Summer Track and Field camp will be held from 9:00 – 11:00 am on Saturday, July 30 – Tuesday, August 2 at ORRHS. Open to those entering Grades 5-12. The cost is $125. Coaches will be Bill and Cindy Tilden, ORR hurdle coach Sean Medeiros, Wareham head coach Chris Gardner and New Bedford head coach Isaiah Houtman. You may register day of or send an email to orrtrackcoach@msn.com for registration papers.
The Tri-County Symphonic Band, under the direction of Philip Sanborn, returns to the acoustically friendly environs of the Dartmouth High School Auditorium with a program of Italian music entitled “All Italia!” The concert is at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 11 at Dartmouth High School, 555 Bakerville Road, South Dartmouth. Tickets are priced at $15 (students $5, children 12 and under are free) and may be purchased at The Bookstall in Marion, The Symphony Music Shop in North Dartmouth, and online through brownpapertickets.com. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door the day of the concert. For more detailed information, visit tricountysymphonicband.org.
Some members of St. Rose of Lima Church in Rochester are heading on a mission trip to Puerto Rico, joining two other parishes as part of the Cranberry Catholic Collaborative’s Mission Team.
The group of predominantly older children and young adults, along with supervising adults, got a taste of what it is like to grow personally while helping others in need last year while on their first-ever mission trip to the Adirondacks. According to CCC Mission Team co-leader Lori Handerhan, who resides in Middleboro, it was all the kids’ idea in the first place.
It all started after Handerhan and co-leader Eleanor Hurley accompanied two sophomore girls from the church to a week-long camp that taught kids how to be youth leaders. This ignited a desire to make an impact on people in need, and the girls inquired about starting a mission group.
“We were like, sure!” said Handerhan on Tuesday during a phone interview.
Last year, a CCC Mission Group went on its first mission to the Adirondacks in a remote area outside a town called Warrensburg in New York.
With the intention of “starting small,” said Handerhan, the group chose a location they could drive to, and the Christian group Youth Works coordinated the trip and all the activities and accommodations while the group was there.
The dates lined up, and with some “spiritual preparation,” as Handerhan put it, it all fell into place.
“It was one of those things that felt like it was meant to happen,” said Handerhan. “Needless to say, it was a great trip.”
For the group, it ended up not just being about how they could physically assist the people they met there, but also the other half of helping – the emotional part.
“For me, that was huge,” Handerhan said. “It isn’t just about what you physically do to help people. It’s about being there for them emotionally.” It was about letting go of the idea of simply doing X, Y, and Z, she said – the stuff like painting a house and helping to build. “But also, that person wants to talk to you, make lunch for you.… It was very enlightening.”
The group made friends and there were tears shed when they left. Handerhan said she watched the kids, who had never done anything like the mission trip, come out of their shell.
This year, the mission group is heading to Puerto Rico for its second mission trip and has started its fundraising campaign.
“This is a much bigger trip than last year,” said Handerhan. “Puerto Rico was so widely in the news.” One woman on the mission team, she added, is from Puerto Rico, making the connection between the two locations a tad stronger.
This trip will really bring the younger members in the group out of their comfort zone.
“I’m hoping we all see that, when people are in crisis situations, what really matters to people,” said Handerhan.
Yes, people have lost their homes and their belongings and are experiencing true hardship, “But most people are just thankful their families are okay,” she said.
“For us who have so much here,” Handerhan said, “I just want them to see what it’s like and see what really matters in life compared to the materialistic things.”
That, and the simple satisfaction of helping, she said.
“I’d always wanted to have a mission group, but waited for the youth to force the issue,” said Handerhan. “So when the kids finally said, ‘Hey, we want to do it,’ that was the impetus that got it started, and hopefully it will continue.”
The group will be embarking on their mission this summer and has started a fundraising program to cover the cost of transportation and accommodations while abroad.
