Gateway Youth Hockey

on December 31, 2015

Gateway Squirts: Gateway Gladiator Squirts shut out the Plymouth Red, 11-0, on Saturday. In the first period, Matthew Paling got the scoring started with an assist from Benjamin Hebbel. Ty David Ribeiro went on to earn a hat trick in the first with help from Hebbel on all three goals and Brady Kidney on one. Paling also scored his second goal of the period, with assist from Brayden Hathon. In the second period, Paling got his third of the night, assisted by Ribeiro, and Ribeiro also scored a goal assisted by Hebbel. In the third, Paling scored two more goals with assists from Kidney and Thomas Clavell, and Ribeiro had one with assists from Clavell and Lucas DeMoranville. Hebbel also found the net with help from Jacob Hebbel. Goalie Thomas Leger made key saves in the shut out.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve in New Bedford

on December 31, 2015

Bid farewell to 2015 and ring in the New Year in New Bedford with City Celebrates New Year’s Eve FREE programming from 5:00 – 8:30 pm!

New Bedford area residents and visitors are invited to enjoy an evening full of free family-friendly programming on New Year’s Eve in Downtown New Bedford’s Seaport Cultural District to bid farewell to 2015 and ring in the New Year!

Festivities will commence at 5:00 pm on Thursday, December 31 with an Ecumenical Service at the Seamen’s Bethel, followed by entertainment by harpist Eva Macfarlane from 6:30 – 7:30 pm.

Program highlights throughout the evening include:

– Fireworks

– The best Toe Jam Puppet Band concerts at 5:30, 6:30 & 7:30 pm at the YMCA!

– Youth Celebration hosted by AHA! Featuring Youth Orchestra String Quartet, 3rd EyE Cypher, – Dream Out Loud Singers & other local musicians, 5:00 – 8:00 pm in the Zeiterion Penler Space

– Reception commemorating the 1874 visit of his majesty David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii, in the

Ashley Room at City Hall, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

– Amazing street performers, stilt walkers, jugglers & fire-eaters with Overhead Arts & Cirque de Light

– Family Magic Workshop with Jedlie’s Magic Circus, 5:30 & 6:30 pm, at NBAM/Artworks!

– Music with DJ Anghelli in Wings Court, 5:00 – 8:00 pm

– Zoo Mobile crafts from the Buttonwood Park Zoo at the YMCA

– Ensemble Events Photo Booth at New Bedford Art Museum, 5:00 – 7:30 pm

– Bill Harley, children’s entertainer and storyteller, at the Whaling Museum, 5:30 – 6:30pm

– And so much more.

New Bedford’s New Year’s Eve festivities will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display on the waterfront at 8:30 pm.

NOTE: A cargo ship will be at state pier. Fireworks viewing will NOT be allowed on the east face of state pier on New Year’s Eve. Instead, fireworks viewers are encouraged to watch from lower Union Street which we have blocked off at Rte. 18 & Union, Union Street to N. Water Street. Listen to the sounds of African Band Kekeli at Pier 37 during the fireworks display.

For more information and a complete list of New Year’s Eve events, visit www.DestinationNewBedford.org/holidays

City Celebrates New Year’s Eve is presented by the City of New Bedford, Mayor Jon Mitchell, in collaboration with AHA!, Port of New Bedford, Destination New Bedford, and Downtown New Bedford, Inc. Events sponsored by Bristol County Savings Bank. Barge provided by Tucker Roy Marine Towing and Salvage, Inc. Fireworks partners include New Bedford Whaling Museum & AGM Marine Contractors.

Local Partners include NB Beautiful, Parks and Recreation, The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, Buttonwood Park Zoo, UMass Dartmouth CVPA, New Bedford Whaling Museum, YMCA of Southeastern MA, New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks!, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra & New Bedford Cultural Council.

Search for New COA Director Continues

on December 31, 2015

Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson described the ideal candidate for the Council on Aging director position as one who could dream up new services for seniors and find the ways to deliver those services, even without the immediate prospect of having a physical building in which to provide them.

On December 29, the Marion Board of Selectmen had one-hour interviews scheduled for each of three prospective final candidates to take on that role. The night, however, was cut short due to the withdrawal of the applications of two of the candidates.

Elizabeth Howe of Mattapoisett was the only woman standing that night, and she answered a series of questions related to her experience and management style, filling almost the entire 60 minutes of her allotted time.

