Selectmen Review Draft Warrant, Call for Special

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Members of the Rochester Board of Selectmen say this year’s draft Annual Town Meeting warrant is heftier than average with 26 articles. That is, until May 12 when selectmen pulled several articles off and more may follow.

First to go was draft Article 16, which would have appropriated a sum not to exceed $60,000 over the next five fiscal years from the Council on Aging expense lease line item to lease a 2015 14-passenger non-handicapped-accessible minibus. The bus would have replaced the current 2007 minibus used to transport Rochester seniors.

Town Administrator Michael McCue said a vote was taken by another town entity to hold off on the article until further notice.

Selectmen also removed draft Article 19 to fund a generator for the Senior Center.

McCue said draft Article 20 may ultimately be removed and put into the IT budget to fund the first year of a five-year lease to replace the computer system at Town Hall.

Draft Article 21 to fund a company to codify the Town bylaws will likely remain on the warrant, despite the Planning Board’s disinterest in paying the amount quoted from the only company that responded with an offer.

That amount is featured in the draft warrant as $9,900, and McCue suggested leaving it at that in case another company can be found to perform the task at a lower rate.

“We would never exceed that amount,” said McCue if another company was found to codify the municipal code. And since an article amount can be decreased on the Town Meeting floor but not increased, said McCue, it is wise to keep the $9,900 as a placeholder. If no other company is found, McCue said, then the article could simply be passed over at Town Meeting.

The board called for a Special Town Meeting, mostly to deal with financial issues such as the over-expended snow and ice removal budget. The Special will be held the same night as the Annual on June 8 at Rochester Memorial School.

Also on the draft warrant, but not discussed in great detail, is an article pertaining to assessors employment that Selectman Bradford Morse was uncomfortable discussing that evening.

The article would allow an elected member of the Board of Assessors to hold an appointed position within the town that reports to the Board of Assessors. It reads: “In smaller municipalities, there are frequently times when positions that require certain knowledge and expertise may need to be held by the same person.”

The impetus for this article is the recent election of member of the Board of Assessors Debra Lalli, said McCue, who is already an appointed clerk that reports to the Board of Assessors. McCue said the potential appearance of a conflict of interest could be in the allocation of salaries. The Board of Assessors approves the salaries of its own office’s appointed positions.

The article continues, “Allowing this situation would not exempt the individual from other applicable conflict of interest and ethics laws, it would merely permit them to hold both positions.”

The matter will be discussed further at the next Rochester Board of Selectmen meeting scheduled for May 18 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

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Tri-Town Early Childhood Program

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The Tri-Town Early Childhood Program, located at Old Rochester Regional High School, is accepting applications for the 2015-2016 school year. The preschool program serves three and four-year-olds and follows the school calendar. It is unique in that it provides a high quality early childhood education opportunity to preschoolers, while also offering high school students a chance to learn about working in the field of early childhood education. A licensed early childhood teacher and a rotation of high school students staff the classroom.

A limited number of spaces are available. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The enrollment policy is based on a balance of three and four-year-olds, a balance of boys and girls, and a balance among residents of the three member towns.

For an application or for more information, visit our website at wwworrhsprek.weebly.com or contact Aimee Fox at 508-758-3745, extension 1612.

John G. Perry

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John G. Perry, 80, of Marion died May 17, 2015 at home after a courageous battle with cancer while surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of Claudette D. (Sirois) Perry and the son of the late Jerry and Roseanne (Leger) Perry.

He was born in Marion and lived there all of his life. He was a veteran of the Korean War serving in the Army.

Mr. Perry worked as union laborer for local 385 in New Bedford for many years before retiring.

He was a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett, a member of the Marion Social Club and the Benjamin D. Cushing VFW Post 2425. He enjoyed gardening, masonry and building stonewalls.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Claudette D. (Sirois) Perry; a son, John G. Perry Jr. and his wife Cynthia of Fairhaven; a daughter, Debra Ann Perry of Dartmouth; a sister, Adeline Boys of Wareham; 2 grandchildren; 2 great grandchildren.

His funeral will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 from the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Hwy., Wareham, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. in St. Rita’s Church, Front St., Marion. Burial will follow in Evergreen Cemetery.

Visiting hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the funeral home.

