On Friday, April 26, there will be a very brief, approximately 10 minute, presentation outside at the Council on Aging in Rochester on Dexter Lane at 6:30 pm in appreciation of Arbor Day and the recent planting of several trees. All are welcome to attend.
Karen Walega was the Marion-Rochester Health District director from 1989 until retiring from that position in 2020, and she has served as Rochester’s health director since then.
When she fully retires on June 23 at age 66, she’ll be able to boast successfully guiding Marion and Rochester through 35 years of developments in the public-health landscape, from strengthening health-related regulations and services across the region to winning the hard-fought war against the COVID-19 pandemic and other threatening viruses.
When the Acushnet native attended college at what was then Southeastern Massachusetts University in Dartmouth, she was interested in a career in environmental science, until a professor there encouraged her to pursue a public-health career. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology at SMU in 1981, then a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Boston University in 1988.
Her first public-health job while attending BU was as health inspector for the Town of Norwood from 1983 to 1986, then health inspector for the Town of Bourne from 1986 to 1989.
She was hired as regional sanitarian of what was then the Acushnet-Marion-Rochester Health District in December 1989. The district, she said, was the wisdom of Ted Pratt of Marion to find a way to get professional, dedicated public-health services help to the small towns.
Acushnet left the district in 1997, she said, because it was facing so much new development that it needed its own services, not shared regional services. But the momentum of the district as a whole, as her position of director and health inspector within it evolved, never slowed.
In 1995, Walega recalled, Marion became the first town in the area to pass tobacco-control regulations, banning tobacco-vending machines, tobacco sales to minors and smoking in public. In 1996, the district took more action on this effort with a state grant it won to start a Tobacco Control Collaborative, which allowed it to hire Judith Coykendall as its director. That district collaborative joined with the Barnstable County Tobacco Control Program to modify the district’s regulations in 2006.
“We had to stay a step ahead of the tobacco industry,” Walega recalled. The Marlboro Tobacco Company, she explained, sent to Route 6 a van to sell smoking paraphernalia to children and parents. “Judith (Coykendall) told them they had to leave,” Walega said. “We told them they couldn’t entice children that way. Our regulations evolved as the industry evolved.”
As an example, in 2019, Governor Baker declared vaping and e-cigarettes a danger to lung health; the district hosted programs and regulatory changes to meet these new challenges.
The challenge around 2003 was the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus, she said, when aerial spraying took place in the late summer, closing beaches and parks. When West Nile virus struck, she recalled, dead crows fell from the sky and animal control officers had to collect and send them to a Boston lab for testing.
The district organized a vaccine clinic for H1N1 (flu) in 2010.
“It was our first pandemic,” Walega said. “It taught us a lot for when the COVID pandemic came along.” The result: She and the district were more than ready to organize a successful drive-through clinic for that vaccine at the Rochester Department of Public Works barn.
In between these accomplishments came her biggest personal challenge. A pig farmer on Cushman Road in Rochester in 1990 was fertilizing his cornfields with fish remains called gurry that created a stench throughout the neighborhood. He would truck it to the site in the late evening or early morning and let it sit there over the weekend.
Walega called the police for him to stop this practice, but his stubbornness to comply led to Plymouth District Court and Superior Court proceedings that dragged on for years. He even stalked her, said Walega, leading her to file a restraining order against him.
But Walega is a soft-spoken woman by nature and seems to have taken this all in her stride. She said this story ended only when the man passed away.
Her own story as the region’s health director is ending now, she said, because post-COVID public-health regulations are requiring her to be recertified as a health inspector. “After 40 years of service in public health, I don’t want to go through the recertification process again,” she said.
Also, in 2020 Marion, too, wanted to separate from the health district, wishing to be more independent again. So she “retired” from the district position and worked solely in Rochester until reaching retirement age.
Another motivation for retiring now is that her mother, whom she had been caring for, passed away two months ago.
