Esteria Hope LaPointe 92 of Lakeville and Rochester, wife of the late Raymond LaPointe passed December 20, 2015. Her family will be having a memorial service April 9, 2016 at 10:30 am at the Lakeville United Church of Christ Precinct St, Lakeville.
ORR School Committee Approves 2016-17 Budget
The Old Rochester Regional School Committee has approved the ORR School District’s proposed $17,640,793 budget for the 2016-17 school year.
The budget has been a source of contention, and the committee pared down by $660,947 the originally proposed budget amount of $18,301,919. At the same time, the committee approved seeking a debt exclusion of $603,206, replacing a possible property tax increase above the usual 2.5 percent increase ceiling set by the state in order to supplement school capital costs.
“This budget has everything you could possibly have packed into it,” explained Superintendent Doug White as he went over the proposal. The budget is split by the three towns, whose shares are decided by the number of students from each town, as well as the towns’ property taxes and wealth indicators. For the 2016-2017 school year, Marion is assessed at $4,198,277 and Rochester sits in the middle at $4,879,108. Mattapoisett is assessed as the most expensive at $5,223,588.
The committee made several cuts to the proposed budget on feedback from the three towns. A second social worker position at the high school was taken out, as well as a second art teacher, a part-time American Sign Language teacher, and a fourth guidance counselor. An extension of the late bus to Wednesday nights (late buses currently run on Tuesday and Thursday nights) was also removed, much like the $45,000 earmarked for new Chromebooks intended for classroom use.
Old Rochester Regional High School Principal Michael Devoll bemoaned the administrative staff position, which was also cut from the proposed budget.
“We have a principal and a vice principal … that’s it,” said Devoll. “Two administrators for 770 students is not enough. We need a Dean of Students to handle disciplinary issues.”
Devoll continued, “I’m tasked with developing six different agendas, then forced to attend all six meetings and make sure the agendas are being followed. [ORR Junior High School Principal] Kevin Brogioli and I are in meetings every day of the week. We evaluate everything … it’s a full-time job.”
As for trying to keep budgets from growing too large, White pointed out that the school districts try to fund with grants, “But over time those grants disappear, and the money comes back into the budget.”
ORR Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos introduced a novel tactic, explaining that the district has used GoFundMe pages for materials that couldn’t be financed in the budget.
Committee member Cynthia Johnson addressed the budget cuts made by the committee.
“These are needs for the school, not wants,” Johnson said. “We are disappointed that we can’t fund these at this time, but we also know how important it is to get a budget approved to address critical needs.”
There was again conversation at one point about seeking a Proposition 2½ override. White indicated that the committee would not go forward with the plan at this time and that the debt exclusion would step into play instead. The exclusion, which Johnson pointed out “was encouraged and introduced as an idea by the town governments,” functions as a loan of $603,206 approved by voters to the ORR school district by the three towns. The exclusion will be repaid at a fixed amount over 10 years.
When questioned as to why it was that the ORR school district could not afford to pay for a second art teacher when Fairhaven currently has four art teachers and Dartmouth is downsizing from seven, White pointed out that the problem has to do with districts.
“ORR is funded as four different districts, whereas towns like Fairhaven are funded as one district,” said White. “Whereas we have to distribute the funds between all of the different districts, whereas schools which are counted as one district have much more freedom to distribute funds as they would like.”
With the budget and the debt exclusion approved by the school committee, it will now be passed on to the Board of Selectmen of each town for consideration before Town Meeting.
The next meeting of the Old Rochester regional School Committee is scheduled for April 13 at 6:30 pm in the ORRJHS media room.
By Andrea Ray
Santos Twins Leave Major Mark on ORR
With winter sports having concluded after last weekend’s nationals track meet and spring sports teams just beginning practices this week, it’s a slow news week for Old Rochester Regional athletics.
That’s why it’s the perfect time to shine a light on two students who made a huge impact this past season and who are set to be athletes to watch this spring.
Those athletes are seniors Evan and Will Santos, twins from Marion who have been stars in soccer and basketball throughout their high school careers.
This past week, I spoke to them about their accomplishments in the last four years, the new challenge they face as they embark on a new sport this spring, and their plans for after graduation.
From their freshman to junior years, both Santos brothers played soccer. During those years, they were among the team’s best players, even making the varsity squad as freshmen. However, the boys ended their soccer careers before this season to focus primarily on basketball.
“We did it to focus on basketball year-round,” Will said.
“It was so hard watching the games this year,” said Evan. “It was awful.”
With the extra prep for basketball season, the boys were able to focus their efforts on the winter sport as they looked to repeat as state champions.
During their junior year, the brothers were both starters on the team that crushed D-3 competition on its way to an historic victory. Coach Steve Carvalho named them captains for the 2015-16 season, a role that they took seriously.
“It was great being a leader and having that impact on the players,” Evan explained. Will continued by saying that the most important thing he took out of his experience as captain was the difficulty of managing the team.
“It’s hard having a leadership role,” Will admitted. Both brothers acknowledged the importance of their coaches – both Coach Carvalho at ORR as well as their AAU coaches – on their success.
“They pushed us to be better people,” Will said.
Evan explained that Coach Carvalho’s expectations of the brothers as leaders were important motivating factors in their success this year.
However, the brothers flourished during their season as team leaders. They were groomed for this role ever since they saw varsity action as underclassmen and responded well, leading the team to a 17-5 record (15-2 in the SCC), which included a playoff win.
Evan moved to point guard to account for the loss of Noah Fernandes to Tabor Academy, while Will played mostly as a forward. Evan scored 26 points twice this season and averaged double digits. Meanwhile, Will controlled the boards and facilitated the offense down low.
Referring to the differences between this year’s squad and last year’s championship team, Evan responded, “Every year, it’s a different team. The team makeup was very different.”
This spring, the boys will take on a new sport as they aim to round out their repertoire. This week, the Santos brothers will come out for spring track, where they plan to run distance. However, they are open-minded and want to help the team achieve its goals overall.
“We want to be SCC contenders,” Will said.
As for their plans after they throw their caps up in the air on June 4?
“Next year, we will be attending Deerfield Academy for a post-graduate year,” Evan revealed. “We went up and we toured after the coach recruited us.”
Although the twins will focus on basketball at Deerfield, they will also be running track in the spring to stay in perfect shape year-round.
It has been a magical four years for Will and Evan Santos at Old Rochester. Not only have they been important athletes, but they have been great citizens of the school as well.
It’s impossible to find a teacher with anything negative to say about the twins, who have always been great role models for the younger grades, especially the athletes who look up to them.
As they have done in the past few years, the Santos brothers are sure to be big contributors on and off the field during spring track, at Deerfield, and beyond.
In other matters, below are the final overall winter team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties.
Boys’ Basketball: (17-5-0)(15-2-0); Girls’ Basketball: (8-12-0)(6-9-0); Boys’ Track: (8-1-0)(8-1-0); Girls’ Track: (9-0-0)(9-0-0); Boys’ Swimming: (0-8-0)(0-6-0); Girls’ Swimming: (3-5-0)(1-5-0); Boys’ Ice Hockey: (14-5-4)(9-0-1); Girls’ Ice Hockey: (3-16-0)(3-14-0).
By Patrick Briand
Pageant Planned for Girls with Special Needs
On Friday, May 6, reigning Miss Southcoast Jillian Zucco will host the Miss Inspirational pageant for girls with special needs and disabilities at the Old Rochester Regional High School auditorium at 6:30 pm.
Ms. Zucco, a graduating nursing student in the honors program at UMASS Dartmouth, is now accepting registrations from girls and young women for participation in this event on a first-come, first-serve basis. The goal of the pageant is to highlight and celebrate the achievements of those around us who are breaking barriers and overcoming challenges every single day.
Employed as a personal care attendant by the Cerebral Palsy of Massachusetts organization, Ms. Zucco has worked with several girls with varying levels of disability. “This event is going to focus on ability and empowerment. My goal is to raise public awareness by giving these young women and girls a platform to show the community how inspirational they truly are.”
The pageant will have four phases: Introduction, using any form of communication with or without assistance; Talent, sharing a unique ability, talent, or something the individual is proud of; Formal Wear, demonstrating grace and confidence in a party dress or gown of one’s own or one provided courtesy of the Cinderella Project through Gifts to Give; and Personal Statement submitted in writing before the event detailing obstacles overcome, barriers broken, and/or goals and aspirations, pieces of which will be read to the audience during the Formal Wear portion of the live show.
Ms. Zucco plans to accommodate individuals with all types of disabilities, including mental, physical, developmental and medical. An ASL interpreter will be available for those who need this service. The stage, dressing room and auditorium meet ADA accessibility guidelines, and a volunteer will be assigned to assist each participant on and off stage the night of the show to ensure they are prepared and ready for each phase.
The program will also recognize any males with special needs who would like to be involved as well.
There is no fee to participate. Tickets to the event will be available at the door for $10. All proceeds will benefit Boston Children’s Hospital through the Children’s Miracle Network.
To register or for more information, email JillianZucco@gmail.com. Miss Southcoast is a local preliminary to the Miss Massachusetts and Miss America organizations.
Easter Egg Fun
Saturday was a picture perfect day at Veteran’s Park in Mattapoisett for the Lions Club’s annual Easter egg hunt. Dozens of children made the dash to collect their fair share of Easter candy and enjoyed an afternoon of popping bubbles by the lighthouse with entertainer Vinny Lovegrove. Photos by Colin Veitch
Two Running for Selectman in Rochester
Rochester voters will have a choice in at least one of the races in the April 13 election, with two names on the ballot seeking one seat on the Board of Selectmen.
