Snow whirled across the road and an icy wind cut like a knife, which delayed a few board members for the Marion Planning Board’s January 19 meeting.

As the members gathered at the Marion Music Hall – a change of venue to accommodate a Board of Selectmen meeting at the Town House – they chatted amongst themselves and displayed frustration with a possible approaching winter storm while waiting for the rest of the board to arrive.

When the entire board had arrived, members briefly approved minutes from previous meetings, and then discussed the new town planner. These discussions made up the majority of the meeting.

Marion has recently hired Kenneth Buckland as the part-time town planner, and they were pleased to report that he began work this week.

Planning Board member Norman Hills reported that Buckland has already met with several members of town government, including Department of Public Works Superintendent Robert Zora. Hills continued on to discuss Buckland’s role as the Town Planner.

“We intend to set up office hours. They can impart wisdom … or their opinions,” he said. “We’ll have the schedule finalized soon.”

“I’m pleased to hear that,” said Planning Board Chairman Robert Lane, “as it’s something we talked about doing during the interview process.”

Hills also recommended increasing the consulting and planning budget request amount from $12,500 to $16,450, to pay for Buckland’s town planning expertise.

“We have enough to cover until the end of the year,” Hills explained. “If we get the increase, we can cover his salary until mid-June, which gives us more time to clarify our plans.”

After the new details concerning the town planner had been covered, board member Eileen Marum made a motion to adjourn the meeting.

“I think we’re done here,” said Lane as he and the rest of the board agreed with Marum. “Thank you for coming out tonight, for such a brief meeting,” he joked.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for February 2 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Andrea Ray

Although outdoor recreational activities, especially hunting, are expected in a rural community such as Rochester, having a duck blind near Rochester Memorial School was alarming enough for a teacher to notify Rochester’s Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon.

A duck blind is a camouflaged shelter, sometimes made of brush, which conceals duck hunters.

The blind is situated on the edge of Hartley Reservoir, property now owned by the state and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game.

The teacher told Farinon that he takes students onto the property, which is adjacent to the school, and was concerned about the safety of the children.

The property was purchased by the state with funds partially secured from the sale of hunting permits. Thus, this property, and many others throughout the state, is land designated for recreational use and conservation land of animal habitats.

Farinon said during the January 19 meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission that a resident had also called her office to alert her of the blind having been set up. She added that the existence of the blind on state property is not something that is jurisdictional for the local commission, but she did want the commissioners to be aware should they hear anything about it.

Earlier in the meeting, the commission approved a Certificate of Compliance for Michael and Lois Mentzer, 6 Thistle Lane.

The commission also found that James Welch, 357 Neck Road, would not be required to have an amended Order of Conditions in order to remove a fallen tree.

The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for February 2 at 7:00 pm in the Rochester Town Hall meeting room.

By Marilou Newell

Members of the Marion Board of Selectmen agreed that enforcement of a “30 Minute Parking” sign at the Marconi Village roundabout was outside the Town’s jurisdiction, but Selectman Jonathan Henry told Marconi resident and Planning Board member Eileen Marum that he would get to the bottom of the situation and report back to the board.

Marum submitted a letter to selectmen weeks ago describing how some visitors and residents at Marconi Village are ignoring the sign, sometimes parking their vehicles for hours at a time. She addressed the board on January 19 to explain what she considers a public safety issue.

“Pedestrians have to walk in the street,” said Marum, and the passing by of pickup trucks traversing Mill Road from Atlantis Drive creates a tight squeeze. She requested the sign be removed and replaced with a “No Parking” sign.

“It is my understanding that the current no parking sign is not town-owned and not maintained by the town,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Stephen Cushing.

Cushing later added that the type of sign that hangs at the site does not resemble the standard signs the Department of Public Works uses throughout town. DPW Superintendent Rob Zora was present to confirm it.

“That area is not in the town layout. That was put there by the developer of Marconi Village,” said Selectman Jody Dickerson.

Marum told him the housing manager told her it was a town sign, not a private housing sign.

“I personally do not see it as a problem. I see it as an issue between neighbors,” said Dickerson. “Call it like it is. I do not support this.”

Dickerson consulted with Police Chief Lincoln Miller who he said found no public safety concern with the matter. “I spoke with the fire chief, the DPW superintendent, they all agree.”

“Honestly, I have no knowledge of that sign,” Zora said. “We didn’t put it up, and I’ve been here a long time.”

“[The manager] said it was placed there by the town,” said Marum, “So, you know, I’m right back where I started.”

Cushing said he was throwing this ball back into the management company’s court to resolve.

Henry offered to investigate further and the other two selectmen took him up on it.

In other matters, Collector/Treasurer Gary Carreiro addressed the board briefly, asking for a vote regarding the maximum useful life of the new fire pumper as the town moves through the financing process.

Carreiro said the agreement stipulates that in order to complete the financing packet, those details must be approved and provided.

“How did you derive a maximum useful life of ten years?” Cushing asked. Carreiro said it is standard to make the estimate based on the profile of the truck.

The board voted to approve the request.

Also during the meeting, the board met with two members of the Music Hall Advisory Committee regarding several requests for funding from the endowment. The selectmen approved three of the five, but told the advisory committee to return in the early spring for a request for further funding for a landscaping project that town counsel said might not be covered under the endowment.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for February 2 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry

The Old Rochester Regional School Committee on January 13 reviewed the data from the state’s 2015 school Accountability Report, which showed the numbers behind the high school’s return to a Level-1 school and the junior high’s steady progress towards meeting its goal.

Narrowing proficiency gaps in all categories and areas, said ORR High School Principal Michael Devoll, propelled Old Rochester Regional High School back up to a Level-1 status after one “down year” in 2014 when MCAS scores dropped, bringing the school down to a Level-2.

Highlights of the Accountability Report for the high school include a performance index score of 77 for the all-students category, exceeding the target of 75 points. The high-needs group was right on target at 75.

The junior high, although it fell short of its target in all categories, demonstrated growth even with the switch from the MCAS to the more rigorous PARCC exam.

Principal Kevin Brogioli said students did particularly well in Math, where the school scored the highest, and reduced the number of students in the warning level, thus earning it extra credit points.

The important thing, said Brogioli, is that the school keeps progressing at a steady rate.

“If we repeat what we did this year, next year we would be Level-1,” said Brogioli. “I can’t promise that … but I was very happy with last year’s accountability results.”

In other matters, ORR High School approved two new English Language Arts courses that Devoll proposed for next year.

The two new half-year ELA elective courses are entitled “Sports Media” and “Creativity, Inspiration, and Innovation.”

“Both are courses we are excited about offering,” Devoll said. “We try to give our students as much of an offering as possible.”

Last year, the school added genealogy as an elective, which was a big hit with students, and with February being the time of year when students begin selecting next year’s courses, Devoll wanted to get these new ones approved and posted as soon as possible.

Also during the meeting, school committee members made haste in approving a $5 increase in pay for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals effective immediately, as well as an additional increase effective September. A shortage of substitute teachers in all four Tri-Town school districts prompted the pay raise. A raise in the state minimum wage to $10 was also a factor in the decision.

“We have not increased our substitute pay rate since 2002,” said Superintendent Doug White. “By bringing it up a little bit, we may have better luck filling some of those positions.”

Paraprofessionals were earning $60 per day, but they will now earn $65 and then $75 in September. Non-licensed teachers will go from $65 to $70 and then $80 in September; certified teachers have gone from $70 per day to $75, then up to $85 next school year.

The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for February 10 at 6:30 pm in the ORR Junior High School media room.

By Jean Perry