Committee Responds to Town House Critics

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Perplexed by a proposal to form yet another committee to study town house project options, the original Marion Town House Building Committee on December 29 expressed their preference to first meet with critics of the current town house project trajectory before a formal meeting with selectmen on January 26.

On December 21, Planning Board Chairman Robert Lane and Finance Committee Chairman Alan Minard approached the Board of Selectmen, asking to form a committee to exclusively study the viability of building a new town hall at the VFW building recently acquired by the town at 465 Mill Road.

Town House Building Committee members, who have been working together for roughly two years progressing towards a town house renovation and expansion that is feasible yet palatable to taxpayers, were taken aback somewhat, surprised that neither Minard nor Lane had ever approached the committee with their idea, nor had they ever attended a committee meeting over the past months.

Committee members shared their reaction to the selectmen’s indulging Lane’s and Minard’s committee request in a recent letter to the editor written just after the December 17 meeting.

“We are frustrated and puzzled by this plan,” wrote Meg Steinberg, Wayne Mattson, and Bob Raymond, members of the THBC. “This decision directly contradicts [the selectmen’s] prior reasoning. Such a plan undermines the integrity of the Town House Building Committee and the professional consultant team who continue to conduct a fair and unbiased study of the issue.”

During a discussion amongst themselves, committee members went further to say that they were uncertain whether Lane, who the committee acknowledged made his career building office buildings, clearly understood how a municipal building project could differ from a regular office building project when it came to specifications.

“[Lane and Minard] didn’t have a clear proposal on how they were going to get it done,” said Raymond, after he commented that selectmen basically “kicked the can down the road” by allowing Minard and Lane to start a new building study committee. “I’m not sure they know what’s involved in this project.”

The notion had committee members asking, why form another committee to duplicate the work one already has done for many months?

The timing of the acquisition of the VFW was a factor, supposed committee member Lynne Crocker.

“It landed in our laps just as we were tying everything up,” said Crocker. “It threw a monkey wrench into the whole thing.” Crocker then suggested, “Maybe we should just lay low and leave it to the selectmen now.”

The committee agreed that it would be more amiable if Lane and Minard would attend the town house building committee’s next meeting on January 12 at the Marion Town House, before the January 26 meeting when both parties will address the selectmen.

By Jean Perry

 

Marion Republican Town Committee

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The Marion Republican Town Committee will conduct its next monthly meeting on Monday, January 9 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion. Please join us. The public and new members are welcome.

Rochester Bristol Aggie Student Wins FFA Award

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Winning the FFA Veterinary Science Career Development Event Championship is no small feat. In fact, Bristol County Agricultural High School senior Molly Ross of Rochester said even she wasn’t expecting her team to beat out all other 40 participating states.

The journey began back in January of 2016 when Ross and three other animal science majors at Bristol Aggie competed at the state level and won after a series of opportunities to show off and be tested on their knowledge and skills in veterinary science. This brought the team to the state finals in September where, again, the team took first place.

“We’ve always done well at the state level, but not great,” said Ross. “We weren’t expecting this at all.” The Bristol Aggie team, however, has won at the state level over the five years it’s been participating in the competition.

In Indianapolis back in October, the four were subjected to a series of exams and tests to exhibit their skills learned at Bristol Aggie. Ross, who is a large animal science major, said first up was an exam on the general knowledge of veterinary science, followed by a mathematics test, which probed the teams’ abilities to convert metric values and other areas of math that assist in skills such as dispensing proper medication amounts.

“You also had to prove that you could identify equipment, identify animal breeds, and parasites,” said Ross.

Over the course of two days, the students’ skills in haltering livestock, filling syringes, and performing procedures were observed, followed by a 15-minute group presentation on how to treat Salmonella in dairy cows.

“For that, we received a perfect score,” Ross said.

There are a lot of aspects involved in the competition, said Ross. Intense studying for months prior to the national competition was all part of the big picture.

“The best way to describe it is ‘intense studying,’” said Ross. “After a certain point, we studied so much that it wasn’t going to stay in our heads for long, but at least we’d seen it.”

