Old Hammondtown School’s cafetorium was filled nearly to capacity as the community came out in force to celebrate veterans on Friday, November 10.

After the Mattapoisett Police Color Guard presented the colors, American Legion Florence Eastman Post 280 Commander Michael Lamoureux led the Pledge of Allegiance, and the post’s Chaplain Richard Langhoff led everyone in prayer, Mattapoisett’s native Miss Massachusetts Jillian Zucco gave a pitch-perfect rendition of the National Anthem.

Representative and Mattapoisett resident William Straus said that what we have learned about veterans is just how “…difficult adjusting after serving can be.…” He said we must all “express our gratitude to those who have served,” and added, “…that we can and should think of ways to help our veterans.” Straus’ comments were followed by Old Hammondtown School’s band performing “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

Selectman Tyler Macallister talked about Mattapoisett’s support of veterans and active duty service members as witnessed by those who attended the day’s event, while Tri-Town Veterans’ Agent, veteran, and post member Barry Denham said, “As I get older and look out at all these young people, I realize that they will be the veterans of the future.” He said he hoped that 60 years from now, “Veterans Day is as important as it is today.”

The Showstoppers sang a tender song titled “American Tears,” followed by an annual tradition – George Randall’s extemporaneous reciting of the Gettysburg Address.

Randall’s father learned the speech over a century ago, and he taught it to his son, George, who has carried on the tradition ever since. Lamoureux wondered aloud, “I don’t know who is going to do this after you, George.”

Center School’s chorus sang “This Land Is Your Land,” followed by a violin solo by the petite violinist Miss Tessa Ripley who performed “American Patrol.”

Guest speaker Dr. James Hickey, retired U.S. Navy commander, was introduced and invited to the podium where he spoke about the impact one person can have on society. He said that those who serve are “a tribute to our great nation and our ability to gather.”

“I’ve been around the world,” said Hickey. “Not all have the right.”

Hickey said he wanted to talk about veterans and those who serve today, not his career. He said World War I was supposed to be the end of such conflicts – ‘the war to end all wars’ – but there have been many more that have followed.

“The common element was the men and women who served in uniform honorably,” Hickey said. “Most came home. Some did not.”

Hickey explained for the benefit of the children in attendance the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, a day that was championed by Raymond Weeks, a WWII veteran.

Weeks successfully petitioned the federal government to expand Armistice Day into what we now know as Veterans Day back in 1947. For his efforts, he received the Presidential Citizens Medal, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“One person can make a difference,” Hickey said.

Quoting from President John F. Kennedy’s famous January 20, 1961 Inaugural Address when he uttered the unforgettable phrase “…ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” Hickey reminded those in attendance that Kennedy’s speech went on to say, “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

Hickey said that only through service would humankind know freedom.

Hickey went on to say that it was easy to focus on heroes, yet behind all those heroes were thousands of others who served with honor.

“Many millions have simply done their jobs for us,” said Hickey, adding that we must not lose sight that the “mission is not complete,” “the torch has been passed,” “the young must stand ready.”

Hickey concluded his comments by quoting Winston Churchill who is credited with saying, “We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” Before leaving the podium he added, “We are a beacon to people around the world.”

Zucco and the Showstoppers closed out the observances with a harmonious singing of “God Bless America,” followed by a retiring of the colors.

Mattapoisett Boy Scout Troop 53 completed the day’s events with a ceremony at Dunseith Gardens where they retired some 500 flags by the standards of the U.S. Flag Code – by burning, after it has been folded to code. This solemn, but necessary, ceremony has been performed by Troop 53 for several years. If ever you have a flag that needs to be retired, you may place it in the box located in front of Mattapoisett Town Hall.

By Marilou Newell

Seventeen years ago, Priscilla Gamboa arrived in the United States as a babe in arms. She attended kindergarten, graduated from high school, and is now studying at Bristol Community College. She is a “Dreamer” – one of the approximately 8,000 people classified as Deferred Act for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in Massachusetts.

On November 8, Gamboa shared her personal story at a presentation hosted by a partnership of the Tri-Town League of Women Voters and the Elizabeth Taber Public Library held in the Marion Music Hall.

Gamboa was part of a panel discussing immigration issues that included Executive Director of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center in New Bedford Helena DaSilva Hughes, Executive Director of the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) of New Bedford Corinn Williams, and Rolando David Oliva of the Temporary Protected Status Committee.

“DACA allowed us to work and go to school, but now we are in limbo,” Gamboa said as her dark expressive eyes held back tears. She said that since the Trump Administration recently cancelled the Obama-era act, the stress of uncertainty is high. Gamboa’s time in the U.S. ends in 18 months.

“I don’t know what’s going happen,” said Gamboa.

That was the theme that each presenter expressed: the theme of uncertainty.

In the absence of an immigration policy that could help the undocumented, the stress from uncertainty is weighing heavily on thousands of families.

Hughes, whose family emigrated here from Portugal through a sponsorship program when she was a child, has been working with immigrants in the area for decades, but she said the current political climate makes it increasingly difficult. “Since the election, we’ve had an increase of two thousand people seeking services.”

Hughes said the Immigrants’ Assistance Center helps people in transition with such services as translations, the health care system, legal matters, and ways to achieve legal immigration status.

Hughes explained that the situation of undocumented workers in New Bedford was fully exposed ten years ago when a factory in the city was raided after it was discovered that nearly all the workers were illegal aliens. Most of those workers were women, many pregnant, many with children at home.

That single event, she said, helped to shape the services her organization provides today.

“We tell [undocumented working] parents they have to have a plan in case they are taken away,” Hughes said. “They have to have a citizen or someone legal that they trust who can take care of the children in case they get picked up.”

On the bright side, Hughes said that many people holding green cards and are in the U.S. lawfully with permanent residency status are now seeking citizenship.

“We’ve had five hundred new cases of people wanting to become citizens because they are scared of what might happen to their green cards,” Hughes said.

Recognizing the need to provide more services to the children of undocumented workers – children who may themselves be undocumented – Hughes has launched a program that brings students from Tabor Academy who are studying Spanish into the New Bedford school system to help non-English speaking students with conversational English. Several of those Tabor students were in attendance on this night.

Williams said the CEDC also works with undocumented people and talked about the positive economic influence immigrants have had, especially in areas of New Bedford that have been blighted for years.

“We work at the grassroots level providing English classes and helping them start businesses,” she said. According to Williams, the majority of people seeking services from the CEDC are migrating from the Cape Verdean islands, Mexico, and South America. “New arrivals are injecting new life into New Bedford,” she believes.

Williams said the CEDC “creates opportunities for new immigrants, helping them build lives, buy homes, navigate systems.”

“There is hope,” said Williams. “I see people starting new lives.”

Oliva, who not only works on the TPS Committee, has himself held temporary protected status for years. Speaking Spanish and translated through Gamboa, he said, “The program has been around for twenty years, but now it’s under fire.”

“It’s not being renewed,” he said. “That caused us to organize.”

The TPS program has allowed people from Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador to enter the country legally for 18-month periods due to internal conflicts and catastrophic natural disasters. Every 18 months the immigrant must request an extension. Those extension applications come with a $495 fee. This program was also recently slated for discontinuation.

Oliva said families who have been here for years have established homes, started families, and worked within the economic structure and laws of the communities they live in, yet they now face deportation.

“The kids can stay if they are legal, but the parents will have to go back. It will split up families,” he said. Oliva said that many of the countries that immigrants would be forced to return to have high crime rates, gangs, and no job opportunities.

It is a myth that immigrants receive public benefits, said Williams. They are not eligible for food stamps or other government funded programs, she stated, and oftentimes undocumented workers suffer from “wage theft” where employers don’t pay overtime.

“The workers have fear – they don’t say anything.” She said that because of the types of jobs immigrants are willing to take, those jobs tend to be the most dangerous; thus, the number of injuries is high in this population. “They live in the shadows facing these issues,” she said.

Hughes said undocumented people “have no path to getting a green card.”

“We need immigration reform to give them a legal pathway,” said Hughes.

The current estimates put the number of undocumented people in the U.S. around 12 million.

Hughes also said most undocumented people originally entered the country legally but then overstayed their visitor status versus people who arrived illegally.

“We are a country of laws,” Hughes stressed, saying that immigration reform is what she hopes to achieve, urging the audience to contact their representatives in the legislature.

For more information, contact the Immigrants’ Assistance Center at 58 Crapo Street, New Bedford, www.ImmigrantsAssistanceCenter.org ; the Community Economic Development Center, www.cedcnewbedford.org, 1285 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford; or UMass Immigration Law Clinic, www.umassd.edu/law/clinics/immigration-law.

By Marilou Newell

It’s that time of year once again! This weekend, the ORRHS Drama Club is proud to present their 2017 fall production, Noises Off!

This year’s annual production is a comedy centered around the shenanigans of a dysfunctional show cast throughout their six-week run. Over the three acts, the audience sees the evolution – or rather, disintegration – of the fictional cast’s relationships and of their play.

“Act One is the longest as it shows the cast the rehearsal before opening night, and sets up all the background information you need to know about each character,” explained Alice Bednarczyk. She plays Belinda Blair, a cheerful yet gossipy actress. “Act Two takes place a month after Act One, and the entire set is turned around so you see all the mayhem occurring between the characters ‘backstage.’

