By Robert Chiarito

Opening day for Rochester Youth Baseball (RYB) is always a special day. As the teams gather on the green at Plumb Corner in front of Town Hall, the First Congregational Church and the old Rochester Academy, it is one of the surest of signs that spring is finally here. On a day that can be described as nothing short of perfect -- with temperatures in the sixties and a cloudless blue sky over head -- the official opening to the 2008 season of Rochester Youth Baseball got underway.

With Chief of Police Chief Paul Magee leading the parade with lights flashing on his cruiser and the Reverend Leo Christian of the First Congregational Church of Rochester leading those on foot, a procession of several hundred players, coaches and their families made their way from Plumb Corner to Gifford Park's Al Herbert Memorial Field for opening day ceremonies.

Former Pirates coach and league official Gary Laboa was invited back to play the part of emcee for the day as he congratulated last year's champion Royals and welcomed all of the players and their families. Reverend Christian gave a blessing before Mr. Laboa introduced the 2008 teams.

Hal Rood was next to take the microphone as he announced to the crowd the league's plan for a fundraising golf tournament aimed at paying for the recent renovations to Al Herbert Memorial Field. The league moved the fences back at the park to put them in line with all of the other fields at the complex along with other improvements.

According to Mr. Rood, the tournament will be held on June 1 at the Bay Pointe Country Club in Onset with a 1:00 pm shotgun start. There will be a hole-in-one contest and a long putt contest each with a prize of $5,000. The event will be followed by a dinner, which anyone can attend for a fee of $35. RYB is hoping to attract 144 golfers to the tournament and the entry fee is $100 per golfer. The organization is also seeking sponsors for the event.

All golfers who register for the tournament will be eligible to win an iPod Nano. The team that is responsible for the most entries will win a Pizza Party courtesy of Town Pizza. For more information, golfers can contact Hall Rood at 508-496-6096 or e-mail him at halrood@comcast.net or they may contact Jackie O'Niel at jsoado@comcast.net. Those wishing to become a sponsor can contact Lynne Foley at 508-763-4100 or by e-mail foleylm@comcast.net or they can contact Kriste Smith at 508-763-5429 or kriste9771@comcast.net.

Rochester Youth Baseball is a league that promotes the virtues of good sportsmanship over winning and stresses that the children who play in the league be given a firm education in the fundamentals of the game of baseball. The league is divided into four divisions, by age and skill level, with the Major League being the highest level and the T-ball league representing the entry level. In between the two are the Minor and Farm Leagues. Children up to twelve years of age are allowed to participate in league play. For many of the T-ball players the league marks their entry into the world of organized sports.

Players in the Rochester Youth Baseball League dress in replicas of the uniforms worn by Major League teams. While the majority of the children playing in the league are said to be Boston Red Sox supporters, only one squad -- a team in the Farm League Division -- had the honor of representing their Major League heroes. The schedule for the 2008 season runs through June and can be found online at www.rochesteryouthbaseball.com.

By Kenneth J. Souza

Students in Craig Davignon's fourth grade class at Rochester's Memorial School are participating in a Community Service Learning (CSL) project. The students recently sent out 80 letters written in class to local businesses seeking donations for a fund-raising auction to be held in the school's cafetorium on Friday, May 16 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Several themed gift baskets will be auctioned off at the event with all proceeds to benefit the new Dexter Lane Playground Fund.

With no playground equipment at the popular Dexter Lane site which hosts everything from baseball and softball games to soccer games and skateboarding, residents and town officials have sanctioned a community playground at the location. Proposed designs have been approved which consist of two earth-friendly structures -- one for 2- to 5-year-olds and another for 5- to 12-year-olds. The estimated cost of the dual playground set is $32,000 with some monetary support already pledged from SEMASS and the Rochester Leos Club, and additional student fund-raising and a possible grant from A.D. Makepeace.

Parents of students at Rochester Memorial School have been asked to help contribute items for the themed gift baskets which will be auctioned off. Possible themes include: reading, art, beach, sports, music, toys and more. Each classroom has been assigned a specific theme and donated items are limited a $5 maximum value. The deadline to submit items for inclusion in the baskets is Thursday, May 1.

In addition, students at Memorial School are selling recyclable grocery bags ("Go Green!") that were donated to the Community Service Learning (CLS) project from SEMASS. The bags are being sold at the school during parent/teacher conferences for $2 each.

