The following students from Marion will be graduating with the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School Class of 2014 on Sunday, June 1 at 1:00 pm:
Joseph Carreau/Carpentry;
Elizabeth Medeiros/Environmental Technology;
Madison Shultz/Cosmetology; and
Cassidy Shove/Cosmetology.
Southcoast Elite Basketball Camp will be holding two sessions, both June 23-26. Our Developmental Camp for girls and boys ages 7-12 will run from 9:00 am – 2:30 pm, and the Advanced Camp for boys and girls ages 13-16 will run from 4:30 – 8:00 pm. This will be year two of our camp and we had a great start last year. For more information and to register, visit www.southcoastelite.com.
The contestants in the Rochester Annual Memorial Day Boat Race were awarded for their participation later in the evening on May 27 during an awards ceremony at Rochester Memorial School.
The very first race was 80 years ago, and 93 year-old Louise Watling has attended all but two of them, cheering on friends and family members, but never competing in the race.
“I like to watch the kids,” said Watling, who sat in the audience as her son, Vice President of Alewives Anonymous, assisted during the awards ceremony. “It’s a good hobby for them. It keeps them busy.”
She did, on occasion, take advantage of the cleared-out river route the day following the race in a canoe with her husband, she said, pointing out that she will be 94 this July.
This year there was a total of 65 teams who signed up for the race, and all but one crossed the finish line.
“There’s always one – or more,” said Boat Race Chairman Arthur Benner. This year, participants from all over the Southcoast, and some from Millbury, Plymouth, and Rhode Island, came out to race their homemade boats in the annual event that is one of Rochester’s best-known traditions.
Benner tossed out a few statistics to the crowd, saying that this year’s tallest competitor was six feet, eight inches. The shortest was 34 inches. The youngest was three years old, and the oldest, 63. The lightest contestant was 33 pounds, and the heaviest, 265 pounds.
Jonathan Hartley of West Wareham, 58, was deemed the 2014 “Old Man of the River,” and he placed 54th overall.
The Junior Boys Division winners, Jack Barrows and Matthew Brogioli, took first place this year for their third year in a row and received a plaque recognizing their accomplishment. This was the first time in the history of JB division that anyone has had three consecutive wins.
There was only a one-second difference between a near-tie, which Benner said was the closest the race has seen in a while.
After the awards were given out, there was a special raffle for participants in attendance in recognition of the 80th year since the tradition began.
“Now all the fish and geese and frogs can settle back into the river,” said Benner. “We’ll try to keep it going and see what we’ll do on the hundredth.”
By Jean Perry
The Rochester Planning Board recently issued Shawmut Associates an invoice for an engineering site visit – and Shawmut, said Chairman Arnold Johnson, was not happy about it.
The remaining balance of the company’s escrow account now stands at $791, not enough to cover the invoice for Field Engineering, and now the board says it needs an additional $1,960 or so to cover the entire balance. The original amount of the escrow was $4,000.
Shawmut has requested the accounting of the hours Engineer Ken Motta of Field Engineering spent at the site inspecting the project, a site visit that was the result of some unanticipated “unsuitable soil” encountered by Shawmut during the excavation process.
“Until we get money, we can’t have Field Engineering going out there,” said Johnson. Johnson wondered if the board should pay the invoice out of its own budget and then later recover the money from Shawmut, and also request further funds be placed in the escrow account for future site visits.
The project cannot be approved until the board has its final site visit after Field Engineering has its own site visit to provide the board the necessary data to make the judgment.
The $4,000 estimate for the escrow account was based on the initial plans presented to the board, said Johnson, and Shawmut later altered its plans. The plan change required another inspection, in addition to the unexpected unsuitable soil, which added yet another inspection.
“We’ve exhausted that budget,” said Johnson. “In fact, we’re significantly over.”
Board member Gary Florindo pointed out that the Shawmut project to construct a trash and recycling facility off Cranberry Highway is “an extravagant piece of construction that’s going on at that property,” a scope that should merit an increase in escrow.
“It’s not our problem they ran into obstacles,” said Florindo. “It’s their problem. It’s our problem to make sure it’s done right.”