Donations in his memory may be made to Southcoast Hospice, 200 Mill Rd., Fairhaven, MA 02719 or to the Marion Social Club, 44 Pumping Station Road, Marion, MA 02738.

Barbara Marion Trundy, Sowden, Sell, Anderson

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Barbara Marion Trundy, Sowden, Sell, Anderson died peacefully in her sleep on January 25, 2015 at the age of 94. She was born in Providence Rhode Island March 20, 1920, the child of Florence and Harry Trundy. Always a force to be reckoned with, she became the youngest member of the Providence Chamber of Commerce by owning her own variety store called Barbara’s Variety Store on Eddy St when she was a teenager.

Married three times (Milton Sowden, Norbet Sell, and David Anderson) she was the mother of five sons Peter Sowden, Paul Sowden, Bert Sell, Barry Sell, and Bradley Sell. She considered Peter’s wife Lorraine and her niece Susan Hallihan to be the daughters she never had. She was a good mother in law to her sons wife’s and a good godmother to Cynthia Burns, who made her godmother an important part of her life.

She was a grand mother to 11 grandchildren, Christine, Peter, Mark, Benjamin, and Emily Sowden, Kendra, Kurt, Eric, Dana, Courtney and Shannon Sell.

She also had twelve great grandchildren Justin, Sofia, Peter, Owen, Jacob, James, Naomi, Ethan, Sam, Addison, Shaylen and Baron.

Barbara was also an avid cook, member of Marion Congregational Church, and was involved in its many organizations through the years. She was a loving mother who was also strict. She will be greatly missed. Her service will be June 27, 2015 at the Evergreen Cemetery for family only, at 10:00 am. Collation will be at the First Congregational Church of Marion Community Center at 144 Front St Marion at 11:30. In lieu of flowers a donation can be made to the First Congregational Church of Marion Box 326 02738 att Penny Pinchers.

Boys’ Tennis, Girls’ Track On Pace for Titles

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Here is a look at the sixth week of scheduled games for Old Rochester Regional High School spring athletics.

            Baseball: The boys’ baseball team suffered their first loss of the season this week to SCC rival Fairhaven in a disappointing 3-0 shutout. Despite a strong pitching effort by Sam Henrie, who allowed only three hits and recorded five strikeouts, the Bulldogs were not able to gain any momentum offensively, as they only got two hits off the entire game. The loss was surely a tough one for the Bulldogs, but they managed to rebound nicely later in the week with an exciting 2-1 run-off victory. In the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied 1-1, senior Brendan Deverix got off a first-base hit, which allowed sophomore Will Hopkins to race to home plate and score the winning run for the Bulldogs. Deverix also played well from the pitcher’s mound during the game. With the conclusion of the week, the boys’ record still remains at the top of the SCC at 10-1.

Softball: The Lady Bulldogs had a strong start to their week with a 7-6 win over Fairhaven. Thanks to a strong performance by freshman Sophie Hubbard, who went 3-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, the ORR softball team defeated Fairhaven in what is likely to be the first time in three years. Hubbard was joined in the offensive rankings by Maddie Lee, who went 2-4 with a run and RBI, and four other Lady Bulldogs who contributed. Kaleigh Goulart earned yet another win from the pitcher’s mound. The win marked the girls’ fourth straight victory, a streak that would unfortunately be broken the next game against Somerset-Berkeley, where the girls fell 5-2. Though Courtney Dextradeur and Michaela Guard had run-scoring hits, it would not prove enough to defeat the out-of-conference Blue Raiders. The girls’ overall record stands at 7-5.

Boys’ Track: The boys’ track team came back nicely after losing their first meet of the season last week with two wins over SCC rivals to advance their record to 5-1. The Bulldogs defeated both Case and Apponequet, with several athletes winning multiple events. Kevin Saccone won the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter, and 200-meter, while Ben Rounseville contributed a win in the 100-hurdles and Trevor Capachione won the javelin. After the two conference wins, several athletes competed in the Glenn D. Loucks Games, held in White Plains, New York for some of the finest athletes on the east coast. There, Saccone placed second overall in the 400-hurdles with the second-best time run by a Massachusetts athlete this year in the event, as well as nabbing fourth in the long jump. Other competitors included Rounseville and Eli Spevack in the pentathlon and Ben Dion in the 100-meter.

