The polls have closed at Old Hammondtown School, and the winners have been announced for the 2017 Mattapoisett Annual Election. For Board of Health – the only contested race in the election – incumbent Carmelo Nicolosi beat fellow candidate George Randall with 366 votes versus Randall’s 77 votes. As for the ballot question for a […] Read more »
If the Rochester Planning Board has its way, Town Meeting voters on May 22 will adopt a new zoning bylaw to place a temporary moratorium on marijuana retail sale in Rochester. Massachusetts voters approved a referendum question to legalize the sale and use of marijuana recreationally back in November 2016. During the public hearing for […] Read more »
The Marion School Committee received some good news on May 3 that the Town was willing to increase the Sippican School budget another $33,000 to fund a .5 physical education teacher position and a .3 health teacher. The committee members were all smiles as School Business Administrator Patrick Spencer introduced the new FY2018 school budget […] Read more »
Either way, Norm Hills was walking away from the polling station a winner on Friday, May 12, having his name appear twice on the ballot – once in the race for the Board of Selectmen and also as one of two candidates vying for three open seats on the Planning Board. To Hills’ delight, the […] Read more »
The Marion Annual Town Meeting on May 8 started out with all smiles during fifth grader Nolan Gibbons’ rendition of the National Anthem, but over five hours later and just two minutes shy of midnight, the barely-a-quorum crowd ended the evening with yawns and an urgency to get business wrapped up in one night. With […] Read more »
Mattapoisett voters were handed numerous pages of reports, spreadsheets and supporting documents as they arrived at ORRHS to take up the Annual Town Meeting Warrant on May 8. There were enough financials to keep those with fiduciary predispositions busy until next fall. But in the end, it wasn’t so much about the $25 million operating […] Read more »
It was proposed as a “forensic audit” of past ORR School District spending, but during the Tri-Town Board of Selectmen meeting on April 27, Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne said it would be more helpful to seek a financial assessment of current and future school spending, especially relative to OPEB (other post-employment benefits), how the […] Read more »
During the public hearing of the Rochester School Committee on April 27, the committee voted to abstain from adding any additional School Choice slots at Rochester Memorial School for the next school year. “The staff feels that, due to our current staffing and our resources, the school is not in a position to participate in […] Read more »
Arriving a bit late from a site visit for the 7:00 pm start time, the Rochester Conservation Commission was quickly able to dispatch agenda items on May 2 with only two hearings and both of those being continued. A Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Clifford Hedges, 55 Pierce Street, for property located off […] Read more »
Each year, Covanta’s SEMASS energy-from-waste facility grants the Town of Rochester a $10,000 donation for the Rochester Board of Selectmen to divide amongst various town departments and projects. On May 1, the board awarded $5,000 to the Rochester Country Fair, as it has done in the past. In addition, the selectmen also granted $2,000 to […] Read more »
