Holiday House Tour and Tea

The Sippican Woman’s Club presents the 31st Annual House Tour and Tea from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, December 9. Proceeds from the Holiday House Tour are used for annual scholarship awards to local students – both graduating seniors and college students. The theme this year is “Festival of Trees” with over 60 decorated trees – some for sale – in the Tavern. Wassail will be served before proceeding to five homes, each uniquely decorated.

There is also the elegant Tea at St. Gabriel’s, corner of Front Street and South Street, where one can enjoy freshly baked pastries and have a chance to warm up. Tea will be served between 2:00 and 4:00 pm by club members.

Tickets are $20 in advance by purchasing them in Marion at Serendipity by the Sea, The Bookstall, and Marion General Store. In Mattapoisett, tickets may be purchased at Isabelle’s in The Ropewalk. Tickets may be reserved by mail (Sippican Woman’s Club, P.O. Box 121, Marion MA, 02738; please write “tickets” on your envelope) and picked up at Coldwell Banker, next to Handy’s Tavern. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the tour, for $25 at Coldwell Banker.

Drama Club Makes Noise in Noises Off!

Contrary to its name, the ORRHS drama production Noises Off! was certainly not quiet.

Each night, the audience found themselves in stitches as they laughed at the on-stage antics of the cast.

Although the show revolved around a dysfunctional theater company and their doomed play, the scale and talent involved in the high school production showed the strength of the club.

“It’s a really difficult show to get right, and each cast did so well,” said Alice Bednarczyk. She was in Cast A and played the part of Belinda Blair, a motherly but gossipy actress who tries to keep the play running smoothly. “The nice thing about this show was that if we did mess up, no one can tell because that’s the whole point of the show. Everyone proved themselves to be able to improve if something didn’t go perfectly, and each of the individual casts became a close-knit family.”

Cast B member Paul Kippenberger played Freddie Fellows, a fairly anxious actor who got a bloody nose at the sight or mention of blood or violence.

“Our days were pretty good as well,” Kippenberger said. “Everyone worked really hard, and since there was laughing, our effort definitely paid off. I know jumping up the stairs with my pants around my ankles was my favorite part, and that drew lots of laughter and cheering.”

The first act followed the actors at their last rehearsal before opening night and set up the various relationships between the characters. From the start, the audience was drawn in as Christian Hotte or Nick Claudio, depending on who played the director Lloyd Dallas that night, spoke out from the back row to criticize the onstage actor.

“It was the first chance I had to really use my voice so much in a play, and I learned how to use it in new and interesting ways,” said Hotte. His strong and deep voice gave his role an air of faux superiority over the other characters.

A difference compared to other productions was that the audience also saw the changing of the set during each intermission, as the house backdrop was spun 180 degrees for the second act to show the backstage drama of the group’s play a month into their run.

The third and final act showed the deteriorated play three months into its tour, and all heck breaks loose as props are broken, lines are forgotten, and actors are at each other’s throats.

Of course, it’s all just impressive acting on stage.

“Aside from my castmates all being incredibly talented, I have never met such a large collection of genuinely nice people all in one place,” Hotte commented.

ORR Update

By Jo Caynon

 

Festival of Lessons and Carols

The 2017 Festival of Lessons and Carols, Tabor Academy’s annual celebration of the return to light following the solstice, will take place on Sunday, December 10 at 7:30 pm in Wickenden Chapel (81 Spring Street, Marion).

Inaugurated in 1980 by recently retired faculty member, Bruce Cobbold, the festival occupies a special place in the life of the Academy. Featuring Tabor’s six choral ensembles, this “Christmas card in music” to the community annually draws hundreds to the chapel to ring in the season with carols, music by the masters, and readings drawn from Scripture that tell the story of the rebirth of hope from darkness. Thousands more have followed the live streaming of the event via Tabor’s Facebook page.

This year’s repertoire includes airs, recitatives and choruses from Camille Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio as well as long established old favorites. Rounding out the offerings are original compositions and new arrangements of traditional standbys making their debut on this year’s festival.

