Tick Talk: Understand Your Risk

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Everything you thought you knew about ticks and tick-borne diseases is probably wrong. And plenty of information out there and on the web is downright misleading. For example, did you know that spraying DEET products on your clothes is useless in repelling ticks, and when you spray DEET-containing bug repellant on your skin, a hungry tick will simply keep crawling until it finds a spot without DEET?

How about your knowledge on the blacklegged tick, AKA “deer tick?” Did you know that deer have absolutely nothing to do with the spread of Lyme disease, and do you know all about which ticks carry diseases, which diseases are present in Tri-Town, where these ticks hide out, and how you can prevent them from infecting you?

One bite can change your life and unless you understand the risks, which are higher than many think they are, you and your family will remain vulnerable to not only Lyme disease, but several other devastating diseases that are on the rise in our region.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, a fitting time for it since infectious deer ticks, American dog ticks, and a new player in the game for our area – the lone star tick – emerge and are active in May, which is also the month when Lyme disease and a host of other tick-borne disease cases spike in number.

Ticks have no friends, says entomologist Larry Dapsis, the Deer Tick project coordinator with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. Even the Dalai Lama, enlightened soul and lover of every form of life on the planet, is no friend of the tick. “I love everything in the world,” says the Dalai Lama. “Except for ticks.”

“That just about says it all,” said Dapsis on April 30 during a talk on ticks at Sippican School. About 75 people showed up for the event, and they later left the school aghast by how at-risk they unknowingly had been for so long.

Dapsis started off his presentation with a little humor, and kept it up consistently throughout the talk – eliciting almost as many laughs as he did gasps of disbelief. A number of “oh, my God” responses also sprinkled the event as people realized how prevalent Lyme disease is and how serious it is for those infected.

Some statistics to start with: 49 of the 50 states have confirmed cases of Lyme disease, and the disease is present in 80 countries which shows, said Dapsis, that Lyme disease – so called because the first confirmed cases came from Lyme, Connecticut – is a re-emerging disease, now accompanied by several other serious and potentially fatal tick-borne diseases.

Ground Zero for tick-borne diseases, said Dapsis, is Massachusetts – your backyard. Plymouth County Lyme disease infections have risen by a two-to-one ratio.

“So, you have a serious problem here,” said Dapsis. The Center for Disease Control from 2001 to 2012 estimated 30,000 new cases every year in the United States. “And there were people who looked at that number and said, ‘That’s just not the right number.’” Dapsis said that number has been revisited and multiplied by ten. There are about 300,000 new Lyme disease cases every year in the country, a public health crisis, said Dapsis.

“The test itself … basically the test sucks,” said Dapsis. It is known to produce false negatives, false positives, and some doctors will not prescribe treatment without a positive Lyme disease result.

Deer ticks, the ones that carry the pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted through a tick bite, can also transmit Babesiosis, a possibly fatal form of malaria that is on the rise at a steady rate alongside Lyme disease. Babesiosis cases have been confirmed in Marion and Rochester. The pathogen invades the red blood cells and causes a cycle of fever, chills, and severe anemia.

Anaplasmosis attacks the white blood cells and presents symptoms similar to Lyme disease: fatigue, chills, headaches, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes, and confusion.

With Lyme, one does NOT necessarily always present with the typical “bull’s-eye” rash that extends from the bite.

Dapsis recommends the safe removal of the tick with pointed tweezers (NEVER, ever squish the tick or pull it off with your fingers – this will increase your risk of infection) and saving the tick for testing. Testing, he said, is 100 percent accurate.

What’s more, you can be co-infected by more than one of these diseases at the same time.

A tick new to the area, the lone star tick, has been found at all five of the testing sites on Cape Cod, Cutty Hunk, and Naushon Islands. “There were larvae everywhere,” said Dapsis. There is a newly-established population of this tick in Massachusetts, spread by migrating birds, most likely said Dapsis, and likely spreading to mainland Massachusetts via birds, too. These ticks carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichiosis, and Tularemia, which can even trigger a sudden allergy to red meat.

Getting back to the most prevalent of unsavory characters in our area, the dreaded deer tick – here is how it works. There are four stages in a deer tick’s two-year life cycle, in which a deer tick feeds only three times in its life cycle.

In the spring and summer of year one, eggs hatch into larvae, which feed and then molt into nymphs, about the same size as a poppy seed. Nymphs lie dormant throughout fall and winter and then emerge the second year in May to feed through August.

One in every four nymphs carries Lyme disease.

The nymphs hang out in the leaf litter and in low-lying vegetation, feeding mostly on rodents and birds they latch onto. They also latch onto people as they brush by bushes. The nymph stage is the most dangerous for humans since the ticks are so small and the bite unnoticeable.

In the fall, the nymphs molt into adults and feed on larger mammals, including deer.

Deer, however, according to Dapsis, are incompetent hosts for the Lyme disease-causing bacteria Lyme borreliosis and, unlike birds and rodents, do not infect ticks with the pathogen. In fact, said Dapsis, the tick will lose its infection of the bacteria upon feeding on a deer.

“There’s something in the deer blood that clears the bacteria,” said Dapsis. Those in attendance were visually shocked by the information. When it comes to Lyme disease perpetrators, said Dapsis, “You’re looking at the wrong things,” if you look at deer. On the same token, 50 percent of songbirds are infected with Lyme, including the robin.

Adult stage deer ticks are active from September through the winter into May, and are roughly the size of a sesame seed.

One in every two adult deer ticks carries Lyme disease.

Ticks feed for four to five days, in a cycle of spitting and sucking blood. It begins by spitting to glue itself in place.

“Ticks are designed to stay for a while,” said Dapsis. “And it’s got no social graces at all.”

The spit, which secretes anticoagulants and enzymes to dull the pain-sensing nerves, is where the bacteria lie.

Prevention of Lyme disease starts with protection from ticks. Soccer moms and dads should be aware, said Dapsis, that Lyme infection cases increase at ages five through nine. For retirees who love golfing and gardening, infection spikes again at ages 65 to 69.

“Phase One” starts with a tick check every time you are exposed to wooded areas, or shady, damp, brushy locations including yards and gardens. Your first line of defense, said Dapsis, is to wear light-colored clothing covering your bare skin, while tucking your pants into your socks.

Do not rely on DEET-containing sprays to protect you and your family from ticks. They can still crawl all over you and find a nice juicy spot that is DEET-free.

In addition to DEET, said Dapsis, you can purchase permethrin to spray on your shoes and clothing, and the repellant will last for up to six washings. The chemical, which is safe for human use, actually kills ticks after 60 seconds of exposure. It is the only product available for tick deterring for humans. Treating your footwear, said Dapsis, is “mission critical.”

After a tick check, tumble-dry your clothing for 20 minutes.

“Doing Phase One gets you 90 percent of the way down the road” towards Lyme disease prevention, said Dapsis.

Phase Two is protecting your yard. Contrary to common belief, moving bird feeders, pruning for extra sunlight, and moving woodpiles do not lessen the tick population in your yard.

You must spray the perimeter of your property, “the transition zone,” Dapsis called it. Leaf litter must be saturated, and shady, humid areas are likely places for ticks.

Phase Three: Protect your pets. Tick-repelling collars are a good way to do just that, said Dapsis, along with frequent tick checks.

Despite a growing human health crisis, Dapsis said, it is discouraging that there is such little public outreach about ticks while the state focuses on mosquito-borne illnesses, which are far rarer than Lyme.

“The state has no action plan,” said Dapsis. “I think they’re kind of clueless.”

For further information, visit www.capecodextension.org.

And remember, the Dalai Lama himself hates ticks. And so should you.

“Don’t let one bite change your life,” said Dapsis.

By Jean Perry

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Old Rochester Winters Farmers’ Market

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The Old Rochester Winters Farmers’ Market is coming to an end. The final week will be Saturday, May 9 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, located at the Old Rochester Regional Junior High School Gymnasium. The market will start to have some summer market vendors attending as well. Fresh vegetables, meats, cheeses, honeys, jams, coffee, sauces, eggs, breads, herbs, pastries, organic baby foods, homemade yogurt, naturally popped kettle corn, artisan vendors and much more!!! With Mother’s Day, we will have jewelry and gift vendors attending. Free face painting for kids … Come check us out!!