Incumbent Bradford Morse, a cranberry farmer, will seek his fourth elected term on the Board of Selectmen while former selectman and current Planning Board member Michael Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Auto Salvage, hopes voters will give him another go on the board.
Morse spent 12 years on the Planning Board starting in 1992 before seeking the selectman position nine years ago.
“I want to continue to make fiscally responsible decisions for the taxpayers,” Morse said during an interview on March 21. He cited his involvement with the development of the town’s assessment of the ORR school budget and his contribution to the development of the Rochester Memorial School addition as examples of his track record.
“And now there’s the potential for possibly another town building,” said Morse, referring to the town’s need to either expand the town hall, acquire a town hall annex, or build a new town hall to house all town departments.
Morse said he initially ran for the board to ensure financial decisions were made soundly and to get the town’s finances “under control.”
“And since then, we’ve brought in a full-time treasurer instead of an elected treasurer, and we’ve moved forward in a positive direction,” Morse said.
For a fourth term, Morse said he just wants to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
“I want to continue to serve the townspeople of Rochester,” said Morse. “I am a local businessman who intends to stay and be involved as long as I am in town.”
Murphy ran an unsuccessful campaign against Morse back in 2013, and he will do it again this year in hopes that voters will allow him to take the helm and hold it steady in “the right direction” he says the town is already sailing towards.
Murphy said he is impressed with the leadership and progress amongst town boards such as the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
“We’ve got an unbelievable group of people,” Murphy said on March 22 over the phone. “All the boards are doing today what I wanted them to do before … work together.”
Murphy said that if elected, he would keep his seat on the Planning Board while sitting on the Board of Selectmen. He referred to all the solar farm projects he has seen come before him, and he wants to continue to sit on the regulatory board that ensures development in Rochester stays positive.
He recalled his role as a selectman in forming the Building Needs Committee, which laid the groundwork and the plans for the police building, Council on Aging building, and the baseball fields.
“I’ve got nothing against Brad [Morse]. We get along great,” said Murphy. “I’m running because I’m doing it for the love of doing it. And I’m not getting any younger,” he added. “I enjoy doing it.”
Plus, it gets him away from his business and his cell phone that never seems to stop ringing, he joked.
“I’ll deal with whatever comes down the pike,” said Murphy, if he gets elected. “And we’ll do it in a very efficient way, hopefully, and in the best interest of the town.”
By Jean Perry
Madeline A. (Daly) Arruda
Madeline A. (Daly) Arruda, 86, of Rochester died March 26, 2016 at St. Luke’s Hospital peacefully after a long illness.
She was the wife of Edmund F. Arruda.
Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late Edward and Rose (Renault) Daly-Bouley, she lived in Rochester most of her life.
She was a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Church in Rochester.
Survivors include her husband; a son, Edmund Arruda, Jr. and his wife Jeanne of Rochester; 2 daughters, Sandra Kamins and her companion Bob Shaughnessey of Clinton, MA and Deborah Norris and her husband Jeff of Essex, VT; 6 grandchildren, Heather Kamins and her husband Dimitri Labarge, Andrea Kamins, Kyle Norris, Lindsay Norris, Ryan Briggs and Alex Arruda; and several nieces and nephews.
She was the sister of the late Lillian Niles.
Her Funeral will be held on Wednesday at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home For Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6) Mattapoisett, followed by her Funeral Mass at St. Rose of Lima Church at 10 AM. Burial will follow in Center Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Tuesday from 5-8 PM. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
ORRJHS Students of the Month
Kevin T. Brogioli, Principal of Old Rochester Regional Junior High School, announces the following Students of the Month for February 2016:
Green Team: Cole Ashley & Ruth Harris
Orange Team: Michael Pardo & Meg Hughes
Blue Team: Owen Kinney & Lela Krein
Red Team: Joseph Dumas & Rebecca Milde
Purple Team: Frank Andrews & Taylor Amaral
Special Areas: Elijah Tomassini-Matton & Caroline Donley
Upper Cape Tech Golf Tournament
The Bette-Lee Marsland/Upper Cape Tech Golf Tournament will be held at the Falmouth Country Club on Sunday, June 12 with a 7:00 am registration and an 8:00 am shotgun start. This is our 19th annual golf tournament, and we need your help in the way of teams and sponsors. If registered by May 20, the cost is $120 per player; after May 20, the cost is $130 per player. Registration fee includes golf, carts, high-quality golf apparel, great prizes and raffles, and a BBQ lunch catered by the chefs of the Upper Cape Tech Culinary Arts Department.
