Pony Rides at Harbor Days

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Mattapoisett Land Trust (MLT) will sponsor pony rides and face painting at Harbor Days on Saturday, July 21from noon to 4 pm. Bowen Stables from Rochester will bring two ponies and offer rides for children of all ages. The ponies will carry riders up to 125 pounds. Rides will cost $8 each or two rides for $15. The rides will take place at MLT’s Munro Preserve, next to Shipyard Park on the west side. Cowboy and cowgirl attire are welcome!

For more information, please email info@mattlandtrust.org.

Marion Art Center’s Summer Members’ Show

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The Marion Art Center’s Summer Members’ Show will open on Friday, July 20, with a reception honoring participating artists from 6 pm to 8 pm. All are welcome. Come join us and find out directly from the artists how they do what they do and where they get their inspiration. The Summer Members’ Show will run from July 20th to August 25th.

Please note: membership for the 2018-2019 year begins on August 1, 2018. Membership to the Marion Art Center is open to all, and the annual membership drive will be underway shortly.

For more information on the Summer Members’ Show or membership with the Marion Arts Center, call 508-748-1266, visit www.marionartcenter.org, or stop by the Center during gallery hours: Tuesday – Friday, 1 pm to 5 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm.

Academic Achievements

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A number of Tri-Town students have been named to the Spring 2018 dean’s list at Stonehill College. To qualify for the dean’s list, students must have a semester grade point average of 3.50 or better and must have successfully completed all courses for which they were registered. The list included: Rachael Chandler of Marion, Sarah Rogers of Rochester, Dallis Silvia of Marion, Lauren Ovian of Rochester, and Zoe Smith of Rochester

Charles E. Tirrell of Marion has been selected for inclusion on St. Lawrence University’sdean’s list for academic achievement during the Spring 2018 semester. Tirrell is a member of the Class of 2021. Tirrell attended Old Rochester Regional High School. To be eligible for the dean’s list, a student must have completed at least four courses and have an academic average of 3.6 based on a 4.0 scale for the semester.

The following students were among the largest graduating class in UMass Lowell’shistory: Morgan Collings of Marion, Mass. received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering; Andrew Ryan of Rochester, Mass. received a Bachelor of Science in business administration.

At the University of Rhode Island’s132nd Commencement on Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20, 2018, about 3,300 undergraduate and 750 graduate students became the University’s newest alumni. The following students from the Tri-town graduated:

– Michael Barrus of Marion received Bachelor of Arts, Economics

– Nancy A Benson of Mattapoisett received Doctor of Philosophy , English

– Juliana Nicolosi of Mattapoisett received Bachelor of Science, Health Studies

– Bruce Pawelczyk of Mattapoisett received Professional Science Masters in Cyber Security

– Lauren Smith of Mattapoisett received Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies Magna Cum Laude

Rachel J. Scheub, of Rochester, was awarded faculty honors for the spring 2018 semester at Trinity Collegein Hartford, Connecticut. Faculty honors are awarded to students with a semester GPA of at least 3.667 on four graded courses, with no individual grade below B-, and no incomplete grades pending.

The Water Dance of the Loon

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As a birdwatcher, one sight to remember is one of a common loon in the backwaters of our freshwater lakes or ponds. And there is good news of a gradual increase in the New England population as reported by The Loon Preservation Committee of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.

As an independent conservation organization with an annual mid-Summer count, the preservation committee has documented a greater number of sightings of adult pairs carrying chicks on their backs. It has been successful in creating and protecting more nesting sites by introducing artificial floating wooden platforms where needed. Their main accomplishment, however, is to inform and educate the public the importance of quiet placid water habitat to protect the nesting sites by keeping their distance from traditional locations of annual reproduction.

The nest of a loon is never more than a few feet from the water because, evolving from dinosaurs with amphibian ancestry, their legs similarly are so far back in their body frames as to be unable to stand up or walk on land. Nesting privacy and peace of mind are essential to successful hatching and rearing of only the usual two chicks, so the parents get visibly upset at any approach of intruders. Their defensive reaction is to rush out from the nest, standing up in the water frantically flapping their wings to splash everywhere in a frightening feathery warning. This gives the appearance of getting the title of ‘dancing on the water,’ as in my illustration.

This aquatic feathery display of anger is to protect and defend the offspring and is accompanied by an alarming angry high-pitched yodel of antagonism called a tremolo. The parent with the excited tremolo can get so worked up that if the intruder does not go away, the end result can be a seizure and death. Such heroic, martyr-like acts of protection are similar to the partridge and killdeer plover, for example, feigning a broken wing and flopping down before a predator to draw attention away from fledglings.

The loon also has another unforgettable communication. It is a wail especially vibrant when heard by lakeside campers in the closing quiet of the day. It is to locate other loons along the shoreline and sounds like, “ Where are you,“ as if in the mood for a little closing-day company.

Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond as one of the first transcendentalists said that the wail of the loon was one of the most unearthly sounds he had ever heard. And to the lake country Penacook Indians of Lake Winnipesaukee, so in tune nature, a frequent atmospheric variation in the wavering tone could be detected as a weather prediction of impending rain.

Loons also have a third call of a short guttural squawk when they talk quietly amongst themselves and their offspring. When nature talks, I hope you enjoy with me my inclination to stop, listen, and learn to appreciate the message conveyed.

By George B. Emmons

Mattapoisett Road Race

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Thank you to all the individuals and groups who made the 2018 Mattapoisett Road Race such a huge success, including the road race committee, the sponsors, the highway department, the police department, the student volunteers, the volunteers from the community, and the runners and walkers who braved the heat and humidity. The Kassabian Family has won the prize for having the most enthusiastic house on the road race route. We hope they enjoy their Rustico Pizza gift certificate. This year’s recipients of the Mattapoisett Road Race Scholarships are: Samantha Ball, Ainslee Bangs, Alice Bednarczyk, Emily Bock, Chase Guard, Madisen Martin, Caroline Murphy, Hannah Powers, Madeline Scheub, and Robert Harrison Smith. Evan Tilley is the inaugural recipient of the Robert Gardner award, which was awarded for his essay, academic achievements, and service to the race. It takes a great community to make such a wonderful event.

Mattapoisett Recreation Bake Sale

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Mattapoisett Recreation’s Seahorse Explorer Program will be hosting a bake sale on Thursday,July 19from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm in Shipyard Park to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project. The sale will be put on by the Counselor’s-in-Training as part of the Seahorse Gives Back week. Campers spend the week learning about public servants and volunteers in the community and about the importance of giving back on both local and national levels. Local businesses – Uncle Jon’s, Shipyard Galley, and Emma Jeans – will be donating baked goods for the sale.

Jane D. Roderick

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Jane D. Roderick, 51, of Marion, died Friday, July 13, 2018 at the Tobey Hospital in Wareham.

Visiting hours will be Thursday, July 19, 2018 at the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Highway (Rt. 28), Wareham from 5 – 8 pm.

Funeral service will be Friday, July 20, 2018 at 10 am at the funeral home.  Interment will follow in Evergreen Cemetery, Marion.

Sippican Hotel Lecture By David Pierce

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Back by popular demand, David Pierce, vice president of the Sippican Historical Society, will give a PowerPoint lecture on the history of the Sippican Hotel onJuly 26at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall. This elegant, turn-of-the-century hotel and casino catered to visiting clientele who wanted to rest, relax, and enjoy the waterside activities in this beautiful seaside town.

The original section of the hotel was built in 1794 by Timothy Hiller as a farmhouse. Hiller’s grandson, Joe Snow Luce, was the first proprietor to let rooms to visitors. In 1864, an additional story was added, and the property became the Bay View House. By the mid-1880s, the hotel was operated by Charles W. Ripley. He added a three-story center section, as well as a casino across the street for events and social gatherings. The last addition was built in 1901 and the Sippican Hotel could then accommodate 150-200 summer guests.

Come hear about the rich and famous, who delighted in the charms of the Sippican Hotel in Marion. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Alewives Anonymous Herring Counts

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This year’s count of herring in the Mattapoisett River was 5,241, approximately 65% less than 2017. 2018 was the fourth year of declines since the recovery of the herring population in 2014 to 55,429 from the low of 5,000 in 2004. Few herring were observed at the Mattapoisett ladder area, nor were they seen during any of the brush and tree clearing activities in the river during the Spring. Counting conditions were ideal this Spring and the counter appears to have functioned without errors.

A counter was also installed on the Sippican River at Leonard’s Pond this year. It recorded 96 fish. The counter that the Buzzards Bay Coalition operated at the Hathaway Pond Dam recorded 598 herring.

The moratorium against the taking or possession of herring from the Mattapoisett River and the Sippican River, as well as many other rivers in Massachusetts, remains in effect. Over the years that the moratorium has been in effect, the herring population in the Mattapoisett River had increased from about 6,000 to just over 55,400 in 2014. The counting effort will provide the necessary information to manage a future harvest in the Mattapoisett River; however, continued improvements in the counts are needed to support a sustainable fishery plan and to justify an opening. Once the herring population reaches a point where a sustainable harvest plan can be formulated, filed with Division of Marine Fisheries, and approved, harvesting could be resumed.

Tri-Town Early Childhood Program

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The Tri-Town Early Childhood Program, located at Old Rochester Regional High School, is accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year. The preschool program serves three, four, and five-year-olds and follows the school calendar. It is unique in that it provides a high-quality early childhood education opportunity to preschoolers, while also offering high school students a chance to learn about working in the field of early childhood education. A licensed early childhood teacher and a rotation of high school students staff the classroom.

A limited number of spaces are available. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. The enrollment policy is based on a balance of three and four-year-olds, a balance of boys and girls, and a balance among residents of the three-member towns.

For an application or for more information, visit our website at www.orrhsprek.weebly.com or contact Aimee Fox at 508-758-3745, extension 1612.