they got silver medal in U.S. News and World Report's best high school rankings.

Below are the top 10 Stoughton stories of 2017:

10. Dead Editor of ISIS Online Propaganda Machine May Have Been Stoughton Man

A Stoughton man who joined ISIS reportedly died in 2015, but did he really live until 2017? The militant group announced through a eulogy in their online magazine Rumiyah that Sheikh Abu Sulayman, who was the chief editor of their online propaganda operation, was killed in a coalition airstrike near Tabqa, Syria during the second week of January, CNN reported. His picture and biography were very similar to Ahmad Abousamra, a former Stoughton man who was placed on the FBI most wanted list in 2013.

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• Dead Editor of ISIS Online Propaganda Machine May Have Been Stoughton Man

9. Alleged Stoughton Car Thief/Voodoo God Said He Helped Patriots Win Super Bowl: Police

In what was one of the more odd crime stories of the year, a Stoughton man who was arrested and charged with stealing a car told police that he was the reason the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl because he is a voodoo god, among other things, according to a police report.

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• Alleged Stoughton Car Thief/Voodoo God Said He Helped Patriots Win Super Bowl: Police

8. A Pair Of Lottery Winners

Reshma Patel of Stoughton picked up a $1 million lottery prize in June while Levi Harris was equally as lucky in October when he won a $1 million prize as well.

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• Stoughton Woman Wins $1 Million "Supreme" Lottery Prize
• Stoughton Man Wins $1 Million Lottery Prize

7. Anastos Is Back

During a heated summer selectmen meeting, former Selectman Steve Anastos was named the interim town manager. His six-month contract expires at the end of the year and the board is selectmen is scheduled to hold interviews for a new interim town manager Dec. 26.

Read More

• Former Selectman Could Be New Interim Stoughton Town Manager
• WATCH: Selectmen Shout Through Vote For New Interim Town Manager
• Selectmen Reopen Search For Interim Town Manager

6. Stoughton High School Earns Silver Medal in U.S. News and World Report's 2017 Best High Rankings

Stoughton placed 66th in the state and 1,891th nationally. Boston Latin School was named the top high school in Massachusetts. The ranking was good enough to earn a silver medal, which was given to 2,109 schools based on their highest college readiness scores.

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• Stoughton High School Earns Silver Medal in U.S. News and World Report's 2017 Best High Rankings

5. The Stoughton High School Groundbreaking And Stoughton Library Renovation

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Anthony L. Sarno Field in June and was the last event held on the football field because the new high school will cover the sight of countless football games and community events. Construction is expected to last until August 2019 and be completed in time for the 2019-20 school year.

Over at the library, work is expected to take 18 months.

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• Stoughton Library Moving to Temporary Location
• Stoughton Breaks Ground On New High School

4. School Officials Defend Handling Of Swastika Incidents

It wasn't until January that school officials admitted that there were multiple incidents involving students and swastikas at Stoughton High School. Since then, it has been discovered that two teachers who spoke about the incidents with students received letters of reprimand and a third teacher who rescinded a college letter of recommendation for the student who made the swastika received a suspension that was served two days a week for 10 weeks.

Despite criticism, Superintendent Marguerite Rizzi and the school committee have said the incidents were handled appropriately and have declined to comment on the discipline handed to the teachers. Since then, the school department has updated the community on hate incidents in the schools.

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• Teachers Accuse Stoughton HS of Lack of Action Towards Anti-Semitic Incident
• Stoughton Superintendent Stands By Disciplining Teachers Who Talked About Swastika Incidents
• School Committee Backs Handling of Stoughton High School Swastika Incidents

3. Another Award For Lori McKenna

For the second year in a row, the Stoughton songwriter won the Grammy for Best Country Song, picking up a trophy for the Tim McGraw song "Humble and Kind." As the songwriter, McKenna is the recipient of the award.

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• Stoughton's Lori McKenna Wins Grammy For Best Country Song

2. Sex Scandal At Stoughton High School

Stoughton High School teacher Timothy Norton was placed on administrative leave Sept. 18 and resigned after being served with an "intention to dismiss" notice by the school district. The teacher was placed on leave hours after school administrators received a report that the teacher began a sexual relationship with a student that continued after the student had graduated.

Since then, the victim has sued the school for allegedly not performing their duty as mandated reporters when they had reason to suspect an inappropriate relationship between the two.

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• Stoughton HS Teacher Resigns Over Alleged Sexual Relationship With Student
• Court Remains Silent On Timothy Norton Case
• Stoughton, School Officials Sued By Alleged Timothy Norton Victim
• Ex-Stoughton HS Student Speaks Out About Norton Relationship
• Norton Case Moved To Federal Court

1. Hartman Out/Selectmen Recall

The biggest story in town started with a vote in December 2016 to not renew Town Manager Michael Hartman's contract. Six months later, in the face of an angry crowd, the selectmen voted 3-2 to name an interim town manager despite worries that Hartman needed to be discharged by four selectmen.

While a Norfolk Superior Court judge ruled that a discharge vote was not needed, the vote sparked a recall effort aimed at selectmen David Sousa, Peter Brown, and Robert Cohn. What followed were heated meetings, tense, moments, and Brown nearly resigning after a back and forth with a recall supporter.

In December, all three selectmen were recalled.

Read More

• WATCH: Selectmen Replace Hartman As Town Manager During Heated Meeting
• 3 Stoughton Selectmen To Face Recall Vote
• Michael Hartman No Longer Town Manager, Judge Rules
• Stoughton Recall Challengers Sweep To Victory