“Act Two has minimal talking from most of the characters, hence the name ‘Noises Off.’” She continued, “Act Three takes place three months after Act One, where everyone hates each other and everything that could possibly get messed up, gets messed up.”

Because of the limited number of parts in Noises Off, there are two separate casts performing the show over the four-day period.

On Thursday and Saturday, the cast consists of Alice Bednarczyk, Bethany Cabral, Luke Couto, Lauren Gonsalves, Isaac Hartley, Christian Hotte, Grace Mastroianni, Kate Marsden, Elise Mello, and Chris Savino.

On Friday night and Sunday’s matinee, the cast is Nick Claudio, Lucas Faulkner, Elle Gendreau, Paul Kippenberger, Cuyler Matthieu, Katie MacLean, Julia Melloni, Ceci Prefontaine, Jack Roussell, and Andrew Steele.

Both casts of this quirky production are represented in this week’s quirky cover of The Wanderer.

“I’m so thrilled for this show because it’s unlike any other,” said Lauren Gonsalves. “Both casts are extremely talented and find new ways to play out the jokes every night, so that even though we see the same scenes over and over, the whole club is still dying of laughter every time.”

Gonsavles continued, “I really think that audiences will be shocked by how hilarious a high school drama club can be. Even regular visitors will be buying tickets for every night.”

Drama Club President Chris Savino said, “I think the show is hilarious. I sit and watch my fellow cast mates perform, and I am always dying of laughter. I think the cast is perfect.”

“Everyone works so well together,” Savino said, “and by the end of this process, we have become very tightknit and we all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses after this amazing rehearsal process, and we help each other learn off of that. It has been the most amazing show of my high school experience so far and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Noises Off! runs Thursday, November 16 ,through Saturday, November 18, at 7:30 pm, with a matinee performance at 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 19. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, and $12 for the general public. They can be purchased at the Marion General Store in Marion, Pen and Pendulum in Mattapoisett, and Plumb Corner Market in Rochester. ORRHS students can also purchase $5 student tickets in the cafeteria this Friday.

By Jo Caynon

At approximately 06:47, the Mattapoisett Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting a structure fire at 28 Meadowbrook Lane. The Mattapoisett Fire department was dispatched with a working fire assignment. The Chief Andrew Murray arrived on scene and reported heavy fire showing from the residence. The Chief immediately called for a second alarm fire assignment bringing in mutual aid companies from Fairhaven, Marion, and Rochester to the scene. Acushnet Fire was called in to cover the station and remainder of the town during the fire. The fire took four engine companies and thirty firefighters from four communities to get under control in approximately thirty minutes. Water had to be shuttled in from the closest hydrant which was over two miles away. Extensive overhaul was completed to assure there wasn’t any fire extension. Fire crews remained on scene for the majority of the day assisting the homeowner and investigating the cause. The fire is under investigation at this time. No injuries were reported. Damages are estimated to be around three hundred thousand dollars. The Red Cross was called in to help the two displaced residents.

Mattapoisett Fire Depatment Press Release

Photos Courtesy Fairhaven Fire Depatment

A fire station open house is like walking into a child’s world of wonder, powering on his imagination, plugging into his curiosity, and downloading a dream.

Welcome to the Marion Fire Department’s Open House on the night of November 6.

So much to see, so much to learn and do – there were swirling lights, rows of fire engines to climb aboard and firefighter suits to touch.

Table after table was filled with fun games and activities, and don’t forget the plastic fire fighter hats, along with lines waiting for face painting, fire hose target practice, and cookies and pizza – all implements of imagination expansion for the boys and girls who are our future firefighters-to-be.

Marion Fire Chief Brian Jackvony presided over it all, no doubt perceived by some of the little ones as the most important man in town. Jackvony stopped by to check in with his wife, Linda, who was passing out slices of pizza to the hefty crowd of open house-goers.

Many of the spouses of the Marion firefighters assisted with the event at coloring stations, the cookie table, and the always popular face painting station.

Firefighter Joel Waters gave a tour of the souped-up doll house outfitted with fire safety simulators – a working fire alarm managed via remote control, working lights and electric outlets that flashed and buzzed to teach about fire hazards, real smoke, and even the odors of electrical fire and smoke to familiarize people with the smells of danger.

But inside the walls of this facility are more than just the standard features of a fire station. Plastered all over the corkboard of the inner hallway are handwritten thank you cards addressed to the firefighters, thanking them for their bravery or for their vital help in assisting them during some of the worst moments of their lives.

These genuine messages of gratitude outnumber the flyers advertising for safety courses and upcoming events, and although these firefighters would say that they were just doing their jobs, some of the residents they helped maintain that these men and women are special – seeing in them exactly what the kids climbing into the front seats of those engines hope to be when they grow up.

By Jean Perry