34th Annual Harbor Days

To the Editor:

The members of the Mattapoisett Lions Club would like to thank the Community for making our 34th Annual Harbor Days a success. The town departments help coordinate all of the logistics and townspeople help by allowing the streets to be cluttered with cars and by the town exploding by thousands of people for two days.

We had many new faces among the tried and true Lions that volunteered their time and energy this year.

We are very lucky to live in a nice area that people want to visit the crafters each year, and help and to worthy causes such as Lions Eye Research. We have friends and neighbors that want a festival like this to succeed. We would not be able to do it without your support!!

Thank you,

Marianne DeCosta

 

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.

Religious Education Registration Rally

St. Rose of Lima Church, located at 282 Vaughan Hill Road in Rochester, will hold a religious education registration rally on Sunday, August 30 at 4:30 pm with Mass at 5:30 pm.

Come learn about our Generations of Faith program for parents and children in grades 1-6, the 7 & 8 grade program, Confirmation two-year program, and the Eucharist two-year program. Questions, please call the office at 508-763-2244.

Leisure Shores Marina In Compliance

During her monthly report to the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board, Harbormaster Jill Simmons said, “Bob Ringuette has done everything that was asked…” referring to an Enforcement Order from the Conservation Commission, as well as clean up of the cove where his marina business is located.

Deteriorating Styrofoam floats, encroachments into marshes and eelgrass beds, fuel in the water, and sanitation problems – all matters of a longstanding nature – had forced the Conservation Commission to mandate repairs and remediation as fast at possible. Ringuette had sought a more measured approach by doing clean up, but not changing out all the deteriorating floats as quickly, citing costs as an impediment.

However, Simmons said, on the advice of his sons, Ringuette has removed all the offending floats and completed clean up. Now, she said, he was asking for moorings.

“I personally would be in favor of giving them a couple of business moorings,” Simmons told the MAB.

That prompted a conversation about mooring wait lists, two in fact – one for the inner harbor and one for the Brandt Island area.

Bob Moore said to Simmons, “You are aware that there are people on the mooring wait list.” He said the inspector general’s rules mandated that names on a mooring wait list were to be used when distributing moorings in public waters.

Simmons said there was one name on the wait list for the Brandt Island area. The issue of two lists then prompted another round of discussion and concern over the two lists and the appropriateness of having two. There was a question as to whether or not a person on either wait list should be required to take a mooring in either mooring field, or if they could, in fact, decline a mooring because it was not in their preferred location.

This point was tabled as the group decided to allow Ringuette to place his name on a wait list. But there was more they wanted from this marina.

Vice Chairman John Cornish said, “He still doesn’t have any way to handle his waste…. All marinas need to handle the waste from their customers.”

Pump out services provided by Mattapoisett Boat Yard had been hired by the Town for the 2015 summer season. But the board members felt that service was inadequate, or possibly not being made available to Ringuette’s customers. Simmons said there was a sign at the marina that instructed boaters on how to access pump out services in the inner harbor.

In the end, MAB elected to invite Ringuette to their next meeting to discuss moorings and waste management at his business. They also decided to send a letter to Town Administrator Michael Gagne, asking about pump out services provided by Mattapoisett Boat Yard.

Simmons also reported that she is working with the Town Assessors’ Office to identify private piers that have not been reported and are taxable structures. She said a pier’s taxable base is measured in square feet and can bring to the town’s coffers as much as $4,800 per year.

Regarding a concern voiced by the selectmen at their last meeting referencing hours of operation for the Harbormaster’s Office, Simmons said staffing had been assigned for 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. She said she would be following up to find out whether or not that schedule has been followed. Simmons shared that, for several weeks, she had been unable to arrive at the office herself until 9:00 am due to personal matters she was required to attend to. However, she was displeased to learn that the staff members may not have been arriving on time.

In other business, the MAB received an email from Gagne requesting placement on their August meeting agenda to discuss several items. He identified those items as future needs and repairs to the wharves, work that is presently taking place by the town’s Highway Department on the wharves and supporting structures, and revenue streams for the Waterfront Enterprise.

Chairman Alan Gillis surprised the board when he announced he was stepping down and leaving the board “due to things that have come up recently.” The board members expressed sadness upon hearing this unexpected news and gave him a round of applause for having been a “terrific chairman.” Vice Chairman John Cornish said he would fill the void, but asked for a full election in the coming months.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board is scheduled for August 25 at 7:00 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall meeting room.

