Vincenzo “Vincent” Nicolosi

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Vincenzo “Vincent” Nicolosi, 87 of Mattapoisett died April 26, 2017 peacefully after a brief illness at St. Luke’s Hospital.

He was the husband of Marcelle G. Nicolosi with whom he shared 54 years of marriage.

Born and raised in Catania, Sicily, Italy, he lived in Mattapoisett most of his life.

Mr. Nicolosi was formerly employed as a self-employed mason for many years until his retirement.

He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. He also enjoyed gardening and making homemade wine.

Survivors include his loving wife; 2 sons, Samuel Nicolosi and his companion Donna Lopes of Acushnet and David Nicolosi and his wife Jessica of Mattapoisett; a daughter, Sara Hanson and her wife Sandy of Rochester; and 6 grandchildren, Christopher Nicolosi, Nathaniel Nicolosi, Cassandra Nicolosi, Alexandra Nicolosi, Luke Hanson and Noah Hanson.

His private arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett. For online guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

 

Front Street Condo Project Denied by One Vote

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Developer Christian Loranger needed a ‘supermajority’ vote of four members of the four Marion Zoning Board of Appeals members present on April 25 for his proposed project for a five-unit 11-bedroom condominium complex at 426 Front Street, but a 3-1 vote resulted in a denial of the Special Permit.

The ZBA met that night for the exclusive purpose of deliberating the project, having closed the public hearing two weeks prior. No further input from the applicant or the public was allowed.

A ZBA majority had determined that the proposed structure, which would expand the footprint of the existing house by 67 percent, would not be a detriment to the neighborhood and would, in fact, have benefitted the town at large with increased tax revenue and additional housing. But ZBA member Kate Mahoney was confident in her opinion that the expansion of the size of the building would not fit in with the current character of the neighborhood.

Chairman Marc LeBlanc argued that the building, although it was significantly larger, was allowable within the bylaws since it would not be creating any further nonconformity.

”I can’t see it as being detrimental,” said ZBA member Michelle Smith.

“I differ with you,” Mahoney replied. “I lean toward the fact that it is at least significantly more detrimental to the neighborhood. Its volume is just too big for that neighborhood.”

ZBA member Bob Alves said, “I don’t think it’s going to be detrimental by the looks of things. Once everything is said and done, I don’t think it’s going to look atrocious. I just think that it will fit.”

Betsy Dunn recused herself from the matter because she was absent from the meeting when the public hearing was first opened.

The board deliberated for 42 minutes before Smith made the motion to grant the Special Permit, seconded by Alves.

Loranger, who has developed another condominium complex at 16 Cottage Street, was present for the vote. He declined to comment.

Loranger has 20 days to appeal the board’s decision with the court.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for April 27 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry

 

DREAMFAR High School Marathon Program

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DREAMFAR High School Marathon Program participants at ORR are only weeks away from running 26.2 miles in Providence, RI. Some ORR members of the student running group recently ran a 20+ mile run in Boston in preparation for the Providence Marathon to be held on May 7. Many of the kids – and some of the mentoring adults – have never run before, especially on the scale of a marathon. They trained through the winter of 2016-17, running outdoors in rain, sleet, and bone-chilling South Coast wind to get to this point. Photos by E. Bednarczyk

 

Elks Student of the Month

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The Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 sponsors the Elks Student of the Month and Student of the Year Awards for students enrolled in local area high schools. The criteria used in nominating a student includes a student who excels in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school and community service, industry and farming.

We congratulate sophomore Michael Bienz of Marion for being selected as Student of the Month for the month of March by the Old Rochester Regional High School faculty and staff. Michael transferred to Old Rochester this year. He has adapted extremely well. He is not only doing well in all of his classes, he has also been taking full advantage of the extracurricular activities at Old Rochester Regional. He is extremely willing and helpful with his peers and teachers.

We congratulate sophomore Aidan Ridings of Mattapoisett for being selected as Student of the Month for the month of April by the Old Rochester Regional High School faculty and staff. Aidan works hard in all his academic classes. He is a kind, compassionate, and helpful friend to everyone. Aidan always rises to any challenge that he faces and has a “no excuse” attitude with anything that he does. Aidan volunteers in the Transition Class regularly. His patience, altruism, and enthusiasm create a positive learning environment for the Transition students and staff. Most recently, Aidan took it upon himself to arrange a bottle and can drive to benefit the Transition Students. This just speaks volumes for the wonderful, charitable student that he is. Aidan Ridings is truly deserving of Student of the Month.

Henna Workshop

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Elizabeth Taber Library presents Henna Workshop with Mandy on Thursday, April 27 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm. This workshop is for teenagers 13 and up. Pre-registration is required. Please stop by or call the library at 508-748-1252 or email Mrs. Grey at rgrey@sailsinc.org. Henna tattoos are natural, beautiful and temporary. With luck tattoos can last 1-2 weeks.

Open Table This Friday

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The Open Table crew looks forward to seeing you and serving you a delicious meal this Friday, April 28, at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming; spring has definitely sprung. Doors open at 4:30 pm and supper is served at 5:00 pm. Invite a friend or neighbor or someone who lives down the street you don’t even know. There’s nothing like a good meal and fellowship to make the day brighter.

Upcoming Adult Programs at the ETL

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Free Technology Workshops: Thursdays in April and May at 11:00 am. Come to the Elizabeth Taber Library to learn more about using email, social media, and taking advantage of all that the library resources have to offer! Workshops will include: April 20 – Intro to Google Drive; April 27 – Facebook Q&A; May 4 – Magazines, movies, more books, oh my! (ETL’s free online resources); May 11 – Find your next Great Read through online resources!

To register for any one of these workshops, please stop in, call us at 508-748-1252, or email Libby at eoneill@sailsinc.org.

Poetry Reading: Sunday, April 23, 2:00 pm. Do you have a favorite poem or have you written one you’d like to share? Then please join us for an afternoon poetry reading to celebrate National Poetry Month. To register, please call the Elizabeth Taber Library at 508-748-1252.

Book a Librarian: Do you have basic technology questions or need assistance with an electronic device you recently acquired? Then call the library to book a one-on-one appointment with one of our friendly staff members. We’re happy to help!

Mystery Book Club: Please join us for our monthly mystery book discussion on Wednesday, May 3, at 11:00 am. We will be discussing Monogram Murders: A New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie Hannah. Please stop into the Elizabeth Taber Library today to register and reserve a copy of the monthly book.

Afternoon Book Club: Please join us for our monthly afternoon book discussion on Tuesday, May 16, at 2:00 pm. We will be discussing Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. Please stop into the Elizabeth Taber Library today to register and reserve a copy of the monthly book.

David Bartlett Boyce Memorial Scholarship

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The Friends of Old Rochester Drama are pleased to offer a $1,000 scholarship in honor of their friend, David Boyce (ORR ’67), a man who dedicated his life to the Arts in all of its various and beautiful forms. This scholarship, in the amount of $ 1,000, is being offered to 2017 graduating seniors of Old Rochester Regional High School who are continuing their education in the field of the Fine Arts, the Visual Arts, or the Performing Arts. Applications are available in the ORR Guidance Office and are due by Friday, May 19, 2017. Applications are to be mailed and/or delivered to FORD, 4 Hawthorne Street, Mattapoisett, MA 02739 by this due date. No late submissions will be considered.

Foreign Students Visit Tabor

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Throughout the last several weeks, Tabor has hosted dozens of foreign students from around the world on campus as part of several foreign exchange programs. Throughout the beginning of April, students from England, China, and France have come to Tabor to experience an American school and the American lifestyle.

On Monday, April 17, a group of students from a school in Lyon, France arrived on campus after the school’s long weekend for Easter. After touring the school, the students will participate in classes, extracurricular activities, and more. All the students will be visiting several locations in the local area, including the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Sandwich, Plymouth, and Boston. As with all of the students who visit from foreign countries, the students will stay in dormitories and in the homes of day students.

Last week, nine students from RDFZ School in Beijing, China visited Tabor for a week, participating in a similar week of activities to that of the French exchange students. The Chinese students visited classes, took part in some afterschool extracurricular activities, and visited key local destinations. Being from Beijing, the students were surprised with the contrast of the Tabor campus and Marion community to their own bustling metropolis.

“We were surprised at what a quiet location the school was in with pine trees along the road, rabbits jumping out on the street, and squirrels climbing up on the top of branches. Instead of walking outside surrounded by giant buildings, the ocean was a beautiful surprise,” said one Chinese exchange student.

The students saw several similarities between their school and Tabor, but also a number of differences. The students cited similarities in many of the sports, including hockey, squash, and crew. One of the major differences, however, lay in the quality of the food both at Tabor and in local restaurants, they said.

“Some of [the foods] I even can’t say the name, but they all really tasted good … in China, our dining hall is not as good and we always order food and get delivery,” said one of the RDFZ School students.

The students also cited differences in the teaching styles of the teachers at Tabor and at their home school. They noted that they could not ask questions at their home school until a teacher had finished a lecture and given them exercises. At Tabor, they said, “Teachers are full of passion and very interesting, and they also give us a question before classes begin. After we have learned the context of the class, teachers talk about questions to us and ask us what we think about them.”

Before the Chinese students came, Tabor hosted actors and actresses from Ellesmere College in England for a week as they visited to showcase their performance of Gosforth’s Fete, an English farce by Alan Ayckborn. While the performance of this play was the main reason for the visit of the English students, these students also got to explore the local area and experience life at Tabor much in the way the other student groups did. This visit was part of the Ellesmere/Tabor exchange that has taken place over the past 20 years, following a visit of Tabor students to Ellesmere College during spring break.

While all these exchanges are great opportunities for Tabor students to explore foreign schools and for foreign students to experience Tabor, more opportunities are on the horizon for further exchanges over the next few years. Associate Director of the Center for International Students Rick Dasilva has recently been working on developing a new partnership with Rysenteen Gymnasiam in Copenhagen, Denmark that will expand international exchange opportunities for Tabor students.

According to Tabor’s website, partner schools are located in Argentina, Canada, China, Egypt, Iceland, India, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey and the U.S. Also, “Tabor will serve as the math/science center for the network due to our excellent programs in these disciplines and for our niche in marine science.”

Although Tabor is located in a tiny seaside town, miles from the nearest international hub, a global community is introduced through these exchanges to not only Tabor Academy but also to the Marion and Southcoast communities as a whole.

By Jack Gordon

 

Board Stalled on Fate of Front Street Condos

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The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals members voted to close the public hearing for the expanded construction of a proposed five-unit 11-bedroom condominium at 324 Front Street, but discussion were stalled and no vote taken.

There was little left for applicant Christian Loranger, his attorney John Mathieu, and architect Anthi Frangiadis to add to their presentation to the ZBA and an audience of abutters and residents opposed to the project’s size. A color rendering of the outside facade of the building was on display – as requested by the ZBA at the last meeting – but no further information was added.

Neighbors still maintain that the size of the proposed upscale condominium complex is just too large for the neighborhood. The current historical home on the site has a footprint of 2,382 square feet, and the proposed building would take up 3,972 square feet.

The board determined that there was enough proof in the form of signed affidavits of former owners of the multi-family house to establish that it was, in fact, a multi-family use prior to the established bylaw restricting multi-families to certain zones. But the question the board could not wrap their heads around before adjourning for the night was whether the proposed structure would be a detriment to the neighborhood or impinge upon “social structure,” as stated in the bylaw.

The board, unable to comprehend the meaning of “social structure,” decided to hold-off until town counsel could research into the legal meaning of the term.

The board had abutter comments from the public hearing before it was closed to consider in its deliberations, including comments from abutter Julia Kalkanis of 17 Maple Avenue.

“This project is hard for us to hold onto because it’s just so large,” Kalkanis said. “Why does there have to be 12,000 square feet (total)?” She continued, “I moved here because I love this small quaint town. I didn’t want a huge apartment building right next door to my house.”

ZBA member Kate Mahoney asked Loranger, “Did you ever consider a smaller project?”

Loranger said he had polled the community on what their needs would be for housing options. The magic number for square-footage of living space, he said, was 1,200 square feet. “This is what the people in town that were interested in downsizing wanted us to build…. You cannot fund this project with [only] four units.”

Abutter at 326 Front Street, Peter Douglas, asked Loranger, “Do you recognize the board has no obligation to make the project economically viable to you?”

The abutters wanted, for the record, to state that none of them supported Loranger’s project as presented.

ZBA member Bob Alves cautioned that another developer who wanted to come in and construct 40B affordable housing would likely get the approval, sparking another debate outside the scope of the matter at hand, including whether or not people speed down that section of the street and whether or not the current house is an eyesore or not.

Town counsel determined that she found sufficient evidence for a finding, and added that the project would still need to undergo site plan review with the Planning Board, to which Loranger’s attorney disagreed without much debate.

“Once you go to expand (the current scope),” said Building Commissioner Scott Shippey, “You do not have the protections of the pre-existing…. You are only protected for what is existing.”

After closing the public hearing, the board members went back to the basics, flipping through bylaws and seeking definitions to words such as “footprint.” Deliberation amongst the board slogged on until the meeting was adjourned, with board members preferring more time to independently review bylaws and “digest” submitted information before voting.

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for April 27 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry