Michael R. Horsley

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Michael R. Horsley, 62, of Mattapoisett passed away Monday, July 24, 2017 in St. Luke’s Hospital after a long, courageous battle with cancer. He was the husband of the late Linda Nunes.

Born in Fairhaven, son of Lillian (Fleurent) Horsley and the late Robert E. Horsley of Fairhaven he was a lifelong area resident.

Mike was a tuna fisherman but took pleasure in all types of shellfishing. He was also a skilled woodworker and enjoyed gardening.

In addition to his mother, he is survived by a loving and devoted son, Corey Horsley and his wife Alexis of Mattapoisett; a sister, Susan Morris and her husband Daniel; a brother, Steven Horsley and his wife Wendy all of Fairhaven; and several nieces and nephews.

His private services are under the care of Rock Funeral Home, 1285 Ashley Blvd. New Bedford. www.rock-funeralhome.com for online tribute.

 

Academic Achievements

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Celeste A. Popitz, of Marion and William W. Saltonstall Jr., of Marion were awarded Faculty Honors for the spring 2017 semester at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Faculty Honors are awarded to students with a semester GPA of at least 3.667 on four graded courses, with no individual grade below B- and no incomplete grades pending.

At the University of Rhode Island’s 131st Commencement on Saturday and Sunday, May 20-21, 2017, about 2,600 undergraduate and 650 graduate students became the University’s newest alumni.

The following students from the Tri-Town graduated from the University of Rhode Island:

– Camden G Tougas, of Marion, received a Bachelor of Arts, Marine Affairs

– Marisa Diane Paknis, of Marion, received a Bachelor of Arts, Sociology Cum Laude

– Tyler Scott Ayan, of Marion, received a Bachelor of Science, Plant Sciences Cum Laude

– Madison Kate-Marie Goguen, of Mattapoisett, received a Bachelor of Science, Health Studies

Students who received the honor summa cum laude graduated with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.7; students who received the honor of magna cum laude graduated with a GPA of at least 3.50; and students who received the honor of cum laude graduated with a GPA of at least 3.3.

Lauren Fereshetian of Marion has received her degree from Western Governors University. The university held its 33rd semi-annual commencement ceremony at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on July 15 and celebrated the graduation of more than 10,000 graduates.

MCPHS University is pleased to announce that Elexus Afonso has been named to the spring 2017Dean’s List. Elexus Afonso is a native of Rochester and is pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy. Elexus will graduate in 2022 from the Boston, Massachusetts campus.

Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Program

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The Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Program will be hosting a Miss America Send-off party for Mattapoisett resident, Jillian Zucco, on Friday, August 11 from 6:30 – 11:30 pm at the Century House in Acushnet.

Zucco, who was crowned Miss Massachusetts on July 1, will be heading to Atlantic City the last week of August to prepare for the four-day competition that will culminate in the live national telecast of Miss America on September 10 on ABC.

The send-off party will feature hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, live entertainment, silent and Chinese auction, and dancing to Southcoast’s premier cover band, Johnny’s Basement.

Admission will be $25, paid in advance. RSVP to dancgym@aol.com or kzucco@comcast.net. Pay online at missmass.org. Proceeds will benefit the Miss America Program and the Children’s Miracle Network.

The Sippican Hotel During the Golden Age of Marion

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During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Sippican Hotel was a cornerstone of what became known as the Golden Age of Marion, Massachusetts. At its peak, the Sippican Hotel represented the finest elegance and style in the time of high culture in Marion’s history. David K. Pierce, Vice President of the Sippican Historical Society, will give a lecture about the Sippican Hotel on Thursday, August 3 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum beginning at 7:00 pm. A reception precedes the lecture at 6:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Register by calling 508-997-0046 or go to www.whalingmuseum.org.

Marion, Massachusetts, once known as Sippican after the area’s original Native American inhabitants, rose in social and cultural prominence in the late 19th century as a destination resort community. The Golden Age of Marion began after the Civil War, when it evolved from a sleepy seaside village to a summer gathering place for artists, writers, actors, musicians, and other intellectual leaders and celebrities such as President Grover Cleveland, Henry James, and artist Charles Dana Gibson, among many others.

Pierce’s lecture, “The Sippican Hotel During the Golden Age of Marion,” is associated with a current exhibition at the Whaling Museum titled “Celebrating Sippican: Marion in the Golden Age.”

Verizon A Bad Neighbor Say Abutters

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It was hot outside on July 20 as the meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals came to order, and it didn’t take long for it to get hot in the conference room as well.

Coming before the board was John Dement, construction manager for Verizon, and Dan Ollila of Jones Architecture, Salem, MA seeking a special permit for equipment upgrades to property located at 32 Mechanic Street.

