ConCom Says Planning Owns Drainage

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Once again, it was late into the evening’s agenda when Mattapoisett’s Conservation Commission tackled the issue of drainage problems at two residential sub-divisions, Appaloosa Lane and Brandt Point Village.

Chairman Peter Newton made it clear that Planning Boards were ultimately responsible for the approval and oversight of engineered drainage systems. These boards can call for “as-built” plans post-construction to ensure that a project was completed as planned and approved.

As a point of clarity, however, he also said that in so far as those systems involve protected wetlands, then ConCom would have some jurisdictional oversight. Newton pointed out that the Conservation Commission’s primary responsible was to ensure that the wetlands protection act was followed. Further, any ‘conditions’ imposed by the commission on projects for which they have jurisdiction, oversight of the conditions fell to ConCom. But regarding the enforcement of engineered plans, Newton said the Planning Board was in the driver’s seat.

Regarding the two sub-divisions that continue to bring out abutters and neighbors, the commission reviewed their current status.

Brandt Point Village recently lost its bid with the Planning Board to increase the total number of bedrooms at the 41-unit site. The developer’s representatives had been before ConCom on several occasions regarding a remediation area that had not been completed and to share with the commission their plan for a ‘Bio-Clear’ septic system. The developer planned to install this state-of-the-art sanitation system if they received approval to increase the total number of bedrooms at the sub-division. Failing that, the future of the project is presently unknown. ConCom member Bob Rogers said, “….we now have an unmotivated developer…”

Although the remediation area is still part of the developer’s responsibility, Rogers felt that if they didn’t move forward with completion of the site as originally approved, there wasn’t much the commission could do to enforce the ‘condition.’ As for the drainage issues at the site, Highway Superintendent Barry Denham had told both the Planning Board and ConCom that a brook contiguous to the sub-division and to Gary Lane is the responsibility of the developer for the 500 feet on his site. The balance of the brook passes through private lands. Now that the developer’s project is up in the air, plans for clearing the brook and making it more efficient as part of the sub-division drainage system is also unclear. Rogers and Denham both expressed serious concerns for the homeowners who have already purchased homes at the site and to whom the responsibility for a very large private septic system may fall.

Appaloosa Lane, another highly contentious sub-division, was also discussed. ConCom had asked that Brian Grady of GAF Engineering come before them to bring them up to date on drainage construction at the site. However, Grady had no new news to share, stating that he had been out of town and unable to find out what work the contractor was undertaking at the request of the developer, Michael Solimando.

Grady was fully aware of the ongoing problem with drainage basins retaining water and thus creating large stagnant pools ripe with mosquito breeding, but due to the standing water, investigating the basins themselves was impossible.

Denham told the commission that the Planning Board was holding a public hearing on the sub-division on June 16. The public notice for that hearing reads in part, “…the Mattapoisett Planning Board will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, June 16 at 7 pm in Town Hall … to consider modification, amendment or rescission of a Form C approval issued to Michael Solimando for sub-division of land on Appaloosa Lane located off River Road…” (The full hearing notice can be found at www.mattapoisett.net on the Planning Board page.)

Patricia Apperson, 21 River Road, and Brian Cook, 11 River Road were both in attendance to plead for some relief from what has become an unrelenting drainage problem on their properties. Apperson asked several times why ConCom couldn’t do more to make the developer fix the drainage problems, but again heard that the Planning Board held the responsibility. After lengthy discussion, several to-does were given to Grady: 1) Obtain mosquito pellets from the board of health for the standing water, 2) Visit the site with Conservation Agent Liz Leidhold and Director of Inspectional Services Andy Bobola to determine if soil erosion is entering wetlands or leaving the site, and 3) Invite Solimando to attend the next ConCom meeting to present the most recent drainage plan that was approved by the Planning Board. In the end, the abutters heard that the developer had the ultimate responsibility to fix problems at the site.

Earlier in the evening, Wyandotte Farm, Mr. and Mrs. Michael King, 88 Marion Road received a Negative 2 determination and will be able to move forward with plans to build a “hugelkultur,” aka hoogle culture raised composite bed. This will allow the farm to compost chicken processing by-products and waste while also growing plants in raised composted beds.

