Guided Mindfulness Walk

on

Enjoy the peace and beauty of nature with Jessica Webb and the Buzzards Bay Coalition during a mindfulness walk along Shaw Farm Trail on Sunday, May 21 at 1:00 pm. Through guided mindfulness meditation, participants will experience the outdoors with their senses wide open.

All fitness levels are welcome on this free, one-hour walk. The walk will be conducted at a deliberately slow and mindful pace in social silence without digital devices. Please wear appropriate footwear and layers to ensure you are comfortable during the walk.

Shaw Farm Trail is located on the Phoenix Bike Trail in Fairhaven and runs for approximately one mile to Nasketucket Bay State Reservation in Mattapoisett. The best way to access Shaw Farm Trail is from the bike path crossings on Shaw Road in Fairhaven or Brandt Island Road in Mattapoisett.

Pre-registration is required. To RSVP or to get more information about this walk, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org/events/mindfulness-walk-shaw-farm-trail-may-21-2017/ or contact the Buzzards Bay Coalition at 508-999-6363 ext. 219 or bayadventures@savebuzzardsbay.org.

Mattapoisett Road Race

on

The Mattapoisett Road Race will take place at 9:00 am on Tuesday, July 4. A great way to celebrate Independence Day, the course winds through picturesque Mattapoisett village, around fabled Ned’s Point Lighthouse, and back to Shipyard Park at the town wharf. Race proceeds are awarded to college-bound ORRHS runners. Race starts and finishes at Shipyard Park. Course: Accurately measures 5 miles through Mattapoisett; splits at each mile; water throughout. Enter online at www.mattapoisettroadrace.com. All entry fees are non-refundable. Cost prior to June 28 – Online Registration is $20. Race Day Registration – each person is $30. Mailed Registration – each person is $30. Light-weight shirts to the first 750 entries. T-shirt pick-up times are 4:00 – 6:00 pm on Monday, July 3, or 7:30 – 8:30 am on Race Day. Sizes run small. Sizes guaranteed if registration is received by June 6.

Marion Fire Department Lock Box Program

on

Fire Chief Brian Jackvony is proud to announce that the Marion Fire Department is implementing a residential Lock Box Program to expedite access to senior and handicapped adults’ homes during emergencies.

In many emergency situations, individuals who call 911 may not be able to open their door when firefighters arrive, especially if a person falls, has a stroke, or is experiencing a heart attack. Currently, firefighters must break through a door or a window, causing damage and costing money and valuable time.

Through the Lock Box Program, participants install a small box outside their home, with a key code that they and the Fire Department have access to in the event that immediate access into their home is needed. In turn, the likelihood of property damage caused by the firefighters forcing entry into a residence is greatly reduced. There is no cost to participate in the Lock Box Program, other than the cost of a spare key to the door that will be accessed.

“In these instances, every second counts,” Chief Jackvony said. “Lock boxes are an extremely valuable tool for homeowners and the Fire Department to ensure those who are in an emergency situation, medical or otherwise, receives assistance as quickly as possible.”

The lock box will only be used during an emergency call when first responders can’t make entry without using force. At no time will the lock box be used or will entry be made without authorization.

Eligible participants should contact the Marion Council on Aging, 508-748-3570, to obtain information for installation of the lock box.

UCT Celebrates School Library Month

on

In celebration of the importance of school librarians and their school library programs, the American Association of School Librarians and Upper Cape Tech proclaimed April as School Library Month. In support of school libraries, Assistant Superintendent/Principal Mr. Forget had students read the proclamation during the daily morning announcements. Mrs. Adams, the school librarian, invited Ms. Scott, Forestdale Elementary School’s librarian and Ms. Morgan, Forestdale Elementary School’s first grade class to visit Upper Cape Tech. For their visit, Mrs. Gausman’s tenth-grade students from the Environmental Tech shop read Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax and then discussed the message of environmentalism in the story. This was followed by the Environmental Tech students assisting the first graders in making Truffula Tree pencils and a tour of the Environmental shop. This collaboration was so enjoyable and meaningful to all that this will be an annual event.

