Tour de Crème

on

It’s time for bikes and ice cream. On May 20, Mattapoisett Land Trust and Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path will again host 300 bicyclists riding the “Tour de Crème.” With rides for every ability, eight ice cream suppliers, and an after-ride party, we call it a “bike and ice cream extravaganza,” and we do it to raise funds for and awareness about our causes.

Each year the event generates lots of interest: bike riders who love ice cream and the beautiful scenic roads of our corner of SouthCoast. We keep the fees low to encourage family involvement. In this the third year, spaces went very quickly. Each ride (11, 19, 25 or 50 miles) has about 75 riders who get to sample ice cream from ice cream stands along the route. Check our website to see if there’s any more spaces left on our 11 mile ride. And whenever you are out on the road, please drive with the safety of walkers and cyclists in mind. If you didn’t sign up early enough to ride, you can still get involved through volunteering and our on-line fundraiser www.tourdecreme.org or mail to Mattapoisett Land Trust (Tour De Crème in the memo line), P.O. Box 1336, Mattapoisett, MA 02739.

What does it mean to be an awareness event? And why don’t we expand the event if we consistently sell out?

The Tour de Crème showcases the common cause of the Friends and the Land Trust: Quality of life in our community through land preservation, outdoor activity, and environmental stewardship. Like so many community services, we depend on local support in order for us to achieve our respective missions. For the Friends, that is assisting the Town in building the bike path. For the Land Trust, that is responsibly preserving land and water resources. We are both all-volunteer organizations. We depend on grants and donations.

Great events like the Tour de Crème get people’s attention. Wide support for the event – through participation, volunteering and fundraising – helps us show the world of state agencies and foundations how important these projects are to the community and region. Even though the event sells out, we believe it’s right-sized for our town, our groups’ abilities and for the very special Munro Preserve, which hosts the after-ride party.

Boys’ and Girls’ State

on

Six members of the Class of 2019 at Old Rochester Regional High School will be attending the Boys’/Girls’ State Convention sponsored by the American Legion’s Florence Eastman Post 280, June 16-23, at Stonehill College in North Easton, MA.

The Mattapoisett Lions Club will sponsor Brett Rood and Rosemary Loer. Victoria Kvilhaug, William Garcia, and Adam Sylvia will be sponsored by Lawrence DiCara, Esquire. In addition, the Machacam Club will sponsor Alexander Wurl.

To be eligible for Boys’/Girls’ State, a student must be a member of the junior class who has achieved high academic success. Delegates must also show evidence of leadership ability and an interest in the democratic process. At the convention, delegates will study local and state government. They will establish and operate their own cities and towns and state government in miniature. This will include forming two political parties, holding conventions, nominating candidates, conducting campaigns, and electing officials. The primary goal of Boys’/Girls’ State is for attendees to develop a better understanding of how State Government functions.

Town House

on

To the Editor:

We, the current generation of Marion residents, have been entrusted with a legacy of assets. The character of the town comes from some rather hard to define tangible and intangible elements which include zoning, quality of our schools, the age and architecture of houses, especially in the village, our waterfront and the stunning Tabor campus. One of those elements of Marion’s character is its public buildings.

Buildings such as the town house, library and music hall are not just hard assets or consumables, but have value besides their utilitarian function. They form part of the fabric which is Marion’s legacy and history. There are some very reasonable people in the renovation discussion who, in my opinion, are not giving full consideration to the intrinsic value of the town house, whose value goes beyond its function as a capital asset. If function is all we care about then we could bring in some trailers and stick them in the VFW parking lot. Our legacy buildings should not be judged by function alone.

Elizabeth Taber founded Tabor Academy and left behind the town house and half a dozen other buildings which are all part of the unique heritage of this town. Previous generations passed them on to us as part of that unique heritage. It is our custodial responsibility to restore the town house and fulfill the obligation to those who left it to us and to our future generations.

The “civic center” of the town is formed by the town house, the school, the library, the park across the street, the Art Center and the Masonic Hall. By moving the town government away from the existing building to the other side of Route 6, we suffer two things: a diminishing of the town center and very possibly the ultimate loss of the architecture of the town house since, once in private hands, it could be torn down or significantly altered.

