The Old Rochester Athletic Hall of Fame Committee would like to remind our ORR Alumni that we are now taking nominations for our fifth year “High Five” Induction Ceremonies to be held on the weekend of June 13, 2015. Our deadline for accepting new nominations is December 1, 2014. You can go to our website, http://oldrochesterma.vt-s.net/Pages/Nomination2015 and nominate a fellow classmate today.
To the Editor:
Marion’s Selectmen need to redirect the Energy Management Committee’s proposed community solar garden from the Landfill to County Road.
It’s now time for the Selectmen to announce the environmentally sensitive capped landfill is sacred and hallowed ground and cannot be touched by the Energy Management Committee for a community solar garden.
The announcement in the local press of the development of a private solar garden off County Road should be positive news for the Energy Management Committee. Now there is an opportunity for those individuals who want to pursue a solar garden agenda to do so on private land with private investment. This is where such a project should have been developed from its inception. The site is located on environmentally benign undeveloped private land. Marion taxpayers will no longer be needed to underwrite the self-insured contingent environmental liabilities of the solar site on the landfill.
Using the Town landfill has never been a good option from a liability, public policy or cost stand point. Let the landfill rest in peaceful repose free of risk from cap damage, potential environmental release and exposure for costly damage, cleanup and repair.
A 5.5 percent capitalized lease valuation of the proposed landfill solar project nets the Town only $137,279.This is the value for the developer’s proposed twenty-year lease net of estimated Town costs. This is not a material value for the Town when compared to contingent liability exposure.
Without a significant indemnification posted by the developer taxpayers are the deep pockets of last resort to pay these costs.
The probability of obtaining an appropriate environmental indemnification from a developer is remote. A developer will not assume environmental deal risk. Requiring adequate developer indemnification would be a deal breaker. The EMC will be conflicted over very important coverage to protect the Town and is unlikely to walk away from this deal even if it’s in the best interest of the Town to do so. Simply, the EMC wants this deal even if it’s not a good one for our Town.
Social policy too needs consideration. The EMC touts the virtues of a community solar garden having the similarities of a community vegetable garden; broad based and open to all residents of all income levels. “Solar Garden Sun Shares” are going to be offered by the developer at $5,000 each. Participation will be limited. The average Marion home owner will not have access to this project, but as a taxpayer will have to back the landfill’s contingent environmental obligations.
There are no carve outs or set-a-sides for low income housing or for retirees on fixed incomes. A true community solar garden would address these social issues. This is hardly using a Town asset for broad based community benefit.
Solar gardens should be privately financed and sited on private land. This is now being done off County Road by private interests. It’s time the Selectmen move this project off the capped landfill and direct its destination down County Road where it belongs.
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.
Allen Leonard Sherman, 92, of Bradenton, FL, formerly of Mattapoisett, MA, passed away on November 4, 2014 at Nemasket Health Care Center, Middleboro, MA after a courageous battle with cancer.
He was the husband of the late Janet K. (Gardner) Sherman, with whom he shared 55 years of marriage.
Allen was born in New Bedford, MA on October 16, 1922, the son of the late Leonard A. and Katherine (Hamilton) Sherman. He lived in Mattapoisett before retiring to Bradenton, FL. He was a graduate of Fairhaven High School, class of 1941. Allen proudly served our country during World War II in the United States Army Air Corps.
A devoted family man, Allen was a member of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church and very involved in youth and community activities. He was a member of the Pythagorean Lodge A.F. & A.M. and was active in the Mattapoisett Lions Club. Allen enjoyed golfing, camping, fishing, traveling the United States, and was a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan. Allen was the Treasurer and Tax Collector of the Town of Mattapoisett for many years until his retirement.
Allen is survived by his son, Robert A. Sherman and his wife Loretta of Rochester MA; his daughter, Susan Brunel and her husband Jeffrey of Fairfield, ME; four grandchildren, Kyle Sherman, Katherine Sherman, Jill Wroblewski and Shawn Barney; three great-grandchildren, Charles and Andrew Wroblewski and Calleigh Barney; and several nieces and nephews.
He was the brother of the late John Sherman.
