Tabor Academy thespians did it again on Friday, February 25 with another hit drama “The Workshop,” with scenes and monologues written by the Creative Writing class. Directed by Joslyn Jenkins. Photos by Colin Veitch
Towns Speak Out on ORR Budget Concerns
Reps from the Town of Rochester drew a bold bottom line on its assessment of the Old Rochester Regional School District’s operations and management budget of $17.5 million for fiscal year 2017, saying the Town cannot afford the school budget’s increase of almost 3 percent over last year.
During a February 29 ORR budget meeting that included selectmen, town administrators, and Finance Committee members from the three towns, Rochester Board of Selectmen Chairman Richard Nunes commented after a lengthy discussion that ORR is “not living within [its] means.”
“The three towns have to live within their budget. They have to balance their budget every year,” said Nunes, mentioning that ORR has more than once used funds from its Excess and Deficiency Account (rainy day savings) to offset the budget, which it can no longer afford do. “If you keep stacking the deck and you keep using high figures then this is where we are…. [The budget] just keeps growing and growing and growing and you’re not making the necessary cuts.”
Having been the first time the word ‘cut’ was mentioned, the discussion quickly escalated.
“Do you want a level-one school?” shot back ORR School Committee Chairman Paul Goulet. “You’re talking about kids! These aren’t wants,” Goulet said with the budget in his hand. “These are needs that have been pushed aside, pushed aside, pushed aside!”
Much of the school district’s budget increases stem from rising costs of insurance and retirement, as Mattapoisett Finance Committee Chairman Patricia Donoghue pointed out.
“It’s not like they’ve been adding things,” Donoghue said. “There are certain costs that have been really killing ORR that are beyond their control….”
Nunes said the Town of Rochester could only go as high as a 2.5 percent increase over FY16. Rochester faces an increase in last year’s assessment, with FY17 totaling $4,559,316. Marion is facing a total of $4,877,513, and Mattapoisett is looking at $3,946,403.
Nunes said Rochester only has about $400,000 to divvy up amongst its town departments and cannot afford the increase in the Rochester portion of the ORR budget.
“We can’t support the [$270,000],” said Rochester Finance Committee Chairman Kristian Stoltenberg. “Our revenue won’t cover it…. This truly is a difficult budget.” He later said that even if the budget went down to the 2.5 percent increase, Rochester’s ideal increase would be 2 percent.
Stoltenberg continued, “So it’s pretty drastic. We can sit here and talk about it … but that’s the reality.”
“We all have the same reality,” said Marion Finance Committee Chairman Alan Minard.
“And the reality is we have more students coming in,” said ORR and Rochester School Committee Chairman Tina Rood.
Stoltenberg said that all Rochester could do was hope voters would approve a Proposition 2½ override to offset the cost of implementing the ORR five-year strategic plan.
Superintendent Doug White listened to the discussion and chewed his pen. He said he was looking for direction, for someone to say where the three towns would go from there.
“I think we need to locally deliberate how we’re going to approach this and deliberate which road we’re going to take,” said Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne.
Mattapoisett Selectman Paul Silva looked for a consensus amongst the three towns on whether they at least support the school district’s use of money it saved by refinancing on a loan to borrow on to fund the next five years of its capital needs, but there was no definitive response.
The three towns agreed to return to deliberate at the local level and inform White on their conclusions within 10 days, in time for a final budget presentation.
By Jean Perry
March 10th AHA! Night
The fabric of downtown New Bedford will be woven together in a colorful tapestry on March 10 for AHA! Night, New Bedford’s own second Thursday arts and culture celebration.
With the theme “All Sewn Up,” AHA! will celebrate the city’s rich textile history, as well as our current day love affair with the textile medium. The streets and venues of downtown New Bedford will be alive from 5:00 to 9:00 pm with performances, art exhibits, lectures, and much more.
AHA! (Arts, History and Architecture!) is a FREE family-friendly event held rain or shine each month. Everyone is encouraged to arrive early and stay late.
Here’s a sampling of the evening’s events:
Celebrate Fibers Month in New Bedford
– WARP/WEFT: Fiber Art by five women artists at Alison Wells Gallery
– Knitting Demo at New Bedford Free Public Library
– Fine Cotton Goods and Yarns: A Survey of the New Bedford Textile Industry at Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum
– Stitch by Stitch Exhibit: Stitched Paintings by Elaine McBride at Gallery 65
– Depending on the Weather: Textile work about the environment at NBAM/Artworks!
