SHS Welcomes Leslie Piper, Archivist

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The Sippican Historical Society has appointed Leslie Thayer Piper as its Archivist under its Community Preservation Committee grant. Piper recently earned an M.S. in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archives Management at Simmons College. She will be responsible for organizing and cataloguing the Society’s collection of documents and artifacts, as well as uploading the information onto the Society’s database for public use. She is also currently the Archivist for the estate of John Winthrop Sears and has worked in the archives/special collections of the Josten Performing Arts Library at Smith College, the Trustees of Reservations, and the Concord Free Public Library.

In addition to her archival skills, Piper is an accomplished musician, and serves as the Director of Music and Organist for St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Marion. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director Emerita of the SouthCoast Children’s Chorus.

Paul Francis Devine

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Paul Francis Devine, 75, of Mattapoisett, MA, and Englewood, FL, and formerly of Norwood, MA, passed away peacefully, with loving family by his side, on May 28, 2018 at St. Luke’s Hospital following a courageous battle with cancer.

He was the son of the late Patrick J. and Loretta (Coakley) Devine. He was the beloved husband of Charlene (Tobin) Devine, loving father of daughters, Elizabeth and Kimberly Devine of Dennis, MA, and Lauren and her husband, Darren Rillovick of Lowell, and devoted brother of Robert and his late wife Margie (Corcoran) of Stoughton, Jack and his wife Maureen of West Roxbury, Peter and his wife Cindy of Walpole. Paul is also survived by five grandchildren, John, Sara and Aidan Choukri, and Abigail and Michael Rillovick and many nephews and nieces.

Paul worked for Polaroid Corp. in Waltham and New Bedford, retiring after 37 years of service. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, especially holidays, fishing, hunting, and the beaches of Englewood.

A memorial donation may be made to Myelofibrosis @ MPN Research Foundation at www.mpnresearchfoundation.org.

Services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

 

The Neighborhood Fox

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Frequent reports of red foxes in urban neighborhoods as well as inner cities are examples of a trend of wildlife living in comfortable contact with human beings. It is happening everywhere as a growing wildlife frontier moves back in to reclaim habitat previously over-populated by people. There are rough edges along the way because subsequent intentional feeding of wild creatures can be detrimental to the independence of their survival instincts.

The wily red fox is the largest and most widespread of all foxes and is perhaps the most unlikely to fit this picture of coexistence. However, they have adapted to hanging out around here to catch rabbits, rodents, and odd bits of garbage they can scrounge. I have even seen them on back porches waiting for a free handout from a wildlife-friendly neighbor, as in my illustration.

As a member of the order of the species Canis, which includes the smaller gray fox also native to our area, the fox seems more cat-like than dog in many ways. Males are sometimes called ‘dogs’ while the females are referred to as ‘vixens,’ and the offspring identified as ‘kits’ instead of pups.

When stalking their prey like a feline, they may crouch along the ground and, using cat-like claws on their feet for gripping, they have a habit of perhaps climbing up a leaning tree for an elevated lookout of the surroundings. Their long, slender, powerful legs are for running at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour or standing on their hind legs before leaping in an arc and pouncing on an unsuspecting rodent.

The long, bushy tail is often referred to as a ‘brush’ carried behind like a rudder on a ship to maintain balance and direction of movement. The white tip of the tail was explained in Native American mythology as a gift from the Great Spirit to drag behind it in the snow to erase tell-tale tracks from would-be predators. In French mythology, the fox was crowned with the clever royal title of ‘Reynard’ for being able to outwit any and all worldly challenges thrown his way.

Family life begins with mating in winter as the male scent glands activate in a skunk-like odor quite noticeable when one passes by your house on a damp night.

There are usually four or five kits in a spring litter in a subterranean den, which could be an expansion of an abandoned woodchuck hole as I have once witnessed. There, a vixen with kits in a spring litter made their home under the foundation of a friend’s toolshed. The animated antics and exploits like a three-ring circus provided daily entertainment out their kitchen window.

