MCC Ham & Bean Supper

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Come one, come all to Mattapoisett Congregational Church’s home-cooked Ham & Bean Supper on Saturday,April 21to support this summer’s Mission Trip to The Craddock Center in Cherry Log, Georgia. There will be great food for the whole family and lots of fun and fellowship. Doors open at 5:00 pm and dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Tickets for the supper are $10 per person and $30 per family. Advance tickets will be sold at upcoming Sunday coffee hours and at the church office. Tickets will also be sold at the door on Saturday, April 21. The event will be held in Reynard Hall at Mattapoisett Congregational Church, 27 Church Street, Mattapoisett. For more information, please call the Church Office at 508-758-2671 or email to mattcongchurch@gmail.com.

The Mission Trip to The Craddock Center (July 7-14) will be supporting Camp Craddock and providing a “camp” experience for children in need. Our mission team will serve as “camp counselors” and lead a variety of activities and experiences for the kids. Activities will include songs, stories, crafts, games and outdoor adventures.

Evaluation=Opportunity

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Tabor is engaging in preliminary planning this spring for a year of self-study in preparation for their 10-year Accreditation through the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) in the fall of 2019. NEASC works with schools and colleges across New England, including private, technical, parochial, and public schools from pre-K to the doctoral level.

According to their website, NEASC has been around since 1885 working to establish and maintain high standards for schools and colleges. Through their process of self-evaluation and an accreditation visit by peers, their mission is to stimulate constant improvement in education. Divided into four commissions to fine-tune their approach to different types of schools, NEASC uses 15 research-driven standards to test how well a school does what it says it is doing through its mission, programs, governance, and administrative structure and policies.

The first step in this process is a time of self-study where Tabor’s faculty and staff will all be involved in assessing exactly what they do and how and why they do it. “This is an enormous opportunity for reflection and growth, as we will no doubt uncover areas for improvement and opportunities to be more streamlined in our processes. This collation of the status quo, as well as ideas and plans for future improvement is a huge undertaking that will require lots of communication between groups of diverse teams so that we get the clearest view of our current work and the widest input on our future potential,” said Director of Communication Kerry Saltonstall. This stage includes surveying students, parents, and alumni to gather data and information directly from the extended community. The self-study takes about 9-12 months to complete.

After submitting the self-study document, the school will prepare for a fall 2019 visit from an assigned NEASC Visiting Team. These teams are created by NEASC and made up of volunteer professionals from peer schools that bring expertise from many different schools into our process. The teams are populated with experienced teachers and administrators from schools with similar missions. Their job is to read the self-study and then come to campus to see the school in action, asking questions to ensure that the actions reflected in the study are actually happening at the school. The team will then judge whether Tabor is meeting the 15 standards NEASC sets out for accreditation. The team will also make commendations and recommendations to the school.

Tabor’s faculty has been the most active in New England to volunteer as Visiting Team members, with over 20 faculty members serving in the last four years. “Our participation as volunteers on Visiting Teams has been fantastic preparation for this process, as well as wonderful professional development for faculty who regularly bring back great ideas from other schools in the process,” said Saltonstall.

The faculty officially began work on this project on March 20, taking a day just before the beginning of Trimester 3 to get a jump on the Student Program Section, one of the largest parts of the report.

Frank Townsend, the faculty coordinator of this extensive process was encouraged, “The work was engaging and sparked terrific conversation and enthusiasm for the task ahead. I am confident that the full, extended Tabor community will likewise engage wholeheartedly in this process to squeeze out every potential benefit for our great school.”

Entire Mattapoisett Election Uncontested

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When one thinks of democracy, the word “choice” might come to mind, and when you approach an election booth, one normally expects to choose either ‘this’ candidate or ‘that’ candidate. But not in Mattapoisett this year as the 2018 Annual Election ballot will list only one choice for each elected position, and in the case of the Planning Board, just an empty space.

Incumbent for Board of Selectmen Paul Silva will face no opposition on May 22 and will win another three-year term on the board, no contest.

Current Assessor Leonard Coppola will retain his three-year position, along with both Mattapoisett School Committee incumbents Carole Sherman Clifford and James Muse, who will each return to the committee for another three years.