By Marilou Newell

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The New Shaw Farm Trail

The new Shaw Farm Trail that links the bike path with the Nasketucket Bay State Reservation is the best thing that could happen to someone like me who runs the bike path practically every day and, frankly, has grown kind of bored with it.

The addition of this single mile has opened up a world I actually never knew existed. I admit that until the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new trail on Friday, July 31, I was ignorant of the splendor of the small network of trails at the state reservation that meander through meadows and wind through the woods to the bay. “Gosh,” I said to myself two weeks ago. “I don’t have enough meadow in my life.” (Really, I actually said that.) That concern is gone for good now. There’s plenty of meadow now for all of us.

I am quickly cultivating a close, intimate relationship with the new trail and the ensuing state reservation. In fact, I’ve taken that right turn onto the Shaw Farm Trail every single day since the grand opening last Friday. I’m becoming familiar with every step up onto every long, boarded bog bridge and then down again. Every bend in the way ahead, every corner that looks out onto the bucolic scene of the DeNormandie Farm, and the myriad meadows – some with the monochromatic white of a thousand Queen Anne’s Lace flowers (wild carrot) and others that dazzle with purple clover and a dozen other flower species – the audacity of nature to interrupt a moment with the intoxicating perfume of the collective olfactory force of thousands of flowers.

The first thing a perceptive person would notice at the start of the trail on a hot summer day is how the temperature drops nearly ten degrees once you are absorbed into the asylum of the shadow of the canopy of trees above, along with the unadulterated airy breeze coming straight off the bay. Walking along the old stone wall that defines the edge of the farm, the vista opens up at the first bend in the way, offering an unobstructed view of the red farmhouse, the barn swallows, those airborne acrobats, and, of course, the blue bay below.

The trail continues on, leading deeper into the woods and gently winding every so often, leading to little unexpected scenes along the way before it joins the wide, grassy Bridle Path of the Nasketucket Bay State Reservation. This is where I leave you to explore this trail on your own, if you haven’t already run there like a forest freak to be one of the first to leave their footprints. I refrain from possibly diminishing the element of delight and surprise for anyone.

I do caution walkers and runners that there are some stubborn, sneaky little spots of poison ivy throughout the trail. Being a newly blazed trail, it takes a while for it to establish itself, so poison ivy and scattered groundcover will be encountered along the way for some time. Of course, wear the appropriate clothing and permethrin-treated shoes to keep the ticks off. The South Coast is ground zero for Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.

The new trailhead straddles the Mattapoisett/Fairhaven line, perpendicular to the bike path near Shaw Road in Fairhaven. A bike rack has been installed so you can lock up your bike and take a break from the bike path.

This trail, and the addition of 416 acres of farmland and woodlands, was six years and $6 million in the making. It is a gift we have given ourselves as town meeting members and as taxpayers. Overlook the heat, ignore the pesky horseflies, grab the kids, and leash up the dog. Take a Hike along the new Shaw Farm Trail and get to know it – make it a part of your life, visit often, and may we care for it and keep it new, no matter how many hundreds of times our souls take our bodies to wander through it.

By Jean Perry

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Rochester Country Fair Schedule

• THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015 – Gates Open at 4:00 PM – Admission: $4.00 – Children Age 5 and Under Free

4:30-5:30 PM Live Music by: The Show Stoppers (Main Arena)

5:00-10:00 PM Truck Pulling – by Southern New England Truck Pullers Association

5:15-6:15 PM Children’s Bam Bam Strong Man Contest (Kid Land)

5:45-7:00 PM Live Music by: Moment of Clarity (Main Arena)

6:00-9:00 PM Live Auction sponsored by Camara’s Auction Sales (Big Tent)

6:00 PM Beef Cow Show (Animal Tent)

6:15-7:00 PM Faneuil Hall Magician & Juggler Robert Clarke (Kid Land)

7:00 PM Cow Chip Bingo Contest (Main Arena)

8:00-9:30 PM Live Music by: Moment of Clarity (Main Arena)

• FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015 – Gates Open at 4:00 PM – Admission: $5.00 – Children Age 5 and Under Free

5:00-10:00 PM Antique Tractor Pulls – 3,500 lb. and 5,000 lb. stock classes

5:00-7:00 PM Live Music by: Aaron Norcross, Jr. & The Old Dogs (Big Tent)

6:00-7:00 PM Nerf Olympics (Kid Land)

6:00 PM Dairy Cow Show (Animal Tent)

7:00-9:00 PM Professional Wrestling by Top Rope Productions (MainArena)