Girls’ Track: The Lady Bulldogs remained undefeated this week by defeating Apponequet and Case by large margins. The girls beat Case 107-23 and Apponequet 105-26. The girls got wins from Zoe Smith (high jump, 100-meter, 100-hurdles), Lexi Afonso (long jump, triple jump), Jill Sethares (shot-put, discus), Nicole Gifford (javelin), Avery Nugent (2-mile), Rachel Demmer (400-hurdles), Nina Bourgeois(mile), Nicole Mattson (400-meter), and the 4×100-team. The girls are on track to be SCC champions for the fifth consecutive year if they can get past GNB Voc-Tech and Seekonk next week. A few female athletes also competed in the Loucks Games later in the week, notably Smith, Afonso, and Brooke Santos in the pentathlon and Arden Goguen in the 100-meter.

Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team continued their domination of the SCC this week, defeating Wareham, Fairhaven, and Case in 5-0 shutouts to keep their conference record at a perfect 12-0. ORR swept all three teams in all five matches, getting key wins from players like Owen Sughrue (first singles), Alex Bilodeau (first singles and second singles), Sam Pasquill (second singles and third singles), and Sean Nutter (third singles). With only a few matches left in the season, the Bulldogs look poised to claim their second consecutive SCC title and make a strong run in the state tournament.

Girls’ Tennis: Like the boys’ team, the girls’ tennis team went 3-3 for this week against Case, Fairhaven, and Wareham. Against Wareham and Fairhaven, the girls won 4-1, with Julia Nojeim (first singles) and Morgan Middleton (second singles) winning their respective matches in both. The girls also shut out case 5-0 thanks to an incredible performance by first doubles team KK Bindas and Emma Collings, whose match went nearly three hours as they fought for the win. Luckily, their efforts paid off, and combined with the domination of the other matches, the Lady Bulldogs were able to nab another victory en route to advancing their record to 10-3.

Boys’ Lacrosse: After a strong win over Bourne (14-13) to start their week, the boys’ lacrosse team suffered their first loss of the season to Apponequet in a 7-6 battle. Despite goals from Ethan Lizotte (2), Landon Goguen (3), and a lone score from Charlie Tirrell, the Bulldogs were not able to clinch the victory. Unfortunately, this means that Apponequet and ORR are now tied at the top of the SCC with just a few games left. The boys got out some of their frustration later in the week with a massive 18-2 victory over non-conference Bishop Stang. The Bulldogs currently stand at an 11-1 overall record.

Girls’ Lacrosse: The girls also suffered a 7-6 loss to Apponequet this week, which marked the girls’ first conference loss all season. Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs were strong, with Maggie Adams (2), Maddie Cooney (2), Emily Hiller, and Mikayla Demanche all recording goals, but the girls were not able to halt an aggressive Apponequet on the other side of the field in order to secure the win. Luckily, ORR will remain at the top of the SCC rankings and just needs to defeat two more teams to secure the title. The girls also won an impressive 15-14 victory over Bishop Stang, which is very admirable considering the depth of Stang’s program.

Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of May 11.

Baseball: (11-1-0) (10-1-0); Softball: (7-5-0) (7-3-0); Boys’ Track: (5-1-0) (5-1-0); Girls’ Track: (6-0-0) (6-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (13-1-0) (12-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (10-3-0) (10-2-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (11-1-0) (5-1-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (11-2-1) (6-1-0).

By Michael Kassabian

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Routine Business for Planning Board

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With no scheduled public hearings listed on the agenda, the Rochester Planning Board met May 12 to take care of routine business, namely to appoint a board representative to the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee.

Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson volunteered to take up the position temporarily, but suggested that board member Ben Bailey assume the position.

Bailey expressed concern about joining the committee as it has a hand in developing the town’s Open Space Plan, which is up for review in the near future. It is Bailey’s opinion that the town has enough open space as it is.

“I’d do that if they say they’re interested in that perspective,” Bailey said.

For now, Johnson will take the position as Bailey takes time to consider it.

Later in the meeting, the board discussed a prior site visit to Parlowtown Road in Rochester, where a path is to be considered for receiving “ancient way” status following an application, which has not yet been submitted.

An ancient way is a term used to define an area that has been used as a public road by either pedestrians or vehicles for at least 100 years. Following an application process by the property’s owner, the Planning Board then decides if the area meets the criteria through analysis of old maps dating back at least a century. This would help prove the age of the road and whether or not it was a public or private way.