Celebrate Women’s History Month
– International Women’s Day Event: Film and Panel Discussion at New Bedford Whaling Museum
– Women’s History Month Book Sale at Subtext Book Shop
– Dreams of Equality: A film about the first women’s rights convention at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
We Art NB
– Two new shows at UMD CVPA Star Store
– March of the Unwavering: Artists Working in Public Safety Positions
– Henry Hornstein’s Animalia: black and white photos of land and sea creatures
– Here’s Looking At You: Self Portraiture and the Art of Introspection at Gallery X
– Good Morning Fairhaven: photos by Adam Katz including collaborative work with body paint artist Melinda Abreau on The Wall at Travessia Urban Winery
– Swing By The South End! Closing Reception for Friendship at the Judith Klein Art Gallery
Live Music in Downtown New Bedford
– Open Mic Featured Performer Ric Allendorf at Café Arpeggio
– The Monteirobots play live in the dining room at Cork
– Kelly Lainey Crossing at Rose Alley Ale House
– The McCarthy Problem Band at the Pour Farm
More AHA! Awesomeness
– Gregg Harper CD Release Party at Gallery 65
– Our Lady of Assumption Youth Dance Troupe at Nativity Prep
– Sow Your Own Seeds at Buzzards Bay Coalition
– Artist Walk and Talk: take a tour with artists from the current exhibits at NBAM/Artworks!
John R. Pandolfi Scholarships and Summer Study
The Tri-County Music Association is now accepting applications for college scholarships and summer study grants for musicians who live in the tri-county area: Barnstable, Bristol, and Plymouth counties of Massachusetts. Applications can be found at http://tricountysymphonicband.org/scholarships.html.
We offer conditional scholarships to students attending a four-year college or university as a music major. Current college students and college-bound high school seniors are eligible to apply. Previous winners are invited to reapply.
We are also proud to offer summer music study grants to deserving high school students (grades 9-12). This program helps to defray the cost for recipients’ musical study in summer camps, summer programs and private lessons.
The Tri-County Music Association, Inc. is committed to supporting music in our community and is proud of the many scholarships we have given over the last 50 years. We are focused on helping student musicians pursue their goals and share the gift of music for years to come. Ticket sales raised by the Tri-County Symphonic Band performances and generous donations are distributed annually to a competitive selection of young people whose talent and ambition serves as an inspiration for the Tri-County Symphonic Band. Each year, $12,000 is distributed among highly deserving and dedicated students, some receiving college scholarships of $1,000-$1,500. For high school students, summer study grants are awarded to assist with the cost of excellent music camps and lessons, such as the Tanglewood Institute, Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music and many more. Last year, $12,000 was distributed among 11 scholarship recipients and four summer grant recipients attending University of North Texas, New England Conservatory, the Boston Conservatory, UMass, the University of Hartford, Westminster Choir College, Tanglewood Institute, Rhode Island College, Berklee College of Music and the Steve Massey Foxboro Jazz Camp.
We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and visit us at www.tricountysymphonicband.org to find our concert schedule, make a donation and find our scholarship and summer study grant applications.
Boys’ and Girls’ Pentathlon Teams Champs
This week, both the boys’ and girls’ track teams fielded state champion pentathlon units at the Reggie Lewis Center. Juniors Will Hopkins, Danny Renwick, and Eli Spevack won the boys’ championship, while sophomore Madisen Martin and seniors Morgan Middleton and Zoe Smith were victorious for the girls. In addition, the boys’ basketball team lost a heartbreaking game to Bishop Stang, and the girls’ team beat New Bedford High in a blowout.
Boys’ Basketball: The Bulldogs’ lone game this week was against Bishop Stang at home on Wednesday night. The game was hotly anticipated after Stang beat the ‘Dogs 78-51 at their sold-out gym on February 12. This game brought high school hoop fans from all over the area out in droves, and it was well worth the wait. ORR kept things tight in the first quarter, winding up down 16-15 at the end of the first eight minutes. Stang pulled away in the second, and wound up leading 41-24 at the half. They were up by as much as 20 at one point. In the third quarter, some big defensive plays from junior Jacob Cafarella and senior Evan Santos kept ORR in the game, and Stang’s lead was cut to nine by the end of the third. The Bulldogs kept on rolling in the fourth and ended up tying the game at 62 to force overtime. Stang exploded in the second half of OT, however, going on a 15-4 run, and eventually winning 80-69 in what turned out to be a more exciting game than the teams’ first meeting. Junior Matt Valles led the Bulldogs with 21 points, and support came from Santos (14) and junior Russell Noonan (12). On Thursday, the guys will play Carver at home in the first round of the state championship tournament.
