Bomb Scare Leads to Drug Stash

On April 15, 2014 at 8:19AM, the Marion Police Department responded to the Lockheed-Martin facility, off Route 6 in Marion, for a suspicious package found at the rear of one of the parking areas. A witness reported that a vehicle had pulled into the lot and a young male had left the vehicle with a […] Read more »

Solar Project at Landfill Moving Forward

After a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, the Marion Board of Selectmen opened their meeting on Tuesday evening with a full agenda. First up was an appointment with the Marion Energy Management Committee for a review of a draft Request for Proposal for a community solar garden […] Read more »

Towns Get Facts About ORR Cyber Theft

Selectmen on April 10 finally got to the bottom of the 2011 cyber-hacking incident that resulted in the theft of $134,000 from an Old Rochester Regional bank account. On February 9, 2011, UniBank alerted school administration to several suspicious money transfers, including a $4,000 deposit to someone in Nashville, Tennessee. By the end of the […] Read more »

Committee Approves Budget, Chairman Departs

Budget business is finally over, ending with the School Committee’s approval of the $5,672,343 fiscal year 2015 budget, up $121,000 from last year. The school budget, which is up a mere 1.53% from FY14, is now in the hands of voters at Town Meeting. To balance the budget, Rochester Memorial School will see one less […] Read more »

Prioritization Vote Is In

It was like waiting for the election results as the Capital Planning Committee for Mattapoisett cast their votes to prioritize proposed expenditures. After weeks of meeting with department heads, engaging them in dialog about their 2015 and beyond needs, and hammering out the details behind the requests, the committee members cast their votes and gave […] Read more »

Backlash Continues Over Good Friday Decision

Grief over Good Friday continued at the April 9 ORR School Committee meeting, as one resident introduced a petition with 115 signatures opposing the Joint School Committee’s decision to switch Good Friday in 2015 from a religious holiday into a regular school day. Margaret McGee of Rochester said that in 1776 the Declaration of Independence […] Read more »

“I Demand a Public Hearing!”

On the agenda for the April 7 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board was Attorney John Williams, representing Brandt Island Realty Trust, regarding a requested amendment to the special residential development permit for ‘Brandt Point Village.’ As Williams had explained during the last meeting of the board and again on this evening, the market for […] Read more »

Rochester Election Ousts Two Incumbents

This elections spells a little bit of change for Rochester, with two incumbents voted out and two new candidates elected in. For Rochester Memorial School Committee, Jennifer Kulak was the big winner with 212 votes, followed by Meagan Bennett with 165 votes, beating out running incumbent Timothy Sholz who took in 159 votes, and Cheryl […] Read more »

Summer Events and Town Meeting

The April 8 meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen found an agenda full of upcoming summertime events and programs and the approaching Town Meeting. Delighting all in attendance was an appointment with young Alex Craig who has spearheaded a memorial honoring Milton Silveria. Craig was back to report on his fundraising efforts. He reported […] Read more »

Shawmut Approved Again

Shawmut Associates received swift approval for amendments made to its site plan for the Cranberry Highway trash and recycling center with little discussion required on April 8 after extensive discussions during prior meetings. Changes include enlarging the building square-footage from 88,900 to 94,270 after enclosing all waste handling operations, and modifying the pavement limits in […] Read more »