The Uncertain State of Buzzards Bay

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Mark Rasmussen, president of the Buzzards Bay Coalition, stopped by Tabor Academy on Monday night to speak on the current state of Buzzards Bay. He mainly addressed the 2015 State of Buzzards Bay, a report put out by the BBC every two years. In 2015, when the healthiest score possible was a 100, Buzzards Bay scored a 45.

Rasmussen began by recounting the good news.

“We have seen an improvement from the 1980s, when the score was probably a thirty-two and seventy percent of the bay was closed to shellfishing due to pollution, and oil spills occurred with alarming regularity. In 1990, all of New Bedford’s public beaches were closed to water pollution. That is not the case today.”

He went on to note that 32% of the bay had been reopened to shellfishing and New Bedford was one of the healthiest cities due to improved septic systems and water sanitation.

“I know the score sounds bad, but if you think about it, the Chesapeake Bay is scored at a twenty-five. We’re in reasonably good shape because Senator Kennedy made sure Buzzards Bay was designated a National Estuary in 1985 and secured a lot of money to help clean it,” Rasmussen remarked.

He then went on to discuss some of the major challenges that the bay faces today.

“The biggest single threat, to any bay, is nitrogen pollution.” The signs of nitrogen pollution, easily visible in the tri-town area today, are cloudy water, dark, slimy algae, and declining fish and shellfish populations. “A lot of the urban areas like New Bedford have really cut back on nitrogen production,” Rasmussen explained, “because they’ve paid a lot of money for public sewer upgrades. That works in an urban space. The problem areas are now areas undergoing sprawl, where people try and live fairly far apart. They usually have new roads to reach their houses and individual septic tanks. Those places become nitrogen producers instead of nitrogen sinks, and as we lose more forests, we’re losing more nitrogen sinks.”

One of the easiest signals of nitrogen pollution (and frequent stream damming) is the loss of herring in the area. In 1921, 1.85 million herring were counted in the Mattapoisett River. In previous years, visitors to nearby lakes and rivers commented that the water “seemed black with herring.” However in 2015, 42,322 herring were counted in the Mattapoisett River, which is actually up from an all-time low of 11,380 herring in 2011.

A great amount of wetlands and forests have been lost to development. Rochester is the second-largest offender in Buzzards Bay, having lost 34.9% of its wetlands and forests since 1997. It lags only behind Carver, which lost 78.9% of its forests and wetlands in the same time period.

In contrast, Mattapoisett and Marion have lost 15.8% and 9%, respectively, of their forests and wetlands since 1997. Rasmussen believes that some of this loss is due to Rochester and Carver being ‘cranberry country’ where wetland alteration around bogs is often exempt from conservation and wetlands laws.

The other challenge facing the bay is climate change.

“Over the last twenty-five years, the water in the bay has warmed by four degrees,” Rasmussen said. “Species are shifting. Lobsters are leaving for colder shores up in Maine. New species who couldn’t tolerate the colder water are coming in.”

He cited the loss of saltmarshes in the area in the last 10 years, probably due to a mixture of new crab species that actually eat the saltgrass and warmer temperatures affecting hydrogeology.

“It comes back to nitrogen pollution,” said Rasmussen. “A warmer bay is more susceptible to pollution, because warmer water means a longer period of biological activity.”

These problems took more than 100 years to create, Rasmussen reminded the audience, “And fixing them is going to be the work of the next hundred years. The quicker we can address the problems like updating sewer systems, the better off everyone will be.”

The Coalition marked a goal to get Buzzards Bay to a score of 75 by the year 2100.

“We think it’s doable. But,” he warned, “that’s really only if everything goes well and we can address all of these issues. I hate to be grim about it, but I have to stress that.”

By Andrea Ray

 

Marion Recreation Musical Theater Program

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Come join in on the fun of learning how to take part in a musical theater performance! Marion Recreation is now accepting registrations for its Winter Musical Theater Program. Participants will learn the basics of putting together a real-life theater production. In this class, boys and girls will prepare for a role in the musical Jasmine’s Medley Excerpts. This play has been rewritten along the theme of the original Aladdin. Children will sing, dance, and act their way into a world of excitement. Led by Instructor Aly Pereira, this class begins on Wednesday, January 25 and runs through March 22. Classes take place at the Marion Music Hall every Wednesday from 3:15 – 4:15 pm excluding school vacation week. The cost is $135. To register for this program or to learn more, visit www.marionrecreation.com.

