On May 22, Mattapoisett poll workers saw 252 voters, or a mere 5.35% voter turnout, face the daunting task of voting on a ballot that contained absolutely no contested races. Perhaps, though, this task was not as daunting to the voters as it was for Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger and her team of poll workers […] Read more »
Rochester voters approved extending the Town’s temporary moratorium on recreational cannabis retail establishments during the Annual Town Meeting on Monday night, May 21. Article 25 was brought forth by the Board of Selectmen and recommended by the Planning Board, and seeks to buy the Town more time to write its own zoning regulations for cannabis […] Read more »
As the clock in the tower at Center School accurately ticks down to the last day of the school year – June 25 – the Mattapoisett School Committee met for the last time on May 21 to give reports and share successes on a wide range of topics. Sandy Hering, a member of the Mattapoisett […] Read more »
Rochester’s participation in the Regional Old Colony Communications Center (ROCCC) in Duxbury officially started on Tuesday, May 22, after months of preparation and a long list of communication infrastructure upgrades. Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar reported that on Monday the system underwent one final testing in preparation for the switchover, “And radio testing was really great,” […] Read more »
There were three attendees in the audience of the May 21 meeting of the Marion Planning Board, two of which were attorneys. At issue was an Open Meeting Law (OML) complaint filed by Attorney John Mathieu on behalf of his client Chris Loranger and 324 Front Street JV, LLC. The complaint alleges the Planning Board […] Read more »
Marion has its own set of marijuana establishment regulations now that the Marion Board of Health has approved its proposed recreational cannabis regulations, but that final draft excluded controversial language that called for a local permit to grow cannabis plants at home. On May 22, Board of Health Chairman Jason Reynolds said town counsel reconsidered […] Read more »
Marion voters chose John Waterman to fill the one-year seat on the Board of Selectmen on Friday, May 18, in a decisive vote garnering over half the total votes in a four-way race. Waterman will resume the remaining one year term of former selectman Steve Gonsalves, who resigned on February 22 from the board after […] Read more »
A major house fire in Rochester claimed the life of Richard Cutcliffe, 62, along with the family dog, and left one other resident injured on Sunday morning, May 20. The fire was reported just after 9:00 am, and Rochester Fire arrived at 1008 Walnut Plain Road where a house was engulfed in flames with only […] Read more »
It was nearing closing time at the May 15 meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission; that is to say, all public hearings had been heard and the commission was on to “walk-ins” when Charles Motta of 26 Holly Lane asked to speak. Motta complained bitterly that a two-lot development being constructed by Greta Fox adjacent […] Read more »
The PTO Cultural Council is at it again with its next artistic endeavor to beautify Rochester Memorial School, this time with a large-scale painted mural. RMS Principal Derek Medeiros told the Rochester School Committee on May 10 that artist Todd Woodward would be painting one of the walls in one of the outside courtyard areas […] Read more »