Sponsored by Upper Cape Tech’s PTO, another school library event was a visit by “Rosie the Riveter.” Judith Black, a renowned, award-winning writer and storyteller, shared an engaging performance of “Rosie the Riveter” to students in U.S. History classes. Students gained an appreciation for the “Rosies” who were the heroines on the home front. They worked all shifts and all jobs and plowed their way through a male-dominant workplace woven with sexism, discrimination, and racism all in the effort to support the men on the front lines. Following the presentation, students discussed the relevancy of these social struggles today. Mrs. Adams was appreciative for the support of the school library program and the opportunity the PTO gave the students in experiencing history through storytelling.

Tabor Academy Choral and Dance Recitals

on

Do not miss the song and dance next week at Tabor! See the action-packed spring dance recital on May 18 at 6:30 pm featuring performances by Tabor’s award-winning Competitive Dance Team and students from local dance studios. The show is open to the public with open seating in the Fireman Center for the Performing Arts at 235 Front Street, Marion. No tickets required.

Next, the Tabor Madrigal Singers will perform their annual free concert on May 19 at 7:00 pm in Wickenden Chapel on Spring Street. Tabor’s most select choir, the concert is the culmination of their work for the year.

Come enjoy the arts at Tabor next week!

Academic Achievements

on

Brenna Maloney, of Marion, graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in public health during commencement exercises held May 5 and 6, 2017, at Coastal Carolina University.

Board Passes the Joint to Town Meeting

on

If the Rochester Planning Board has its way, Town Meeting voters on May 22 will adopt a new zoning bylaw to place a temporary moratorium on marijuana retail sale in Rochester.

Massachusetts voters approved a referendum question to legalize the sale and use of marijuana recreationally back in November 2016.

During the public hearing for the bylaw on May 9, the Planning Board felt that Town Counsel Blair Bailey figuratively has the bylaw language rolled up tight and ready to light at the Annual Town Meeting.

The moratorium bylaw was borrowed from another town’s draft that was approved by the Attorney General’s Office.

The moratorium would allow the town to wait until the Commonwealth issues guidelines for towns and cities to craft their recreational marijuana regulations surrounding the dispensing, processing, cultivation, storage, and sale of marijuana.

The state is expected to provide these regulations in January 2018, said Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson.

“This is a moratorium which a lot of cities and towns are doing, placing a moratorium until January 2018 so that we can wait for the state to issue their guidelines and come up with guidelines of our own,” said Johnson. “The majority of the [Rochester] townspeople have expressed support for control on where it’s sold…”

Johnson will be taking the draft bylaw to the Board of Selectmen in the near future for discussion. Johnson said the selectmen appear poised to also recommend the moratorium at Town Meeting.

The Planning Board voted to recommend Town Meeting adoption of the moratorium, and Johnson said that once it is time for the Town to regulate marijuana next year, the Town would likely default to the current medicinal marijuana zoning bylaws.

In Rochester, medicinal marijuana facilities could only be allowed in the adult entertainment overlay section of the industrial zone located on Route 28.

Planning Board member Ben Bailey expressed concern over federal law versus state law pertaining to marijuana use and sales.

“I’m still curious how we’re doing this when it’s against federal law,” Bailey said. “Federal law trumps it, so it’s an interesting thing…. It’s still illegal to possess marijuana and use it federally.”

Bailey added that he personally is not comfortable approving any recreational marijuana regulations in Rochester until the federal government allows it.

Planning Board member John DeMaggio cited the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

“I think you ought to be able to do whatever you want,” said Bailey. “I think it’s horrible to regulate drugs…”

Bailey was delegated by the board to introduce the article on Town Meeting floor.

Also during the meeting, the continued public hearing for the Site Plan review for Wellspring Farms at 42 Hiller Road, applicants Holly and Jim Vogel, was continued until May 23 at the applicants’ request.

In other business, the board granted an Approval Not Required for Stephen and Sandra Hunt of 43 Featherbed Lane.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for May 23 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

 

Mattapoisett Firefighters Climb for a Cause

on

Firefighting is one of the toughest jobs one can think of. It takes a certain kind of person to choose a career that puts you in danger on a nearly daily basis. It takes a strong body just to wear the firefighter gear alone and a cool head to keep calm and focused during physical exertion. Knowing that, it makes you wonder why a firefighter would voluntarily don one hundred pounds of firefighter gear and run up 2,880 steps in one hour on his day off.

On Sunday, May 7, four Mattapoisett firefighters travelled to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and did just that. Not for the fun of it, not for the glory, and certainly not for the exercise; they did it for charity.