Girls’ Basketball: The Lady Bulldogs had a pair of non-conference road games this week, starting off on Monday at Bishop Stang. They had a tough go of things, losing 61-20. They were down 17-2 after the first quarter, so the game wasn’t ever that close. Junior Sophie Church (9) and freshman Maddie Demanche (5) led Lady Bulldog scorers. On Wednesday, the team traveled to New Bedford High. Once again, the girls defeated the Lady Whalers, despite falling behind 8-0 in the first quarter. Church scored 18 and Demanche added 10, each with a pair of 3-pointers, as the girls roared back to win 46-23 in their final regular-season game. Congrats to the girls’ basketball team for working together and showing great improvement throughout the season. They look to be back with a vengeance next year as they aim to qualify for the state tournament.
Boys’ Track: On Wednesday night, the Bulldogs utilized a trio of juniors – Danny Renwick, Eli Spevack, and Will Hopkins – to win the State Pentathlon championship. Composed of the 55m hurdles, 1000m, high jump, long jump, and shot put, Renwick took third individually, with Hopkins coming in 9th and Spevack 20th. Renwick scored 3,236 points, Hopkins brought in 2,975, and Spevack added 2,798 for a total of 9,009. On Sunday, Renwick was the lone Bulldog representative at the New England meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. Renwick participated in the high jump but didn’t get past the opening height of 6-1.
Girls’ Track: On Tuesday night, sophomore Madisen Martin and seniors Zoe Smith and Morgan Middleton participated in the State Pentathlon Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston where they took first place. Martin scored 2,143 points, Middleton scored 2,810, and Smith scored 2,857, for a team score of 7,810. The pentathlon is composed of the long jump, high jump, shot put, 55m hurdles, and 800m.
Boys’ Ice Hockey: The boys will play Dover-Sherborn on Tuesday at home (The Travis Roy Rink at Tabor Academy) in the first round of the state tournament.
Below are the overall winter team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of February 28.
Boys’ Basketball: (16-4-0)(15-1-0); 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: (14-4-4)(9-0-1); Girls’ Ice Hockey: (3-16-0)(3-14-0).
By Patrick Briand
James T. Canty
James T. Canty, 68, of Rochester, passed away on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at Our Lady’s Haven in Fairhaven. He was the husband of Linda J. Canty with whom he shared 27 years of marriage.
Born in Dedham, the son of the late James and Dorothy (Driscoll) Canty, he was a longtime resident of Fairhaven.
He served in the United States Army.
Mr. Canty had worked for Angelo’s Supermarket in the maintenance department for several years.
James was a big fan of the Red Sox and Patriots.
He is survived by his wife Linda and a sister, Susan Uricolli.
Funeral services are private.
For online tributes: www.rock-funeralhome.com
Selectmen Choose COA Director
The choice for a new Council on Aging director was unanimous on March 1 at the meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen. Although all three candidates were right for the job, said Selectman Stephen Cushing, one candidate in particular rose above the rest – Heather Sylvia of New Bedford and former COA director in Acushnet.
“She mentioned re-branding the senior center,” said Cushing, with an ultimate goal of eliminating the “senior stigma” from the program. “[She mentioned] trying to get the whole family involved in this instead of this being more or less an elderly project, make it a family thing.”
Selectman Jody Dickerson agreed, saying “Any could do the job … but Heather Sylvia, she definitely stood out…. There will be very little learning curve for her, so I think she’d be a great asset to the community.”
Dickerson said Sylvia’s “family-as-a-whole” mindset and vision for the future of the Marion COA appealed to him.
“And I think that actually sold me on her position for this,” said Dickerson.
All three did a great job, Dickerson added.
Selectman Jonathan Henry abstained from discussion and voting due to his absence during the interviews this past Tuesday, February 23.
Cushing thanked the two other candidates, Elizabeth Howe and Cynthia Byrnes, as well as the screening committee for the position.
“There were three very good, very viable candidates,” Cushing said.
Pending successful contract negotiations, Sylvia will replace retiring COA Director Susan Schwager.
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen will be March 15 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry
Gateway Youth Hockey
Squirts: Gateway Gladiator Squirts faced K.P. Walpole on Saturday for their last regular season game and they made it count, taking the 3-0 win. Both teams played a defensive game in the first period with no tallies. In the second, Ty David Ribeiro, with assist from Benjamin Hebbel, put Gateway on the board. Matthew Paling also scored, unassisted. Ribeiro scored his second goal of the game later in the second period, also unassisted. The third period was another defensive period with both teams really playing hard. Gateway Gladiator Squirts are off to the playoffs starting next week.
