Science@Work Lecture

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Learn with Tabor Academy during the second Science@Work lecture of the season.

As flu season takes hold, come out and learn something to stay healthy this winter from Tabor Academy’s upcoming Science@Work speaker: a nutritional biochemist whose research focuses on boosting the immune systems of U.S. combat soldiers. His talk is titled, “The Ubiquitous Role of Zinc in Health and Disease.”

Angus Scrimgeour, Ph.D., is a nutritional biochemist in the Military Nutrition Division at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), in Natick, Massachusetts. With over 17 years of experience developing animal models of human disease to validate nutritional countermeasures, Scrimgeour will provide insights into his nutrition research program that aims to boost the innate immune systems of U.S. combat soldiers.

Scrimgeour will discuss two very different research projects as examples of his work. The first, in Kenya where he studied the role of zinc in reducing infectious diarrhea, one of the world’s most deadly diseases; and the second in The Netherlands where he worked side-by-side with the Royal Dutch Military explosives experts. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has become the signature injury in modern warfare. To address this problem, Scrimgeour has developed nutritional interventions that increase resiliency to neurotrauma in animal models. In 2017, this work effort was expanded to use similar diets in pre-clinical models of post–traumatic stress disorder.

The lecture is free and open to the public on December 10at 6:30 pm in the Lyndon South Auditorium in the Stroud Academic Center at 242 Front Street, Marion.

Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Great Decisions Program

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Great Decisions is a Foreign Policy Association program that promotes dialog and offers current U.S. Foreign Policy and global issues for discussion. Our group has been meeting for over 41 years and is sponsored by the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club with support by Susan Pizzolato, Director of the Mattapoisett Library, and her staff.

Each member will come away with new and exciting ideas about international relations.

The 2019 Topics are: 1. Refugees & Global Migration; 2. Middle East: Regional Disorder; 3. Nuclear Negotiations: Back to the Future; 4. The Rise of Populism in Europe; 5. Decoding U.S. – China Trade; 6. Cyber Conflicts and Geopolitics; 7. U.S. & Mexico: Partnership Tested; 8. The State of State Department & Diplomacy.

The discussion program begins Wednesday,January 16, 2019, and continues for 8 consecutive weeks until March 6, 2019, from 1:00 pm – 3: 00 pm. The group meets at The Mattapoisett Library, 7 Barstow Street, Mattapoisett, Ma. in the community meeting room, which is accessible by the side entrance where there is an elevator.

The price for a single person is $35.00. If two people are sharing one text, the price is $45.00. This fee includes the cost of the textbook, one two-part classroom DVD, materials, refreshments, and a donation to the library.

The deadline for registration is December 29, 2019. The class is limited to 25 people and operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. The textbooks will be available on or around January 9, 2019, for distribution at the Library. Book distribution times will be posted.

To register for this program, please send checks payable to Mattapoisett Woman’s Club, and indicate Great Decisions in the memo to P.O. Box 1444, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. Along with your check, include your name, address, email, and telephone number.

The U.S. Auxiliary Coast Guard: A Short Overview

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The U.S. Auxiliary Coast Guard was founded by two acts of congress, first in1939 to replace the Coast Guard Reserve, and then in 1941 to establish the organization to promote and protect recreational boating safety in all coastal regions of the 50 states and its territories.

As a national organization, it is divided into regional districts which are then designated to be set up by townships and identified as flotillas. The motto of a flotilla is “Semper Paratus” – always ready – in peace or wartime.

At the start of World War II, 50,000 members with their vessels joined the war effort under the National Terrorist Advisory System. Perhaps they had been motivated by the precedent of England’s military implementation of small craft evacuation at Dunkirk. Thousands of allied troops surrounded by German forces were rescued and ferried across the English Channel to safety in Britain. Not unlike the Minutemen of Concord and Lexington, the miraculous nautical activation of small civilian craft in a voluntary flotilla may have set a military precedent that could well be implemented today in an emergency.

The Marion Flotilla here was among the first in the district national system to be formed and is designated as No. 1 in the Southern New England region. Five years ago, it secured space for its activities at 13 Atlantis Drive near Route 6. Space was available there to teach water safety and promote Southcoast events. One event is the popular annual and landmark gathering for the Buzzards Bay Swim.

They have also adopted the Ned Point Lighthouse to be open for guided tours, and also decorated and operated for holidays, as in my illustration. Local lighthouses today stand as landmark sentinels of south shore protection history. The south shore from Dartmouth, New Bedford, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion, and Wareham is a heritage of their operation.

The adoption of Ned’s Point light by the Auxiliary sets a fine local precedent to augment existing and historic recognition and appreciation.

Marion’s main function, like other flotillas, is to provide services, including launching an annual safe boating week. This recognition is augmented by available boat owner safety check off lists and voluntary dockside safety inspections. Also, inspections by boat owners can be scheduled by appointment.

With an eye for the future, there is a growing program for youth instruction with qualified teenage higher learning opportunities and with college credits for achievement. There is also a healthy emphasis on physical fitness, conducive to effective image of appearance.

With the last few years of expanded paddleboats and kite boarding along the coast, effective safety flotation devices have graduated and improved from the past life jacket standards. Many accidents today seem have resulted from misfits of misuses of flotation precaution equipment. And most drownings today are consequently closer to the shore rather than far at sea.

The Auxiliary operates on the premise that just one disregard for a proven safety rule or regulation can quickly lead to a life threatening or fatal accident. Carelessness can also change victims’ lives and the well-being of family or friends. That such a tragedy could have been avoided by simply following basic rules always brings unforgettable blame, but after it is too late. Subsequently, let me leave with you with a message of understanding and respect for the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary overview. They deserve recognition and credit for all the many incidents that did not happen through their efforts.

By George B. Emmons

School District Seeks $125,000+ in Capital Spending

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Superintendent of Schools Doug White told the Marion School Committee on November 28 that he and District Facilities Director Gene Jones have requested funding for two projects from the Marion Capital Improvement Committee totaling roughly $125,000.

The first project is technology infrastructure at Sippican School, which comes at an initial cost of $102,644.

“What we’re trying to do is to make sure that there’s an [Internet] access point in each and every room, which would then allow every computer to have the speed and the ability to use the technology to the best of its ability,” White said.

Although the district has requested $102,644 from the Town, $56,000 would be reimbursed through the E-Rate Program.

The Federal Communications Commission in 2014 adopted the E-Rate Modernization Order that expands funding for Wi-Fi networks in schools and libraries, ensuring affordable access to high-speed Internet.

White emphasized that unless the project is completed this year, the money would become unavailable.

The second request in the amount of $25,000 would fund a fourth phase of the BCT flooring project at Sippican School.

“We will continue to ask for additional funds until the project is complete throughout the building,” White said.

White also said he encouraged the Capital Improvement Committee to consider supporting the Police Department’s request to fund the installation of Mutualink at the Marion Police Station. According to White, Sippican School does have Mutualink installed, but, in the case of an emergency, would have to use the Mattapoisett Police Station as a resource point, White said.

“[The committee is] very receptive to what we’ve presented and want to support [us],” said White. “It all depends on the funds and the requests of other departments and where this falls in their priority list.”

The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for January 9 at 6:30 pm at Sippican School.

Marion School Committee

By Jean Perry

 

Noise Ordinance

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To the Editor:

Cheers Beacon Hill is a bar/restaurant located on Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, across from the Boston Public Garden. Founded in 1969 as the Bull & Finch Pub, the bar is best remembered internationally as the exterior of the bar seen in the hit NBC sitcom Cheers, which ran between 1982 and 1993. Cheers hours of operation are 11:00 am to 11:00 pm every day.

The Inn at Shipyard Park is not “Mattapoisett’s Cheers”. The bar/pub of Cheers fame is in a residential neighborhood and therefore closes at 11:00 pm. They don’t have amplified music playing until 1:00 am in the morning on weekends.