Mark Burbine, 5 Avenue B, received a Negative 2 determine for the construction of a small kitchen addition in a flood zone. Edward Ruel, 2 Beach Street, also received a negative determination for the expansion of a deck. And, Anne Donnelon, 20 Highland Avenue, received a negative determination for the construction of a concrete driveway to replace crushed seashells.

The continued hearing for Blue Wave LLC for the construction of a solar farm off Crystal Spring Road moved closer to a reality. Rick Charon, engineer, came before ConCom noting that he had met with the town’s peer review consultant, Gary James, and several of James’ concerns regarding impervious drainage conditions have been resolved. Newton and ConCom member Marylou Kelliher shared the results of their site visit to the Rochester solar farm currently suffering from severe erosion. Charon said that without proper management of the soils prior to the establishment of planted grasses, erosion could result. He detailed that the types of soil at the Crystal Spring site were different from the sandy soils at the Rochester location and that part of Blue Wave’s plans would be erosion mitigation planning.

Drainage issues along Crystal Spring Road were once again discussed with Peter Wolski, 4 Crystal Spring Road, again airing his concerns along with questions regarding water shed into the aquifer. Charon countered that the drainage issues along this roadway were of a long-standing nature and not a result of run off from the proposed solar field and that the area is not part of the aquifer. Wolski wanted to know who was going to be around to contact if something goes wrong with the drainage system. Charon said that Blue Wave was ultimately responsible. Wolski asked the commission and all boards to please be conservative when reviewing this project. Blue Wave’s hearing was continued until June 23.

The site for the future Southcoast Farms, 11 and 13 Industrial Drive, cleared a small hurdle when Bob Field of Field Engineering told ConCom that he had receive clearance from state fish and wildlife agencies to remove existing stock piles of soils within a 100-foot buffer zone to a bordering vegetate wetland. The project was allowed to move forward with standard conditions.

Frank Linhares, 16 Holly Hollow Lane, received a certificate of compliance, as did Tim Ray, 1 Pine Wood Way, and Greg Downey, Mattapoisett Neck Road.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is June 23 at 6:30 pm in Town Hall.

By Marilou Newell

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Mattapoisett Historical Society Open House

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Please join us at the Mattapoisett Historical Society, 5 Church Street, on Thursday, June 26 at 5:00 pm for our annual Open House. This summer, the Mattapoisett Historical Society will commend the work of Mattapoisett’s Finest – the Fire and Police – in a special summer exhibit featuring the history and community contributions of these two departments. We hope you join us for a fascinating look into our town’s vital Fire and Police departments, celebrating all that these men and women have done for us over the past 157 years. Refreshments will be served. Come start your summer season with us!

One Small Story

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He died three years ago this May. He never spoke a single word about his experience on the beach at Normandy or any aspect of his military service during my youth. What little we do know was shared with us after he sustained a massive head injury from falling down stairs in his own home at the age of 80 something.

One day, while sitting in his tiny kitchen, his mind wandered and he began to mention anecdotal details of being in WWII. I asked him what it sounded like as they landed in Normandy. I expected him to say deafening. What he said was, “boys were falling in the water all around us … it sounded like ping, ping, ping…” The sound of bullets hitting the metal boats. His eyes looked through me, through walls, through the years back to that day.

He received a Bronze Star. I tried to get details. Dealing with the military bureaucracy is quite nearly an exercise in futility, and nearly impossible for Dad’s history. All records for his unit were lost in a massive fire of military records somewhere in Oklahoma. We do have his Bronze Star and a few strands of information and that is all.

During his wake, as friends and family milled around the funeral home, a professional colleague of mine was looking at the display of Dad’s military metals. He turned to me and said, “Your father was a hero, Marilou.” My response was one of face saving. I said, “Oh, yes, he was.” But at that moment, I didn’t know, I was not informed, I felt sad and sick by my ignorance. I felt shame.

Dad played his part in WWII as he was supposed to. His work, his efforts, his small but important part were never ever discussed. Not unusual I’m made to understand by people from that era. Yet, tears of pride and sadness mix when I think of what that experience must have been like for him, when I ponder it all today. I placed an arrangement of silk flowers at his grave on Memorial Day weekend. There is a foot marker courtesy of a veteran’s organization noting his Bronze Star status and recently one placed for my Mother as well. I look at those markers and wonder how two people who lived together for 70 years could have been so far apart.