“Now it’s time to do things for me,” Walega said. “It’s time to enjoy my life. Golf. Pickleball. Travel. Do more in my garden. I loved my job. But it’s my turn to go. I was lucky to get this job. It’s bittersweet. I’ll be sad to leave. It’s been a wonderful career for me.”
By Michael J. DeCicco
A smaller crowd of concerned residents left the April 17 meeting of the Marion Select Board feeling better about the town’s cemetery regulations after member Randy Parker recommended during the continued public hearing that the fourth and fifth items be dropped from the Cemetery Commission’s revised proposal and Chairman Toby Burr agreed.
The 2-1 vote struck from the revised regulations two-space restrictions to flower beds around gravestones. One would have limited plantings to a maximum 12 inches straight out from the front side only of the marker or monument and only to the width thereof. The other limitation proposed that was struck would have required that any edging added around the flower bed must be flush with the ground.
The proposed restrictions were meant to ease the task of maintenance performed by the Marion Department of Public Works.
DPW Director Becky Tilden said that most gravestones are large enough that planting to the side or behind them puts those flower beds on another plot. Jody Dickerson pointed out that the 26 acres of cemetery in Marion are maintained by the same size staff as they were 20 years ago.
Former eight-year member of the Marion DPW Chris Washburn agreed “100%” with Dickerson and Tilden, recalling the many obstacles he encountered when on the job in the town’s cemeteries.
Select Board member Norm Hills’ disagreement went beyond the merits of the two regulations related to plantings. He thinks the Select Board should stay of the Cemetery Commission’s business.
Resident Joe Zora told Hills he had a problem with his involvement in the public hearing considering his wife Helen Hills serves on the Cemetery Commission. Helen Hills noted she has served on the commission longer than her husband has been on the Select Board. Norm Hills maintained his position that the decisions of the Cemetery Commission should not be subject to the Select Board’s vetting.
The meeting room in the Marion Town House Annex building was packed for the February 6 public hearing that provided the feedback that sent the Cemetery Commission back to work before meeting on February 27 to review revisions to its proposed changes in the regulations.
Among the proposals the Select Board agreed on was an adjustment to long-standing fees considered to be outdated. A $300 fee will be charged to fund the perpetual care of plots at the time of their sale, so residents will pay $300 per plot plus $300 in perpetual care, and nonresidents will pay $800 per plot plus $300 in perpetual care.
The cost of opening and closing gravesites will be as follows: On regular weekdays, $600 will be charged for regular burial and $250 for cremains (add $50 per hour after 2:30 pm); and on weekends and holidays $750 for regular burial and $325 for cremains.
Foundations will cost $125 per square foot (a 2×1-foot foundation would cost $250 and a 3×1-foot foundation would cost $325).
An existing regulation stipulated that only burial plots with a full burial in place first can be used for both full burials and cremains.
An added regulation states that “cemetery plots are for the exclusive rights of burial. Only the Town Department of Public Works (DPW) can perform burials, no private party is allowed to perform a burial.
Some of the other proposals were written to clarify existing ones.
Building Commissioner Bob Grillo presided over the meeting in the absence of Town Administrator Geoff Gorman.
In three separate votes, the board approved one-day alcohol beverage licenses for three 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm events to be hosted by the Marion Social Club, 44 Pumping Station: the May 19 Clamboil; the July 21 Portuguese Feast and the August 18 Senior Chicken Bake.
The board also approved a Water/Sewer commitment of $1,350 for a new water tap (April 2).
Burr and Grillo shared the duties of the town administrator’s report.
The Marion Board of Health has received grant funding to hold four seminars on stroke, the first on May 10 at 10:00 am at Cushing Community Center walking path, along with light refreshments and a raffle. Executive Secretary Donna Hemphill noted that Melissa Frappier hosted a wellness event last week.
On Thursday, April 25, Marion will host a Town Meeting warrant review at the Music Hall. The warrant went out in the mail and was expected to arrive at residences early this week. The Marion Town Election is scheduled for Friday, May 17, at the Cushing Community Center.
Grillo reported that the Benson Brook swap shop has opened, the construction of the harbormaster building remains on schedule and only slightly over budget while addressing land-fill issues including the discovery of some substandard materials.
