National Merit Scholarship Program

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Michael C. Devoll, Principal of Old Rochester Regional High School, announced that Colin T. Flynn, Jonathan S. Harris, and Daniel D. Renwick have been named Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2017 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

“The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, it vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

Salty’s Silvery Moon Soiree

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Join the Mattapoisett Land Trust on Saturday, October 22 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm for our annual Salty Soiree at Dunseith Gardens, home of Salty the Seahorse. There will be music, storytelling by Big Ryan of Big Ryan’s Tall Tales, and a fire to make your own s’mores.

This is a free event, open to the public and always provides an evening of fun for all ages.

There is no parking at Dunseith, so bring a flashlight to find your way home or back to your car.

For more information, see our website or email us at info@mattlandtrust.org.

Police Welcome Eagle Scout Project

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The Rochester Police Department is more than receptive to Rochester Troop #31 Boy Scout Riley Nordahl’s proposed Eagle Scout project to perform much needed improvements to the police station landscaping.

Just ask Police Chief Paul Magee and he will tell you what an eyesore and a burden it is keeping up the flower beds.

On October 3, the Rochester Board of Selectmen gave the green light to Nordahl, age 17, to move forward with his Eagle Scout project, which he revealed to selectmen during a brief presentation on Monday night.

His plan is to refurbish the plaque on an existing memorial bench situated at the site and install a brand new bench. The flowerbeds will be weeded, tidied, and mulched, and new flowers donated from a Marion business will be planted.

“This was a volunteer effort in order for Riley to achieve his Eagle Scout badge, so it’s not costing the town anything,” Sergeant Robert Small. “It’ll be a nice addition, and it’s nice of him to improve on the memorial. It’ll look really nice when he is finished, the way it is designed.”

Troop #31 Scoutmaster Michael Blanchard said Nordahl has really “taken the bull by the horns” with his independence in planning for this project.

“It’ll look really nice,” said Blanchard. “It’s a lot of hard work.”

Nordahl plans to begin the work at the police station on October 8-9.

Also during the short meeting, selectmen breezed through the Special Town Meeting warrant with Town Moderator Kirby Gilmore, with no discussion on any of the articles.

“I didn’t see anything that’s unusual,” said Gilmore. “Interesting that there’s more than one or two articles,” he commented, noting that there are eight, an above average amount for a special town meeting in Rochester.

The Special Town Meeting will be on October 17 at 7:00 pm at Rochester Memorial School.

There was no other business to come before the board.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is October 17 at 6:30 pm at Rochester Memorial School.

By Jean Perry

 

No Change in Tax Classification

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Residential and commercial properties will continue to equally share the tax burden this next fiscal year, with the Rochester Board of Selectmen following the advice of the Board of Assessors on September 30 during a special Friday morning tax classification hearing.

The estimated tax rate for 2017 is $14.39 – up 38 cents from 2016 – and will remain the same rate given to both residents and businesses and industries in Rochester, with residential accounting for roughly 92%of the tax burden, said Assistant Assessor Charles Shea.

With the tax increase, the ‘average’ house value residence will see about a $200 increase in taxes for 2017.

During discussion, Shea told selectmen that if they chose to shift the burden from residential to commercial and industrial – the maximum it could at a 50% increase – the average homeowner in Rochester would see a $396 reduction in their total annual tax bill. Businesses, however, would see about an increase of $4,313 annually.

“We don’t have enough businesses to spread out that type of a burden,” said Shea. “Therefore, the Board of Assessors recommends no split in the tax rate.”

The vote was unanimous.

Shea said that residents with any tax-related questions may contact the Assessors’ Office. Tax bills will be going out to residents starting this week, he said.

By Jean Perry

 

Michael J. Crowe, Jr.

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Michael J. Crowe, Jr., 84, of Mattapoisett died October 8, 2016 at St. Luke’s Hospital surrounded by his loving family after a brief illness.

He was the husband of Margaret M. (Coucci) Crowe.

Born and raised in New Bedford, the son of the late Michael J. and Bridget F. (Thorne) Crowe, he lived in Mattapoisett for the last 40 years.

Mr. Crowe was a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett.

He was formerly employed by Guido’s Plate Glass for many years until his retirement.

Mr. Crowe enjoyed spending time with family, friends and his dog Nyshka.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

Survivors include his wife, Margaret M. (Coucci) Crowe; 2 sons, Dr. Michael J. Crowe, III and his wife Carmen of Wareham and Matthew P. Crowe of Lake Mary, FL; a daughter, Mary F. Crowe and her wife Kathy A. Cumella of Ipswich, MA; 2 sisters, Trudy Coucci of New Bedford and Tess Dwyer and her husband Dick of Naples, FL; 7 grandchildren, Jenna, Jessica, Mychel, Matthew Jr., Erin, Sean and Hannah; 5 great-grandchildren, Koby, Jordan, Saphiyre, Kaydence and Connor; and many nieces and nephews.

He was the father of the late Kathleen M. Crowe and the brother of the late Mary Ferguson, Catherine Sullivan, Clara Lawton and Margaret McDowell.

His Funeral will be held on Wednesday at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6) Mattapoisett, followed by his Funeral Mass at St. Anthony’s Church at 10 AM. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Tuesday from 4-8 PM. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

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Dale E. Fearing

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Dale E. Fearing, 63, of Fall River passed away Tuesday October 4, at the McCarthy Care Center. Dale was born in Wareham the son of John F. and Lucy W. (Maxim) Fearing of Mattapoisett. He attended Old Rochester Regional High School and graduated from the University of Rhode Island. Dale was a licensed pharmacist and worked for many years in Somerset. He was an avid URI basketball fan, a voracious

thriller reader, and an enthusiastic music collector.

In addition to his parents he is survived by his children Erik Fearing of Medford and Amy Cutting & husband Sean of W. Warwick, RI. Dale was the grandfather of Tynan, Clare, and Fiona Cutting and the brother of Doris Bohuslavicky of Oklahoma and Harlene Simpson of Houston. He is also survived by many loving relatives and friends.

A memorial will be held on Friday October 14 from 5:00 to 7:00 at the American Legion Hall, 777 Main St. Wareham, MA.

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Easy Night for New Planning Board Members

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The Mattapoisett Planning Board had an extremely light agenda on October 3 as Chairman Tom Tucker welcomed its two newest members, Gail Carlson and Janice Robbins, to their chairs at the conference table. As Tucker introduced them, he added with a wry smile, “I hope you don’t regret this.”

Before them was a Form-A Approval not Required application from Michael Esposito and Cynthia Redel for 18 and 20 Ned’s Point Road. The applicants own one home originally built by William York Peters in 1917. Peters was a well-known Boston architect who graduated from Harvard and studied in France. The two parcels were later owned by a local notable, Richard Young, whose company, Titleist, is world famous. Young was also regarded as one of the biggest philanthropist Southeastern Massachusetts has ever known. The famous properties feature a single pier.

The board members were asked by Doug Schneider of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates to approve a final set of drawings that will allow a narrow strip of land between 18 and 20 Ned’s Point Road to be created and which will contain the pier used by both homes but will not create a buildable lot.

Tucker explained that sectioning would allow the applicants at a future point in time to have the newly-created piece joined with one of the other parcels. The applicants require local planning board approval in order to petition land court for final acceptance of the sectioning.      The board unanimously approved the request.

Also in attendance was Highway Surveyor Barry Denham who said that as of September 26, numerous items remained incomplete or problematic at the beleaguered Brandt Point Village subdivision. Tucker said that the owner/developers would be attending a future meeting before new homes are erected, saying, “I’d like to stand firm that things have to get done.”

Denham once again voiced his concerns regarding the condition of the main roadway into the development saying that it is rutted, indicating sub-surface failure in many locations. He said he would like another engineering firm to look at testing certified by the developers’ engineers, Tibbets Engineering, and suggested Field Engineering for that oversight function.

Denham also updated the board on stormwater management system work at River Road, part of the Appaloosa Lane subdivision, noting that work was moving along and asking that G.A.F. Engineering provide as-built plans for the board’s review once the work is complete.

“I recommend when they are done, you have G.A.F. do an as-built so we’ll know it was installed properly,” said Denham. The board agreed.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for October 17 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

 

Weather Ready Open House

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Weather Ready Mattapoisett, an organization of local officials and citizens concerned about future flooding in town, invites townspeople interested in learning how the community is preparing for climate change to join town officials, local residents, and EPA on Thursday, October 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Old Hammondtown School at 20 Shaw Street.