Also running uncontested are newcomers William Osier and Elizabeth Sylvia vying for the two seats as Trustees of Public Library for two three-year terms, with Marcia Waldron who will get her first time as a Trustee of Public Library with a one-year term.

John Eklund will keep his position as Town Moderator since his position at the Town Meeting podium was unchallenged, followed by six more incumbents who will each win another election to keep their positions: Albert Menino, Jr. for a three-year term as Water Commissioner; Barry Denham for a three-year term as Highway Surveyor; Russell Bailey for three years on the Board of Health; John Vaughn for a five-year term on the Mattapoisett Housing Authority; and both Jodi Lynn Bauer and John DeCosta, Jr., each for another two years on the Community Preservation Committee.

Planning Board incumbent Gail Carlson pulled nomination papers in January and returned them on March 6, but she has since withdrawn her candidacy.

All candidates have until April 19 to withdraw from the election and be omitted from the election ballot.

The last day for residents to register to vote for this election is April 24.

The 2018 Mattapoisett Annual Election is May 22, with polls at Old Hammondtown School opening at 8:00 am and closing at 8:00 pm.

By Jean Perry

 

Getting Over Underestimating

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No one’s perfect. We screw up all the time, even if no one else witnesses it, and even if we refuse to acknowledge it.

We’ve all let someone down at some point in our lives, and when we let ourselves down, it takes guts not to blame it one someone or something else and acknowledge that we screwed up and will try harder next time to never repeat the mistake. And then sometimes in life we exceed our expectations of ourselves, of someone else, or perhaps we blow the mind of another with what we were capable of, and everyone learns something valuable.

Who we are, our relationships, and what we do in this life – the choices, the actions, the reactions – are complicated and their degree of imperfectness depends on our level of maturity at the time.

There certainly are ample opportunities in life to mess up, but none affect me more, none hit me harder, than when I screw up as a parent. My imperfection as a parent is my sensitive spot. I can misspell a name in one of my articles or get the date wrong reporting on a ‘pubic’ meeting instead of a public meeting, and I can sigh and suck it up and remember next time to use the Command F function on my MacBook to search for the word ‘pubic’ before posting.

But when you love someone as much as you love your child, letting them down is the worst. Even in those instances when my son isn’t even aware that I’ve let him down, I’m crushed for him. I take it hard – hard enough sometimes to pull the car over to the Mattapoisett Diner parking lot and give it a good cry like I did back on February 9 on my way home from the office.

It was the day my 14-year-old son was scheduled to be interviewed by Bristol Aggie as part of the admissions process to get into the agricultural vocational high school.

My boy is Autistic, and in every imaginably wonderful way. A delight, and doesn’t everyone who knows him know it? And he loves horses. So when we attended the Bristol Aggie open house last year and then again for a smaller-scale tour back in early February, there was no hiding the excitement in his face. That crooked smile, wide fixated eyes that gleamed watching the students riding the horses in the arena.… It was clear that he wanted to be them.

But is this a good fit for him? Would he have the academic supports he needs? Would he fit in? Would he be happy in a new environment, with new classmates, with new expectations? How would he perform academically in such a highly competitive structure? Would he even get in?

As we walked back from the large animal science section of the bucolic campus during our second tour, I noticed the sheep had just lambed; their wee little babies jumped about with a cuteness that can kill. They frolicked carefree in their new existence, hopping, climbing onto the backs of their mothers and then jumping off and back on again, then stopped to suckle wildly, then with seeming attitude jumped back up again, assertive in their fresh freedom. It was so darned cute I found myself tearing up. I welled up in my eyes. With tears! Please, nobody notice my irrational emotional response to the wholesome scene, I thought, my tense mouth already turning down. I tore a tissue out from my coat pocket and stuffed it back in along with my feelings.

On the ride home, I had doubts about the placement while the boy next to me smiled, enthusiasm intact along with his delightful dreaming of life as a student at Bristol Aggie. But there was work to be done, real effort. He needs letters of recommendation and preparation for his interview, an experience he had never been exposed to. He would be asked questions that quite possibly no one had ever asked him. And I, being his mother and knowing most things about him, haven’t needed to ask him what his interests are (ding, ding, ding, railroad crossings, bridges, VHS tapes, and classical music, and of course, horses) or how one of his teachers would describe him, or what strategies he employs when faced with a challenge. He would need practice with these questions, prepared answers, and a solid understanding of the importance of conveying these ideas in that kind of setting.

