One More Day…

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Clang, clang, clang! It’s one more day of waking up to the unmelodious clatter of train engines chugging along some tracks in Anytown, USA coming from YouTube on the computer downstairs. Every weekday in the hours before school and then after school until bedtime, there is the sound of a perpetual train running through the railroad crossing that is my house. But Diego loves it and he loves it loud. I smile. I get up for one more day.

It’s a normal day in the life of an autistic child and his mother. Okay, that child is mine and that mother is me. Having said that, “normal” in our house is limited to a setting on the dishwasher. A series of one-more-days makes up our everyday life – a Celeste pizza for Diego at every meal. There’s the morning get-ready-for-school routine and the bolus feeding of supplemental formula through Diego’s g-tube morning and night. There are the thousand unsolicited hugs and kisses. The sarcastic remarks I might make that Diego “gets” and maybe even laughs at. There’s all that repetitive perseveration of questions answered over and over with patience – a commodity around here that only living one more day after one more day can procure.

One more day sounds somewhat pessimistic, but I assure you, a pessimist I am not. In a world where every issue is divided in this dualistic reality, some areas of Autismlandia have transcended that dualism of good and bad, right and wrong, normal and abnormal, pessimist and optimist.

Rewind to one day in 2005. One more day is every day – the same day repeating on a loop. Get up and drag feet across floor toward coffee after one more night of no sleep when Diego decides that 2:00 am is party time. Then 3:00 am is playtime. And 4:00 am is screaming in unknown pain because he cannot say the words to express what hurts him. Then one more day, another day, and one more we make it through…

Fast forward to 2008. One more day is one more day that five year-old Diego will not eat enough to grow out of his three year-old clothing. One more day of sentences that ever-so-slowly progress from one word to two to three words. One more day of sleep deprivation, exhaustion, clashing with the school district over an inappropriate kindergarten placement; one more day to worry about the future, what kind of life will my child have, what kind of life will I have?

There is one more day that brings challenge, and eventually one more day brings acceptance, and, depending on what kind of person you are in general, one more day is precious. One more day is a gift.

We have lived through thousands of one more days to get to this day in 2015 when I wake up one more day to the clanking of trains and railroad crossing bells that delight that boy and drive me nuts once I’ve reached my threshold. It’s a fact – one more day can instantly turn into one more marvelous day when Diego reaches another goal or another milestone, like today when he buttoned one button on his shirt by himself in under a minute.

I cherish each and every one more day, especially that precious one more day pre-puberty, pre-middle school, pre-graduation, pre-whatever is to come later in life.

Living for one more day, although it works for us, does not guarantee that it will be a good one; but at some point every day the sun always comes out. It’s one more day I will cry, whether from sadness or overwhelming joy or gratitude. It’s one more day Diego shows me something new that he can do and I am amazed by his progress and admire him even more. It’s one more day I can dream that one day will come when he will be able to live one day on his own independently. Today, though, is one more day I cannot give up; because it’s one more day that Diego needs me to care for him, as only I know how.

There is a saying that describes what it is like for a special needs parent going one more day to one more day, with the uncertainty of those days of the future:

“The prayer of a parent of a child with special needs is that we see our child live a long, happy life … and that we live just one more day.”

Clang, clang, clang! A sigh, a smile, for it’s one more day. Thank goodness for one more day.

By Jean Perry

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MNHM Environmental Educator Opening

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The Marion Natural History Museum’s Summer Program is one of the most well known and well regarded in the South Coast Massachusetts area. Children from across the country visit us each summer and participate in the program. The classes are designed to be for small groups, and registration is limited to 15 children per session. Our program involves visiting various marine and freshwater systems and exploring the plants and animals that live in our area’s many unique habitats. With the use of games, journals and introductory science techniques, this program is a wonderful first look at nature.

This year, we are in need of an experienced environmental educator who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the coastal environment. If interested, please forward a resume and cover letter to the Marion Natural History Museum, P.O. Box 644, Marion, MA 02738.

Marion Town-Wide Cleanup & SpringFest

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Marion Town-Wide Cleanup & SpringFest will be held on Saturday, May 9. The Cleanup is from 9:00 am to noon at the Music Hall; SpringFest is from noon to 4:00 pm at Washburn Park.

Litter and clutter beware! Streets will be cleaned and closets will be cleared as the Marion Tree & Parks Committee and Gifts to Give join forces for Marion’s 2015 Town-Wide Cleanup on Saturday, May 9. From the rallying point at Marion’s Music Hall, participants will be provided gloves and bags, and then directed to designated locations to clear the trash and other debris left in winter’s wake. The collected trash will be returned to the town’s bandstand area to create the annual ‘trash mountain.’ In addition to the morning’s focus on cleaning up our streets, cleaning out our closets will also be on the agenda, as New Bedford’s Gifts to Give organization collects gently used children’s items (clothes, books, toys, etc.) for distribution to deserving families throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. Items for donation can be brought that morning to Island Wharf Park, where a Gifts to Give collection truck will await their arrival.

To balance the morning’s hard work, the Sippican Lands Trust, Marion Tree & Parks Committee, and the Charles Washburn Memorial Trust will host an afternoon of fun family activities at Washburn Park from noon to 4:00 pm, with many other town organizations in attendance. Activities will include a craft table, a carabiner’s climbing wall, the Toe Jam Puppet Jam, a Birds of Prey presentation, Handy Mandi face painting, a Petting Zoo, Touch a Truck, and more. Refreshments will be provided, courtesy of area businesses. A good time is guaranteed, and organizers hope community families will join in the fun, celebrate the arrival of spring and the beautiful town of Marion. Questions about the morning Clean-Up may be directed to coordinator Sue Noonan at 508-748-6679. For questions about the afternoon SpringFest, please call Sippican Lands Trust Executive Director Robin Shields at 508-748-3080.

Student Alumni Connection Board

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Throughout the school year, a number of new groups have formed in the Tabor Academy community as a result of the brainstorming done at the second annual Leadership Symposium. The theme of that day was to think of new positions or programs that could enhance certain areas of life at Tabor. One group focused on alumni relations and, as a result, the Student Alumni Connection Board (SACB) was recently formed.

Sara Yeransian, an officer in the advancement office, leads the 11 students on the board. “The overall purpose of the group is to better connect current students with the alumni base,” says Yeransian.

In order to achieve this purpose, the group plans to implement a number of activities and events. For example, next year the board will focus on organizing an alumni speaker series during which graduates will come to Tabor and speak about something that interests current students, who will recommend the discussion topics.

According to senior board member Ellie Sullivan, “We’re planning some events in the spring to get alums back on campus.” These events will be beneficial because, although many graduates in the Boston area would like to return, Sullivan points out, “There aren’t very many opportunities for them to do so.”

These events include a lunch in which young alumni can sit at different tables to discuss schools, sports, music, and other post-graduation endeavors.

Additionally, the board is planning an alumni weekend during which alums can attend sports competitions as well as participate in other activities and meals with students.

Currently, many off-campus events exist for alumni and the group is hoping to bring students to these gatherings to improve the connection. For example, at a recent reception where John Fish ‘78 spoke about his effort to bring the Olympics to Boston, three Tabor seniors were able to attend, listen and talk to alums.

Julia Furneaux, a board member, recognizes that “Tabor does have an alumni newsletter to update them on life at Tabor”; however, she says, “We are just now getting ideas on how to connect student to the alumni on a more personal level.”

Technology and social media are crucial in forming these connections. According to Yeransian, Matt Paliotta, a board member, “just created a group on the Tabor Alumni LinkedIn page that will serve as a method of communication between students and alumni.” Students who choose to utilize this link will hopefully find it helpful for forming relationships with alumni and finding access to summer internships and more.

An improved connection between alumni and students will be beneficial to both parties. According to Sullivan, with a medium of social media, “Students can go to find alums who may have jobs or internships open and want to hire a Tabor student, or for juniors and seniors who want to hear from a former Tabor student about a certain school they attended.” For the alumni, this is equally beneficial as they would be able to seek out students for said internships.

Additionally, a new campaign titled “How did you seas the day?” inspired by Tabor’s waterfront location, has been started by the board. This is a series of videos published on Instagram in which a few students and faculty are featured weekly stating how they seized the day at Tabor. This again will be an accessible way for alumni to stay involved in current Tabor life.

Although the SACB has only been in action for a few months, improvements in connections between alumni and current students have been made. Isabelle Rodgers is passionate about her involvement in the board, “I know that I will always want to be connected back to Tabor and having this board set up will allow me to feel like I never really left after I graduated and that I still have a connection to the school.”