His Memorial Service will be held on Monday, November 17th at 11 AM in the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, followed by Military Honors. Arrangements are with Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Allen’s memory to The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, 72 River Park St., Suite 202, Needham MA, or at CCFA.org For online guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
Elinor May (Jackson) Akins, 79, of Wareham died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014 at Tobey Hospital in Wareham after a brief illness.
Born in Wareham, she was the daughter of the late Robert M. & Helen G. (Ames) Jackson. Mrs. Akins worked as a housekeeper for Tabor Academy in Marion for several years.
Mrs. Akins loved spending time at the Cape Cod Canal and going on towing and recovery trips with her son.
She is survived by her son, Robert Akins and wife Renee Nevitt Akins of Wareham; her daughters, Barbara Hunter of W. Wareham and Terrie Cole of Cotuit; five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son, the late Lawrence M. Akins, Jr., her brother, the late Lawrence Jackson and her sisters, the late Betty Hackett and the late Virginia Garcia.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Highway (Rt. 28), Wareham on Thursday, Nov. 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. A funeral service will be held following the visitation at 6 p.m.
Donations in her memory may be made to the American Heart Assoc., 300 5th Avenue, Suite 6, Waltham, MA 02451. For directions and on-line guestbook visit: www.ccgfuneralhome.com
Clark (Skip) Bailey 78 of Englewood, FL and Mattapoisett MA passed away Monday, October 13th, 2014 while at his Englewood Florida home. He was loving husband of Virginia (Ginnie) Marie (Markt) Bailey whom he shared 55 years of marriage.
Skip was born March 29, 1936 in Palmer, MA to Charles and Carolyn (Worthington) Bailey. He served in the US Navy, was a master electrician, and owner of Anderson Electric. Skip was an avid sailor and boater.
Survivors along with his wife are three sons, Donald William Bailey of Mattapoisett, Paul William Bailey of Norwell and Michael William Bailey of Mattapoisett, 7 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, his brother Russell Leland Bailey of Mattapoisett and 11 nieces and nephews.
A service to honor his memory will be held Friday November 14, 2014 at 10:30 am at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, 27 Church Street Mattapoisett, MA. Reception to follow the service at Reynard hall located next to the church. Memorial donations can be made in his memory to the USO (www.uso.org), the DAV (www.dav.org) or a charity of your choice.
To the Editor:
A sincere thank you from the family of Colleen P. (Gauvin) Calise.
Whether you called, sent a card, sent a meal, prayed for us, stopped by, planned or helped with the reception, gave to the memorial fund, or celebrated Mass with us, it was all greatly appreciated. The outpouring of love and friendship was truly felt.
A special thanks to Cape Cod Express and Bedford Village Nursing Home for their continued support and understanding during this very difficult time.
We would like to thank Rev. Paul Caron for his extended spiritual support for Colleen and her family. The Saunders/Dwyer Funeral Home. Thank you, for your sincere compassion and respect offered to the whole family. You went above and beyond. “Like the Footprints In The Sand,” you carried us.
Sincerely meant,
The Calise, Gauvin, & Price Families
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 Recreation will once again hold “Manners Matter Most” on Thursday, November 20 from 3:15 to 5:15 pm at the Sippican School Community Room (at Bus Loop).
Children will learn the value of a thank you note, table settings, table manners, introductions, good sportsmanship and much more!
This event is for boys and girls in grades 3-6. Fee is $35 per student.
Deadline for registration is November 12. Registration forms are available at Marion Recreation, 13 Atlantis Drive and the Marion Town House. Forms may be downloaded and printed from www.marionrecreation.com.
For more information, visit www.marionrecreation.com, contact Marion Recreation at 774-217-8355 or info@marionrecreation.com.
On Wednesday, November 12 the Marion Natural History Museum is hosting “Sea Turtle Stranding Rescue” from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. As fall arrives, sea temperatures drop and sea turtles know to head south to warmer climes. Sadly, some of these turtles become locked in the bay by a wall of ocean water too cold for reptiles to pass. They become trapped and eventually become cold-stunned and strand on bayside beaches in fall storms. Hypothermia grips as frigid winds plunge body temperatures to freezing, and death follows quickly if turtles are not recovered by intrepid rescuers such as our speakers: Don Lewis and Sure Weber Nourse. This program is appropriate for ages 5 – 105 and all are welcome to attend this fascinating event. Cost for the program is $4 for members and $6 for non-members. The museum is located on the second floor of the building we share with the library, at 8 Spring Street in Marion. Pre-registration is strongly advised. To pre-register, please go to the after-school section of the museum’s website: www.marionmuseum.org, fill out a registration form and submit with payment. Hope to see you there!
“I’m the chairman. It was my fault if something was done wrong. I take full responsibility. We never proposed the zoning bylaws,” said Mattapoisett Planning Board Chairman Tom Tucker on November 3.
This came in response to Mattapoisett resident Bonne DaSousa’s reading of an open letter to the board. DaSousa has been trying to find out how zoning bylaw changes got into the warrant for the Fall Special Town Meeting, and she had questions about a letter sent to the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen from the Planning Board.
DaSousa asked the Planning Board to “correct the record regarding the [Planning Board’s] letter.” She also asked them for “a constructive review”of the events leading up to the Fall Special Town Meeting that resulted in the error.
During a follow-up interview, Town Administrator Michael Gagne provided clarification on the sequence of events of the zoning bylaw changes proposed by Brad Saunders of D+E LLC (a Bay Club partner) as they took place over the past few months.
Gagne said that on September 16 he asked Planning Board Secretary Tammy Ferreira if the Planning Board was submitting zoning articles for the Special Town Meeting. She replied affirmatively and sent Gagne the proposed changes from Saunders that had been vetted through the public process. Gagne sent the documents on to town counsel for review and editing into proper language for the warrant.
On September 22, according to Gagne, town counsel returned those documents to Gagne, who in turn sent them on to Director of Inspectional Services Andy Bobola and to Ferreira.
Gagne said on October 8 Ferreira submitted a letter to Gagne, along with original zoning bylaw proposals from Saunders, as the ‘report’ from the Planning Board that he had requested.
Gagne read that letter at Town Meeting; however, Ferreira’s letter incorrectly stated that the Planning Board voted in favor of amending the articles.
DaSousa was successful in motions from the Town Meeting floor that postponed voting on the zoning changes indefinitely.
At the November 3 Planning Board meeting, Mattapoisett resident Lisa Winsor said that what was “really disturbing” was the huge communication gap. She said the letter read by Gagne from the Planning Board seemed to have weight because it was referred to three times during the Town Meeting discourse on the proposed zoning changes.
“What are you looking for?” asked Planning Board member Ron Merlo. “I’m confused. There’s nothing hidden.”
DaSousa wanted to know how a private citizen could propose bylaw changes. Planning Board member Mary Crain said that private landowners can make a request.
Planning Board member John Mathieu told DaSousa that the board follows the Attorney General’s Office Guidebook for town clerks and planning boards. He said that the guidebook has been uploaded to the Town’s website for everyone’s reference.
“I don’t think anyone is trying to hide anything,” stated Mathieu.
Merlo said, “We voted to send the bylaws to Town Meeting – we didn’t vote to approve.” Continuing on he stated, “We held public hearings – no one came.”
Tucker reiterated, “…It was just a mistake…”
By the end of the conversation, Tucker, Merlo, and Mathieu had made it clear that if the public attended public meetings and hearings, they would be well informed and able to participate in the open communication afforded by the process.
Tucker said the board would invite selectmen to meet with them. He also said they would contact town counsel to find out if the public record from the Special Town Meeting can be changed to reflect that the board did not approve the proposed bylaw changes.
Earlier in the evening, three hearings for tree removals were heard with Tree Warden Roland Cote. Cote stated the reasons why certain trees located on scenic byways should be removed. The trees in question are located at 18 Crystal Spring Road, 34 River Road, and 22 Long Plain Road.
Sandy Hering, chairman of the Tree Committee, said the committee was in favor of the trees being removed, with the exception of the tree located at 18 Crystal Spring Road. She said the Tree Committee did not see the need to remove a tree that had been planted by a previous tree warden and was presently healthy and doing no harm.
Cote said it was imminent that NSTAR would heavily prune the tree, thus making it an eyesore, and that the Water Department was concerned about a water valve located nearby.
Homeowner Raymond Hanks was present and made a commitment to plant another tree in a better location to replace the one in question that would be removed.
