Rochester Women’s Club

on November 12, 2014

Once again, the Rochester Women’s Club will be selling decorated wreaths for the Holiday Season. Prices range from $25 -$35.

Over the years, this has been one of our best fundraising events for the Raymond C. Hartley Scholarship Fund.

Fresh evergreen wreaths are decorated in many styles and colors and can be viewed/purchased at the clubhouse starting on Saturday, November 29 from 9:00 am to 1:00pm.

The sale will continue on the following Saturday, December 6 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. A Bake Sale will also be held in conjunction with the wreath sale on December 6.

Special colors, styles, or the much sought after ‘Seashell’ wreaths can be pre-ordered by calling Marsha at 508-322-0998 or Nancy at 508-654-6621.

Visit our Facebook page (Rochester Women’s Club) to see photos of wreaths from past years.

Also, please help us help others this Holiday season. We will be collecting non-perishable food items during all of our wreath sale days. All items collected will be donated to Damien’s Pantry.

Mattapoisett Free Public Library News

on November 11, 2014

Knitting Group: The knitters meet each Thursday at the library from 3:00 – 4:30 pm. Beginners and experienced knitters of all ages are welcome. Need some supplies? The group can offer you needles and yarn as well as instruction to get you started. Patterns and instructions are shared among members. Bring your project and have some fun.

Memoir Writing: The next meeting of the Memoir Writers will be Friday, November 20 from 10:00 am to noon. Each month a writing suggestion is offered to the group. Call the library at 508-758-4171 to sign up to attend. New writers are welcome.

Friends’ Jewelry and Accessories Sale: The Friends are currently accepting donations of jewelry, scarves, handbags and other accessories at the library for the upcoming sale. This is a great time of the year to clean out your drawers and jewelry box of unwanted items. Members of the Friends get first look at the items during the Preview Sale to be held Friday, November 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. New members are welcome to join that evening. The sale is then open to the public on Saturday, November 22 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The proceeds of the sale benefit the work of the Friends.

Sunday Library Hours: The Mattapoisett Free Public Library is open on Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Stop by to enjoy the newspapers, have coffee, or use the public computers. A color printer is now available.

New England Irish Harp Orchestra to Perform: Mark your calendars for a holiday performance by the New England Irish Harp Orchestra in the beautiful upstairs reading rooms on Sunday, December 14 at 2:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Library. This exciting and educational presentation, sponsored by the Library Trust, will be preceded by the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Library downstairs in the community meeting room.

Elks Student of the Month

on November 11, 2014

The Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 sponsors the Elks Student of the Month and Student of the Year Awards for students enrolled in local area high schools. The criteria used in nominating a student includes a student who excels in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school, club and community service, industry and farming.

We congratulate Junior Kayley Sylvia, Mattapoisett, for being selected by the Old Rochester Regional High School faculty and staff.

Marion’s Landfill

on November 11, 2014

To the Editor:

No picnicking, birding, walking or solar farms allowed on the Marion’s Landfill by order of the DEP.

The Marion Energy Management Committee takes great umbrage over my position that the Town’s Landfill should be sacred and hallowed ground left to decompose in peaceful repose. The landfill is no place for their quixotic solar farm project.

Those individuals seeking to pursue a solar agenda should do so not as an appointed Town Board but as private citizens and on private land. The private solar garden to be located off County Road on environmental and undeveloped property is a good place for this group to relocate their agenda.

A solar farm on the landfill is a bad deal for our Town from a risk, economic and social policy stand point.

The EMC has not done their site location home work. To clearly delineate fact from fiction for the EMC’s contemplation, look no further than the DEP’s site restrictions of record for the Town’s landfill.

DEP Reference No: FMP No: 39459 “… Said premises shall solely be managed as a closed solid waste landfill and not used for active or passive trespass or recreation. No other use of this parcel of land shall occur … No soil intrusive activities shall be performed on or immediately adjacent to the landfill including building or utility constriction. This property shall not be used for passive recreational purpose (e.g. picnicking, birding, walking) or active recreational sports including dirt and motocross biking. … Post-closure monitoring of the landfill … is required for 30 years.”

