The Rochester Cub Scouts are having an Ice Cream Social and sign-up night on Friday, September 19 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Rochester First Congregational Church at Plumb Corner. Come and see what Cub Scouting is all about. Cub Scouting is for boys in Grades 1-5. For further information, please call the Cub Master at 508-763-4596.
The Marion Cultural Council is seeking funding proposals for community-oriented arts, humanities and science projects for the FY15 LCC cycle. Application forms for the grants are available online at www.mass-culture.org. Form templates are also available at the Elizabeth Taber Library, 8 Spring Street, Marion. Please visit the Massachusetts Cultural Council website for details regarding the submission of funding proposals. The deadline to submit grant applications is October 15.
Grants can support a variety of artistic projects and activities in and around Marion including exhibits, festivals, short-term artist residencies or performances in schools, workshops and lectures.
The Marion Cultural Council will also consider funding proposals from schools and youth groups to assist in subsidizing school-age children to attend cultural field trips.
The Marion Cultural Council is a part of a network of Local Cultural Councils (LCC) serving over 350 communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The LCC program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community. This year, the Marion Cultural Council will distribute nearly $4,300 in grants.
For more information, please email Madelaine Smith at masssmith@comcast.net.
Fall Story Time, for children between the ages of three and five, begins October 6 and runs through November 24. Children are invited to enjoy stories, finger-plays and crafts Monday mornings at 10:30 am.
Fall Tales for Twos, for children 24-36 months, begins October 1 and runs through November 26. Children must be two years old by October 1 to attend and must be accompanied by enthusiastic adult companions. The half-hour of stories, finger-plays and crafts takes place at 10:30 am on Wednesday mornings.
Fall Lapsit, for children birth through 23 months and their caregivers, begins October 7 and runs through November 25. Each Tuesday morning program begins at 10:30 am and includes a 20 minute “story time” followed by 20 minutes of socializing. One child per “lap” please!
Pre-registration is required for these programs; please sign up by stopping by the library, calling 508-748-1252, or by emailing Mrs. Grey, Children’s Librarian, at rgrey@sailsinc.org.
Mattapoisett School Committee members from both sides of the fence considered just that – a proposed enclosure around the playground area near the circular drive at Center School.
Facilities Director Gene Jones on September 8 presented his recommended plan for a fence to cordon off the early childhood playground area, an idea first suggested by School Committee member James Muse just before school broke for the summer.
Jones placed an orange temporary barrier at the proposed site of a permanent fence to give committee members a visual to consider while weighing in the pros and cons of creating a barrier for small children who might stray from recess into the parking area while teachers are not looking.
Jones said the temporary orange fencing is also a way to test the likelihood that the fence would act as a successful measure “to keep the little guys confined to the playground.”
Jones said the temporary fencing is 40 feet long, and he added an additional eight feet of fencing along the sides to increase safety by giving teachers more time to react should a child start to wander off, while maintaining an open appearance to the area.
“If we’re gonna do this, then we should do it right,” suggested Jones. He quoted the permanent black vinyl-coated fence at $3,700. He added that he personally thinks the orange temporary fence is achieving the desired results at this time.
The fence did not fly with Chairman Jim Higgins, who pointed out that Center School was already in compliance with regulations pertaining to the safety of the playground.
“In my opinion, I don’t really see a need for a fence,” said Higgins.
Committee member Jim Muse said, as has become his axiom before debating ideas with the chairman, that he “respectfully disagree[s]” with Higgins’ opinion about the fence. Muse argued that children with special needs are at a higher risk for wandering off.
“I know that’s not a big traffic area,” said Muse, “but it only takes one time.” Muse, who was on the School Building Committee, said he does not know why a fence to section off the playground area was not initially included in the design plan. He said he preferred to “err on the side of caution and student safety.”
“As the parent of a child who has been known to run off when he wants to,” stated School Committee member Henry Carter Hunt, he would prefer the playground be fenced off, “not just buffered.”
Higgins, recognizing that there is sufficient support for the fence to move forward to the next step, agreed that the committee should continue the discussion next month, allowing time for Jones to present the proposed plan to early childhood educators at Center School for feedback before proceeding any further.
Superintendent Doug White suggested soliciting teachers for data as to whether or not the temporary fence is making an impact on keeping students in the playground.
“Is it doing its job, or not?” asked White.
Also discussed, a second grade school choice slot opened up this week after one student withdrew from the program, leaving committee members with the decision to either advertise the open slot, or simply allow a child on a waiting list for the first grade school choice to take the opening.
