The First Congregational Church of Rochester will hold its annual St. Patty’s Dinner on March 22 at 5:00 pm; doors open at 4:30 pm. Tickets are limited and cost $14 adults/ $5 under 12. Tiffany Rozenas and family will perform traditional Celtic music and Chef Mike Daniel will prepare corned beef and cabbage with all the fixings. All proceeds will benefit our roof repair project. Please call the church office at 508-763-4314 to reserve your tickets.
The Old Rochester Regional Junior High School has resurrected its Drama Club and is ready to show the public how hard work, dedication, and the desire to have fun simply cannot be stopped by marathon snowstorms.
The Drama Club has been learning its lines, rehearsing its moves, and finding its singing voice since January 21, despite the cancelation of a number of its scheduled rehearsals due to the weather. But the show will go on with a rendition of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic The Little Mermaid, led by a group of dedicated parent volunteers who have been organizing and facilitating the production.
This production has been designed a bit differently than other school plays, said parent volunteer Beth Marsden. Multiple actors will be playing each of the roles as a way of giving everyone a chance to shine in the play.
“We were trying to make this play so that there’s really no lead … so that it’s easier,” said Marsden. “So that way all the kids could be a part of it.
Altogether, there are 31 actors and 10 crewmembers responsible for make-up and lighting, among other aspects of production.
“It’s fun because there really are no lead roles,” said parent volunteer Casey Quirk. “So there’s tons of chances for tons of involvement.”
This rendition of The Little Mermaid, adapted by Kathryn Schultz Miller, varies from the Disney version. For example, the names are different, although they echo of their Disney counterparts, and the story is based more on the Christian Andersen book and less on the cartoon.
At the center of the plot is Annabelle, played by Lyla Horton and Michaela Mattson, a young mermaid who is in love with a prince and would do anything to be a human. Her father, Neptune, played by both Emma Quirk and Emily Wilson, tries in vain to keep his daughter from mingling with humans, while Annabelle is pursued by the evil Odessa, played by Kate Marsden and Hannah Grace Johnson, who tricks Annabelle into giving up something precious in order to gain power over Neptune.
The Drama Club was formed again this year when the school asked some parents if they would revive the Drama Club after years of inactivity. This will help the young actors in the future, said Quirk.
“When they get to high school, they’ve already been introduced to drama,” Quirk said. “And the kids involved in this are awesome kids who work hard and are having fun. I’ll be sad when it’s over.”
The actors are enthusiastic and shine brightly on an underwater stage bursting with color. They are building their confidence and will really be “hamming it up” in the junior high auditorium on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 pm during its public performance of The Little Mermaid. Tickets at the door are $10; $5 for students, seniors, and kids; and kids age four and under are free.
By Jean Perry
It was a good week to be a Bulldog.
With national-caliber performances by individuals on the track team and a historic state championship win for the boys’ basketball team, this week exemplified the outstanding facets of the Old Rochester athletics program.
For many, the highlight of the week was watching as the boys’ basketball team won two huge games to finish off their incredible season with a Division 3 state championship, the first in the school’s history. The Bulldogs began their week by playing at the legendary TD Garden in Boston in the semifinals against fifth-seeded Pentucket. ORR’s defense was the star player in the game, as they applied consistent pressure to a tough Pentucket team to claim the Eastern Massachusetts title in a 63-49 victory. The Bulldogs had an explosive start, jumping out to a 10-point lead by limiting Pentucket to a mere two points in the first quarter. Playing a tight man-to-man, full court-press defense, the Bulldogs continued the defensive pressure throughout the remainder of the game, effectively squandering any opportunities for Pentucket to make a comeback against the Bulldog offense. Will Santos played very well on both ends of the court, scoring 16 points to lead ORR offensively while also shutting down Pentucket’s star player, Pat Freiermuth, underneath the basket.
The game was extremely well-attended by the Tri-Town community, as nearly 2,000 Bulldog fans clad in red flooded TD Garden to cheer the Bulldogs to a spot in the Division 3 finals at the DCU Center in Worcester.
Then came the championship game that will likely go down in ORR legend, as the boys claimed the program’s first-ever state championship with a 61-47 victory over Hoosac Valley. Thanks to an incredible performance by freshman Noah Fernandes, who scored a game high 20 points, the Bulldogs took a commanding lead in the first quarter and managed to more than hold their own for the remainder of the game. Fernandes was effective not only in the paint, but also beyond the three-point arc, as he hit four three-pointers to pull Old Rochester out of some tight situations later as the clock wound down.