Howe, who has extensive experience working in nonprofit organizations mainly writing grants, coordinating volunteers and student interns, and serving the community at the New Bedford Chamber of Commerce, said she felt she would be the best fit for the position, not only because of her professional experience, but also because of her personal experience.

Howe told the board that her mother was diagnosed with dementia and soon after her brother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. According to Howe, she stopped working in order to care for and advocate on their behalf, mainly for her mother, which is why she is currently not working and eager to fill the shoes of retiring Council on Aging Director Susan Schwager.

“When I saw this opening I thought, well, I’ve done community partnerships,” said Howe. “And I know that [the] Marion village is unique in the sense that it is really close-knit and I really just wanted to be close to home.”

She said she envisioned “bigger and better” COA programming for seniors, although sans a formal senior center at this time, “I think I’d like to be in that beginning plane and helping with that … and helping it grow.”

Howe said she understands seniors’ needs, not only because she is a new member of the aging population, but also because she saw her mother fall into what Howe referred to as a cycle of wanting to live independently, which inadvertently led to isolation and eventually depression and withdrawal.

“I find that the cycle of the people that think they want to live at home … yes, you can live at home and maintain your independence, but that creates a cycle,” said Howe. “They’re alone, solitude is a problem … [which develops into] isolation and lack of socialization … which can lead to a very lonely life. They have the time, but they don’t have anything to fill it with.”

Howe said senior center services gave her mother something to look forward to – an interaction that broke the cycle and gave her mother a renewed purpose in life.

Selectman Jody Dickerson asked Howe about her experience with budget development and maintenance, and Howe told him she had worked with a $95,000 budget in the past as part of her responsibility building budgets, upholding them, and also writing grants to supplement them.

Her managerial style is more casual, Howe told the selectmen, and she assured selectmen, when asked, that her past positions dealing with the public put her under a considerable amount of public scrutiny to which she responded professionally.

“At the chamber, [the public] expected us to know everything,” said Howe. But sometimes, she admitted, she did not have the information one person might ask of her. “But I would always make sure that if I didn’t know, then I would find out and get back to them.” As for scrutiny, yes, she said, for she had been working in visitor and guest services her entire professional life.

When asked why she would feel comfortable in the position as COA director, Howe recalled her close relationships with her grandparents and said, “I’m very comfortable with this population. It’s a population that I am now a part of, and I’m just comfortable with them.”

Although she could not cite any other specific examples of time when she was called upon to advocate for the elderly beyond her own family members, she did say that her communication skills, especially her written ones, make her adaptable to most situations.

Howe said it would be her job to provide a “home away from home” for Marion seniors. “A destination that’s comfortable and where people can be engaged. All through my professional life that’s what I’ve done … as part of the service industry providing services, just like the senior center would be providing services,” said Howe.

She turned to a need for greater communication with the aging population because, although society is rather connected via social media, “Well, it’s not, for seniors.”

Howe’s ideas for furthering the COA services included utilizing the music hall more as a resource, as well as area businesses that might support the local community.

“I just really believe that we have so much here … to tap into, so that is where I’d start,” said Howe. “Without a physical building, we could still do a lot.”

After the interview, selectmen discussed where they would go from there in the hiring process, in light of the two withdrawals – one withdrawal the night before and one that very morning.

“I’m not comfortable interviewing just one candidate,” said Chairman Stephen Cushing. “See if we can get some additional candidates to apply,” he said to Dawson.

Dickerson had met with all the candidates prior to the selection of the final three as part of the hiring committee and he told selectmen, “They were very good, but I think it’s important that the two of you have something to compare it to.”

“Even one more would be good,” said Selectman Jonathan Henry.

The board decided to have the hiring committee re-advertise the position; however, Howe is still in the running as a final candidate.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 11 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry

Holiday Thank You

on December 30, 2015

To the Editor:

The Sinnott family would like to sincerely thank the members of the Mattapoisett Police Department, Mattapoisett Fire Department, and Mattapoisett Water Department for their professionalism and dedication. After our neighbor noticed an alarm going off in our home at 2:00 am on Christmas morning and was unable to reach anyone in our family by phone, he called the police who responded quickly and were able to wake us. When they determined that the alarm was coming from our carbon monoxide monitor that none of us had heard in our sleep, they called in the Fire Department. These firefighters, all volunteer, had to respond to the call from the comfort of their own homes and beds—in the early morning hours of Christmas! Many of the firefighters and police officers told us, as we waited for the situation to be assessed, that they had early morning plans to open presents and celebrate the holiday with their families and children in just a few short hours.

As we waited outside for the Fire Department to fully ventilate the area, which they had determined had high levels of carbon monoxide, the kind neighbor who had called in concern in the first place offered to let us wait in the warmth of his living room or to even spend the night if our house was deemed unsafe. Luckily, the Fire Department and Police Department declared our home safe within the hour, and everyone was able to return to their families.

We are so grateful and proud to live in a town with such immense Christmas spirit. From the neighborly actions of Don next door who called the police, to the police officers who calmly and professionally woke us and took the appropriate next steps, to the firefighters and Water Department officials who promptly came rushing from their own families on Christmas Eve to make sure that ours was safe – we are clearly lucky to call Mattapoisett home.

Thank you, and Happy Holidays!

The Sinnotts

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.

Quick Work for Mattapoisett PD

on December 30, 2015

On Friday, December 25 at 2:23 am Officer Lenira Lima and Officer Brett Osetkowski were dispatched to Mechanic Street for a reported water leak. While investigating the source of the water leak that originated from a cut pipe in the sprinkler system located at 12 Mechanic Street, the officers could hear a faint alarm coming from the inside of 12 Water Street. The officers determined the alarm to be a carbon monoxide alarm and immediately notified dispatch requesting the fire department to respond. The officers banged on the doors and windows in an attempt to wake up the residents. After a short period of time, homeowner John Sinnott awoke. Upon entering the residence, it was discovered that the sounding carbon monoxide alarm showed a reading of 80 parts per million on the meter. The five family members were immediately evacuated from the home. The fire department arrived on scene and ventilated the house. It was determined that the carbon monoxide was coming from the newly-installed gas fireplace. Fortunately, no one was injured or required transportation to the hospital. The quick action on behalf of Officers Lima and Osetkowski prevented a potential family tragedy.

On Sunday, December 27, Officer Lenira Lima working in Dispatch received a telephone call from a resident of Wildwood Terrace who reported a suspicious motor vehicle going in and out of yards on Wildwood Terrace. Officer Lima dispatched Officer Brett Osetkowski and Officer Nicholas Lorenco to the area of Wildwood Terrace and Route 6 where it was reported that the truck was exiting Wildwood Terrace, turning right onto Route 6 and heading west. Officer Osetkowski observed the suspect truck ahead of him on Route 6. He reported the Vermont registration plate number to dispatch and stopped the truck by Mattapoisett Neck Road. The male operator was the only person in the truck. During conversation, the operator advised Officer Osetkowski that he did not have a driver’s license.

Dispatch Officer Lima advised Officers Osetkowski and Lorenco that the Vermont registered truck was reported stolen from Barre, Vermont on December 22, 2015. The operator of the truck, Joseph Braley, 25, listing an address of 14 Center Street in Barre, Vermont, was arrested for receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

As a result of inventory search of the vehicle, stolen property taken from Mill Road in Marion, Jane Lane, Marion Road, and Wildwood Terrace in Mattapoisett, was recovered.

Joseph Braley was charged with receiving stolen property, motor vehicle; two counts of receiving stolen property greater than $250; two counts of receiving stolen property less than $250; unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle; failure to signal; marked lanes violation; speeding; no license in possession; providing a false name to police; and possession of class E drug. He was held on $10,000 cash bail. Braley was arraigned in Wareham District Court on Monday, December 28.

Mattapoisett Police Department Press Release

The Year in Review

on December 30, 2015

Here at The Wanderer, we like to look back in our final issue of the year and remember the happenings, goings-on, and stories that we brought to you in the 51 other issues of the ending year. In this edition, we recall the noteworthy news and occurrences – some that you might have forgotten about (there were a couple we didn’t come up with at first glance back) – along with a number of issues that have arisen in each of the three towns of Tri-Town that may have been resolved or may linger into the new year.

And now, we bring you Tri-Town: The Year in Review….

Mattapoisett

No issue brought more people out in force than the application for a private pier extending 180 feet into Mattapoisett Harbor from Goodspeed Island. Several hundred people came out on two occasions to air their concerns during Conservation Commission and Mass DEP hearings. The application is still pending final resolution with no clear end in sight, which will take the matter well into 2016.