White said, with first grade class sizes at about 16 students per class, the move to allow the first-grader to fill the slot would not have a negative impact. He also suggested that it would be quicker to fill the slot by allowing a third first grade school choice student rather than advertise for a second second-grade slot. White asked the committee how it would like to proceed.
“We feel confident that we could manage the additional student,” said White.
Center School and Old Hammondtown School Principal Rose Bowman said she welcomed a total of 508 students to the 2014-2015 school year and introduced the new Assistant Principal Kevin Tavares.
In other matters, the committee addressed vandalism at Center School that occurred over the summer, with Jones announcing that video surveillance footage helped identify the suspects and police have charged three minors with the crime.
White introduced new Business Administrator Patrick Spencer and new Director of Student Services Michael Nelson to committee members. White also announced that the Old Rochester Regional School District will not be filling the vacant position of technology director, choosing instead to restructure the Technology Department and allow tech specialists from all six schools to float freely around the district under the direction of White and Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos.
Along with its effectiveness and manageability, White said the move also falls in line with the district’s Strategic Plan of using resources more efficiently.
“This is something that potentially does that,” said White.
Frangos told the committee that the new “Go Math” pre-K through sixth grade curriculum is now established within the district, and teachers have already completed their first professional development session pertaining to the curriculum. The committee chose the curriculum during the last school year in order to comply with the new Common Core State Standards.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett School Committee is scheduled for October 20 at 7:00 pm in the Center School cafeteria.
By Jean Perry
September 24: Tour of Sippican Harbor. We will once again be taking a look at Marion’s lovely harbor with the Harbormaster’s crew. Depending on the weather, we may be able to get to Bird Island and take a look at one of the few nesting locations of the roseate tern. Otherwise, we will enjoy looking for other bird species that are moving through our area. This program is limited to 12 and always very popular, so please get your registrations in early. Also, please bring a life jacket (which fits!) and plan to dress warmly and get a little wet. Pick up and drop off will be at the Marion Harbormaster’s office.
October 15: Exploring the night sky. Using the museum’s Starlab portable planetarium, our new presenter, Sidney Batchelder, will introduce us to the fall constellations. The planetarium is an inflatable, room-size teaching tool that is always a popular interactive astronomy program.
October 29: Looking at leaves. We will explore the ways that trees and other vegetation prepare for the winter months. We will also be collecting some examples of the vibrantly colored leaves of fall to press in our individual plant presses to take home.
Please go to www.marionmuseum.org to register for any of these programs.
Their faces look out at us asking, “Who am I?” or “Do you know me?” hoping to be identified once and for all, for all time to come. The Mattapoisett Historical Museum is in possession of hundreds of photographs dating from the 1800s to as recently as the 1980s bearing images of people and places from Mattapoisett, but lacking identification. In their latest exhibit, the museum is asking the public to help solve the mystery each of the pictures represents. Each black and white or colorized image is a mini-mystery waiting to be solved.
And those images range from hauntingly beautiful to playful to utilitarian in nature such as the photograph of the butcher shop replete with freshly chopped meats spread across a long counter. One face that I found simply perfect was that of a young woman from the late 1800s, perhaps a graduation or milestone birthday picture. Her face – so full of the blush of youth and promise now many years in the past – begs to have questions answered such as: Who was this woman? What became of her? Where does she lie today and for all eternity? And a similarly striking face is that of a young man from the early 1900s, whose earnest expression seems to say, “I will endeavor to live up to the expectations of my family…”
Two photographs depict a playful winter scene. In one, a tiny child pulls a sled through deep snow, while a companion picture shows that child and another playing together in the snow. Who are they and in whose yard are they playing? All that is known is that the pictures were taken in 1895.
Museum Curator Elizabeth Hutchison said, “…maybe people can help us out, you never know, someone may wander in and recognize someone in the pictures…” She said that it’s so important for people to identify photographs by simply writing on the back of the picture in pencil the pertinent information such as the date, place of the photograph, and name(s) of any individual(s) in the picture. Hutchison said that on the museum’s Facebook page these photographs and others not presently in the exhibit will be posted in the hope that someone can help identify them.
The exhibit will run through September 13. The public is encouraged to stop in and see for themselves if the faces calling out to be named speak to them.
By Marilou Newell
The Friends of Marion Council on Aging (FMCOA) will host their second annual membership meeting on Wednesday, September 17 at 5:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Marion Music Hall at 164 Front Street in Marion, MA.
Officers of the Friends – Sue Wood, Jerry Garcia, Priscilla Ditchfield, and Chrissie Bascom – will convene the meeting. In addition to past accomplishments and information from the Friends group, a special presentation from the UMass Boston Gerontology Institute, a nationally recognized leader of research topics related to aging, will be featured.