On October 21, the team was presented with plaques for their achievement during a banquet after the event. In December, the four were guests at the State House and were honored with certificates on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“It’s a big deal,” said Ross of the team’s accomplishment. “Even Texas came in second place to us. There were kids from Idaho that were just in shock.”

Ross says she plans on attending UMass Amherst next year, majoring in animal science. She said it’s a hope of hers that she will one day make a name for herself in the field.

“This experience has shown me what I can do,” said Ross. “Bristol Aggie is a really great place for me. There’s a lot of hands-on learning, I’ve learned a lot, and it’s opened a lot of doors for me. I can’t imagine having been anywhere else.”

By Jean Perry

Police Apprehend Suspect of Recent Thefts

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Police appear to have discovered the suspect of a rash of car break-ins spanning the Southcoast from Dartmouth to Marion after a suspect was apprehended following a December 31 home invasion and vehicle theft from the same address.

The home invasion follows a slew of unlocked car break-ins on Converse Road in Marion, as well as several in Mattapoisett the day after Christmas in the areas of Point Connett, Tupola Lane, and Atkinson Way.

The suspect allegedly entered the home during the night while the residents were asleep, stole the keys to a Toyota Avalon parked outside and absconded with the vehicle, which was later spotted in New Bedford.

After surveillance of the suspect, the police apprehended the suspect at a home in New Bedford where police, with a search warrant, found a number of the reportedly stolen items inside the location.

Rochester also experienced a number of home thefts between December 21 and 28, although police have not disclosed whether these break-ins were related to the most recent Marion incidents.

A Rochester Police Department press release dated December 28 states: Rochester Police are investigating two housebreaks in the past seven days. The first break occurred on Wednesday, December 21 in the100 block of Mattapoisett Road. Entry was gained through an unlocked door. Electronics and jewelry were taken.

The second break occurred Wednesday, December 28 in the 300 block of North Avenue. Entry was gained by forcing a door open. Electronics were taken.

Police are asking residents to keep an eye out and report any suspicious activity immediately by calling 911.

The name of the suspect has not yet been released and the incidents are under investigation.

By Jean Perry

 

I’ll Be Home For Christmas (2012)

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A writer needs a healthy combination of inspiration and imagination. For this writer, it is first and foremost inspiration because my imagination has never been one of flourish, color, texture and taste. Nor would I trust my imagination to weave such fantastic tales as those which real life can and will provide.

But I can tell you what I see, experience, feel – all through the filters in my mind. This holiday season has found me once again pondering the importance of personal relationships and processing – endlessly processing – experiences, memories, and themes of the past.

Christmas is that perfect mixture of pain and joy. Possibly, as we age, the scales swing more towards the pain side than joy; for surely even happy memories of Christmases past make us remember those who are no longer with us.

Unhappy memories are gifts we’ll never be able to return. We are left holding the scales, trying to keep them balanced for the sake of the people around us. Nothing is ever truly fair, but we try, don’t we?

And so when I visited the now infamous nursing home to spend some quality time with my mother, the contrasts were what I saw – the young visiting the old and infirm, the capable assisting the incapable, those still with cognition and those whose cognition has long since ceased to provide a clear point of reference. And I saw my mother, whose small life had become smaller still.

She had been to the hairdresser in preparation for her day out of the old age jail. She was invited, wanted, at her great-granddaughter’s home for Christmas Day. There she would be queen of the day.

I’m glad for her and for myself. For her, it will be a few precious hours released from the living hell of a nursing home. For me, it means I won’t have to endure going there to see her. We are both free for the day.

On this Christmas Eve afternoon as I find her freshly coifed and dressed in new clothes ready to enjoy as best she can, along with the entertainment that would be available in the dining room, her mood is decidedly pleasant. I push away visions of other Christmases where she’d spend hours crying or hollering or withdrawn into a depression none could penetrate. Today, she is smiling and full of good cheer.

We go into the room where the entertainer is setting up his electric keyboard, microphone, and amplifiers, and talking to the cute CNAs whose job it is to position the residents’ wheelchairs in such a way that all can see and hear. I place my mother’s chair smack dab in front of the entertainer’s equipment where I’m sure she’ll be able to hear the music. A mere 10 feet from the amp should do it, I figured.

Ma has been deaf and going deaf since she was in her sixties. Over the years, she’s had various hearing aids, all of which she would eventually declare pieces of junk. These recent years, in spite of collective best efforts to get her equipment she’d use, all have failed. We’ve given up. We set our voices on stun volume in order to speak with her. It does make having any kind of pleasant conversation nearly impossible as one strains one’s voice in a tone she may hear and then have to repeat oneself at least twice.

“THE WEATHER IS CHILLY TODAY!”

“What?”

“THE WEATHER IS CHILLY TODAY!

“What, the leather is mildewed?”

“NO, THE WEATHER IS CHILLY!”

“Oh well, what do you expect, it is winter.” And thus we labor along, me smiling at her wondering if her daughter is going soft.

The entertainer excitedly looks out at his audience – the frail, now physically impaired, some incontinent, others paralyzed, blind, deaf, even speechless beings that are known as residents in this facility. He smiles broadly, animating his every movement and facial expression in an effort to give them the best show he can. I see a middle-aged man with some limited talent whose work has gotten him this far, but whose core is one of kindness and tender mercy. He wants them to enjoy themselves; regardless of their condition, he’ll give them a show.

I note he has the ability to play some pretty good jazz chords. I’m enjoying watching him and studying his technical abilities as I understand them to be after spending all my adult life providing musical training for my son. This guy is good. He tries his best to get the folks to sing along and, after a bit, many are joining in as best they can.

One resident is tapping the fingers on his working hand, another knows all the words to the songs and sings along with tears streaming down her face. I turn to my mother and she motions for me to come closer so she can speak to me.

For some time now, my mother’s ability to speak has been rendered nearly gone due to a series of mini-strokes and congestive heart failure, which affects her breathing. I place my right ear as close to her mouth as possible with my chin resting her on chest. The end of her cold nose is now in my ear but I don’t move even though I know her nose is runny. She says, “What is this damn fool trying to sing?”

Oh, classic Mother lives, I think to myself. That mother who could find fault with Andy Williams, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, sometimes even Elvis (perish the thought) – ta da! Here she is. I smile as I pull my face away from her and am pleased that my ear is not wet.

I don’t really respond to her verbal assault on this poor working schlep, opting instead to shrug and nod while tapping my foot in rhythm to the electronic pre-programmed beat.

White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Silent Night, Joy to the World, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and all the seasonal favorites roll out and over the assembled.

One CNA is dancing in between wheelchairs, stopping here and there to get a resident more involved in the world around them while shaking a tambourine. She wears a headband of reindeer antlers with blinking lights and a loud red sweater. I think she is adorable. My mother is ready to share another thought with me.

“Doesn’t she know she looks like a damn fool?” Oh, the urge to tip her out of her wheelchair is tempered by my deep desire not to sink to her level. I smile.

Then the entertainer makes a song choice mistake. I hear the sad and all too familiar first notes of I’ll Be Home For Christmas. I think to myself, this guy can’t possibly understand how cruel it is to play this song.

Obviously, many in the room won’t have a clue what he is playing, including my deaf mother, but many others will and will be reminded that they are never going home again – you can’t go home again never, not fully, not ever – even me.

Tears threaten, so I rather abruptly get up and say to my mother’s ear, “Time to go!” As I search to find a way to escape the song through the labyrinth of wall-to wall-wheelchairs, I hear him say, “Oh, let’s leave that and pick it up a notch,” launching into a lively rendition of Jingle Bells. But I’m gone in spite of this wiser musical choice.

One and a half hours is about all I can stand on a good day outside in the sun on the grounds of this place, never mind a gray Christmas Eve afternoon in close confinement with the poor folks stuck in hell. I install my mother at the reception area where she wants to stay instead of going back to her room.