Featuring a Midget Match & Rochester’s Own Gary Eleniefsky

• SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015 – Gates Open at 8:30AM  – Admission: $5.00 – Children Age 5 and Under Free

9:00 AM Garden Tractor Pulling by NEATTA

10:00-12:30 PM Live Music by: Gary Farias (under the Big Tent)

10:30-12:30 PM Children’s Events (Main Arena)

10:00-3:00 PM Antique Tractor Pull – 7,000 lb. and 9,000 lb. Stock Classes

12:00 PM Prehistoric Photo Contest Awards (Photo Exhibit Building)

12:00-4:00 PM Balloon Animals by Bella the Clown

12:30-1:00 PM Registration for Diaper Derby (Kid Land)

1:00-2:00 PM Pebbles & Bam Bam Diaper Derby & Costume Contest (Kid Land)

1:00 PM Dairy Goat Show (Animal Tent)

1:00-4:00 PM Fiddle Contest (Big Tent)

2:30-3:30 PM Running with Scissors (Kid Land)

3:00-10:00 PM Modified & Super Stock Tractor Pulls by: New London County Tractor Pullers

4:00-5:00 PM Pie Eating Contest (Kid Land)

5:00-6:30 PM Live Music by: Rhythm Deacons (under the Big Tent)

5:30 PM Lawn Mower Race (Rear Garden Tractor Pull Area) – Followed by

Garden Tractor/Lawn Mower Rodeo sponsored by Long Plain Svc.

6:00 PM Plymouth County Canine Demonstration (Kid Land)

6:00 PM Sheep Show (Animal Tent)

7:00 PM Live Concert by: Vyntyge Skynyrd (Main Arena)

• SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015 – Gates Open at 8:30 AM  – Admission: $5.00 – Children Age 5 and Under Free

8:00-9:00 AM Parade Check-In (Rochester Memorial School)

9:30 AM “Prehistoric” Theme Parade

12:00-6:00 PM Woodsman Show Competition (Main Arena)

12:00 PM Frog Derby (Kid Land) “BYOF” – Bring your Own Frog!

12:15 PM Parade Awards (under the Big Tent)

12:45-4:45 PM Live Music by: The Buzzard Blue Band (under the Big Tent)

1:00 – 6:00 PM Mass Mini Modified Tractor Pulling

1:00 PM Horseshoe Tournament (next to Fair Food Booth)

1:00-5:00 PM Garden Tractor Stone Boat Pull sponsored by Camara Metalworks

1:30 PM Bwana Iguana Interactive Reptile Show (Kid Land)

1:30-2:30 PM Registration for Pedal Tractor Pull (Kid Land)

2:00 PM Pie Bake Off (under the Big Tent)

2:30 PM Children’s Pedal Tractor Pull (Kid Land)

Academic Achievements

Madeleine West of Mattapoisett, a member of the Pomfret School class of 2015, has earned high honor roll distinction at Pomfret School for the 2015 spring term. A student earns high honors with a grade point average of at least 3.5 and no grade below a B-.

Select students have been named to the Spring 2015 Dean’s List at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. Full-time students who complete 12 or more credits per semester and earn a GPA of 3.4 or higher are placed on the Dean’s List that semester.

– Hannah Dupont of Rochester majoring in Media Communication

– Kristen Knight of Marion majoring in Elementary Education

– Ryan McArdle of Marion majoring in Finance

Ryan Muther of Marion was named to the 2015 Dean’s List at Union College. Muther is a member of the Class of 2016, majoring in Computer Science and History. To be named to the annual Dean’s List, Union students must have a grade point average of 3.5 for the entire year and meet certain other requirements.

Coastal Explorers

Children explored the shore with Cassie Lawson and Becca Stroud from the Buzzards Bay Coalition on July 31 at Shining Tides in Mattapoisett, enjoying a scavenger hunt along with the exploration of sea animal habitats. Photos by Jean Perry

 

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A Bad Year For Tomatoes

Marion Art Center Players announce their summer production, A Bad Year For Tomatoes by John Patrick, a hilarious comedy in two acts. Directed by Rex McGraw, the show will open on Thursday, August 6 and run on Friday, August 7, Saturday, August 8, Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15. All shows start at 7:30pm.

