Seventh Annual Brad Barrows Bike Run

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The seventh annual Brad Barrows bike run will be held on September 17. The event will start at 12:30 pm at the Stowaway Pub, 35 County Road, Mattapoisett. The rain date will be September 18. The ride raises money for Tri-Town youth sports, a cause that was near and dear to Brad’s heart. Anyone interested in participating in the run should contact any of the people listed below.

Last September, the ride generated funds for the Old Rochester Regional Swim Team ($400), the Carl Collyer scholarship fund for the Mattapoisett Community Sailing Association ($400) and the Mattapoisett Y ($300). In addition, this year, we have $1400 available for coaches or parents to request financial help for individual athletes with league or school fees.

Requests can be directed to President Pete Collins, 30 Highland Street, Fairhaven MA 02719; Dick Barrett, 774-263-4596; Barry Barrows, 508-758- 2635; or Rory McFee, 508-954-0864. Checks will be made out to the league or the school. The funds will be distributed based on need, on a first come, first serve basis.

Dreamfar Dreams Big

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Running a marathon is quite an impressive feat, and one group of Old Rochester Regional High School students have set their sights on completing one.

The Dreamfar team is a new group that started this year in which students train over the course of seven months to run the Cox Providence Marathon on May 1.

The Old Rochester Dreamfar team is a denomination of the larger Dreamfar organization, which has its roots in the Massachusetts town of Newton.

Mrs. Megan Hall, an English teacher at Old Rochester, is responsible for bringing the program to ORR. She explained the program’s humble beginnings, saying Dreamfar is part of a larger organization started in 2008 at Newton South High School by a special education teacher.

“There were a number of students who she worked with who were really thinking about dropping out. They really had no connection to the school,” said Hall. “So she challenged them to run a marathon, and it just started with these five students and this one teacher.”

Hall continued, “They started coming to school because they were meeting with her after school, and their grades improved. They ended up graduating and going on to college and doing wonderful things.”

From there, it spread to Newton North High School and then it grew throughout the Boston area. Hall said this is the first year that it’s down on the South Coast.

Dreamfar is also established at Dartmouth High School and City on a Hill in New Bedford.

Before working at Old Rochester, Hall used to teach in Newton, which is where she discovered the program. When talking to ORR special education teacher Sheilah Sullivan, Hall realized the Dreamfar program would work well in the South Coast and set about to get it established.

Training started in September, with just two laps around the track, which is one half of a mile. From there, the group continued to add to the distances they ran.

“Our longest run so far has been ten miles,” explained Hall. The group runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a cross training day on Wednesday, all after school.

The group meets on Saturdays at Old Rochester for their “long runs,” which can take hours. The other schools in the area with the Dreamfar program also come to ORR for the Saturday practices, which make for a big group of people training for the marathon.

The goal of the group is not to keep a competitive mindset, but rather to grow and finish the marathon.

“The goal isn’t how fast you finish, it’s that you do finish.” explained Senior Meghan Johnson.

The group consists of nine students spanning across all four grades, freshman to senior. On any given day, one can find an average of eight to ten adults running with the students.

There are, of course, many teachers who run and support the students as well, but the Dreamfar team gets additional support from the community members, as Hall explained.

“We even have people that aren’t teachers at our school, and are just members in the community that heard about the program and wanted to be a part of it,” said Hall. “So they come and they’ll meet us, sometimes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for our runs, but they’re always there on Saturdays for the long runs.”

The team held a bake sale on Wednesday, February 10; they raised over $500 during the course of the half-day of school and sold out of all their baked goods. The group raised the money to cover the costs of the races themselves and transportation, Hall explained.

“When we train, the kids participate in a 5K, a 10K, a half-marathon, and the final race is the marathon,” said Hall. “We need to cover the fees for the races, as well as any gear that they need, any gear that we need for the program, and buses, which ended up being our biggest cost.”

The Dreamfar group is planning another fundraiser, which will commence the first week of March.