The group also recently sponsored a Roller Skating Party at the Carousel Family Fun Center in Fairhaven on April 21 with proceeds to benefit the Dexter Lane Playground Project.

Those interested in learning more about how they can help the Dexter Lane Playground Fund should contact Mr. Davignon at Memorial School at 508-763-2049.

By Robert Chiarito

There were scurvy dogs and pirates aplenty on hand as the Old Hammondtown School Drama Club presented a musical adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale, Treasure Island. The fifty-five minute production, which was adapted for the stage by Mary Donnelly and George L. O. Strid, featured over 50 Old Hammondtown Students and was performed for the public on Thursday evening, April 17 before an audience of several hundred people in the Mattapoisett school's auditorium.

Principal Rosemary Bowman opened the evening's festivities by acknowledging the hard work of all the students, faculty and volunteers saying, "Thank you all so much for coming. It has been very exciting watching this play come together over the last few days. Without the work of all of the students and dedicated volunteers none of this would have been possible." And with that, the curtain opened upon a stage full of eye-patched and dreadlocked pirates singing about "Pieces of Eight" at the Admiral Benbow Inn where young Jim Hawkins and friends were dreaming of an escape from their sleepy little seaside town and adventures on the high seas. Justin Smilan, in the part of Jim, Gerald Lanagan as Jim's friend Jaime, and Charlotte Van Voorhis as Molly find that and more as they board the Hispaniola and set off in search of pirate treasures.

Chelsie Nectow, who recently starred in Old Rochester Regional High School Drama Club's production of Evita, was at the helm of this production, this time in the role of director. Miss Nectow, as part of a group of ORR student advisors, used her talents to help shine the spotlight on the next generation of actors in the Old Rochester school system. She and the other student advisors could be seen in the wings throughout the show giving instructions and encouragement and between scenes and helping to move props and sets.

A production like this is truly a community affair with parents and staff members helping to construct the sets, make the costumes and design the sound and lighting schemes. There are programs to be printed, press releases to be written and a whole host of behind-the-scenes maneuvers that are essential to the success of the play.

As for the play itself, the audience was treated to a night of song and dance and a bit of comedy for good measure as the student actors were given the opportunity to build skills that would serve them well in future endeavors. Treasure Island proved to be an evening of bright lights and brighter young talent shining throughout a most enjoyable production.

Have you ever wondered where "the rules," the laws and regulations that exist in each town come from and how they are formed? They range from tax rates and budgets for the schools and town government to parking and zoning by-laws. Town Meeting is the venue where many of these regulations are turned into law by the citizens. Cities have Mayors and City Councils which determine much of how those communities functions; in towns a few elected boards and the citizens of the town determine how the town is run.

New England has more towns governed by this form (Town Meeting) of political process than any other area in the country, so if you have recently moved into a town you may not be familiar with it. And if you have lived under a Town Meeting form of government and have not participated, you will constantly ask: "who authorized that?" and "why didn't I know those were the rules?"

Attendance at Town Meeting gives us all an opportunity to take direct action on our own and the town's behalf. You must be a registered voter in your town to vote on the articles but all can attend. It is democracy at its basic form.

Each year prior to Town Meeting, the town mails to each household a copy of "the warrant" containing the specific articles, proposed by our elected officials or several citizens, that residents will be voting on. At Town Meeting citizens have an opportunity to hear the rationale for an article from its sponsors, to ask questions and, most importantly, to vote on the article.

It is our civic responsibility to take part in our local government and if we choose not to do so, we have little recourse to actions taken on our behalf by those who do participate. If you don't attend, your opinions are not heard.

Following is a schedule of upcoming Town Meetings in the tri-towns:

* Mattapoisett - Monday, May 12 and Tuesday, May 13 beginning at 7:00 pm each night in the ORR High School Auditorium.

* Marion - Monday, May 19 and Tuesday, May 20 beginning at 6:45 pm in the Sippican School Auditorium.

* Rochester - Monday, June 2 and Tuesday, June 3 beginning at 7:00 pm in the Rochester Memorial School Cafetorium.

The length of Town Meeting is determined by the number of warrant articles and the speed with which they are handled by the voters. Sometimes it is over in one night.

The Marion-Mattapoisett-Rochester League of Women Voters (LWV) urges everyone to attend Town Meeting and call your Town Clerk's office with any questions.

The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan political organization, encourages the informed, active participation of citizens in government and works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

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