I wondered if it was worth the effort since he probably wouldn’t be accepted into the school – not for academic underperformance or lack of interest, but for no other reason than the fact that his verbal communication skills are limited, one of the ways autism can make life on this planet more challenging.

After we got home, I took to the sofa to contemplate my feelings and self-examine. I pondered the aforementioned lamb hysteria, breaking it down. What was the root of those feelings? Where did that crying-over-the-cute-little-lambs thing come from? Sometimes the self needs time to think about it, but sometimes it just answers right away.

“Your baby is going into high school and you’re sad because you can no longer protect him, nurse him, keep him close to you. He’s not your baby anymore and you’re having a hard time letting go.”

Tears. Realization and tears.

Conclusion: this is not about Diego and his ability to “make it,” either into or at Bristol Aggie. It’s about me and my fears, so who am I to make that decision for him? Who am I to say he can’t go to Bristol Aggie?

I wasn’t going to ‘fail’ him on his behalf and without his consent. He deserved the chance to try, unencumbered by my fears.

So we went for it. We got three letters of recommendation, and it was touching to read them clearly written from the heart with a sincere fondness for the boy. But as the interview day approached, I bit my inner lip with anxiety and doubt, and I recoiled from the thought of not being able to sit with him and support him if he faltered. We practiced the likely questions, and getting him to answer was akin to that pulling teeth analogy. I couldn’t get the clear articulate answers out of him, and he fought against the mock interviews. He wanted nothing to do with them and had no interest in practicing for an interview. With a helplessness I couldn’t bear, the night before the big day I helped him type out some short notes to help him remember some of the key aspects of who he is, answers to fall back on if he was to blank out.

He went to school, and I went to work. I worried about him and how he would feel if he got too nervous, if he didn’t know the answer, if he had a hard time formulating his thoughts into words. It made me sick to think about how he might just bomb that interview and walk out of it knowing that he did. And how would he feel after I told him it would be fine and he’d do well before walking into school that morning, only to return home to tell me that I had lied – it didn’t go fine, he didn’t do well.

I couldn’t wait to find out. I emailed the guidance counselor. I told her I was dying to know how the interview went. “My heart’s in knots,” I wrote. Did he bomb it, I asked her. How did he do?

I got the response while already clicking on my seatbelt in the car to leave work for that day, just about to pull out of the parking lot. I stopped. I braced myself. I read the email. I smiled.

“He did AWESOME!” (in all caps) she replied. “He was just adorable, very well spoken, polite, and used his prompts well.”

She said the interviewer praised him for coming in so prepared, “and I could tell she really enjoyed talking with him.”

“Fingers crossed,” she wrote, “I think it would be a good fit for him!”

My heart soared. I drove off feeling so excited, so relieved, so … suddenly and excruciatingly ashamed of myself.

I pulled over. I had to face it. As his mother, I had let my son down.

As a parent of an Autistic child, my fear is that the world will view him a certain way as a result of being labeled Autistic. I feel enraged thinking about a world that will likely underestimate my child, limit his opportunities for contribution and fulfillment because he’s been labeled Autistic, and assume he can’t do it – which is exactly what I, Mom, just did to him.

If I am his mother and I myself unfairly underestimated his potential, how can I expect the world to embrace him, accept him, lift him up as high as he can go when I myself had failed to? I’m supposed to be that one person in the world who is supposed to believe in him and everything he wants to do, support him, and push him towards his dreams knowing that there is at least one person in the world who thinks he is perfect, invincible, incapable of failing. So what happened? How could I let my fear hijack that moment and turn me into exactly what I feared most for my boy?

He doesn’t yet know what I’ve done, and when he one day reads this I hope that he understands and forgives me, knowing that I am self-aware of my failure and that I have learned from my mistake.

Before I pulled back onto the road, I wiped my face dry and vowed to the Universe: “I will never ever underestimate that boy again. Never ever.”

I’ve learned a lot about myself in this life as your mom, Diego, and there has been no greater teacher than you, which is why I have learned my lesson to never again underestimate you, and which is why, I hope, one day the world will learn it, too.