“We have a drive coming up; we’re doing it with AFS. It’s a Savers drive so that people from the community can come and drop off anything they would like to donate, and Savers will give us money per pound.” explained Hall.

As for the members of the group, they feel that running with the rest of the Dreamfar team enables them to be able to run the daunting marathon.

“Sometimes, running by yourself, you feel sort of like ‘oh yeah, whatever.’ But when you run as a group, everybody cheers each other on, and that’s what makes it fun,” said senior Daniel Carneiro. “You’re at least accomplishing your goal, no matter what your time is.”

Meghan Johnson explained the family-like feel of the runners.

“We’ve really grown close as a team and that makes it really fun,” said Johnson.

The group is always open to new members and, even if running isn’t necessarily your cup of tea, the group still has ways you can contribute, one of which is volunteering at water stops on the long Saturday runs.

For any information, or if you have any questions about the group, feel free to contact Mrs. Hall at meganhall@oldrochester.org.

By Sienna Wurl

 

Machacam Club

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The Machacam Club will hold its monthly meeting on March 2 at the Legion Hall, 3 Depot Street. Social time is 5:30 pm; dinner is at 6:00 pm.

This meeting will feature old-fashioned baked ham and beans with cole slaw and pie. Our speakers for the meeting will be Dave Fisichella, an engineer at Woods Hole, an expert with the various vessels used for their research, and his wife Amy who holds a PhD in Oceanography specializing in Climate Change Studies utilizing a World Wide Array of Ocean Buoys.

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, February 29 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 508-758-9311 no later than 9:00 am on Tuesday, March 1.

Tabor Backstop Conflict Almost Over?

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After years of discord between the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals and Tabor Academy over an unpermitted backstop, the February 11 ZBA meeting may have marked the end of a long battle that brought the matter from the Town Hall conference room, to court, and back to Town Hall again.

On Thursday night, Tabor Head of School John Quirk showed the board details of a plan for a variance for the backstop, focusing on safety enhancement – a concern of area residents and the ZBA.

The 18.5-foot tall structure is slated to be raised another 4 feet, with the overhang extended another 4 feet closer to home plate.

“We feel this will offer quite a bit … better coverage,” said Quirk. The height of the safety net will also be increased. “We feel we will be in pretty good shape and much safer there.”

Although the alterations will greatly affect safety, Quirk suspects that passersby will not even notice anything has changed.

“I think it’s straightforward,” said ZBA Chairman Eric Pierce. “You have made a physical change that will increase the safety factor,” which is really the bottom line, he added.

Quirk again apologized for the years-long conflict, although Quirk had essentially inherited the matter from the previous head of school. Recently, Tabor withdrew its appeal of the board’s decision to start fresh with a new variance request.

“Thank you for picking up the ball and running with it,” said ZBA member Betsy Dunn.

The hearing was closed and taken under advisement.

Also during the meeting, abutters to 8 Park Street, owned by Garret Bradley, questioned his plan to knock down a small non-conforming 140 square foot garage and replace it with a nearly 800 square foot garage with second floor in-law suite with electrical and plumbing, plus a 100 square foot deck. The plan also includes a 9-foot by 7-foot second floor addition to the main house for a closet.

Architect William Saltonstall considered the alterations consistent with the neighborhood, but abutter Joan Hartnett-Barry disagreed.

Hartnett-Barry referred to the size of the 2000+ square foot home plus the proposed 800 square foot accessory structure, and pointed out that four homes on the street are well below 800 square feet. She described Bradley’s house as a sort of “mini-McMansion in the middle of all these small homes.”

“This is against the bylaws,” said Hartnett-Barry. “Two residential units on the same property … That’s big news.”

Abutter Chris Bryant questioned if he and all the other neighbors could also expand their sheds into residential units and if that should be a concern of the board.

“So now I got to worry about this chicken coop becoming a house?” said Bryant of a neighboring accessory structure. He said Bradley’s addition would make the property a multi-family.

Bradley would be required to sign an affidavit stating that he would inhabit the main house and the in-law suite would not be rented; it would only be used for visiting relatives.

Several other abutters submitted signed letters in favor of the expansion. Saltonstall pointed out that the garage modification would slightly decrease the non-conformity of the setbacks.

“We need to sit down and pick apart the [bylaw],” said Pierce. The matter was continued until March 10.

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for March 10 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry

 

Relay For Life of Tri-Town Kickoff

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The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Tri-Town & Wareham will hold a free kickoff for the annual event on February 23 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm in the Wareham Middle School Cafeteria, Viking Drive, Wareham. Everyone is invited to the kickoff to learn about how to help the American Cancer Society save more lives from cancer.

This year’s kickoff is an Ice Cream Social. There will be activities for families including relay-themed games and an information scavenger hunt. Guests will have the opportunity to register a team for the Relay For Life event, which will be held on Saturday, June 18 – Sunday June, 19 at Wareham Middle School Track.

We are looking from more teams to join our event. The Kickoff Event is an opportunity for anyone to come see what Relay for Life is all about. The Relay For Life movement unites communities across the globe to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and take action to finish the fight once and for all. Relay For Life events are community gatherings where teams and individuals camp out at a school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Teams participate in fundraising in the months leading up to the event.

Visit relayforlife.org and search for our event – Tri-Town & Wareham – to learn more about the event or sign up your team.

Knights Teen Dance

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The next Knights Teen Dance is on Friday February 26 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at The Knights Hall, 57 Fairhaven Road in Mattapoisett for $8. Teen dances provide a safe place for 6th, 7th and 8th graders to have a good time socializing, dancing and listening to their favorite music on a Friday night. Knights of Columbus chaperones and a uniformed police officer are on site at all of our dances.

Sippican School

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To the Editor:

As parents of six current Sippican School students, friend to countless other young students and (for one of us) a consistent presence as a regular in-class volunteer, we must respond to comments made in the February 5, 2016 article “FinCom Gives Candid School Budget Opinion.” Sippican’s population has increased, and alongside that uptick has come greater numbers of students needing extra attention for either behavior or academic support.

Volunteering twice weekly at the school informs our opinion. Every hour spent in the classroom, I admire our teachers anew. I observe patience and compassion not only for my child, (who is one of those kids who would benefit from the extra help our teachers are requesting), but the other 17 kids in that classroom, those who struggle and those who don’t. I am grateful for teachers who bring snacks and clothing from their own homes for students who would otherwise go without. I can attest to the fact that our Sippican teachers and staff work well beyond the hours they are in the school building, making plans and preparing lessons and materials before school, after school, and over the weekends. Every single time we walk through the Sippican hallways, we observe the great care taken by teachers and administrators who treat our children as their own.

The bubble mentality expressed by a FinCom member that “This is Marion” is outdated, incorrect and frankly, dangerous. There are behavior issues and worrisome incidents in EVERY town, regardless of zip code. And admittedly, though none has escalated to the extreme examples cited in the February 5 article, there are problems in our classrooms, our buses and beyond. These issues invite a respectful dialogue between parents, teachers, town administrators and other stakeholders.

We invite anyone to take a seat in the classroom, volunteer in the lunchroom, or ride the bus, and reacquaint themselves with the changing dynamics of our school community. It is our collective responsibility to see the reality on the ground, in order to respond to these changes, support our teachers meaningfully and take all the measures within our means to ensure the best education possible for our children. Sippican Proud!

Respectfully submitted,

Ixia Bongiorno and Nicole Long, 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.

Rochester, Marion Selectman Races Contested

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Rochester and Marion voters will have a choice when they head to the polls this year for their towns’ annual elections; however, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen race is currently uncontested as are all other Mattapoisett races.

On Wednesday, April 3, Rochester Planning Board member Michael Murphy will seek to occupy Selectman incumbent Brad Morse’s chair on the Rochester Board of Selectmen this year in a contested race that, as of February 16, involves only the two men.

Murphy, of 650 Mary’s Pond Road, is a former selectman who served on the board in the 1990s. He also served as a member of the Finance Committee at one point.

Murphy ran against Morse back in 2010 and again in 2013, losing both times.

Morse, resident at 209 Pierce Street, is currently serving his fourth term on the Board of Selectmen.

In other categories of the election, so far incumbents reign as no others have pulled papers for the 12 other categories. Nomination papers are due February 24.

Listed here are the positions, term length, and incumbents currently running: Highway surveyor, three years, Jeffrey Eldridge. Eldridge is seeking a sixth term. Constable, three years, David Hughes is running for one of the two positions, and incumbent Leo Dalbec is not running for re-election. Board of Health, three years, Glen Lawrence; Board of Assessors, three years, Diana Knapp; Planning Board, five years, Gary Florindo and Lee Carr for two positions; Library Trustees, three years, Dennis Desrosiers and Winston Sharples for two positions; Cemetery Commission, three years, Leo Dalbec is not seeking re-election; Park Commissioner, three years, David Hughes; Water Commission, three years, Richard Charon; Rochester School Committee, three years, Sharon Hartley; ORR School Committee, three years, Cheryl Hebert is not seeking re-election; ORR School Committee, two years, vacant.

In Marion, voters on Friday, May 13 will also likely have a choice for their next selectman. There are three possible candidates seeking a seat on the Board of Selectmen now that incumbent Jonathan Henry has decided not to seek a fifth term as selectman.

Long-time Planning Board and Conservation Commission member Stephen Gonsalves, 3 Hermitage Road, has pulled papers for the selectman position, along with Planning Board member and Conservation Commission Chairman Norman Hills, 680 Front Street. This is the first time both man have pulled papers for the Board of Selectmen, unlike third candidate Dale Jones, 68 Register Road, who is running a third time for a seat on the board.

Jones served many years as a Marion EMT and was also a member of various boards and committees.

The race for two seats on the Planning Board so far is seeing potentially three candidates to fill Hills’ position, who is running for selectman, and Jerry “Rico” Ferrari, who has not yet pulled papers.

Former Planning Board member Stephen Kokkins is trying to win back the seat he lost last year, and retiring selectman Jonathan Henry is also seeking a seat on the Planning Board. William Saltonstall, 657 Point Road, also pulled and returned his papers on February 10 for one of the three-year terms.

In the six other categories, most incumbents have pulled papers and are running uncontested at this point.

Listed here are the positions, term length, and incumbents currently running: Assessor, three years, Bradford Eames; Board of Health, three years, Albin Johnson III; Open Space Acquisition Commission, three years, John Rockwell and Randy Parker for two positions; Marion School Committee, three years, Christine Marcolini; ORR School Committee, three years, Linda Harju who has not pulled papers; Moderator, one year, Patricia McArtle who has not pulled papers.

Nomination papers have been available since February 1 and are due back to the Clerk’s Office by Friday, March 25.

Over in Mattapoisett, there are no contested races so far for the Tuesday, May 17 election.

With nomination papers due March 29, there is still time to pull papers to run for one of the uncontested positions.

For Selectman, Jordan Collyer, 5 Hillside Avenue, is seeking a fifth term on the Board of Selectmen, so far uncontested.

Listed here are the positions, terms, and incumbents currently running: Mattapoisett School Committee, three years, Patrick LeClair and Charles Motta. Motta has not yet pulled papers. Trustees of Public Library, three years, Mary Magee and James Dildine for two positions; Moderator, one year, John Eklund; Water/Sewer Commissioner, three years, William Hubbard; Planning Board, five years, Karen Field; Mattapoisett Housing Authority, five years, Leda Kim; Community Preservation Committee, two years, Jodi Bauer and John DeCosta for two positions; Tree Warden, three years, Roland Cote; Constable, three years, Paul Magee and Kenneth Pacheco for two positions; Herring Inspector, three years, Robert Martin.

Old Rochester Regional School Committee member Cynthia Johnson is not seeking re-election for the three-year position. Assessor Cary LeBlanc has not yet pulled papers for the three-year position, and current Board of Health member Kenneth Dawicki has not yet pulled papers for the three-year position.

By Jean Perry

 

ORRHS Term 2 Principal’s Honor Roll

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The following students have achieved honors for the second term at Old Rochester Regional High School:

Grade 9 Highest Honors: Michael Barry, Julia Cabral, Sara Campopiano, Danielle Craig, Alexandra Fluegel, Ian Friedrichs, Sydney Green, Genevieve Grignetti, Amelia Isabelle, Kaitlin Kelley, Michaela Mattson, Claire Noble Shriver, Harrison Riley, Megan Shay, Geneva Smith, Gates Tenerowicz;

Grade 10 Highest Honors: Erin Burke, Collin Fitzpatrick, Thais Gorgonha, Alexandra Hulsebosch, Sophie Johnson, Maxine Kellum, Lindsey Merolla, Sam Pasquill, Jahn Pothier, Grace Stephens, Evan Tilley;

Grade 11 Highest Honors: Hannah Guard, Maxxon Wolski;

Grade 12 Highest Honors: Serena Jaskolka, Jane Kassabian, Mallory Kiernan, Edward Krawczyk, Nicole Mattson, Lauren Ovian, Jacob Plante, Drew Robert, Hannah Rose, Evan Roznoy, Rachel Scheub;

Grade 9 High Honors: Emma Blouin, John Burke, Adrian Gleasure, Daniel Hartley, Rosemary Loer, Samantha Nicolosi, Elisa Normand, Vanessa Ortega, Madison Pedro, Delaney Pothier, Maria Ramsay, Ansley Rivera, Robert Sylvester, Madison Welter, Lily Youngberg;

Grade 10 High Honors: Haleydawn Amato, Emily Bock, Nicholas Claudio, Evan Costa, Abigail Dyson, Megan Field, Lauren Gonsalves, Sophie Gurney, Hanil Kang, Caitlyn Kutash, Alexander Lorenz, Hannah Powers, Madeline Scheub, Nicole Sullivan;

Grade 11 High Honors: Emma Collings, Kelly Fox, Connor Kelley, Molly Lanagan, Joshua Lerman, Riley Nordahl, Daniel Renwick, Eli Spevack;

Grade 12 High Honors: Colleen Beatriz, Julianna Bernardi, Lauren Gaspar, Samantha Kirkham, Keegan Lant, Alexandra Melloni, Lucy Milde, Mia Resendes, Alex Tavares, Deianeira Underhill, Paige Watterson;

Grade 9 Honors: Maggie Arruda, Cassidy Bart, Danya Bichsel, Nickolas Borsari, Marc Bourgeois, Mary Brulport, Elsie Buckley, Evan Chase, Brielle Correia, Noah Cunningham, Maddie Demanche, Jennifer Durocher, Nicole Fantoni, Katherine Gillis, Pavanne Gleiman, Megan Guaraldo, Mariana Hebert, Jordan Hoeg-Chick, Kristina Hopkins, Emily Humphrey, Hanbyul Kang, Holden King, Logan King, Tyler Kulak, Jillian Kutash, Victoria Kvilhaug, Nolan LaRochelle, Tayler Lee, Cole McIntyre, Alexander Murteira, Geoffrey Noonan, Avery O’Brien-Nichols, Carly O’Connell, Kevin Ovian, Elsie Perry, Chelsea Peterson, Lauren Pina, Owen Powers, Mia Quinlan, Aidan Ridings, Joseph Robinson, Alexandria Sheehan, Sarah Sollauer, Delaney Soucy, Michael Stack, Lauren Surprenant, Taylor Swoish, Adam Sylvia, Julius Wagoner, Natalia Wierzbicki, Raymond Williams, Alexander Wurl, Lauren Ziino;

Grade 10 Honors: Margaret Adams, Albertine Arnfield, Jenna Aruri, Samantha Ball, Ainslee Bangs, Thomas Browning, Madison Carvalho, Joanna Caynon, Isabelle Choquette, Ava Ciffolillo, Madison Cooney, Alexa Costa, Jacob DeMaggio, Carly Demanche, Rachel Demmer, Celia Deverix, Stephanie Dondyk, Mackenzie Drew, James Dwyer, Maggie Farrell, Katelyn Feeney, Bennett Fox, Arissa Francis, Elle Gendreau, Alexandrea Gerard, Mackenzie Good, Riley Goulet, Reese Graham, Ayana Hartley, Kacey Henriques, Marina Ingham, Allison Kvilhaug, Benjamin Lafrance, Fiona Lant, Alexander le Gassick, Warren Leavens, Joseph MacKay, Emily Marraffa, Madisen Martin, Julia Melloni, Tyler Menard, Ethan Moniz, Mikayla Mooney, Zechariah Mooney, Caroline Murphy, David Nadeau, Gabriel Noble Shriver, Marcus Rita, Isabella Rodrigues, Jamie Roznoy, Isabella Sauro, Christopher Savino, Noah Schipper, Meghan Seguin, Julia Smith, Benjamin Snow, Abigail Stark, Erin Stoeckle, Caitlin Stopka, Sara Sturtevant, Aidan Thayer, Jake Thompson, Katherine Tracy, Courtney Vance, Eleanore Wiggin, Julia Winsper, Jacob Yeomans;

Grade 11 Honors: Madison Barber, Julia Barrett, Andrew Bichsel, Kyle Brezinski, Jacob Cafarella, Patrick Cummings, Timothy Dix, Griffin Dunn, Connor Farney, Nicholas Ferreira, Colleen Garcia, Joshua Garcia, James Goulart, Jonathan Harris, Celeste Hartley, Jonathan Kvilhaug, Olivia Labbe, Benjamin Lima, Jillian McCarthy, Thomas Miller, Hannah Nadeau, Alexandra Nicolosi, Olivia Pellegrino, Mary Roussell, Lauren Scott, Jacob Spevack, Lauren Valente, Emily Ziino;

Grade 12 Honors: Elexus Afonso, Josefin Bakken, Isabella Bernardi, Rikard Bodin, Hannah Deane, Emily Faulkner, Alexus Garcia, Hailey Gray-Jenney, Kyra Greco, Brianna Grignetti, Eryn Horan, Serena Iacovelli, Emily Josephson, Jacob Lawrence, Abigail McAssey, Lillian McIntire, Madeline Meyer, Frederick Miller III, Jeffrey Murdock, Brett Noone, Michaelah Nunes, Alexandria Powers, Evan Santos, Kristina Sauerbrey, Alexis Sweeney, Ally Sylvia, Kayley Sylvia, Mia Vercellone, Teagan Walsh, Conrad Wierzbicki, Margaret Wiggin.

Marion Council on Aging Hosts Talks

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February 22: “The Pendleton Disaster Off Cape Cod: The Greatest Small Boat Rescue in Coast Guard History.” It happened long ago on February 18, 1952. One particular Coast Guard rescue mission with its mismatched crew of four young men has survived the proverbial test of time, but how? Why is the saving of 32 merchant mariners from the sinking 503’ Pendleton still a sacrosanct story within Coast Guard corridors and leadership circles some 63 years later? Come listen to author Theresa Barbo as she explores the reason that make this an enduring tale.

February 29: “Firsts in Boston & Massachusetts.” Due to Boston being one of the oldest cities in the United States, a lot of our nation’s firsts occurred here. For example, Boston had the first newspaper, the first automobile, the first chocolate factory, and many more. Come listen as History Officer James Healy with Boston Duck Tours leads this fun and insightful presentation.

Both programs begin at 12:45 pm and are held at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion, MA 02738.