“If I’d known it was that damn fool, I wouldn’t have bothered getting out of bed today.”

I make goodbye noises, kiss her, and promise to see her soon while making a speedy exit out the door. How clean and fresh the air always seems to me after time spent in that altered universe, that time warp of pain, that ‘end of the world.’ I find deep breathing beneficial and, oh so necessary, as I walk to the car.

On the drive home, I see their faces: the faces of all those people who once had lives, a rich fabric of family, friends, events and abilities – all now in tatters. They are the remaining shreds of humans; they are the result of a medical institution that can keep them alive, even if not living. I see the faces of people who were once young and who could never have imagined an ending such as this. Like my mother, they are in this holding station between living and dying.

Recently, my mother cried that she couldn’t bear the fact that all her grandchildren were moving away from her. What she really meant was that life was pulling away from her, pushing her further and further towards the abyss of nothingness. She felt sorry for herself and would not be consoled that this was the natural progression of things (To everything turn, turn, turn, etc.).

I don’t blame her, though. If I had as much awareness as she does and woke up each day to find it wasn’t a nightmare but my real existence, the nursing home, I’d cry too. She can never go home again. She won’t be home for Christmas, not even in her dreams.

By Marilou Newell

 

Welcome in the New Year at Open Table

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Come celebrate the New Year at Open Table! You’re invited for supper on Friday, January 13 at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church! The menu is usually a surprise but it’s bound to be something delicious. There is no charge, although donations are gratefully accepted. At Open Table, it’s all about the food, fun and fellowship. Doors open at 4:30 pm and the meal will be served at 5:00 pm. This is a community event and everyone is welcome.

Paul Fitzgerald

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Paul Fitzgerald, 81, of Fairhaven, passed away Thursday, December 15, 2016, at St. Luke’s Hospital, in New Bedford. He was the husband of M. Dolores (Davidsen) Hansen-Fitzgerald and the late Kay (Ward) Fitzgerald.

Born in the Bronx, NY, son of the late Gerald and Abigail (Daugherty) Fitzgerald, he moved to Mattapoisett in 1944, and spent his childhood there. After college, he moved to Maryland, and returned to the Mattapoisett area in 2001.

A graduate of Fairhaven High School, class of 1953, and URI in 1957, he received his MBA from Loyola, MD. He served in the Army after the Korean War and later in the Army Reserve for seven years until his discharge as a Captain. He later worked as a civil engineer and was a partner and President of Ratrie, Robbins and Schweizer. He served two terms as President of the Maryland Asphalt Association.

Paul was an avid sports fan and he took great pride in coaching and supporting his children’s youth sports. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame for both Fairhaven High School and the University of Rhode Island.

He is survived by his wife; three sons, Patrick Fitzgerald and his wife Eileen of Towson, MD, Michael Fitzgerald and his late wife Kathleen of Eldersburg, MD and Dr. Bryan Fitzgerald and his wife Beth of Reisterstown, MD; a daughter, Shawn Best and her husband Richard of Wilmington, NC; step children, Eric Hansen and his wife Jane of Mattapoisett and Susan Zahka of East Bridgewater;  a brother, Michael Fitzgerald and his wife Anne of Mission Viejo, CA; a sister, Anne Quinlan of Port Charlotte, FL; a brother in law, Alan Ward of Seabrook, TX; nine grandchildren; seven step grandchildren; eight step great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Paul was the brother of the late Kathleen Maune.

In accordance with his wishes he was cremated and a Memorial Service will be held Saturday, January 28, 2017, at 10:00am, in the Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 Temple Pl, Fairhaven, MA 02719, followed by interment in St. Anthony’s Cemetery, Mattapoisett.

Arrangements are by the Fairhaven Funeral Home, 117 Main Street, Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Community Nurse and Hospice Care, 62 Center St., Fairhaven, MA 02719, or a charity of your choice.

Benefits Come With Student IDs

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Although handed out this past fall, some students – and parents – may not be aware of the benefits they could be cashing in on by using their ORRHS student ID card.

