Where Has Summer Gone

            You know what “they” say, “Time sure flies when you are having fun.” Boy, we must be having lots of fun. Summer seems to have just flown by. It seems only yesterday that it was Memorial Day, the official start of summer.             Memorial Day is, of course, a National Day of Mourning, with […] Read more »

Eastern Equine Encephalitis

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health just informed the Town that one mosquito captured in Marion on Sunday, August 18, tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis.  This puts the town at a higher risk for West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).             Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project is planning to do a […] Read more »

Marion Town Party Cancelled

On Tuesday, the Marion Board of Health notified residents of a mosquito that tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).   In addition, we were informed of a positive test for West Nile Virus test last week.  This double threat and with an abundance of caution and with public safety in mind, we regret to inform […] Read more »

A New Test for Colon Cancer

Late in July, the FDA approved a blood test to detect colon cancer. What does this mean for you?             Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in adults, behind only lung, and an estimated 53,000 people will die of colon cancer in the U.S. this year. At the same time, […] Read more »

Heatwave Cause of Keyboard Freeze

            As I sat at my keyboard, a blank screen staring back at me; the weather was hot, humid, muggy, and miserable. All morning, I sat trying to come up with something for this week’s column.             Nothing!             I refused to believe that I had used up all the different combinations of the 26 […] Read more »

‘Survival’ Evokes Memories of Empowerment

            Famed Massachusetts philosopher Henry David Thoreau spent two years living in the woods to “live deliberately” and “suck the marrow” out of life.             These words from the 1840s and this philosophy for the last 50 years have rung true for generations of Old Rochester Regional students. In 1973, a “survival” camping trip for […] Read more »

Purple Heart Recipients Honored

            Much has been written about the “greatest generation that ever lived.” Somehow, however, it doesn’t feel like enough, especially for those of us whose family members returned home from war to become quietly ensconced in the day-to-day of living, simply living.             Much has been written about other conflicts and war such as Vietnam, […] Read more »

A Quest for Higher Office

            I’ve been keeping an eye on the world of politics lately (hard to avoid), and I have decided that in a few weeks, or maybe later, I will be making a major announcement. Today, though, because my readers are so special, I am going to let you in on what will surely be a […] Read more »

Shingles: More than Just a Rash

Some 95% of U.S. adults had chickenpox when they were children. Chickenpox, scientifically called varicella, is usually an annoying but not dangerous illness in children.             What makes the illness treacherous is that the causative varicella-zoster virus can go into a dormant phase, hiding out mostly in nerve roots near the spinal cord. When our […] Read more »

Disappearances Still Haunt Author

            It takes persistence, research and passion to be an author. Now toss into the mix a very curious mind, and you wind up with Kathleen Brunelle.             Known by many as “Mrs. Brunelle” at Old Rochester Regional High School, Brunelle has written several books in the narrative, nonfiction style. Her latest effort titled “She’s […] Read more »