Good Grief, Groundhog

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Punxsutawney Phil. You really let us down this time.

I’m crying foul. You’ve heard of DeflateGate. I call this GroundhogGate.

Clearly, Phil, you have sold out on us. How else could you explain seeing your shadow on a snowy day beneath overcast skies? I think it’s time we started looking toward other eligible groundhogs for the satisfaction that seems to elude us with you.

I’m looking toward Staten Island Chuck, bearer of better news this year, predicting an early spring from the Staten Island Zoo. And Chuck has been accurate with his predictions for the past five years straight. How often have you been right, Phil?

And then there’s Buckeye Chuck in Marion, Ohio. He plays by the rules. No shadow, no six weeks more of winter.

Jimmy the Groundhog from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin emerged as one of my personal favorites this year, defying his handlers’ suggestion that there would be six more weeks of winter. Instead, he whispered into Mayor Jonathan Freund’s ear that spring would come early just before biting him. The mayor’s office issued a statement that only the mayor can translate Jimmy’s prediction, so the prediction stands. Jimmy said spring is on its way.

General Beauregard Lee in Lilburn, Atlanta is looking pretty good to me, too, right now. Can you say, “hash tag: early spring?”

We just endured two back-to-back winter storms here in Tri-Town. There was barely enough time in between storms to enjoy a little sledding and snowpeople making. The Groundhog Day storm that canceled school in the Old Rochester Regional School District, although it not bring as much snow as predicted, managed to make a mess before it all flash froze Monday evening.

Don’t get us wrong, Phil, we love us a little winter. But the prospect of an early spring is what gets us through the second half of it. It is what we dream about as we hurl the last shovelfuls of the three tons of heavy snow from our driveways, after the novelty of the first five minutes of the activity has worn off.

We look to you to deliver us from the icy clutches of winter’s relentless grasp. Unclinch your fists, winter. Phil – you are outnumbered. No #SixMoreWeeksofWinter. We prefer to go with #EarlySpring.

By Jean Perry

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ORR Head Coach Selected

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Principal Michael Devoll and Athletic Director Bill Tilden are pleased to announce the hiring of Justin Kogler as the next Head Coach of the Old Rochester Regional High School Football program. Coach Kogler is just the third Head Coach at Old Rochester since the 1986 season, succeeding Henry Quinlan and Craig Sherman. Justin was most recently the Head Coach at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, Massachusetts. At Bishop Connolly, Justin’s team set the school record for the most wins in a season in each of his first three seasons as Head Coach. Bishop Connolly also qualified for the playoffs for the first time in school history and made the South Sectional Semi Finals in 2014. Prior to taking over at Bishop Connolly, Coach Kogler was an Assistant Football Coach at ORRHS, working under former coach Henry Quinlan. Justin’s work at ORRHS included stints as the Offensive and Defensive Line Coach and the Defensive Coordinator. Justin also worked with the receivers and linebackers. Justin also was an Assistant Coach for the ORRHS Winter and Spring Track Teams. Professionally, Justin works as a Physical Education Teacher at Williams Intermediate School in the Bridgewater-Raynham School District. According to Bill Tilden, “He coached here a while back and even after he left, he’s been a big fan and he’d come to games. The kids are really loyal to him. He has a laid-back coaching style, but he expects a lot of his kids. We just like his style. He took on a program at Bishop Connolly that no one wanted and it was in a lot of disarray, and he turned it around so we know what he can bring to a program.” Principal Devoll said, “Having a Coach like Justin on staff is an asset. He was the perfect candidate for our search committee as he brings a strong background in both education and football. Having worked under Coach Quinlan and with Coach Sherman has afforded Justin the opportunity to learn from the best. We are very excited for the future of our athletic program.”

Mattapoisett Offers Free Cat Registry

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When a cat is missing, it can be difficult to track it down without a registry and tag system like there is for dogs. The Town of Mattapoisett is now offering a free online cat registry so Mattapoisett cat owners can sign up their cats and provide relevant information in case the cat goes missing.

The Town will store the cat’s information, including the owner’s name and address, cat’s name, color, age, gender, and markings, and cat owners can upload a photo of their cat to further help identify it.

If a cat is reported found, the Town can use its GIS (geographic information system) database to inform residents in a certain area of town where the cat was found that the cat is missing. The cat’s description could also be used to match it with the registry and the owner can be contacted.

The service is offered to Mattapoisett residents only.

You can sign your cat up for the program by visiting the Town’s website at www.mattapoisett.net, and scrolling down on the homepage to the cat icon saying “Online Cat Identification Program Sign-up.”

If you cannot upload a photo of the cat, you may bring one into Town Hall and someone will help you.

For more information, call 508-758-4100.

 

By Jean Perry

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What is Google Docs?

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Technology integration in education has been a big topic for over a decade now.

School administrators are always looking for new ways to make schoolwork accessible to students via the Internet and to encourage Internet usage for the purpose of educational improvement.

Google Docs, along with its accompanying services like Google Drive and Google Slides, is one of the programs that Old Rochester Regional uses to get kids involved with online learning. Every ORR Junior High and High School student has an account, and a few high school students gave their opinions on the online service.