Throughout the year, the Mattapoisett Police Department received an increase in calls to the Hillside Motel. Criminal activities, domestic conflicts, and numerous public safety violations forced the selectmen to give the property owners an ultimatum: clean up and repair the premises, discontinue long-term rentals, and accept only guests with proper identification, or lose their permit to operate.

And then there was the Acushnet Road culvert. When it collapsed, the Highway Department was forced to close the road, detouring residents and through traffic several miles to get from point A to point B. Disgruntled residents met with the Planning Board on more than one occasion expressing outrage as the road closure stretched from weeks to months. At long last, they and everyone else inconvenienced received an early Christmas gift when the road reopened in November.

The Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path and the Bike Path Committee continued to plug away at an avalanche of ever-changing technical documentation imposed on Phase 1B of the project by the Mass DOT. Changes within the state agency caused the project to get bogged down with new regulations, forcing the two groups to try and secure more funding for engineering studies and tests. The bike path is on track to secure over $1 million in state funding that would see the project nearing its goal of crossing wetlands, Route 6, and heading towards the Mattapoisett Business Park. That funding is hanging in the balance as the group attempts to have their RDA application approved by the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission for test borings – one of the latest technical hairpin turns the project has had to face.

The Water and Sewer Department was kept busy earlier in the year with a massive sewer extension project from Point Connett to Angelica Point on Cove Street, a barrier beach. They have also recently completed infrastructure improvements on several village neighborhood streets. These upgrades are part of a long-term improvement project. The town plans to apply for state grants to help offset the price tag. As village streets were opened, gas lines were also updated making that area now more modern below grade than above.

Out on the edge of town along the Fairhaven border, a little piece of paradise now exists in the form of a new walking trail that leads from Fairhaven to the Nasketucket Bay State Reservation. A partnership between the Towns of Mattapoisett and Fairhaven and the Buzzards Bay Coalition secured land through the bucolic pastures of the DeNormandie Farm off Shaw Road in Fairhaven and connected to established trails that lead to grand panoramic views of Nasketucket Bay. The state reservation is a precious gem practically at our front door.

The highlight of the year for Center School students was likely the night that Associate Principal Kevin Tavares spent on the school roof. The event attracted a lot of spectators, including a local TV news crew. What will Mr. T come up with for this year’s challenge?

Marion

The quaint and quiet seaside town of Marion saw its share of drama, especially earlier in the year amongst its own town boards when members of the Planning Board just could not agree on even simple matters such as meeting minutes. Planning Board Chairman Stephen Kokkins was ousted during the May election by newcomer Jennifer Francis, and Stephen Gonsalves was reelected for another term on the Planning Board.

Board member Robert Lane, the former Planning Board clerk who landed in the center of meeting minute madness, took over as chairman and Norm Hills, a leading critic of Lane’s style of writing minutes, assumed the responsibilities of clerk, which eventually freed the minutes matter of most of its contention.

Lane began his chairmanship on June 1 by promising an “expeditious process” for a solar farm application for Clean Energy Collective, the first applicant under the Town Meeting-approved solar bylaw. Instead, what ensued was a four month-long solar farm saga, mainly over a disagreement of an appropriate sum for a decommissioning escrow account. Lane was adamant about a substantially larger dollar amount than the applicant, and he did not budge on the amount with support from a few other board members. On October 5, the board finally approved the Special Permit, still with a substantial amount but slightly less than the $75,000 originally demanded.

The Planning Board also continued in its efforts to build a Master Plan and temporarily gave up on its mission to craft a more stringent zoning bylaw that would deter “big box” businesses from coming to Marion. After a number of meetings over the course of a few months, the board voted to table its attempt at a bylaw, which never made it to the Town Meeting warrant.

Meanwhile, there was not a peep from the proposed CVS developer this year. The Conservation Commission, having not received a response from Mark Investment or its representative LED Environmental Consultants, closed the public hearing on August 26 and rendered a positive determination to the unconfirmed wetlands lines – positive, meaning negative for the developer. No subsequent Notice of Intent application was filed by the developer.