Florindo said he thinks the right hand should know what the left hand is doing.
“A lack of communication keeps everyone in the dark,” said Florindo.
The board decided to make a few changes to the draft letter, run it by town counsel, and then send it to Shawmut Associates.
Also during the meeting, the board met with Jay Myrto of the Little Quittacas solar project to discuss concerns about drainage basins and some of the vegetation on the property that “is not looking good,” according to Johnson.
There have been some complaints from abutters about several arborvitaes that have turned brown and appear to be dead. Johnson also brought up that one of the basins has been draining slowly relative to the other three. In addition, some of the hydroseed grass that was put down has not yielded grass.
The board sent Field Engineering to inspect the property and generate a report on the findings. Johnson asked Myrto if he received a copy of the report, to which he replied that he had not.
“But I got the invoice,” said Myrto.
Myrto apologized, saying he acknowledges there was a break down in communication and vowed to stay in closer contact with the board.
“To an extent, it was my fault,” said Myrto. He was aware of the concerns the board had, he continued. “But you didn’t know that I knew that.”
Myrto said he would rather keep better communication with the board than pay for a site visit.
The solar facility is generating power and has been since it passed a “witness test” back on December 18, 2013. The facility went online shortly after that.
In other news, Town Administrator Richard LaCamera got the approval he needed from the board to go ahead and purchase “a really neat software system,” as he put it.
Come June, the Town will be utilizing MapGeo, an enhanced web-mapping interface software that allows access to local digital geographic and property data that will standardize the mapping system used by the Conservation Commission, the Planning Department, the Assessor’s Office, and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The total cost of $11,500 was extra money left over in the planning budget due to a delay in hiring the new town planner in January.
Before adjourning, the board briefly discussed some amendments to the Subdivision Rules and Regulations.
There will be a public hearing on the amendments at the next meeting of the Planning Board, which is scheduled for June 10 at 7:00 pm at Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
Christine Winters remains the winner of the Marion School Committee election after a ballot recount on May 28 that, although the recount changed the final numbers, did not change the outcome.
On May 16, the final tally was 480-479, with Winters beating Michelle Oullette by a single vote. Newcomer Kate Houdelette won by a significant margin, coming in first with 593 votes. Oullette petitioned for the recount on Monday, May 19.
The recount numbers changed, this time giving Winters a nine-vote lead over Oullette with a final count of 480-471.
The recount process did not start out smoothly, with the ballot count showing two missing ballots right from the start, resulting in a second count of all the ballots.
The process began at 11:00 am, and the counting concluded at 1:11 pm when the numbers were read and, despite one single ballot still unaccounted for, Winters was pronounced the winner and sworn in.
“The process has played out as we had hoped,” said Winters. “I look forward to serving the Town of Marion.”
“I’m pleased over all,” said Oullette. “I know there’s another role out there for me.”
By Jean Perry
With the 2014 boating season just starting, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen met with David Kaiser of the Mattapoisett Boat Yard to discuss pump out and launch services for the season. Also on hand to share in the discussion was Harbormaster Jill Simmons.
Critical to the cleanliness of local waterways are pump out services for the many boats moored in the harbor and for visiting boaters. Kaiser began the conversation by stating that his marina is licensed by the state to provide sanitation services. He said that they average about 25 clean-outs per day on a will call basis, seven days a week during the boating season. Simmons and Kaiser have also discussed having sign-up available at her headquarters, and she said that signage could be put up that would provide boaters with contact information for the marina pump-out service.
Town Administrator Mike Gagne expressed his concern that Leisure Shores Marina did not have or offer any type of pump-out service to its customers. Kaiser said that in previous years he had provided some collection services for the marina, but it failed to meet safety standards after a while causing him to pull out. He said it would be tricky to maneuver his pump-out boat between boats in slips at Leisure Shores, but something could possibly be worked out. Gagne said that although the troubled marina was working with the Zoning Board and others to bring the operation up to standards and within acceptable permitted business, things weren’t moving along as quickly as he would like and certainly not on this issue of sanitation services.