Hoosac Valley came out in the third quarter seeking vengeance, and managed to tie the game up at 35 points apiece. According to senior co-captain Jordan Menard, the key was to stay focused defensively.
“We knew that playing better defense would win us the game,” said Menard. “We knew that the offense would come so we had to just work on defense and grabbing some rebounds.”
The refocusing worked. Thanks to the strong presence in the paint by Evan Santos, Will Santos, and Matt Valles, ORR held possession for a majority of the fourth quarter, and thanks to the sharp-shooting of Ryan Beatty and Fernandes, as well as the leadership of Menard, the Bulldogs fought back to extend their lead to an unreachable ten points with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter to all but secure the championship. As the final buzzer sounded, the team stormed the court to celebrate, cheered on by hundreds upon hundreds of ORR fans.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Beatty when asked on the feeling. “I couldn’t have asked for a better senior year and I’m so glad I ended my high-school basketball career with a state championship title.”
“The state championship was the best moment in my high school career,” said Menard. “It’s every kid’s dream and not many people get the chance to do it. It’s something I’ll remember forever and something that people will talk about for a long time.”
The Bulldogs graduate three talented seniors in Menard, Beatty, and Mitch Midwood.
And the boys’ basketball team wasn’t the only victory of the week for the ORR athletic community. Down at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships in New York, several track athletes performed on a national stage with incredible results. The highlight would be the girls’ shuttle hurdles team, consisted of Zoe Smith, Bailey Truesdale, Lexi Afonso, Morgan Middleton, and Brooke Santos, which placed seventh in the nation with a school-record time of 34.2 seconds. The girls were seeded last out of 22 teams, but managed to defy all expectations, each running a fantastic leg to grab a top-ten finish. The boys’ shuttle hurdles team also did well, placing 20th out of 36 teams and setting their respective school record in the process. On the squad was Eli Spevack, Ben Rounseville, Will Hopkins, and Kevin Saccone, who went on to compete individually in the 60-meter hurdles, where he placed 28th overall.
With the dramatic and exciting finale of the winter season, student athletes at ORR look to emulate the same success in the spring season, which starts Monday.
Below are the final winter team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of March 15.
Boys’ Basketball: (22-3-0) (16-0-0); Girls’ Basketball: (12-9-0) (10-6-0); Boys’ Track: (8-1-0) (7-1-0); Girls’ Track: (9-0-0) (8-0-0); Boys’ Swimming: (1-5-0) (0-5-0); Girls’ Swimming: (2-4-0) (1-3-0); Ice Hockey: (16-6-1) (9-1-0).
By Michael Kassabian
March was a great month to be a Bulldog.
The magical run of the Old Rochester Regional High School Boys’ Basketball team has captivated not just the high school, but also the entire community.
A recent game against Pentucket High School, hosted at TD Garden, drew 1,000 students from the school district, with every local Tri-Town school represented. The Bulldogs won that game 63-49, aided by strong performances from freshman point guard Noah Fernandes and senior forward Jordan Menard.
While on-court performance has been the obvious key ingredient in the Bulldogs’ success, the fan section – commonly known as the Dog Pound or the Sixth Man – has provided the team with a great base of support for this championship run.
Two players who have been gigantic contributors this year are junior Will Santos and sophomore Matt Valles. The two big men add height and physicality to the ORR frontcourt, and are expected to be leaders next season. Valles is confident, despite the impending graduation of seniors Jordan Menard and Ryan Beatty.
“Every single player on this team shows leadership,” said Valles.
Santos thinks the team can replicate its incredible success.
“I think we have the potential to do the same thing and get to this same point,” Santos said. Both believe the value of the Sixth Man is something special.
“They’re amazing to say the least,” Valles remarked, adding, “They are definitely a big part of my performance.” Santos called the Sixth Man ‘awesome.’
“The fact that we showed up with more fans than D-1 schools is a testament to them,” said Santos. “They help a lot.”