But then one night the mother was hit and killed by a car in front of their house on Sconticut Neck Road in Fairhaven. In the true spirit of wildlife support, my friend called Fairhaven Animal Control and they came to gather up the orphans to take them somewhere for further care.

But several kits that were not seen were left behind, and when noticed, they were fed and watered daily by my friend and his family. Both survive to this very day and grew up as familiar wildlife characters of the neighborhood, and their families can be heard calling at night. It comes through loud and clear as a sharp rasping bark, not without a nostalgic tenor of meaningful family communication. Perhaps it is a comforting tribute to the human role in transition in one small frontier of intelligent environmental awareness and co-existence.

By George B. Emmons

A Final Farewell to the Senior Class of 2018

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It’s time to say goodbye to the senior class of 2018! As they approach their final week of high school, seniors begin to reflect upon lessons they have learned and experiences they have had during their time at Old Rochester, and think about the plans they have made for their futures.

            For some students, the last couple of weeks are about letting loose and having fun, with events like the senior picnic and the senior breakfast. For others, the final weeks are filled with studying for AP exams and finals along with the festivities.

            “Honestly, this last week isn’t great because my last two days are AP tests, so it’s just been lots of cramming until now,” said senior Jo Caynon. Caynon is attending Rutgers University where she will major in biology.

            For Caynon, “The most difficult part of senior year is staying motivated once you start to hear back from colleges in the fall…. It took a lot to keep going after that.” Looking back, she said, “It’s senior year, so [you] have fun but keep doing your schoolwork, regardless.”

            The most difficult part of being a senior, Katie Maclean said, “[is] just knowing that everything is finally coming to a close. It’s really weird to think that I won’t be returning here and that I’m going to be entering the next chapter of my life.”

            Maclean is going to Marimet College to possibly major in criminology and criminal justice, and hopefully go on to either Harvard Law or Pennsylvania Law.

            ORR Principal Michael Devoll said this was a “great senior class” that has been an asset in many arenas, calling them, “successful in class, on stage, in the community, and on the athletic field.”

            “A very strong group of seniors with a great personality,” Devoll said, “and I’m going to miss them tremendously.”

            Devoll’s favorite memory with the senior class of 2018 was unveiling the brand new Bulldog mascot privately to the seniors, and then publicly at the Pep Rally.

            Among other aspects, many seniors enjoy the atmosphere created by the students and staff. Christian Hotte said, “This school has an excellent community and some spectacular staff going for it.”

            Hotte will be majoring in game design.

            On Friday, May 18, about halfway through the school day, the speakers began playing “The Final Countdown,” initiating the seniors’ final moments as ORR seniors made their final dash through the hallways and into the next phase of their lives.

            As they leave the hallways of ORR, the interviewed seniors had some final advice to the students of ORR:

            “Start college applications and essays as soon as they open up on August 1,” said Caynon.

            Maclean advised future seniors: “Enjoy it. Don’t wish it was over, because then it’s going to be over in the blink of an eye and you’re going to wish you had more time.”

            “Enjoy the teachers and enjoy your classmates,” continued Maclean. “Don’t be mean to each other. Be kind, be grateful, and just enjoy every single moment of it.”

            On a practical note, Christian Hotte told future seniors, “It’s never too early to get a job.”

            Devoll has some advice for the new graduates as well. He says, “Take risks, take chances. Don’t be afraid to try something new, don’t be afraid to sail.” Devoll hopes that the seniors look back fondly on their time at ORR, and he wants them to know they are always welcome back.

            “We always want to hear how they are doing and celebrate their successes with them,” said Devoll, adding with a smile, “It’s a quick four years, but we hope they consider themselves lifelong Bulldogs.”

 

ORR Update

By Grace Mastroianni

New Solar Project Establishing Wetlands Lines

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The next in a growing line of solar projects to enter Rochester is in the initial stages of development with the delineation of the 9,950-foot wetlands border at 0 Walnut Plain Road.

The Rochester Conservation Commission on May 15 reviewed a section of that line as part of the Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area delineation filing, but much of that line remains uninspected. The terrain features thick vegetation and briars and is not easily accessible, according to wetlands scientist Nicole Hayes of Goddard Consulting on behalf of developer Pedro Rodriguez of Solar MA Project Management, LLC of New Milford, Connecticut.