Selectman Paul Silva said, “Some of those boats are summer cottages.” Kaiser concurred, saying that a boat was equal to a residence in terms of sanitation needs. “They don’t leave there … so where does the waste go?” questioned Silva rhetorically. It was decided that Simmons and Kaiser will work together to try and schedule pump-out services for the customers of Leisure Shores.
Kaiser went on to say that providing pump-out services to outlying coves and beach community areas such as Aucoot Cove and Point Connett is difficult. He intimated that his contract only goes so far in terms of his business being compensated for providing this service, and going into those outlying areas rather stretches the budget a bit too far. He said that he would continue to try and provide services in those areas; however, asking boaters to meet him half way would be helpful. The board will work to have services listed on the Town’s web site.
The other service offered by the Mattapoisett Boat Yard is a free launch service. He said that it is better for his business to work from the Barstow pier, but that people really want to be picked up and dropped off at the town wharf area. Calling the launch service a “lost leader” for his business, he did say that he saw a benefit from it by an increase in other cash services they offered. “We gain more service work, so there is an advantage.” He also said that he wanted to help the town.
Discussion of the launch service centered around how best to designate a space at the town wharf for the launch that would not inconvenience other boaters. Simmons will work with Kaiser and her staff to coordinate efforts so that a space can be used for the water taxi service.
Gagne said that he has been in conversations regarding a wharfinger position. A wharfinger is a manager who oversees the activities on wharves to ensure the smooth use of and operation of the wharf. He said that maybe this person could oversee the launch schedule and communication necessary with boaters to ensure coordination of pick-up and drop-off services. Again, Simmons will work with Kaiser to come up with a plan.
Gagne also reported to the board that audio problems for video-taped meetings and programs have been resolved thanks to the assistance of Comcast. He also said that ORCTV will be returning to ORRHS and acknowledged that the school was home to a superior media center.
Regarding the street improvement project for the village area, Gagne said that meetings will begin soon with impacted residents to discuss with them exactly what can and can not be done. He said that cost estimates for engineering and construction will be completed in a few months.
He said that handicap ramp work on the Ned’s Point restroom will begin soon and will take two weeks to complete. Portable sanitation services will be available during the construction phase. He also said that restroom work on the Beach House will be completed by June 21. Finally, he said that electrical bids are now in for work needed at the town piers.
Earlier in the evening, Zoning Board of Appeals members, along with the Selectmen, honored Jeff Chase for his 25 years of service on the ZBA. Also honored was Raymond Harrington for 15 years of service on the Historical Commission.
Mary Soares came before the board to discuss her plan to offer Tai Chi classes at Ned’s Point on Monday mornings at 10:00 am. Because she will be asking for a free-will offering, Gagne will get together with her to confirm that the town’s insurance riders will cover the classes.
Geoff Smith of The Sightings LLC asked the selectmen about the possibility of a March 29 road race for a yet to be named charity. Smith also needs to drum up sponsors. Gagne told Smith he needed to review the race route and security and safety protocols with Chief Mary Lyons. Once he has met and received approval of the police chief, he was told to return to the board to firm up other aspects of the race. The Sightings LLC is a US Track and Field sanctioned racing entity.
The Hollywood Scoop, a new business coming to town, received approval for an entertainment license and the Summer Wharf Dances were also approved.
Tabled until the next meeting was a meeting with the new Town Clerk, Catherine Heuberger, and Nick Nicholson for the 2013 DEP Public Water System Awards.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for June 10 at 7:00 pm.
By Marilou Newell
The largest class in Skidmore College history – the 712 members of the Class of 2014 – was recognized at the college’s 103rd Commencement on May 17 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Jennifer Wicks of Marion received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Chloe Rebecca Day of Mattapoisett, whose major is Preprofessional Health Studies, has been named to the Dean’s List at Clemson University for the spring 2014 semester. To be named to the Dean’s List, a student achieved a grade-point average between 3.50 and 3.99 on a 4.0 scale.