Some years ago, New Bedford made a dreadful decision when they put a highway down the middle of the city, cutting off the waterfront, perhaps the most important asset of the city. The character of the city was permanently changed and New Bedford has been trying to fix it ever since.

Moving our seat of local government away from the center of town would have a similar effect. Changes are incremental. The decision we take regarding town hall will set a precedent. Today the town house. Tomorrow maybe the Library. After all, people will say, “we didn’t save the town house. Why save that old library?” What about the music hall? The unintended consequences will take place over time, including changes in the neighborhood and probable effect on property valuations. The results will only be recognized in retrospect. I prefer not to be asked by future generations, as they are now in New Bedford, “what were they thinking???”

Some will say that the $3 million difference in expense over thirty years (about $40/yr. for the average house in Marion), to renovate the town house is a bad investment compared to the cheaper plan to build a modern building by the VFW, and that money should be spent elsewhere. I am generally conservative when it comes to government and taxation. I am well aware that if the funds for the town house are approved, every taxpayer will be burdened by this project, whether they vote for it or not.

Yet, when calculating what is and what is not a good investment, I might offer the thousand or so boats out in the harbor. Every one of them is a very bad investment when measured strictly in monetary terms. None of us will ever get our money out of them, dollar for dollar, and I would venture to say that as investments they are very big losers.

But in terms of quality of life, they, like the town house and our other historic public buildings, are worthy investments when measured against the full spectrum of how we determine value and quality of life. I would like to keep what we have and pass Marion on to the next generation, improved if possible, but certainly not diminished from what we have inherited.

Ronald Wisner, Marion

 

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.

Young Readers Select Quahog Award Winners

on

With the smell of pizza permeating the air and the sound of excited young voices playing like music in the background, the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on May 2 hosted its seventh annual Quahog Book Award reception.

Each year, children from Mattapoisett and surrounding communities are invited to participate in the winter reading program, a program started by Jessica Noblet, a former member of the library staff. The program has grown each year since its inception.

The program participants are granted the opportunity to vote on which books will be dubbed Quahog Award winners by reading at least five books in the program. Other incentives in completing the reading schedule include receiving beads that are used to make bookmarks, a cover design contest, a scavenger hunt, partaking in the pizza party, and last but not least, being invited to a sleepover in the library.

Master of ceremony for this eagerly awaited evening of fun and surprises was the library’s own Jeanne McCullough, children’s service manager. Her engagement with the children was evident in every word and facial expression as she prepared to make the big announcement. But first there was the raffle.

On the evening of the Quahog Awards, the children who took part in one of the reading program activities had their name placed in a container. Then on the big award reveal night, one name is selected from each container and the happy winner gets to select a prize from a group of prizes sure to delight a child in Grades 3 through 6 – prizes like “Slime Maker” for instance.

After the raffle concluded, the excitement intensified as McCullough prepared to announce which books would become Quahog Award winners. Each book receiving the most votes by the children would have a decal placed on the front cover, similar to the Caldecott awards.

During the winter season of the program, the young readers also participated in discussion groups much like adult book clubs where they discuss what they are reading and were encouraged to keep a journal of their reading activities.

The readers voted on five books from four groups with one book from each category receiving the award. Before each announcement, McCullough asked for a drum roll. The children pounded on the tables for all they were worth, vibrating the air to a fever’s pitch as McCullough passed her hand over the titles before landing on the winner. Delightful roars and applause followed each announcement.

At the end of the celebration, McCullough told the children, “I’m so proud of you.” She told the audience, “You challenged yourself…. This was something you didn’t need to do … but you did it!” She said that 107 children had read 650 books, “…That’s a ton of books.”

McCullough also explained to the children that the Friends of the Mattapoisett Library played an integral part in the reading program, buying the prizes, pizza, and helping to host the sleepover party. She told them that the next time they came to a library book sale to make sure and introduce themselves to a “Friends” member and thank them.

As if on cue, Ellen Flynn, a long time Friends member, arrived and received a rousing applause.