By Julia O’Rourke

Tabor

Paw Prints Leaves Its Mark at ORR

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For a newspaper to work, a lot of things have to go right. Writers, editors, and photographers have to work together. Interviews, articles, and photos have to meet deadlines. To sum up the process in one phase, timing is everything. It’s that study of newspapers that makes Journalism and Media Literacy a popular class year after year at ORRHS. Taught by Bertrand Allain, who primarily teaches English for sophomores, the class intertwines information about the newspaper industry with an examination of the media at large. Students spend most classes working on interviews and writing articles for the Paw Prints publication, which prints six issues per school year. For this article, Allain, Editor-in-Chief Kate Cunningham, and fellow senior Gwen Plante shared their thoughts on ORR’s student publication.

The best part of Allain’s role as an advisor to the paper, in his words, is “watching students take full ownership of the journalistic process.”

This is Mr. Allain’s third year as the advisor to Paw Prints, and he really enjoys the position. His favorite thing to see in a student writer is comprehension of the interview process. “I like when it’s clear that a student has learned the value of a good interview. When they master that, the student can do any type of Journalism in the future,” he explained.

One of his goals for the future is to see the newspaper focus on covering the issues of greatest importance to the student body.

Plante stepped into Journalism class this year and took on a big role by becoming editor of the news section. “[Journalism] helped open my mind to a new world,” she said. “It helped that Mr. Allain was really easygoing about it.”

The best part about journalism, in her opinion, is that “you get to choose what you want to write. I’m the news editor, but I don’t always have to write a news article,” Plante said.

Most of all, the journalism experience will prepare her for next year as a college freshman, where she is considering studying photojournalism.

Cunningham edited the paper’s sports section in her junior year, and assumed the title of editor-in-chief for her senior year. Last year, the paper’s sports section earned an award from Suffolk University’s High School Journalism Conference, marking a major achievement for Cunningham.

Describing her position, she said, “It’s a lot of work, but it’s all worth it as soon as I see it in print.”

Cunningham’s main duties are editing the articles for each issue of the newspaper and formatting them, along with the photos, into a cohesive publication.

She also writes stories for the paper, mostly in the News and Special Features sections. “I have to handle my time efficiently,” she said. “My main priority is getting the paper out for the student body.”

Cunningham said her overall goal is to work for a newspaper while living in New York City. “The experience I have received here will prepare me for something like that,” she said.

It’s been a very successful year for Paw Prints. Five issues have been released thus far, with the most recent being released on Thursday, April 16, in celebration of the Boys’ Basketball Team’s title run. A sixth issue is being prepped for May, with a focus on senior farewells. Thanks to the guidance of Mr. Allain, the hard work of Cunningham, and the quick adaptations made by section editors like Plante, Paw Prints continues to thrive as a major part of ORR student culture.

By Patrick Briand

PawPrints

Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race

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The Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race on the Mattapoisett River, sponsored by the Rochester Fire Department, will take place on Monday, May 25 starting at 8:30 am at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir, Snipatuit Road, in Rochester and finishing at the Herring Weir, River Road at Route 6, in Mattapoisett.

The race is open to persons of all ages. There will be two persons to a boat. The boat must be a homemade river racer design of any material you choose. There are no limitations or restrictions on types of paddles.

Divisions include open/men’s, women’s, junior boys, junior girls, co-ed and parent/child. Junior division teams are both contestants under 14 years old. Parent/child is for a parent with his/her child (child under 14 years old) or an adult (25 or older with a child under 14 years old). Trophies are awarded to the first, second and third place finishers in each division.

Pre-registration is required. Contestants may register at the Rochester Grange Hall, 205 Hartley Road, on Friday, May 8 and Friday, May 15 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. No registrations will be accepted after Friday, May 15 at 8:00 pm. It may be prudent for contestants who raced last year to submit their paper work on the first night of registration in the event of unforeseen circumstances that prevent them from attending the last registration and losing the starting position they earned based on last year’s finish position. This would also make the work load on the registration staff a bit easier on the last night of registration.

Rules and registration forms may be obtained at Lloyd’s Market and at the registration sessions. A signed registration form must be submitted by each contestant for a team to be eligible to draw a starting position.

