The numbers don’t lie, as the saying goes. And the numbers of students enrolling in Mattapoisett’s local schools – Center School and Old Hammondtown School – continues to trend downward. This fact has been discussed at many school committee and other Town board meetings for the last several years. Bolstered by census numbers and projections […] Read more »
As Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson gave his report after a long March 19 evening of plowing through a packed agenda, he said a project he’s been working on “has been the most difficult project in my career.” He was speaking of the town’s need to find a solution to what has become its curbside […] Read more »
Like those of surrounding towns, Rochester residents may soon start paying less for electricity; however, Town Meeting voters must first approve joining the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD) Community Electricity Aggregation, the largest in Massachusetts and the second-largest in the country. What is a community electricity aggregation (CEA)? As explained by John […] Read more »
Coming before the Mattapoisett Planning Board on March 18 was David McIntire and Attorney Phil Silverman with a business proposal for a marijuana cultivation facility in the industrial zone off North Street – a business with the potential to provide 30 new jobs and from $150,000 to $225,000 annually for the town. Town Administrator Michael […] Read more »
Marion Town Clerk Ray Pickles has been indicted by a statewide grand jury for allegations that he stole over $610,000 during his last six years serving as the executive director for the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District. Pickles was fired from his 45-year position as executive director in January 2018 when the District’s […] Read more »
The Marion Board of Health is still complaining about pipes, but this time it isn’t about Elizabeth Taber’s smoking pipe– it’s about Elizabeth Dunn’s water pipe. Dunn, a Board of Health member, wasn’t at the March 12 meeting, so she sent it a letter via Health Agent Karen Walega to ask the board to investigate […] Read more »
Two former top officials of the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District (District) have been indicted on larceny charges in connection with stealing more than $675,000 in District funds, Attorney General Maura Healey and Inspector General Glenn Cunha announced today. Former District Executive Director, Ray Pickles, 85, of Marion, and former District Board Chairman […] Read more »
An application for a special permit to install a pool and build a cabana on a non-conforming lot was sent back to the drawing board after neighbors to the project expressed concern to the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals on March 7 that the size of the structure would negatively impact their quality of life. […] Read more »
The Old Rochester Regional School Committee voted to accept its final version of the fiscal year 2020 school operating budget totaling $19,211,913, up $682,841 from last year – an overall increase of 3.69 percent. Superintendent Dr. Doug White broke down the details of the FY20 budget on March 7 during the committee’s school budget public […] Read more »
The four Tri-Town school districts are contemplating a new policy that would prohibit school staff from sharing any personal information about students online – intentionally or unintentionally – in order to protect the identities and private data of the students who attend their school. This new policy would not only require staff to refrain from […] Read more »