Pee Wees: The Gladiator Pee Wees played an excellent game on Sunday morning against an always competitive Walpole Express Red. The game started out very close with each team posting back and forth goals to end the first period in a 2-2 tie, but Gateway poured it on in the second and third periods to pull away with a purpose. Goalie Ryker King made numerous tough saves and Gateway’s defense to include Luke Mello, Stephen Old, Bailey Tieu and Ben Martins played incredibly tough to stop Walpole’s scoring attempts. The Gladiator forwards made some great passes, they shot often and crashed the net to put in the last four goals which ended the game with score of 6-4 and earned Ben Demoranville a hat trick.
Bantams: The Gladiators’ Bantam team came up a little short, playing up two divisions against Canton, in preparation for their playoffs that start next weekend. Canton opened up the scoring less than five minutes into the game, putting in a rebound. The Gladiators would battle back to tie it up just five minutes later when Jack Martins put in a rebound of a Robert Ramsay shot. The score would remain that way until late in the second period when Nick Snow tapped in a loose puck after a shot from Martins, with Ramsay grabbing another assist. Canton then scored with one minute left in the second period to knot it up at two at the end of the second. The Gladiators then fell flat at the start of the third period, and Canton quickly capitalized on turnovers, scoring two quick goals. They would add an empty net goal, making the final 5-2. Jake DeMoranville faced a number of shots and did everything he could to keep his team in the game, making many saves. The Gladiators will begin their playoff series next weekend against Walpole.
Middle School: The Middle School Jr. Vikings skated to a tough 7-7 tie against a Dedham team that beat them 6-1 in their previous meeting. Dedham jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Jr. Vikings would cut that in half when Jack Martins stole an errant pass, strolled in and beat the goalie with a hard wrist shot. Dedham then scored another goal, putting them back up by two, until with one minute remaining in the first period, Tyler Lovendale scored a highlight reel goal, also known as “The Forsberg,” bringing the Jr. Vikings to within one. The Jr. Vikings would tie the game early in the second period, when Quirino doCanto wove through the Dedham team and finished the rush by sneaking one under the Dedham goalie as doCanto was going down the ice. Seth Tomasik would follow that up with an end-to-end rush of his own, beating the goalie with a hard, blue line, wrist shot. The assist came from goalie Alex DeMarco, his first of the season. Tomasik wasn’t done though, when a few minutes later he wound up at the blue line again and released a thunderous slap shot, beating the goalie who didn’t even see the puck go by him. Dedham would add a goal, bringing them within a goal of the Jr. Vikings, until doCanto would add a short-handed goal, coming from behind the net and putting in a backhand goal off of the goalie. The Jr. Vikings would go up by three early in the third period, when doCanto would complete the hat trick, decking the goalie and easily putting it in the net, assisted by Robert Maloney. Unfortunately, the Jr. Vikings couldn’t hold onto the lead, getting a little sluggish and complacent, allowing Dedham to fight back and tie the game 7-7. DeMarco had a good game in net, facing many shots.
Mattapoisett Land Trust Scholarship
The Mattapoisett Land Trust again offers the $1,000 Blanche B. Perry, Scholarship, an award offered to a resident senior graduating by June 2016 from secondary school pursuing an education in the study of environmental sciences or a related field, which covers a wide perspective without specializing. The candidate will be able to meet the scholarship requirements by studying sciences such as Biology, Mathematics, Technology, or Engineering and yet not limited to those specific fields.
The scholarship is consistent with the MLT mission of preserving land in order to enrich the quality of life for present and future generations. The scholarship is made available through the Edith Glick Shoolman fund, a bequest left to The Mattapoisett Land Trust to provide support for children in the community.
Along with the application the following information is required:
- A Personal Statement about career goals as they relate to the mission of the MLT, past and present.
- A signed Community Service Form documenting a minimum of 20 hours of community service.
- Professional letter of reference (teacher or guidance counselor)
- A Character letter of reference (such as employer, Scout leader, community leader and or neighbor).
- Official school transcript including credits and class rank.
The application forms will be found in guidance offices at the local public and private schools or at the MLT website www.mattlandtrust.org after March 4, 2016.
The deadline for submitting the forms will be April 29, 2016.
Applicants will be assessed according to academic achievement, financial need and overall performance. Preference will be given to individuals who are members of the MLT or whose parents or grandparents are members of the MLT.
The recipient will be selected by May 20 and will be notified by mail. He or she will be recognized during their school awards’ ceremony event. The award will be disbursed after the student submits a college transcript documenting successful completion of his or her first semester in college to the President of the MLT at Box 31 Mattapoisett, MA 02739.
Open Table
You are invited for supper on Friday, March 11 at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church. Winter is almost over, but it’s always warm inside Reynard Hall. Something delicious and nutritious is sure to be on the menu. There is no charge, although donations are gratefully accepted. Doors open at 4:30 pm and the meal will be served at 5:00 pm. Bring the kids, bring your neighbor. Everyone is welcome.