Scores of Mattapoisett residents gathered in front of the Mattapoisett Free Library the drizzly afternoon of May 26 to pay homage to veteran Americans who lost their lives. Onlookers filled the lawn and spilled out into the street to watch the Memorial Day ceremony with special guest speaker Navy Reserve Commander Paul J. Brawley who served more than 22 years of active duty and reserve service. After the ceremony, participants paraded through the town to the town wharf. Photos By Jean Perry
To the Editor:
Several individuals have taken to the local media to voice their personal displeasure with the March 27th vote by the Old Rochester Regional Joint School Committee to adopt a school district calendar next year in which school will be in session on Good Friday and there will be no school the half day before Thanksgiving. The essence of their opposition is that such a school calendar infringes on their faith by having schools open on Good Friday. Determining which days should be school days or vacation days should be viewed through the lens of what will provide the highest quality education for all students in the tri-town, as should all decisions made by our elected school committees. This, of course, should go without saying, but in the event some committee members need reminding of this, the following information should be considered should the joint school committee decide to revisit this issue.
The day before Thanksgiving is inarguably one of the busiest travel days of the entire year, and quite possibly the busiest travel day occurring during the school year. According to data provided by the ORR Superintendent’s office, district student attendance figures bear this out. Over the past five years, the average daily student absentee rate across the district’s six schools was 4.6%, while the average absentee rate on the day before Thanksgiving was 9.4%, more than double the daily rate. In fact, among the six district schools, over the past five years the average daily absentee rate has ranged from 2.9% to 5.9%, while the absentee rate on the day before Thanksgiving has ranged from 5.8% to a whopping 17.7%. With such a high absentee rate on the day before Thanksgiving, the joint school committee was right to reconfigure the school calendar the way they did.
What has been conspicuously absent from the commentary of those opposed to the new calendar is any mention of the new calendar’s impact on effective student instruction time. It is even more disappointing to read the comments of some school committee members opposed to the new calendar who equally failed to give any consideration to the new calendar’s beneficial impact on student instruction time. By holding classes on Good Friday and giving students the day off on a day with historically high absenteeism, the new school calendar will result in an increase in the amount of effective instructional class time. The half-day before Thanksgiving is not the most productive day for instructional time due to the higher number of absent students as well as the various extracurricular activities that often take place that day. Switching the half-day before Thanksgiving for a full day of classes on Good Friday will net valuable additional time spent focused on the curriculum.
Despite the hyperbolic claims of some, the adoption of the new school calendar is not “an attack on Christians.” On the contrary, those committee members who voted in favor of the new calendar did exactly what they were elected to do, which is to adopt school policies and procedures that will provide the best possible academic environment for all students.
With regard to the assertions that having school on Good Friday will lead to significant increases in the substitute teacher budget, fortunately we have the benefit of looking to the experience of the nearby Bourne Public School system, where school has been in session on Good Friday since 2000. According to Bourne Superintendent Steven M. Lamarche, of the approximately 300 school department staff, only one teacher and two paraprofessionals requested Good Friday off this year. There is simply no evidence to suggest that the ORR district should expect a different experience than Bourne.
Many tri-town residents moved to this area because of the high quality of the education provided by the ORR district schools. The excellent education our children receive here is due in no small part to the decisions made by our school committees, and it is reasonable to expect that those decisions are and will be made with the best interests of our children in mind. Residents also expect that our school committee members will inform themselves with all pertinent information when considering all issues that affect the quality of our children’s education. The school committee’s mission is to create a school system that is conducive to the full academic growth of all students. This school calendar issue should not be viewed as a religious or political issue, but rather simply an educational one.
Shaun P. Walsh, 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.
It didn’t take long for the public hearing on the Brandt Point Village project to boil over, and Mattapoisett Planning Board Chairman Tom Tucker skillfully held control in spite of vocal resident frustrations. Coming before the Planning Board in a continuation of an earlier hearing was John Williams, attorney and one of the trustees for Brand Island Realty Trust. It is his third attempt to receive an amended permit that would allow the developer of this already permitted cluster housing project to construct only three-bedroom units, abandoning any scheduled two-bedroom units.
Once again, Williams made the case that the developer will upgrade the septic system to a ‘Bio-Clear’ system which he said was vastly more efficient than the simple Title 5 shared system currently in place. He said that with the upgraded system, which will cost approximately $400,000, the existing homes and all future homes on this site would be serviced by a state-of-the-art wastewater purification system – one that is recognized by The Buzzards Bay Coalition.
