By Robert Chiarito

The Marion Affordable Housing Trust welcomed developers to Little Neck Village on Saturday morning, May 3, for an optional site visit for the purpose of giving potential architects, builders and engineers the opportunity to see the proposed 40B building site firsthand. The Trust, represented by Chairman Reg Foster and member Ora Mae Torres, welcomed about a dozen people at 10:00 am on Saturday for a walk of the premises and exchange of ideas for what was basically an informational session for everyone involved.

Request for Proposal (RFP) documents were made available for the project on April 9 following the Trust's last joint public meeting with the Marion Planning Board on April 2. The onsite meeting this past weekend was the next step in the process that will be followed by an optional Bidders Conference on May 21 at 10:00 am at the Marion Town House. Developers are being encouraged to review all of the RFP materials and to submit any questions that they have regarding the project in writing to Marion Housing Trust coordinator Debbie Paiva at the Marion Town House by May 9. Proposals from developers will be accepted until June 12, 2008.

While there has been much conjecture involved with the Little Neck Village Project, Chairman Reg Foster said, "There is nothing etched in stone at this point. Right now we are open to any and all ideas." Saturday's visit gave the dozen or so developers who attended the meeting a chance to see, up-close, the site and all of the challenges, advantages and limitations that will be involved with the proposed tripling of the project's housing capacity. The rainy day also gave everyone involved the opportunity to get a firsthand glimpse of drainage challenges and areas of concern with regards to wetlands and flood plains.

At the present time the Town of Marion has one of the lower ratios of affordable housing as per Chapter 40B laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Concerns about the project that have been voiced by residents of Little Neck Village and other Marion citizens have ranged from whether or not the development will displace or otherwise disturb present residents while construction is underway, questions of whether Little Neck village will be opened to families or remain strictly senior housing, what will the expansion mean to traffic in the area of the 330 Wareham Road site, and whether or not the town will be obligated to open the development's doors to residents who reside outside of Marion.

The latter question hinges largely on where the Marion Housing Trust receives funding for the project and will have a direct impact on the 30-plus applicants who are currently on the waiting list to gain residence into Little Neck Village. There are also questions as to how green -- or environmentally friendly -- the new Little Neck Village will be.

All of these questions will not be and cannot be fully answered until all of the proposals have been received and reviewed and finally accepted. If members of the public have question with regards to the project they are encouraged to contact the Marion Affordable Housing Trust through the Marion Town House.

By Robert Chiarito

Recently Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School opened the doors to it first Sports Hall of Fame class as it inducted five former student athletes and the 1979-1980 Mayflower League Champion Women's Volleyball Team and recognized the school's original superintendent and director, John Oliveira, with the first annual Outstanding Service Award. The ceremony and the banquet that accompanied it were the culmination of many long months of work and preparation by the school's Athletic Director Mathew Trahan and the recently-formed Hall of Fame Committee.

Hidden among the pines on the edge of Snipatuit Pond, Old Colony has a long and storied history of success in both the classroom and on the sports field. It was this rich tradition, which includes nearly 50 championship teams, which Cougar AD Mathew Trahan sought to honor when he first conceived of the idea of a Sports Hall of Fame. After forming a committee of ten former and present Old Colony coaches, Mr. Trahan and his group established a criteria that each inductee would have to meet in order to gain entrance into the school's new Hall of Fame. Players would have to have participated in at least one varsity level sport and would have to have attended Old Colony for three consecutive years. A player's conduct after graduation would also be taken into consideration, as each inductee should have, in the words of the committee's guidelines, "remain(ed) a respected member of society." Former student athletes are not eligible for election until ten years after graduation. Former coaches would be considered after waiting five years after the end of their coaching tenure.

The inaugural 2008 class featured student-athletes who played during Old Colony's formative years. The players were among the first at the school to win championships, make all-star teams and receive local, state and national recognition.

Robert Gadbois, who graduated from Old Colony in 1980, was a seven-time letterman collecting three letters in soccer, two in basketball and two more in baseball. Mr. Gadbois also captained each of those squads and earned Mayflower League all-star status in both soccer and baseball.

Betty-Jo Thomson Labossiere of the class of 1981was a three-year letterman in volleyball in addition to being a four-year player on the women's basketball and softball teams. Ms. Labossiere earned Mayflower League all-star status in all three sports.

Stephen J. Lombard Jr. was a four-year letterman for the Cougar Varsity Football Team in addition to earning a letter in basketball and two more in track and field. Mr. Lombard earned Mayflower League all-star honors in football and was also a Boston Herald all-star in that sport.

Joining Mr. Lombard from the class of 1982 is Edward "Eddie" Fernandes. Mr. Fernandes was a three-sport letterman earning the honor twice in football, once in track and field and twice more in basketball.

Cheryl Camacho Disbella graduated from Old Colony in 1983. During her time as a Cougar she earned nine sports letters including four in volleyball, three in basketball and two in softball. As a freshman Ms. Disbella was part of the undefeated 1980 Mayflower League Champion Volleyball team, which was the school's first Mayflower League Champion. That team was also inducted into the 2008 class of the Old Colony HOF.

In creating the Hall of Fame, Mr. Trahan and the other members of the committee felt that it was important to honor those who supported athletics at the school as well as the coaches and athletes. The award is called the John Oliveira Outstanding Service Award recognizing contributions to the Old Colony athletic department in particular and the school as a whole. In its inaugural year the committee chose to give the award to its namesake, John Oliveira, whose vision of creating Old Colony helped to make everything at Old Colony a reality.

