The next dance is on Friday, November 13 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm for $8 at The Knights, 57 Fairhaven Road in Mattapoisett. Teen dances are 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 chaperones and a uniformed police officer are on site at all of our dances.
A Rochester couple is seeking the public’s help in finding a missing engagement ring lost on Halloween night.
Joelyn Conde and Ian Moniz say the diamond ring, priceless in sentimental value, was lost somewhere during a 45-minute period of trick-or-treating. Conde gave the ring to Moniz for safekeeping and the ring at one point fell out of Moniz’s pocket.
Conde and Moniz suspect the ring could have been lost around the vicinity of 7 Earls Court in Rochester and have appealed to local parents to search their children’s treat bags for the missing ring.
The ring is described as having a large center stone with a halo of smaller diamonds around it. The couple is offering a reward if the ring is found.
“We are desperate to find this ring,” said Conde. “The ring is not just something materialistic, but it was something that had so much sentimental value that we wanted to pass down to our daughter and eventually our future grandchildren.”
If you have information about the lost ring, call Joelyn Conde at 508-858-8147 or contact the Rochester Police Department.
By Jean Perry
The faith communities of the First Congregational Church, St. Gabriel’s, and St. Rita’s are co-sponsoring a flu clinic with the Marion Board of Health on Sunday, November 15 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at the First Congregational Church’s Community Center Meeting room behind the General Store at 144 Front Street, Marion. Please remember to wear short sleeves and to bring your insurance cards. All are welcome!
Don’t miss the Tabor Academy Fall Dance Recital on November 12 at 6:30 pm in the Fireman Center for the Performing Arts at Tabor Academy at 235 Front Street, Marion. This year, the dance team is 23 strong! They will perform five hip hop routines, a theatre routine to “Money” from Cabaret, a ballet excerpt from Paquita, a contemporary and a flamenco-style tap routine. There will be many solos and duets.
Last year was one of the strongest years yet for Tabor’s dance team. The team attended three competitions and won first place awards at each. At the largest competition, Starpower in Rhode Island, the team secured their place in the world championships for their hip-hop routine.
The event is free and open to the public at 235 Front Street in Marion. Why not enjoy a night of dance in Marion?
The monthly meeting of the Florence Eastman Post 280 will be held at the Post Hall at 7:00 pm on November 18. At this meeting, we will review the Veterans’ Day Ceremony of November 11 and our upcoming fundraising efforts, as well as the pending dues changes that will be effective January 1, 2016 when any outstanding, over due dues, will be charged the new rate of $35 as a result of national and state increases.
Bring your ideas for these endeavors as we cannot function without our members’ support and, obviously, the support of the great folks in our area who always patronize our efforts. Please mention this meeting to members you may know as everyone should be involved with the subject matters. The Hall is always available for rental. Just contact one of our members or call Mike at 508-758-9311.
Change is intimidating, even for those who appear to be fearless. For the transfer students at Old Rochester Regional High School, change meant leaving their friends behind and moving into an entirely new school system, completely unsure about what to expect.
These students are on a totally different playing field from the incoming freshmen, who only had to deal with a school switch. These students were forced into a lifestyle switch. Not having previously-established friends meant walking into a new school alone, starting over from scratch, and hoping to make friends.
In order to make these transfer students feel more welcome and more at home, the AmbassadOR Club held a new student breakfast. Invitations were handwritten by the AmbassadORs and sent to the new students of ORR. On Tuesday morning, AmbassadORs and transfers flooded into the Media Center, where food was shared and friends were made.
Although taking time out of the school day to meet new people may seem odd, the students involved felt it was helpful in order to meet the people whom they may not normally run into during the school day.
“A lot of us hadn’t had the opportunity to really meet them [the transfers],” said junior Tessa Camboia, “so it was really nice having a set period of time to talk to everyone.”
Members of the AmbassadOR club were asked to bring breakfast foods and drinks. Of course, this resulted in boxes and boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts. (What high schooler doesn’t love Dunkin’, after all?)
On top of donuts, there were homemade cinnamon rolls, fruit platters, orange juice, and a plethora of other delicious breakfast foods.
The students talked over their breakfast with old and new friends, everybody equally enjoying a sweet, delightful start to their day.
“We made their transition into this school easier,” thought Diana LaRock, an AmbassadOR.
Was this activity actually helpful, or a bust? Not one single student had anything bad to say about the breakfast.
AmbassadOR Josh Garcia believed it made students feel closer to each other.
“I think that it was a great way to bring the student body together and get to know one another,” Garcia said. Many, if not all, of the students felt the same way. A number of them expressed wishes for the breakfast to become an Old Rochester tradition, as junior Madison Barber said, “I look forward to it next year.”
Not only did the breakfast benefit the transfers from other countries, but also transfers from other school districts and school choice freshmen. As AmbassadOR Julia Barrett said, “I think it was especially nice for the freshmen who were school choice because they didn’t really know a lot of people, so we got to introduce ourselves to them.”
By Sienna Wurl
Leona M. (Bellotti) Freitas, 95, of Mattapoisett passed away Monday November 9, 2015 at the New Bedford Jewish Convalescent Home. She was the beloved wife of Manuel C. Freitas; they had been married for 42 years.
Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late John E. and Evelyn (Desmarais) Bellotti, she lived in New Bedford and Mattapoisett for many years.
She was a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett, where she was active in many parish functions and activities.
Mrs. Freitas worked along side her husband at Adrian Advertising in New Bedford.