I have a hard time forgiving my Mother for her unmerciful crucifying of my Father. She said on many occasions that he was a coward because he had hidden under his overturned Jeep for days way back when, rather than fight his way out.

His brother told me, before his own death, that Dad had suffered “battle fatigue” when he returned home from the war. The brothers had talked apparently. It relieves my mind to know my Father was at least able to talk to his only sibling about whatever he was going through. His brother, a career Naval officer, would understand and I’m sure that’s what gave my Father the comfort level to reveal himself in this manner. He didn’t do so with anyone else.

What little I understand is that Dad was the driver for a commander of some sort, and the two of them had been attacked while driving away from Normandy and deeper into France on their way to help liberate the country. They became separated from their unit. How his Jeep overturned, I don’t know. They were attacked by the Germans, that much was said. So he and his commander took refuge under the vehicle and protected themselves from harm for several days in the cold and the wet and the uncertainty. I think that every solider in every branch of every military service is charged with the responsibility of taking care of themselves so that they can fight for their country for the cause at hand. To that end, Dad fulfilled his duty. They eventually were able to continue forward.

Very late in his life, as the jigsaw pieces of his memory coupled and uncoupled in our conversations, he told me that story of being alone with his commanding officer trying to re-establish contact with their unit. His job was to get this officer to a specific location, safely. He did that job while stealthily moving through the French countryside trying to avoid the retreating Germans. The rest is my imagination.

I was born in 1951. He would have been home less than six years from that war. He was home and he was struggling. I grew up with a Father whose silent presence marks my own history. The in-home accident he sustained many decades later, akin to a car crash, resulted in permanent frontal lobe injury and personality changes. He was social, friendly, eager for company and to please others, and he longed for love. We spent many hours together in happy companionship. Those last years of his life I cherish for the closeness we shared.

As the country once again remembers its soldiers and their sacrifices both seen and unseen, I remember Dad. I remember a man who kept his personal narrative to himself because to speak of it was tantamount to conceit. He was not a perfect man, husband, or father; he simply put on his yoke each day and took care of business as best he could. He kept his own counsel until the head injury unleashed his tongue and still of WWII he barely spoke at all.

Dad is one of thousands who, with quiet dignity, returned home to blend back into the fabric of American life and pick-up where they left off before the war. Today, with all the publicity given soldiers and veterans we understand just how hard the old guard had it because modern conversation translates that unspoken history – Dad’s history and all the other ‘boys’ and of course, women.

When the Iraq War began, Dad cried. He said war was stupid. He said people shouldn’t kill other people, and he said Bush didn’t know what he was doing. That it was all wrong. He was outraged and saddened. He stopped watching the news on TV. He understood from his own experience what war truly is – a brutal, evil hell on earth.

As I placed that basket of flowers, cleaned the footstones of my parents’ fresh graves, and heard again snatches of bygone conversation, condemnations and confidences, I mourn them, but I don’t miss them. I miss the rare precious laughter, I miss the opportunity to do little special things for them that they enjoyed, and I miss what I never knew – my Father’s story.

My parents’ tempestuous and very long marriage has shadowed my life. They didn’t know any better. As contemporary people, they might have gone into marriage counseling or gotten a divorce. Maybe if Dad had received mental health services in 1945, if, if, if…we the living go on with our hearts and minds full of the ‘what ifs’ and longing to understand the why, and then ultimately accepting and letting go slowly with gratitude and love.

By Marilou Newell

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Saccone Wins All-State Title

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Here is a look at the tenth and final week of scheduled games for ORR spring athletics.

Baseball: This year has been one of the strongest years for baseball in recent ORR history, thanks to a strong team and a tenacity to fight back. The Bulldogs exhibited these qualities in the Division 3 South quarterfinal against Fairhaven, where they won 6-1 in an exciting game. Fairhaven got off to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning, and for a moment, it looked as if the Bulldogs were faltering. However, thanks to some explosive batting and key pitching by Ryan Plunkett, the Bulldogs were able to go on a 6-0 run to defeat Fairhaven for the third time this season. Austin Salkind and Tyler Zell each recorded two hits on the win, while five other Bulldogs added solo hits. Plunkett successfully pitched the Bulldogs out of some tight jams to secure the win. However, the boys were not able to advance any further in the tournament, as they suffered a tough 13-3 loss to second-seeded Bellingham in the semifinal round. Though their season may be over, the Bulldogs showed that the baseball program at ORR has improved and will be a threat in the conference and the state for years to come.

