Costello Lauds Virtues of GIS

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It’s that time of year when Mattapoisett’s Finance Committee meets with department heads across the spectrum of departments and services that taxpayers fund. Budgets for the coming fiscal year are reviewed, contrasted against the previous year, and defended by department heads when increases are asked for as the Finance Committee members weigh the pros and cons of balance sheets.

One department that seems to be improving and moving along smoothly is the Assessor’s Office headed by Kathleen Costello, principal assessor.

Costello, accompanied by Ray Andrews, member of the Board of Assessors, presented her fiscal year 2017 budget. While doing so, she was given an opportunity to discuss with the committee members how fiscal year 2016 has been going.

“It’s been a great year in the Assessor’s Office,” Costello told the committee members.

She went on to explain that the GIS program, a geographical mapping and information system that allows visual as well as analytical data of property to be used with digital accuracy, has been the key in providing the town with clean precise data.

“Fourteen years ago when the assessors brought this up to the selectmen, it was too much money and we didn’t have anyone to run it,” Andrews told them. Now with Nick Nelson, a full-time employee shared between the Highway Department and the Assessors’ Office who has taken on the role of the GIS guru, the program is fully functional and effective Costello stated.

Costello said building permits are now directly entered into a computer program that automatically trickles out the information to all departments involved, such as the assessor’s office.

“It eliminates errors that can be made through repetition,” she said while adding, “It’s another step towards efficiency, making the cog run more smoothly.”

Costello presented a level-funded budget with only a minor uptick in the category of seminars and conferences. She impressed upon the committee members the importance of continuing education and investing in employees’ professional growth, saying, “I have a great group here, I’m really lucky.”

Town Administrator Michael Gagne asked her to explain some of the upcoming opportunities the town will have with solar projects.

Costello briefly explained the positive revenue impact from payments in lieu of taxes, a.k.a. PILOT programs. These programs allow cities and towns to tax the personal property installed on lands used for solar voltaic energy production, tax the property at a greater rate than simple forested undeveloped land, and thus bring commercial revenue to the coffers.

“If the land becomes a subdivision,” Costello explained, “we lose money…. This way, it becomes positive cash flow.”

Gagne said the town is still in discussions with EMI Solar and Blue Wave, LLC for the placement of solar panels at the closed town landfill. He also said the new Crystal Spring Road solar project will produce 5.3 megawatts of electricity while the town landfill project is expected to produce around two megawatts.

Gagne, along with the committee members, congratulated Costello on her recent appointment as the 2016 president of the Plymouth County Assessor’s Association.

The committee also met with Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger and Town Accountant Suzanne Szyndlar who both presented budgets that are proposed to be level-funded for FY17. Heuberger did ask for a modest uptick in costs associated with hiring safety officers for the polls during elections.

Gagne said that on March 16 at 6:30 pm the Finance Committee would be meeting with school Superintendent Douglas White regarding local school budgets, and that he and other administrators would be meeting with the ORR budget subcommittee on February 29 at 4:30 pm at the ORR School superintendent’s conference room.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for February 24 at 6:30 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall with budget presentations from Chief Mary Lyons, police department, and Chief Andrew Murray, fire department.

By Marilou Newell

 

Pendleton Disaster Continues to Intrigue

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Just what is it about the 1952 U.S. Coast Guard rescue of the S.S. Pendleton off the coast of Cape Cod that is still meaningful and relevant today after 65 years and tens of thousands of other rescues since that night?

Saving a life is the highest level someone can go in the service of others, says Maritime Historian and author Theresa Mitchell Barbo. “You’re hitting the highest ceiling of service when you’re going out to rescue someone else.”

So why does the story of the Pendleton disaster still resonate throughout the annals of history, asks Barbo, author of the book The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod, now in its 3rd edition.

“Because they were not supposed to survive,” said Barbo. “They thought they were going to die when they went out, but they didn’t.”

Barbo refers to the five Merchant Mariners and the 32 surviving cadets aboard the endangered vessel caught in a violent storm on February 18, 1952 – the boat split in half, leaving two pieces to toss upon 30-, 50-, 60-foot seas and dozens of souls clinging for life in the frigid darkness of night.

A USCG crew of five – Bernard C. Webber, Andy Fitzgerald, Richard Livesey, Charlie Bridges, and Ervin Maskey – disembarked from the Chatham USCG station that evening to rescue the cadets, thinking they would never return alive.