Turks closes at 10:00 pm and Ying Dynasty is closed by 11:00 pm. The Y camp in the summer has stopped the music at 11:00 pm. Why? Because neighbors complained.

Our town needs a noise ordinance because the police cannot patrol and stop the noise after 11 pm if we don’t have one. If a party in a neighborhood is too rowdy and the music too loud, the police can stop it.

The Inn would be a good neighbor if they stopped the music at 11:00 pm. The Inn has the license to stay open until 1:00 am and the patrons can continue to drink and talk.

Mattapoisett means a peaceful place for all residence.

Randy and Daune Smith, Mattapoisett

 

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wandererwill 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 Wandererreserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderermay choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wandererhas the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wandereralso reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

MATTREC Winter Programs

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Mattapoisett Recreation winter program sign up is open online. Keep the kids busy while it is cold outside! We have openings in the following programs:

2nd Grade Basketball is on Thursdays from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm & 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Program runs 1/3-2/28 at the Center School Gymnasium. Each session includes a ½ hour practice and a ½ hour game. The perfect introduction to game play. This league is Co-ed. Cost is $55 and includes a game shirt. Registration deadline is 12/10.

K-1 Basketball evening session is on Wednesdays from 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm. Program runs 1/9-2/13 at the Center School Gymnasium. This program is an introduction to the game of basketball through drills and fun games. This league is Co-ed. Cost is $55 and includes a shirt. Register by 12/30.

Kid Fit is open to Grades K – 3 and is held on Tuesdays from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm. The program runs 1/8-3/5 in the Center School Gymnasium. Join Mr. C. for a new session of KidFit. Classes are designed to increase physical fitness and expend some energy all while having fun! Different games and sports will be played each week. Cost is $105. Registration deadline is 1/1.

Gymnastics Clinics are open to ages 5 & up on Fridays from 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm – choose Gymnastics or Tumbling. Program runs 12/7-2/15 at Old Hammondtown Gymnasium.

Bay State Gymnastics Academy’s Gymnastics and/or Tumbling classes are perfect for beginner gymnasts as well as students with previous gymnastics experience. Qualified instructors will work individually with each gymnast on all 4 gymnastic events: Floor Tumbling, Balance Beam, Bars, and Vaulting. Tumbling classes are designed for any gymnast or cheerleader interested in working solely on floor/tumbling skills. Cost is $155 for an 8-week session.

Fencing is on Mondays. Ages 7-11 are at 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm and Ages 10-14 are from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Program runs 1/7- 3/11 at the Center School Gymnasium. All equipment is provided. This is an 8-week session. Cost is $165 and registration deadline is 1/1.

Center Stage Kids is open to Ages 5-12 and is held on Wednesdays from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm and runs from 1/9-3/20 at the Center School Gymnasium. Children will learn various aspects of the performing arts and will participate in a theatrical production on the last day of the 8-week session. Perfect for children who need to gain confidence or for the family performer! Cost is $105 and registration deadline is 1/2.

Space is limited so make sure to register online today at our website www.mattrec.net. Questions on any programs should be emailed to mattrec@mattapoisett.net or call 508-758-4548.

Training Class Suicide Prevention and Intervention

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The Tri-Town area Public Health Nurses along with the Plymouth County Suicide Prevention Coalition, invite you to a free training class titled QPR, (Question, Persuade, Refer).

This public event will be held on Wednesday, December 12at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion from 6 pm – 8 pm.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer; it is a basic training class that teaches you 3 simple steps you can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to get help.

Invited guests are members from the Plymouth County Suicide Prevention Coalition, and Jennie M Babcock, Chair of the Coalition, will be the instructor.

Please join us on this evening for a night of important information and resource information that you can use to make our communities healthier and stronger.

Board Keeping with Statute in Dog Case

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The owner of a dog that the Marion Board of Selectmen determined as dangerous during a recent dog hearing was denied her request to modify one of the orders selectmen issued pertaining to a securely enclosed outdoor locked pen or dog run.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson told selectmen on December 4 that Jennifer MacDonald, owner of a large dog involved in a prior dog attack that resulted in the death of another dog, sent an email asking if she could fence-in the backyard of her property instead of an enclosed pen with roof.

According to Dawson, MacDonald expressed that she has no intention of ever leaving “Stella,” a mastiff rescue dog, unsupervised outside in the fenced-in backyard.

Selectman Randy Parker, referring to the State’s dangerous dog laws, said it was unfortunate that the statute does not give guidance on an appropriate fence height for a dog enclosure, given that it mandates it should be enclosed by a roof.

“What bothers me a little bit is a ‘mesh fence,’” said Parker, which MacDonald references in her email. “I mean, this is a big dog.” He referenced the Town’s Zoning Bylaw that restricts fences to a maximum height of six feet, from which he said a dog of Stella’s size could probably escape. “When you take the roof away you don’t have any height restriction.”

To exceed the 6-foot maximum, MacDonald would have to appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Norm Hills pointed out that the order was issued to MacDonald “over a month ago” (October 16), saying, “I’m not sure if we want to negotiate.”

The board agreed that the language in the order, which selectmen took directly from the State’s statute, specified that the enclosure must have a roof for a reason. Also, any changes to an ensuing order would have to be done in another dog hearing at a subsequent date, which the board decided to forego.

“I guess I’m not inclined to change it,” said Hills.

“Nor am I,” Parker added.

“It’s also an issue of precedent,” said Selectman Jon Waterman.

Also during the meeting, satisfied with its job description and desired qualifications for the Department of Public Works director position, the board voted to post the position and open it to applicants until a cutoff date of December 21.

The board discussed this position as well as the one Dawson will leave vacant when he retires as town administrator in March of 2019.

Dawson cautioned the board to do its due diligence when devising a pay scale for the new DPW director due to the specific education and qualifications the board desires in a candidate.

The same goes for the town administrator position, Dawson said.

If you want to attract a qualified candidate and expect to keep them for any length of time, I think you’re going to have to be prepared (for a higher pay scale),” said Dawson.

The town administrator position, as well as selecting a professional recruiter to assist in finding a candidate, will be added to the agenda for the December 11 Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

The classification hearing with the Board of Assessors was continued a second time until another special meeting scheduled for December 11.

According to Dawson, the reason for the continued delay lies with the Department of Revenue in its process of approving the new property values.

“Finally, as of yesterday afternoon, the Department of Revenue has approved the values,” Dawson said. “We’re good to go, but not today,” he added, saying that once the DOR approves the values, a five-day notification period must follow.

The hearing will take place on December 11 at 4:45 pm at the Marion Town House.

The next regular meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen has been scheduled for December 18 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

Property Tax Rises Twenty Cents

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            On December 4, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen met with Principal Assessor Kathleen Costello for the 2019 tax reclassification hearing.

The “big news”, Costello said, was “the robust new growth – a figure thanks in part to solar PILOT programs.”

Costello pegged the real and personal property assessed value in Mattapoisett at $1,722,696,813, an increase of 2.3% over fiscal year 2018.

The average single-family home for FY2019 was assessed at $484,356, and the total revenue raised by both tax and non-tax sources for FY2019 is $34,653,529, an increase of 4.8 percent from FY2018.

In defense of maintaining a single-rate tax base for both residential and commercial real estate, Costello said the homeowner would not benefit from a split tax rate, and asked the selectmen to vote for a modest increase of 20 cents or an increase of 1.5%, bringing the rate per $1,000 in assessed value to $13.02.

Costello reported that, with only 6.7% of all properties falling into a commercial or industrial category, “Even the maximum allowable tax shift to these classes produces a relatively negligible decrease in the tax burden for the residential property class.”

At the same time, the tax burden on those businesses would go up $19.83 per $1,000 in assessed value, she calculated.

Regarding the solar PILOT programs, Selectman Paul Silva asked how much revenue those programs had generated thus far. Costello estimated that, to date, the Town had received $160,000.