But the Quahog Award finale isn’t the end of reading fun at the library – perish the thought. The summer reading program begins with sign-ups on June 12.

To join the summer program, you may visit www.mattapoisettlibrary.org or stop by the children’s department where there’s always something cool going on, and you can also find out which books are members of the awesome Quahog Book Awards.

By Marilou Newell

 

Rochester Seeks Extension of Temporary Pot Ban

on

As requested by the Rochester Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board on May 8 held a public hearing for an Annual Town Meeting warrant article to amend the temporary marijuana retail sale moratorium by extending the moratorium until June 30, 2019.

The moratorium, like similar ones adopted in the Tri-Town, includes temporary bans on recreational marijuana dispensaries, processing facilities, cultivation facilities, and any other commercial businesses that would distribute recreational marijuana.

The hearing was promptly closed with no questions of discussion from the board or the two residents in attendance, and board members voted unanimously to recommend the article to Town Meeting voters.

The Attorney General’s Office has expressed in multiple responses to municipal marijuana moratorium bylaws that it will not honor moratoria beyond the December 31, 2018 date, saying that the time provided to municipalities in the Commonwealth was sufficient, which was stated in the AG’s response to the Town of Egremont’s adopted bylaw: “We believe that it is reasonable to expect a town to complete its planning process for the new use of Recreational Marijuana Establishments by December 31, 2018, six months after publication of the final regulations. Beyond that time period, a moratorium on Recreational Marijuana Establishments could be viewed as unconstitutional because it is not tied to current legitimate planning needs.”

Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson acknowledged that, but stated, “We’ll give it a shot.”

The Town’s current bylaw provides for a moratorium only until October 31, 2018.

“The worst they can say is they changed the end date to December 31stor something,” said Johnson, “which means we would have to act really fast on regulations, and apparently we got a lot of business coming our way.”

Johnson was referring to Town Planner Steve Starrett’s announcement that there are now seven large-scale solar project applications that will come before the board over the next couple of months.

In other matters, the board had to re-vote and amend its approval for the Special Permit for the Borrego Solar Systems solar farm at 453 Rounseville Road due to a clerical error, “Which affected the way an aggrieved person could appeal, and it wasn’t picked up … by town counsel,” said Johnson.

Johnson specified that the decision noted an appeal should be directed to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which is the case for subdivisions and Site Plan reviews; however, for solar projects, appeals are made to the Court.

“There was an appeal made erroneously to the ZBA, since been withdrawn,” Johnson said, “and we need to re-vote this tonight with the correct language … so there’ll be an additional twenty-day appeal period.”

Attorney John Serky, on behalf of Borrego Solar Systems, was unable to attend the meeting that night, but he delivered earlier in the day a ”humble pie” (cherry flavored) with some plates and forks for the board to eat in lieu of the crow he suggested they eat in an email to the board “reporting” on the board’s error.

The board continued the Special Residential Development Special Permit, an Application for Work on a Scenic Highway Permit, and a Groundwater Protection District Special Permit for REpurpose Properties, LLC. The public hearing request from the engineer of the age-restricted community, 22 duplex units, for the Village at Plumb Corner was continued until May 16.

The board also continued the Approval Not Required application for Joseph Longo for property on Mendell Road, Map 30, Lot 2 until May 16 at the applicant’s request.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is set for Wednesday, May 16, at the Rochester Town Hall at 7:00 pm. There will be no regular meeting on Tuesday, May 22.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

 

ORR Students Receive Art Awards

on

Students from the Old Rochester Regional High School received awards at the annual Congressional Art Competition for the 9th Congressional District.

Twelve students displayed artwork in the show: Claire Barry, Danya Bichsel, Abigail Forcier, Amelia Isabelle, Kaitlin Kelley, Christopher Knight, Lindsey Merolla, Mikayla Mooney, Claire Noble-Shriver, Elise Parker, Geneva Smith and Alexandra Vanderpool.

Claire Barry’s linoleum block print, “Siesta Key” won first in the prints category and Elise Parker’s painting “Forest Glow” won third place in the painting category. Claire Noble-Shriver received an honorable mention in the print category as well.

All the artwork was on display at the Plymouth Center for the Arts and an awards reception was held on April 27, 2018. Congressman Bill Keating was there to present the students with their award certificates. It was a wonderful evening celebrating the young artists. The artwork from the show will be on display at the New Bedford AHA! night on May 10. http://www.ahanewbedford.org/calendar.php

Garden Club of Buzzards Bay Plant Sale

on

The Garden Club of Buzzards Bay will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 12from 9:00 am to noon at St. Mary’s Parish Center, 783 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth. Members have been propagating and nurturing plants all winter at the club’s greenhouse and will offer a wide variety of annuals and perennials at very reasonable prices. There will be more than 10 varieties of coleus; scented, variegated and unusual geraniums; a wide selection of succulents in interesting containers; herbs and tomatoes (mostly heirlooms); and perennials from members’ gardens, some of the finest plant collections on the Southcoast. The event is free and open to the public.

The GCBB uses proceeds from the sale to fund community projects, including grants, scholarships and maintenance of three gardens and the greenhouse at the Rotch Jones Duff Garden and Museum in New Bedford. The club has awarded more than $40,000 over the past decade to small projects that promote gardening and conservation. Money has been used to support food bank gardens, help school gardening programs, and create several butterfly gardens in the area, as well as several other projects.

Approximately 600 New Bedford fourth graders will come to the RJD the first week in May for the club’s Backyard Botany program. The program is now in its 30th year and is a hands-on way to discover the importance of pollinators and see array of plants in the greenhouse.

The club also runs a Trunk Show in August. This year, more than 20 vendors will display their wide variety of goods at the Wamsutta Club, New Bedford in August.

2017 Nobel Laureate in Physics Visits Tabor

on

Tabor students and faculty just had the awe-inspiring experience of listening to a lecture by the 2017 Nobel Laureate physicist up close and personal right on campus. Dr. Rainer Weiss, of MIT, shared his work on detecting gravitational waves with two packed houses of students and faculty. He was kind and approachable, encouraged questions, and did his best to bring his heavenly topic down to earth.

As well known as he is for his leadership in groundbreaking discoveries about our universe, Weiss is also renowned for his love of speaking to students at the high school level. He, therefore, graciously accepted the invitation of Tabor’s Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

Jeanne Townsend, a staff member in Tabor’s IT Department and student of physics in college, summarized the hour-long talk as follows. “While numbers, formulas, and scientific theories aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, evidently black holes are. Anything involving black holes gets the public’s attention. As Dr. Weiss explained, pop culture and comics have paved the way for people to feel ownership of black holes, which are among the objects that cause the gravitational waves Dr. Weiss and his colleagues detect. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, or LIGO, project that Dr. Weiss collaborated on has created a new method for observing the heavens. LIGO has recorded black holes merging and, more recently, neutron stars colliding. Both interactions involve objects with huge masses travelling near the speed of light, conditions necessary to create detectible gravitational waves. Using LIGO to help triangulate the location in space of cosmic mayhem provides scientists with another lens with which to view, study, and explore our universe.”

Dr. Weiss encouraged the audience by his example and his obvious passion and joy in his subject, to explore our curiosities, make mistakes as we pursue knowledge, and to continue to ask questions His inventions and accomplishments are legendary, but his basic message can resonate with all of us. A member of the Tabor math department, Matt Voci, said, “Dr. Weiss is simply humbled by attention that has been pointed in his direction by his most recent honor because he constantly professes that the success of the LIGO observatory has been the work of thousands of people.” Voci remarked that, “Dr. Weiss conveyed that greater than the individual findings was the collaborative that has been formed by some of the greatest minds in the field from all around the world, unified for a single goal.”

The highlight of his talk may have come following a question posed by Tommy Hu ’20. Cautiously, he asked, “What is the real-life application of your work.” While Dr. Weiss could have gone on a tangent about the hundreds of inventions that will have immediate ramifications in the fields of laser development and stabilization, medical or industrial usages, he instead responded passionately to the question with, “We do science, not to make better technology, rather, because it makes life more interesting.”