“It’s going to be a gem once it’s done,” he said.
Bill Washburn, attending the meeting, suggested the town bring back the Harbor Days festival, noting the occasion of the new harbormaster building and how the town had over 500 people for a previous harbor tour.
The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, at 6:00 pm at the Town House Annex building.
Marion Select Board
By Mick Colageo
On Sunday, April 28 from 1:30 to 3:00 pm, in the downstairs meeting room of the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, the Mattapoisett Democratic Town Committee is honored to present its last in a series of Spring Speakers’ Forums, featuring Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. Ms. Allen is an internationally recognized expert on democracy. She is also Founder and President of Partners in Democracy. She is a seasoned nonprofit leader, democracy advocate, tech ethicist, distinguished author and mom. During the height of COVID in 2020, Danielle’s leadership in rallying coalitions and building solutions resulted in the country’s first-ever Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience. Her policies were adopted in federal legislation and a Biden executive order. Danielle also made history as the first Black woman ever to run for statewide office in Massachusetts. In her role as board chair for Partners in Democracy, she continues to advocate for democracy reform to create greater voice and access in our democracy and drive progress towards a new social contract that serves and includes us all. Her many books include the widely acclaimed Our Declaration: a reading of the Declaration of Independence in defense of equality; Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.; and Justice by Means of Democracy. For more information about this Forum, please contact Nicki Demakis, Chair of the Mattapoisett Democratic Town Committee at ndemakis@tidlaw.com.
To The Editor:
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, during the Marion Planning Board meeting, I felt as though I was in an 1800s town meeting, where male thinking and behavior showcased the subordination of women.
Throughout the meeting, a couple of male colleagues continuously interrupted preventing me from effectively communicating my thoughts. This is not the first time I have experienced discrimination and prejudicial behavior from self-centered men on or associated with the Marion Planning Board.
Despite the interruptions, I was determined to be heard for it is well-known that unwelcome male behaviors undermine professional growth, damage mental well-being, and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. The overbearing and controlling behavior of several men associated with the Marion Planning Board constitutes abuse, and it must be stopped.
All Marion residents benefit when all voices can be heard and valued equally. As a professional, I am committed to working with my colleagues to create a positive and inclusive Planning Board.
Eileen J. Marum, Clerk
Marion Planning Board
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Richard Louis “Dick” Chaplain, 95, passed away on February 12, 2024, in Lakeland, Florida. He was the husband of the late Patricia M. (Charbonneau) Chaplain, with whom he was married for 68 years.
Born on June 21, 1928, in Avon, Massachusetts, the son of the late Wilfred and Alice (McCarthy) Chaplain, Dick grew up in Middleborough, graduating from Middleborough High School in 1946. Immediately after graduation, Dick enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving from 1946-1948 – a WWII Veteran. Upon his discharge from the Navy, Dick furthered his education at Champlain College in Plattsburgh, NY, graduating in 1953.
Dick worked for many years as an engineer for Hercules Corporation, both at the Taunton, Massachusetts facility (Havig/Hascon) and at the Cumberland, Maryland facility (Allegheny Ballistics Lab), where his innate ability to perceive complex engineering designs and translate those designs into production models earned him great respect and recognition. In his spare time, he was an avid golfer and a gifted woodworker and carpenter. Many of his creations now reside in the homes of family members. He even built a family vacation cabin in New Hampshire!
Dick and Pat are survived by their four children: Michael (Mary) of Mattapoisett, MA; Sarah (Peter) Whelley of Moultonborough, NH; Gregory (Nikki) of Norfolk, VA; and David of North Conway, NH. He was blessed with 9 grandchildren: Aimee Boothe, Kathleen McCabe, Brenna Chaplain, Patrick Whelley, Michaela Kohler, Collin Whelley, Andrew Chaplain, Brooke Conigliaro and Abigail Chaplain; and 9 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister, Carol Mitchell.
