Park Benches Coming to Sprague’s Cove

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Residents who walk their dogs over to Sprague’s Cove will soon have a spot where they (and their dogs) are welcome to sit and enjoy the view for a while.

The Marion Conservation Commission has allowed resident Susannah Davis’ request for two benches to be placed at two locations at the Town-owned property, pending final approval by the Board of Selectmen, the overseeing authority.

“We have a group of about ten people who walk their dogs at the beach every morning,” Davis said, “and pretty soon we will not be able to use that property because the beach is blocked off from dogs.”

The next logical place for people to walk, said Davis, is over by the Sprague’s Cove retention pond.

“It’s a great space and it’s there and it’s accessible and the people who are there would be very grateful to have a little spot to land,” Davis said.

There is a picnic table there now, Davis pointed out, “And that got us through the winter, but moving forward this seems like such a win-win for everybody.”

Davis also requested that a rubbish bin be placed there as well.

A private donor has offered to provide two new benches, but if that does not work out for whatever reason, Davis said, the Recreation Department has offered two used park benches that need a bit of work.

Also during the meeting, the commission approved the Notice of Intent for the Mektukquaamsett Improvement Association and issued an Order of Conditions to repair a storm-damaged Association pier at the end of Reservation Way.

“Yeah, it’s all torn up,” said commission member Shaun Walsh. “You really roll the dice when you walk down there [on] those boards…”

The entire 60-foot length of the pier will be repaired, for now – nothing fancy – and ultimately replaced, according to Diligent Marine Services of Fairhaven.

“It’s a rickety old, very lengthy dock and pier, and it’s a safety issue at this point,” said Walsh. “Some of the boards are pretty worn out and some of them cracked. It just takes one person to step…”

The original 3-foot wide pier was built in the 1960s and would require an amendment to the Chapter 91 license in order to change the design, the commission pointed out.

In other matters, the commission gave a negative determination for the Request for Determination of Applicability for MassDOT to install a 5-foot wide sidewalk with granite curbing along Route 6 beginning at the Mill Street intersection and down west to Main Street.

The commission chose to hold off from issuing a Certificate of Compliance to Michael Zinner, 538 Point Road, for the completion of seawall repair, in order to inspect the site.

The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 25 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Jean Perry

 

Students Present TEDx Talks at ORR

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During two of the high school’s Bulldog Blocks last week, a group of over 20 students gathered in the media center to participate in the first annual ORRHS TEDx Talks.

TED Talks have been held all around the world since the first event in 1984, hosted both by the TED organization and independent groups (like the students at ORR). “TED” stands for “Technology, Engineering and Design,” while the “x” signifies that the event is independently organized.

Seniors Alice Bednarczyk and Bella Rodrigues were the first to present with their subject on “Women in Science Fiction.”

“One requirement of the presentation was to do something that covered gender,” Bednarczyk explained. “Sci-fi has grown to be a very popular genre, with Mary Shelley being the one to kick start the genre with her novel Frankenstein. We wanted to examine how women have been portrayed in the genre.”

Bednarczyk and Rodrigues highlighted the major issues that have plagued female characters in both past and current sci-fi movies, which included looking at the tropes these characters fell into. One example was of the ‘helper woman’ who only serves to progress a male lead’s arc no matter how strong they are, such as Sarah Connor in Terminator whose sole purpose for being important is that she is pregnant with John Connor.

Aidan McLaughlin followed up with a discussion on “The Origins of Evil.” He focused on the search to find the root of all evil so it could be better fought, and showed it was related to the Gender Politics Club’s fight against sexism and bigotism.

Freshman Spencer Perez-Dormitzer did his talk on “Women in Beatboxing,” an activity he participates in. Along with his presentation, he gave some examples of his skills to the enjoyment of the audience.

“[Women in beatboxing] was something I hadn’t really thought of before, and I thought this was a good opportunity to do a little research and educate about a place in music without bias and gender roles,” McLaughlin said. “My idea behind it was that everyone is doing something about women or other people being oppressed, and I figured I’d bring some positivity. I also tried to have a memorable presentation.”

In her introduction to her talk about feminism, freshman Payton Lord said, “Feminism is a growing movement, but with growth comes misinterpretations to what ‘feminism’ means.” In her talk, Lord made it very clear that the definition of feminism means the equality between women and men, contrary to what many critics claim. She also provided the definitions of other terms that many people confuse with feminism: misandry (the belief that women are superior to men) and misogyny (the belief that men are superior to women).