A recording of the talk can be found on www.taboracademy.org under news.

May Book Sale at Mattapoisett Public Library

on

Get ready to hit the beach with your favorite books! The Friends Book Sale is the perfect opportunity to stock up on some summer reading material. The Friends of the Mattapoisett Library will be holding their Second Saturday Monthly Book Sale on May 12from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm, downstairs at the library, 7 Barstow Street. Stop in to browse our great selection and buy a “Bag of Books” for only $15!

The Friends wish to thank the many donors who keep the library supplied with quality book donations. Book sale proceeds enable the Friends to sponsor many of the special programs offered at the library and to make special purchases of books, museum passes, equipment, etc. Book donations are accepted at the library circulation desk during regular library hours.

The Friends of the Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group of volunteers created to support the library. The Friends always seek adult volunteers to help with setup and during the sale, as well as help with various library events through the year. To become a member of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Library, inquire at the book sale or look for our membership forms located at the library circulation desk.

ORR High School Honor Roll

on

The following students have achieved honors for the third term at Old Rochester Regional High School:

Highest Honors, Grade 9:Taylor Amaral, Margaret Carroll, Steven Carvalho, Alexander Craig, Carly Drew, Rachael Fantoni, Rachel Foye, Emily Graham, Molly Janicki, Madisyn Leavitt, Katelyn Luong, Brianna Machado, Colin Mackin, Eva Angeline McCann, Rebecca Milde, Evan O’Brien-Nichols, Serena O’Connell, Lindsey O’Donnell, Jonathan Pereira, Bessie Pierre, Daphne Poirier, Paige Sommers, Kathleen Tenerowicz, Jessica Vance, Sophie Vigeant, Emma Vivino, Tyler Wadman, Elizabeth Wiggin, Emma Williamson, Rachel Zutaut; Grade 10:Colby Alves, Cole Ashley, Gabrielle Bold, Tova Brickley, Dante Cusolito, Lilah Gendreau, Audrey Knox, Stephen Marston, Ian McCann, Ella McIntire, Alexa McLeod, Alexandra Moniz, Danielle Nutter, Allison Paim, Rachel Perry, Cecilia Prefontaine, Mackenzie Riley; Grade 11:Marc Bourgeois, Alexandra Fluegel, Ian Friedrichs, Rosemary Loer, Harrison Riley; Grade 12:Emily Bock, Abigail Dyson, Maggie Farrell, Collin Fitzpatrick, Maxine Kellum, Madisen Martin, Hannah McMorrow, Lindsey Merolla, Andrew Miller, Sam Pasquill, Jahn Pothier, Caitlin Stopka, Evan Tilley.

High Honors, Grade 9:Isaiah Andrade, Novalye Arruda, Emma Carroll, Joseph Dumas, Maeve Geraghty, Lindsay Holick, Isabelle Kelly, Faith Oliver, Rachel Pina, Evan Smith, William Stark, Mason Tucker, Samantha Winters; Grade 10:Meghan Berg, Sarah Besancon, Mary Butler, Bethany Cabral, Jacob DeBastos, Jack Gerard, Nicholas Johnson, Elise Mello, Alexandra Old, Rebecca Pacheco, Alexi Smead, Hannah Stallings, Sofia Sudofsky, Victoria Sullivan, Eric Tippins, Emily Wilson; Grade 11:John Burke, Julia Cabral, Sydney Green, Holden King, Abigail Lacock, Michaela Mattson, Samantha Nicolosi, Lauren Pina, Maria Ramsay, Adam Sylvia, Raymond Williams; Grade 12:Samantha Ball, Kristian Bodin, Erin Burke, Isabelle Choquette, Megan Field, Riley Goulet, Marina Ingham, Hanil Kang, Hannah Powers, Aidan Thayer, Lynn Wischnewski.

