The pump house situated behind the ball field at Washburn Park in Marion has been deemed unsafe to remain and will be removed by the Marion Department of Public Works after the Marion Conservation Commission gave approval for the work. On October 12, the Conservation Commission received the Request for Determination of Applicability to remove […] Read more »
Rochester Town Meeting voters took the October 17 Special Town Meeting as a chance to voice their opinion that taxes are too high and the town doesn’t need a new town hall. Scores of residents clapped and cheered as neighbors complained about rising taxes and their desire to see excess free cash money returned to […] Read more »
School administration and teachers at Rochester Memorial School as well as the other elementary schools in Tri-Town are excited about the development of a new standards-based report card that will replace what educators believe is an outdated report card format. On October 6, the Rochester School Committee was presented with a brief primer on what […] Read more »
Rochester Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson knew just by looking out at the room full of unfamiliar faces that the public hearing on October 11 for a modification for an approved definitive subdivision plan application submitted by Charlotte and James Spieldenner of 1 Happy Tails Road might turn out to be a contentious one. Seeking […] Read more »
Deep into the October 11 meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator Michael Gagne thanked media outlets for helping to alert the public to a potentially toxic phytoplankton known as Pseudo-Nitzschia that has now spread to all waters south of Cape Cod Bay. Evidence of this serious disease agent has prompted the Division […] Read more »
Shellfishing within the entirety of Buzzards Bay was abruptly closed on Friday, October 7, due to a potentially toxic phytoplankton bloom, which the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries said in a public emergency closure announcement can cause Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). Ingestion of these biotoxins causes nausea, vomiting, cramps, severe gastrointestinal conditions and, in severe […] Read more »
The Rochester Police Department is more than receptive to Rochester Troop #31 Boy Scout Riley Nordahl’s proposed Eagle Scout project to perform much needed improvements to the police station landscaping. Just ask Police Chief Paul Magee and he will tell you what an eyesore and a burden it is keeping up the flower beds. On […] Read more »
Residential and commercial properties will continue to equally share the tax burden this next fiscal year, with the Rochester Board of Selectmen following the advice of the Board of Assessors on September 30 during a special Friday morning tax classification hearing. The estimated tax rate for 2017 is $14.39 – up 38 cents from 2016 […] Read more »
The Mattapoisett Planning Board had an extremely light agenda on October 3 as Chairman Tom Tucker welcomed its two newest members, Gail Carlson and Janice Robbins, to their chairs at the conference table. As Tucker introduced them, he added with a wry smile, “I hope you don’t regret this.” Before them was a Form-A Approval […] Read more »
On September 29, nearly 300 people, primarily supporters of the Inn at Shipyard Park, attended the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals hearing petitioned by abutters seeking to stop the music at the historic inn. George and Maureen Butler have lodged complaints against the inn, claiming that amplified music is akin to living next to “speeding […] Read more »