“If we’re going to succeed, we need to stand as one to do so!” Lord said in her closing, summarizing why there needs to be less confusion on the matter.

With the first ORRHS TEDx Talks complete, students now look to the future to plan the next round of presentations to give more students the chance to have their voices heard and educate their peers on a certain subject.

“I hope that the opportunity to do this sort of presentation continues because it’s important for teens to learn how to research, assemble a presentation, and talk in front of a group of people in a low-stress environment,” Bednarczyk said.

ORR Update

By Jo Caynon

 

Mattapoisett Historical Society

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MHS Charity Yard Sale:Our 3rd annual charity yard sale will take place on Saturday, May 12from 8:00 – 11:00 am on Baptist Street. There will be a variety of items for sale: antique tools, ceramics, antique irons, furniture, games, carpets, Presto Press, etc. Come buy a treasure and support the Mattapoisett Historical Society! Questions? Call 508-758-2844 or email info@mattapoisetthistoricalsociety.org.

60th Anniversary Music Fest:The Mattapoisett Historical Society is 60 years old! We will be celebrating our 60th birthday with an afternoon of music and refreshments on Saturday, May 19from 1:00 – 6:00 pm at 5 Church Street, rain or shine. Stop by or stay all day. May 19 is the actual date the Society was incorporated back in 1958. We will have a series of performers entertaining us on the lawn, in the church, and in the carriage house. Come hear Ellipsis, Father & Daughter, Maxx Wolski’s Jazz Vibes, among others. You’ll hear jazz, folk, classic rock, a cappella, and classical music. All are welcome to stop by to enjoy the festivities. Questions? Call 508-758-2844 or email info@mattapoisetthistoricalsociety.org.

Tabor Students Offer Free Tech Help

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Tabor students will be reaching out to adult learners as part of their Service Day on April 28. From 9:00 – 11:30 am on April 28, students will be offering advice about the use of digital media and smart devices and computers. “The students are excited to share their knowledge of social media and the practical use of computers and smart devices, but unfortunately are not able to help with repairs,” shared Cheryl Moore, the faculty coordinator of Service Day.

Students will offer a number of useful topics to area residents including:

– Facebook 101

– Skype & Facetime 101: Learn how to video conference with friends and family

– Photo Management 101: Downloading, sharing and backing up to the cloud

– Smart Phone Orientation: Including privacy settings

– And “How do I?” Help Sessions: 1:1 help with your tech questions

Bring your tablet, laptop or smartphone to Tabor Academy on April 28 from 9:00 – 11:30 am and get your questions answered by Tabor’s digital natives.

The event takes place inside Tabor Academy’s Charles Hayden Library where there is free and accessible parking at 71 Spring Street, just across from the Fire Department in Marion.

Pickleball is Back

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Mattapoisett Recreation has equipment available for drop-in pickleball sessions. Spring days/times are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 pm – sundown and Saturday mornings from 9:00 – 11:00 am. There is no need to sign up; just come by and join others at the pickleball court on Hammond Street in Mattapoisett. There will be up to three courts set up, and players will be grouped by level. No experience is necessary. Come see what it is all about. Email Mattapoisett Recreation with any questions at mattrec@mattapoisett.net.

Putting the ‘Ability’ in Sustainability

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Sustainability experts now know the most effective actions we as individuals can take to mitigate the negative impact on the environment and reduce our individual carbon footprint, and it isn’t electric cars and recycling.

Scientists now say the highest-impact action one can take to reduce the carbon emissions contributing to climate change is actually an inaction – either don’t have children or have one fewer child than planned.

Having children isn’t exactly the same sort of lifestyle choice as, say, choosing to drive a Prius, but aside from bringing one less consumer of natural resources into the world, is there anything else that can match that degree of proactivity in reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere? Not really, but there are some less drastic ways to approach the issue.

The next high-impact practice is not switching to an electric car, but deciding to live car-free. Again, highly effective, but not as feasible to many of us.

With these top two options for saving the planet essentially being the top two non-options for many of us, it’s our responsibility and our duty to adopt as many of the other sustainable practices as possible, many of which can be reasonably practiced, every day, by even the busiest of us.

Recycling is a given. If you’re still throwing plastic water bottles into the trash instead of the recycle bin, you’re out of excuses. And if you have already accepted that recycling is now mandatory as we face a future of landfill closures and the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute, then it’s time to take the next step in carbon footprint reduction.

