Elizabeth Taber Library

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Seed Lending Library to start soon: The Elizabeth Taber Library, in partnership with the Marion Garden Group, will be offering seeds to check out again this year starting March 1! Community members may “check out” seeds for free from the Elizabeth Taber Library. The idea is that you plant the seeds, let some go to seed, then return these next generation seeds for others to borrow. We have a variety of seeds, so come check it out today! For more information, please call us at 508-748-1252 or stop into the library for some material on our seed program. Also, please save the date for our gardening program, led by Ian Penman, titled Avoiding Fallacies and Expensive Mistakes in the New England Garden on Thursday, March 15 at 6:00 pm. More details to come on this program.

Paperweight Collection on Exhibit: Please stop by the Elizabeth Taber Library to see our newly acquired 19th century French paperweight collection. This generous donation was made by the late Mr. William W. Claflin, Jr. who was a lifelong resident of Marion.

Mr. Claflin owned and operated Electronic Sales & Services, Inc. in New Bedford until his retirement in 2008. He was very involved in the Marion community by serving as communications specialist on the Marion Fire Department and also as Secretary, Historian and Treasure for the Marion Fire Fighters Association for over 50 years. He served with the Marion Social Club from 1983 until his passing.

This beautiful paperweight collection will be on display through June 15 at the Elizabeth Taber Library. For more information, please contact the library at 508-748-1252.

Mendoza Drops Out as Selectman Candidate

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Candidate for the Rochester Board of Selectmen Catherine Mendoza has withdrawn from the three-way race for selectman on Thursday, February 22, leaving a two-way race between current Finance Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals member David Arancio and Rochester’s Emergency Preparedness Director Paul Ciaburri.

Mendoza is known for her outspoken opposition to Wellspring Farm, the therapeutic horseback riding facility that abuts her Hiller Road residence.

Town Clerk (and current Selectman not running for re-election this year) Naida Parker told The Wanderer on Wednesday, February 21, that an allegedly “irate” Mendoza entered the Rochester Town Hall the day before demanding that Town Counsel Blair Bailey enforce the Town’s social media policy in regards to a Facebook post of hers. Parker stated that Mendoza commented that she was then considering dropping out of the race.

Parker, who has been a selectman for 15 years and town clerk for 34 years, said on February 21 that she would be retiring in 2020 and would not be seeking reelection as Rochester’s town clerk, either.

“It’s time for me to figure out what I’m gonna do when I grow up,” said Parker.

In other election news, the February 21 deadline has passed for returning completed nomination papers for the April 11 annual election and the list of candidates that will appear on the ballot is official.

Aside from Board of Selectmen, there will be only one other contested race this year for the Planning Board. Four, including two incumbents, are vying for two seats up for grabs. David Shaw, a current member of the Cemetery Commission, and resident Bill Milka are running against Planning Board incumbents Bendrix “Ben” Bailey and John DiMaggio.

Candidates running for other open elected positions this year will do so unopposed and will appear as follows:

Town Moderator, incumbent Kirby Gilmore; Tree Warden, incumbent Jeffrey Eldridge; Board of Health, incumbent Dale Barrows; Board of Assessors, incumbent Jana Cavanaugh; Plumb Library Trustees (two seats), newcomers Gloria Vincent and Jordan Pouliot; Park Commission, incumbent Kenneth Ross; Rochester School Committee (two seats), incumbents Tina Rood and Robin Rounseville; Old Rochester Regional School Committee, incumbent Cary Humphrey.

No one is running for the vacant seat on the Cemetery Commission previously held by Veronica Lafreniere who did not seek reelection.

The annual town election will be held on Wednesday, April 11, at the Rochester Council on Aging at 67 Dexter Lane. Polls open at 8:00 am and close at 8:00 pm.

By Jean Perry

 

Choose a Cause and Make a Difference

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To the Editor:

For months now, there have been announcements from Mattapoisett Town Hall seeking new volunteer committee and board members to fill vacancies. This week, there was a call for Cultural Council Committee members. Earlier, it was Conservation Committee. This letter is to encourage all community members to “Choose a Cause and Make a Difference.” (Thank you, Jillian Zucco for that great phrase!)

There are many, many people in Mattapoisett who love their community. Of these, many generously give of their time. There are many others who consider volunteering, but circumstances prevent or they find it hard to commit. There are others who step forward, only to ultimately drop back. Please, if you are not a volunteer, your community needs you … Town Boards and Committees, Council on Aging, Mattapoisett Housing Authority, FISH, Lions Club, Schools, Churches, Bike Path, Mattapoisett Land Trust, Garden Club, Women’s Club, Healthy Tri-Town Coalition, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and all the others. Meeting people from outside your usual routine and making a difference in your community is a wonderfully refreshing experience.

Again, “Choose Your Cause, Make A Difference!”

Thank you,

Bonne DeSousa, Friends of the Bike Path

 

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

Seniors Relish Final Weeks at ORR

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With the third quarter already close to halfway over at Old Rochester Regional High School, the Class of 2018 is inching closer and closer to the end of their time at high school. In fact, members of the senior class have about 50 school days left before their last day of classes.

“Compared to the past three years, I believe that senior year has been the best of all. There is more excitement and unity amongst everyone this year,” Senior Vice President Rachel Demmer commented.

Despite the three calendar months left before graduation, the 191 students of this year’s senior class already have their sights set on the near future.

A glimpse at a map of the United States in the school lobby shows the variety of colleges to which they have already been accepted: UMass Amherst, Columbia University, St. Lawrence, Emerson, University of New Hampshire, and University of Oregon are just a few. Others will make their way directly into the workforce of the surrounding South Coast area.

Before they officially leave high school behind, there are a few fun activities the seniors still have to look forward to. First, the spring production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory will be playing Thursday, March 22, through Saturday, March 25.

“It’s going to be wonderful! It’s the last show for some of us and it’s bittersweet,” said senior cast member Bella Rodrigues. “We have a really good cast and it will be fun for the whole family.”

The annual ‘Mr. ORR’ contest and senior breakfast will occur in early May. Both events are times for the class as a whole to celebrate their four-year journey and laugh together for some of the last times as classmates.

The last day of classes for seniors is Friday, May 18, which leaves a packed day as they have the senior barbecue in the afternoon followed by a night at Six Flags New England.

“As long as the trip passes the school committee in March, we will leave that afternoon or evening and take coach busses up to Six Flags,” Demmer said. “Along with other senior classes from New England, we will have the park from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am, with unlimited rides. It also comes with a buffet meal!”

The Senior Prom will be held Wednesday, May 30, the first Wednesday in recent memory, according to the school’s Facebook page.

“Prom tickets are still looking pretty expensive,” said Class Senator Sophie Gurney, “and although we’ve fundraised a lot already, there is still a GoFundMe page for the senior class and any donations would be greatly appreciated!”

“We have had lots of help from some awesome senior class parents who have organized baskets and fundraisers and have even come together on their own time to help come up with new and exciting ideas,” Demmer added. “The GoFundMe page is up to $1,250, and we raised a little over $2,500 between our class-donated bake sale and senior superlatives.”

With the June 2 graduation date approaching quickly, it has also become a time of reflection for students.

“Overall, I think we have made our mark as a whole on the school whether it is through academics, sports, art, or music,” Demmer said. “We have such a talented class and I honestly think that every single person has grown so much and helped each other to become better people.”

Gurney summed it up eloquently: “Treasure every moment of your senior year because it goes by in the blink of an eye.”

ORR Update

By Jo Caynon

Solar Work Will Be ‘Stop and Go’

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The progress of Clean Energy Collective’s solar energy project on Mattapoisett Road will hinge mainly on one thing – an 8-foot high flag – and if the Rochester Planning Board can see it from where it will stand across the street, it’s lights out for the project until the developer can properly screen the solar panels.

The public hearing for Clean Energy Collective was re-opened on February 27 after the board back in December determined that a berm height increase due to some elevation discrepancies was a major change to the approved plan.

The board visited the site on Saturday, and the board’s peer review engineer, Ken Motta from Field Engineering, submitted a third report with comments on what was observed that day.

“Everything looked to be in order,” said Clean Energy Collective’s engineer Evan Watson of Prime Engineering, “minus one comment from Ken…. He asked that the fence at the front at the gate be extended.”

A few additional comments followed, including a specified 50-50 grass seed mix.

“I couldn’t make the site visit Saturday,” said Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson, “so I actually went out today.”

Motta accompanied him, Johnson said, observing with him what Johnson called “some interesting things on the site after all the rain.”