Senior Matthew Bourgeois has been using Google Docs for several years now and has a great understanding of the program. He had nothing but praise for the way Google Docs makes working online an easy task.

“Accessibility and instant saving are the best features of Google Docs,” said Bourgeois. “I use it anytime I have a project with partners, especially in my history-based electives.”

Bourgeois wishes that all teachers would use Google Docs, and he wishes that those who use it currently would utilize it even more.

“It’s easier for us to use most of the time. You can easily look up teachers’ assignment directions when you’re connected, so it takes guessing out of the equation,” he said.

Sophomore Ari Dias also thought the automatic saving was a good idea on Google Docs’ part; however, she wasn’t crazy about the program as a whole.

“[It’s] slow and kind of complicated. Sometimes seeing a real-life example (in place of what is seen on Google Docs) would help students more,” said Dias.

Dias and junior Jacob Lawrence agreed that English was the class where Google Docs is most commonly used. Lawrence added that he uses it for “every typed assignment.”

In contrast, junior Teagan Walsh said Math and Spanish were the classes she was most likely to use it in, even though her teachers seem to use the website sparingly.

Many students differ greatly on how many days they log in per week and how much time they spend on the website.

Usage time depends greatly on what classes are taken and what teachers a student has, as teachers range from never incorporating the program to making it a part of everyday class life.

For senior Luke Gauvin, it’s closer to the latter.

“I use it five days a week,” Gauvin said, mentioning that Google Docs was prominent in a multitude of his classes.

It’s safe to say Google Docs isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Since the service can apply to so many classes, many teachers feel it is a great tool to utilize. For many students, Google Docs has become part of an everyday educational regimen that also includes services like PowerSchool and other technology-based platforms designed for education.

By Patrick Briand

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The Big Love Your Library Book Sale

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The Friends of the Mattapoisett Library’s Big Love Your Library Book Sale is on Saturday, February 14 from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm, downstairs at the library. It’s a two-for-one sale – buy one book, get one free; buy a bag of books, get a bag of books free. Coupled with the Junior Friends Bake Sale, browsing is almost mandatory. Show your love for the library by turning out for this great sale, sign up for a Friends membership, and pick up something sweet for your Valentine.

DaRosa Pier Appeal Upheld by DEP

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It was soon clear why the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission did not let the blizzard stop its January 26 meeting from taking place.

Chairman Bob Rogers told the commission and the three people in attendance that the impetus for conducting the scheduled meeting was due to a Wednesday, January 28 deadline to appeal a Department of Environmental Protection upholding of the Daniel DaRosa appeal for the construction of a massive residential pier on Goodspeed Island.

Rogers and Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold were both surprised at the speed in which the DEP announced their uploading of DaRosa’s appeal – a mere six weeks.

On Friday, January 23 the Town received the DEP’s verdict. The town has only until Wednesday, January 28 to respond with an appeal.

Saying that he felt ‘rushed’ during the last public hearing, Rogers said that by appealing, the commission could provide a better elaboration of their issues concerning the construction of the pier.

“This will give us an opportunity to expand upon our reasons for denying the application,” Rogers stated.

A vocal opponent to DaRosa’s personal pier, Michael Huguenin, also braved the elements to make his case to the commission that they should step forward.

“We have done research and raised money…. We will participate in an appeal,” Huguenin said.

He explained that a Town appeal and any appeal by private parties would be heard by the DEP’s Dispute Resolution Department, not the DEP staff in Lakeville.

Huguenin continued, “…the Town is an abutter to this project … we hope the Town will appeal this…”

He shared that in the beginning, the citizen group he had spearheaded had approximately 100 signatures against the DaRosa plan. That number now stands at 204. He said there is wide interest around town.

“People come up to me in the post office, in the grocery store. They want to know what is going on…” Huguenin was surprised at the amount of concern expressed to him about DaRosa’s plan even in “the dead of winter.”

He said that the citizen’s group has collected financial backing and more engineering information that will be used to mount a defense against the project moving forward.

Huguenin said that, had DaRosa been willing to sit down and discuss a more conservative private pier, something could have been worked out. In the absence of that type of compromise, he said, “We are willing to spend our own money.”

As for the Conservation Commission members, the board is split. Rogers and members Marylou Kelliher and Peter Newton have spoken to deny the project from the beginning, and on this night supported appealing the DEP’s upholding of the appeal in favor of DaRosa.

Commission member Tom Coops said he had questions and needed to abstain from voting.

“I felt it was a permittable project under the Wetlands Protection Act,” said ConCom member Michael King. “…It’s going to be appealed by private citizens … so it’s a waste of [the Town’s] time and money to appeal now.”

With Coops abstaining and King opposing, the commission moved to ask the selectmen to support an appeal of the DEP ruling and to fund legal counsel moving forward.

In other business, the commission approved a Notice of Intent filed by Robert Brack of 18 Water Street to construct a replacement residential pier.

Also approved with conditions was an application by Frank Linhares of 16 Holly Lane for the construction of a 28- foot by 32-foot barn, paved driveway, and in-ground pool on a 27-acre site that was formally a gravel pit. The new home was touted by King as “a nice improvement over the gravel pit.”

Also approved was an application by William Durbin, 21 Bay Road, for the construction of a stand-alone workshop on property that had previously suffered a severe fire.

Over the objections of abutters located at 20 Highland Avenue and 25 Bay Road (via letters read in part at the meeting), the commission felt the project was not in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission will be held on February 9 at 6:30 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall meeting room.

By Marilou Newell

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David Van Dyke Musser

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David Van Dyke Musser, 60, died at home in Fairhaven following a long illness. David was a long-time resident of Fairhaven, Mattapoisett and Marion. He leaves his daughter, Christina Jean Musser of Mattapoisett; father, John S. Musser of Mattapoisett; brother John S. Musser of Cambridge; sisters Laura Montgomery of New Durham, NH and Barbara Musser of Petaluma, CA; and several nieces and nephews.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, David was a graduate of Tabor Academy and Babson College. He loved to fish and lobster and proudly prepared and served many wonderful clambakes for family and friends. David was a free spirit and loved living on Buzzards Bay.

The family will plan a private memorial service in the spring.

Lori A. Reis

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Lori A. Reis, 42, of Marion passed away Wednesday January 28, at Saint Luke’s Hospital. Lori was the daughter of Ichabod “Harry” and Annie (Chase) Nye Jr. of Marion. She was born in Wareham and attended ORR Jr. High School and Upper Cape Technical High School. She most recently worked for Cumberland Farms at the Marion Location.

Lori is survived by her children; Samuel M. Nye of Lexington, VA, Alyssa M. Reis of New Bedford and Jorge L. Reis III of Marion. She was the sister of Michael Nye of Berkley and Ronald Nye of New Bedford. Lori is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday February 3, from 5-7pm only in the Wareham Village Funeral Home 5 Center Street Wareham. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. Cremation will follow with burial in Evergreen Cemetery Marion.

Valentine Cabaret At Marion Art Center

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The Marion Art Center will start off its cabaret season with two nights of “A Love-ly Occasion” with musical entertainment by The Occasion Singers on Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14 at 7:30 pm. The Occasion Singers are an elegant a cappella vocal group directed by Cassandra Morgan with singers Christopher Saulnier, Rui Moniz, Michael Moniz, Pam Breton, Dan Guay, Jillian Zucco, Eric Bosworth, Melanie Hannack, Denise Bastos, and Caroline Blais. They will perform all your favorite love songs, classics such as “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as the pop hits “So Much In Love,” “Falling In Love With Love,” “Hold On” and many, many more. As always, the pace is non-stop and the warm and lighthearted entertainment style will leave audience goers wanting more! Cassandra Morgan will accompany the group on piano. The group is known for its tight harmonies and velvety vocal interpretations. Your Valentine will cuddle right up!

Cabaret tables are available for reserved parties of four or more. Tickets for the Cabaret are $12.50 for MAC members and $15 for general admission. Guests are invited to bring their own refreshments.

Reservations are highly recommended: Call 508-748-1266 or email marionartcenter@verizon.net.

Marion Art Center is located at 80 Pleasant Street in Marion, MA 02738.

War and Peace

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United States Coast Guard Band trombonist Musician First Class Karna Millen will join Music Director and Principal Conductor Philip Sanborn as the Tri-County Symphonic Band performs music of epic battles and historic truces entitled “War and Peace” on Sunday, February 1 at 3:00 pm at the Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett.

The first half of the program will start with John Philip Sousa’s “Bullets and Bayonets” march reflective of the trenches of World War I. From there, the band will perform the “Blue and the Gray,” a Civil War suite by American composer Clare Grundman. Music from the award-winning movie Saving Private Ryan is next with the somberly haunting “The Hymn to the Fallen” by John Williams. Concluding the first half of the concert is an arrangement of Jean Sibelius’ uplifting and joyful opus, “Finlandia.” “Toccata Marziale,” Ralph Vaughan Williams’ cornerstone of the English wind band repertoire, begins the second half of the program. Next, MU1 Karna Millen offers a virtuosic tour-de-force for trombone written by the romantic German composer Ferdinand David. David’s “Concertino” displays MU1 Millen’s rhapsodic vocal qualities on the instrument as well as her superb technical rapidity. The concert will conclude with the ever poignant and exhilarating “1812 Overture” by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Musician 1st Class Karna Millen, trombone, joined the United States Coast Guard Band in 2009. Originally from Edina, Minnesota, her early trombone training came from her father, also a professional trombonist. Currently the second trombonist of the Albany Symphony, she is an active orchestral, chamber, and freelance musician throughout New England. In Boston, she has played with the Symphony, Pops, Esplanade, Ballet, and Opera Orchestras, and was a two-time Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. MU1 Millen is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, and her principal teachers include Norman Bolter, Douglas Wright, and Ron Barron.

There will also be a celebration at intermission marking the 95th birthday of original member (joined in 1962), trumpet player Edith Pliskin.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students, and children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Symphony Music Shop in Dartmouth and The Bookstall in Marion. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door. Please visit http://tricountysymphonicband.org/ for more details.