The Story: Fed up with the pressures and demands of her acting career, the famous Myra Marlowe (played by Cynthia Latham) leases a house in the tiny New England hamlet of Beaver Haven and settles down to write her autobiography. She is successful in turning aside the offers pressed on her by her long-time agent (played by Jay Ryan), but dealing with her nosy, omnipresent neighbors (played by Suzie Kokkins, Suzy Taylor and Susan Sullivan) is a different matter. In an attempt to shoo them away, and gain some privacy, Myra invents a mad, homicidal sister – who is kept locked in an upstairs room, but who occasionally escapes long enough to scare off uninvited visitors. The ruse works well, at first, but complications result when the local handyman (played by Thom O’Shaughnessy) develops an affection for “Sister Sadie” (really Myra in a fright wig) and the nosy lady neighbors decide it is their Christian duty to save the poor demented Sadie’s soul. In desperation, Myra announces that her imaginary sibling has suddenly gone off to Boston – which brings on the sheriff (played by Mark Letourneau) and the suspicion of murder! Needless to say, all is straightened out in the end, but the uproarious doings will keep audiences laughing right up to the final curtain, and then some.

This play is the perfect evening out in the air-conditioned theater at the Marion Art Center. Get a group of four together and reserve a cabaret table! Tickets are $12.50 for MAC members and $15 for general admission. Guests are invited to bring their own refreshments. Cabaret tables are available for reserved parties of four or more.

Don’t miss this show! Reservations are highly recommended; email marionartcenter@verizon.net. In the subject line of the email, please type “A Bad Year For Tomatoes.” In the body of the email, please include your full name, your telephone number for confirmation, the date you will be attending and how many tickets you need. We will send a confirmation email. Or call 508-748-1266 and leave a message with your name, phone number, the number of tickets needed and the date you are coming.

The Marion Art Center is located at 80 Pleasant Street in Marion.

Music from Across the Pond

The Marion Concert Band continues its summer concert series with a program of music from the British Isles on Friday, August 7. The program, which features several classic British Brass Band pieces as well as music from the Beatles, as well as an appearance by members of the Cape Cod British Car Club, LTD (CCBCC) is as follows:

Colonel Bogey – K. J. Alford

Second Suite in F for Military Band – G. Holst

Morceau Symphonique – A. Guilmant

Tobias Monte, euphonium

Perthshire Majesty – S. Hazo

Lincolnshire Posy (parts 4 & 6) – P. Grainger

Irish Tune from County Derry – P. Grainger

Prelude, Siciliano & Rondo – M. Arnold

British Invasion: Hits of the 60s – arr. J. Vinson

Pop and Rock Legends: The Beatles – M. Sweeney

Knightsbridge March – E. Coates

Tobias Monte, euphonium soloist, has performed with the Massachusetts All-State Band, the UMass Dartmouth Wind Ensemble, the Tri-County Symphonic Band, and the New Bedford Symphony Youth Orchestra. He has been a member of the Marion Concert Band since 2011.

The Cape Cod British Car Club, LTD (CCBCC) is a Massachusetts not-for-profit corporation whose membership annually exceeds 250. While members come from all over the world, most members are residents of southern New England. CCBCC members enjoy driving and displaying their English automobiles. Throughout the year, the CCBCC participates in events and raises funds for scholarship purposes. Annually, the club provides scholarships to automotive and auto body students at the Upper Cape Regional Technical School, the South Plymouth High School and the Cape Cod Regional Technical School. The club also provides funds towards a specific scholarship program available to Falmouth High School students.

The concert, under the direction of Tobias Monte, will begin at 7:00 pm at the Robert Broomhead Bandstand, Island Wharf off Front Street in Marion. All concerts are free and open to the public.

Shelley A. (Russell) Blanchard

Shelley A. (Russell) Blanchard, 61, of Rochester died August 4, 2015 at home after a long illness surrounded by her family.

She was the wife of Stewart A. Blanchard.

Born in Boston, the daughter of the late Howard and Pauline (Sekulich) Russell, she was raised in Brockton and moved to Rochester in 1984.

Mrs. Blanchard was formerly employed as a special education teacher with the Department of Education working in various hospital settings with disabled children for many years retiring from Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton in 2010.

She was a graduate of Stonehill College, class of 1975 and later received her Masters Degree in Special Education from Eastern Michigan University.

Mrs. Blanchard enjoyed spending time with her beloved dogs, skiing, golfing, shopping, listening to the Eagles and the company of her friends.

Survivors include her husband; a son, Daniel Russell Blanchard and his fiancée Michelle Thibodeau of Lakeville; a daughter, Caroline Marie Blanchard of Mattapoisett; a sister, Susan Weigand of Howell, MI; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Her visiting hours will be held on Friday from 3-7 PM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6) Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to American Lab Rescue, Inc., P.O. Box 215 Willington, CT 06279-0215. For directions and guestbook, please www.saundersdwyer.com.