A combined memorial service for Dick and Pat will be held at St. Anthony Church, Mattapoisett, on Saturday, April 27 at 10:00 am. Interment will be at St. Mary Cemetery in Middleborough.
Patricia M. (Charbonneau) Chaplain, age 90, died peacefully, at the Manor at Carpenters, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. Her husband of 68 years, Richard (Dick) Chaplain, was at her side.
Pat was a 1947 graduate of Middleborough High School and a 1951 graduate of Syracuse University, earning her BA in Music. She lived in Lakeville, MA in the 60s and 70s; Ft. Ashby, WV in the 80sand 90s. She taught private music lessons to local high school musicians for many years and was active in her local churches, including being the choir director and organist at the Church of the Annunciation in Ft. Ashby.
Pat and her husband retired to FL where they enjoyed golfing, dancing, sunshine and visits from family and friends.
Pat is survived by her husband and children: Michael (Mattapoisett, MA), Sarah Chaplain Whelley (Moultonborough, NH), Gregory (Norfolk, VA), and David (North Conway, NH). She leaves 9 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
William “Bill” do Carmo, 94, of Marion, formerly of New Bedford died peacefully at home on Saturday, April 20, 2024. He was the husband of Doris Carmo for many years.
Born in New Bedford, the son of the late John and Alice (Lopes) Carmo, he lived in New Bedford most of his life.
Bill was a lifelong entrepreneur and community activist. As president of Carmo & Associates, Consultants, Real Estate, and Construction, he worked as the project manager for the construction of the Roosevelt, Normandin, and Keith Middle Schools. From 1984 to 1991 Bill was the Senior Project Representative for over 4,000 units of affordable housing in Massachusetts through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As president of the New Bedford chapter of the NAACP he was responsible for the construction of the NAACP Community Building. With the assistance of local banks and philanthropists such as Richard Young of Titleist and Jim Ottaway of the Standard-Times, Bill worked to resolve discrimination in employment, education, and housing. Bill was a founder of the former United Front, now Temple Landing; a Trustee and Board Member of the Whaling Museum; an Election Commissioner for the City of New Bedford; a member of the New Bedford Port Society; Housing Chairman for the NAACP; involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Bedford; and Chairman of the New Bedford Regional Airport.
Bill served proudly in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force for six years during the Korean War. During his service he was denied the opportunity to become a military pilot due to segregation in the military. Bill took it upon himself to earn his private pilot’s license which he held for the rest of his life.
He is survived by his children, Carla Roderick and husband Wayne of New Bedford, Robyn Carmo of Los Angeles, Andrea Carmo of New Bedford, Victoria Gonsalves of New Bedford, William S. Carmo of New York; his siblings Dolores Spencer of Fairhaven, Catherine Cabral of Dartmouth, and George Carmo of New Bedford; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren, his former wives, Vivian Lindo and Beverly do Carmo; and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his siblings Louis Carmo, Robert Carmo, Charles Carmo, Michael Carmo, John Carmo, and Ethel Fox.
Bill’s visitation will be held Thursday, April 25th from 4-8 pm in the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St, New Bedford. Burial will take place in Rural Cemetery privately at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
Come meet the candidates, May 8 beginning at 6:30 pm at North Rochester Congregational Church, North Ave, Rochester. The Rochester Republican Town Committee is putting on this event
All school committee and Select Board candidates have been invited to speak followed by a time for questions/answers.
Everyone is invited to attend.
Join us in Wickenden Chapel on Sunday, May 5 at 4:00 pm, for “Songs of Solace,” featuring French composer Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in D Minor, a work that was performed at the composer’s own funeral in 1924, and one that is noted for its calm, serene, and peaceful outlook. Seekers of solace will also find comfort in our renditions of the traditional African-American spirituals “Deep River” and “City Called Heaven,” as well as uplift and renewal in “Make Our Garden Grow,” Leonard Bernstein’s finale from his operetta “Candide.” Ticket information can be found on our website at sippicanchoralsociety.org/tickets.htm. We are proud to participate in the MA Card to Culture program in order to make our performances accessible to those for whom cost is a barrier.