Marion, ever since the first mention of the threat of stricter NPDES permit requirements in 2014, spent the entire 2015 year on pins and needles waiting for a response from the EPA as to whether it would allow the town to explore other alternatives to mitigate water pollution rather than having to shut down the wastewater treatment plant’s three sewage sludge lagoons.

Town Meeting appropriated $450,000 towards preliminary engineering and studying feasible alternatives, as well as for legal representation, should the town require it. The Capital Improvement Planning Committee even had to bump three major projects off its priority list for fiscal year 2016 in light of the impending costs. As 2015 comes to a close, the town is still uncertain about the future of the wastewater treatment plant and weary of a possible $20 million price tag for wastewater treatment upgrades.

In addition to the NPDES permit decision, Marion moves into 2016 not knowing how the Town House renovation will play out. Selectmen have chosen to focus on a Town House-only option as opposed to broadening the project’s scope to include library expansion and a new senior center. Town Meeting members will decide the project’s fate eventually.

Marion’s 40B housing development opened its doors this year to become home to about 30 affordable housing tenants/families, but not before damages from a fire in one of the buildings the night of February 19 caused extensive damage to a number of units. The flames lit up the night as the three-alarm fire required assistance from four surrounding towns. Firefighters battled cold temperatures and high subzero-degree winds that night.

Marion swore in its 13^th fire chief on June 30, welcoming Chief Brian Jackvony of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and bidding farewell to retiring Chief Thomas Joyce, who served the town for six years.

Rochester

In Rochester, the word this year was ‘solar.’ Rochester saw a number of applications for solar farms in different areas of town, but none garnered more attention than the one proposed for the historic center of town.

News of the proposed solar project during a June Board of Selectmen meeting spread quickly, and the June 23 Planning Board meeting, which served as a pre-submission conference with the developer, was a jumping off point for board members to express their concerns and general sentiment of opposition to a solar farm smack dab in the historic district.

The 10-acre solar farm was downsized to five acres after a few heated exchanges with the Planning Board and concerned citizens and abutters. The project scope was cut in half to accommodate more screening, the main concern of all involved.

Town Meeting just weeks prior had approved an amended zoning bylaw pertaining to development within the newly established limited commercial district; however, many on the Planning Board and bylaw subcommittee, including ZBA Chairman Richard Cutler, had significantly different ideas about development in the center of town than a solar farm. Unfortunately, as Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson pointed out on October 13, the new LCD bylaw wasn’t going to cut it when it came to stopping the solar project from moving in, admitting that language in the bylaw did not specifically prohibit the cutting down of trees within the mandated 20-foot perimeter buffer zone – a bone of contention, especially around the historic cemetery where several old trees would be cleared.

The process continues with the historic district solar farm, as it inches closer and closer to Planning Board approval.

Back on July 20, Greenwood “Woody” Hartley shook things up when he requested the Board of Selectmen reopen their meeting to allow him to speak, announcing that he had received knowledge that the Annual Town Meeting held on June 8 went on without a quorum of 100. Selectmen appeared surprised, but admitted that they, too, had only recently heard about the blunder.

The Town, with assistance from Town Counsel Blair Bailey, sought relief from the attorney general, only to later be told that the proper avenue would be to petition the governor to sign a letter endorsing the special legislation to ratify the Annual Town Meeting. As of December 28, selectmen say the special legislation approval is imminent.

Back in early April, Rochester was the scene of a movie set, which caused quite a stir once people heard that Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert De Niro were the stars of the film.

The set for the movie “Joy” was temporarily based out of the Rochester Golf Club, and film crews were spotted on Hartley Road. The Wanderer broke the story, satisfying residents’ curiosity over why the road was blocked while intensifying the imaginations of those hoping for a glimpse of the stars, although film crews asserted none were in Rochester. (Sure they weren’t.)

Rochester shared a precarious transition period with Mattapoisett as the new automated trash pick-up system was implemented. Residents in Rochester who opposed the new system made their opinions known to the town administrator, who eventually said the transition took place as relatively smoothly as possible, although back-to-back snow storms made getting used to it more difficult.

*****

Oh, back-to-back blizzards. Remember those? The year 2015 just left with a balmy bang this holiday season, but what’s in store weather-wise for 2016? Last year, Punxsutawney Phil was right about six more weeks of winter. Will he be right again this year?

And how about those Bulldogs! The Old Rochester Regional Boys’ Basketball team made us all proud this year when they won the Division III state basketball championship – let us not forget their triumph. Go ‘Dogs!