Hayes described how she determined the wetlands line through the identification of at least 50% wetland indicator species present, which are key indicators of a wetlands border. But the fact that Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon has not walked the entire wetlands line pertaining to the actual project area is a dilemma for the commission, Hayes acknowledged before pointing out that the areas still outstanding are outside the scope of the project.

“I feel it would be difficult for us to confirm the wetland of a parcel with a large gap in it like that,” said commission member Daniel Gagne.

“I have a major level of discomfort about it,” Farinon stated.

Farinon has been working with Hayes to develop the plan the commission viewed that night, but the incomplete areas still need work.

“People change, commissions change, time goes by and all of a sudden someone picks up this plan five years, ten years later and it’s like, whoa, it doesn’t show wetlands on it,” said Farinon. Hayes is correct that the unconfirmed line is outside the project area, Farinon said, “But that’s kind of an obscure thing.… We really want it to be as clear as possible on the plan.”

Commission members Laurene Gerrior and Chris Gerrior recused themselves from the discussion.

The hearing was continued until June 19 to allow Farinon time to further work with Hayes to establish the wetlands line.

In other business, the commission accepted a conservation restriction for the 83 acres the town will acquire from the Estabrook family in June. The land will be for public recreational use, which will be effectuated with the assistance of the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

“This is a great partnership and this is going to be a fantastic addition to the Land Trust holdings and the town’s available public access properties,” said Allen Decker, director of land protection for the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

Also during the meeting, Mike Spieldenner received a Certificate of Compliance for the paving of 650 linear feet of existing roadway and a drainage swale for water runoff in the 100-foot buffer zone at 1 Happy Tails Lane, owned by Charlotte and James Spieldenner.

The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for June 5at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Jean Perry

 

Marion Natural History Museum’s Summer Program

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The Marion Natural History Museum’s Summer Program is one of the most well-known and well regarded in the Southcoast area. The programs are designed to be small groups, and registration is limited to 15 children per session.

Coastal Explorations 2018.These half-day programs involve hands-on exploration, experiments, crafts and journaling while being outdoors. We will be exploring our rocky inter-tidal shoreline, salt marshes, estuaries as well as freshwater riverbanks, forest, swamps, ponds and bogs. Daily we will take trips to look for the birds, amphibians, fish and invertebrates that make these areas so special. Each week includes different activities, so sign up for one week or both! Space is limited so make sure to register early for this summer program. Perfect for girls and boys entering Grades 3-6. This program runs from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon, Monday – Friday. Session Dates: Session 1: July 9-13; Session 2: July 16-20; $125/participant/session.

New Wednesday Afternoon Programs.For four Wednesdays during the summer we will be meeting at the Museum from 1:00 – 2:30 pm to learn about different topics. Perfect for children entering Grades 2-6. Program size is limited to 15 participants; $10/each for members, $12/each for non-members

July 11: Exploring our micro-world with the museum’s new digital/video microscope.

July 18: Travel the world with the museum’s new HTC Vive virtual reality set. Using our new virtual reality set and Google Earth, we will allow the students to be immersed into a street level view of various locations.

July 25: Trip to Bird Island with Marion Harbormaster. Bird Island provides a unique nesting habitat for a variety of shorebirds, including the endangered Roseate Tern.

August 1: Display design. How would you like to work with others to design a new display for the museum? Using some of the museum’s artifacts, and the students’ own artistic creativity, we will create a new display for the museum.

To register for any of these programs, please go to www.marionmuseum.org.

Kathleen (Kate) Moriarty Ackerman

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Kathleen (Kate) Moriarty Ackerman passed away peacefully on May 26, 2018 at her home in Marion. Born in Nantucket on June 22, 1930, Kate was the daughter of Alan Moriarty and Kathleen Cronin Moriarty. After a childhood spent on Nantucket and in New Bedford, Kate went to college at Rivier University in Nashua, NH. She received her B.A. from Rivier in 1952 and her M.A. from Rivier in 1960.

Kate was an educator her entire career, starting as an elementary and high school teacher. She then pursued doctoral studies at Purdue University during which she conducted research at various archives in Northern Ireland. In 1972 she received a Ph.D. in Communication from Purdue with a dissertation titled “The Irish Parliament and George William Russell on Censorship, 1928-1929: A Study of the Contraction and Amplification of an Issue.”

Kate then accepted a position as a Professor of Speech at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. After many years in New Hampshire, she moved to Marion and continued teaching, both at Bridgewater State University and at Cape Cod Community College. She also ran summer workshops for many years for The New England Association of City and Town Clerks.

Kate is a recipient of the Sister Madeleine of Jesus Award, Rivier University’s highest alumni honor. She enjoyed reading and writing poetry, traveling in Ireland, and spending time with her family. Her husband, John Ackerman, passed away in 1998.

Kate is survived by her stepdaughter Mary Jane Ackerman of East Wareham, her sister Mary Worden of Mattapoisett, her brother Chris Moriarty of Fort Myers, FL, and by eight nieces and nephews, twenty great-nieces and great-nephews, and one great-great-niece. She also leaves her good friend Bruce Chall of Marion.

A private service will be held for the family. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to The Standard-Times Neediest Families Fund. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Mattapoisett Local Election Results

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On May 22, Mattapoisett poll workers saw 252 voters, or a mere 5.35% voter turnout, face the daunting task of voting on a ballot that contained absolutely no contested races.

Perhaps, though, this task was not as daunting to the voters as it was for Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger and her team of poll workers who faced a long day of waiting to serve the public inside Old Hammondtown School. To pass the time, the team said they spent the hours getting to know one another and eating great food catered by local venues.

But later in the evening after polls closed at 8:00 pm, write-in votes for the ballot’s blank five-year seat on the Planning Board slowed the counting down to a snail’s pace as 77 ballots were hand tallied.

When all the counting was done, a relative newcomer to the community, Arlene Fidalgo, won the seat with 34 votes.

Fidalgo recently retired from her job with Comcast and has lived in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts her entire life. Fidalgo said her professional background was as a technical operations manager for Comcast with the responsibility of 115 cities and towns throughout the region with a staff of 110 employees. After taking the last two years to focus on relaxing, she said she was ready to put her energy into the community.

Coming in second place for Planning Board with 28 votes as a write-in candidate was Mike King, the chairman of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission, an appointed position.

Seeking re-election was Board of Selectman incumbent Paul Silva for another three-year term. Silva received 205 votes.

When asked for a comment on the re-election, he said, “I’m happy to have won re-election and go for another three years working on new things and what we’ve been working on over the past nine years.”

Other incumbents re-elected: Moderator (one year), John Eklund with 213 votes; two seats for Community Preservation Committee (three years), Jodi Bauer with 210 votes and John Decosta with 205 votes; Water/Sewer Commissioner (three years), Albert Meninno with 205 votes; Highway Surveyor (three years), Barry Denham with 209 votes; Assessor (three years), Leonard Coppola with 201 votes; two seats on the Mattapoisett School Committee (three years), Carole Clifford with 204 votes and James Muse with 192 votes; Board of Health (three years), Russell Bailey with 199 votes.

Non-incumbents elected: Trustee of Public Library (one year), Marcia Waldron, 213 votes; two seats for Trustee of Public Library (three years), William Osier with 185 votes and Elizabeth Sylvia with 203 votes; Mattapoisett Housing Authority (five years), John Vaughn with 204 votes.

One of the biggest decisions that voters faced was a ballot question that asked voters to decide whether or not to exempt from the provisions of Proposition 2½ for general repairs and improvements to roads within the town, known as Phase VIII Road Infrastructure Improvement Plan. The question passed, 171-54.

As the poll workers wrapped up the night, putting away chairs and cleaning off tables, they softly cajoled one another saying, “Make sure you take a sandwich home!”