To find out more or to make a donation, visit www.cranberrycatholic.org and click on the link just below the heading “Collaborative News”.
By Jean Perry
As the deadline looms for applications for the sale of adult use of marijuana, there was some urgency in the discussion at the Marion Board of Health’s meeting on January 23 regarding the imminent Adult Use of Marijuana regulations and their public health implications.
Leading the discussion was Cheryl Sbarra, senior staff attorney and director of the Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program for the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards (MAHB). Sbarra provided the board with a draft document outlining the public health issues within the proposed Adult Use of Marijuana regulations, drafted by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), that were released in late December.
There is currently a Working Group, made up of large and small municipalities as well as rural towns, that is charged with developing comments on the regulations for the CCC.
The Working Group will also be developing model regulations for municipalities to use in developing their local regulations for Adult Use of Marijuana.
Sbarra noted that the current draft regulations are in conflict with the Smoke Free Workplace law, which prohibits smoking in virtually all enclosed workplaces in the Commonwealth.
Smoking is defined as anything that is lighted, combusted, and inhaled, and unless cannabis was eaten, it would be prohibited under this regulation. The Smoke Free Workplace law would need to be amended to allow the smoking of cannabis.
The proposed regulation contemplates a “primary or mixed-use social consumption establishment” at which a consumer could purchase and use marijuana. Sbarra suggested that this could mean restaurants would have cannabis smoking sections and asked the board, “Are we going back to a designated [smoking] area as part of its enterprise a cannabis smoking area, with the second-hand smoke exposure?”
Board member Elizabeth Dunn asked why the CCC would draft conflicting regulations, and Sbarra surmised that the CCC may have thought this regulation would fit into the tobacco permit exemption, which she believes it does not. Additionally, vaping of cannabis would be illegal if the Omnibus tobacco bill, which adds vaping to the Smoke Free Workplace law, is passed.
Sbarra spoke at length about marijuana sales, specifically the conflict with the regulation of the sale of marijuana accessories. She suggested that the way marijuana accessories are defined puts them in direct conflict with the definition of drug paraphernalia, allowing all drug paraphernalia to be potentially defined and sold as marijuana accessories.
There is the question of storefront sales and whether the stores will be entirely adult-only retail stores strictly for marijuana, or would they be adult-only “7-11” type stores, selling other items as well.
Sbarra raised the question of local compliance inspections, similar to tobacco compliance, which is under the purview of local boards of health.
If a community had stricter smoking regulations than the state, board member Jason Reynolds asked, could the new regulations for cannabis override them? Sbarra replied that there are “strong preemption regulations” that would assure stricter local regulations supersede those of the state.
After outlining the lengthy list of public health concerns, Sbarra congratulated the town for the Special Town Meeting regarding the Adult Use of Marijuana moratorium, saying, “What Marion is doing now in moving forward on the moratorium gives you breathing room.”
Applications for permits from the state will be accepted starting April 1. Existing medical marijuana establishments will be given priority. Applicants must each have a number of items to support their application: they must show that their proposal conforms with existing bylaws within the town, have a letter from the Board of Health or the Board of Selectmen stating they do not oppose the application, have a Host Agreement with the town, and must show proof that they have held a community outreach meeting within the town.
Once an application is submitted, the town mayor or Board of Selectmen or Town Administrator is notified. Sbarra said that she did not believe there would be people lining up with completed applications in Marion, noting, “Some municipalities are lining up to be the Napa Valley of cannabis use!”
Regardless of whether or not the town approves the moratorium, the board can begin developing regulations immediately after the Town Meeting vote. Sbarra suggested that the CCC recognizes that municipalities are scrambling to develop and implement new regulations and will give leeway to those towns during the application process.
The CCC’s regulations won’t be finalized until March 15, which only gives towns two weeks to assure their regulations conform with the state’s version.
The Working Group is developing two model regulations for municipalities, one of which is a “placeholder” regulation that is simple and effective in the short term and could be amended over time. She believes that template would be available for use by Marion by the end of February.
Reynolds expressed for the entire board a reluctance to guess whether the moratorium will pass and wanted the town to be prepared in the event that it does not.
Once the Board of Health holds the public hearing on the new regulations, they could vote that night to approve them and they would be effective two weeks later when printed in the legal notices in the paper.
Reynolds expressed dismay at the prospect of undoing the hard work of the Board of Health as it relates to tobacco, lamenting, “What I’m concerned about is things that go against what the boards of health have fought for. There is enough commonality between smoking tobacco and cannabis … that we should be able to regulate it.”
The next scheduled meeting of the Marion Board of Health is February 13 at 4:30 pm at the Marion Town House.
Marion Board of Health
By Sarah French Storer
Rochester Memorial School Nurse Ellen Murphy says she has wanted to bring dental health care to RMS students for quite some time, and she is now hoping the Rochester School Committee will consider allowing her to collaborate with Smile Programs of Massachusetts.
Smile Programs, said Murphy, is a comprehensive school-based dental program that can deliver a dental program to the school via a mobile dental van and provide preventative and restorative dental care inside the school building to students in need of the service.
The cost of the dental care is covered for students who receive Medicaid or CHIP, and the services to uninsured students are affordable, Murphy said.
As Murphy summarized for the committee, tooth decay (cavities) is the most common childhood chronic disease, affecting 60% of the population. A child with chronic cavities is four times more likely to have a lower grade point average, and cavities are more common in children than asthma. Furthermore, cavities can lead to further tooth loss, other health problems, and problems with speaking, eating, and learning, she added.
Murphy said Smile Programs contacted RMS, asking if the school might be interested in adopting the program.
“Our free and reduced lunch rate in town has now reached fifteen percent, so that’s kind of how we popped out to qualify for getting this program here,” said Murphy.
In order to establish the program at RMS, a minimum of 15 students are needed to sign up.
The professional dentists and dental hygienists would perform routine teeth cleanings, x-rays, fillings, fluoride treatments, and sealants on the spot.
“I have for a while wanted to kind of do something in the dental area because it is so important,” Murphy said. “I just haven’t been able to get that up and running, so when [the program] approached me with this, I was really excited to have the opportunity to offer it to our families.”
Murphy is not sure at this point whether or not there is a real need at RMS to provide the dental services in school since she receives students’ health records but not dental records.
Principal Derek Medeiros said the dental services would take place during similar time blocks as when the school nurse performs her other health screenings, being mindful of important class times when students must be in class.
“We tend to try to do it first thing before the kids start their day,” said Medeiros. “We definitely try to do it within those areas and not in the middle of an ELA block.”
Murphy said she would gather feedback from teachers about their time preference for dental screenings, and possibly investigate whether services could take place after school as well.
Parents would be allowed to accompany their child during the dental exam, and a letter along with a permission form would be sent home to parents ahead of time.
Murphy agreed to seek the answers to a number of questions the committee had and report back at the next meeting.
In other business, Business Administrator Patrick Spencer said the most recent draft of the Rochester school budget for fiscal year 2019 is at $6,256,000 – an increase from FY18 of about $179,000 or 2.96%.
“We came to an agreement that that was what we would bring forward to the budget subcommittee,” said Superintendent Doug White.
Spencer said a significant reason for the increase is an increase in students considering Bristol County Agricultural High School, with eight students currently included in the FY19 budget.
The cost is roughly $20,000 per student to attend Bristol Aggie.
“[The overall budget increase] has nothing to do with what’s going on in this building,” Spencer said, “but the town and the school budget is responsible for that cost. It’s just something that people should be aware of.”
School Committee Chairman Tina Rood said an upcoming curriculum change in social studies could also affect the budget, as well as unexpected increases in student population.
“We are looking at the needs of our students as they exist right now in anticipation for the next year,” said Rood.
The next meeting of the Rochester School Committee is February 15 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
Rochester School Committee
By Jean Perry
Hannah Sullivan from Rochester has been named to the University of Delaware’s Dean’s List for the fall 2017 semester. To meet eligibility requirements for the Dean’s List, a student must be enrolled full-time and earn a GPA of 3.33 or above (on a 4.0 scale) for the semester.
Caitlin E. Sheehan of Marion, a first-year student at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, recently returned from spending the fall semester in Salamanca, Spain, through a special program that offers first-year students the opportunity to study abroad. Sheehan, a graduate of Tabor Academy, is the daughter of William Sheehan of Sudbury, MA, and Lisa Sheehan of Marion.
The following Tri-Town residents were among 1,608 students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) named to the university’s Dean’s List for academic excellence for the fall 2017 semester:
– Nicole Mattson of Marion is a member of the class of 2020 majoring in biomedical engineering
– Alex Tavares of Marion is a member of the class of 2020 majoring in computer science
– Chad Underhill of Rochester is a member of the class of 2019 majoring in computer science
– Edward Krawczyk of Rochester is a member of the class of 2020 majoring in electrical and computer engineering
– Drew Robert of Mattapoisett is a member of the class of 2020 majoring in robotics engineering and mechanical engineering
The criteria for the WPI Dean’s List differs from most other universities as WPI does not compute a grade point average (GPA). Instead, WPI defines the Dean’s List by the amount of work completed at the A level in courses and projects.
Select students have been named to the fall 2017 Dean’s List at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. Full-time students who complete 12 or more credits per semester and earn a GPA of 3.4 or higher are placed on the Dean’s List that semester. These students are:
– Celeste Hartley of Rochester
– Emily Kiehl of Marion
– Mya Lunn of Marion
– Noah Tavares of Mattapoisett
Erin M. Costa was named to the President’s List at Bentley University for her outstanding academic achievement in the fall 2017 semester. To be named to the President’s List, a full-time student must have a grade point average of 3.7 or higher with no course grade below 3.0 during the term.
Evan Gillis of Marion, Samantha Babineau of Rochester, and Victor Morrison of Rochester have been named to Emerson College’s Dean’s List for the fall 2017 semester. The requirement to make the Dean’s List is a grade point average of 3.7 or higher.
James Leander Forbes DeMailly of Mattapoisett earned high academic honors for work completed during the fall 2017 semester at Northfield Mount Hermon.
The University of Rhode Island is pleased to announce that 5,500 undergraduates have qualified for the fall 2017 Dean’s List. The students represent nearly all of Rhode Island’s cities and towns, all six New England states, New York and New Jersey, and many other states and nations.
To be included on the Dean’s List, students must have completed 12 or more credits during a semester for letter grades with at least a 3.30 quality point average. Part-time students qualify with the accumulation of 12 credits with a 3.30 quality point average. The list includes students who have not yet declared their majors as well as those from all of the University’s undergraduate academic colleges.
The following Tri-Town students have been named to URI’s fall 2017 Dean’s List:
– Lauren Smith of Mattapoisett
– Christina Sebastiao of Mattapoisett
– Juliana Nicolosi of Mattapoisett
– Jarett Johnston of Rochester
– Elizabeth Jerome of Rochester
– Riley Nordahl of Rochester
– Ally Sylvia of Rochester
In honor of their outstanding academic achievement, Emmanuel College has named nearly 700 students to the Dean’s List for the fall 2017 semester. To earn a spot on the Dean’s List, Emmanuel students must achieve a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for a 16-credit semester. Local students receiving this honor are:
– Griffin Dunn of Mattapoisett
– Meghan Pachico of Marion
– Stephen Parziale of Marion
– William Santos of Marion
– Evan Santos of Marion
Named to the Dean’s List at Saint Michael’s College for the fall 2017 semester was Justin J. Shay, a first-year physics major who is the son of Justin and Sally Shay of Rochester and a graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School.
Dean College is pleased to announce that Sophia Church of Rochester and Robert Tetreault of Mattapoisett have earned a place on the Dean’s List for the fall 2017 semester.
The following students have been named to the Dean’s List at the University of New Hampshire for the fall 2017 semester.
-Samantha Barrett of Marion with High Honors
-Jessica Lowe of Marion with Highest Honors
-Carli Rita of Mattapoisett with Highest Honors
-Alexandra Nicolosi of Mattapoisett with High Honors
-Kyle Wasylow of Rochester with High Honors
-Emily Ziino of Rochester with High Honors
The Mattapoisett Congregational Church will hold a Pancake Supper on Tuesday, February 13 (also known as Shrove Tuesday), from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at Reynard Hall, 27 Church Street in Mattapoisett. All are welcome to attend for pancakes, sausage, toppings, drinks and good conversation. There will be a freewill offering to help support a missions trip to the Craddock Center in Georgia.
For more information, please call the church office, Monday – Friday, 8:15 am – 12:15 pm at 508-758-2671.
The Dunn family, whose cottage is situated at 0 Fresh Pond, has something special planned – a floating osprey nest platform.
Represented by Robert Field of Field Engineering, David Dunn and his mother and property owner Gail Dunn plan to situate a floating platform in Fresh Pond, which is located off Beach Road near Point Connett.
Field provided drawings illustrating the construction of the platform that will be supported by flotation material and removed at the end of each breeding season.
Neighbor Annette Sweeney came forward with a request that the platform be moved some 300 feet away from her home located at 29 Beach Road out of an abundance of caution for her small grandchildren. She said she was concerned, given the size of the birds and their territorial and protective behaviors. Sweeney’s request was granted by the Dunns and accepted by the commission. The project received a Negative 3 Determination of Applicability, with no Notice of Intent required for the work.
Christopher Demakis, 10 Water Street, owner of the Wharf General Store, came before the commissioners with a Request for Determination of Applicability for a two-story addition to an existing structure.
Demakis explained the need to renovate an existing stairway to the second story residential space that was too steep and to add a small expansion of first floor retail space.
The commission found that although the property was situated in the 100-year flood plain, there were no jurisdictional wetlands areas. The project received a Negative 3 determination, and Demakis is required to notify the conservation office prior to the onset of construction. Chairman Mike King noted with a chuckle, “We will receive phone calls once you get started.”
David Vermette, Sparrow Hill Road, received on Order of Conditions for his Notice of Intent filing for the construction of a new single-family home and driveway. The project is situated within the 100-foot buffer zone.
Two three-year extensions of existing Orders of Conditions were granted to Robert Brack, 18 Water Street, and Elizabeth Johnson, Pine Street and Canal Avenue.
Continued until February 26 was the NOI filing by Dennis Arsenault, Snow Field Road, for a two-lot subdivision and associated driveway.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for February 26 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell
Entering the 2017-2018 basketball season, Old Rochester Regional’s coach Steve Carvalho expected his team would still be a strong team in the South Coast Conference, but not necessarily at the level ORR boys’ basketball had been in recent seasons.
“Right now we are, I don’t want to say unproven, but we’re certainly inexperienced in the post,” Carvalho said before the season. “I don’t have experienced kids who’ve played at the varsity level. I think they might get there though.”
Yet here they sit 10-1 (6-1 SCC) having only lost to Apponequet, the SCC’s top team. And that’s with one of the team’s top players, Jason Gamache, missing seven games (Games 3 through 9).
“Coming in, I knew I had three very good guards in Gamache, (Bennett) Fox and (Cole) McIntyre,” Carvalho said. “We’ve had a lot of contributions across the board from a lot of other people. But the kids have done well.
“I’m proud of the kids and what they’ve done,” he continued. “We’ve had to win some tight ones of late. We’ve had to learn how to win in different ways, including our last game where we were behind.”
There was some concern with the team losing its presence in the post after losing Matt Valles to graduation. More importantly, how would it affect the Bulldogs on the glass – something the team needs in order to execute the game plan.
“Rebounding is a daily conversation,” Carvalho said. “Our rebounding is so essential because it triggers our running game, and our running game triggers easier looks and that puts us in a press. Connecting the dots. We want to set tempo.”
That’s something Carvalho has always stressed with his ORR team: set a high tempo from start to finish. Though some changes have been made in the half-court offense, the approach hasn’t changed much.
“Identity overall, Bulldog basketball, yes it’s still the same,” Carvalho said. “Mainly on the offensive end I’ve been tweaking things a little. At any given time, I have four, sometimes five, guards out there. But we’ve made some adjustments offensively, but we’ve always had somewhat of a spread offense.”
Fox, ORR’s 6-foot-3 guard, has been immensely consistent throughout the year, averaging 17.6 points per game. But he can’t bear the load on his own. So while Gamache was on the sideline for an extended period of time, the Bulldogs saw a few other players fill in the holes. Instead of a three-man show, with McIntyre being the third player, Old Rochester has become a complete team.
“Cole McIntyre hasn’t surprised me, but with those two (Gamache and Fox) getting a lot of attention nightly, he was the key to come in and average double figures, and he’s certainly done that, averaging twelve points,” Carvalho said. “Jake Asiaf has really played well of late. He gives us this kind of point forward. He rebounds, plays defense. I’ve been really happy with him. Matthew Brogioli’s been rebounding, giving us all the athleticism. Sam Hartley-Matteson has come in as a big man. Collin Fitzpatrick’s back, Jake Yeomans, we’ve had kids come contribute at the guard position.”
But Asiaf has been the one really big one this year, says Carvalho.
“After not playing last year, he’s really gotten better week-to-week. He’s really helped us out a lot,” Carvalho said.
While the rest of the SCC might’ve hoped for a down year for the Bulldogs, it’s become clear that once again they are one of the greater forces throughout the conference.
“I never use the word rebuilding, but there were a lot of holes to plug,” Carvalho said. “I knew Bennett (Fox) and Jason (Gamache) were going to be good, but we didn’t have Jason for those seven games. For the kids to win all those games – except the Apponequet game – without him … I mean, Jason was an SCC all-star last year: thirteen points a game, he plays defense, he rebounds. So from that end, I couldn’t be happier with our record.”
ORR’s girls’ basketball team continues to dominate as well, improving to 9-1 (5-1 SCC) after a 54-38 win over Dighton-Rehoboth. Mary Butler led the Bulldogs with 16 points, while Cassidy Yeomens scored 14.
After both the boys and girls take on Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech, they’ll both play Wareham on Friday. The boys will be on the road for a 6:30 pm start, and the girls will host the Vikings.
Old Colony
Old Colony boys’ and girls’ basketball continued their run of strong play, defeating both Bristol-Plymouth and Bristol Aggie last week.
The girls’ team has now won six straight, improving to 9-1 (2-0 Mayflower Athletic Conference) on the year. Abby Cioper led the Cougars in the 44-27 win over Bristol Aggie with 14 points, while Savanna Halle added 10. The Cougars will visit Upper Cape on Wednesday at 5:00 pm and then host South Shore on Friday at 5:00 pm.
The boys’ team is now 8-3 (2-0 Mayflower Athletic Conference), having won five-straight. Jake Jason continues to average just over 23 points a game (23.7). Zach Soucy was able to score 15 in the 81-36 win over Bristol Aggie, while Hunter Soares added 11. The Cougars host Upper Cape on Wednesday at 6:30 pm and visit South Shore on Friday at 6:30 pm.
High School Sports Update
By Nick Friar
The Town of Marion will hold a Special Town Meeting on February 15 at 6:45 pm in the Sippican School Auditorium, 16 Spring Street, Marion.