Planning Board Supports Article Banning Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries

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It took less than 30 minutes for the few residents at the sparsely attended public hearing held by the Mattapoisett Planning Board on April 2 to let the board know their wishes – ban recreational pot sales in Mattapoisett. The majority in attendance agreed with petitioner George Randall: “Not in Mattapoisett.”

Planning Board Vice Chairman Nathan Ketchell invited Randall, the author of the citizen petition, to speak directly to the assembled before opening the hearing up to public comment.

Randall read an opinion piece published out in Colorado that pointed to the alleged negative impact legalized recreational marijuana sales has had on the community five years after adoption. Reading from the editorial piece, Randall spoke of supposed noxious agricultural fumes, increased motor vehicle accidents, and poor student achievement, holding the editorial as proof that allowing local recreational marijuana sales would harm the community.

Randall told the people, “If we open this door, we won’t be able to close it.” According to Randall, drugs rob young people of their potential to be fully functioning members of the community, and he painted a dire picture of what he imagines the impact of legalized recreational pot sales would look on Mattapoisett’s population.“…This will be devastating to our kids.”

Colby Rottler, Finance Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals member, rose in support of the petition, saying he had studied the issue and was pleased that the Planning Board was taking it on.

“We have a nice town, nice people,” Rottler said. “I don’t think we need this type of business.”

Resident Sandra Dawson agreed, saying, “Think about the young people. I think this is a gateway drug.” She said people didn’t need to buy marijuana in Mattapoisett when they could go to Fairhaven.

There was some confusion among those in attendance who spoke in support of medical marijuana sales, a separate topic for another time and one not being presented by the Planning Board at this meeting or in Randall’s petition. One resident cited her family’s use of medical marijuana over legally prescribed opioids.

Town Administrator Michael Gagne said, “The vote you took in the Fall Town Meeting was for a medical and recreational moratorium. That gives you until December 31, 2018 to address medical sales.” If Town Meeting voters fail to ban or put in place new bylaws by then, he added, sales of both recreational and medical marijuana would be governed by state regulations.

After wrapping up public comments, Ketchell asked the Planning Board members to share their thoughts.

Janice Robbins spoke first, saying, “I don’t like to make decisions based on opinions,” noting that the majority of what Randall had articulated was simply that – opinion, not facts. “We should be making a decision based on fact…. I’m not convinced that we’re proceeding with both points of view.”

Another Planning Board member, Karen Field, said, “I work in health care. Smoking causes lung cancer…. You want to see the reaction to drugs, go to the ER.”

According to Field, people need to be of “strong character” when dealing with pain rather then using drugs as a crutch.

Board member Gail Carlson said she lacked confidence in the state’s vetting and thinks the state’s marijuana regulations are insufficient, saying that the citizens of the community had already spoken.

“People have voted that they don’t want this, so we should honor that,” Carlson said.

Ketchell said the Planning Board had three options: it could recommend Randall’s citizen petition at Town Meeting in May; not recommend the petition; or have no opinion advanced at that time. With Robbins casting a ‘nay’ vote, the motion carried 3-1 to support the petition at Town Meeting.

The Planning Board can now move forward with the issue of medical marijuana sales and distribution in Mattapoisett, a topic they now have some time to review. However, if Randall’s recreational marijuana ban petition fails at Town Meeting, then recreational marijuana sales will have to be revisited.

If a ban is adopted, however, it does not affect Mattapoisett residents’ right to use and consume marijuana, and residents would still be allowed to privately grow their own marijuana in their homes, up to six plants per adult with a maximum of 12.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for April 16 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

 

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

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To the Editor:

I am writing in response to comments expressed in a recent Letter to the Editor wherein libelous statements were made against me personally and my statements have been taken out of the context within which they were made; which have then been interpreted to mean something nefarious and illegal, suggesting the need for the District Attorney or the Attorney General to be called. Really.

The opinion expressed by local resident Beth Underwood reflects ignorance of the Wetlands Protection Act, the Public Hearing Process, and the duty of the local Conservation Commission. Perhaps it would have been wiser to have some understanding of the same before you put pen to paper in ignorance?

If you have any question about the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission’s March 12 meeting, go to the tape; we are on TV and recorded at each meeting. All meetings are recorded and are a matter of public record and available for your viewing pleasure on the Town website. The message that the current Commission wishes to convey is that our process is a transparent and inclusive one and that we seek to be consensus builders.