By Marilou Newell

 

Cannabis Moratorium Extended, $500k Pumper Approved

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Rochester voters approved extending the Town’s temporary moratorium on recreational cannabis retail establishments during the Annual Town Meeting on Monday night, May 21.

Article 25 was brought forth by the Board of Selectmen and recommended by the Planning Board, and seeks to buy the Town more time to write its own zoning regulations for cannabis retail.

A temporary moratorium was passed at last year’s Annual Town Meeting, an action that over half of the Commonwealth’s municipalities also adopted in order to allow the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission to release its own regulations surrounding the recreational cannabis establishments, which includes dispensaries, cultivation facilities, and laboratories.

The Attorney General’s Office allowed for a moratorium good up until December 31, 2018, and has expressed that it would not approve moratoriums beyond the December 31 date.

Rochester’s Article 25 proposed extending the moratorium until June 30, 2019, a date that Planning Board Arnie Johnson admitted during the article’s public hearing on May 8 might not fly with the AG’s Office.

Resident Chris Gerrior recalled approving the moratorium last year, and pointed out that the plan was to address the regulations once the CCC released them in March. Gerrior’s argument was that other towns now have their regulations in place and are ready to accept cannabis establishments and reap the financial benefits of doing so.

“I would like to know what Rochester would gain (by extending the moratorium) and how we would benefit,” said Gerrior.

Town Counsel Blair Bailey said, “Those towns already had facilities in the pipeline as far as applications…. There are no companies that have even applied as far as Rochester goes in that pipeline…”

Bailey said the delay is to ensure regulations can be crafted in time for next year’s annual town meeting, should a special town meeting not be held this fall.

An article to purchase a fire tanker/pumper for the Fire Department for up to $498,000 passed after some brief discussion.

Resident Dan Ferreira asked to amend the article on the Town Meeting floor to specify that it should be a “new” tanker/pumper and not a used apparatus.

“We don’t need outdated equipment that’s somebody’s giveaway,” Ferreira said.

The language of the article did not stipulate that the tanker/pumper had to be a used one, but Ferreira’s motion to amend was accepted by voters and the article passed as amended.

The town will borrow the $498,000 within its borrowing budget, and will not be a tax override.

Voters approved the Town’s fiscal year 2019 operating budget of $21,529,051, but only after two motions to amend the Board of Assessors’ salary line – one that failed, and one that passed.

The amendment stems from the Board of Assessors’ decision to accept a one-year contract with Principal Assessor Charles Shea with a 5% salary increase (including the 2% cost of living raise), a year after the Board of Selectmen signed a three-year contract with Shea.

Resident Bill Milka motioned to amend the budget by reducing the entire Board of Assessors’ salary line item by $20,000, expressing his contention over the Assessors’ alleged over-taxation of open land farm properties, saying, “They’re gonna be taxed to the point where they can’t afford their land…” Milka said the result would be more subdivisions, houses, streetlights, and “tremendous growth.”

The motion garnered quite a bit of support from other voters during a hand count, but failed 33-53.

Selectman Greenwood Hartley then made his own motion to amend only the principal assessor’s salary line by $2,350, which equals the additional 3% requested by the Board of Assessors.

Java Cavanaugh, a member of the Board of Assessors, pointed out that only two weeks prior the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee had voted to accept the FY19 operating budget as presented for the warrant.

“So I would like to know why it’s being challenged now,” said Cavanaugh.

The BOS’s recommendation of that particular line item passed 2-1, Hartley said, and confirmed that he did vote to recommend the entire budget as presented.

“I wasn’t going to say ‘nay’ for the entire budget for this one line item,” said Hartley.

Hartley’s motion to amend the assessor salary line item passed, making the total approved $204,755.

The FY19 budget was up $275,854 or just over 3% from FY18. Breaking down the budget, the Rochester Memorial School budget of $5,645,353 is an increase of 1%, with special education up by $121,480 or 36.6% totaling $453,155. The Town’s ORR assessment decreased this year by a modest 0.13% or $6,274 totaling $4,774,677. The Police Department budget rose 4.47% to $1,305,303, and the Fire Department increased by 10.7% to $271,645. The Highway Department budget saw an increase of 15.7% to total $523,582.