This event will include an introduction to the work Weather Ready Mattapoisett is doing, including a discussion about how residents can protect their drinking water and wastewater systems. Speakers will look at how the town is preparing for emergencies and what citizens can do to help.

Mattapoisett officials want to make sure its residents are ready for the next big storm. The future promises more and bigger storms that can seriously impact the town’s infrastructure and, more importantly, its residents. This has attracted the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and now Mattapoisett wants to share what it has learned and what residents can do to prepare for the future.

Highlights of the evening include the “world premier” of the Mattapoisett preparedness video, which was produced by the town, and a video of survivor stories from the 1938 storm and Hurricane Bob, which was produced by Old Rochester Community Television.

Residents will be able to find out more about projects going on in Mattapoisett during the second hour of the meeting. Information will be available to make sure every citizen in Mattapoisett is ready for the next hurricane, winter storm or other emergency. Materials will be available about how to download emergency alerts, create communication plans, and how to prepare homes before an emergency.

Among other things, the Weather Ready group has put together pictures and stories from past hurricanes and created a collection of before and after photos, including pictures from the 1938 hurricane. Among the invited guests will be Jared Watson, a local Boy Scout, who marked utility poles with flood levels from the hurricane of ’38 and Hurricane Bob as his project towards receiving his Eagle Scout badge.

Other aspects of Weather Ready include a high school teacher who is developing a citizen science project monitoring changes in the environment at two locations in town and a display of preparedness materials being put together by the library. Finally, for an online presence, the town created a web page with all of this information and EPA is creating a “story map,” an interactive web page with maps and charts documenting the project.

This October presentation is the final piece of EPA’s community involvement in the project through its Regional Applied Research grants and its Regional Sustainability and Environmental Sciences Research Program.

“Mattapoisett and the Weather Ready group has shown us how a community that comes together for a common cause – protecting their environment – can build a future that will let them weather whatever storm may come their way,” said Jeri Weiss, EPA Region 1 drinking water specialist. “This effort provides a model for towns and cities nationwide that are facing the challenges of climate change.”

Sippican Historical Society Speaker’s Series

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Alexander Hamilton will speak at the Marion Music Hall on Thursday, October 20 at 7:00 pm. The setting is December 23, 1800 and the political atmosphere is charged with a dead-locked ballot for the Presidency: Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

Charles Stockbridge has been lecturing on the founding of the first United States currency and the restoration of the public credit put forth by Alexander Hamilton in 1790. Mr. Stockbridge reenacts Hamilton in period attire in a play written and performed by him. The Sippican Historical Society invites you to attend an evening with General Hamilton at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Chamber Music of France

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As part of the Tomlinson Visiting Artist Series at Tabor Academy, the duo Leslie Stroud (flute) and Matthew Odell (piano) will perform a program entitled “Chamber Music of France” at 7:00 pm on Friday, October 14, in the Lyndon South Auditorium on the campus of Tabor Academy, 85 Spring Street, Marion. The concert is free and open to the public.

Performing throughout New England, Ms. Stroud and Mr. Odell present the richly varied and often provocative chamber music written for flute and piano. They have the distinction of having performed the complete chamber works for flute and piano written by award-winning French composer Michel Merlet, as well as performing the works of other living composers including Philip Lasser, Ned Rorem and Pierre Boulez. Offering inventive and imaginative programming, they bring the voice of contemporary classical music, alongside favorite works of the established repertory, to a wide array of audiences.

Ms. Stroud and Mr. Odell are both graduates of the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Mr. Odell holds a doctoral degree from The Juilliard School. He is currently on the faculty at The Juilliard School and Keene State College. Mr. Odell, whose playing is called “excellent” by the New York Times and with “…total commitment and real abandon” by Gramophone, regularly performs as a chamber musician and soloist in the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Stroud performs actively in orchestras and collaborative ensembles across the U.S., and her playing is noted by the New Bedford Standard-Times for its “virtuosity” and “excellent solo flute work.” Their programming and performances together are noted as “impressive” (Artistree) and “…wildly diverse” (Boothbay Register).