Moreover, projects which may have significant impacts on our local resource areas, as identified by the Wetlands Protection Act, are also subject to jurisdiction and oversight by State AND Federal authorities such as: MassDEP, EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, MA Fish and Wildlife, MA Division of Marine Fisheries, National Heritage, Endangered Species, MEPA & NEPA just to cite a few of the agencies that review projects BEFORE the local Commission issues the actual Orders of Conditions, which are done with the input of licensed Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Wetland Science Professionals as well as our own local Conservation Agent. There is abundant and overlapping oversight by many.

“…condition projects locally…” YES. Unequivocally YES. I said that and what it means is that the current Commission will seek to obtain consensus from the abutters to local projects, such that their concerns are respected and that each Applicant’s design mitigates those concerns to the extent of our local jurisdiction as defined under the Wetlands Protection Act, AFTER review is completed by the aforementioned agencies at the State and Federal level. There are limits, however, to what we can do under the Wetlands Protection Act as a matter of Right and the Rule of Law which protect the Applicant, too. The context of my statement is to keep the conditioning process local and avoid what are known as “Superseding Orders of Conditions,” which are a matter of Right, but which normally do NOT respect local concerns.

The process to appeal any decision that we render exists as an additional check and balance, for anyone with standing that feels otherwise, for appeal to MassDEP and or Superior Court. The Wetlands Protection Act is a LAW designed to protect the resources we all enjoy. It provides for a regulatory process that is thorough, inclusive and respectful of all party’s concerns. Local Applicants in Mattapoisett need to know that the Commission does not exist to say no, we exist to say yes, provided you follow the rule of law.

It is clear from the Letter that was published that the author might want to better understand and learn how the process works before you assassinate the character of five local residents that volunteer their time to support what they believe in and hold dear, which are the Resource Areas that make Mattapoisett Special for ALL of the residents that live here.

Michael King

Chairman, Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

 

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.

Author Talk with Jana Milbocker

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Do you enjoy visiting beautiful gardens? Enjoy a virtual tour of the best public gardens and specialty nurseries in the Northeast with The Garden Tourist! Join us at the Elizabeth Taber Library on Thursday, April 12at 4:00 pm to learn about each garden’s highlights, history and amenities, followed by a book signing by Jana Milbocker, author of The Garden Tourist.

Jana Milbocker is an avid gardener, plant collector, garden designer and writer. She lectures on a variety of gardening topics and has presented at the Boston and Connecticut Flower Shows, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and at many garden clubs and organizations. Jana is a garden designer and owner of Enchanted Gardens, a landscape design and installation firm.

This program is co-sponsored with the Marion Garden Group.

Mother’s Day Sign Making Family Event & Fundraiser

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On Sunday, April 29 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 74 High Street, Wareham, there will be a kid-friendly gift making event. Hit a home run this Mother’s Day and give mom a beautiful sign. Completely customizable, easy and fun. A 4-by-12 sign costs $25 and a 4-by-24 sign is $35. We will have a guide providing expert tips and ideas. You can pre-order specific sayings by going to the event page, three weeks in advance: bit.ly/sign4mom. This event is a fundraiser for the church’s many outreach programs and its community services and ministries.

Clouds Clear for Two Solar Projects

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The Rochester Planning Board on March 27 gave the final nod to Borrego Solar System’s large-scale solar farm slated for Rounseville Road at the corner of Mendell Road, and it also cleared the way for Clean Energy Collective to return to construction activities while it awaits the board’s final approval in two weeks.

Evan Watson for Clean Energy Collective for its 248 Mattapoisett Road solar farm went over some of the final details left open from the last meeting before delving deeper into screening matters that at times reflected contention between the board and the solar developer, especially over an area of trees the board wanted to remain permanently to provide screening. However, land owner Mike Forand wanted permission to cut down three oak trees and leave the remaining softwood trees, bringing the conversation into the direction of property owner rights.

Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson said when he spoke with Ken Motta, the board’s peer review engineer, Motta advised that all the vegetation in the aforementioned area, located nearer towards the road, needed to stay put. “…I kind of agree with him,” Johnson said.

The issue of how much control would the property owner maintain over lots abutting the solar farm was thoroughly discussed, with concerns mainly about future ownership and the fact that the board does not allow trees and vegetation on abutting properties to be relied upon for permanent screening, since the owners of those properties control the fate of their own vegetation.

After some time, Johnson said the conversation was getting too far into the hypothetical future and brought the talk back to the main point; that is, screening the panels is priority and that screening is going to have to be right where the panels are.

A representative from Clean Energy Collective mentioned Forand appealing the board’s condition to the Zoning Board of Appeals in order to maintain his right to control the fate of his trees, but that didn’t sit well with Johnson.

“You’re gonna end up sitting right where you are now, doing nothing,” warned Johnson. After that, Planning Board member Ben Bailey objected to the developer’s use of the word “compromise” when referring to the board’s final written decision.

“We don’t compromise on the regulations,” Bailey said. “And we’ve always said that abutting property cannot be presumed by a solar field … to be the screening process for that, and the Planning Board is not disposed to create conditions where we have to then chase landowners and enforce them…” He continued, “You’re really gonna run up against opposition unless what you propose is self-contained within the [property].”

It was Clean Energy Collective’s attorney, John Serkey, who came up with an idea the board could rally behind – a condition that would grant Forand permission to cut down only those three oak trees the board would approve, and if Forand wanted to chop down any more he would first have to return to the board.

That condition would work for future property owners, too, commented board member John DeMaggio.

The board considered granting conditioned approval on the project under the condition that the developer furnish the town planner with final revised plans the next day, but instead opted for Plan B, to allow Clean Energy Collective to return to work during the two weeks leading up to the next meeting, during which time the developer may work on the access drive and berm.

The board still needed some detailed structural analyses on the feasibility of the proposed stockade fence and whether it would withstand Category 3 hurricane force winds without falling, but it expects to vote on approval at its next meeting.

With just minimal discussion on final details of the decision, the board approved Borrego Solar Systems’ solar farm with a unanimous vote.

In other matters, while the board may have allowed the sun in on the solar projects, they threw some serious shade onto Zero Waste Solutions for its change of course from solid waste briquettes to an ethanol biorefinery without any communication with the Planning Board, the approving body that gave initial approval for the briquette operation.

Johnson said he heard about Zero Waste Solutions CEO Mike Camara’s presentation to the Board of Selectmen last week through the grapevine, and he criticized Camara’s poor communication with the board and its inability to keep to the construction timeline the board imposed on the original briquette project.

Johnson said the existing business is still incomplete in its construction – stormwater management drainage, no completed access road – “And most important, we don’t have any communication, which we brought up multiple times,” said Johnson.

Johnson said he spoke with town counsel about it and the two agreed the best approach would be to send Camara a certified letter enforcing the June (or July, Johnson wasn’t sure) construction deadline for the project the board approved, “Or there will be a cease and desist order … no exceptions.”

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for April 10 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

Marion Town House

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Dear Editor:

I have received numerous phone calls from Marion residents about keeping and restoring the present Town House and not building a new one at the Council on Aging property, where heavy and fast-moving traffic on Route 6 causes dangerous distractions and creates major safety concerns for pedestrians, bike riders and drivers. Anyone who has ever attempted to enter the narrow COA driveway from Route 6 knows the unsettling feeling of sitting on that roadway and having motor vehicles whizzing by so fast, it makes your car shudder.

The present Town House location, long a symbol of local government, anchors Marion’s Town Center with distinctive architecture and possible historical significance; it serves as an attractive cultural icon symbolizing historic seafaring Marion.

Many callers talked of plans to freshen Taber Library’s exterior, and the well thought out plans for a refurbished Town House next door, as well as the placement of a bronze statue of Elizabeth Taber linking the two buildings, create a charming campus and civic space where people can pause, read and converse in a quiet pocket park setting away from deafening marauding truck and motorcycle traffic that frequent the proposed Route 6 site stealing one’s sense of peace and tranquility.

A lot can be said for relaxing in a civic space created between two historic buildings enshrined with majestic trees, glorious flowers, benches and stylish shrubs – an extension of the community – a stage for our public lives. The site already functions in a true civic role where celebrations are held, where social and economic exchanges take place, where friends run into each other, and where cultures mix.

Many believe the Town House and Taber Library are our collective “front porches” where we interact with each other and with our local government. When towns and neighborhoods have thriving civic spaces, residents have a strong sense of community and feel a strong connection to each other.

Sincerely,

Eileen J. Marum, 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.