Director of the Institute, Jan Mutchler, will highlight aspects unique to the town of Marion with respect to its senior population. The Institute will also be facilitating small groups of volunteers town-wide during the fall months to determine unmet needs and develop strategies for Marion to respond to the current and future senior population. FMCOA has been working in conjunction with the Council on Aging and hopes to engage a broad representation of adults living in Marion as part of this process. All are invited to attend the meeting on September 17.
The Friends of Marion Council on Aging, founded in 2012, is a private non-profit corporation with a 501(c)(3) status, whose primary purpose is to seek donations through memberships, fundraising events, sponsorships and/or corporate gifts to financially assist the various projects that support and enhance the operation of the Marion Council on Aging. In addition, FMCOA advocates for the COA and for Older Adults in our town.
The Marion Toastmaster’s Club, a public speaking, communications and leadership organization meets the first and third Thursday of each month from noon to 1:00 pm at the Marion Recreation Center at 13 Atlantis Drive in Marion. The building is located near the Sippican Healthcare campus and Marconi Village.
Come and experience what happens at our meetings! We have a vocabulary word of the day, a joke of the day, two 5-7 minute prepared speeches, two minute extemporaneous speaking sessions and evaluations of what just happened. The meeting is one hour. Come and bring your brown bag lunch.
Get over your jitters and gain more confidence in your presentation skills. Bring a friend. For more information, call 508-292-6706 or visit our web site at www.Marion.ToastmastersClubs.org.
Nicolas Laliberte, 3 months old, died September 12, 2014 peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, from a lifelong battle with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa which is a rare disorder that affects fewer than one in a million births.
He was the son of Andrea (Fontes) and Michael Laliberte.
Survivors include his parents; a sister, Giuliana Laliberte of Wareham; his paternal grandparents, Maria (Nunes) and Carlos Fontes of Taunton; his paternal grandparents, Elizabeth (Medeiros) and Edmond Laliberte of New Bedford; 2 uncles, James Fontes of Taunton and Christopher Laliberte of Dartmouth.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday at 10 AM in St. Patrick’s Church in Wareham. Burial will follow in South Dartmouth Cemetery. Visiting hours are omitted. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, 2757 Anchor Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064 or online at www.ebkids.org or to DebRA 75 Broad St., Suite 300 New York, NY 10004 or online at www.debra.org. For on-line guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
Joseph R. Andrews, Jr., 91, of Dartmouth died Thursday September 11, 2014 at St. Luke’s Hospital after a brief illness. He was the husband of Edith (Correia) Andrews.
Born and raised in Mattapoisett, the son of the late Joseph R. and Beatrice (Faria-Monteiro) Andrews, he lived in Dartmouth for most of his life.
Mr. Andrews had been a master glazier for Andrews Brothers Glass Company and Guido’s Plate Glass. He later served as a police officer for the New Bedford Police Department for 13 years. He later owned and operated Sean’s Restaurant in Swansea and had been the executive chef at many of the leading restaurants and clubs in the area including the Kittansett Club, the Hawthorne Country Club, the Holiday Inn, P.J. Kelly’s, and the Chatham Arms. He had been an instructor at New Bedford Vocational High School in the after school culinary arts program for at-risk students. His final career was serving as the Director of Food Service Operations at UMass Dartmouth until his retirement.
During World War II, he served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the Battles of Luzon and New Guinea. He was a member of the Andrews-Dahill Post 1531, Veterans of Foreign Wars.
In his younger days, he played semi-professional baseball on teams in New Bedford and Cape Cod. He was featured in an article in the Fishing Gazette about catching scrod locally, flash freezing it and shipping it to other parts of the country arriving as fresh as when it was shipped.
He is survived by his wife Edith; his children, Clyde A. Andrews and his companion, Susan Cadieux, City Councillor Naomi R.A. Carney, and Mark D. Andrews and his fiancée Colleen Jackson, all of New Bedford, and Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, former Chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, and her husband Daniel of Edgartown; his son-in-law, Edward F. Carney; a close family friend, Roger Brightman; and many nieces and nephews.
He was the father of the late Jose R. Andrews III, and brother of the late Marjorie Payne, Roy Andrews, David Andrews, Mildred Barros, Pauline Collins, and Blanche Perry.
His Funeral will be held on Monday at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford, followed by his Funeral Mass at St. Lawrence Church, New Bedford at 10 AM. A private family burial will be held at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. Visiting hours will be on Sunday from 3-7 PM. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.