By Tom Dalton
SALEM — Did you see the story about state Sen. Scott Brown, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate?
You know Sen. Brown. He's the guy who is married to TV reporter Gail Huff and is the father of Ayla Brown, the BC basketball player who made it to the semifinals of "American Idol."
Anyway, the 50-year-old senator grew up in Wakefield and apparently had a rough time as a kid, living with his grandparents and getting into a little trouble.
He even got arrested once when he was 12 for trying to steal records. He had the good fortune, however, to be brought to Salem District Court and to appear before Judge Samuel Zoll.
Zoll, the one-time mayor of Salem, was not your conventional judge, especially when it came to kids, who used to appear in District Court in the days before there were juvenile courts around the state.
Zoll asked the long-haired boy questions about music and his favorite bands, and then got on to the subject of basketball, a sport in which Brown excelled. He asked if Brown had any brothers and sisters and if they looked up to him.
"Absolutely," Brown said, according to the story in The Boston Globe this week.
"That's fantastic," Zoll replied.
"He looks me right in the eye," Brown said, "(and says), 'How do you think they'd like to see you play basketball in jail?'"
Zoll ordered the boy to write a 1,500-word essay about that subject and to have it back in court in a few days.
Brown said he never stole again and credits that experience with helping turn around his life. He went on to graduate from Tufts University and BC Law School and is now running for the U.S. Senate.
That story is one of many told about Zoll, the former chief justice of the Massachusetts District Courts who still lives in Salem.
There was another time when a boy from a wealthy family appeared before the judge. It didn't take long for Zoll to realize that the boy's successful father was spending more time on business than with his children.
You know what the sentence was?
For the next 30 days, the family had to eat dinner together. Zoll even sent a probation officer to the house to take roll call.
Do they make judges like that anymore?
Back on parole
Pam Lombardini, the pride of North Salem, has been reappointed to the Massachusetts Parole Board.
Lombardini, a former member of the city's Planning Board, has served on the Parole Board since 2007 and was nominated for another term by Gov. Deval Patrick. She received strong support from Mayor Kim Driscoll, state Sen. Fred Berry, state Rep. John Keenan and many others.
Medical update
A lot of people have been asking about Ward 7 Councilor Joe O'Keefe.
Just for the record, he underwent posterior cervical fusion surgery at Salem Hospital last Friday and is expected to head to a rehabilitation facility for a brief stay.
His family says his prognosis for a full recovery is good and they expect him home "very soon."
O'Keefe and his family, by the way, wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving.
Flashback
School officials are considering initiating an accelerated academic program called International Baccalaureate.
For those of you with a good memory, that's the same program once suggested by former Superintendent Richard McClements, who had a brief and bumpy stay here and is now head of a Navajo Nation school district in Arizona.
Stewing in tradition
For the 14th year, Saltonstall School held its annual Stew Day on Wednesday.
The pre-Thanksgiving-Day tradition began when the school opened in the mid-1990s under the leadership of its first principal, Kathy Corley.
To make the stew, each class brings in different ingredients to contribute, from celery to broth. The staff made the chicken and, together with parent volunteers, prepared enough stew to feed everyone at school.
"It's been a tradition here at Saltonstall since its inception," said longtime Saltonstall parent Mary Schaejbe. "We used to make it in a cauldron out back. Now it's all made in the kitchen, and everyone pitches in."
Other Stew Day activities included student skits and songs in the auditorium, arts and crafts, face-painting, and a corn maze in the gym. Students used newspapers to make the cornstalks, Schaejbe said.
"There is enough stew for everyone, and then some," she added.