With this last issue of 2015, The Wanderer heads into 2016, proudly entering its 25^th year as Tri-Town’s go-to weekly paper. And, to quote most 25 year olds, “Oh my God, we are so getting old.” Here’s to another notable year in the Tri-Town!

By Jean Perry and Marilou Newell

A Concert to Ring in the Holiday Season

on December 29, 2015

The soothing melodies of Christmas flowed through the high school auditorium on Tuesday as the Old Rochester Music Department held its annual Holiday Concert. The ORR Jazz Combo, Jazz Band, Concert Band, and Chorus were all dressed to impress in black and white, ready to perform the pieces they have been preparing since the beginning of the school year.

The concert began with the Jazz Combo taking the reins as the first group to perform. The combo is separate from the other groups as it is not a class and practices after school on their own time. The combo has five members: Maxxon Wolski on vibes, Jack Roussell on trumpet, Shane Fitzgerald on guitar, Damon Ivester on bass, and Eli Kovacevich on drums. The combo played a selection of three songs: Stablemates by Benny Golson, Moanin’ by Art Blakey, and St. James Infirmary by Louis Armstrong. Each song boasted solos from one or more of the members of the combo.

Next in line to play was the Jazz Band, which is, in a way, like a smaller denomination of the concert band. The Jazz Band practices and plays its own pieces, as well as playing songs with the concert band, too. This year, the Jazz Band played the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas medley arranged by Murtha, which was “a medley of fun and entertaining songs,” as saxophonist Joshua Garcia explained. Morning Mist by Toshio Mashima, There’s the Rub by Gordon Goodwin, and another classic, Santa Baby arranged by Holmes, with Lillie Farrell and Samantha Babineau providing vocal accompaniment, rounded out the Jazz Band’s performance.

And then the ORR Chorus took the stage – the girls in their black gowns surrounding a group of boy vocalists in white shirts smack dab in the middle. The chorus began with Carol of the Bells, a classic Christmas song arranged by Peter Wilhousky, and continued on to White Winter Hymnal by Robin Pecknold of the band Fleet Foxes. Then came I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent. Riley Nordahl, a junior, started off the song with a solo. As the chorus began taking their seats, one member of the chorus took a microphone and requested that conductor Mr. Michael Barnicle and his wife sit in the front row for a surprise. Five members of the chorus then began to sing Walking In The Air from the Christmas movie The Snowman, which held special meaning to the couple. Paul Sardinha, the director for the school’s drama club who thought to sing the song, accompanied the vocalists on piano.

Next came the concert band, which began their set with Festive Songs of Christmas by Frank Erickson, which combines numerous classic holiday songs into one festive composition. Then came the traditional British folk Christmas carol The Holly and the Ivy, arranged by Tom Wallace, which showcased the smooth legato sound the concert band is capable of.

The chorus then made another appearance to sing Mele Kalikimaka by Robert Anderson, which brought a tropical sound to the otherwise wintery concert. The song was a hit and a favorite of junior Jonathan Kvilhaug “because it combined both the musical talents of individual members as well as a very festive spirit.” The final piece performed by the chorus was Let There Be Peace On Earth arranged by Altimari, with a solo by Old Rochester vocalist Kelly Bruce. Then, to wrap up the concert, the concert band played Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson.

How did the students performing in the concert feel about their sound?

“When you’re performing, you feel so insecure about how it’s going,” said senior vocalist Hannah Dean. “But the band was wonderful, the jazz combo was amazing, the jazz band was great, the chorus did fantastic, and Mr. Barnacle, as always, was wonderful.”

Pulling a concert together isn’t easy, as chorus member Tori MacLean justified when explaining the challenges of the song White Winter Hymnal.

“We were really struggling with it, but then we all came together and performed it well,” said MacLean.

For the song, the chorus had to do a series of different movements like patting their hands on their shoulders to create different rhythms and sounds, on top of learning the words and dynamics of the composition. With so many people in chorus, it was difficult to keep everyone together, and yet they managed to do so wonderfully during the performance.

No instrumentalist can escape the inevitable wrong note or incorrect tempo in rehearsals, and the Old Rochester band faced the same frustrations held by the chorus. Through time and practice, however, the concert band managed to play their songs with seemingly minimal errors.

“This concert went very well, much better than I expected, in fact,” said clarinet player Mary Roussell, while explaining how the concert band worked together in order to play in unison and perform well for the community.

As for the rest of the Christmas season, the band and chorus will perform at Faneuil Hall in Boston, and then out comes new music to be practiced for the next concert.

By Sienna Wurl

Gingerbread Lighthouses

on December 29, 2015

While others were out bustling on the last Saturday before Christmas, a couple dozen of the littler library patrons enjoyed the day making candy gingerbread houses at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on Saturday, December 19.

FinCom Chats About Town Affairs

on December 29, 2015

The Marion Finance Committee on December 17 approved a $6,800 budget transfer to pay for a new roof for the recreation building at 13 Atlantis Drive before Chairman Alan Minard lightly touched upon other town matters.

The cost for the new metal roof at the rec building was lower – to the tune of $12,000 lower – because most of the work would be done in-house, said Minard.

“So it’s not cheap,” Minard said. “Once again, Shaun [Cormier] rules.” Committee members laughed and agreed.

As the committee and the town switches gears into budget season, the committee expects to see a rough draft of the budget by Finance Director Judy Mooney by January 20, and Minard said the general sense of what is happening now at the Town House is that Town Administrator Paul Dawson will soon put out requests to department heads and town boards and committees for fiscal year 2017 budgets.

“The push is on to get the raw data in earlier,” said Minard, “because it’s been really lagging behind some of these years.”

Minard told the committee that the Old Rochester Regional schools would present a budget on March 4, which did not sound like a good idea to some committee members.

“That’s just too late in the process for all three towns,” Minard commented. “It’s just not a good idea.”

The Finance Committee outright rejected the notion of Old Rochester Regional High School’s tentative request for a second vice principal.

“I highly recommend that they go for a [Proposition 2½] override,” said Minard.

“Because overrides don’t pass,” said Finance Committee member Margie Baldwin.

The committee briefly discussed the matter, and some members had some casual criticism of Old Rochester Regional High School Principal Michael Devoll’s organizational skills, given that he feels he needs a second vice principal for roughly 700 students.

The committee suggested the position would put a $175,000 dent in the budget, including salary and benefits.

The committee also briefly talked about upcoming big-ticket items for the town such as the town house renovation and the tentative wastewater treatment plant upgrade.

“There’s been a bunch of talk going on, but no resolution to anything,” said Minard. “Where that’s going to come out, I have no idea.”

Minard said he heard that any upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant, including possibly draining and lining the three lagoons, wouldn’t commence until 2018. Baldwin gasped.

The next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee will be scheduled in January as needed.

By Jean Perry

Daniel Allen Spooner

on December 28, 2015

Daniel Allen Spooner, 57, of Mattapoisett died December 26, 2015 unexpectedly at St. Luke’s Hospital.

Born in New Bedford, the son of the late Allen and Maria L. “Lucy” (Goes) Spooner, he lived in Mattapoisett for the last 12 years.

Daniel was formerly employed as a commercial fisherman on several vessels of the New Bedford fleet. He later became a union representative for the Seafarers International Union in Maryland, Jacksonville, FL and Brooklyn, NY.

Mr. Spooner enjoyed working out at the gym, loved being by the ocean, quahogging, days at the beach, spending time with his grandchildren and the company of Graca and his dog “Carmine.”

Daniel was an athlete while at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and had a desire to become a coach at the school and help others. A scholarship has been established in his memory to benefit student athletes and scholars.

Survivors include his fiancée, Graciana Silva of Mattapoisett; a daughter, Shana Spooner and her companion William Camacho of New Bedford; 2 sons, Daniel Allen Spooner, Jr. of Leonardtown, MD and Chad Lucas and his wife Heather of Acushnet; his former wife, Carol (DeMello) Garza; 2 sisters, Jean DeCoffe and her husband Murray of Mattapoisett and Bonnie Waite and her husband Richard of Acushnet; 5 grandchildren, Jiovani, Giana, King, Kailani and Averie; and several nieces and nephews.

His Funeral will be held on Thursday at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett, followed by his Funeral Mass at St. Anthony’s Church at 10 AM. Burial will follow in St. Anthony’s Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Wednesday from 4-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Daniel Allen Spooner Scholarship Fund, c/o First Citizens Credit Union, P.O. Box 1766, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.