So if the DEP doesn’t think walking, birding and picnicking atop the landfill on a nice summer’s day is a good idea, then why does the EMC think a solar garden is good idea? With this DEP restriction in place, it just cannot be done. This is a fact.

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.

Mattapoisett Veteran’s Day Ceremony

on November 11, 2014

Mattapoisett came out to support its veterans on Veteran’s Day at Old Hammondtown School. Guest Speaker U.S Army LTC Todd Johnson spoke about “service” and how it brings us all together as Americans. Photos by Jean Perry

RHS Meets for Thankful Supper

on November 10, 2014

The next meeting of the Rochester Historical Society is the Annual Thankful Supper on Wednesday, November 19 at 6:00 pm at the North Rochester Congregational Church, 247 North Ave. All are welcome. Call Edyie Johnson at 508-961-7401 with the type of dish you would like to share for the potluck supper. Please bring an interesting item for a Silent Auction.

The Historical Society wishes to thank all those townspeople and members who generously donated funds and helped at fund raisers to make it possible to replace the furnace and repair the chimney at the East Rochester Church/ Museum this fall.

A Giraffe’s Favorite Tree

on November 10, 2014

The November meeting of the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club will be held on Thursday, November 13 at noon in Reynard Hall at the Congregational Church.

Did you know that not that long ago, acacia trees – usually seen in tropical or desert locations – were grown in greenhouses in Marion? Join us for lunch and a fascinating talk by Alan Hunter, retired grounds manager of the Stone Estate in Marion. He will describe some of the history of this estate and the role he played.

Our October program on jewelry, given by Marie Rottler, was sparkling with information and beautiful costume jewelry; many stayed to discuss their favorite pieces with Marie or look up some history about a piece in her reference books. We’re sorry if you missed Marie’s talk, but please plan to come to our November meeting; we’d love to have you join us!

Please note: Our meeting this month is a week earlier than usual. Please mark your calendars accordingly!

Questions or need a ride? Call Barb at 508 864-5213.

Yellowstone and its Birds

on November 10, 2014

Explore the interrelationships of the birds, mammals and forests of Yellowstone National Park. Alicia Crabbe has lived at the Lamar Valley Buffalo Ranch for the last two spring/summer seasons. She will share stories of living in a remote part of Yellowstone, observing and living with wildlife while volunteering for the Yellowstone Institute, which is the educational organization which connects the people to the Park. Birding there is different and exciting because of visibility and the specialized behaviors essential to survival of other species. Come and share the birds of Yellowstone on Thursday November 20 at 7:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Public Library, 7 Barstow Street. Free and everyone is welcome. The Nasketucket Bird Club is on the web at http://massbird.org/Nasketucket/.

Rochester Seeks Emergency Preparedness Help

on November 10, 2014

Rochester’s Medical Reserve Corps, or MRC, is desperately seeking volunteers to strengthen the Town’s ability to respond to emergency situations that threaten the health and safety of its residents.

The MRC was established after September 11, 2001 at the request of President George W. Bush, and organized to address both public health and medical issues that arise on the community level.

According to Rochester Health Agent Karen Walega, the MRC units are comprised of volunteers in the medical profession, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians, and medics, among other professionals, but also non-medically oriented individuals to assist in providing organizational and logistic support in the event of an emergency.

Walega said the Rochester MRC for example, responded to H1N1 with immunization clinics and shelter needs during blizzards and hurricanes. These are but a few of the ways the MRC serves the public.

“We recognize that our volunteers are limited in number,” said Walega on November 3 before the Rochester Board of Selectmen, “and our community-based MRC could and should be stronger.”

Walega said the MRC is in the process of reorganizing in order to unite with Marion as one MRC unit. She is also soliciting more volunteers for MRC efforts.

“We need people who might be leaders, or have strong organizational skills, or have an interest in logistics or communication,” said Walega. ”We need people who can assist with security, traffic flow, and parking.” She continued, “We also need people who can assist with child care.”

Accompanying Walega, Vincent Ryan said the MRC needs roughly 67 people in order to function.

“Unfortunately we don’t have 67 people,” said Ryan. “It’s very important that this town support itself.”

The MRC will hold a meeting on November 13 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Council on Aging at 66 Dexter Lane, and asked interested parties to attend or contact her through the Board of Health at 508-763-5421 or 508-748-3530.

In other matters, the selectmen approved an updated town employee vehicle use policy, limiting the use of town-owned vehicles strictly to town employees only, unless in an emergency situation.

The board also briefly spoke with Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon, who said the Rochester Open Spaces Plan will expire in 2015 and a new Open Space Action Committee needs to be established.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen in scheduled for November 17 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

Field Hockey Wins First Tournament Game

on November 10, 2014

This week was a rather slow one for Old Rochester Regional High School, as several of the teams did not participate in games and instead anxiously awaited seedings for the state tournament. However, there were still some impressive results from this week. Here is a look at the ninth week of results in scheduled games for all ORR athletic teams.

Football: The Bulldogs did not qualify for the state tournament, so this week they played a non-playoff consolation game instead. Oddly enough, they were paired with Seekonk, who effectively ruined ORR’s chances of getting a playoff berth just last week. The Bulldogs, who lost 48-20 last week, went into the game hoping to give some payback to the Warriors. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were not able to stop Seekonk, as they lost to the Warriors for the second straight week in a 32-12 loss. Sean Hopkins played well for the Bulldogs, scoring two touchdowns and finishing with 163 yards on 15 carries, but it would not be enough to match the offensive pace of the Warriors.

Field Hockey: The big story of the week was the first-round victory of the Lady Bulldogs, who defeated Monomy 1-0 in a well-played game in the Division 2 South Sectional. Devyn O’Connor scored the lone goal of the game, marking her 17^th score of the season. The ORR defense really shined in the victory, as goalkeeper Mya Lunn was only forced to stop three shots from Monomy. The girls’ next game will be against second-seeded Dover-Sherborn in the quarterfinals.

Girls’ Soccer: The girls’ soccer team wrapped up their regular season earlier this week with a 0-0 tie against out-of-conference New Bedford. The girls had several opportunities to score, but could not seem to capitalize on them. The ORR defense deserves praise, as they successfully halted any New Bedford momentum to keep the game scoreless. The other big news for the Lady Bulldogs was their placement in the Division 3 South Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs received the third seed and will be facing off against 14^th seeded Hanover later this week.

Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country: The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams participated in the annual MSTCA Coaches Invitational this week with some very impressive results. The top seven runners from the boys’ and girls’ team were withheld from running, as they are saving themselves for the divisional meet next weekend. However, this gave some of ORR’s other runners a chance to step up. Sophomore Eric Souza shined in the sophomore race, where he placed 37^th in a personal-best time of 18:47. Maddie Scheub also ran very well, placing 18^th overall in the freshman race by running the 1.9 mile course in a speedy 12:41. ORR’s freshmen did well on the day in general, with Gabe Shriver placing 49^th in the boys’ race with a 12:01.

Below are the overall team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of November 2.

Football: (4-4-0) (4-4-0); Field Hockey: (14-4-1) (12-1-1); Girls’ Soccer: (13-3-2) (12-3-1); Boys’ Soccer: (11-5-2) (11-3-2); Golf: (15-1-0) (15-1-0); Volleyball: (7-12-0) (7-10-0); Boys’ Cross Country: (5-1-0) (5-1-0); Girls’ Cross Country: (6-0-0) (6-0-0).

By Michael Kassabian

Photos by Ryan Feeney