As for the banquet itself, the event was a success attracting over 90 people back to the North Rochester campus. According to Mr. Trahan, "We started planning this about 18 months ago. We weren't sure how people would react. As we got closer to the date things just kind of snowballed and it every one started to chip in." Students from the culinary program prepared the banquet's meal of sirloin steaks and all of the trimmings. All of the inductees were present for the ceremony including Eddie Fernandes who made the trip from his home in California along with his wife and three sons.

With the first Hall of Fame banquet and induction having proven to be such a great success, Old Colony, with its rich tradition of athletic achievement, should continue to offer membership into this shrine of elite athletes and outstanding citizens for years to come.

By Olivia Mello

Imagine an organization whose main focus works towards reaching one simple goal. Imagine this goal as being the very root of a better society. Now, imagine a group of eager students dedicating a day out of their busy schedules to the organization, ready to do whatever community service based project they are assigned.

A group of the Old Rochester High School Honor Society's newest members met on May 1 at the New Bedford Public Library to participate in the United Way Day of Caring. Old Rochester was one out of the seven schools to join in on the event, resulting in a group of approximately 180 students. After a few brief speeches were made at the library by a number of different speakers, including Fun-107's Michael Rock, Miss Massachusetts and New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, the kids proceeded upon their designated buses, bringing them to the site of their workplaces. Some of the service consisted of painting over walls of graffiti and picnic tables, planting strawberries, raking and other forms of landscaping. Those in charge of the project estimated that about 800 hours of community service were to be completed within that one day. The event proved to be an amazing experience for all of those involved. There is no better sense of satisfaction than seeing the difference than can be made out of pure kindness.

As Alcohol Awareness Month, April made a large and hopefully lasting impression on the students of Old Rochester's senior class. Each year, the school celebrates the occasion in two major days. The first day is dedicated to the "Every Fifteen Minutes" program, which teaches that every fifteen minutes a person dies from an alcohol-related collision. To illustrate this fact, a "Grim Reaper" traveled the hallways picking out students from their very classrooms and announcing their deaths on posted papers upon the school's walls. After being chosen, the students are then dressed in black cloaks, covered with white face paint and asked to refrain from speaking for the remainder of the day, in order to best illustrate their "loss of life." It did bring a sting of reality to see the astonishing number of "dead" classmates wandering the halls by the end of fourth block. The following day, the senior class met for a three-hour collection of anti-alcohol related videos filmed by fellow classmates, lectures made by serving police and presented stories from real people who have lost a loved one to the dangerous hands of alcohol.

As it does every year, this month of awareness resulted successfully in opening the eyes of some naive teenagers. The home-hitting stories and thought-provoking advice struck the heartstrings of much of the student body, breaking some of the most unexpected students down to tears. Taking time off from school work in order to experience Alcohol Awareness month is so incredibly essential to not only Old Rochester, but any other high school, especially as the academic year comes to a close bringing college right around the corner. It is in the highest hopes that students will take away the important lesson that Alcohol Awareness month works to teach -- that nothing is worth putting your own life, along with the life of innocent others, in danger.

By Tricia Driscoll, Executive Director, Mattapoisett YMCA

A new survey recently released by the YMCA and Eli Lilly and Company reveals that almost 75 percent of parents feel as though some family members do not practice good health habits, and nearly half think that their family is not eating a balanced diet. In fact, many researchers believe that the combination of low physical activity and poor nutrition in today's youth will lead to the current generation being the first in over 200 years to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Childhood obesity is simply a symptom -- families do have the power to make changes that will significantly improve the health and well-being of their children and themselves.

Healthy Family Home is a new program based on a partnership with YMCA and Eli Lilly that is focused on helping families work together to improve their health. According to Jean Wiecha, PhD, senior research scientist at Harvard School of Public Health and an adviser to another YMCA program, Activate America, the family environment is critically important to the habits and perceptions children have about good health.

"Kids are always observing their parents and their siblings, and this is how they get an idea of what behavior is considered normal," Dr. Wiecha said. "The reverse is also true: Children can affect grown-ups' behavior and health by influencing what foods the family eats and what activities they engage in. The home has a circular dynamic that is very different from what takes place in other settings like school or in the doctor's office."

The first step in making healthy choices is information. Most families want to make healthy choices, but the challenge of busy schedules and limited time for preparation make that almost impossible. There are many online resources available for families to check out information on making healthy choices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a great website at www.mypyramid.gov. The site allows you to plan healthy meals based on your personal taste, and has lots of information about nutritional content of common foods. The Healthy Family Home website, www.healthyfamilyhome.org, has a free downloadable starter kit for families. The kit contains information and resources on ways to add play to your day, suggestions for quality family time activities and eating healthy. The Activate America website (www.activateamerica.org) is filled with interactive tools for individuals, kids, groups and families to track their progress towards a healthier life. Track your steps, keep count of your calories or read an inspiring story about someone whose life has been changed by making healthier choices. Take the time to get information related to nutrition, physical activity and quality family time -- all are critical components to keeping your family healthy and happy.

The second step in making healthy choices is to start small. Once families understand what choices lead to better health, the challenge becomes how to incorporate those choices into a busy family. According to the survey, 93 percent of parents know that their family should exercise regularly, but less than half say that their household does. Small steps can really have a big impact on good health. One suggestion is to park further away from the front door of the store -- those extra steps will make a difference. Or purchase inexpensive pedometers and have a family challenge -- who can walk the most steps in an hour, or in a day? Perhaps a healthier choice is one less coffee per day -- challenging, but less so than giving it up entirely.

The final and perhaps most important step in making healthy choices is try to do a little better each day. Taking it in small, manageable steps will help to make lifestyle changes, rather than a quick fix approach. Everyone can benefit from healthier choices, and it is so much more fun to do it together as a family.

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