Science@Work Lecture

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Tabor Academy is very pleased to have Dr. Yolanda Cruz speak as the next Science@Work Lecturer on May 1 at 6:30 pm. This will be the last lecture this academic year.

Dr. Yolanda Cruz, Ph.D., Robert S. Danforth Professor of Biology at Oberlin College, is a specialist in developmental and cell biology, and in epigenetics. Her field of research is early embryonic development and reproductive biology of mammals. In her talk, Professor Cruz will describe the special characteristics of stem cells and their possible uses in regenerative medicine.

Don’t miss this fascinating topic on May 1 at 6:30 pm at Tabor Academy, 232 Front Street, Marion, in the Stroud Academic Center’s Lyndon South Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Fresh Air Zumba, Free Classes for Everyone

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Every Thursday beginning May 4 (through June 8) from 10:00 – 11:00 am, join us on the grounds located between the Elizabeth Taber Library and Marion Town House, Spring Street for a free 1-hour Zumba class with certified fitness instructor Pati Cautillo. In the event of rain, the class will be held at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street.

This community wide event is co-sponsored by the Elizabeth Taber Library and Marion Council on Aging and is open to everyone regardless of age. No registration required, comfortable clothing and a water bottle are recommended. For more information, please call the Marion Council on Aging, 508-748-3570.

Soaring From Scouts to Eagles

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If the climb from Cub Scout to the highest summit of Eagle Scout is a steep one, which only about two in 100 Boy Scouts can reach, then Mattapoisett Troop 53 is teeming with peak baggers.

This weekend, four (four!) distinguished Boy Scouts received their Eagle Scout award before their proud family members, friends, and community at Camp Cachalot by the water at Myles Standish State Forest.

It’s a long dirt road drive through the forest to get to Camp Cachalot. The winding way is dotted with a succession of signs explaining the traits of a Boy Scout: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent – all the qualities that Adam Perkins, Matthew Kiernan, Davis Mathieu, and Justin Sayers have proven to possess.

Sunday, April 23, brought perfect weather and around a hundred people out to witness the transformation of boys to men, of Boy Scouts to Eagle Scouts – a remarkable accomplishment that both Governor Charlie Baker and State Senator William Straus recognized with signed citations.

Scoutmaster Dennis McLaughlin said it can often take over four years to earn the requirements of an Eagle Scout, including a minimum of 21 merit badges. The journey is one that develops boys into leaders and responsible citizens, he said. It is a highly coveted status within Boy Scout Nation, and only the greatest and most persistent make it to the top.

Addressing the four honored scouts, McLaughlin said, “Your spirit will continue to inspire those who continue to walk the trail ahead to Eagle Scout.”

Perkins, Kiernan, Mathieu, and Sayers have made this journey toward Eagle Scout together as members of Troop 53. Now the four are part of an elite group of men, such as a former president, the original astronauts, and other notable people past and present who have attained the rank of Eagle.

“One day, in the newspapers, you’re going to be reading about these four guys,” said McLaughlin. “Be proud that you sat here today and watched them receive their Eagle.

Perkins has achieved much so far in his 17 years, especially in the last six since he first joined the Boy Scouts in 2011. A senior at Old Rochester Regional High School, Perkins has earned 40 merit badges, two times the number required, and is a camp counselor at Camp Cachalot. He teaches swimming, is a lifeguard, achieved sailor with the ORR sailing program, and has been accepted to Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he will study environmental engineering. After graduation, he will take a year off to experience Norway, a country to which he is a dual citizen, which his brothers before him have done.

“I couldn’t ever imagine going through this without my loving family [and friends] … they’ve helped me so much.” said Perkins.

Matthew Kiernan, another senior at ORR, is a member of the drama club, a Varsity sailor, earned his Arrow of Light Award, and is also a camp counselor at Camp Cachalot. He attended the Boy Scout National Jamboree in 2013 in West Virginia, and he will be attending Massasoit Community College.

Kiernan thanked his parents for their support and wished the younger members of Troop 53 the best of luck in their climb towards Eagle Scout rank.

“It’s been a long journey,” said Kiernan.

Davis Mathieu earned the title “Bass Master” at Camp Cachalot where he is also a camp counselor. He is a senior at ORR, earned his Arrow of Light Award, “and always manages to catch the biggest fish,” as McLaughlin described him. Mathieu was accepted to Massachusetts Maritime Academy as well, and will study marine engineering there, striving towards a future as a Merchant Marine.

Mathieu joked that he may have to join a “Fisherman’s Anonymous” group after catching 87 bass last summer.