Honors, Grade 9:Margaret Berry, Alexia Blais, Curtis Briggi, Shelby Carmichael, Isabella Carrillo, Mia Costa, Andrew Coucci, Meghan Craig, Erin Davis, Kaitlyn Dawicki, Tessa DeMaggio, Mariana Ditata, Jordan Duarte, Meaghan Dufresne, Katherine Dwyer, Sydney Feeney, Abigail Forcier, Bianca Frazier, Prosser Friedman, Lauren Hartley, Meghan Horan, Stefan Hulsebosch, Mia Hurley, Jacob Jensen, Jayce Kouta, Colin Kulak, Jhett Labonte, Sierra Lanzoni, Grace McCarthy, Abigail McFadyen, Aidan McLaughlin, Aidan Milton, Bethany Morgan, Jason Motta, Christian Noble Shriver, Samuel Noblet, David Oliver, Caroline Owens, Brian Palker, Ryan Quinlan, Raegan Rapoza, Aidan Root, Leah Scott, Kennedy Serpa, Teagan Shay, Alexandra Vanderpol, Reily Veilleux, Kayli Vieira, Cassidy Yeomans, Paige Zutaut; Grade 10:Felicia Aguiar, Jacqueline Barrett, Jonathan Borsari, Camden Brezinski, Jack Cadden, April Choquette, Toni Ciffolillo, Charlotte Cole, Lucas Costa, Luke Couto, Michelina Ditata, Samuel Dunn, Molly Finnegan, Emma Gabriel, Grace Greany, Madison Guinen, Ruth Harris, Meg Hughes, Ryu Huynh-Aoyama, Gabriel Jacobsen, Zoe Kelley, Paul Kippenberger, Chloe Lanagan, Kate Marsden, Emma Mastovsky, Noah Maxwell, Aidan Michaud, Gwendolyn Miedema, Hunter Moreau, Natalie Nilson, Megan Nolan, Lauryn Pallatroni, Ruby Pasquill, Hannah Pires, Alyssa Quaintance, Amanda Rapoza, Janey Rego, Benjamin Ritchie, Erin Scott, Joseph Sheridan, Hadley Walsh, Aiden Woods; Grade 11:Bryce Afonso, Malisha Archelus, Samuel Austin, Michael Barry, Emma Blouin, Nickolas Borsari, Sara Campopiano, Mikayla Chandler, Marisa Cofone, Brielle Correia, Nicole Fantoni, Adrian Gleasure, Pavanne Gleiman, Chandler Goulart, Genevieve Grignetti, Daniel Hartley, Abigail Horan, Amelia Isabelle, Hanbyul Kang, Kaitlin Kelley, Caitlyn King, Jillian Kutash, Nolan LaRochelle, Tayler Lee, Geoffrey Noonan, Elisa Normand, Avery O’Brien-Nichols, Carly O’Connell, Kevin Ovian, Lily Poirier, Meghan Rebello, Brett Rood, Sophia Schiappa, Megan Shay, Alexandria Sheehan, Geneva Smith, Justin Smith, Delaney Soucy, Taylor Swoish, Robert Sylvester, Gates Tenerowicz, Nicholas Thayer, Julius Wagoner, Madison Welter, Isabella Wierzbicki, Natalia Wierzbicki, Alexander Wurl, Lily Youngberg; Grade 12:Haleydawn Amato, Ainslee Bangs, Gheorghita Battaglia, Freemin Bauer, Colin Bourgeois, Thomas Browning, Ashley Brzezinski, Gabrielle Choquette, Ava Ciffolillo, Evan Costa, Jacob DeMaggio, Celia Deverix, Stephanie Dondyk, Hannah Farias, Bennett Fox, Alexandrea Gerard, Mackenzie Good, Sophie Gurney, Sophie Hubbard, Alexandra Hulsebosch, Sophie Johnson, Caitlyn Kutash, Allison Kvilhaug, Warren Leavens, Alexander Lorenz, Joshua Marcial, Julia Melloni, Elizabeth Mitchell, Ethan Mort, Christiane Peretz, Leah Przybyszewski, Victoria Quinlan, Isabella Rodrigues, Jamie Roznoy, Isabella Sauro, Madeline Scheub, Harrison Smith, Benjamin Snow, Abigail Stark, Grace Stephens, Jake Thompson, Courtney Vance, Ella Vercellone, Ashleigh Wilson, Jacob Yeomans.