Voters passed an article to strengthen the existing Solar Bylaw to redefine “large-scale” solar farms as 200 kilowatts instead of 250 kW. It also establishes a setback of 300 feet from any public roadway within an Agricultural Residential District and establishes a side and rear setback of 100 feet from the property line.

Johnson said the Planning Board recommended the article that would give the board more control over project aspects such as screening, bonding, and allows for further abutter input.

Johnson said the board had received several complaints from residents after solar developers began constructing a solar farm with a kilowatt output of 249 kW, just under the threshold for requiring a Special Permit from the board. And as for the new 100-foot setback, Johnson said large-scale farm structures already had to adhere to a 100-foot setback to the property line, so solar arrays should as well.

“We’re trying to be consistent and fair,” Johnson said, adding that a developer could try to seek a waiver from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Article 11 appropriating $31,000 to waterproof the basement of the Town Hall passed, but created some discussion as resident Dan Gayoski questioned the ability to waterproof a stone foundation basement.

“Is there a guarantee that this will stop leaking…?” asked Gayoski. “With a stone cement foundation … you’re not gonna stop the water.”

Facilities Manager Andrew Daniel described the three separate systems that would be installed, saying, “You can’t stop the water from coming in, but what we can do is control it once it does,” specifying that there are three separate basement areas, not all of which are of a stone foundation.

Other articles that passed: Article 1 to accept the annual reports of Town officers and committees; Article 2 to set the salaries of elected officials; Article 3 to amend the Personnel Bylaw pertaining to the classification and compensation plan; Article 5 put a spending limit on the Town’s authorized revolving funds capping them as follows: Library materials $10,000, Recycling Program $20,000, Hazardous Waste $10,000, Rochester Country Fair $70,000 (amended on Town Meeting floor to increase maximum spending from $65,000), Local Cultural Council $6,000, COA Programs and Activities $10,000, Flu and Medical Clinics $25,000, Tax Title $2,500, Fire/EMS Equipment $50,000; Article 6 for $300 to plant shellfish in Marion; Article 7 to accept Chapter 90 funds; Article 8 to appropriate $15,000 to fund the Town’s OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) liability; Article 9 to spend $8,000 to fund the ‘GASB 75’ audit for OPEB; Article 10 to spend $12,000 on a generator for the Town Hall; Article 12 for $30,845 for the Police Department to purchase Tasers; Article 13 for $20,600 for a fire gear washer/extractor; Article 14 for $24,000 to upgrade the technology infrastructure at RMS; Article 15 for $68,000 for a Highway Department truck and plow; Article 16 for the senior center to install a new bathroom floor and privacy partitions totaling $14,500; Article 18 to establish a Road Improvements Stabilization Fund; Article 19 to establish a Public Safety Capital Equipment Stabilization Fund; Article 20 to fund the approved Road Improvements  Stabilization Fund with $50,000; Article 21 to fund the Public Safety Capital Equipment Stabilization Fund with $30,000 (amended on Town Meeting floor from $50,000); Article 22 to appropriate $80,000 to the School Assessment Stabilization Fund; Article 23 to appropriate $50,000 to the Stabilization Fund; Article 24 to enter into a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with the developer of the solar farm at 248 Mattapoisett Road with some discussion; Article 27 to amend the Town’s Zoning Bylaw Section 2 to insert language pertaining to “Uses Available by Special Permit” by the Planning Board.

Rochester Annual Town Meeting

By Jean Perry

 

Tri-County Symphonic Band

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Tri-County Symphonic Band’s 16th Annual Benefit Pops Concert “British Invasion,” featuring the vocal talents of Samantha Johnson as well as The Occasion Singers, will be held on Sunday,June 10at 2:00 pm in The Grand Tent at the Fireman Performing Arts Center, Tabor Academy, 235 Front Street, Marion. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at BrownPaperTickets.com. They can also be purchased at The Bookstall in Marion and The Symphony Music Shop in Dartmouth. Please visit http://tricountysymphonicband.org for more detailed information.