“It’s good business in this town and doesn’t impact schools or other services,” said Costello.

The selectmen unanimously moved to set the new rate at $13.02.

The selectmen then adjourned the hearing and moved into their regular meeting agenda that included a meeting with members of the Marine Advisory Board (MAB) and Harbormaster Jill Simmons.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Jordan Collyer asked the MAB to move forward with studies on various aspects of the Waterfront Enterprise and the duties of the harbormaster.

“Now is the time to look at the waterfront before we start to make pavements on boats and other equipment,” said Silva. He said he wanted a hard look at what the Town was paying employees working in various waterfront positions to ensure the Town could attract qualified people. He was also strident in his opinion that, “The money collected from boaters should go back to the boaters,” in terms of services. He asked for a five-year capital plan.

MAB Chairman Carlos DeSousa noted that the sinkholes on the wharves needed to be addressed, with Silva replying that costs associated with piers should be viewed as a shared cost, not one exclusively carried by the Waterfront Enterprise.

Collyer said that money to fund various needs of the historic seaside site could come from three sources: the Waterfront Enterprise, general fund or free cash borrowing, and from the Community Preservation Act.

“There are three parts to this study,” Silva told MAB members. “Number one is operations, number two is capital needs to support operations, and number three the repairs to Long Wharf.”

On the issue of staffing, the selectmen asked that the MAB look to whether or not the Town needed a full-time harbormaster and, if so, what the duties of that position would be. They also asked that summer hour staffing be increased, at least from July 4 through Labor Day with hours possibly as early as 6:00 am and extending until 9:00 pm seven days a week.

There was also some discussion regarding the BIG grant, which stands for Boating Infrastructure Grant program, an estimated $240,000 that the Town hopes to secure.

The fund receives money from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund that collects cash from excise taxes paid on fishing equipment, motorboats, small engine fuel, and import duties. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also involved in the two-tier grant process.

Back in May, Town Administrator Mike Gagne told The Wandererthat the official word received in his office was that Mattapoisett would receive $160,000 in BIG grant money. At that time, he said, “The money is to be used for building more transient space that would allow visiting boaters to come into Mattapoisett, tie up, and visit our town and businesses.”

Now, the board has asked the MAB to return to the selectman by March 1 with the latest information it requested.

In other business, the board announced the 13th annual Holiday in the Park event will take place on Saturday, December 8. Along with free food, games, and entertainment, Santa will arrive via fire engine, and the tree lighting will take place at dusk. The entire community will get into the holiday spirit that day when activities begin at 9:00 am with the Mattapoisett Congregational Church Holiday Fair, followed by the Historical Society’s Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair at 1:00 pm. The Mattapoisett Library will also get in on the fun with music, stories, snacks, and ornament making. Boy Scout Troop 53 will be selling holiday wreaths in front of Town Hall between 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm while serving hot chocolate.

A request for donations of gently-used clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, and new winter socks is new this year. The Mattapoisett Lion’s Club will also be collecting new unwrapped toys and canned goods.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 8 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

 

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell

Sippican Historical Society

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In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. The survey was funded one-half by the Sippican Historical Society and one-half by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Due to the limits of funding, not all of the historic buildings were surveyed, but over 100 were catalogued and photographed. The results of the survey are in digital form on the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s website and in four binders in the Sippican Historical Society’s office (and at the Marion Town Clerk’s office).

Marion (Old Rochester) is one of the oldest towns in the United States, and the Sippican Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documentation on its historic buildings. The Sippican Historical Society will preview one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.

This installment features 381 Front Street, Old Depot. In 1854, an Italianate passenger depot was built on the west side of Front Street on part of the present parking lot for the Brew Fish restaurant. At its new location on 381 Front Street (across the street), the Old Depot became a station on the New Bedford and Onset electric trolley line. At the time, there were only two other buildings in the area: the early 1800s home at 368 Front Street and a one-room schoolhouse, which was later demolished. The schoolhouse stood north of what is now 355 Front Street.