The Boat Race Ham & Bean supper will be served on the Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend, May 23 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Rochester Memorial School.

Tickets for the supper may be purchased at the door. Proceeds from the supper, along with donations, fund the expenses of the race. (There is no registration/entry fee to race.)

Trophies and prizes will be awarded Memorial Day at Rochester Memorial School at 7:30 pm.

For further information, contact Boat Race Chairman Arthur F. Benner, 508-763-2024.

Goodspeed Island Pier Hearing Draws Hundreds

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“On my fiftieth birthday, my husband gave me a signed purchase and sale agreement for land on the water…” Thus began Laurie DaRosa’s comments about how she and her husband, Daniel, came to purchase the parcel on Goodspeed Island, a location she said was the culmination of years of hard work and the fulfillment of their dreams.

DaRosa was speaking to approximately 200 residents who packed the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Chapter 91 public hearing held in the cafeteria at Old Hammondtown School on April 16, at the request of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen. She told them that her family’s plan had always been to build a pier from their home out into the harbor “for our grandchildren to run on.” She said, since applying for various permits (Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DEP, Chapter 91, and the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission), she and her husband have had their good name negatively affected by harsh media coverage and by unwelcoming residents.

DaRosa said that when her husband was introduced to another resident during a benefit event in town, the reaction was, ”Oh, you’re the guy who wants to build the dock,” and not, “Thank you for your donation.”

“We have always been kind, generous, giving people,” DaRosa stated, asserting they have taken great pride in all the properties they have owned. She also stated that the property was littered with trash when they first acquired it and questioned why the Town had not cared before then about the conditions on Goodspeed Island.

Next, the public was invited to speak by DEP officials Carlos Fragata, Waterways Regulations Program environmental analyst, and David Hill, DEP environmental engineer.

The overriding concern of the public in attendance was the proposed size of the pier. It took two and a half hours for those comments to be aired.

Representative William Straus was the first to speak after Mrs. DaRosa’s impassioned opening statement.

“This isn’t about you,” Straus said to the DaRosas. “It’s about the harbor … what it means to the people.” He said the outpouring of public sentiment against the pier pointed to the importance of the harbor to all the people and not just a single family. He said to the two DEP officials, “The ability to travel over waters unimpeded depends on the Commonwealth to protect…” He concluded his comments by saying decisions of this sort should “tilt in favor of public use…. This pier should not be licensed under Chapter 91 … it is too large an impact.”

There were supporters of the DaRosas present. Coming forward in support of the pier’s construction was Anthony Campbell, 3 Goodspeed Island. He said, due to the extremely shallow waters in front of the Darosa property, swimming and other water activities were almost never something that he witnessed. He suggested everyone get in bathing suits and experiment to see just how shallow the water was in that location. He said the need to preserve the location for public recreating was not factual. He was not alone in that conclusion.

The DaRosas’ attorney, John Gushue, provided technical printouts and correspondence sent to the DEP last October that supported the project.

In an email printout dated October 21, 2014, Conservation Commission member Mike King wrote, “There are those that would have you believe that this project will infringe upon the right of the public to enjoy the harbor, that it will negatively impact the ability of average citizens to recreate on the harbor … that the area proposed for this pier is of high recreational use and it will prevent them from their enjoyment of this area.” He continued, “I submit to you that this is false testimony.” He went on to describe the shallow water issues he associated with poor recreational quality and concluded it was his belief that the project should be permitted.

Also supporting the DaRosas’ proposal was F. Mitchell Suzan, Jr. of 8 Main Street via written comment.

“In my opinion, the opposition to the DaRosa pier is shamelessly trying to manipulate the permit process by making trumped-up claims of impact from the pier, but it’s really about change and people just don’t like change … plain and simple,” wrote Suzan.

On the other side was the response from the public and some town officials who provided their own technical reasons why the application should be reviewed further to expose any perceived negative impact from the pier construction, as well as personal reasons why they think the pier will be a detriment to the public’s use of the harbor.

Speaking against the issuance of a permit was BOS Chairman Paul Silva and Selectman Jordan Collyer. Silva noted, of the 23 miles of shoreline in Mattapoisett, only half of one mile was open to the roughly 7,000 residents of the town; the remaining 22.5 miles was in private ownership. Collyer said that the DaRosa location was perfect for teaching children about water sports, specifically because it was shallow most of the time.