Remember, the summer market will start on Tuesday, June 2 and will continue throughout the summer and fall to mid-October. The summer vendors will have a variety of new and old vendors, live entertainment and face painting for kids. The market runs from 3:00 – 7:00 pm every Tuesday outside the Old Rochester Regional Junior High School Gymnasium.

Marion Town Meeting

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To the Editor:

It’s Time to Protect Marion from Big Box Formula Business Development. The thousand plus petitioners voicing opposition to the proposed CVS project have an opportunity to convert their signatures to votes at the May 11, 2015 Town Meeting by supporting the zoning change proposed by Warrant Article 43.

Big Box and formula-driven business models such as the recently proposed CVS project can negatively impact the quality of life in a small community like Marion. This zoning amendment regulates the intensity of the foot print size for commercial development. At this time, Marion has no zoning regulating project footprint size.

This proposed bylaw caps the footprint size of commercial projects in the general business district to the greatest of 5,000 square feet or 10% of the lot size. The cap’s minimum allows for development of lots an acre or less. All other zoning bylaw regulations still apply.

December 18, 2014 is the date of first publication of the notice of the Planning Board’s public hearing on this proposed bylaw. This is a very important date for Marion and stabilizing the intensity of the size of Route 6 development. First, any developer having a statutory qualifying development plan in place before this publication date is entitled to freeze current zoning in place. The Town cannot change the zoning rules once the development plans become known. If a developer does not have such a qualifying plan in place, any plans submitted to the Planning Board after the first publication of notice will be governed by any zoning changes adopted.

At this point in time, the proposed CVS project may be in disarray. If the developer cannot meet the statutory requirements for a zoning freeze and Article 43 passes, then any future development of the corner of Route 6 and 105 (the Hadley House corner) will be subject to the new project footprint size zoning restrictions.

At the Music Hall Planning Board meeting, the CVS developer proposed a 12,900 square foot building. This is the CVS formula business building size as published on its web site. The project lot size is 77,537 square feet. With the 10 % project footprint restriction in place, CVS would only be able build a 7,754 square foot project inconsistent with its formula business plan. This is a significant negative for CVS and its developer. A CVS developer business decision would have to be made to accept the smaller building footprint required by the new Marion zoning or move on to a different location.

Failure of Article 43 to pass will mean the loss of the valuable restriction now in place with the December 18, 2014 first publication date for future developer zoning freezes.

Ted North, Marion

 

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.

Plowing Private Roads

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To the Editor:

After a very long winter, we are all celebrating the green grass, daffodils and flowering trees. But all too soon we’ll have to deal with snow and ice on our roads once again.

In Marion, voters at the May 15 Town Election have an opportunity to help ensure that all our town roads are safer during the winter months. In the past, the town was unauthorized to plow and sand its “unaccepted” roads. This means that more than 100 of our streets were left unplowed unless residents of those roads arranged and paid for private plowing. This impacted the safety of everyone who drove or walked on those roads, as well as our town police, ambulance, fire department, school buses and trash trucks.

We can change this by simply voting “yes” on Ballot Question One at the Town Election. Passing this question allows the town to calculate any additional costs for plowing its “unaccepted” roads. The financial impact will then be on a future Town Meeting warrant for all of us to approve or disapprove. So a “yes” vote costs us nothing. It simply allows us all to further consider the balance between public safety and what may be a very, very small increase to taxpayers.

Please vote on May 15. And please vote for public safety by checking “yes” on Ballot Question One.

Catherine Murray, Marion

 

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.

Marion Republican Town Committee

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The Marion Republican Town Committee will conduct its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion. The public and new members are welcome.

Keeping Current with the Historical Commission

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The Rochester Historical Commission is a passionate bunch, and five of them joined the Rochester Board of Selectmen on April 27 to make the board current on the commission’s recent activities and its endeavors yet to come.

Commission member Laurene Gerrior presented the board with an update on recent undertakings, such as commission member Betty Beaulieu’s efforts to get Eastover Farm listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the consent and assistance from the Hiller Family.

Beaulieu and fellow commission member Carol Higgins have also been following deeds in town back to their original holders, many of which Gerrior said go all the way back to “those merry men of Kent,” who were mostly from Scituate and received the land from the Native Americans through the Sippican Purchase in 1638. They subsequently named the town after their English hometown, Gerrior said.

“This is a very old town,” said Gerrior. When you tell someone you’re from Rochester, Gerrior said, people often ask if you’re from Rochester, New York. “No, no, we were the first ones,” Gerrior said in defense of the naming of her beloved town. “We go way back, folks. We may not have the fancy houses that Marion has, but we’ve got passion.”

Gerrior said the commission has also received several grants for tasks such as setting up a potential house marker program, researching genealogical questions that arise, and working with the historical commissions and historical societies of neighboring towns to “track down bits of Rochester history.” She added that Mattapoisett, Marion, and parts of Wareham and Fairhaven were all at one time part of Rochester.

“So, their history is part of Rochester history,” said Gerrior.

The commission is also looking to keep the Rochester sites listed on the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MCRIS) up to date, since the Massachusetts Historical Commission recently told the Rochester HC that there are some discrepancies in the information.

“The Rochester Historical Commission is passionate about the history of our town,” Gerrior told the board. “We welcome any stray bits of information that people have to offer, and sometimes we wish we had some extra cash to pick up items of local relevance that become available through various outlets such as eBay or local auctions.”

She welcomed selectmen and the public alike to attend the commission’s meetings every first Monday of every month at 7:00 pm in the conference room of the Senior Center on Dexter Lane.

Also during the meeting, Town Administrator Michael McCue told selectmen he would present to them a finalized Fiscal Year 2016 budget, as well as a final draft of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant for review, at the next scheduled meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen scheduled for May 4 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

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Flynn David Grinnan

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Flynn David Grinnan, 26, died April 18, 2015. He was the son of Marjorie Buxton Grinnan of Mattapoisett and Lew Grinnan of San Diego, California. Flynn was attending the San Francisco Art Institute, where he was pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree. At the time of his death, his most recent work (large, striking cyanotypes, many with images of his fellow art students, and also vibrant collages) was hanging ready for a show scheduled for the next day. His death was an accident.

Flynn was a 2002 graduate of Friends Academy in Dartmouth, MA., a 2006 graduate of Tabor Academy in Marion, and a 2010 graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where he concentrated in ceramics.

Flynn was the grandson of Lewis P. Grinnan Jr., and his wife Margaret, and of David and Lois Buxton. In addition to his parents, Flynn is survived by his brother Christopher Grinnan, Christopher’s wife Stephanie and their children Izzy and Topher of San Diego, many aunts, uncles and cousins, and a large circle of close friends, new and old, many who arrived in San Francisco immediately after his death to provide support to his family. At an impromptu gathering of Art Institute students, friends and family shortly after his death, Flynn was celebrated for his kindness to others, his vitality, his amazing art, and his commitment to collaboration.

The family is planning a memorial service to be held on July 12th at 2 p.m., at the Tabor Chapel, in Marion, MA.

Roger Willis Hunt

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Roger Willis Hunt, 64, of Wareham, Massachusetts passed away January 8, 2015. He died at home peacefully in his sleep.

Roger was a graduate of Old Rochester High School. He grew up in Lexington and later lived in Marion, Carver and Wareham. He worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute as a seaman on the research ships. Roger was a seaman on the ship that found the Titanic. He also worked at Murphy’s Auto Salvage and Eliot Youth Corp. He loved cars, the sea, people and helping others. He was very active in the Boys and Girls club of Wareham during many years and he greatly enjoyed working with young people.

Roger will be greatly missed by his family and his many friends in the community and elsewhere. He loved people and easily made friends; wherever we went, Roger seemed to run into someone he knew.

Roger was predeceased by his parents, Clifford and Jean Hunt of Marion and his aunt, Hazel Hunt of Marion. He is survived by his son Greg (Monica) Hunt and two granddaughters of Portland, OR, and his siblings Carol (Dan) Batonick, Paul (Cecilia) Hunt and Dan (Diane) Hunt. He is also survived by 6 nieces and nephews and their wives and children.

Anyone wishing to make a contribution in Roger’s memory we suggest: Boston Medical Center, Office of Development, 801 Mass Ave, Boston, MA 02118. Please ask that the gift be assigned to the Cardiovascular Center where he received such excellent care. Or, you may contribute to the Boys and Girls Club of Wareham, 13 Highland Ave, Wareham, MA 02538.

A memorial celebration of Roger’s life will be held at a date to be announced in the future.

 

First Congregational Church of Marion

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Rachel Brown, an outreach volunteer for Heifer International for over 10 years, will speak at the 10:00 am church service on May 17. At 9:00 am, the youth of the church will hold a pancake breakfast. This is an exciting opportunity to hear about Heifer International, its programs around the globe, along with first account stories of the impact of Heifer’s work in communities. Ms. Brown has visited projects in Maine, Armenia, Cameroon and Honduras.

Heifer International’s mission is to end world hunger and poverty. The animals they provide give food and a reliable income, which bring communities opportunities for schools, agricultural cooperatives and small business funding.

Their core model is “Passing on the Gift.” Families share the training they receive, and pass on the first female offspring of their livestock to another family. For 70 years, Heifer has worked in 125 countries (including U.S.) and helped 22.6 million families.

Heifer is now working to have a greater impact on more families in an even shorter period of time. One such project Ms. Brown will highlight is the East Africa Dairy Development Project.

All are invited on May 17. Come to the 9:00 am pancake breakfast in the Community Center (144 Front St, rear of parking lot) and the 10:00 am church service (28 Main St) to hear firsthand about this amazing organization.

FinCom Reviews Warrant Articles

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With just a couple of weeks left before the spring annual and special town meetings on May 11, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee on April 22 reviewed warrant articles with price tags heading to the vote.

The Board of Selectmen had been meeting with the Finance Committee and Town Administrator Michael Gagne for the past several weeks leading up to Town Meeting, asking questions and providing input. But suffice it to say, nearly everything was ready for a public airing. The Board of Selectmen accepted the warrant and voted on it during its April 28 meeting.

The Special Town Meeting warrant will feature appropriations to cover costs on a variety of disparate articles, such as additional funding for Phase 1B of the Bike Path and unexpected snow removal costs from historic weather conditions.

This warrant lists: $66,000 from free cash for engineering and permitting costs associated with the bike path; $400,000 for water main replacement on Mechanic Street; $205,000 for water main replacement on Cove Street; and $75,000 for snow removal. Some articles will be paid through free cash while others will be paid from enterprise funds, depending on the appropriate source.

The Finance Committee agreed with all requested amounts from the Special Town Meeting warrant.

As for the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, there are presently 46 articles that voters will be asked to consider. Of those, a little over 50 percent relate to costs associated with running the town. FinCom members found nearly everything in order and agreed to recommend the articles reviewed.

Here’s a sneak peak at what voters can expect to find on the warrant that was accepted by the selectmen and released to the public:

– Elected officers’ compensation: This is year two of a three-year voted increase in salaries for elected officers of the town, such as moderator (up from $215 to $231), Board of Selectmen ($3,990 to $4,289), town clerk ($53,658 to $55,731) and highway surveyor ($72,629 to $75,940).

– OPEB liabilities: Once again, voters will be asked to approve appropriations to fund retirement-based obligations. This year, that sum is $343,736.

– Capital Plan funding: This amount, which was vetted and approved by the FinCom members, stands at $363,396 and features such items as public safety vehicles, a Highway Department truck with plow, pedestrian crossing signal lights on Route 6, and playground repairs at Old Hammondtown School.

There will be several articles for roadway and sidewalk repairs, wharf repairs, water and sewer needs, and freshwater well refurbishment. Voters will be asked to approve tens of thousands of dollars for these infrastructure improvements and upgrades.

The selectmen, during a previous meeting with Gagne, discussed the possibility of looking into re-routing the Eel Pond forced sewer main from its current position to one in a less environmentally sensitive area. That notion will appear as a funding request in an article titled “Design and costing new forced main at Eel Pond” for the sum of $40,000. If passed, that money would be used to fund engineering, design, and costing to a location that is better protected from storm damage.

The Special Town Meeting warrant was signed during a public meeting in Gagne’s office on April 24. On April 28, during the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Gagne submitted the final Annual Town Meeting warrant for signing and posting to the public.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for April 29 at 6:00 pm.

By Marilou Newell

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