“It stands on the applicant to prove it’s an ancient way,” Johnson explained.

Following this decision, the newly designated ancient way can be used as frontage. The board will take further action on this following an application.

Earlier in the meeting, the board looked over photos of the Little Quittacas Solar Project located at 33 North Avenue. The ensuing discussion was about how the vegetation in the area should be maintained, primarily if it should be reseeded with grass or allowed to “return to nature.”

Bailey reviewed the photos and suggested that, due to the shape of the terrain, which is sloped, and the quality of soil in Rochester, which he described as sandy and acidic, it was best to allow naturally occurring plants to thrive in that area. According to him, grasses planted in the area would not survive well, and by seeding the area in the spring, as opposed to the fall, it was likely to become infested with crabgrass.

The board welcomed new board member Chris Silveira, who won a seat on the board as a write-in candidate during the annual election.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for May 26 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Andrew Roiter

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Mattapoisett Land Trust

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The Mattapoisett Land Trust invites the public to join its members and friends on Saturday, May 30 for a presentation by Kathy Zagzebski, President and Executive Director of the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay. In the middle of the spring’s seal pup “shower”, Ms. Zagzebski will describe the work of the center in saving abandoned seal pups and how volunteers can help in that work. She’ll also describe how the center assisted with last fall’s “Kempocalypse” when hundreds for Kemp’s ridley turtles were rescued from the shores of Cape Cod. Learn how you can help with this national effort having a local flavor.

The lecture will take place at the Friends’ Meeting House on Marion Road (Route 6) in Mattapoisett beginning at 1:00 pm. The presentation is part to the Land Trust’s annual meeting and will follow a pot-luck lunch at noon to which the public is also invited.

For more information about the presentation, contact the Mattapoisett Land Trust at info@mattlandtrust.org or leave a message at 774-377-9191.

Rochester Police Schedule Entrance Exam

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The Rochester Police Department in conjunction with Police Exam Solutions has scheduled an Entrance Exam for the Rochester Police Department on May 30.

The Rochester Police Department employs 10 full-time officers, five part-time officers and a number of reserve officers serving a population of approximately 5,400 residents. The department will hold an entrance exam to fill part-time openings now and full-time positions in the future.

Because of the small size of the department, officers handle many of their own cases from start to finish. This allows officers the opportunity to participate in investigations, write and serve warrants, and make arrests as a result of their own work.

Rochester police officers also have the opportunity to participate in a number of the departments specialized units such as bike patrol and ATV patrol as well as being able to join specialized units such as the dive team, SWAT team, and search and rescue team attached to the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (SEMLEC).

Details and eligibility requirements are provided on the Police Exam Solutions website www.policeexamsolutions.com. Any questions are to be directed to the testing company through the “contact us” section of their website. Any calls made directly to the police department or Police Exam Solutions may disqualify you from being hired.

Perhaps you know someone who is thinking of getting involved in law enforcement. This is a great opportunity for them to participate in the entry level testing process and possibly earn a career in law enforcement.

If you or anyone you know would like further information on this upcoming exam, please visit www.policeexamsolutions.com. All registrations must be done online.

3rd Annual Clam Boil

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The American Legion, Florence Eastman Post 280, 3 Depot Street, Mattapoisett will hold a Clam Boil under the tent in Shipyard Park, Mattapoisett on July 12 serving at 2:00 pm. Venue courtesy of the Mattapoisett Lions’ Club. Call Mike at 508-758-9311 for reservations or questions. The Boil will include our special chowder, two pounds of clams, stuffing, sweet corn, onion, potato, sausage and linguica.

Reservations are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Cost is $25 per ticket. We need your support to continue our Community Service and look forward to providing our guests with a great meal and good fellowship right on the water!

Spaghetti Supper

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St. Anthony and St. Rita’s Churches are holding a Spaghetti Supper on Saturday, May 23 in St. Anthony’s Parish Hall from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Tickets will be sold at the churches or you may call 508-758-9578. Tickets are $5/person capped at $25 for a family. Head chef will be Marion’s own Joe Napoli, and he will be assisted by Mattapoisett’s chef extraordinaire, Colby Rottler. Mangiare mia famiglia!