One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the students in the way of scholarships and financial assistance.
Please support the students who will support the communities of Cape Cod in the future!!
Please contact Roland Poliseno at 508 759-7711 ext. 233 with any questions.
For further information and registration, please visit www.uppercapetech.com.
Selectmen Close Annual Town Meeting Warrant
“It’s that time of year again,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Stephen Cushing as he picked up a copy of the draft town meeting warrant.
The fiscal year 2017 budget is now balanced and the articles for the 2016 Annual Town Meeting listed, and selectmen on March 22 voted to close the annual and special town meeting warrants for the May 9 Town Meeting date.
The town had faced a roughly $1 million shortfall at the beginning of budget season but as of this week, as Finance Director and acting Town Administrator Judy Mooney reported, this budget is balanced.
“We have been working diligently with the Finance Committee,” said Mooney, and the result is Article 2, a $21.1 million balanced total operating budget, up just 3.23% from FY16. “We’ve been very conservative in our estimates, as usual. You don’t have a lot of extra revenue in there.”
There are 32 articles featured, along with one question for Town Meeting approval to be placed on the election ballot that requests a debt exclusion to offset the Old Rochester Regional School District’s capital improvement costs. If approved by Town Meeting, Marion voters would decide whether Marion would be exempt from Proposition 2½ to pay for its share of a grand total of $603,000 to be split between the three towns.
Starting at the beginning, the draft warrant Article 1 features no pay increase for Marion elected officials, followed by Article 2, the operating budget.
Articles 3 and 4 pertain to Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds money for appropriation for salaries, debt, and the reserve fund for each respectively.
Articles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are to appropriate sums of money into various stabilization and reserve funds, but most notable are Articles 6 and 7, which will appropriate $50,000 and $200,000 of free cash towards accrued benefits for retiring employees and “other post-employment benefits” (OPEB), respectively.
Capital Planning articles follow, with several big-ticket items, but none bigger than the $1.5 million requested in Article 12 for the design and permitting for lining the three wastewater treatment plant lagoons.
Article 10 requests $12,265 to buy seven Automatic External Device (AED) defibrillators for the Police, Recreation, and Facilities Departments, while Article 11 is for $6,194 to repair the Silvershell Beach House roof.
Article 13 is for $630,000 to replace the Mary’s Pond well, and Article 14 requests $120,000 to develop and implement a CMOM program that is the EPA’s approach for managing and maintaining collection systems, which would be transferred from the Sewer Enterprise Retained Earnings account.
Article 15 is for $55,000 for the harbormaster to buy two outboard motors paid from the Waterways Account, and Article 16 is for $150,000 to develop an Asset Management Program using money from the Sewer Enterprise Retained Earnings account.
Article 17 is to fund the Fire Department ventilation system at Station 1 for $81,804. Article 18 appropriates $50,000 in free cash for the DPW for the MS4 Permit Needs Assessment that is mandated by the state.
Article 19 is for $25,000 to replace vinyl tile at Sippican School, Article 20 for $92,400 for insulation at the Taber Library, and Article 21 would appropriate $39,905 for repairs at Fire station 1.
Article 22 begins the Community Preservation Committee-funded projects, with $2,000 for CPC administrative expenses. Continuing with CPC, Article 23 is for $84,300 of estimated FY2017 revenues to fund future projects according to the Community Preservation Act, along with $194,700 from revenue to the CPA Budgeted Reserves. Article 24 would appropriate $111,950 to restore the historic windows at Pythagorean Hall. Article 25 is for $65,000 to purchase 114 acres of open space land within Mattapoisett for the permanent protection of Marion’s drinking water supply.
Article 26 would establish a revolving fund for various recreation programs, not to exceed $150,000.
Article 27 would transfer $2,000 from the Chester A. Vose Fund to be used by the Board of Assessors for the reduction of taxes.
Article 28 authorizes the Board of Selectmen “to institute, defend, or compromise suits of law…”
Article 29 authorizes the Board of Selectmen to sell Town belongings once there are no further uses for them.
Article 30 allows selectmen to sell or transfer taxation possession properties, Article 31 pertains to town officer reports, and Article 32 is to accept the ballot.
The Special Town Meeting Warrant’s only article is for a $50,000 budget transfer to supplement snow and ice removal budget.
“A hell of a lot better than last year’s,” said Cushing.
Also during the meeting, selectmen signed a letter of support for Fire Chief Brian Jackvony to apply for the Massachusetts “Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response” (SAFER) grant that would pay the wages and benefits of a full-time on-call firefighter for a two-year period, provided the Town does not lay-off the worker within those two years.
“[Jackvony] has a lot of … trouble getting that daytime coverage,” said Mooney. “It’s an ongoing problem with all on-call firefighter towns.”
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for April 5 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry