The Kousa Dogwood tree donated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is growing outside Old Hammondtown Elementary School. It is a pleasing addition to the campus but more importantly a symbol that Mattapoisett kids care about their trees.             The tree came to the town because Emma Lowe’s winning entry in the 2023 fifth-grade tree-poster contest […] Read more »

            Jodi Bauer, Paul Ciaburri and Randy Parker will all be challenged in their respective bids to stay on the Mattapoisett, Rochester and Marion Select Boards.             Ben Bailey, a member of the Rochester Planning Board and Conservation Commission, has returned nomination papers in a bid to unseat Ciaburri, a multiterm Select Board incumbent, at […] Read more »

            For most of human history, pregnancy and childbirth was the cause of many women’s deaths. In the modern era, this should be an extremely rare event, and in most of the developed world, it is.             About 800 women in the United States die every year during pregnancy, delivery or the six weeks that […] Read more »

            A woman stopped me in the post office the other day to tell me how much she liked my last column. I politely said thank you, though I had no idea what she was talking about. I could not for the life of me remember what I had written only a few days before. […] Read more »

            In his Water Treatment Plant update during Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission, Tata & Howard engineer Jon Gregory summarized the past couple of months of final review regarding the main elements of a construction project that later this year will replace a long-standing, water-filtration system with new, state-of-the-art […] Read more »

Old Rochester Regional High School senior Jackson Veugen isn’t considering a career in dentistry any time soon, but Veugen has embraced his role as Orin, the sadistic dentist in ORR’s upcoming spring performance of “Little Shop of Horrors.”             The ORR Drama Club will take the stage on March 21, 22 and 23 at 7:00 […] Read more »

            As their memories fade into sepia tones like old photographs of childhoods spent working the farm and visiting relatives, the Nunes sisters of River Road, Dottie (Nunes) and Kathy (Hohne), and their cousin Adele Raphael discussed their growing-up years in Mattapoisett via cell phone.             A high point of those years on River Road […] Read more »

            Every day, 12,000 Americans turn 65. In 2022, 58,000,000 were over 65 – 17% of the population – and estimates are that by 2040, seniors will make up 22% of the population.             While most people over 65 are healthy, as we age illnesses and frailty become increasingly common, and growing numbers need at […] Read more »

            I’ve been sitting here for what seems like hours trying to think of something to write about for this week’s column. I considered writing about suspenders, but that idea didn’t hold up. Then belts came to mind, but that story had too many holes.             Looking into the refrigerator at lunchtime, I thought I […] Read more »

            Public meetings in Mattapoisett rarely require overflow rooms to accommodate attendees, but such was the case when the Mattapoisett Tree Committee held its February 29 meeting. The Fire Station training room was packed, requiring Town Administrator Mike Lorenco to open up Town Hall. A streaming of the meeting via Zoom granted those audience members […] Read more »