Helping Hands and Hooves Christmas Day Swim

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Come join us for a fun family tradition that helps those in need. Helping Hands and Hooves will host the 13th annual Christmas Day Swim at 11:00 am at the Mattapoisett Town Beach.

Each swimmer is asked to give a donation of $15 (payable on the day of the swim) and the first 75 swimmers will receive a festive T-shirt. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to Helping Hands and Hooves, a nonprofit (based in Mattapoisett) that is dedicated to providing therapeutic horseback riding lessons for adults with disabilities.

If you would like to learn more about Helping Hands and Hooves, go to our website at www.helpinghandsandhooves.org. If you have any questions, please call Debbi Dyson at 508-758-4717.

Kathleen Leonard Muldoon

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Kathleen Leonard Muldoon, of Mattapoisett, died after a period of declining health at Alden Court Nursing Care and Rehabilitation Center. She was the wife of the late Dr. William Muldoon, D.D.S. She was born on September 22, 1924 in Youngstown, OH, minutes after her identical twin, Jean Leonard Galvin. Her parents were Mary Rose Walsh and Arthur Thomas Leonard.

Kathleen attended Boardman High School in Youngstown for three years. She graduated from Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, MD after the family moved to Bethesda due to her father’s change of employment. She and her twin loyally attended reunions from Boardman High School. Both went on to graduate from Georgetown University Hospital Nursing School in 1945.

She was a Cadet Nurse from 1943-1945, worked in the operating room at Georgetown University, and at a private Doctor’s office in Washington, D.C. For many years, she volunteered as a School Nurse at Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth and Center School in Mattapoisett. She also performed private duty nursing, volunteered as a hospice nurse, and was on the Board of Directors for St. Luke’s Visiting Nurses and Hospice Care for 14 years.

Kathleen married Bill in 1947 and was mother to six children, grandmother to eighteen, and great-grandmother to thirteen. She was predeceased by her husband Bill, sister, Jean Galvin, brother, Arthur Leonard, and daughter, Jean Ann Muldoon Mastey. Her surviving children are Henry Mastey of New Bedford, William B. Muldoon, Jr. of Mattapoisett, Kathleen Muldoon Bohan and her husband Mark of Mattapoisett, Patrick L. Muldoon and his wife Eileen of Jamestown, RI, Thomas F. Muldoon and his wife Patricia of Mattapoisett and Mary Muldoon Walfield and her husband Steven, of Danvers. Her grandchildren are Andrew Mastey, Sophia Mastey, Molly Jacobson, Kate Wilson, Meg Cole, Ryan Muldoon, Kerrie O’Donnell, Heather Anagnos, Jen Taube, Lindsay Potvin, Shannon Muldoon, Patrick Muldoon, Annie Cundiff, William, Brendan, Thomas, twins Kathleen and Lilly Walfield. Her great-grandchildren are Madeline, Bridget and Griffin Jacobson, Ryan and Charlotte Wilson, Caroline Cole, Taylor and Brooklynn Anagnos, Lainey and Farley O’Donnell-Voyer, Cameron, and Julia and Andrea Potvin, also twins.

Kathleen was one of the first Lectors at St. Lawrence Church. She also taught CCD and sponsored confirmation candidates at St. Lawrence Church. She was very involved in the Cursillo Movement where she lived the retreat and went on to be part of the Team for future Cursillo weekends. She was a member of the YMCA in New Bedford and volunteered as a swimming instructor to Easter Seals Children. She was a member and officer of the Catholic Women’s Club in New Bedford, the New Bedford Garden Club, and the St. Luke’s Auxiliary. She had been a Cub Scout, Brownie and Girl Scout leader, where she also taught first aid to the children.

Kathleen was always very active. She will be remembered riding her bike from our summer home at Crescent Beach to the top of the hill at Point Connett and back, in summer, swimming the sandbars at Crescent Beach daily, and in winter swimming, playing water volleyball, and even performing with the synchronized swimming team at the Y in New Bedford. She enjoyed working in her beautiful gardens along the white picket fence that surrounded the property at Crescent Beach. On Monday afternoons she enjoyed her time with her Mahjong group. Not only did the game keep her sharp, but also kept her up to speed on comings and goings in Mattapoisett.

One of her defining moments came later in her life when she poured all of her nursing and hospice experience into the care and comfort of her oldest child, Jean Ann, who died of cancer in 2005 with her mother at her side.

On Kathleen’s behalf, the Muldoon family would like to recognize all care givers, especially those at Alden Court and Community Nurse for their compassionate and professional care in her final days.

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 30, 2016 at 10:00 AM at St. Anthony’s Church, Mattapoisett. Burial to follow in Cushing Cemetery. Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Thursday, December 29, 2016 from 4-7 PM at Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged, in Kay’s name to Community Nurse Home Care, Hospice Program, 62 Center St., Fairhaven, MA 02719. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

 

ORR Debate Team Back at It

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The ORRHS debate team held its first meet of the year in the junior high and high school buildings this past Wednesday.

The team, consisting of members from all four grades, spent about an hour beforehand in the library undergoing final preparations for their assigned arguments. Students were set to compete in pairs against other school groups from across the South Coast region. The scheduled discussions revolved around the United States’ foreign relations with the People’s Republic of China, with students either advocating for the increase or decrease of diplomacy with China.

“[Debate] helps students become better speakers, know more about the world, and form better arguments,” history teacher and debate coach Colin Everett said of the benefits of participation.

Members could be seen exhibiting these traits while they planned their cases, as demonstrated within the first few minutes when senior Jacob Spevack explained to his peers current events that potentially damage or alter their claims.

After a review of essential terms, research provided the evidence needed to be used in their reasonings, which was retrieved through online sources and printed in order to present to their opponents.

This meet was the first for many in the club, including freshmen Elise Mello, Emma Gabrieo, and Emily Wilson. All three agreed that while nervous, they were far more excited for their debate.

As the trio ran through their evidence, a larger gathering of first-year team members stood around a table organizing the evidence that was to be used. Sophomores Maddie Hartley, Nicki Fantoni, Emma Blouin and juniors Abbey Dyson and Caitlyn Kutash worked efficiently to go over what they already had and what possible proof they further required to combat rebuttals before utilizing the school computers to collect such information.

With an influx of underclassmen to ensure the strong continuation of the debate team, a roster of seasoned upperclassmen contributes to the sturdy backbone of the group. Spevack and fellow senior Josh Lerman were one team who demonstrated this at the meet, as they concluded the night by winning both of their debates.

Creativity was displayed in more than just the students’ prepared arguments. Seniors James Goulart and Justin Shay visually supported their pro-nationalism argument by dressing for the occasion, with Shay wearing an American flag suit jacket and Goulart sporting a flag and bald eagle tie. The pair went on to win one of their debates.

By Jo Caynon

 

State Offers Funding to Reduce Car Crashes

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The state has contacted the Town of Rochester regarding High Street, a rural roadway that the state deems an elevated risk for vehicular crashes, and has offered to fund some safety improvement that might help to lower the number of crashes in the future.

Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge said that on this upcoming Thursday he would be submitting his first application for grant money to address some of the 14 different items on a list he formed with traffic safety engineer Dave DeBaie during an analysis of potential problem areas of the road.

High Street is what the state considers a roadway with a higher-than-state-average number of crashes, DeBaie said, with most vehicles crashing into trees and running off the road.

“It got picked because of crash data … between 2010 to 2015,” said DeBaie. “I think thirty-four crashes…. Higher-than-state average for crashes on that type of roadway.”

Eldridge and DeBaie will focus on four of the 14 items on the list of problems they identified, which will include more reinforced guard rails to replace the concrete post and cable guardrails currently in place in some locations.

“Concrete posts and cable guardrail were the standard,” said DeBaie, “but they’re not anymore. In fact, they’re more of a hazard now.”

The replacement guardrails, said DeBaie, will be replaced in a way that is consistent with newer state standards.

State funding would also pay for the installation of new thermoplastic painted street lines, said Eldridge, “And that really is state of the art.”

Studies done and records kept, said DeBaie, “…Show that, with those lines that are better seen, you could get a significant reduction in the number of crashes.”

“Is this a chance for the town to be able to use them without having to pay for them,” asked Selectmen Chairman Naida Parker.

“Absolutely” replied Eldridge.

Warning signs around sharp corners of High Street, as well as diamond-shaped orange signs would be replaced, with further upgrading of all the speed limit signs. Chevron arrow warning signs are also planned for two significantly more dangerous curves in the roadway.

“These kinds of improvements … are such that we can do it with limited survey information and limited review (from Mass DOT),” said DeBaie.

In other matters, the board voted to increase the maximum earnable tax credit for the senior tax work-off program from $750 to $1,000 and could increase that amount further in the next fiscal year to a maximum of $1,500.

Towards the end of the meeting, the topic of a new town hall annex came up, with Parker first telling selectmen that she had spoken with members of the town hall annex building committee, then saying that she would support a town hall annex construction at Dexter Lane. She mentioned it would be cost-effective should the COA expand its parking onto the adjacent lot where parking could be shared with an annex.

“If we go forward with it,” said Parker, it would be prudent to “keep it on track and not allow anybody to try to veer it back to the town hall…”

Resident David Eckert was present to remind the selectmen that voters at the last special town meeting were decidedly against the construction of any new building of any sort, saying, “We do not want our taxpayer dollars being spent on constructing a new administrative building in town.”

Eckert criticized the Finance Committee for continuing to support the idea of a new town hall annex construction.

“So I think the directions that are being taken by some of the elected and appointed officials are widely different [from the residents],” said Eckert, adding some ideas for a lease agreement with the Women’s Club, which Selectman Brad Morse said were already in place.

Morse suggested a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen with the Finance Committee and the annex committee as a more productive way to discuss the matter.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for December 19 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

 

Tick-borne Illness in Marion Causing Concern

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Marion Public Health Nurse Kathleen Downey told the Marion Board of Health on December 13 that rising numbers of tick-borne illnesses, including those other than Lyme disease, are on the rise and have prompted her to seek state health information about the reported cases in Marion these past 11 months of 2016.

“Although the numbers are scary,” Downey said, “the illness level is not quite there as it is, say, with Babesiosis.”

There were eight cases of Babesiosis reported in town so far in 2016, but the number could be higher because oftentimes doctors treat patients for these tick-borne diseases without performing the blood work.

Babesiosis is a malaria-like disease caused by a tick-borne parasite Babesia that attacks the red blood cells. Babesiosis is generally asymptomatic in half of all children and about a quarter of all adults diagnosed with the infection. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, and anemia as red blood cells are destroyed by the parasite. Symptoms can start one to four weeks after a tick bite.

“With Babesiosis, the numbers [might be] more skewed towards the elderly … because symptom display in an elder is more significant than in a younger person,” said Downey.

The Town should act towards raising awareness of tick-borne illnesses, Downey told the board.

“We need to do something as a board of health on tick-borne illnesses,” she stated with concern. “I’m hoping that we will do it in the spring.”

So far in 2016, 59 Lyme disease cases have been reported in Marion, as have 15 cases of Anaplasmosis (which, like Babesiosis, can be fatal). These numbers, Downey suspects, are lower than they should be because of under-reporting.

“We do have a problem,” said Board of Health member John Howard. “Our job is to get the message out in somewhat bold letters that this is a disease that has been in Marion this year…. If we don’t notify, we are guilty…. We have to let them know.”

By Jean Perry

 

Hammond Quarry Walk

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Join the Mattapoisett Land Trust (MLT) on Saturday, December 17 at 1:00 pm for our second walk to the former granite quarry that was an important part of the Town’s history and early industry. Owned primarily by the Hammond family, the quarry operated from the early 1700s until the early 1900s and produced pink granite for which Mattapoisett was well known in early times. The quarry site includes one remaining granite outcrop and two abandoned pits: the larger and dry East Pit and the smaller West Pit that holds water. In addition, there are large amounts of worked granite rubble as well as some abandoned quarry equipment in and around the pits.

MLT is working with the Buzzards Bay Coalition, Mattapoisett Historical Society, and other organizations to preserve 53 acres surrounding the quarry site. Come join us and see this special place! The walk will depart across the road from 7 and 9 Mattapoisett Neck Road, just south of Route 6. Please park on the west side of Mattapoisett Neck Road. The trail is gentle, but wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather.

For more information, please email us at info@mattlandtrust.org.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

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The First Congregational Church of Marion will hold a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service on Saturday, December 24 at 7:00 pm. The First Congregational Church is located at 28 Main Street. Come join in celebrating the birth of Jesus with a traditional, family-friendly Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Hear the simple, wondrous story of Jesus’ birth and sing familiar well-loved Christmas carols.

Make this your Christmas Eve tradition as you connect with old and new friends at this wonderful service. Worship with us, celebrate with us, and rejoice with us! Childcare is available. The church is handicapped accessible with an elevator. All are welcome.

Holiday Cookie Swap

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Come celebrate the holidays at the Elizabeth Taber Library with a cookie exchange on Thursday, December 15 at 4:00 pm. Bring at least a dozen homemade cookies (and the recipe!) with you to swap with others. It’s a great time to share your love for baking and sweets! To register, please call the library at 508-748-1252.