“You were not wearing a $3,000 Mustang rescue suit that you are wearing now,” said Barbo. Just rubber boots, perhaps some wool, a pea coat … and it was also getting dark.

And these five men had never even trained together for a rescue mission, she added. “As they were leaving, they really thought they were going to die.” They sang the song “Rock of Ages” as they departed into “impossible conditions.”

During one of Barbo’s encounters with Webber, whom she affectionately referred to as Bernie, Barbo said he told her, “I believe there was divine intervention, and I still believe it today.”

Once out of the harbor, the rescue vessel’s compass was dislodged and lost, after first smashing through the windshield of the rescue boat and shattering it. Webber was tied to the steer to keep from falling into the water, the only man without a life jacket.

Barbo read a quote from her book of Webber describing how, in spite of his familiarity with the area outside the harbor, he had never seen conditions there such as these.

“I don’t know how the other three hung on, I really don’t because I was strapped in,” read Barbo. “…The way we were being thrown around, they would’ve at least found them dead, but floating.”

Even years after the rescue, Webber told Barbo, he still doesn’t know how he located the S.S. Pendleton, other than for the rumbling crash and clanging of broken twisted metal discernible over the wind and sea that made him say, “There’s something here.” With one searchlight in the dark, they found one half of the boat rising and crashing in the surge with 32 men clinging for life.

Webber and the others didn’t know how they were going to get all the men onto their small boat, except for the use of a Jacob’s ladder they threw across. Some men climbed while others jumped into the sea.

One man known as George Meyers, a large-set man of about 300 pounds others called “Tiny” was seen clinging halfway down the broken vessel with barely a stitch of clothing on and in the later stages of hypothermia.

“So he comes down and Ervin tries to grab him, [Tiny] fell into the water,” said Barbo, “…Ervin had him but a wave disengaged [his grip] and then [Tiny] was lunging into a propeller. Pretty much every bone in his body was crushed.”

Barbo described what Ervin saw as Tiny drifted farther from him, saying, “Tiny looked up and said, ‘It’s okay,’ and he floated away.”

Even when the five men reunited for the first time 50 years later, none of them had ever truly gotten over Tiny’s death, said Barbo.

“With a heavy heart,” Barbo said, “they continued to rescue the others.”

The remaining 32 survivors were brought on board under Webber’s leadership, and with a heavy boat overloaded with men and the seas following from behind rolling right into them, Barbo said Webber remembered Fitzgerald as being the only man aboard who thought they would survive.

“I didn’t know how much longer I could hang on,” Barbo read Webber’s words from her book again. “My attitude was just find land … don’t ask questions, just get off and hope someone finds you.”

Webber steered the ship to where he guessed was north and in time, he spotted a red blinking light he prayed was the entrance to the Chatham Harbor. Miraculously, Barbo stated, it was.

Webber radioed for ambulances and men to meet the boat at the pier, which they found packed with people – little kids, women (who were prohibited from entering the station) – all holding blankets. It was between nine and ten o’clock p.m.

Once the survivors were safely on land, Fitzgerald remained to moor the boat as others wondered, are you nuts? Never mind, as Barbo described the moment. The boat will be fine here for the night. Go rest.

“All Bernie wanted was a Cushman’s donut,” said Barbo. “And they all had Cushman’s donuts.”

And then something happened, said Barbo. A phenomenon called “circum-rescue shock,” that can happen shortly after rescue from cold water.

“So half these guys fainted as soon as they got there,” said Barbo. Bernie woke up the next day in a hospital bed to find himself covered in dollar bills. “It was all the money that the guys who had been rescued had on them.”

With that money, Webber bought the CG station its very first television.

“That’s the kind of guy he was,” said Barbo. “Very generous, a very kind person.”

The five men – Bernard C. Webber, Andy Fitzgerald, Richard Livesey, Charlie Bridges, and Ervin Maskey – reunited in 2002 on the 50th anniversary of the rescue. Barbo was there when they saw each other for the first time.

“I’ll never forget the tremble in Bernie’s voice when he saw Ervin, and he said, ‘Oh, Ervin,’ and Ervin went right up to him.”

Fitzgerald and Bridges, the two surviving members of the five-man rescue team, met again in 2012 for the 60th anniversary. In 2013, Bridges died and Fitzgerald passed away in 2014.

This February 18, 2016 marked the 65th anniversary of the S.S. Pendleton disaster.

Barbo gave a presentation on February 22 at the Marion Music Hall, sponsored by the Marion Council on Aging. She gave a photograph presentation and referenced her book as she told over 25 listeners the daring story of the S.S. Pendleton rescue. Before ending the event, Barbo recalled Webber’s answer when she asked him how he managed to survive the rescue.

“He said he quartered the sea,” said Barbo. “If you steer into the waves, that’s what he did, and then he said, ‘I don’t even know how I did that.’”

Barbo concluded, “God had his hand on the tiller.”

By Jean Perry

Pendleton

Mattapoisett Housing Authority

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Dear Editor:

The Worcester Housing Authority’s board of commissioners voted unanimously at their December 17, 2015 meeting to ban smoking anywhere inside the WHA community or within 30 feet of an entrance. This smoking ban includes: community rooms, trash and laundry rooms, lobbies and entrances, all apartments and open windows.

On January 15, 2016, the Mattapoisett Housing Authority had an apartment fire and fire fighters from Mattapoisett, Fairhaven and Marion responded. This was the latest of several fires at the MHA complex. All it takes is one smoker to burn the place down. Does anyone know the status of a smoking ban at the MHA?

Banning smoking in state housing is not an onerous process.

If New Bedford and Worcester and other large housing authorities can ban smoking, then clearly, the problem is not with the “state” or the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Secondhand smoke is a verified health hazard. A smoke-free building creates a healthier and safer environment for all residents.

Eileen Marum, 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.

ORR Athletic Booster Club Phonathon

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Since 2004, the Old Rochester Regional Athletic Booster Club, Inc. has sponsored a student-athlete-run phonathon to help ORR’s student-athletes raise funds to support the high school’s athletic programs. Because of the generous support of the Tri-Town communities, this annual event has been a tremendous success. This year’s ORR Athletic Booster Club Phonathon will take place over seven evenings between March 1 and March 16 with student-athletes calling area residents to request a pledge of support for ORR athletics.

The Old Rochester Regional Athletic Booster Club, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, nonprofit charitable organization originally organized in 2004 for the purpose of supporting all of the athletic teams at ORRHS. Its mission is to encourage interest in and provide financial support to all ORR interscholastic athletic teams and to recognize and reward teams and student-athletes. The club promotes several events each year to raise funds for athletic equipment, uniforms, teamwear, awards, and scholarships for graduating student-athletes. Funds raised by the Booster Club have been used to enhance the school’s athletic facilities and to purchase equipment for use by ORR teams. This past year, the Booster Club acquired sports video software for recording performances for coaching feedback. Since its inception, the Booster Club has raised over $350,000 to benefit ORR athletics.

Approximately 550 students participate in athletics at ORR, and by all measures, they have achieved great success. ORR has 27 varsity level sports, most recently adding Sailing and Girls Ice Hockey programs to its competitive sports offerings. Last year, ORR was once again the winner of the Boston Globe’s prestigious Dalton Award as the Division 3 high school with the highest overall winning percentage in the entire state. Last year, of the 21 South Coast Conference sports, ORR won 10 conference championships and placed second in six others. ORR also won its fifth straight Overall SCC title. In the past year, ORR won state championships in Girls Cross Country and Boys Basketball.

The ORR tradition of excellence is a result of the athletes’ hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm, as well as great coaches and fans. ORR’s student-athletes hope that the residents of the Tri-Town area will continue their generous support of Bulldog Athletics.

For more information, please contact the ORR Athletic Booster Club at president@ORRathleticboosters.com, visit the Booster Club’s web site at www.ORRathleticboosters.com, or follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ORRABC) and Twitter (@ORRABC).

First Annual Easter Breakfast

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All are invited to the First Annual Easter Breakfast on March 27 from 7:00 to 8:30 am at The First Congregational Church of Marion. Breakfast will be served in the Community Center, 144 Front Street (rear of General Store Parking lot) following the Easter Sunrise Service at Silvershell Beach.

The menu will consist of eggs and sausages, various quiches, home fries, home-made muffins, coffee, tea, and orange juice. Prices are $9 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-10. Children under age 5 are free, and families will be charged a maximum of $25.

This first-time event is open to our church family and the wider community. Please join us for a morning of yummy fellowship and spread the word to your friends and family. Tickets will be available at The Marion General Store, The Bookstall and at the door.

We hope to see you there!

Boys’ Hockey Captures Victories

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Among this week’s highlights were some strong performances at Saturday’s indoor track All-State Meet, girls’ basketball’s big win over NBHS, boys’ basketball’s victory over non-conference Dedham, and a pair of clutch wins for the boys’ hockey team.

Boys’ Basketball: To begin the week, the ‘Dogs faced a rare competitor: non-conference Dedham High at home on Tuesday. Dedham mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, but the Bulldogs held them off, winding up with a 64-57 victory. Senior guard Evan Santos exploded for 26 points, the most any Bulldog player has scored in a game this season. Junior power forward Russell Noonan had a big game, scoring 8 points while adding 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Fellow junior Grant Reuter had 8 points and 7 rebounds, and senior Will Santos chipped in with 8 points and 7 assists. The boys played another non-conference team, Dartmouth High, at their home gym on Friday night. It wound up being a very close game, and the Bulldogs trailed by just two points going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Dartmouth played stingy zone defense in the fourth and finished the game out with some clutch free throws to win 56-53. Junior center Matt Valles had a huge game for the ‘Dogs, scoring 18 points and locking down 12 boards. Behind him, Noonan scored 11 and Evan Santos added 9 in the tough loss. The Bulldogs will have a rematch against non-conference Bishop Stang at home on Wednesday.

            Girls’ Basketball: The Lady Bulldogs invited a non-conference rival, New Bedford High, to play at home on Thursday. Great defense was the key to the girls’ huge 44-15 victory over the Lady Whalers. The girls completely shut down NBHS in the first half, ending the second quarter with a 27-5 lead. Junior Sophie Church excelled, leading the team with 17 points. Junior Emma Collings and freshman Maddie Demanche added 9 and 6, respectively. This upcoming week, the Lady Bulldogs will be at non-conference Bishop Stang on Monday and New Bedford High on Wednesday.

            Boys’ Track: Top Bulldog athletes were at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston to compete this Saturday. Senior captain Josh Winsper was victorious in the adaptive shot put, throwing 27-00.75. Among the other highlights were the performances of junior Danny Renwick in the high jump (fifth place, 6-2), and junior Will Hopkins in two events. Hopkins was ninth in the long jump (20-07) and 11th in the 55m hurdles (8.09, a personal best). Renwick, Hopkins, junior Eli Spevack, and sophomore Harry Smith will continue to practice in anticipation of the New Balance Nationals meet in New York.

            Girls’ Track: Qualifying athletes went to the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston for the All-State Meet on Saturday. Senior Morgan Middleton wound up 14th in the 55m hurdles with a time of 9.12. The 4x200m team of freshman Caroline Walsh, junior Hannah LaFreniere, and sophomores Caroline Murphy and Rachel Demmer finished 21st with a time of 1.52.39. Freshman Mikayla Chandler won the adaptive shot put with a throw of 16-5. The shuttle hurdles team of Middleton, junior Brooke Santos, and seniors Zoe Smith and Elexus Afonso will continue to train for the New Balance Nationals in New York.

            Boys’ Ice Hockey: On Monday, the Bulldogs/Blue Devils were home at the Travis Roy Rink at Tabor Academy against Plymouth North. In a back-and-forth game, the ‘Dogs pulled out a 5-4 win. ORR Senior Kam Silvia had another great game, scoring two goals and adding an assist. The other goals came from Fairhaven junior Ryan LaBonte, ORR sophomore Tayber LaBonte, and ORR junior Sam Henrie. The team traveled to the Armstrong Skating Arena in Plymouth to take on Plymouth South on Wednesday. They proved to be a huge challenge, as the Bulldogs’ streak of success came to an end with a 7-4 loss. Henrie and ORR junior Landon Gougen scored goals off assists from T. Labonte and ORR freshman Chase Lapworth, respectively. The boys’ third game of the week was at Alexio Arena in Taunton versus Attleboro High on Saturday. It was a big night for junior Connor Kelly of ORR, who scored two goals in a huge 4-1 win. The other goals came from Lapworth and Henrie, with Henrie’s goal being assisted by Silvia. The boys are now awaiting their seeding for the state-level playoff games.

            Girls’ Ice Hockey: The Bourne/Mashpee/Wareham/ORR girls faced non-conference Auburn High at home (The John Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne) on Wednesday. The team lost 5-2, receiving goals from Bourne senior Natalia Gordon and Bourne sophomore Carly LaCasse. Assists came from ORR freshman Chelsea Peterson and Bourne sophomore Aly Hickey. The BMWORR team took on Plymouth’s team on Friday, and fell 3-2, despite receiving goals from Hickey and Bourne sophomore Tannah O’Brien. The girls stayed at home to take on Dennis-Yarmouth on Saturday night, in what was their final game of the season. The team lost 4-2, getting their offense on goals from ORR freshmen Elsie Buckley and Kaitlyn Kelley. Assists came from O’Brien and a combo from Bourne juniors Michelle Fleming and Jess Ballard. Congrats to the Bourne, Mashpee, Wareham, and ORR girls on a great season, especially the ORR girls who joined the existing members of the team for their first season.

Below are the overall winter team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of February 21.

            Boys’ Basketball: (16-3-0)(15-1-0); Girls’ Basketball: (7-11-0)(6-9-0); Boys’ Track: (8-1-0)(8-1-0); Girls’ Track: (9-0-0)(9-0-0); Boys’ Swimming: (0-8-0)(0-6-0); Girls’ Swimming: (3-5-0)(1-5-0); Boys’ Ice Hockey: (14-4-4)(9-0-1); Girls’ Ice Hockey: (3-16-0)(3-14-0).

By Patrick Briand

 

Board Says ‘No’ to Another Hasty Approval

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It is a race for solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) for solar energy production businesses, and now a second solar farm applicant has asked the Rochester Planning Board for an immediate approval without fully meeting all of the board’s expectations before rendering a decision.

Request denied.

SRECs are tradable credits that are issued upon every 1,000 kilowatts of green energy produced and can be sold or traded; in essence, SRECs are essential to the economic viability of a solar farm.

Although the Melink Corporation had been before the Planning Board on a number of occasions with continuances ensuing from requests by the board, none of the members on February 23 were ready to grant the approval for the Snipatuit Pond Road solar energy facility, even with the board’s ability to issue a set of special conditions for the plans and construction.

For Chairman Arnold Johnson, with the bad taste still left from a previous project’s approval before issues had been put to rest, it was about avoiding setting a precedent.

“We’ve been burned two times before and we said this about any project, not just solar…” said Johnson. The board does not approve applications for special permits until the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) finished its approval of the project, he reiterated.

Also still pending for this project is appropriate language pertaining to the acquisition of 100 acres of land Melink is donating to the Town of Rochester. The town wants assurance that it will be accessible for passive recreational use and that logging roads in the woods would be accessible and maintainable by the Town.

“They (NHESP) are obviously concerned with preserving habitat, and we’re (the town) concerned with the passive recreational use,” said Town Counsel Blair Bailey. “There’s a big issue still hanging out there as far as the town is concerned. I just want to see it in black and white.”

Bailey added, “We’ve said right from the start with any project … that if it’s in the habitat area that we would hold our decision open until [completion].”

Melink’s engineering representative Evan Watson told the board that, without approval that night, the company could miss out in the application process because it must submit a package as complete as possible, including approvals from appropriate town boards.

According to Watson, the financial viability of Melink’s solar farm hinged on a speedy completion of the application package.

Johnson disagreed. He said he learned through personal research that not having a complete application does not preclude the company from filing their package tomorrow.

“It’s just not a hundred percent complete,” Johnson pointed out. “That’s not the town’s concern.”

Bailey explained how having a more complete package would bump Melink up higher on the State’s queue of projects under review, which would be of benefit to Melink.

So what is the urgency, several board members asked?

“Because [Melink doesn’t] know where they are in the queue and the impression they have from the state … is the sooner you have approval … the higher we’ll put you in this ‘under review queue’ that’s sitting out there. That’s where the sense of urgency comes from.”

The current dollar amount value for one SREC is $285, but the value is volatile and trends toward dropping annually, Bailey explained.

Johnson also noticed a couple of things that still needed to be addressed in the draft decision he held in his hand – details that had changed since it was written.

“Here we are now, at what you would like to call the finish line,” said board member Gary Florindo, “and we’re looking at what we really want … and need and it’s really not our fault.”

Watson replied, saying it was his impression that the board looked favorably on the project, after hammering through the details for weeks.

“I think that we’ve come to a place in the permitting process where we didn’t have to move mountains,” said Watson to the board.

But, why change a precedent, asked board member Michael Murphy.

“Like you said,” Murphy motioned to Johnson, “we’ve been burned twice. Get everything done, come see us, and we’ll take care of it.”

Bailey said he thought the project could be wrapped up at the next meeting.

“I think you can get your ducks in a row and get everything accomplished,” Florindo said to Watson.

One resident, John Hall, seated in the audience, asked the board why Town Meeting didn’t have the chance to approve the land acquisition from Melink. What about precedent in that regard?

“Are we going to change that because all three selectmen are [on board]?” asked Hall. “The town should probably vote in accepting that…”

Bailey agreed with Hall, saying, “That’s always been the town’s procedure, but it doesn’t have to be.”

“But we’re talking about precedent here.”

The matter was continued for the next meeting.

Just before adjourning, Planning Board member Ben Bailey spoke to Johnson’s comment that the board’s agenda will be light without any further solar farms in the near future.

“It has been suggested that we can no longer call ourselves the Planning Board,” Ben Bailey said. “We have to call ourselves the ‘Solar Panel.’”

In other matters, for Renewable Generation Energy, LLC, applicant for the solar farm slated for New Bedford Road in the center of town, was continued until March 8 at the applicant’s request.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for March 8 at 7:00 pm, back over at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

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Dancing in the Dark

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February break has come to a bittersweet close, and school will slowly return to the normal swing of things. As the workload begins to pick up once again, students prepare to power through the long stretch of school until the next vacation in April. Despite the upcoming weeks of school ahead of them, the students of Old Rochester Regional High School have something to look forward to – a glow-in-the-dark dance held by the school’s student council.

E-Board President Alexandra Nicolosi explained the purpose for the dance.

“The student council is using it as a fundraiser for the school to be able to put on different activities for the students,” said Nicolosi. “It was brought to the attention of the Student Council that we should hold other events to show our skills in more than just athletics, and with the money, we will be able to hold events such as an art show for any student to enter at either the school or a local venue.”

The money, said Nicolosi, will also be used to provide events for students such as an ice cream social and help to pay for a DJ and decorations for next year’s homecoming.

The Student Council is ready to host the glow-in-the-dark dance with great decorations and an even better DJ, Jason Mello, who also does the Knights of Columbus dances with his laser lights.

“Originally I had emailed him asking to rent his laser lights and black lights since the theme is Glow in the Dark, and he said he would rent them to us,” said Nicolosi. “He then offered to be the DJ, and when I told him that we would only be able to tell if we would definitely have the dance by next Friday, he said that he would take the chance and give us black lights, laser lights, uplighting, and he would DJ.”

As far as Student Council is concerned, they are hoping for a great turn out in order to fund other events for students in the near future. As for students, the dance promises to be a fun night under the black lights.

The dance is scheduled for Friday, March 4, starting at 7:00 pm and coming to a close at 10:00 pm. Tickets will be sold for $5 at school during lunches from Tuesday, February 23 until Friday, March 4.

The attire will be informal, with preferably lighter clothes that will glow under the black lights. Posters were made by the members of the student council before vacation and hung in various places around the school to advertise the event.

By Sienna Wurl

 

Clam Chowder and Tuna Roll Dinner

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The Marion Fire Fighters Association is having a Clam Chowder and Tuna Roll Dinner on Saturday, March 26 at 5:00 pm at the Marion VFW Hall on Route 6. Raffles, cash bar and dessert will be available. For tickets, call Ron at 774-263-2589 or Brooks at 508-728-0840. Advance ticket sales only.

First Congregational Church of Marion

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The First Congregational Church of Marion proudly announces the start of a Contemporary Worship Service in South Coast. This informal, abbreviated service begins Saturday, March 5 at 5:00 pm at the Community Center, 144 Front Street (rear of parking lot). Weekly services will be led by a member of our Saturday pastoral team including Dr. Sheila Rubdi, Dale Thackeray and Gary Taylor.

Please join us for a casual Christian service with engaging contemporary Christian music, prayer time, personal reflection and weekly Communion. Young children and youth are encouraged to worship together with their families.

All are welcome. Whether you have attended church all your life or are new to church, this could be just what you are looking for. Come and see.