She was a member of the Mattapoisett Senior Citizens.
Survivors include her loving husband; a daughter, Elaine Lambert and her husband Terry of New Hampshire; a granddaughter, Lisa Hurley and her husband Joe; her sisters-in-law, Mary C. Bellotti of New Bedford and Laura Pimenta of Taunton; and several nieces and nephews.
She was the sister of the late John and Louis Bellotti.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday November 13, 2015 at 10 AM at St. Anthony’s Church, Mattapoisett. Burial will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery, New Bedford. Visitation will be on Friday from 8:30-9:30 AM at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
At 10:30 this morning at Sippican Elementary School in Marion an automated message went out over the schools’ PA system announcing that the building was on lockdown. As a result of this notification students and staff followed the lockdown procedures. Marion Police and administration conducted a sweep of the building. There were no threats or intruders reported to be in the building. Classes and school activities were allowed to resume as normal within fifteen minutes.
After further investigation the cause of the notification was due to hardware malfunction. The problem has been corrected. An all-call and e-mail were sent to all families assuring them that the school and the students were safe.
November 11 is a significant date in history – for the United States and for the world. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, “the war to end all wars” was officially over when the armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect.
We now annually observe the significance of this date by honoring all veterans of all wars on Veterans Day, which became an official national holiday in 1938.
Each year, Tri-Town honors its vets during two different ceremonies in Mattapoisett and Marion and a dinner in Rochester.
In Mattapoisett, the Florence Eastman Post 280 of the American Legion will host its annual Veterans Day observance at Old Hammondtown School at 11:00 am.
The guest speaker this year is Technical Sergeant Sara D.J. Garde, a decorated veteran who has served in the Armed Forces for over 15 years.
Enlisting in the Army in 1996, Garde then spent three years in the National Guard before joining the Army reserves just after September 11, 2001. She served an 18-month deployment to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2008, Garde enlisted in the Air Force Reserves as a medical technician and, in 2012, she was deployed to Germany for six months to care for wounded military personnel and civilian personnel. She has since earned her Bachelor’s degree in Practical Nursing technology and is currently the education and training manager of the Aeromedical Staging Squadron at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Garde has received 17 military awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Iraq Campaign Medal with Bronze Star Device, and Army Overseas Service Ribbon.
Garde now lives in Mattapoisett.
The ceremony will feature the Old Hammondtown Concert Band and HMS Chorus, a prayer by Chaplain Richard Langhoff, and a speech by State Representative William Straus.
The Town of Mattapoisett will offer free lapel pins to Mattapoisett veterans who attend the ceremony. If any Mattapoisett veterans wishing to receive a pin are unable to attend, they may contact the Department of Veterans Services by calling 508-758-4100 ext. 212.
In Marion, the Benjamin Cushing VFW Post 2425 will hold its Annual Town of Marion Veterans Day Observance at 11:00 am in the all-purpose room at Sippican School.
Belmiro J. Barros, Jr. serves as the commander, and Master of Ceremonies is Colonel Joseph F. Napoli, Ret.
The short program will honor all veterans, past and present.
The Rochester Council on Aging will host its Annual Veterans Day Dinner on Tuesday, November 10 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the Senior Center located at 67 Dexter Lane. Tri-Town veterans are invited to attend. Attendees must register ahead of time and make a reservation, as every year the event fills to capacity. To make a reservation, contact 508-763-9315.
The Wanderer wishes to thank all the men and women who have served our country and who are currently serving in the military. We would also like to thank the families of veterans and those actively serving in the military for their sacrifice.
*This article has been updated to reflect a change of venue for the Marion Veterans Day observance.
By Jean Perry
“I’m for it one hundred percent,” Rochester Conservation Commission Chairman Rosemary Smith said on November 3 in response to a positive vote by the commission – voting in favor of surface water protection bylaws.
Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon, also a member of the Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee (MRVWSPAC), asked the commission to review a draft of bylaws developed by the MRVWSPAC. The goal, as stated by Farinon, is to protect the surface water supply from commercial water taking and possible fresh water contamination.
Farinon reminded the ConCom that water taking from Snipatuit Pond and Mattapoisett River by various commercial entities has been a problem, not only for Rochester, but also for other towns that are members of the MRVWSPAC.
“The advisory committee has looked at this issue over the years,” Farinon said. “We need a mechanism to prohibit withdrawal of surface water…. We’ve looked at the Wetlands Protection Act, but it is difficult to enforce…. We have to prove disturbance,” said Farinon.
Farinon said she had conferred with the DEP who advised that local bylaws were “the real true way we can deal with this.” She told them that the water commissioners will be sponsoring an article for a subsequent town meeting warrant for the bylaws, but wanted the Conservation Commission’s support and endorsement as well. They unanimously moved to support and endorse the bylaws.
Presently, the document is a draft with language to be finalized in the coming weeks. Once that is completed, the Conservation Commission will have a final look at the bylaws before they go before the voters.
Farinon said the selectmen will announce a 2016 date for a Special Town Meeting in light of the postponement of the November 30 Special.
In other business, a Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Gordon Sylvia, 681 Walnut Plain Road, for the removal of trees blown down by storms in 2013, was given a negative determination and was approved.
A request for a Certificate of Compliance for Steven Striar, Old Schoolhouse Road, was granted.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for November 17 at 7:00 pm in the Rochester Town Hall meeting room.
By Marilou Newell