Cote received approval to remove all the trees noted in the three applications.
In other matters, Nick Harris and engineering representatives from McKenzie Engineering Group came before the board for an informal discussion regarding a conceptual housing development off Bowman Road.
Brad McKenzie said they wanted to find out what the Town would be looking for in terms of the road and utilities for a SRD permit encompassing a 20-acre parcel and 20-lot subdivision.
The discussion included the current state of Bowman Road (an unpaved public roadway), the wet conditions of the site, and concerns of stormwater drainage problems.
McKenzie’s assertion that the site did not fall under review from Natural Heritage was questioned, and he was advised to get clarification on that point, along with checking the 2010 SRPEDD mapping of the area.
“I don’t think Bowman Road can take another house on it,” said Mathieu. “You construct a road, you have to drain that road, that land is wet, very flat, the ground has hard pan.” He continued, “You’ve got a tough thing to sell,” he told McKenzie.
“We meet all the state and local regulations,” responded McKenzie.
Mathieu countered, “You haven’t shown us anything.”
Harris said he had been through a similar situation in Freetown with a public road and five houses he wanted to build on it. He said the Town of Freetown had not approved the project, but that he had won a lawsuit in court.
“If I have enough width to rebuild Bowman Road, I should be able to do that,” said Harris.
Tucker said, “You’ll need letters from the police, Fire Department, highway, trip generation reports – you need all your ducks in a row. We’ve been burned too many times.” Tucker ended his comments by saying they could also expect the mandate of an independent peer review.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for November 17 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
By Marilou Newell
Mites: The Gateway Mite C team lost a hard-fought game against Falmouth Saturday 12-7. Gateway came out flying, scoring a goal 30 seconds into the first period. The two teams traded goals back and forth in the first period with it ending 6-5 Falmouth. Falmouth opened the second period with two quick goals, but Gateway battled back and got within one. Falmouth then pulled ahead and never looked back. The Mite team played hard once again, never giving up, scoring the last two goals of the game. There was just not enough time left for Gateway, who played a total team game, to complete the comeback. They were back-checking the whole game as well as spreading out and making several passing plays resulting in goals. The team is really making great strides exhibiting the skills they have been working hard on in practice. Jarred Frates led the team with a hat trick. Pat Tripp had two goals while Brayden Cannon and Thomas Clavell added one each. Ben Hebbel and Bree Killion each had an assist and Charlie Carroll had 50 saves on the night.
Pee Wees: The Gateway Pee Wee team played an exciting game this weekend against the Yarmouth-Dennis Dolphins, ending in a 0-0 draw. There was a lot of back and forth action in the attacking zones with the opposing goalie and Gateway’s Ryker King stopping shot after shot to keep the game scoreless through three periods of hockey. Gateway played a great technical game and skated hard to try to get the one goal that would have made the difference, but in the end we walked away with a tie and a well-played game to be proud of.
Bantams: The Gateway Youth Hockey Bantam team lost only their second game of the season on Saturday night, suffering a 5-2 defeat to the Pembroke Titans. Penalties played a factor early in the first period, as Gateway lost a key defenseman to a game misconduct. The penalty forced the team to shuffle their eight-skater roster, resulting in increased ice time and unfamiliarity. Despite their best efforts and some moments of offensive zone prowess, the Gateway players couldn’t overcome the deficits. Zachary Pateakos kept a scoreless net during his tenure, while Robert Ramsay was the only Gateway scorer.
Middle School 1: The Middle School 1 team continued their winning ways on Sunday, with a victory over a tough Westwood team, 3-1. The Jr. Vikings got off to a slow start, not scoring in the first two periods. Their solid three-man defensive rotation, as well as strong back checking by the forwards, helped keep the game close. The outstanding play in net by Alex DeMarco was the main reason the score was only 1-0 after two. The Jr. Vikings finally broke through in the third period when Robert Ramsay stuffed home a rebound to tie the game at one. The score remained tied until about five minutes left in the third, when defenseman Coleby Paling sent in a shot from the point that took a crazy bounce and beat the goalie. Ramsay added an empty netter to put the game away. The Jr. Vikings have now won four straight and are beginning to look like a team on a mission.