Johnson described a field area by the access road that was ponding water after the recent rains.

“The water can’t travel,” Johnson said. “So that access road is kind of a dam.”

Johnson suggested installing a 12-inch culvert to help with drainage, and Watson agreed.

But it still all comes down to whether or not the panels will be visible from the road.

Johnson requested that a new site line be taken from the metal building across the street.

“When you’re standing on Mattapoisett Road and you’re kind of in line with the center of that building, you can see right in through there,” said Johnson. ”We’re gonna ask them to do another site line.”

Johnson suggested the site line doesn’t necessarily have to be done before work can continue, but Johnson’s preference was to require that the screening fence be constructed before the racking system for the panels is installed. That way, the work could continue – at the developer’s risk, of course – and the board could gain the reassurance that the panels would be fully screened before the project goes too far.

Then Johnson suggested placing an 8-foot tall pole with a flag on top of where the highest point of the panels will be.

“If we can’t see the flag, carry on,” said Johnson. “But if we can see the flag, it’s back to the drawing board.”

The board will add the condition that the fence be installed before the racks. Once the fence is in, the flag test on the site line will be performed. Then work on the racks can begin, Johnson said. Once the racks are in, work will again stop so the board can check the measurements. Once the measurements are verified, only then can the panels be mounted. Work would then again stop until that installation is checked.

“If there’s a violation at any one of those points, the work’s gonna stop,” Johnson said.

Planning Board member John DiMaggio pointed out that the board has been making the installation of the fence before the racks a special condition for most of the solar projects that have gone before the board. He suggested that perhaps that requirement should be inserted into the town’s solar bylaw.

“You’re right though,” said Johnson. “If we’re gonna put it in into every decision, we should put it in the bylaw.”

Johnson stated that he thinks the board is close to the point of compiling a list of conditions for a draft decision to review and wrap up at the next meeting.

“We want to get this thing moving forward in the right direction,” Johnson said.

There were no comments from the audience that evening, and the board continued the hearing until March 13.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for March 13 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

 

Options for Marion Town Offices

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The Marion Board of Selectmen will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 pm in the Sippican School multi-purpose room (auditorium), 16 Spring Street, Marion so that the Town House Building Committee and the Subcommittee of the Town House Building Committee can present proposals to the selectmen and allow public review.

Mary Ellen Rickard

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Mary Ellen Rickard, age 72, of Rochester, MA died February 27, 2018 at the New Bedford Jewish Convalescence home after a lengthy battle with early onset dementia. She was the wife of Peter H. Rickard.

Born and raised in Brockton, the daughter of the late Thomas and Mary C. (Brennan) Joyce, she lived in North Attleboro, MA for 28 years, raising her two daughters there. She is survived by her daughter Nicole C. Rickard, DVM and her husband David Lempert of Marion, MA and Bridget A. Foley and her husband Thomas P. Foley IV of Braintree MA. She was a proud Nana to her 3 grandchildren, Shanley Lempert, Callum Lempert and Patricia Foley. She was the sister of the late Michael Joyce, Thomas Joyce and Neil Joyce. Mary Ellen was also close with her extended family including her cousins and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mary Ellen was a caring and kind person. She loved her family and her beloved pets. She loved to golf and garden. She was an adept crafter, creating beautiful jewelry and sewing and knitting. Mary Ellen taught Physical Education at Southeastern Regional Vocational School, Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational School, and spent many years as an elementary PE teacher at the Roosevelt Avenue School in North Attleboro.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Dr. Dickerson’s Dementia Research Program in the Massachusetts General Hospital Frontotemporal Disorders Unit. Your generous gifts support the clinical care and research efforts for individuals living with early onset dementias.

Donations may be made online at https://Giving.MassGeneral.org/FTDUnit
They may also be sent by mail to the MGH Frontotemporal Disorders Unit. Attn: Raseeka Premchander, 149 13th Street, Suite 2691, Charlestown, MA 02129. Checks payable to “MGH Dr. Dickerson Lab” and in the memo line, please put “Dementia Research”.

Visiting hours will be celebrated on Friday March 2nd from 4-8PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett. Her Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday March 3rd at 10AM in St. Anthony’s Church. A family celebration of her life will follow. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

 

Two Emaciated Dogs Rescued in Rochester

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Rochester Police on Thursday rescued two dogs suffering from starvation and neglect and allegedly living in filth inside a Rochester home.

The Rochester Police Department received a call from a concerned utility worker on February 21 reporting that she saw two malnourished-looking dogs inside a house on New Bedford Road.

Police and Animal Control officers arrived at the scene and found nine-year-old “Ace” and two-year-old “Bentley” locked inside looking severely malnourished, according to a Rochester Police press release.

The officers’ initial impressions of the conditions of the house were described as “very unsanitary,” along with an extreme odor of animal urine and feces detected from the driveway. No one was home, and officers found no water or food left available for the dogs.

Police contacted the resident of the house, Tyrone Mendes, 33, who returned home and was subsequently charged with two counts of Animal Cruelty and two counts of Failing to License a Dog.

The officers stated that the conditions inside the house were “deplorable” and covered with animal waste.

Animal Control took Ace and Bentley into custody and later released the pair to the Animal Rescue League of Boston for medical treatment.

The ARLB reports that it is caring for the two dogs at the ARL animal care and adoption facility in Brewster. Bentley currently weighs only 20 pounds and is roughly 30 pounds underweight. Older dog Ace was in slightly better condition but still malnourished.

“Both animals are settling into their new surroundings and will be on a closely monitored feeding schedule to promote safe and steady weight gain,” ARL Brewster veterinary staff report in a public statement.

Both Ace and Bentley are expected to fully recover, barring any unexpected complications.

By Jean Perry

 

President’s Volunteer Service Award

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Mia Quinlan, 15, of Marion, a student at Old Rochester Regional High School, has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award.

The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was granted by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Old Rochester Regional High School nominated Mia for national honors this fall in recognition of her volunteer service.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), recognizes middle level and high school students across America for outstanding volunteer service.

“The recipients of these awards demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities,” said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “By recognizing these students and placing a spotlight on their activities, we hope to motivate others to consider how they can also contribute to their community.”

“Demonstrating civic responsibility through volunteerism is an important part of life,” said NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. “These honorees practice a lesson we hope all young people, as well as adults, will emulate.”

Prudential Spirit of Community Award applications were distributed nationwide last September through middle level and high schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Affiliates of Points of Light’s HandsOn Network. These schools and officially-designated local organizations nominated Local Honorees, whose applications were advanced for state-level judging. In addition to granting President’s Volunteer Service Awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards selected State Honorees, Distinguished Finalists and Certificated of Excellence recipients. Volunteer activities were judged on criteria including personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

Please Won’t You Be … My Neighbor

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A generation’s most beloved children’s show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, turned 50 last week. I turned 41.

I am of the generation of fortunate children to have grown up with Mr. Rogers as our neighbor. Every afternoon and every evening, as soon as the xylophone music of the show’s theme song would ring out from the speaker of our color television enshrined in laminate oak like an analog monument, the outside world disappeared and I was at home in the neighborhood.

Mister Rogers would always end just at my bedtime, and after he swapped his inside shoes for his outside shoes and took off his cardigan and put back on his jacket, I would kiss the TV screen before he exited and say, “Good night, Mr. Rogers.” It’s one of my earliest memories. I must have been about three-and-a-half then, around the time long-term memory kicks in for most of us.

Last week, in addition to the birthday wishes posted to my Facebook page, social media was suddenly flooded with quotes, videos, memes, and memories of Mr. Rogers remembering the kind, gentle man who made each of us individually feel like we were special and appreciated. The week of my birthday is also, now a tradition, the week when I take a detour in Rochester for a drive-by of the same grassy knoll on the side of Rounseville Road to see if I could spot any spring flowers. On February 23, as I have now for the past four years or so since I started at The Wanderer, I spotted the first crocuses to emerge from the winter-worn ground of that roadside hill. I counted four.

The crocus is often the first flower to emerge at the end of winter, a symbol of the approach of spring. We see a crocus, we think spring. I also see a crocus and I think … “Betty.”

February 19 was the 50th anniversary of the first airing of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I have such fond memories of the gentle, kind man who encouraged me to be myself while assuring me I would still be liked for it. While reading Fred Rogers quotes last week, I couldn’t help but hear his calm, slow, gentle voice in my mind as my eyes teared-up in appreciation of the beauty of his words and what he stood for, and how it feels today looking back as an adult grateful that the child in me got to know that wonderful man. But when I think of my neighbor Mr. Rogers, I also instantly think of my childhood next door neighbor Betty.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine; could you be mine?