The Festival begins in darkness with the lighting of the candles, accompanied by Saint-Saëns’ haunting “Prelude in the Style of J. S. Bach” followed by the choral introit, “In The Beginning.” From there, the choristers process to “Once in Royal David’s City” and once in, invite the congregation to join in joyous celebration of the season. As always, the assembly is encouraged to raise their voices with the ensembles to form a mighty choir, culminating in the robustly magnificent “Hallelujah!” chorus from Handel’s Messiah.

The Festival of Lessons and Carols is free and open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Please join us for this gala observance in Wickenden Chapel, 81 Spring Street, Marion, or, if you are unable to make it to Marion, online by logging onto Tabor Academy on Facebook.

Gateway Youth Hockey

Mite C Team: The Gladiators Mite C team took on a very tough Martha’s Vineyard team this weekend, skating away with a loss. They definitely made improvements from the first time they faced them. Scoring for the Gladiators were Tomas doCanto, assisted by Jake Lovendale and an unassisted goal scored by Kaden Silva. Having another great day in net was Caden Kosboski, who faced 71 shots and made many saves. The Gladiators will enjoy a holiday bye week before returning to action on December 2.

Mite House Team: The Mite House team faced off with Lower Cape on Saturday morning, and although they played hard, they came up short in the end. In net, Myrick O’Neil-O’Connell was stellar, stopping shots from all over while only allowing 15 goals. The offensive attack was strong as all players skated hard and fought for the puck. Kaden Silva led the scoring with five goals for the Gladiators. Brooke Whiteley (2), Jack Wronski, Kaleigh Silva and Isabella Goll also added goals. Jalayla Tillery’s hustle and passing helped set up two goals, while Bentley Killion, Brodie Yaew, and Peyton Ladd all contributed with strong play in both ends of the rink.

PeeWee B Team: The PeeWees faced off with Nantucket on Saturday in Marion. Playing their best game of the season as a team, the Gladiators were defeated 4-0 in the end. The team came together playing with a short bench and fought till the end. Although coming up short, the players hustled and controlled most of the game. In net, Tucker Roy was solid, stopping 16 of 20 shots. The PeeWees continue to play great hockey and look forward to a weekend off to rest up.

Neighborhood Supports Wareham Street Proposal

The small crowd that gathered at the Marion Planning Board meeting on November 20 spoke in favor of a redevelopment proposal for a property on Wareham Street that has been an eyesore for the neighborhood for years.

            The proponents were represented by David Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates, who methodically went through the details of the project for the Site Plan Review.

The property at 111 Wareham Street is bounded to the south by Marvel Street, an unimproved private road. The proposed access to both parcels will be via Wareham Street, with a legal access easement for crossing to the back lot. A 60-foot by 100-foot Morton-style building is proposed for each parcel, with four garage bays in each.

The two owners of the lots, Tad Wallenhaupt and Alexander Urquhart, intend to occupy at least one bay in each building, with the intent of renting the other bays to tradesmen such as plumbers and carpenters.

The proposal provides ample paved parking for the employees of the tenants, with four spaces for each bay.

Davignon did note that the applicants are asking for a waiver for the setback requirements for the detention ponds, saying that in his opinion the requirements are unrealistic for a commercial development.

The Planning Board pushed back on this idea, with board member Jennifer Francis on speaker phone stating “I’m sure there is good reason for the setbacks. I’d like to know if they are okay with the peer reviewer.” She added that she thought smaller buildings would solve the problem, implying that with reduced impervious surface, the ponds could be smaller and not require a waiver from setback requirements.

Traffic remained a concern for Marum, who had raised issues back in June about the proximity of the crest of the hill on Route 6 and the entrance to the site, noting her own near miss with a commercial truck recently.

Davignon came armed with accident data, which showed three accidents at the location in the last five years. Marum was not convinced and said she may still want to ask for a traffic study before granting the permit.

Francis raised the question of a landscaping plan, and Davignon described plantings that will screen the property from Route 6 and the neighbors. There are existing arborvitaes that will be trimmed back, but the proponents have no plans for removing any existing vegetative screening.

The Site Plan Review process may also require an environmental assessment of the site, which Francis also thought may be prudent due to the current conditions on the site. Davignon pointed out that the board had already waived this assessment at the meeting in June, and wondered aloud “I don’t know if that is binding.”

Neighbors to the project all spoke in favor of the proposal, noting that the property had been an eyesore for years.