In a letter drafted by the coalition by their senior attorney, Karin Petersen, the organization outlined their stated goals of overall water protection and that they recognized the proposed ‘Bio-Clear’ system to be superior to Title 5 systems in terms of the amount of nitrogen introduced into the surrounding wetlands and waterways.
Williams said that the DEP would have to approve the installation of the upgraded system, and he felt confident that approval would be received. He said that unlike Title 5 the ‘Bio-Clear’ system could handle the uptick in people that will inhabit the development once all the remaining units are sold as three bedrooms.
He continued to try an assuage concerns by saying that most, if not all, of the homes in the area are serviced by Title 5 septic systems, many of which are within 100 feet or less of fresh water wells, so his proposal is better than what is already in use along this coastal residential area.
That did not win him many fans in a crowd that clearly felt toxic regarding the development.
As for the Planning Board members, only Karen Fields and Mary Crain asked questions of Williams and his engineer, Al Lomis, of McKenzie Engineering. Fields asked if the ‘Bio-Clear’ system would make any noise, if it would have a leaching field, and would FEMA’s new flood maps come into play. Fields was told that there would be no discernable noise, that there would be a leaching field, and that FEMA mapping would not impact whether the development could move forward. She was further advised that the upgraded system would be maintained by a state-licensed operator. The operator would report to the homeowners’ association and state regulators. It is the association who ultimately would be responsible for everything that happened at the site. She also asked what provisions would be made for parking cars. It was pointed out that the homes had garages and driveways and that certainly, as in other areas, some cars might be parked on the streets associated with the development.
Of all those who took a turn at trying to persuade the board to turn down the amendment, none was more succinct than Gina Shorrock of 4 Gary Lane.
Shorrock, who qualified her comments and questions by first stating that she had been in real estate and understood the processes involved, said she had contacted the DEP. She said that she had a good conversation with them and that they seemed to favor a new hydrological study of the development area. She said, “I don’t feel that the town has our back.” Her stated concerns were an overloading of wastewater into the aquifer and storm water run off. She urged the board to require that the developer put up a bond that could protect residents in the area should damages result.
Of the more contentious residents to speak, none voiced more outrage than Mike Rocha, 6 Gary Lane, who at one point said, “I’m ready to vote no confidence of this board right now!” Prior to that outburst he said, “Why don’t you put up a bond to protect our wells … protect the people that have been here for 20-30 years?”
Others making variations on the same themes of fresh water issues, wastewater issues and storm water issues were Joyce Almedia, 1 Dupont Drive; Goeffrey King, 9 Birchwood; Paul Osenkowski, 8 Oaklawn Avenue; Rich Coty, 5 Gary Drive; Fred Reusch, 9 Gary Drive; and Lisa Winsor, 1 Dupont Drive.
Also on hand were residents of River Road who recently spent time with the Conservation Commission regarding storm water issues from the Appaloosa Way development. They were not heard this night.
Highway Superintendent Barry Denham was also in attendance, bringing his experienced voice to the issue of storm water run off. He said that he had been to the site on numerous occasions, and that the brook that is part of the storm water management system for the development was, in fact, not adequate to the task now that all the storm water in the area is being directed into it. He said that previously a larger re-charge space had been part of the overall natural drainage in the area, but that now with the development’s drainage system, it was flowing directly into the brook. Denham said, however, “It is not their job to fix drainage problems off site.”
Both Chairman Tucker and board member Ron Merlo attempted to outline for the assembled what boards were responsible for what types of oversight, saying that the Conservation Commission was responsible for wetland issues and that the Planning Board really had very little power over anything as long as ConCom, the Board of Health, and the building inspector had all signed off on a project.
This did not go down well with residents that heretofore had already visited ConCom with their numerous concerns. Tucker said, “We are not the enforcing agent.” He said that the building inspector, Andy Bobola, was the code enforcement officer and that if they wished to discuss matters further, the “…buck stops with the Board of Selectmen.”
The hearing was continued until June 2 at 7:00 pm and will again be held at Old Hammondtown School to accommodate what is anticipated to be a larger than normal gathering for a Planning Board meeting.
By Marilou Newell