Head Coach Steve Carvalho is proud of a team that has risen past expectations to do something no ORR boys’ basketball team has done before – reach the D-3 State Championship game. He listed his favorite memories throughout the season as the game against Bourne (to clinch the SCC Championship) and Wareham (perhaps ORR’s biggest rival).
Carvalho is excited for next year, stating, “We’re losing three great seniors (Beatty, Menard, and Mitch Midwood), but we have a great nucleus coming back.” He’s also a believer in the power of the Dog Pound. “It’s tough for other kids to play them in our gym. Our kids love playing in front of them, and they’ve been a class act.”
The fan section has grown steadily throughout the season, reaching fever pitch at the TD Garden Game.
Senior Trevor Capachione has been one of the biggest supporters of the Bulldogs, occupying a front row seat at most of this season’s games.
“Our roaring crowd makes it so much harder on the other teams. Even in away games, it’s like home,” said Capachione. “Having something like the Sixth Man is special.” Capachione’s best memory of the season was the game against Wareham at Durfee High School, which was also extremely well attended.
Junior Evan Portelance has also been supporting the team all season, and he noted the high morale of ORR fans.
“It (The Sixth Man) unites the school. Judging by what I’ve seen on social media, the fans in the stands are just as happy as the guys on the court,” he said. “A lot of those guys hustling out there aren’t just people we see in the halls. They’re our friends.”
Portelance mentioned something that could be agreed on by all Bulldog Fans, stating, “The Sixth Man is more than just a fan section, it’s a family.”
And on March 14, that family got their wish when the Bulldogs defeated the Hoosac Valley Hurricanes 61-47 in front of a huge crowd at the DCU Center in Worcester.
For both the hard-working players and the rabid fans, it was a terrific end to a season that was to say the least, unforgettable.
By Patrick Briand
The Sippican Lands Trust is seeking applicants for its “Helen A. Arthur Scholarship.” A monetary award of up to $1000 is available to a Marion resident who is a graduating senior from any secondary school by June 2015 and is preferably pursing an education in environmental studies or a related field. Please postmark a completed application by May 1 and mail to: Sippican Lands Trust, Attn: Scholarship Committee, 354 Front Street Marion, MA 02738.
The scholarship is made available through the Sippican Lands Trust Scholarship Fund. This fund was created and named after Helen Adams Arthur (1940-2008). Helen was a beloved resident of Marion who had a deep interest in the preservation of the beautiful open spaces in town, reflecting the mission of the lands trust.
Those interested in applying should visit the Sippican Lands Trust website, www.sippicanlandstrust.org, to download the application. Applications will also be available at the SLT office located at 354 Front Street, Marion next to Uncle Jon’s Coffee. Call 508-748-3080 or email info@sippicanlandstrust.org for more information.
Hold onto your hats, the Dixie Diehards are back in town and the joint will be jumpin’ at the corner of Main and Pleasant Street in Marion. The Dixie Diehards Jazz Band will make its 10th appearance at the Marion Art Center at 7:30 pm on Saturday, April 25 with a concert titled “A Stroll Down Tin Pan Alley!” The theater will be set up cabaret style with tables available for reserved parties of four. Audience members are invited to bring their own refreshments. The show starts at 7:30 pm. Doors will open at 7:00 pm.
To make a reservation – highly recommended as the Dixie Diehards always sell out! – please email marionartcenter@verizon.net. In the subject line of the email please write “Dixie Diehard Tickets.” In the body of the email include your last name, MAC membership status, a telephone number for confirmation and number of tickets needed. Tickets are $12.50 for MAC members and $15 for non-members.
Or call 508-748-1266 and leave a voice message that includes last name, MAC membership status, telephone number for confirmation, and how many tickets needed. The theater will be set up with cabaret tables available for reserved parties of four and guests are invited to bring their own refreshments.
Tin Pan Alley appeared on the music scene in the late 1800s. This is when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan. The Diehards’ stroll will cover some of the hit or “pop” tunes that appeared from the early 1900s until its eventual demise in the 1950s with the rise of Rock & Roll. The program will include tunes from many of the most prolific composers of that period, including Irving Berlin, Walter Donaldson, Duke Ellington and many others. Jazz lovers will recognize just about every tune, and many they’ll be able to sing along to with the band. This musical journey will include some early jazz hits, the Great Depression and Roarin’ 20s, and swing tunes from the 30s & 40s.
Old Rochester Community Television is pleased to announce that the organization has moved its studio and offices to Old Rochester Regional High School. Under the terms of a new 10-year lease agreement between the public access station and the Old Rochester School District, ORCTV’s facility will be located in the former first floor teacher’s lounge of the high school. ORCTV and ORRHS staffs have been working hard over the past several weeks to convert the lounge space into a state of the art public access television studio with new high definition cameras, control room and editing gear, along with updated lighting equipment, studio lighting and sound equipment.
The new studio is located at the front of the high school facing Route 6, at the west end of the high school building with its own entry way, door number 43. This location is not to be confused with ORCTV’s original studio location at the rear of the high school, which is still being used as the teaching studio for ORRHS. ORCTV has donated equipment that will be used to upgrade the student studio, giving ORRHS students a better video production learning experience.
“We look forward to working with Old Rochester Regional High School’s students and staff as well as our members from the Tri-Town Community,” said ORCTV’s director Robert Chiarito. He added, “We see this as a great opportunity to work more directly with both the towns and the school district in our beautiful new facility, and we invite the public to come to the studios and see what we have to share with the community.”
ORCTV’s new address is 135 Marion Rd (Rte. 6) Mattapoisett and the new phone number for the studio is 508-758-2300. The website is address is www.orctv.org and ORCTV is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Rochester-Community-TV. Business hours are 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Thursday and 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Friday.
To celebrate, the new ORCTV studio will hold its grand opening of the new facility on April 11 immediately following its annual meeting. The annual meeting will begin at 1:00 pm and will include the election of new officers to the Old Rochester Community Television Board of Directors. The nominees for 2015 are:
Patricia McCardle – Marion seat
Charles Radville – Mattapoisett seat
Michael Parker – Membership seat
Naida Parker – Rochester seat
The Town of Marion is ready to move ahead with its advertisement to fill the fire chief position that current Marion Fire Chief Thomas Joyce will leave empty on June 30 when he retires after six years on the job.
During final discussions about the job description, advertisement, and screening process, the Marion Board of Selectmen on March 17 discarded the residency requirement for the position, a move that could possibly attract more candidates who otherwise might not apply because of factors such as housing and the uprooting of a family.
“That’s a tremendous cost,” said Chairman Jonathan Henry. “That would probably rule out a lot of people who would otherwise do it.”
Town Administrator Paul Dawson concurred, saying a residency requirement is difficult to impose and would not be in the best interest of the Town.
Selectman Jody Dickerson requested that the selectmen consider decreasing a 15-mile radius residency requirement and make it closer to five miles so a prospective chief could still be within close enough range to respond quickly to an alarm.
“Technically, you could live in Falmouth as the crow flies,” Dickerson said against the 15-mile radius. “I think five miles is pretty good,” he said, although he would favor a residency requirement.
The board also discussed changing the EMT certification requirement from the one-year time frame to a two-year time frame, with accompanying experience in emergency response services. Dickerson was concerned that certification courses are offered infrequently throughout the year, with some institutes only offering the course twice a year.
In addition, the board decided to hold preliminary candidate interviews in executive session, taking into consideration that some candidates could be inhibited from applying when the stages of interviewing are carried out in public.
Active duty or retired fire chiefs from other towns in the region not adjacent to Marion will be asked to assist in the screening process to select the most qualified applicants.
The board approved the changes, and Dawson said he would start advertising the next day.
Also during the meeting, the board approved a request for an additional sewer flow at 16 Cottage Street in the presence of the petitioner, Christian Loranger, who wishes to raze and reconstruct the existing five-bedroom apartment building into a condominium complex.
Loranger told selectmen he would rebuild, staying within the building’s original footprint and well within the Town’s Zoning Bylaws. The condos would offer two bedrooms per unit, with a total of five units.
“We have a lot of interest for those five units for people who want to downsize,” said Loranger. “It’s going to be a nice project when it’s done.”
Henry pointed out that recently, during talks with the Friends of the Council on Aging, members expressed the need for more housing in Marion that would offer seniors the option to downsize and remain in Marion.
Loranger said it has been “very hard to work with the envelope we have to work with,” with past larger-scale projects for the site opposed by abutters and neighbors. Loranger said he wants to live in Marion and raise his family there.
“I don’t want to walk around having everybody upset,” said Loranger.
