Students Earn Top Science Awards at State Science Fair

on

Falmouth Academy sent fourteen students and thirteen projects to the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair held on May 4 and 5 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and brought home top awards.

A first place went to junior Emma Keeler ‘19 of Rochester for her project, “Bioprospecting for Benthic Fungi and Their Bactericidal Antibiotics.” She also received the Applied Biomath Award, the Naval Science Award, and is an alternate to the Harvard Summer Secondary Program. Emma will compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, PA next week where over 77 countries will be represented and more than $5 million in scholarships and prizes will be awarded.

Grace Russell ‘19 of Mattapoisett was awarded an Honorable Mention for her project, “The Effect of Lowered Oxygen Levels on Hermit Crab Behavior.”

Having the opportunity to present scholarly scientific work teaches students to engage in the pursuit of authentic knowledge, in-depth experimentation, and thoughtful analysis. All Falmouth Academy students in Grades 7 through 11 conduct original independent scientific research and take part in the Falmouth Academy Science and Engineering Fair, now in its 30th year. Seniors can opt to participate and this year, three competed at the state level.

Tabor Hosts Spring Dance Recital

on

Come enjoy the ever-popular Spring Dance Recital at Tabor Academy put on by the school’s award-winning competitive dance team. The team recently won two first place finishes and a “Razzle Dazzle” Award for their tap number, “Music. Music. Music.” earning them an invitation to the Starpower National Competition in June.

This year, the team is preparing a ballet routine for the recital called “Crepuscule,” a jazz routine called “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody,” and two contemporary routines called “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Cry Me A River.” The showcase will also feature student choreographed solos, duets, and small groups, as well as performances from the local Turning Pointe Dance Studio.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held at the Fireman Center for the Performing Arts in Hoyt Hall at 245 Front Street, Marion, on May 17at 6:30 pm.

Janet B. (Saba) Charron

on

Janet B. (Saba) Charron, 74, of Rochester passed away on Wednesday May 9, 2018 at Nemasket Healthcare Center in Middleboro after a long illness. She was the wife of the late Raymond A. Charron.

Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late John and Theresa (Kiwan) Saba, she lived in Rochester for most of her life.

Mrs. Charron was the proprietor of Gerry’s Beauty Salon on Court Street in New Bedford for many years. She later provided hairdressing services for the residents of the Cedars Assisted Living in Dartmouth.

She was an active parishioner of Our Lady of Purgatory Church, where served as the President of the St. Joseph Sodality for nine years.

She is survived by her son, John A. Charron and his wife Maribeth Moore of East Freetown; her brother, George J. Saba of New Bedford; and her grandchildren, Jeremy and Hannah.

Her Funeral will be held on Tuesday May 15, 2018 at 9 am from the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford, followed by the Divine Liturgy in Our Lady of Purgatory Church at 10 am. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Monday May 14, 2018 from 5-8 pm. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Our Lady of Purgatory Church, 11 Franklin St., New Bedford, MA 02740. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Margaret “Peg” Butts

on

Margaret “Peg” Butts, 88, of Marion formerly of Hartford, CT and Boston, passed away on Friday, May 11, at the Sippican Healthcare Center. Mrs. Butts was the wife of the late Donald E. Butts. She was born in Hartford, CT the daughter of the late James J. Burns and Margaret Mary (Fahey), Burns, Mackey.

She attended Abraham Lincoln Grammar School and graduated from Girls High School in Boston. She enjoyed writing and being a Foster Mother for 40+ years. She is a past President of the Women’s Aglow Fellowship of South Eastern MA and RI. She worked for Wheaton College as the Switchboard Operator and in the administrative offices. She was a member of the Tabernacle of Praise Church in Wareham.

Mrs. Butts is survived by her Foster Children; Scott Yates of Nevada, Michael Feneck of W. Wareham and Karen Cahill of New Bedford. She is the sister of James Mackey. She was also survived by many loving friends. She was the Foster Mother of the late Edward Kelly.

Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, May 15, from 5-7pm only in the Wareham Village Funeral Home 5 Center Street Wareham, MA. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, May 16, at 10 in Evergreen Cemetery, Converse Rd. Marion. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be made to the Tabernacle of Praise Church 189 Hathaway Road Wareham, MA 02571 www.topwareham.com

Exchange Students Travel to Chicago

on

One of the most interesting and educating experiences that teenagers can have is studying abroad. They get the opportunity to learn about different cultures, make new friends, and get to see education from a different point of view. At Old Rochester Regional High School, there is a club that makes all this – and more – possible.

            The AFS/ORR Cultural Club recently visited Chicago as the second part of an exchange program that involved Chicago students visiting ORR in February. The exchange was to compare the schools, the local cultures, and to have the members make new relationships with students outside of their community.

            The AFS Club has made an impact on the school over the years, including bringing many students from overseas and giving them a grand welcome as they spend a year here at ORR. This year, ORR has students from Italy, Norway, Germany, and Mexico. Member Brianna Lynch explains, “We have been exposed to many different traditions and practices that we can learn from,” as a result of AFS Club, she said.

            “Students benefit a lot from being a part of the program,” said Christiane Peretz, a student from Norway, “and even though it’s pretty different from home, I have a great support system here.”

            Because of the difference in curriculum, Peretz is technically still in her junior year and will have to do another year back home, but to her the extra year pales in comparison to the experiences and friendships made here at ORR. She has been involved in Drama Club and the Gay Straight Alliance Club at ORR.

            “I definitely think that the AFS Club and our exchange programs have made an impact on ORR’s community by widening our connections around the world and opening our minds to new cultures,” Sofia Sudofsky, ORR club member, said.

            Responsible for the club is Kim Corazzini, the school’s nurse. Corazzini has been the club’s advisor for over ten years, and in her opinion the AFS Club has made a major impact on the school’s community and the lives of the students. The adventures that her students have been able to experience over the years in AFS Club have enriched their lives as is evident from the alumni that still contact Corazzini and inform her of friendships that continue to thrive from their time in the club.

            “The value of the foreign exchange students is immeasurable. Because of them, our students become interested in countries they might not have heard of,” said Corazzini. “Another benefit is that we all make assumptions about other people and their cultures, whereas this program allows students to discover myth from reality.”

            On the trip to Chicago, the ORR students met up with the AFS Club at Lisle High School. During this trip, students were able to experience different cultures, communities, and educations. For example, the high school in Chicago doesn’t have homerooms and has seven classes each day, unlike ORR’s every-other-day schedule. For the foreign exchange students, it is a chance to have more than one American high school experience.

            “The Chicago trip was a great way for not only the foreign exchange students, but also the kids at ORR, to see how much or how little our schools or our communities have in common with each other,” says Katie Maclean “even if it’s just a plane ride away.”

ORR Update

By Grace Mastroianni

Tri-Town, Nation Reaches Recycling Crisis

on

Recycling is officially a sticky subject in the Tri-Town, both figuratively and literally, and now ABC Disposal, Inc. is looking to reclaim some of the costs of disposing our dirty recyclables by increasing disposal fees.

And what’s worse, recycling in the area and in the country is at a veritable halt, with many of the items you toss in your recycling cart being sent straight for disposal or stockpiled as the nation figures out how to make recycling sustainable in a crashing worldwide recyclable materials market.

When the Towns of Mattapoisett and Rochester, like many other area towns, first signed the waste disposal and recycling collection contract with ABC Disposal, there was no fee to dispose of recyclables; ABC was able to sort that material and sell it off with most of it to be bought up by China, the world’s leading buyer of recyclable material on the planet. That is, until now.

In a letter to the Town of Rochester from last October 2017, ABC Disposal CEO Mike Camara wrote that changing market conditions in the recycling industry, China’s recent National Sword policies, and changing laws and regulations have affected the processing of recyclable materials worldwide. China’s National Sword policy aims to reduce the contamination rate of single-stream materials it buys to less than 1%.

According to Camara, the new standards have caused additional costs throughout the entire recycling process in order to meet China’s new standards for cleaner recyclable materials, with fewer facilities capable of meeting those standards.

“The added costs and expenses to us, the recycling facilities and the entire process include but are not limited to material and significant added capital expenditures, system processing slow-downs, added labor costs, and additional quality control standards, costs and expenses,” wrote Camara. “At the same time, commodity prices have significantly fallen due to these and other various uncontrollable market forces.”

In other words, our dirty recycling has turned China off and they no longer want to recycle our sticky yogurt-encrusted containers, plastic shopping bags, and oil-stained cardboard – and that is now going to cost us.

“[We] are faced with recycling terms and pricing expenses that have more than doubled,” Camara wrote. “As such, this has forced us to review the current terms and pricing structure in place for all of our municipal recycling collection contracts.”

When ABC Disposal submitted its proposal to Rochester and Mattapoisett in 2014, the company set its recycling service expenses at the highest pricing level, and the current situation – dirty, expensive to process recyclables and China’s change of heart – was unforeseen.

Under Section 3(a) Force Majeure of the contract with ABC, the company wants to impose a $55.98 per ton fee, Camara said in his letter to Rochester, which began on November 1, 2017. Rochester decided to start paying the fee, around an extra $2,800 a month, said Rochester Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar, but Mattapoisett has not yet paid ABC Disposal any extra fees.

Appearing on the Mattapoisett Annual Town Warrant on May 14 will be an article (Article 35) to appropriate $50,000 to be set aside to pay ABC Disposal the demand for additional payment for recycling service if the Court rules that the Town must pay the sum.

According to Mattapoisett Health Agent Dale Barrows, that sum so far is up to $20,000.

“But if the court finds that ABC shouldn’t have charged us the money, then the money (appropriated in Article 35) will be returned,” said Barrows on May 8.

But the clock is ticking, even as municipalities around the Tri-Town assess the situation, even holding inter-municipal meetings to collectively explore how to handle the prospect of ABC Disposal’s contract adjustment. ABC Disposal, in a letter dated April 12 addressed to Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne, gave the Town a formal notification that it would no longer provide recycling service to Mattapoisett as of July 1 if the Town does not pay up.

“China’s National Sword has made it financially impossible for ABC to continue to service the recycling requirements of the contract,” Camara wrote. He continued, “ABC has sustained significant financial loss over the last six months that have pushed the company towards pending insolvency … ABC has been in contact with its bankruptcy attorneys and may be forced to file another Chapter 11 reorganization.”

Bad news for towns like Mattapoisett and Rochester, said Barrows; and he knows because he has been doing his homework searching for another company to contract with the Town for recycling.

“We looked around and there’s no one else who’s gonna touch that contract for that low a price,” said Barrows. “There’s just no one out there.”

According to Barrows, even with a surcharge, ABC’s pricing is considerably less than its competitors. Barrows said ABC’s latest proposal for Mattapoisett was for $47 per ton of recyclables.

“It almost appears we’re between a rock and a hard place,” said Mattapoisett Board of Health member Ken Dawicki. “We either come up with the money or we lose…”

“Rochester saw the writing on the wall and we started paying,” said Barrows, who is also the Board of Health chairman for his hometown of Rochester. “Rochester has been paying them all along.”

The Town of Fairhaven during its Annual Town Meeting last Saturday passed an article similar to Mattapoisett’s, only Fairhaven’s was for $93,000.

But the truth is, not only is the problem a local problem, it’s actually a national problem and ultimately a global problem.

Recycling is at a near standstill in the United States. According to Camara, roughly 75% of what residents place in their recycling cart are no longer being recycled due to a severe decreases in value in the recyclable materials market.

“[Most] of these materials are being sent for disposal or stockpiled with no open viable markets available,” Camara said. “ABC can no longer continue to pay the high cost of processing recyclables when so much of what is now being placed in recycling carts is being sent out for disposal.”

According to Camara, because China no longer desires our sub-par recyclables, “[China’s actions] have seriously derailed every [single stream recycling] program across the country and has driven up the cost to a point where it now exceeds the cost of disposal for trash.”

“Even if we clean all our [recyclables] up right now, it’s still a problem all across the country,” said Barrows. It’s still disheartening though, Barrows said, when just this week he saw materials that do not belong in the bins – like plastic tarps, plastic bags, and plastic wrap – being manually pulled from the sorting process.

“We’re going to try to negotiate with ABC because nobody wants them to walk away,” Barrows said, but he added, “It’s not just an ABC problem. It’s a regional problem and a national problem.”

As the United States can no longer rely on China to accept our recycling, the country will have to solve its own recycling problem.

“This is a long-term problem with no reasonable short-term solution,” cautioned Camara.

ABC Disposal is hoping to convince the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to remove glass, mixed paper, and #3 through #7 plastics from the mandated waste ban list, as the world market for these materials is virtually non-existent. “Some possible solutions,” Camara said, “might be state-implemented tax increment financing, tax credits, and low interest loans to encourage companies to build facilities in Massachusetts that can process our recyclables.”

By Jean Perry

 

Family Bike Clinic

on

Bring your bike to the Elizabeth Taber Library on Saturday, May 19at 11:00 am for a Family Bike Clinic. Ben Hack will be going over some simple and useful tricks to keep you out of the bike shop and on your bike while making sure your ride is safe and comfortable. To register or for more information, please call the Library at 508-748-1252.

Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race

on

The Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race on the Mattapoisett River, sponsored by the Rochester Fire Department, will take place on Memorial Day, May 28, starting at 8:30 am at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir, Snipatuit Road, in Rochester and finish at the Herring Weir, River Road at Route 6, in Mattapoisett.

The minimum age for contestants is 7 years old on Memorial Day. There will be two persons to a boat. The boat must be a homemade river racer design of any material you choose. There are no limitations or restrictions on types of paddles.

Divisions include open/men’s, women’s, junior boys, junior girls, co-ed, and parent/child. Junior division teams are both contestants under 14 years old. Parent/child is for a parent with his/her child (child under 14 years old) or an adult (25 or older) with a child (child under 14 years old). Trophies are awarded to the first, second and third place finishers in each division.

Pre-registration is required. Contestants may register at the Rochester Council on Aging, 65 Dexter Lane, on Friday, May 11and Friday, May 18, 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Registration deadline is Friday, May 18, at 8:00 pm. It may be prudent for contestants who raced last year to submit their paper work on the first night of registration in the event of unforeseen circumstances that prevent them from attending the final registration and losing the starting position they earned based on last year’s finish position. This would also make the work load on the registration staff a bit easier on the last night of registration.

Rules and registration forms may be obtained at Lloyd’s Market and at the registration sessions. A signed registration form must be submitted by each contestant for a team to be eligible to draw a starting position.

The Boat Race Ham and Bean supper will be served on the Saturday evening of the Memorial Day weekend, May 26, 5:00 to 7:00 pm, also at the Rochester Council on Aging. Tickets for the supper may be purchased at the door: $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

William Watling III has again made two carbon fiber racing paddles – one straight shaft and one bent shaft – to be raffled separately at the supper. Raffle tickets are $5 each per paddle and may be purchased at the registration sessions and at the supper. Proceeds from the supper, along with donations, fund the expenses of the race. (There is no registration/entry fee to race.)

Trophies and prizes will be awarded on Memorial Day at Rochester Memorial School at 7:30 pm.

For further information, contact Boat Race Chairman Arthur F. Benner, 508-763-2024 or email artbenner@comcast.net.

Sub-Division Rules and Regulations In Question

on

They were well into a continued conversation during the May 7 meeting regarding a proposed cluster housing project on Chapel Road when Mattapoisett Planning Board Administrator Mary Crain said, “I’m not sure if the SRD (Special Residential District) had ever been recorded.”

The issue at hand revolves around whether or not the Planning Board and the developer can agree on a yield plan for the parcel. The Planning Board needs to consider whether or not a Form A plan that would utilize existing frontages would be acceptable according to bylaws and sub-division rules and regulations, or a Form C plan that would grant five smaller house lots situated primarily on uplands.

Representing the developer David Nicolosi was William Madden of G.A.F. Engineering who opened his remarks by saying, “I’m not sure how I got here tonight,” but continued by adding that Crain had invited him to return, allowing him to continue the informal discussion.

The parcel as described by Madden currently has two pre-existing non-conforming lots. This fact was confirmed when Crain produced a letter from the Building Department stating the same. But Madden reminded the board that his client was seeking a five-lot plan that could utilize dry uplands for a cluster home sub-division and leave intact natural wetlands saying, “We think it is a better plan.”

But the issue of unclear language in the bylaws versus rather straightforward rules and regulations in the sub-division document were a bit at odds with one another. On that point, the Planning Board members were in agreement. And then the issue of whether or not the 2002 SRD rules and regulations had ever been filed with Plymouth County further complicated the discussion.

Crain said she would research that as well as checking with town counsel on how the bylaws might be amended to include a housing plan such as the one being forwarded by Madden.

Planning Board member Janice Robbins was the most vocal as she had been during the previous discussion saying, “The bylaw is a little inconsistent,” but added that the project didn’t really qualify for the SRD rules because of the two Form A lots already on the books.

The wedge of land in question was created when the Route 6 layout was abandoned and the state of Massachusetts re-routed the highway to its current location. Chapel Road, which currently has a number of homes along it, intersects with Aucoot Road to the east and Route 6 to the west.

Pressing on, Robbins asked Madden about the type of homes planned, believing the cluster plan as previously discussed would include “affordable housing” stock. But Madden corrected that by saying, “We were talking about diversified housing units; we weren’t alluding to affordable housing units.” He said that if the Planning Board would not grant permission for the cluster-housing plan, the project would be more expensive given that wetlands replication would clearly be required by the Conservation Commission for conventional units.

“The decision we are trying to get to is how we can have five homes where the land is telling us they should be … smaller lots on uplands,” Madden concluded, adding, “Does the Planning Board have an appetite to do that?”

Beth Underwood and Steve Mack, residents of Chapel Road, voiced their concern that the parcel was wet and construction would cause drainage problems to existing homes and that summer time traffic along the roadway was already problematic – more cars equaled more accidents.

Crain and the board members concurred they had some homework to do with respect to the type of development they would be willing to formally review, and Crain needed to address whether or not the rules and regulation are even enforceable.

Madden said, “We have a pretty good sense of what the Planning Board members are thinking.”

The discussion was suspended for now.

Also coming before the Planning Board was Lee Castagnetti of Long Built Homes with a tree planting plan and associated restitution for property located at 167 North Street where trees had been cleared along the scenic byway.

Castagnetti, along with Tree Warden Roland Cote and members of the Tree Committee, described the planting plan for the residential lot as well as a restitution sum of $5,420 to compensate the Town for the error. Cote said the monies would be used to purchase trees that would be planted throughout the community at a later date. The plan was accepted as presented.

Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering came forward to discuss drainage construction; that is, repairs to drainage along River Road and Appaloosa Way that had been incorrectly installed last year. Grady said that work was nearing completion and that his client, Michael Solimando of Southeastern Building Corporation, would be requesting in the near future the release of the two remaining lots in the sub-division that had been held as surety.

Grady said the lots in question had already received orders of conditions from the Conservation Commission and permitting from the Board of Health for septic systems.

In other business, at the request of the developer Dennis Arsenault, the proposed Snow Fields Road sub-division hearing was continued until June 4.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for June 4at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

 

Rochester Democratic Town Committee

on

The next meeting of the Rochester Democratic Town Committee is May 17at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Police Station on Dexter Lane. We will be discussing community engagement.