Lieutenant Justin Dubois and firefighters Justin Blue, Silas Costa, and Bill Oliver participated in the S4RT (Stairs 4 Our Troops) stair climb at Gillette Stadium, with the proceeds from the fundraiser going to Homes For Our Troops (HFOT), an organization that builds specially adaptive homes for severely injured veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

Every year now, Mattapoisett Fire Rescue participates in a stair climb for charity. They’ve climbed the steps of a 26-story building in Providence one year, and then after that for two years they climbed the 61-story Clarendon Building in Boston – a feat that is akin to a “Boston Marathon” of all charity stair climbs of sorts. This year, though, they topped that event, with the one-hour long challenge of climbing 2,880 steps – with all their firefighting gear on to boot.

“We had just heard about it through social media,” said Dubois, “so we took the initiative and signed up for it.”

Three other fire departments in Massachusetts joined Mattapoisett – Dedham, Westwood, and Needham.

Climbing 2,880 stairs is a hard task. But with all that gear bearing down on you with every footstep up, the difference, said Dubois, is “drastic.”

“It felt like it was never going to end,” Dubois described the experience. ”It’s hard to explain, just because when you’re wearing 80 to 100 pound of extra gear, every little bit takes a toll on you.”

Even with the sunny, cool-ish, breezy weather, it was still a constant challenge for the four men, Dubois said. It was a constant battle to make it to the end of that hour.

“It was a really good time though,” said Dubois. “It was the biggest one that we’ve done so far.

As for next year? Well, this year’s climb will be pretty tough to top.

“We’re not sure where to go from this one,” said Dubois. “We always try to do the next step up,” no pun intended. “Now that we’ve hit this stage, I think we might have hit the max, so well see.”

By Jean Perry

Summer Adventures In Learning (SAIL) Program

on

The Old Rochester Regional School District/Superintendency Union #55 is pleased to offer a summer enrichment program for students currently in pre-kindergarten through Grade 9 to increase student learning while having fun!

The brochure of course offerings for the SAIL Program is now available online! The course listings, online registration, and health form can be found on all of the district and school homepages at www.oldrochester.org.

The program is held at the ORR Junior/Senior High School and runs for six weeks. It is broken into two 3-week sessions. Students can enroll for Session A, Session B, or both! The tuition is $225 per 3-week session, and $450 total for the two 3-week sessions. The program will run Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon with the exception of the first week of Session A, which will be at those same hours on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to avoid the Independence Day holiday. Session A will run from July 5 to July 20 and Session B will run from July 25 to August 10.

Available slots will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. A completed registration and a check for the tuition fee must be submitted for each student by June 2, 2017. The health form is also available online and should be submitted upon registration. Confirmation of participation will be sent to each family in late June.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the SAIL Co-Directors, Charles West (charleswest@oldrochester.org) and Kyle Letendre (kyleletendre@oldrochester.org).

We look forward to an exciting, enriching, and fun-filled summer with our students!

Mattapoisett Offers Online Bill Pay

on

Beginning with the recently mailed Water/Sewer Utility bills, town residents are now able to pay their Real Estate, Personal Property, Motor Vehicle and Boat Excise taxes and Water/Sewer bills with greater flexibility. The new system is secure, easy to use, and allows customers the option of paying their bills via their checking account with ACH or by using a credit/debit card. Customers are able to view their bills and make a one-time payment without registering, or, by registering, they can enjoy 24/7 access to payment history and bills. By registering, customers will also be able to pay anytime, anywhere with a mobile optimized experience, either online, on their mobile device or by text message. Other enhanced features include the ability to schedule a payment, either for the same day or a future date, or to establish an automatic payment schedule.

Paying electronically is faster and more convenient than paying with personal online banking. Paying with personal online banking results in an actual bank check mailed to the Town. Many times incorrect or missing information causes delays in payment posting. EFT/ACH payments are received and cleared faster than checks issued by banks. The Collector’s Office uploads electronic payment files, therefore improving the accuracy and timeliness of payment posting for customers. In addition to receiving email reminders when a payment is due and a confirmation email after making a payment, customers can sign up for courtesy email reminders.

Advantages of e-Billing and Payment:

– Paying online is faster than mailing a check.

– Bills and payment history are kept securely in one place.

– No worries about a bill or check getting lost in the mail.

– Paying online saves stamps, envelopes and gas.

– Pay your bill from wherever you have Internet access.

– Late fees can be avoided with scheduled or automatic payments.

Please go to www.mattapoisett.net to learn more.