All is Well for Fairhaven Well Request

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There have been many, many nights at the Mattapoisett Town Hall when the Conservation Commission’s meeting began in the waning light of a spring day and ended deep in the darkened evening. But on April 9, it was light outside when the meeting began and still light just twenty-five minutes later when the meeting was closed.

Commission members on this night included Chapman Dickerson, John Jacobsen, Chris Nicolosi, and Chairman Mike King.

The Town of Fairhaven Board of Public Works, for property located at 29 Tinkham Lane in Mattapoisett and represented by Allison Shivers of Tata and Howard, Inc., came before the commission with a RDA for the construction of a new freshwater well. Fairhaven’s primary source for freshwater resources is located within the town boundaries of Mattapoisett.

Shivers said the well would be approximately 36-feet by 40-feet with an 18-foot by 24-foot gravel patch. She also said there would be limited clearing and very little fill brought onto the site. Shivers concluded her comments by adding that the project would not negatively affect wildlife habitat. The filing received a Negative 3 determination with King saying, “Yeah, let’s get some good drinking water.”

Coming before the commission was Neil Oliveira of 4 Ocean Breeze Lane represented by Prime Engineering with a Request for Determination of Applicability for the construction of a 36-foot by 16-foot in-ground swimming pool surrounded by stone pavers. The project was described as being some 75 feet away from delineated wetlands but situated within the 100-foot buffer zone. A note from Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold indicated that the project as proposed would have no negative impact on wildlife habitat. The project received a Negative 3 determination (no Notice of Intent required).

Continued until April 23 was a Notice of Intent filed by Stingray City Realty Corp., William Bachant, for property owned by Rahim Aghai Revocable Trust for a proposed three-lot subdivision planned off Marion Road.

Before closing the public meeting, King commented on questions the office had received pursuant to agenda items for executive sessions dealing with litigation between Daniel Craig of Seabreeze Lane and the Town of Mattapoisett. He said that to the best of his knowledge, the matter was nearing agreement between the two parties and that for at least five months the Conservation Commission had not taken up the matter in executive session. King also clarified that the litigation had not been between the commission and the Craigs, but was instead between the Town and the Craigs.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 23 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

 

Associate Members Needed

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Are you interested in protecting wetlands in Rochester? Have you thought about serving on a board and learning more about what’s going on in town? The Rochester Conservation Commission is looking for volunteers interested in serving as Associate Members to the Conservation Commission. Associates are non-voting members who help share the workload of the voting Conservation Commission that was officially appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Associate members provide a pool of future members and allow more people to participate. Most of the full voting members of the Commission served as Associate Members prior to being appointed by the Board of Selectmen.

The Conservation Commission was established in Rochester in 1963 and is charged with protecting Rochester’s natural resources. The Conservation Commission also advises other municipal officials and boards on conservation issues that relate to their areas of responsibility. In 1972, the Commission was given the responsibility of administering the Wetlands Protection Act (MGL Ch. 131 40). The Conservation Commission serves the community in a regulatory as well as a conservation capacity.

Please feel free to contact Conservation Agent Laurell J. Farinon at 508-763-5421 ext. 206 or lfarinon@townofrochester.com with any questions about becoming an Associate Member, or send a letter of interest to the Rochester Conservation Commission, Rochester Town Hall Annex, 37 Marion Road, Rochester, MA 02770.

Marion Planning Board

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Dear Editor:

I am writing to correct a misimpression that may have arisen as a result of the comments I addressed to the Planning Board on April 2 (“Resident Critical of Town, Developer” – The Wanderer, April 5, 2018) concerning the condominium project at 324 Front Street in Marion.

All Town personnel with whom I have dealt, including allBuilding Department staff, have at all times been careful, professional, thorough and helpful in every instance and in every respect. Marion residents are extremely lucky to have such dedicated, competent, devoted and capable Town personnel – they are deserving of our admiration and gratitude in every way.

Sincerely,

Peter Douglas, Marion

 

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

Elks Student of the Month

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The Elks of Wareham and New Bedford, Lodge No. 1548 sponsors the Elks Student of the Month and Student of the Year Awards for students enrolled in local area high schools. The criteria used in nominating a student includes a student who excels in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school and community service, industry and farming.

We congratulate Parker Truesdale of Mattapoisett for being named as Student of the Month for February. Parker has a great attitude and his charisma is infectious within his class. He comes very close to reaching his potential through his hard work and utilization of effective learning strategies. He also participates in school extra-curricular activities including participating in the varsity soccer team. He is a great kid who helps make up the heart and soul of his graduating class.

SLT Seeking Volunteers for Osprey Marsh Trail

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Join Sippican Lands Trust’s Trail Clearing Crew at Osprey Marsh on Saturday, April 14from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm to clear the trail for the future Osprey Marsh Accessible Boardwalk.

Osprey Marsh is a 19.8-acre parcel of protected upland woods, wetlands and marshland offering spectacular views of Planting Island Cove. Osprey Marsh was donated to the Sippican Lands Trust in 2014 by Mary Howland Smoyer in cooperation with her children and her siblings, Edward Howland, George Howland and Meg Howland. The Howland family inherited the property from their grandparents, Edward and Eleanor Howland, with guidelines expressing the hope that the property be kept in its natural state.

Future plans include building a fully accessible boardwalk at Osprey Marsh that will connect with the existing trail. Volunteers on Saturday, April 14 will help to clear the path for the future Accessible Boardwalk.

Want to help? Just send an email to info@sippicanlandstrust.org to add your name to the Osprey Marsh Trail Clearing Crew list. Lunch will be provided.

Parking for Osprey Marsh is located off Point Road approximately three miles south of the intersection of Route 6 (Wareham Road) and Point Road in Marion.

For further information on the Osprey Marsh Accessible Boardwalk project or to donate to the project, visit sippicanlandstrust.org or call Sippican Lands Trust at 508-748-3080.

Rochester Braces for Even More Solar

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More Rochester residents may soon find their newest neighbors may be solar panels over the coming months.

Town Planner Steve Starrett said on April 10 that there have been seven new large-scale solar farm inquiries made to his office, with at least three of them expected to file for Site Plan Review within the next couple of months.

Two of those proposed solar farm projects come from two developers currently permitted for solar projects in Rochester: Borrego Solar Systems and Clean Energy Collective.

Rochester already has six permitted large-scale solar farm projects either built or under construction.

During a follow-up, Starrett was only allowed to give minimal information about the proposed solar projects, omitting specific property sites for the time being until official property rights have been granted.

Starrett commented that with the seven new inquiries, he has officially had to upgrade to a larger binder in order to fit in enough tabs to keep the potential solar projects organized.

Rochester Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson commented that several amendments to the Town’s solar bylaw have been drafted, and these amendments will be presented during a public hearing coming up before a vote at the Annual Town Meeting on May 21. One proposed amendment includes a 300-foot buffer from any public way, which is 300 feet farther than the current zero-foot buffer in place now.

The Wanderer will report further on solar developments as information becomes available.

Also during the meeting, Johnson mentioned he had received a complaint from Wellspring Farm abutter Cathy Mendoza on Hiller Road, with a photo of a bus parked on the road, not only in violation of the terms of the board’s decision, but also the town’s ordinance against on-street parking.

“I did get in touch with [Police Chief Paul Magee] and asked if he would send a cruiser by … in the timeframe the van was there,” said Johnson. “We’re going to continue to monitor the situation.”

Johnson said he received another complaint that day from Mendoza, this one about a client making what Mendoza considered excessive noise. Johnson said he referred this matter to town counsel and the Zoning Board of Appeals to address.

In response, board member Gary Florindo stated, “To go and invent the perfect world – that’s not gonna happen because there’s always gonna be something that bothers someone.”

In other matters, the board held an informal discussion with Repurpose Properties, LLC, the developer of a proposed 55+ housing development in the undeveloped property beside Plumb Corner on Rounseville Road. There are 44 units planned for the new neighborhood, designed after The Pines project in town with the board’s decision kept in mind.

Some issues with stormwater still exist, and details surrounding proposed cul-de-sacs and the project will require Conservation Commission approval, but the project has evolved since the developer’s first encounter with the Planning Board last year.

“Well, this certainly looks a lot better than what you initially came to us with,” said Johnson.

Repurpose Properties will now submit its application and move forward with the Site Plan Review process over the coming weeks.

In other news, the board gave its final Site Plan Review approval for Clean Energy Collective’s large-scale solar farm slated for 248 Mattapoisett Road.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for April 24 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Council on Aging on Dexter Lane.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

 

H Squared Advances to Destination Imagination’s Global Finals

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After achieving honors for creativity, teamwork and innovation in regional and state academic tournaments, H Squared has earned the right to compete in Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, the world’s largest celebration of student creativity, to be held May 23-26 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Team members include Old Rochester students Brett Rood, Maggie Farrell, Ben Lafrance, Kelsea Kidney and Patrick O’Neil

H Squared worked on the Fine Arts Challenge “Change of Tune.” To solve the challenge, the team wrote a musical, creating the music and lyrics themselves. In addition, they had to include a Technical Set Change (spinning flowers) and a Spectacle (a flying puppet).

The team came in first at both their Regional Tournament in Dennis Yarmouth on March 10 and the State Tournament held at Worcester Polytech on March 24. At the Regional Tournament, the team received a Renaissance Award for Outstanding Design, Engineering, Execution, and Performance.

In addition to preparing for their Global Competition the team, the team will be fundraising to help offset the $1500 cost per team member. This includes registration fees, travel, and shipping their entire set to Knoxville, TN. The team created a fundraising donation page at You Caring, www.youcaring.com/bloomsvilleglobalstour-1155079, and on May 19from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, they will hold a Car Wash at the Mattapoisett Firehouse.

Destination Imagination (DI) has had a positive impact on more than two million students who have taken part in its acclaimed academic program. This year, more than 150,000 students have participated in tournaments throughout the U.S., as well as 30 countries, in hopes of earning a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.

H Squared is among the 8,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that have advanced to participate in Global Finals 2018.

Destination Imagination is a leader in project-based learning opportunities that blend STEM education with the arts and social entrepreneurship. Its academic challenges are student-directed and are designed to teach kids howto think, not whatto think. Teams who participate have the opportunity to present their solutions at regional and state tournaments.

Destination Imagination dedicates itself to enriching the global community by providing opportunities for learners of all ages to explore and discover using the creative process from imagination to innovation.

For more information about Global Finals, visit http://globalfinals.org/.

Rochester Elects Ciaburri for Selectman

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Results are in and Rochester voters elected Paul Ciaburri for Board of Selectmen this Wednesday, April 11, during the annual election.

Ciaburri, Rochester’s emergency preparedness director, beat Finance Committee and ZBA member David Arancio 340 to 296, and will fill the selectmen’s seat vacated by Naida Parker, now former selectman of 15 years.

Parker reveled that night in the fact that her name would never again appear on a Rochester ballot, having also decided this year to forego another run for town clerk next year after serving for 34 years.

Ciaburri and his wife Beverly were visibly pleased with the results. Ciaburri said the campaign was “a great race,” and lauded his opponent for the positive campaign he ran.

“It was a great race. David was a great candidate, he kept it civil,” Ciaburri said, “the way a campaign should be.”

For Planning Board, both incumbents kept their seats for another five years – Ben Bailey and John DeMaggio received 308 and 322 votes respectively. Their opponents, William Milka and David Shaw, received 283 and 271 votes respectively.

Reelected uncontested were: Kirby Gilmore, Town Moderator, 550 votes; Jana Cavanaugh, Board of Assessors, 548 votes; Dale Barrows, Board of Health, 544 votes; Michael Conway, Water Commission, 539 votes; two seats for Library Trustees — Jordan Pouliot (458) and Gloria Vincent (500); Cary Humphrey, ORR School Committee, 510 votes; Jeffrey Eldridge, Tree Warden, 556; Kenneth Ross, Park Commission, 531; two seats for Rochester School Committee – Tina Rood, 476 votes, and Robin Rounseville, 533 votes.

Ben Bailey was elected for for Cemetery Commission as a write-in candidate as there were no candidates listed on the ballot.

