No powderpuff for this girl

Construction on the new Newton North High School is on schedule, with the concrete foundation of the $195 million project 56 percent complete.

That was the update the Newton Building Commissioner Nick Parnell, along with Mayor David Cohen and Frank Allard of Dimeo Construction, gave to the Board of Aldermen about the high school project during the Sept. 2 board meeting.

“He was creative, musical and had a wonderful sense of humor. He was a good, caring friend,” said his ex-wife, Rachel Davenport, who lives in Newton with their two boys age 14 and 10. “He loved being a father and his kids love him.”

The school system will be tested Thursday as the empty hallways of Newton’s schools fill with students once again.

With 70 fewer employees, larger class sizes and nervous parents, school staff will be challenged to deliver the education system that most expect, but now on fewer resources.

With a supportive push from eager voters, former Newton Mayor Thomas B. Concannon Jr. plans to run against embattled incumbent John Buonomo for Middlesex County register of probate — a race that he hopes to win this time around.