Justin Sayers, a senior at Tabor Academy, plays soccer, ice hockey, track, and is an accomplished trumpeter. He joined the Boy Scouts in 2010, was awarded the Arrow of Light, and is a counselor at Camp Cachalot. He has a passion for reading and will attend Lafayette College where he will study chemical engineering.

“Wow, what a great guy he is,” said McLaughlin. “I can say that about all four of them. And I thank you guys for allowing me to be a part of your scouting career and for allowing me to get to know you.”

During the pinning ceremony, the Eagle Scouts were joined by their parents, and each one’s mother pinned their Eagle Scout pin on her son. In return, each Eagle Scout pinned a miniature Eagle pin over the heart of each parent. In a touching gesture, Sayers pinned both of his mini Eagle pins over the heart of his mom who played the role of both mother and father throughout Sayers’ life.

“Troop 53 is the best troop that anyone could ever ask to be a part of,” said Sayers. “This has been the greatest experience I could have ever asked for.”

A small reception followed the ceremony.

By Jean Perry

Town Pauses on ORR Fiscal Audit Article

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Mattapoisett and Rochester are in full agreement on spending $5,000 on a forensic financial spending audit for Old Rochester Regional School District, but both the Rochester Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee refrained from recommending that article on the Town Meeting Warrant for the time being.

During an April 24 joint meeting of the BOS and the FinCom to review and make recommendations on Town Meeting Warrant articles, Finance Committee Chairman Kristian Stoltenberg said ‘nay’ to spending $5,000 for such a forensic audit, and the Finance Committee would not recommend the article.

Right after, Board of Selectmen Chairman Brad Morse recommended keeping the article on the warrant; however, with an upcoming Tri-Town Boards of Selectmen meeting in three days, during which the topic of the forensic financial spending audit would be discussed, Morse suggested the selectmen refrain from taking any position on an article recommendation that night.

Knowing that a subsequent Tri-Town selectmen meeting was imminent, Stoltenberg said to the selectmen, “I’m hoping you’re going to be able to convince them to drop it.”

The Finance Committee also voted to not recommend another article to appropriate $6,800 for a fence on the property line between Rochester Memorial School and the Morgado residence next door to address the Morgados’ privacy and safety concerns.

The selectmen had been working with the Morgados and the Rochester facilities manager to find quotes for a fence that would satisfy the Morgados’ request. During this meeting, the selectmen withheld a vote on whether to make the recommendation or not.

The Finance Committee also held off on a recommendation of the FY2018 budget pending further review.

A final draft of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant is still under development.

In other matters, there are some vacant seats on some Town appointed boards and committees: two on the Agricultural Commission; one on the Historic Commission; and one on the Tri-Town Rivers Commission. Interested parties may write a letter to the Board of Selectmen for consideration.

It was Greenwood “Woody” Hartley III’s first meeting as a member of the Board of Selectmen. Hartley brought up a number of “old business” matters, requesting that any ongoing unresolved topics be added to the agenda for ongoing discussion meeting to meeting until resolved, specifically mentioning upgrading the website, ADA compliance in town, and the removable filing system being considered for the Town Hall Annex.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for May 1 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

 

Mattapoisett Cuts FY18 Budget and Prepares the Warrant

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Town Administrator Michael Gagne gave the Mattapoisett Finance Committee members a sneak peek at the Spring Town Meeting warrant on April 19; meanwhile, selectmen are still preparing to cut another nearly $200,000 from the proposed $25 million plus FY18 budget.

The selectmen had reviewed every line item, and “large and small items” were trimmed in an effort to bring spending in line with revenue projects, Gagne said.

“Two and a half increase and new growth equal $771,977,” said Gagne, turning to new revenue sources including the tax levy. He also said the projected state aid increase would be about $64,000, while local receipts were projected to be increased by $85,000 over FY17.

Gagne again pointed out that medical insurance was a huge contributing factor to the total budget, up nearly 11 percent.

The dollars that fell from the budget bottom line included decreases in requests for office supplies, seminars and training, legal fees, and a proposed increase of four hours for the planning board administrator. Also cut were fire department budget requests for increases to holiday pay, sick leave buy backs, and uniforms. The highway department’s request for an increase in part-time hours was also culled.

Yet, while the FY18 budget was getting a haircut, one department will see an increase in staffing hours.

Council on Aging Director Jackie Coucci asked the selectmen to consider increasing her assistant Cindy Macallister’s hours from 19 hours per week to 24. The selectmen supported her request, a request she characterized as “critical” in maintaining continuity of services provided to the community. Macallister’s husband, Selectman Tyler Macallister, did not participate in those discussions.

But FinCom Chairman Pat Donoghue objected, saying, “People need to understand the implication this has on benefits!” Donoghue said that, upon retirement, “She’ll be eligible for health insurance for herself and her spouse.”

“This is liable to cost far more in benefits than salary,” she argued. Donoghue thought it made better fiscal sense to hire another part-time staffer than increase a part-time person to a full-time position.

Gagne reminded the committee members that the selectmen had only agreed to the staffing increase because Macallister would not be enrolled in the municipal health insurance program.

As Gagne and the FinCom members reviewed the warrant articles, he pointed out that OPEB funding would be sought in the amount of $429,821. A sum of $25,000 would be earmarked for Mattapoisett’s share of the ORR obligations. Gagne also pointed out that another article titled Regional School System Study, Analysis and Strategic Planning Study would also be on the warrant.

This article will ask the voters to commit a sum of $5,000 in partnership with Marion and Rochester to hire a consultant to review ORR’s “historical expenditures, revenues, and practices … for the purpose of providing policymakers appropriate data for sound fiscal, strategic and proper planning…” Gagne said that in conversations with Superintendent Doug White, he found him to be in agreement that, “…this is a good way to develop a proper strategic plan to fund programs…”

The Mattapoisett Fire Department’s plan to construct a new fire station will make another step in that direction if voters agree to an article that appropriates funds to perform design analysis including cost estimates.

“The game plan is to start with concepts, then to costing, so next year the town will know and decide if they want to go to the full design” Gagne explained. He said it was feasible that construction could begin by 2020 and that the town would most likely finance the structure with a 20-year bond. The article appropriation sum had not yet been determined.

There will be a number of water and sewer enterprise fund articles along with capital planning items totaling $474,100. That list features $40,000 for enhanced security at Center School, roof repairs to Old Hammondtown School, two new police cruisers, and a truck for the highway department.

The Crystal Spring Road solar array project is on the warrant as the town seeks voters’ approval for a PILOT program – payment in lieu of taxes – that will help generate revenue over a 20-year period.

Gagne said that another solar project is planned for Tinkham Hill Road across the road from the first solar project constructed in Mattapoisett. This second Tinkham Hill project will be an extension of the current permitting, stated Drew Pierson, director of project development for Blue Water Solar in a follow-up interview.

Pierson said, “We’ll have to submit a plan modification, but it will be an extension of the existing project out there.”

A fourth solar project planned on Crystal Spring Road adjacent to the present project is slated to be 6.5 megawatts, Gagne reported. Pierson said that project is pending Planning Board and Conservation Commission vetting.

Mattapoisett’s Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for May 8 at 6:30 pm in the ORRHS auditorium.

Mattapoisett Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell

 

Machacam Club

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The Machacam Club will hold the final meeting of the year on May 3 at Post 280 at 5:30 pm. Social time is 5:30 pm; dinner is at 6:00 pm.

The meal will be lasagna, tossed salad, garlic bread, and pie for dessert. In lieu of a speaker, this will be our First Annual Business Meeting. I will present our accomplishments during this past year, and take a look ahead at the next year. I also would like to extend my appreciation to all who did make it a very successful year.

Callers and members are asked to bear in mind the importance of call list accuracy. Caller lists should be done and reported no later than 9:00 pm on Monday, May 1 by email to GPFNR@AOL.COM or by phone to Mike at 508-758-9311. Members with requests or changes can contact Mike by phone at 508-758-9311 no later than 9:00 am on Tuesday, May 2.

Thank You

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To the Editor:

On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, the Town Administrator, the residents of the Town, and the Thomas Daener Family, we would like to take this opportunity to say a sincere thank you to each and every one of the following individuals who made the Rob Daener Night on April 8 such a great success: Dr. Amy Wiegandt, Knights of Columbus, Mattapoisett Lions Club, Mattapoisett Highway Department, Mattapoisett Fire Department, Mattapoisett Police Department, Mattapoisett Town Employees, Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary, Police Chief Mary Lyons, Fire Chief Andy Murray, Barry Denham, Monaghan Printing, Ray Andrews, Dan White, Rick and Joanne LeBlanc, Nancy and Bernie Gauvin, Theresa and Al Fidalgo, Bob LeBlanc, Louise Vandal, Ann Florio, Frances Cairnes, Tom Muldoon, Mack Caban, Mr. and Mrs. Tim Ray, Sarah Audette, Paul Stubbs, Jim Rottler, Mark Cabral, Dan King, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Rego, Christine Richards, Jim & Gloria Alferes, Billy Melendez, Andy Bobola, Cindi Bobola, Shea Bobola, Kathy Costello, and all our musicians and food servers, volunteers, the bartenders and our MC Kenny Pacheco.

We cannot thank our local businesses for their tremendous support and donations along with our surrounding towns hitting the grand total of $35,000!

Lastly and most importantly, it is our Town that remains “So Special” and now we really know why!

The Daener Family would like to express the fact that having a disease such as MS is not always treatable and has to be dealt with on a day-to-day basis, and they truly hope that having this type of event will be the start to a new beginning for those experiencing life challenges.

Melody Pacheco

Tabor Hosts Healthy Relationship Week

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Around Tabor’s campus last week, there was a school-wide recognition of Healthy Relationship Week, a first-time program for the school that promoted positive, safe, and healthy relationships between friends, families, and romantic partners.

Right from the get-go at the beginning of the week, the hallways of the school were decorated with posters and signs promoting statistics and information about healthy (or unhealthy) relationships. Between classes, in the bathrooms, or walking up stairwells, students and faculty were able to learn some surprising and important information about signs of unhealthy relationships, ways to get help in the case of an unhealthy relationship, and more.

The week was done in conjunction with a program founded by the One Love Foundation, a nonprofit created to honor Yeardley Love, a former lacrosse player at the University of Virginia who was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend in 2010 just three weeks preceding her graduation. According to its website, the foundation was created to “honor Yeardley Love by bringing an end to Relationship Violence by educating, empowering and activating campus communities in a movement for change.”

The main event held in conjunction with the One Love Foundation was Yards for Yeardley, which brought out nearly 200 people onto Tabor’s turf fields to raise awareness for the cause.

Under the beautiful blue sky and the warmth of the spring sun, students, faculty, and friends ran, walked, biked, and rowed over the span of several hours. Over this time, the community exceeded the goal of accumulating one million meters during the event. The outing was a fun opportunity for people to enjoy the beautiful weather, all while raising awareness for the importance of healthy relationships.

The other event that spurred from the One Love Foundation was the “Escalation Workshop.” This workshop was held on Friday evening and was attended by senior students and some faculty. Tabor was one of just 17 high schools across the country piloting the workshop.

The students and faculty watched a film that depicted an unhealthy relationship and the warning signs of such a relationship, and followed up the viewing with group discussions about the film and how to intervene when early signs are recognized.

This program was led by students and faculty who met on the preceding Monday to preview the film and undergo training to properly lead the group discussions. Though the Friday night program was not mandatory, over 75 percent of the class attended the event.

The main brains behind this initiative were Freshman Class Dean Lauren Millette and two senior students, Joe Feeney and Aurelia Reynolds. The three came up with the idea after having seen it done at colleges, and they spearheaded an effort to involve a group of other faculty and seniors to help organize the events and the week as a whole. Once a solid group was in place to get the project off the ground, the whole school was able to do their part to make the event a success.

Millette found considerable value in the event for the entire community. In an article on Tabor’s website, she said, “Healthy relationship week is designed to define, display, and celebrate healthy relationships and to educate ourselves and empower each other to notice and intervene when unhealthy relationship behaviors may arise.”

For those who participated heavily in the events of the week and even those who watched from afar, the week’s events provided all students and faculty a new perspective on a topic that often is not discussed as frequently as many think it should.

By Jack Gordon

 

Light Night For Selectmen

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It’s a room that has silently witnessed hundreds of nights where long meetings involving complicated issues have taken place – but not on April 25.

With a light agenda and Town Administrator Michael Gagne putting the finishing touches on the FY18 budget with the Finance Committee, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen meeting began and ended in less than 30 minutes.

The most pressing matters handled included confirmation of appointments to various boards and committees, as well as town employee appointments. The selectmen also approved common victualer licenses for The Stowaway, Alice’s Food Cart, Seaport Ice Cream Slip, Oxford Creamery’s Oxcart, and Mahoney’s Food Cart.

Selectman Paul Silva read the motion to approve the annual town election warrant. Elections are scheduled for Tuesday, May 16, and the polling station is at Old Hammondtown School from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. He also noted the Annual Town Meeting will be held on May 8 at 6:30 pm in the Old Rochester Regional High School auditorium.

The community was reminded that they may view a presentation given by Gagne on the town meeting warrant by tuning into Community Access station 38 or 95 at noon or 7:00 pm. Silva will also be televised in a presentation explaining the FY18 budget. Silva’s presentation will run immediately following Gagne’s. Both informal presentations will be available beginning Thursday, April 27, on the town’s website www.mattapoisett.net.

Melody Pacheco, administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen, read the upcoming announcements that included Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 29, at 1:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Library grounds.

Pacheco also announced that summer hours for the transfer station are now in effect with the facility hours set for Tuesday through Saturday, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, and that the Old Rochester Farmer’s Market summer hours will begin on June 6 and continue through October 24 on every Tuesday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at the ORR Junior High School grounds.

On Sunday, April 30 at 10:00 am, Mattapoisett municipal employees will participate in a walkathon, Pacheco reported. Dubbed “Rob’s Mob” Pacheco said the Rob’s Mob Walkathon is a fundraiser for the Multiple Myeloma Foundation and is being held to help raise awareness and money in honor of a local person dealing with the disease.

“It’s kind of informal, but we wanted to do this for Rob,” Pacheco said. Rob’s wife, Sue, had been instrumental during the planning of another recent fundraiser and “We wanted to say thank you to her this way.”

Donations may be dropped off at the selectmen’s office Pacheco said that anyone wanting to participate is welcome. The 5K route will be the same one used by the Mother’s Day Tiara Classic stepping off and ending at Oxford Creamery.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for May 23 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell

 

When Creative Minds Converge

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On April 23, J. Peter Bergman, director of communications at Arrowhead, the home of Herman Melville, pulled back the curtain of time on both Melville and Edna St. Vincent Millay in his presentation at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library.

Bergman has been deeply immersed in the lives of both authors for decades, including his involvement with the Millay Society located at the writer’s homestead, Steepletop, in New York.

Bergman’s deep knowledge of both artists has inspired his unique perspective that Millay may just be Melville reincarnated.

During his hour-long presentation while sprinkling the talk with passages from works by both, he drew the audience into his rationale – for Bergman, the similarities in the two artists’ history and writing styles isn’t coincidence.

Melville was born in 1819 in New York City to a family that lived a comfortable lifestyle. But fate would see the family fall into poverty when his father died, forcing Melville to leave school to help support them.

Millay, born in 1892 in Rockland, Maine, would suffer a similar fate when her father and mother divorced. Millay became responsible for the care of her siblings.

In spite of their struggles, Bergman pointed to their early writing, brilliance, success, and critical flops.

Melville, whose well-known book Moby Dick, originally simply titled The Whale, was a complete disaster, one he would never recover from in life. Bergman placed the blame for Melville’s critical crucifixion on Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Melville’s admiration for Hawthorne was such that he dedicated Moby Dick to him. But Hawthorne, according to Bergman, had just published the successful Scarlet Letter and was working on The House of the Seven Gables when Moby Dick was published. Hawthorne wasn’t interested in sharing the limelight.

Bergman said that Hawthorne recognized Moby Dick’s brilliance. With a few well-placed words, he essentially sabotaged Melville’s creation, nay, his entire career. Moby Dick sank in a sea of bad reviews spearheaded by Hawthorne.

Millay suffered a similar fate when critics of her time lampooned her work, most notably by the scalpel wielded by T.S. Elliot. However, she did live long enough to enjoy renewed acclaim, not only among critics, but also among the reading public.

Bergman pointed to those early successes and later failures as similarities linking the two authors. Melville’s early work Pierre earned him great praise, while Millay’s Renascence, written when she was only 19 years of age, placed her high on the literary pedestal. And although Melville didn’t live to see his Moby Dick rise to the best-selling book of all time challenged only by the Bible, Millay received a Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for her fourth book, The Ballad of the Harp Weaver.

Bergman noted that Melville and Millay had similar writing styles and during his presentation asked the audience to try and identify “who wrote what” as he read passages from their works. Millay’s “strong voice,” Bergman said, gave her writing a more masculine tone. This writing style, in Bergman’s mind, further solidified the creative conveyance of these literary greats.

Bergman also slipped in a bit about the private lives of his two favorite authors – their romantic lives that he claimed were similarly unlucky.

Melville, he said, “…may have fathered two children with his neighbor Sarah Moore.” In fact, Melville purchased the farm next door to Moore, “presumably so they could meet secretly in the woods,” Bergman surmised.

Millay, on the other hand, had hoped to marry a particular suitor but was spurned in love. Still, she maintained a lifelong friendship with both the gentleman and the woman he did marry.

Of Millay, Bergman shared this tidbit: “She loved to garden and swim in the nude … well, she did everything in the nude!”

“I think if Herman and Edna are not the same creative spirit, I don’t know how they are so alike,” Bergman stated. “They were both geniuses…”

And one last similarity Bergman pointed out was based in numerology in which he placed credence.

“Millay was born 117 days after Melville died,” he said. “Those digits add up to nine, an auspicious number.”

Melville’s farm Arrowhead is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Visit www.mobydick.org for more information. Millay’s homestead, Steepletop, is located in Austerlitz, New York. Visit www.millay.org for details.

By Marilou Newell