By Jean Perry

 

Leaving the School System – What’s Next?

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The Nemasket Group will host a workshop as part of its “A Full Life Ahead” series of free workshops for parents and guardians of individuals with disabilities, sponsored by Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC) in partnership with the Building Futures Project and the Family Connections Center of The Nemasket Group.

The event will be held on Tuesday, April 17from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at The Nemasket Group, 109 Fairhaven Road, Mattapoisett. Please RSVP to Amy Cornell at amycornell@nemasketgroup.org or phone 508-999-4436.

“Leaving the School System – What’s Next?” is a presentation that will provide an overview of the range of services that the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission provide to individuals after they leave the school system. Ed Wilson and Tracey Daigneau from the Southeast Region of the Department of Developmental Services and Elaine Mello from the New Bedford area office of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission will share information to assist individuals and families in determining which services might best meet their needs and how they can be arranged.

Speaker Says Art is Essential to Science, Learning

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One man’s efforts to build poignant bridges between the natural world and the world of one’s imagination were on view on April 7 when native son Peter Stone brought his brand of creative intuition and expression to the Marion Art Center.

Hosted by a coalition of local land trusts from Rochester, Marion and Wareham, Stone’s themes of nature, animals, and the relationship between symbols in the natural world and mankind’s creative predisposition were on full display.

The desire to understand and make sense of the world around us in ways that are non-lineal isn’t new, yet this artist has spent his career working towards helping young and old alike do just that through visual arts, through stories, through a deep understanding and appreciation for how children learn.

Stone describes himself as an educator, environmentalist, painter, author, and a mythologist who spent several decades traveling the globe studying everything from decorative arts to ancient social structures. He also kept a focus on the reality that mere mortals profoundly impact the environment in devastating ways.

Before delving into the plight of whales, Stone’s presentation asked the audience to see the geometric symbols that exist in nature, to find the common ground in all cultures throughout time, and then to draw upon those to gain a deeper appreciation for the natural world so dependent on human compassionate conservatorship.

On display were several oil paintings done by Stone whose pieces have been hailed for this “luminous” quality as well as for their interpretative themes of animals in mythological ways. And that ability to transport the viewer from the commonplace to another reality – a mythical setting where it is possible to hear the whales’ opera under the surface of the ocean or see an eight-sided star in celestial bodies – is carried over in his thoughts on education.

Stone is a strong proponent for allowing children to roam the inner-workings of their creative imaginations, to allow all forms of art to flow through science and math skill building.

“You can’t do the science if you don’t have the art piece,” Stone declared.

Stone said, “There is a lot of contemporary neuroscience about how we learn visually and through stories.” He said that today’s educational structure that emphasizes mainly the four aspects of the acronym S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), along with standardized testing, is missing a critical element – Art.

“By cutting out art we have taken away emotion, and children’s ability to tell stories,” said Stone.

As an educator, artist, and mythologist, Stone said, “Art helps us learn.” He emphasized that educational constructs need to employ the “art voice” along with the “science voice.”

“Science without emotion has no story to tell,” believes Stone.

On full display was Stone’s other passion, one he shares with environmentalists around the globe – the plight of whale populations and especially the endangered right whales.

Calling humans “two-leggeds,” Stone discussed the struggle of migrating whales along the eastern seaboard where everything from fishing nets to sonar pollution have nearly brought the whale population down to a low point of no return. He said that today there are approximately 400 right whales. The ‘no-return’ number is 300, he said.

“What’s going on below?” Stone pondered aloud. “We don’t do this well as a culture. We need to take a holistic viewpoint using intuitive senses.” He likened humans to ostriches regarding our ability to ignore threats all around us and to the animals.

On this night, Stone’s strongest message was a simple one, but one he believes is absolutely necessary to human development – art. That by giving children a rich atmosphere filled with artistic avenues of exploration, not only would students thrive, they would excel; and as the stewards of this small blue planet they will inherit one day, children are the key holders to a world where the whales may live in harmony with humankind.

To learn more about Stone’s art and books, you may visit www.petercstonestudioes.com.

By Marilou Newell