One action of moderate impact is to simply stop eating meat. It takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef. The beef industry is the No. 1 consumer of freshwater in the world, and even giving up eating meat just one day per week reduces as much CO2 emissions as driving 1,600 miles in a combustible engine car. Further still, if you replaced all your beef meals with chicken, this would lead to a reduction of 882 pounds of carbon emissions.

And if you forewent just one round-trip trans-Atlantic flight this year, you would reduce carbon emissions by 1,571 pounds.

This month, the Fairhaven Sustainability Committee challenged the entire SouthCoast to join them in participating in the Drawdown EcoChallenge to take on the 100 most substantive solutions to global climate change at the individual level.

The Fairhaven Sustainability Committee formed an EcoChallenge team, appropriately called Team SouthCoast, and reached out to the entire region to join them in stretching ourselves to explore ways we can further reduce our CO2 emissions. They are proud to announce that they are currently ranked 26 out of 705 teams worldwide.

The Drawdown EcoChallenge introduces the participant to new and innovative ways to make an impact by providing tools and inspiration to turn intention into action in areas such as food, land use, transport, materials, women and girls, and buildings and cities. In other words, “Small, but not insignificant contributions,” said Sustainability Committee member and EcoChallenge participant Susan Spooner.

Although the EcoChallenge ends April 25, another is slated for October 3-24, with registration beginning in August.

For more information about the upcoming 2018 EcoChallenge, visit www.ecochallenge.org.

What are some other small but important steps you can take? Skip the straw. The U.S. alone uses up about 500 million plastic single-use straws every single day. Straws literally suck because they never fully degrade; rather, they break down into bits and pieces and wind up in every level of the food chain.

You can also remember to bring your cloth bags with you to the market and keep a few reusable grocery bags in your trunk for those impromptu shopping stops. Plastic grocery bags are vile contributors to pollution on so many levels, from the disgusting sight of them stuck in tree branches and bushes to the 12 million barrels of oil it takes to make the nearly 100 billion bags we use each year. They also take at least 500 years to break down.

We also really need to reduce our use of Styrofoam and plastic disposable cups from the coffee shop. We use about 500 billion one-use disposable coffee cups every year.

Another good place to start is to take the EPA’s carbon footprint calculator at https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/ to see where you can better save on greenhouse gas emissions (and money) and reduce your household’s overall impact on the Earth.

Sometimes it helps to organize with others. There are a number of Earth Day events planned for the Tri-Town where you can get into the spirit of taking action to protect the environment and ultimately your health and the health of your children.

Saturday, April 21, is the Rochester Town-Wide Cleanup sponsored by the Rochester Land Trust and Rochester Women’s Club at 37 Marion Road from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Trash bags and gloves are provided, and the RLT will also take your old electronics and appliances for a small fee.

Saturday, April 28, is Marion’s Earth Day Trash Bash, the annual Scout-led town-wide cleanup in conjunction with the Marion Recreation Department, DPW, and Tabor Academy. The troops rally at Washburn Park starting at 8:30 am until 11:30 am, and yellow safety vests, trash bags, and gloves are provided. The litter collected will be brought back to Washburn Park for a “trash mountain,” a visual testament to both the amount of trash littering the streets of Marion and the efforts that morning of those who care.

By Jean Perry

 

FY19 School Budget Up 1.1%

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As the Mattapoisett Finance Committee works toward finalizing the Town’s fiscal year 2019 budget for the May 14 Annual Town Meeting, Town Administrator Michael Gagne along with members of the FinCom met with local school administrators on April 12.

Seated at the conference table to discuss and explain the working fiscal spreadsheets were Old Rochester Regional School District Superintendent Doug White, ORR Business Director Patrick Spencer, and Mattapoisett School Committee member James Muse. Also present was Principal Rose Bowman.

Gagne began by pointing out that all parties had been working diligently with Spencer to achieve a budget proposal saying, “We’ve worked on several budget variations … taking into consideration enrollments … and the need for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).”

Spencer went on to say that two classes in the Mattapoisett School District would be eliminated based on declining enrollment. He said that average class sizes for kindergarten through Grade 6 would be between 16 and 21 students per class after eliminating the two classes. Total FY19 decreases from class consolidations equaled $53,726.

Bowman said the instrumental music instructor for Old Hammondtown School would not be returning in the fall, giving the administration an opportunity to hire a teacher with less time in grade for a lower salary equaling a decrease of $22,136. She also said the schools needed two nurses at all times throughout the day, increasing that line item by $30,606.