I was a little girl who spent a lot of time alone. I think I enjoyed or at least didn’t mind that for most of the day my two older brothers would be at school and I would be home with my crayons, my dolls, my books, my imagination … I liked playing outside in our great big backyard that was an open half-acre abutting the woods and seemed even more massive to a child. Sometimes when I looked over to the yard next door, Betty would be outside with her Dachshund Milly. I’d run over to my Mom hanging the laundry on the line or call out to her inside the house, “Mom, I’m going to Betty’s!”

“Hi Jeannie,” the old woman would say in that soft, kind, gentle way she always spoke. “How are you today? Would you like to help me count how many crocuses have bloomed around the yard?”

Looking back, Betty probably wasn’t really that old. Perhaps it was that I was so young, or that she didn’t color her white hair, dressed in 1960s-style elastic waist polyester pants with floral patterns, always wore a soft cardigan sweater over a button-up blouse, and no-name-brand tennis shoes. Maybe it’s also because she wore glasses, moved and spoke slowly, was nice, and just wasn’t like the other adults in my life.

Whenever I went over to visit with Betty in her yard, I never felt like my presence was a bother or inconvenience. She always made me feel like she enjoyed my company. She’d always find something to talk about or something to teach me or show me. She’d let me pick violets that grew by her clothesline or give treats to Milly. If I was really lucky, she would let me help her with one of my favorite tasks – sprinkling the dog poop with white, powdery lime from a paper Haagen-Dazs cup before she scooped them up with her super-duper pooper-scooper, a metal serrated-edge bin that could get the deed done without having to bend over and use your hands.

The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile.

Sometimes we would just sit in the shade at her picnic table and talk. As I grew and started school, the topics we discussed increased in scope – friends, stuff I was learning or read, my bourgeoning interests. She sincerely listened to everything I said, followed-up with further questions, and always smiled back at me. “That’s nice, Jean. I’m so glad you’re doing so well in school.”

In the colder months, Betty would invite me inside for a ginger ale with a splash of cranberry juice and a piece of ribbon candy. We’d sit together at the kitchen table while Milly’s claws would click-clack on the linoleum beneath the table.

Whenever I sat with Betty at her table, the outside world would dissolve away and I was at home in Betty’s kitchen.

As different as we are from one another … we are much more the same than we are different. That may be the most essential message of all as we help our children grow toward being caring, compassionate, and charitable adults.

            One time in Betty’s kitchen I never forgot was that visit when I told her of a nightmare I had of a nuclear war with Russia. I told her how scary it was that bombs were on their way and of how scared I was of the Russians.

“I hate the Russians,” I said.

“Jean!” she said, subdued but astonished. “If a little Russian girl came to the door and wanted you to come play, you wouldn’t play with her?”

I stared at the door, processing Betty’s question. The notion that a Russian little girl is no different than I or any other American girl blew my mind.

“Yes, I would,” I said, having been shown that fear is no excuse for hatred.

If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.

Eventually I outgrew watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. And I was probably about ten years old when Betty moved away. The memory of that late afternoon and the deep sadness I felt on my front porch – waving goodbye to her as she left our neighborhood for the last time, her sitting in the front passenger seat with Milly on her lap, waving back at me – is as vivid to me now as the moment it happened. I was sobbing. I am conscious of it now, but the child I was at the time didn’t recognize that the sorrow, the panic, the squeezing in my chest and the physical pain it caused was my very first broken heart.

All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are…. Ten seconds of silence.

Fred Rogers spoke those words during his Lifetime Achievement Emmy acceptance speech in 1997. He died exactly 15 years ago on this very day, February 27, in 2003.

As a child my first neighbors were Mr. Rogers and Betty; the ones who made me feel appreciated and liked for who I am, always speaking to me – not like I was a child – like I was a person.

Every year when I see those first crocuses, I still think of Betty. And when Fred Rogers asks me to think for ten seconds about the ones who helped me become who I am today I still think of Betty. The one who counted crocuses with me every spring. One of them, like Fred Rogers put it, who ‘loved me into being.’

This Imperfect Life

By Jean Perry