            Boys’ Track: The highlight of this week for ORR athletics was junior track star Kevin Saccone, who won his first All-State title in the long jump with a new school record of 22’ ¾”. Saccone, who was originally seeded tenth in the event, jumped ahead with a monster leap to claim the title of the best long-jumper in the state of Massachusetts. Besides Saccone, ORR athletes had a great day at the annual All-State Meet. Mike Wyman finished off his incredible high-school career with a narrow second place finish in the 800-meter, lowering his own school record to 1:53. Colin Knapton closed his impressive track career with a fourteenth place finish in the 100-meter dash and a thirteenth place finish in the javelin.

Girls’ Track: The Lady Bulldogs also had a few athletes compete in the All-State Meet this week. Paige Santos was the top finisher for the girls, placing ninth in the 100-hurdles and just missing a spot in the finals. Santos also claimed 18th in the high jump. The girls also had a 4×400-meter relay team go to the prestigious meet. The team, comprised of recent graduates Santos, Sammie Barrett, Morgan DaSilva, and sophomore Nicole Mattson, placed twenty-first overall with a 4:15.

Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team, who has had a dominant spring, finished their season with a 4-1 elimination from the Division 3 South Quarterfinal to Cohasset. ORR won a lone match thanks to second doubles players Maxx Wolski and Doug Blaise, but was not able to overcome Cohasset’s depth to move on in the tournament. Regardless, the boys have had a great season, complete with a SCC Championship and an impressive tournament run.

This year has been one of the most successful athletic years in ORR history. Old Rochester earned nine conference championships this year, five of them coming from spring sports. This conference domination led the Bulldogs to collect their fourth-straight overall conference championship, which is determined by the number of conference championships and records of each school in the SCC. Credit must be given to the strong coaching staffs and talented teams who have dedicated hours upon hours to strive to be the best. It has been a pleasure reporting for the ORR sports teams this year, and hopefully ORR continues a strong showing in the SCC and state in the years to come.

Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of June 7.

Baseball: (16-7-0) (12-4-0); Softball: (7-11-0) (6-11-0); Boys’ Track (7-1-0) (7-1-0); Girls’ Track (8-0-0) (8-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (16-4-0) (15-1-0); Girls’ Tennis: (10-8-0) (9-4-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (10-6-0) (8-1-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (17-5-0) (4-4-0).

By Michael Kassabian

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Future Fiscal Year Budget Items Reviewed

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Members of the Marion Capital Improvement Planning Committee (CIPC) met June 5 at the police station and discussed a draft letter to all town department heads and committee chairmen regarding future financial planning. The purpose of the CIPC is to anticipate future town expenses.

            During its March 18 meeting, the committee extended the planning window from five years to ten years. The CIPC plans to schedule meetings with the various department heads and committee chairmen and make site visits.

The request is for each department and committee to map out the foreseeable capital projects that fall within this ten-year window and possibly identify projects that are outside the ten-year window.

Department and committee heads have already submitted their projections for the next five years.

Looking beyond 2015, some of the projections show a new roof on the Atlantis Drive facility in FY 2023 for $150,000. Other items include $1,000,000 in FY 2019 for construction of a new Department of Public Works complex, $32,000 for replacement of an HVAC unit at the Marion Natural History Museum, and $50,000 for well field exploration.

Within the five-year window, projections include $40,000 for a one-ton 4×4 with a plow, $150,000 for a design of a new Department of Public Works complex, $100,000 for a six-wheel dump truck with plow, and $5,071,000 for Phase 1B Drainage, Sewer, and Paving in the village.

All future proposed projects are subject to town approval at the spring and fall town meetings.

Proposed projects that have no date attached and could happen beyond the ten-year window include $5,000,000 for the Town House project, which has yet to be determined. Other projects include $950,000 for a fire station upgrade and $500,000 for a Council on Aging Senior Center.