Ollila described the scope of modification planned by the utility company. He said that two old and noisy air conditioning units would be replaced with a newer unit that would also run more quietly. “We’ve done a sound study,” he explained, noting that the new unit would produce 38 decibels whereas the current unit produces 48. The new AC unit is planned for the top of the building with acoustical shielding, Ollila said. But neighbors were skeptical, to say the least, as long-simmering issues with their commercial neighbor were aired.

Alan Schubert, 31 North Street, asked why the new unit couldn’t go inside the building rather than being installed on its exterior. Dement explained that the new unit requires fresh air exchange. Schubert wondered why a different type of unit couldn’t be considered.

Pat Donoghue, 30 Mechanic Street, launched into a historical retrospective of problems that neighbors have had in the past when trying to gain cooperation from the utility when issues were brought to their attention. “We’ve had major problems with Verizon … I’ve had to vacate my master bedroom and move to the first floor … Verizon has acted in bad faith.” Continuing on, Donoghue said that the use of the building had changed since it was constructed in the 1950s, but that they had “flown under the radar” not seeking local board approvals. She said they were the thirteenth largest corporation in the U.S. with “tons of money” but had not spent “one dime” for the people in the neighborhood. She ended her comments by saying, “…these guys are snakes!”

Chairman Susan Akin told the neighbors that the board was only hearing the application before them that was specifically for the AC unit upgrade and not what had taken place since the 1950s.

Director of Inspectional Services Andy Bobola asked if Dement or Ollila had the sound study data with them. Ollila replied they had not brought it into the meeting because they didn’t think they would need it.

Robbin Peach, 29 Hammond Street, said that for twenty-five years Verizon had been unresponsive to neighborhood issues and asked what the grievance process was. “I’m concerned about what we don’t know,” she said. Peach said that numerous calls to Verizon to try and get relief from a bright light shining into her bedroom had failed to produce results and that landscaping of the bushes and lawn area owned by Verizon was poor at best.

Once again, the matter of whether or not the new AC unit could be placed indoors versus the proposed rooftop location was broached. Dement and Ollila said that Verizon engineers had deemed this type of unit necessary for the amount of heat produced by computerized switch gear.

Board member Paul Millott said, “We seem to be at an impasse.” He said one option for the applicant would be to withdraw the application without prejudice, go back to the drawing board, and return with options.

That suggestion received pushback from Dement who said, “We are on our property, have done a sound study, what part of the zoning bylaws are we not meeting?” He said he couldn’t speak to maintenance issues at the site but would “speak to people” in that department.

Several board members concurred that given the number of neighbors complaining about Verizon’s lack of consideration, their less-than-acceptable care of the landscaping, number of utility trucks, bright lights and other “obnoxious” nuisances, the current application needed to be re-engineered with options for possible indoor AC units to mitigate additional negative impact on the abutters.

Dement was asked if he wished to withdraw the application and return in August. Acquiescing to the suggestion that if the board voted at this hearing the special permit would be denied, Dement asked that it be tabled.

Two other hearings produced issuance of special permits: one for the conversion of a commercial structure into a one-bedroom residence located at 91 Fairhaven Road by David Gerber, Fairhaven, and the other to Jonathan Rosperich, 4 Oliver’s Lane, for the construction of a deck that would encroach on a paper road.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals will be held on August 17 at 6:00 pm in the town hall conference room if hearings are scheduled.

By Marilou Newell

 

Edwin Thomas “Ted” Harrison

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Edwin Thomas “Ted” Harrison, 87, of Marion, formerly of Plymouth, and originally of Roehampton, London, UK passed away on Tuesday July 25, 2017.

Born in 1930 in the UK, Ted served in the RAF in the late 1940’s. He immigrated to the US in 1968.

Ted enjoyed organic gardening and photography in his younger years. A mechanical draftsman by trade, he also mastered and taught computer aided design. He was happiest when teaching young adults, at ITT Technical Institute in Boston (in the early 1970’s); and later as an instructor to inmates in the Georgia and Massachusetts State Prison Systems. He enjoyed deeply contemplating the meaning of life, Buddhism, and the teachings of Jesus.

Ted was the caring husband to Diane, loving father to Nicola “Nicky” Moulton of Tallahassee, FL and Sarah Harrison Smongeski and her husband Joseph G. of Shrewsbury, MA, and grandfather to Jeremy Moulton of Havana, FL and his wife Rachael and daughter Lillian; Adam Moulton of West Palm Beach, FL and his wife Marri, and his son Khani Moulton of Tallahassee; and Edward Joseph “Teddy” Smongeski of Cambridge, MA and his partner Mary Rocheleau.

He is also survived by his brother Stanley of Hertfordshire, UK and his wife Margaret; and sisters Marian Rickard-Worth of New Zealand; and Eileen Philipoo of Cyprus; numerous nieces and nephews; and his beloved cats Lucy and Malcolm.

He was predeceased by his sister Mary Saiche of Surrey, UK and brother Robert Harrison of Roehampton, London, UK.

His Memorial Service will be held at the Chapel of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, 124 Front St., Marion, MA on Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 11 am. No flowers please. Donations, if desired, to Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod Hospice, 255 Independence Drive, Hyannis, MA 02601. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Old Rochester Farmers’ Market

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Old Rochester Farmers’ Market is held every Tuesday from 3:00 – 6:00 pm at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School. There is live entertainment, and every week from 4:00 – 5:00 pm your children can enjoy a mix of interactive book read-a-louds and activities, best for ages 2 and up, but all families are welcome free of charge, presented by Plumb Memorial Library of Rochester.

Elizabeth Taber Library Hosts Bridge Benefit

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The Elizabeth Taber Library’s Bridge Benefit Committee cordially invites you to participate in a duplicate bridge game with Director Alan Hudson on Friday, August 4 at the Marion Music Hall. The committee, which consists of C.C. Dyer, Kathy Feeney, Andy Kotsatos, Susan Mead, Libby O’Neill, Kathy Reed and Meg Steinberg, has been working diligently to organize this exciting event for the community.

The entry fee is $35. Space is limited, so make a reservation today by sending your check to the Elizabeth Taber Library. Doors will open at 1:30 pm, and tournament play will begin at 2:00 pm. There will be light refreshments offered and tournament prizes.

We also have spectacular raffle prizes including gift cards from Atlantic Bistro, Harriet’s Catering and Gourmet Shop, How on Earth Restaurant and Market, Kate’s Simple Eats, Spirits Liquor Shop, and Turks Restaurant.

Please come support your local library with this enjoyable event. If you cannot attend our fundraiser, but would like to donate or purchase raffle tickets in advance, you may do so at the library. All proceeds raised will be used to enhance the programs and services offered by the Elizabeth Taber Library. For more information, please call the Library at 508-748-1252.

Tri-Town Profile: Norene Hartley

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Name: Norene Hartley

Age: 71

Currently lives in: Rochester

How she got here: A car ride as a baby from St. Luke’s Hospital to her family home in Rochester, which dates back generations.

Favorite Tri-Town place: “I think my home. I enjoy looking at the animals that live there around me.”

What she’d change if she were the President of Tri-Town: “I wish there were more people who were born and raised and stayed.”

Ever seen a celeb locally? “Oh, I guess Ted Kennedy marched in a few parades … but if I ever saw someone famous, I’d just let them go about their business, ‘Have a good day, enjoy yourself.’”

 

By Jonathan Comey

If you ask Norene Hartley to describe how she’d take an out-of-town guest through Rochester to her home, be prepared for detours.       Delightful, well-described detours, full of local history and theory, and an obvious and deep love for the town she calls home. By the time she’s done, you haven’t quite gotten to the destination … but who cares? You can’t wait to explore the town on your own.

“For me, there’s a feeling you get for a place when you’re really invested in it,” says Hartley, who is a founding member of the Rochester Land Trust. “You have a support system. Nothing formal, or anything. There are relatives, and relatives related to relatives … it just fits.”

Hartley is preparing for a Sunday picking blueberries on Eastover Farm, one of her favorite places out of many around town, and she’s got her sun hat and long-sleeved shirt packed in her sturdy white van.

She talks about the large parcels of land that once were this and now are that, the stores that have had different names and different roles with the changing times. About the pond that “Sherman Fearing dug, because he always got his tractor stuck there, so he decided to dig a pond.”

About how she owned two shares of the Rochester Golf Course back when it was converted from an open field by the Tallman family: “Finally, young Tallman came to me and said, ‘You know, you’re the last person that’s got shares that’s not a member of the family, are you sure you don’t want to sell them?’ And I said ‘OK, sure.’ But I don’t think I ever golfed there.”

She uses her work-beaten hands to shape the air in the form of winding roads and sloping hills, the ups and downs, the thens and nows of Rochester.

The town she loves.

While she spent more than 25 years away from Rochester after leaving for college in upstate New York, the town was always home.

“I figured, this is Rochester, but there’s a whole world out there,” she said. “Let’s see some of it. But cities just didn’t interest me a lot … I guess I just like all of the living things around here.”

So after a series of jobs that kept getting further and further from industry and closer and closer to nature, she returned to the town in 1989.

“I just decided Rochester was where I wanted to be,” she said. “I guess there was too much country in me.”

She’s got one of those well-known Rochester surnames like Tallman or Chase, thanks to the foresight of her forebears.

“There’s a lot of Hartleys around because my great-grandparents had fifteen kids,” she says. “So that’ll do it!”

After returning, Hartley spent five years living with her parents and building her own home on a small plot of family land on Bradford Estates (she’s a carpenter and still active with several local clients).