And there were other increases that nibbled away at proposed savings.

White said, “We’ve spent a lot of time on English and Math…. We now need a jump start on STEM exposure.” He said that a STEM coach “will work directly with the teachers and the students.”

Bowman added, “The new standards require spending more time developing units and there is an excessive amount of materials with labs…. This coach will co-teach Grades K-5 with a whole new focus which is critically important.”

Finance Committee Chairman Pat Donoghue interjected, “I’ve talked about reducing teachers; you’re adding STEM and nurses…. It seems like the reductions are at the lowest pay levels.”

Spencer responded, “There are no retirements planned.… The reduction in teachers is coming from those with less then three years.”

Donoghue said, “I thought we’d save on salary … this is not what I expected to see.”

“This is a negotiation year,” said White. “You’ve got to give us leeway to negotiate.”

Gagne cautioned, “Once Town Meeting votes, they (the schools) are going to be locked in; everything will be set,” adding that he advised the school budget committee to build in a buffer for union salary negotiations.

Regarding early education funding, White said, “Betsy DeVos (U.S. Secretary of Education) is looking to move all those funds and send them to private education (charter schools).”

Circling back to the question of declining enrollment, Gagne said, “I’ve been given an initiative by the selectmen to look at space needs. We’ll set aside funding to look at enrollment trends and space needs.”

He said a drill-down on whether the town needed one school or two was necessary before consideration of building a new town hall.

“We need to definitively answer that question,” Gagne said, adding that it would be three or four years before the Town would be ready to make a final decision, and that retiring debts ending between 2024 to 2026 are needed for any conversation about construction needs, “So we can’t get too far ahead. It gives us time to look at enrollment trends and predications.”

The proposed local school budget shows a 1.1% or $76,785 increase over FY18 that stood at $6,917,439. FY19 is pegged at $6,994,224.

The FinCom also reviewed the FY19 Capital Items list that contains 19 possible expenditures, including new heavy equipment for the Highway Department and needs of the Fire Department.

No. 1 priority is $260,000 to design, engineer, and gather project estimates for a new fire station. No. 2 on the list is $27,000 for new bulletproof vests. Gagne said a matching state grant would allow the Police Department to buy these essential safety items.

Further down on the list is $91,000 for two new police cruises, $125,000 for improvements to the town barn, and $60,000 for technology upgrades to local schools.

The work of the Finance Committee rests now in tidying up the FY19 budget proposal for the May 14 Town Meeting.

The Mattapoisett Finance Committee will meet again on April 19 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell

 

Dear Citizens of Marion

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Dear Citizens of Marion:

It is time to give the town’s dedicated staff a better place to work. Seven long years ago a building study revealed how much work the Town House needed and what it would cost to simply repair it. The study triggered the appointment of a building committee that soon determined piecemeal repairs could never turn the building into a good Town Hall. The committee recognized that a full renovation of the building would be too expensive and looked into many alternative plans that would cost less. The present plan gradually evolved as the committee responded to comments from the citizens of Marion. The new proposal calls for reducing the size of the present building by demolishing the rear annex and renovating only the space needed for town offices. The extent of the renovated area was reduced to half the size of the present structure. The interior will be gutted to bare studs, brought up to code, and totally refurbished. The office layout will became more open and efficient and will require less than half the heating fuel of the present building. The building’s exterior will have new doors and windows while classic details of the historic structure are preserved. Yes, the work is expensive, but after years of neglect, this project respects Elizabeth Tabor’s incredible generosity to the Town and finally gives our municipal employees the fresh new office space they deserve. Please support this worthy project at Town Meeting on May 14.

Bill Saltonstall, 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.

UCCRTS Honor Roll

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The following students achieved honors at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School for the 3rd Quarter:

Grade 9 Honors: Bradford Arruda of Marion

Grade 10 High Honors: Bethany Davis of Marion

Grade 11 High Honors: Delaney Gosse of Marion

Grade 11 Honors: Christopher Rogers of Marion

Grade 12 Honors: Alshandra Areias of Marion

Grade 12 Honors: Christopher Parisi of Marion

Mattapoisett Lions Senior Dinner

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Mattapoisett Lions Club will once again hold its senior dinner on April 28at 12 o’clock at the Congregational church. Turkey dinners will be served at 12 o’clock with entertainment. Any individuals wishing a turkey dinner that cannot attend may call the Council on Aging for delivery of meals. Any questions regarding the event, please contact Dr. Swift at 508-758-3666.