Other items discussed at the meeting included gathering information on past projects approved at town meetings and whether there were any projects still outstanding with funds in escrow.

“We would like to know if there are any outstanding items from the May 2013 Town Meeting and prior years … what has not been spent,” said board member Carol Sans.

“What is voted at town meeting … those monies cannot be spent on anything other than what the voters approved,” said Chairman Norm Hills.

The board did not determine the date of their next meeting because they plan to schedule a series of meetings and site visits with department and committee chairmen.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

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June Programs at Plumb Library

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On Monday, June 23 at 3:30 pm, kick off the 2014 Fizz Boom Read! Summer Reading Program with Plumb Library and Mike the Bubble Man! Mike brings magic and science to the stage with this interactive 45-minute indoor show about bubbles! Through music, choreography, and comedy, bubbles – in all different shapes and sizes – come alive, sparking imagination and wonder. Exploring science through bubbles creates an entertaining learning environment that introduces shapes, color, and chemistry. A love for bubbles is never outgrown – especially when there’s a chance to see the world from inside of one!

The show will be held at First Congregational Church, 11 Constitution Way, Rochester. No registration required. Call 508-763-8600 or email info@plumblibrary.com for more information. This program is sponsored by the Rochester Cultural Council.

On Tuesday, June 24, create Funky Button Bracelets with Louisa and Kathy from 2:00 – 4:00 pm at the library. Registration required. This is Tween/Teen program for ages 10 and over. There are only eight spots available, so pre-registration is required for this event.

“Just the Facts,” the nonfiction book discussion group, will be reading One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, by Rebecca Mead. Why has the American wedding become an outlandishly extravagant, very expensive, and overwhelmingly demanding production? Who decided that brides and grooms must observe tradition while at the same time using the wedding as a vehicle for expressing their personal style? What does a wedding tell us about how Americans consume, relate, and live today? One Perfect Day mixes investigative journalism and social commentary to explore the workings of the wedding industry, an industry that has every interest in ensuring that the American wedding becomes more lavish and complex. We will discuss this book on Thursday, June 19 at 6:30 pm. Copies are available at the desk.

Café Parlez’ selection for June is March by Geraldine Brooks. Fans of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women will remember that Father March is absent for most of the first half of the book. We know he was in Washington, DC ministering to the troops, but what is the whole story? In Brooks’ book, we get the story of Mr. March, his early career as a traveling salesman to his eventual ministry, and his illness that brings his wife, Marmee, to Washington from Concord, MA. Geraldine Brooks is a favorite of the Café Parlez group, and this book will not disappoint. We will discuss it on Thursday, June 26 at 6:30 pm. Books are available at the desk, or bring your own copy.

Register now for Fizz, Boom, Read!, the 2014 Summer Reading Program. This is a free, family-oriented program, which involves children from ages 3 and up and their parents. Registration is required, but is done online. Go to www.readsinma.org/rochester to register and to log your times after June 18. The goal of this program is to encourage families to read for pleasure and keep track of their reading online. Weekly check-ins with the library earn kids free books and a surprise. Random drawings occur all summer for all age groups that are logging their hours. All kids that read at least 10 hours will be awarded a special prize at the end of the program. Separate programs are available for Teens/Tweens and for adults, with weekly prize drawings. Call or email the library for more information.

Seeking Citizen Scientists for Study

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The aerial acrobatics of swallows in flight is a welcome sight in springtime for those concerned about the declining population of barn swallows.

Climate change, the use of pesticides, and even house sparrows are threating the “common” barn swallow, as numbers have steadily declined. The Mass Audubon “State of the Birds” has identified barn swallows as rapidly decreasing in number, and the decline is widespread. Barn swallows have been added to Canada’s list of endangered species.

As part of the “Big Barn Study,” the Mass Audubon Society is seeking the help of Tri-Town residents who would act as citizen scientists in a Barn Swallow counting to find out how many there are, where they are breeding, and which sites they may have abandoned.

All one would have to do is pick a spot and visit it three times before June 30, the end of the mating season, and then enter the data on the Big Barn Study data reporting website.

Barn swallows usually build their nests on manmade structures like barns, bridges, and overpasses, and there are three criteria for choosing a location. The structure must be at least six feet tall, have a large opening that is never sealed such as a barn door or loft, and the bridge or overpass must be large enough to span at least one lane. Empty barns and overpasses where swallows are absent is also valuable information that can be reported to Mass Audubon.

If you encounter a swallow nest and you are not sure if it is inhabited, look for some telltale signs such as bird droppings on the ground (swallows are very clean birds that do not defecate in their nests). There are two swallows to a nest, and a mirror at the end of a retractable pole is a great way to peek inside a nest that is out of reach.

How can you tell if what you spot is indeed a barn swallow? Barn swallow tails are long and forked, and the wings are long and narrow with a distinct point. They are entirely iridescent blue above, and white, buffy, or pale orange underneath.

While tracking the swallows, be on the lookout for house sparrows, an invasive, aggressive species of sparrow not native to North America. These common brown birds often evict other birds, including swallows, from their nests and take them over, sometimes attacking or killing them.

Lauren Miller-Donnelly of Mass Audubon said she once saw a house sparrow nest constructed out of the dead carcass of a blue bird, and she advocates getting rid of the European species whenever possible.

“House sparrows are not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” said Miller-Donnelly. “Whenever I can I will ‘eliminate’ them from the population.” One way of repelling house sparrows, added Miller-Donnelly, is to hang strips of Mylar or “anything shiny that could blow in the wind.”

Swallows migrate to South America every fall, making them long-distance migratory insectivores, which means they feed solely on insects, catching their prey in mid-flight.

They generally nest in areas near meadows and ponds where they can be seen catching insects on the wing and swooping low over the water’s surface to drink and bathe while flying. They are agile, swift flyers.

For more information about the Big Barn Study, go to http://www.massaudubon.org/get-involved/citizen-science and click the Big Barn Study “report a sighting” link.

The study runs until the end of June.

By Jean Perry

 

2014 Hall Of Fame Inductees Announced

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The Board of Directors of the Old Rochester Regional Athletic Hall of Fame is pleased and honored to announce the 2014 class of Hall of Fame inductees. The following eight individuals and one team will be inducted on Saturday, June 21 at a banquet at Old Rochester Regional High School. Information on the 2014 ORR Athletic Hall of Fame induction banquet can be found on the Hall of Fame’s web site, www.ORRAHOF.com.

Charles Jefferson ‘62: Charlie Jefferson was a man of many “firsts.” He was a member of ORR’s first graduating class, having previously attended Wareham High School, where he was an all-star football player. Charlie was named captain of ORR’s first football team, and he played in ORR’s very first interscholastic athletic competition, when his football team defeated Dighton-Rehoboth, 14-6. A tough-as-nails left guard, Charlie was the only ORR athlete to be named to the Standard Times All-Star football team that season, and he was also a Tri-County Conference All-Star. Charlie also competed in winter track and played baseball and was named Most Valuable Athlete of the Class of ’62.

Steven Heath ‘69: Steve Heath was one of the top multi-sport athletes in the area in the late 1960s. In football, Steve was a co-captain, a two-time Standard Times All-Star lineman, a Narragansett League All-Star, a Boston Globe All-Star, and was named to the All-Conference Team. Steve was an offensive powerhouse on the baseball team, played four years of basketball, and threw the shot put in spring track. He was named Most Valuable Athlete in the spring of his senior year. Steve went on to play football at Central Connecticut State College. Upon returning to the Tri-Town area, he coached football, umpired Little League, and was an integral member of the Mattapoisett Road Race committee. Steve was and is a leader both on and off the field.

Tom DeCosta ‘70: Selfless, dedicated and kind are just some of the words teammates use to describe Tom DeCosta. Tom earned 11 varsity letters during his four years at ORR. He was a standout four-year starter on the basketball team, was named team MVP his sophomore year, and was a league all-star. Playing center, he set a school record for rebounds in a single game (30). In football, Tom played end and tackle and was both a Standard Times and league all-star. In baseball, he earned four letters as a pitcher and first baseman. Tom went on to serve as a football coach for ORRHS.