The plastic cards, which were handed out after picture day, list the student’s name, grade, school name, school ID, and the school year. While nothing flashy, this reporter has found the ID card to be extremely useful not only in the area, but also when traveling to other areas of the country.

Driving to Boston can be a hassle (and costly when it comes to parking), but luckily for us in the Tri-Town, the MBTA Commuter Rail stop in Middleboro/Lakeville is a close and convenient method to get into the big city. A two-way ticket to South Station costs $23 for ages 12 and up, but with a student ID present, that individual’s ticket price is half-off, meaning a savings of about $11.

The MBTA trains aren’t the only way a student ID can come in handy. Amtrak trains require an ID when buying a ticket at a station’s sales desk, so when traveling solo in Portland, Oregon this past holiday season, the ORR ID once again proved itself useful as an authorized form of identification. For students without a driver’s license or permit, having a type of identification can prove critical.

This also proved true when in the TSA security line at an airport. When asked to present identification to match to the name on the given airplane ticket, a student ID was accepted in lieu of a driver’s license. (Note: this may not hold true for every airport and it is a good idea to also bring one’s passport).

Setting up a student’s first bank account can require a photo ID for the student as well. Without the presence of a driver’s license, this reporter had her student ID to prove her identity, along with other necessary forms.

Perhaps one of the most entertaining benefits of having a student ID is the discounted price for standing-room tickets for the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The promotion has yet to begin again for the 2017 season, but it has students go online to receive a code and complete their transaction before presenting their tickets along with their ID card once at the stadium to gain entrance.

One discount that is much closer to home for students to take up is discounted tickets at AMC Dartmouth theater every Thursday after 4:00 pm. When a student ID is shown, an amount will be taken off of the ticket price when purchased at the sales desk; for example, an $11.99 adult ticket will go for $10.49. Movie nights just became much more appealing!

This new ability to have an ID card for ORRHS students provides many opportunities closed off to them before.

By Jo Caynon

 

Town Issued ‘Fine’ for Sprague’s Cove Seawall

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued the Town of Marion a ‘mitigation’ in the amount of $33,539 for the unpermitted placement of a rock seawall formation at Sprague’s Cove years ago.

The mitigation is clearly punitive in nature and basically a fine, said Town Administrator Paul Dawson to the Board of Selectmen on January 3.

A certified letter was delivered to the Town House on December 7 alerting the Town to the decision, which Dawson said he considers rather arbitrary since over the past couple of years since the seawall first became an issue publically, the Army Corps of Engineers had appeared to support the Town’s efforts to apply after-the-fact, as instructed, to get the wall permitted.

Dawson told selectmen that he has been trying to reach a number of contacts with the USACE over the holidays, to no avail. He is hoping to either reduce the fine or get it eliminated entirely through the means of a non-monetary mitigation of sorts.

The Town has 60 days to appeal the fine.

“But it does appear that in the worst case scenario it would be a payment of $33,000 for the unpermitted sea wall,” said Dawson.

Selectman Stephen Cushing said he found the USACE’s decision “baffling,” since he was under the impression that the matter was relatively “put to bed” by now.

Resident Sherman Briggs was not about to let the selectmen simply put the matter to rest that easily, however.

Briggs would not accept the board’s assertion that the party responsible for authorizing and building the wall was unknown to the board.

“Who trucked the stones over there? Who lined them up and placed them?” Briggs demanded to know. “I really think it’s time that you people start paying attention to what’s going on in this town.”

Cushing took offense to Briggs, and Cushing’s voice increased in volume steadily as he shot back at Briggs. (Think of the scene between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the film A Few Good Men).

“What are you trying to say?” said Cushing to Briggs. “Go ahead, ask the question! You’re here for a reason…”

Briggs insisted he didn’t have an ulterior motive and continued pressing the board for a name of who authorized the work in the first place.

“I’m not stupid,” said Cushing louder. “Come on, Sherman!” he dared Briggs.

“No idea,” asserted Briggs.

“Don’t play dumb with us,” said Cushing. “You don’t come in here for no reason!”

Briggs looked to Dawson to answer the question as to who built the wall and Dawson stated that he did not know.

Then who does know?

“Somebody made the decision to do it and that’s all I’m saying,” said Briggs.

After the meeting, Chairman Jody Dickerson told the press that the board would be looking into who authorized and built the wall.

“We will find out who it is,” Dickerson stated.

In other matters, also during the meeting, Shea Doonan’s proposal to establish a half-acre aquaculture site at Mittens Flats was subjected to opposition from residents and, this time, Tabor Academy, whose representatives state that the school uses Doonan’s chosen oyster farm area for sailing lessons and crew boats for rowing.

Selectmen appeared to be in support of Doonan’s application until Harbormaster Isaac Perry told the board that allowing Doonan to move forward with the permitting process with the state would represent “a big leap of faith” on behalf of the selectmen regarding the board’s faith in Doonan’s abilities as an oyster farmer without any real track record to show for himself.

“At this point, we have nothing to approve,” said Perry, pointing out that Doonan has no concrete plan for the site. “Before we give public lands, it has to be based on something…”

Other residents close to the site stated that the water was too shallow, froze in winter, and was not ideal to raise oysters, to which Doonan rebutted point by point.

In the end, though, selectmen were eager to praise Doonan for his passion and dedication, but would not provide him with that leap of faith.

“I think you’ve done a great job coming forward,” said Dickerson. “My only concern is … you don’t really have a track record like the harbormaster indicated. If you had a track record, I would support you 110 percent on this.”

Cushing commended Doonan for his efforts, but he ultimately concurred with Dickerson.

“Unfortunately … I can’t support you at this point here,” said Cushing,

Doonan, visibly upset by the selectmen’s conclusion, pleaded for the board to continue his hearing rather than close it out to give him time to establish himself with the half-acre site he recently acquired from retiring oyster farmer Catherine Brodeur. Doonan thinks that keeping the hearing open and continuing it might save him some time later should he attempt to move forward again with the project.

The board continued the hearing for June 20.

Also during the meeting, selectmen held a dog hearing over an alleged attack by a pit bull owned by Gregory Silva on another dog owned by Andrea Giokas on Rocky Knook Lane.

After hearing testimony from both sides and arguments from the two parties’ attorneys, Selectman Dickerson and Selectman Steve Gonsalves (Cushing recused himself as an abutter to Silva) deemed the dog “dangerous,” requiring Silva to forego his newly installed electric fence for the following: the dog must be manually restrained at all times; Silva must take out an

insurance policy on the dog; the dog must be contained when outside within a dog pen with four sides and a roof and floor; and when taken off the property, the dog must be leashed securely and muzzled.

The incident occurred on October 10 when Silva’s rescue pit bull “Cal” ran down the driveway into the street where he attacked Giokas’ dog, biting it twice.

Silva offered to pay for the veterinary bills and then subsequently installed an electric fence around the perimeter of his yard, but Giokas’ attorney, as well as a dog trainer testifying on behalf of Giokas, asserted that the electric fence was not suitable enough to contain the dog.

Silva maintained that Cal had never attacked another dog, nor had it ever shown aggressive behavior, saying that Cal was more skittish than aggressive. Some others from the neighborhood who commented expressed safety concerns over the number of pit bulls on Silva’s property and admitted that they avoid walking by the house whenever possible out of fear of the animals.

Silva’s live-in girlfriend referred to Cal as “a love big” and Silva testified that Cal was a loving, friendly dog that caught up in a moment of “chaos” outside the home.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 17 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry

 

Mattapoisett Lions Club

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Mattapoisett Lions Club will have a dinner meeting at The Masonic Building, 13 Spring Street, Marion, on Wednesday, January 11 at 7:00 pm. This meeting is open to men, women and couples from the Mattapoisett and Marion area interested in community service. Reservations are required, by email to lionsmembership1@gmail.com or call 508-758-2345.