Henry said he was very glad to hear that, and the vote to grant the request was unanimous.
In other matters, the Town House Building Study Committee, after the RFQ process, narrowed its choice for a firm to conduct the feasibility study for the Town House to Turowski 2 Architecture of Marion. The negotiated price of $96,000 fell well within the limit of funds allocated by Town Meeting, Dawson said.
Also, selectmen and members of the Affordable Housing Trust are waiting for the Community Preservation Commission to announce its recommendations for CPA funding articles for the Annual Town Meeting in May. Selectmen are hoping to see the CPC recommend allocating $450,000 towards the acquisition of nine additional affordable housing units at Sippican Woods – a price Dawson said could not be beat at $50,000 apiece.
“If we were to go out as a Town and hire a developer,” said Dawson, “you’d never do it for $50,000.” He said acquiring the nine units might “immunize the Town against future undesirable 40B projects.”
The $50,000 includes the lot as well as the house, and the units would be perpetually recorded as affordable housing units.
Dawson said the move would be cost effective and “really makes sense.”
In other news, the board approved a contract for Tata & Howard, Inc. to perform test well exploration at the Mary’s Pond Road well site for $96,000, well within the budget appropriated by Town Meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen has not yet been scheduled.
By Jean Perry
Marilyn Rose Whalen, age 82 of Mattapoisett, passed away on Friday, March 13 at St. Luke’s Hospital. She was the wife of the late David F. Whalen of Hopkinton, MA and the daughter of the late John F. and Mary McNulty of Brookline, MA. Marilyn was born and raised in Brookline, and lived in Hopkinton with her husband and children before moving to Mattapoisett. She worked as an accountant, social worker and real estate broker before starting her own real estate business. Her family includes 5 children; the late David Whalen Jr., Mark Whalen, Laura Millard, Justine Snyder and Cynthia Whalen-Nelson; and 9 grandchildren, Michael and Andrew Whalen, Kaitlin and Jillian Barney, Jack and Caleigh Snyder, and Julian, Reed and Celia Nelson. She was the sister of Alice McNulty of Brookline, the late Jack McNulty of Wayland, Lawrence McNulty of Concord, and Niamh Ultaigh of Brookline. A private family memorial service will be held in Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marilyn Rose Whalen may be made to the WGBH Educational Foundation.
Craig Stuart Nelsen, formerly of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away peacefully in the presence of his parents at their family home in Fairhaven on March 14, 2015. He was 42 years old.
Craig was a graduate of American University in Washington, DC, with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Analytical Chemistry. He was employed as Senior Scientist and Research Scientist in firms in Alexandria, Virginia and more recently in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
While at American University, Craig founded its Anime Society and has enjoyed this hobby throughout his adult life. He collected the earliest films up to the present and made a trip to Japan to expand his collection. For several years, he was a key staff member of Katsucon, an annual convention of Japanese culture enthusiasts in Washington, DC. He always looked forward to his time at the convention, and he attended his last in February.
Craig’s designation as a “Cancer Warrior” at Massachusetts General Hospital was well earned. He contributed to MGH and Dana Faber research by keeping copious notes filling several whole binders and taking many, many scans and MRIs to inform those doing research on his sarcoma, an outcome of neurofibromatosis (NF), in the hope of helping others who suffer from this incurable disease. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate any donations made in his name to the The Children’s Tumor Foundation (www.ctf.org).
Craig leaves his parents, Captain Dean F. and Doreen F. Nelsen of Fairhaven, his brother, Derek Andrew Nelsen and his wife Jennifer Huang, and their two sons, Owen Shuyoh Nelsen and Benjamin Dinhjun Nelsen. Craig was the beloved grandson of Frank F. and Mary B. Sylvia of Mattapoisett and Adeline I. Nelsen of Nebraska, who are deceased. Aunt Nancy K. Paquin, lives in New Hampshire and Beverly J. Sylvia Grove, Colorado. Other surviving aunts and uncles are Dwight Nelsen and his wife Kay from Nebraska, Inez and Harold Richard in Arizona, and Linda Barker from Michigan.
A brief ceremony with the family will take place Saturday at the Nelsen home, 23 Fort Street, Fairhaven. Craig’s wish was to be cremated, and a memorial observance for friends and relatives from near and far will be held on his birthday on July 10, 2015, at the Nelsen residence.