William Madden of G.A.F. Engineering questioned the Zoning Board of Appeals decision to deny the project because it found the DaRosa property was not directly on the waterfront but instead was one lot back from the beach.

Madden said the DaRosas have an easement, but that easement specifically called for approval from local agencies. He said bylaws require accessory structures to be on the same property, not traversing easements. He said the ZBA misunderstood that point. He also pointed out what he called “deficiencies” in engineered drawings presented to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Other town-appointed and elected officials coming out to ask the DEP to decline permitting of the project were Ray Andrews of the Assessors‘ Office, Water/Sewer Superintendent Nick Nicholson, Shellfish Officer Kathleen Massey, former Harbormaster Horace Field, and Robert Moore of the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board.

Of the residents speaking against approval, all conveyed the importance of the area in front of the DaRosa property as a place where the public used small watercraft, went shellfishing, and generally enjoyed water activities. Many said a smaller pier would not be met with dissent.

Brad Hathaway of Aucoot Cove said at the end of a long evening of residents giving voice to their concerns, “I have never sailed in the harbor, I have never swum in the harbor, I have never fished in the harbor,” but approving the pier, he said, would set a precedent in other areas and therefore, “You’ve got to say no.”

Fragata then asked the DaRosas if they wished to offer any rebuttal. Gushue declined the offer in favor of responding to each written statement submitted to the DEP during the public comment period in writing.

Fragata told the assembled that the public comment period closes at the end of the business day on May 6. He said each person submitting a letter would receive a response with the DEP’s decision. He also said anyone wishing to appeal the DEP decision would have had to submit a letter of comment during the public comment period.

Letters may be sent to: Carlos Fragata, Environmental Analyst, DEP Waterways Regulation Program, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection, 20 Riverside Drive, Lakeville, MA 02347.

All correspondence should also include RE: Waterways No. W14-4226, Timber Pier, 3 Goodspeed Island, Mattapoisett.

By Marilou Newell

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Rochester Historical Society

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To the Editor:

The Rochester Historical Society would like to thank everyone who made our fundraising dance on Friday, April 10 at the Reservation Golf Club a success. We appreciate the support of the Rochester Women’s Club and all the businesses who donated to our Silent Auction. Thank You.

Edyie Johnson, Rochester Historical Society

 

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.

MNHM Summer Program

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The Marion Natural History Museum’s Summer Program is one of the most well known and well regarded in the South Coast area. Children from across the country visit us each summer and participate in the program. The programs are designed to be small groups, and registration is limited to 15 children per session.

Our Life Along The Shore program for grades entering 1-2 includes visiting the shoreline and exploring the plants and animals that live in our area’s many coastal habitats. With the use of games, journals and introductory science techniques, this is a wonderful first look at life in our coastal environment. During our Coastal Explorations I program for grades entering 3-4, we feature explorations of our rocky intertidal shorelines, salt marshes, estuaries as well as freshwater riverbanks, swamps, ponds and bogs. We take a close-up look at the birds, amphibians, fish and invertebrates that make these areas so special. And in our Coastal Explorations II program for grades entering 5-8, we increase our investigations into the unique habitats Marion has to offer, which include several field trips and meetings with specialists to expand our knowledge of our coastal and freshwater ecosystems.

Time for all programs is 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, Monday – Friday. Session Dates: Session I: July 6-17 and Session II: August 3-14. Cost for each program: $200/ members; $250/Nonmembers. Registration information is found at our website: www.marionmuseum.org. Hope you can join us!

3rd Annual Ballroom & Line Dancing Party

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There will be a Ballroom & Line Dancing Party on Saturday, May 2 from 7:00 to 11:00 pm at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 57 Fairhaven Road, Route 6, in Mattapoisett. Music is provided by Dave Valerio; all proceeds benefit the Mattapoisett Council on Aging.

Free parking and light refreshments are included. Tickets at the door are $25 per person; tickets purchased prior to April 26 are $20. Reserved table seating is available by advanced payment and is on a first-come, first-reserved basis.

This fundraiser is hosted by the Friends of the Mattapoisett Council on Aging. Door prizes are awarded and a silent auction is part of the party. For more information and tickets, please contact Jo Pannell at 508-758-2654.