Murphy the dog is safe and warm tonight, but on December 20, Rochester firefighters and EMTs rushed to a cranberry bog off Sarah Sherman Road in Rochester to rescue poor Murphy who had fallen through the thin ice. Although Jeff Eldridge called it “just another day” for him as a Rochester firefighter, it was no […] Read more »
Thirty Marion residents have put their signatures on a Citizen Petition requesting an article be placed on the 2019 Annual Town Meeting warrant calling for a prohibition of adult use cannabis establishments in Marion. This prohibition would include establishments that sell, distribute, cultivate, process, or package cannabis in any form. Submitted by Henry Mauro of […] Read more »
Before hearing the cases on a rather light pre-holiday agenda on December 18, Rochester Conservation Commission Chairman Michael Conway said he had a few comments to make regarding one of the board members – Laurene Gerrior. Conway said it was Gerrior’s last night as a commissioner as she is relocating to Middleboro. He went on […] Read more »
The Old Rochester Regional School District welcomed its new business administrator on December 13 during the joint meeting of the ORR School District Committees. Paul Kitchen will assume the position on January 7, 2019, replacing former business administrator Patrick Spencer, who passed away unexpectedly on October 1. Spencer had been the school districts’ business administrator […] Read more »
The report came late in the evening’s agenda, the December 17 Mattapoisett Planning Board agenda, that is. The report in question was the peer review update from Ken Motta of Field Engineering regarding the oft times troubled Brandt Point Village subdivision. The chapters in this construction project’s story could read like a Tim Burton movie […] Read more »
Residents report that things had been quiet for well over two years now since their neighbor Liberal Teixeira’s kennel license was revoked by the Town, essentially putting an end to the incessant barking that prompted repeated complaints since 2013. But that was then, and with a revival of dogs incessantly barking at the property, neighbors […] Read more »
The executive director of the Sippican Lands Trust (SLT) returned to the Marion Conservation Commission on December 12 to take another shot at a proposal to improve the popular trail to Brainard Marsh on Delano Road. Jim Bride revisited the proposal he had made at the previous meeting of the commission, suggesting this evening that […] Read more »
Before opening any public hearings, Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Richard Cutler let fellow ZBA members know that he has become aware of a large-scale affordable housing development entering the pipeline early next year. The 208-unit affordable housing development slated for the corner of Routes 58 and 28 would be classified as a Chapter […] Read more »
Attorney General Maura Healey has rejected Rochester’s attempt to extend its temporary moratorium on adult-use cannabis; as a result, the AG’s Office says Rochester’s moratorium has expired and thus Rochester must immediately begin accepting applications for adult-use cannabis businesses. Rochester Town Meeting in May voted to adopt an article extending the temporary moratorium past its […] Read more »
When house values go up, the tax rate goes down, and so it goes in Marion as Marion Assessor Brad Eames reported to the Board of Selectmen on December 11 that property values overall have increased by 9.4 percent. The last time property values were assessed was three years ago. The current fiscal year 2018 […] Read more »