Cornelia Dougall ’71: At a time when organized athletic opportunities for girls were just starting to expand, Cornelia Dougall helped raise the level of girls’ sports at ORR. A gifted multisport athlete, she was one of ORR’s first female sports stars. Cornelia competed in track and field, volleyball, field hockey, basketball and tennis. In both field hockey and basketball, she was named MVP her sophomore, junior and senior years. Cornelia was named to the SE Mass Invitational Basketball Tournament All-Tourney Team and led her field hockey and track teams to league titles. She was named Most Valuable Female Athlete her senior year. Cornelia went on to earn her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University.

Gretchen Hamer MacDonald ’81: On her 2nd grade report card, Gretchen Hamer’s teacher wrote, “Gretchen is a lovely girl. I think she is my most competitive student.” Clearly Gretchen was born a competitor, as she was undoubtedly one of ORR’s premier female athletes in the late 70s and early 80s, excelling in volleyball, basketball and track. A versatile athlete, Gretchen earned four varsity letters in both volleyball and basketball and three in track. Gretchen was a two-time Standard Times All-Star in all three sports. A four-year starter, she was a standout volleyball player, leading ORR to three Southeastern Mass Conference championships and to the state sectional finals twice. In basketball, Gretchen’s teams were conference champions three times and made three trips to the sectional finals. In track, she shattered the school record in the javelin, excelled in the mile, and was named team MVP.

Peter Borsari ’82: Peter Borsari was one of those most dominant football players in the area in the early 1980s. A four-year starter at offensive tackle and defensive end, Peter was a physical force on the gridiron. He was named a Standard Times All-Star twice, an All Eastern Mass All-Star, a Boston Globe All-Star, and was selected to play in the prestigious Shriners All-Star game in 1981. Peter also ran track at ORR. Peter went on to play football at UMass Amherst on a scholarship.

The 1962 Cross Country Team: The 1962 Cross Country team has the great distinction of bringing the first state championship to Old Rochester Regional High School. Coached by Norm Fuller, the 1962 Cross Country team captured the Class F State Championship, which was all the more remarkable considering it was only ORRHS’s second year in existence. Five of the ORR runners who ran in the state championship meet placed in the top 20 among well over 100 runners. Congratulations to Coach Fuller and his harriers of 1962.

Coach Jim Hubbard: Sports and education have defined Coach Jim Hubbard’s life. Jim coached spring and winter track, baseball and football at ORR in the 60s and 70s. Jim coached his spring track teams to three Narragansett League titles, two South Coast Conference titles, and the 1967 Class D State Relay championship. He also served as ORR’s Athletic Director from 1975-1980, during which time he oversaw 10 sports teams each for boys and girls and served on several MIAA subcommittees. Jim earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education at Bridgewater State College, where he was a three sport athlete and later inducted into BSC’s athletic hall of fame. He also had a long and distinguished career with the Cape Cod Baseball League as player, coach and manager of several teams, and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2006.

Andy Mendes: As a trainer during the late 1960s and 1970s, Andy Mendes’ contribution to the athletes and students of ORR was significant. But Andy was so much more than a trainer. He was instrumental in positively molding the futures of the student body whether their needs were academic, athletic, or social/emotional. He was the consummate go-to guy whenever a kid needed help. Always a classy guy and a great role model, his delicious sense of humor was appreciated by students and faculty alike. The countless unpaid hours he spent individually helping student athletes hone their skills and improve their self esteem had an immeasurable impact on so many individuals. The ORR Athletic Hall of Fame is proud to honor Andy Mendes for his significant contributions to ORR athletics.

ORRJHS Students of the Month

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Kevin T. Brogioli, Principal of Old Rochester Regional Junior High School, announces the following Students of the Month for May 2014:

– Green Team: Madelyn Scheub and Hanil Kang

– Orange Team: Erin Stoeckle and Michael Sivvianakis

– Blue Team: Lily Pearl Poirier and Lauren Ziino

– Red Team: Taylor Swoish and Logan King

– Special Areas: Nicole Pires and Matthew Pires

Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee

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The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee is Wednesday, June 25 at 6:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Public Library. Guest speaker will be Dan Shores, who is a candidate for Congress in the 9th District. Meetings are held in the conference room on the lower level of the Library, and we invite all interested voters to come to the meeting and hear his message. For questions or more information, please contact Committee Chairman Jane Awad at 508-813-6304.