Wallenhaupt lives directly behind the site and assured the board that the site will be hugely improved for the benefit of his neighbors and the entire town.

The board continued the public hearing pending the peer review letter from Tibbetts Engineering on behalf of the board and input from the fire chief on access and safety.

In other business, Bill Madden from G.A.F. Engineering, representing Luba Bilentschuk, presented an Approval Not Required application for a property located on Ridgewood Lane. Madden reminded the board that back in 2007 and 2010, a one-lot subdivision was created to show that the property could conform to the subdivision control laws. Now, the owners would like to market the property and would like to combine the buildable lot, known as Lot 23, with the 9,400 square-foot drainage easement lot, known as lot 23A.

The drainage easement lot was designed for drainage for the proposed road to access the building lot, as required by the subdivision control law. However, there will be only one house on this parcel, serviced by a driveway, and the parcel earmarked for drainage is unnecessary.

In response to Marum, who noticed that the property had come before the board in 2016, Madden said that the owners were required by the selectmen to show that they were able to convey 70 acres of land to a land trust as open space. Madden also felt that the wetland line will need to be reflagged and approved by the Conservation Commission. The parcel went through an interdepartmental review, in which the Fire Chief agreed to the 12-foot wide driveway.

The board approved the ANR plan.

The board performed a housekeeping measure in which they agreed to recommend that an article be placed on the Annual Town Meeting Warrant for a zoning change for land located on Spring Street. The change would be from General Business/Limited Industrial to Residence E.

After the vote, Planning Director Gil Hilario suggested he begin the process of gathering together a multi-board workshop, including the Planning Board, the Board of Selectmen, Department of Public Works, and other stakeholders. This workshop would be convened, as Hilario put it, to “develop a clear definition of what is going to happen.”

Board member Will Saltonstall cautioned the board to be clear about its purpose. “[We are] not pre-negotiating terms of what the subdivision will be. Be very clear as a representative of the Planning Board [we are] just opening the door to discussion,” he said.

Hilario added, “[We] cannot appear to endorse or prefer any development. Sherman [Briggs] has not been promised anything.”

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for December 4 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Planning Board

By Sarah French Storer

 

Science@Work Lecture Series

Dr. Gregory Skomal, an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, and author, will kick off the Tabor Academy Science@Work Lecture Series for this year on December 11 at 6:30 pm.

For more than 30 years, Skomal has been actively involved in the study of life history, ecology, and physiology of sharks. Much of his current research centers on the use of acoustic telemetry and satellite-based tagging technology to study the ecology and behavior of white sharks.

A fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since 1987, Dr. Skomal currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. He is also adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology and an adjunct scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He holds a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. from Boston University. He has written dozens of scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, and numerous television networks. His most recent book, The Shark Handbook, is a must buy for all shark enthusiasts.

Interest is high in our area as more sharks have been seen in and around the Cape and the Islands. Come learn more about these amazing creatures and why their numbers seem to be growing in this area.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Fireman Center for the Performing Arts at 235 Front Street, Marion, at 6:30 pm.

Annual Turkey Trot

Sunday was the morning of the annual Turkey Trot 5K in the center of Marion. Yes, it was rainy and windy, but the 80 turkeys (we mean participants) that showed up anyway still enjoyed the scenic village trot. Photos by Glenn C. Silva

UCCRTS Honor Roll

The following students were named to the 1st Quarter Honor Roll at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School:

– Grade 11 High Honors: Delaney Gosse of Marion

– Grade 11 Honors: Christopher Rogers of Marion

– Grade 12 Honors: Christopher Parisi of Marion

Sunday Stroll in Rochester

Get outside and take a Sunday Stroll with the Buzzards Bay Coalition and Southcoast Health at Doggett’s Brook Recreational Area (55 Dexter Lane, Rochester) on December 3 at 10:00 am. During this leisurely one-hour walk through the woods alongside Doggett’s Brook, you’ll get some fresh air and exercise while learning how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

In addition to the walk, the Southcoast Health Wellness Van will be available to provide free health screenings for participants and members of the public.

Sunday Strolls are a monthly series of free mid-morning walks led by a Buzzards Bay Coalition environmental educator and health professionals from Southcoast Health. The next Sunday Stroll will take place on January 7 at the Lyman Reserve in Wareham.

To RSVP for this walk, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org/events/sunday-stroll-doggetts-brook-recreational-area-dec-03-2017/ or contact the Buzzards Bay Coalition at 508-999-6363 ext. 219.

Start Local, Start Small

If you are aiming big this holiday shopping season, your local shopkeepers, who also happen to be your neighbors, ask only this of you – please, start small.

Small businesses make up our local economy – the restaurants, specialty shops, markets, galleries, and boutiques – and the folks who own them are the faces of these small towns of ours that most visitors to this area become familiar with first. They are the faces you won’t find at the mall, the faces you won’t see while online shopping on the Internet.

Here we are, now at the cusp of the holiday shopping rush, and by the end of the day on Black Friday and Cyber Monday we will officially be in the throes of the busiest and most important period for business owners.

But what does that look like on the local level?

When you choose to do your holiday shopping in the local stores that line the quaint streets of Tri-Town, you’re doing more than spending money – you’re seeing neighbors, interacting with the people of the community – the ones whose kids go to school with yours, the ones you attend church with, the ones whose businesses make our towns truly unique.

Not so much when you hit the big box stores or the mall or add items to the virtual “cart” on your computer screen.

If you spend your money on gifts this year in local stores, you will personally contribute to the prosperity of your community, while buying your gifts at big box or online stores (although more convenient and perhaps a bit less expensive) translates into a simple transfer of cash from your wallet to some far away retailer.

Essentially, when you give a gift from a local shop, you really are giving two gifts at the same time – one to the recipient and one to the local families of your local businesses.

Studies find that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every dollar back into the communities in which they serve.

Money that is spent locally is re-spent locally.

According to the Michigan State University Center for Community and Economic Development, for every $100 spent locally, $73 stays in the local economy – local taxes, wages, social investments in the community, donations, supplies purchased by other local businesses. When that same $100 is spent at a non-locally owned company, only about $43 stays in the community, with $57 leaving the local economy.

Local shops invest in their communities through charitable donations (and if you have ever attended any one of the major community events in Tri-Town, that is abundantly clear), much more than the physical, big box stores or the online ones.

According to the Institute for Self-Reliance, locally owned businesses nationwide donated roughly $4,000 per $1 million in sales, while a mega-business like Wal-Mart donated just $1,000 per $1 million in sales.

This weekend, nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is the more socially conscious alternative day of thoughtful spending – Small Business Saturday. The spirit of Small Business Saturday is simple – connect with your community, contribute to the local economy, pick out meaningful gifts and actually touch them, see them with your own eyes, and maybe have them gift-wrapped.

It’s also about sharing in the experience of walking into one of the community’s one-of-a-kind shops – the scents, the twinkling lights, the cozy, eclectic, or holiday style atmosphere that someone curated and created especially for you to enjoy.

Local Mattapoisett business owner Louise Rogers says that is precisely what she and her gallery associates strive to offer– a unique environment to shop for special, hand-picked gifts while experiencing the joy of the holiday season.

Shopping local is personalized, says Rogers. So much thought is put into giving the shopper an experience that makes them feel connected to the community, a part of something.

“We always try to remind people that we’re here,” said Rogers. “People tend to start out at the malls, and then they end up here and then they say, ‘I should have started here, you have everything that I needed.’”

“It maintains the fabric of the town,” said local sales associate Carole Rogers. And when buying a gift for someone that is truly special, one needs to see it, touch it, connect with it in a way that one cannot while staring at a computer screen.

Louise Rogers has been doing the local business thing for 40 years now – providing the kind of service and items that the big box stores can’t. Remember to shop locally this year, she says. “Because all our local stores need it.”

“You need us, and we need you,” said Rogers. It’s a classic example of a happy symbiosis.

And don’t forget, it’s the local businesses that advertise in your community weekly newspaper The Wanderer. They are the local sponsors of the local news you receive every week. It’s safe to say, without our local businesses there would be no local newspaper.

Commit this year to buying at least one gift at a local shop. Thumb through The Wanderer at the many unique, locally owned businesses. Tell them you saw their ad in The Wanderer, and give this holiday season by giving back to your local townspeople who help make this area as unique as it is.

By Jean Perry