“My dad was a carpenter, and I was the oldest kid,” she says. “So there was a lot of ‘Hold the other end of this, kid!’ You can learn a lot holding the other end of it.”

Much of her time in Rochester has been spent in pursuit of land preservation, both as a founder of the land trust and current board member.

“I hate to sound antisocial, but we need to protect the part of the earth that supports life. We need to protect the ecology, but we haven’t figured out how to love happily without taking more and more and more.”

“I think it’s a case where if we can just keep our produce local, it’s going to be better for us. Everything is so conglomerated, agriculture through pesticides, patented seeds. I don’t think it’s a good thing.

The land trust, which represents over 700 acres of protected area, is trying to preserve green spaces, and Hartley has been its steadiest voice.

“Whether it’s agricultural or not, open land is certainly going to help. It’s going to be the lungs of the planet. As time goes on in town, it’s going to get more and more crowded, and that’s going to change it. But things have already changed, and things will always change.

“There are a lot of people in town who believe in preserving things, but it’s kind of like, ‘I want mine, first,’ you know? For me, it’s what are you going to give up, to accommodate all of the cycles we need to have intact to keep our planet healthy.”

While she knows she runs the risk of being considered “the crazy old lady at the end of the cul-de-sac,” Hartley doesn’t plan on changing her earth-loving tune.

“It starts in your neighborhood. You teach people how things work, and how they’re connected, and then you can start looking at bigger pictures. I just want to help things survive. People, animals, the earth, all of it. There are so many ways to preserve the land and still build and live happily on it.

“I hope people continue to do so.”

Drainage Issues Complaint At Fieldstone Drive

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On July 24, the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission heard that stormwater drainage problems at an upscale sub-division inside the Bay Club were the primary reason Mat and Jessica Campione were seeking permission to re-grade a portion of their lot located at 26 Fieldstone Drive.

“I’ve been in touch with Ted Goudy and the Bay Club … I don’t know what they are going to do about the water issues … it’s out of control,” Campione reported. Goudy, of Aerie Homes of Waltham, is the current developer of the neighborhood known as The Preserve at the Bay Club where Fieldstone Drive is located.

Campione described his request for determination of applicability that included bringing in fill and contouring his backyard that rests along a no-touch wetlands buffer zone. He said that siltation fencing erected to control runoff from the construction and creation of house lots had failed and was, in fact, buried in some areas. He also said that part of the drainage system was blocked and that when it rains, there are two rivers of rushing water around his property.

Campione proposes to extend his backyard area 45 feet, giving his family more space to use and possibly control standing water and insects. “I’m trying to find out the limits of work,” he said adding, “…the yards are a mess.”

Chairman Mike King said that the commissioners would have to visit the site to get a better understanding of the scope of the problem described by the applicant and to discuss wetlands flagging with Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold who was not present at the meeting.

King suggested Campione should request a continuance to give the commission time to ferret out wetlands flagging issues and site conditions. The hearing was continued until August 14.

Also continued was a request for the issuance of a certificate of compliance for work done at 11-13 Industrial Drive by Peter Lesco. Represented by Ken Motta of Field Engineering, the issue at hand was whether or not a remediation area at the site was completed.

The remediation project included 8,230 square feet, Motta said, an area that should continue to be monitored for several more seasons, hence the applicant’s request for a partial certificate of compliance leaving monitoring open-ended.

King wasn’t sure that was the best course of action. “We don’t have the time or the staff,” he told Motta. If the commission issued a certificate of compliance, what were the recourses available in the event that remediation failed wondered commissioner Trevor Francis. “The issuance of an enforcement order,” said King.

King asked if Motta would request a continuance to give the commissioners time to visit the site and discuss the matter with the conservation agent. The request was continued until August 14.

Also coming before the commission was Jeramy Packard of CLE Engineering, Inc., representing Lawrence and Charlotte Oliveira, 0 Starboard Way, for maintenance work on a seawall.

King noted that the Department of Environmental Protection had commented on the project and expected a small saltmarsh area to be protected during the project.

Packard concurred and said that the project could be conditioned to include those protections.

The notice of intent filing was conditioned, including covering of the saltmarsh against construction debris and erection of erosion controls.

Coming forward to informally discuss her roadway construction plans on Foster Street was Vera Gibbons. She said that plans had been drawn up but that two abutters were not in favor of paving over the dead end section of Foster Street that is a private road.

After reviewing the older plans, King suggested that Gibbons file a notice of intent and to complete wetlands flagging that would reflect current conditions along with updated engineering plans.

Finishing out the evening’s agenda, King said that Leidhold had submitted a report that indicated site conditions at the Crystal Spring solar farm were still unstable and suggested monitoring for another month.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for August 14 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell