The cool, post-Hurricane Arthur breeze was a welcomed factor in Marion’s July 5th 4th of July Parade, postposed because of the heavy rains the day before. Hundreds turned out to line the streets in Marion Center and along the parade route that looped around the center of Town. Photos by Jean Perry
The Friends of the Mattapoisett Library’s Annual Book Sale will start off with a Members-Only Preview, Wednesday, July 16 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, continuing on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 17, 18 and 19 from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. The sale will be held in the downstairs meeting room of the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow Street. New members can join the Friends at the preview or any time during the sale, and current members can renew their membership. If you have books to donate, they can be brought to Shepley Financial Services, Eastern Bank or Mayhew’s Valet Cleaners, all along Route 6 in Mattapoisett.
Our second-Saturday monthly sales have been a great success. July, however, is for our annual sale, always during Harbor Days. Come to town for the festivities, takes some time out to browse the books, and support the Friends who support your library.
Rhode Island College is pleased to announce that the following Plymouth County residents have been named to the Spring 2014 Dean’s List for scholastic achievement. Full-time RIC students must attain a minimum grade point average of 3.25 for the semester in order to qualify: Jaclyn Hahn of Mattapoisett and Lauren Sylvia of Rochester.
Patrick Muldoon, a resident of Mattapoisett, and a junior sport management major, was named to Dean’s List in Ithaca College’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance for the spring 2014 semester.
Greg Sethares, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bristol Community College, has announced the Dean’s List for Spring 2014. Area students named are: Dylan G. Glavin of Marion, Grady M. Branagan of Mattapoisett, Samantha J. Clements of Mattapoisett, Kylie L. Faison of Mattapoisett, Jon Girouard of Mattapoisett, Nathan A. Mazzuca of Mattapoisett, Jeffrey Paquette of Mattapoisett, Michael E. Sweeney of Mattapoisett, Melissa Cote of Rochester, Ryann C. Monteiro of Rochester, Kevin F. Newell of Rochester, Caroline T. Reusch of Rochester, and Jordan M. Rouillier of Rochester.
The following UMass Dartmouth students have been named to the Chancellor’s List in recognition of earning a spring semester grade point average of 3.8 or higher of a possible 4.0: Jessica Chalkley of Marion, Trina-Noie Jones-Rudolph of Marion, Caileigh Stearns of Marion, Linda Zaunere of Marion, Drew Cunningham of Mattapoisett, Margaret LeBrun of Mattapoisett, Sean McNulty of Mattapoisett, Matthew Bejtlich of Rochester, Nathan Murphy of Rochester, Melissa Rigby of Rochester, and Amanda Stubbs of Rochester.
The following UMass Dartmouth students have been named to the 2014 Spring Dean’s List in recognition of earning a semester grade point average of 3.2 or higher of a possible 4.0: Lisa Graves of Marion, Keith Kevelson of Marion, Evan Martinez of Marion, Holly Stickles of Marion, Ian Whelihan of Marion, Scotlyn Adler of Mattapoisett, Mya Akins of Mattapoisett, Jessica Breton of Mattapoisett, Matthew Burke of Mattapoisett, Mikayla Florio of Mattapoisett, Tabitha Foulk of Mattapoisett, Jacob Jaskolka of Mattapoisett, Amber LaBelle of Mattapoisett, Morgan Matthews of Mattapoisett, Myles McQuade of Mattapoisett, Andrew Mello of Mattapoisett, Stefan Mendell of Mattapoisett, Megan Merlo of Mattapoisett, Margaret Pullo of Mattapoisett, Jillian Zucco of Mattapoisett, Geoffrey Bentz of Rochester, Megan Bolia of Rochester, Meagan Cuthbert of Rochester, Andrew Frey of Rochester, Amanda Frey of Rochester, Brett Gauvin of Rochester, Aimee Gonsalves of Rochester, Lauren O’Brien of Rochester, Amanda Pacheco of Rochester, Tyler Paquin of Rochester, Maggie Pelletier of Rochester, and Amanda Surprenant of Rochester.
The Marion Mile began again on June 24 with 100 runners. Chris Adams, a Cross Country Coach, Track Coach, and Spanish Teacher at Tabor, coordinates the weekly Marion Mile races each summer. The races are held every Tuesday night during the summer at 6:30 pm and have become a weekly routine for some of the Tri-Town’s youngest residents.
The milers complete a route around Tabor’s upper campus, while the runners that are six or under complete a shorter version. All finishers receive a ribbon and at the end of the summer, the top runners in each age group receive an award as long as they have competed in at least three races that summer.
Adams organizes the event each week with the help of his wife, Kathy, as well as high school and college students, the majority of whom Adams coached at Tabor. All of the volunteers are runners themselves and many competed in the Marion Mile before high school.
The winners in the first week of races were Prosser Friedman and Koko Kelly for the mile race and Logan Houlihan and Isabella Morotta in the half-mile race.
Young runners can register throughout the summer to run in the Marion Mile. The event continues to instill a love of running and racing in the youth of the Tri-Town.
By Julia O’Rourke
A newly acquired property adjacent to the nine-acre Howland Marsh on Point Road was approved June 25 for a maximum four-foot wide walking path that will connect with the existing Howland Marsh path.
Marion Conservation Commission members issued the Negative 2 and Negative 3 determinations, meaning that work will occur within the 100-foot buffer zone but will not alter or affect the wetlands, and granted the Sippican Lands Trust authority to maintain the path and to also lay a temporary “bog bridge” (two boards) over an intermittent stream.
Steward Yelena Sheynin said the lands trust has bigger plans for the osprey marsh property later in the year, pending a grant from the State to make more open space reserves handicap- and wheelchair-accessible. Sheynin mentioned wooden boardwalks as a possibility, for which the lands trust would have to file a Notice of Intent in the future.
Sheynin said what was most important at this point was to get permission to do the preliminary work by the end of July, a condition set by the landowner.
“In the meantime, we’ll do the minimum that’ll let you meet your commitment,” said Chairman Norman Mills.
Also at the meeting, Tabor Academy is tearing down a 12-foot by 16-foot stone building on Ryder Lane and will eventually install a low-lying hedge in its place.
Matthew Vander Pol presented the project that calls for razing the building, but keeping the stones for a future project and saving the roof structure for a project away from Tabor Academy. The commission issued a Negative 2 and Negative 3 determination.
The commission also issued a Negative 2 and 3 determination for Weweantic Properties LLC, care of Jack Hirschmann of 78 Wareham Street, to add grout and cement to the top of an existing licensed dock composed of rocks, situated right on the shoreline.
The commission performed a site-visit of the property and, with no plans to increase the dock’s footprint or alter the rocks in any way, approved the work.
Also issued a Negative 2 and 3, Barbara Nilson of 41 East Avenue has the go-ahead to upgrade the existing septic system at the property.
The next Marion Conservation Commission meeting is set for July 9 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry
W. Rodney Thomas, 47, of Mattapoisett went home with the Lord on July 1, 2014.
Rodney loved life and lived it to the fullest. He is survived by the loves of his life – his children, Caroline, Ryon, Dylon and Drew, all of Mattapoisett, his parents, Linwood and Agnes Thomas of Richmond, VA, his brother, David Thomas and his wife, Lauri of Mechanicsville, VA and his sister, Debra Durocher and her husband, Troy of Fredericksburg,VA.
He was the grandson of Stuart & Lottie Thomas, Aubrey & Bertha Toney of Buckingham, VA.
If ever there was a “Mother’s” perfect son, it was Rodney.
Rodney was a Financial Planner with Morgan Stanley for 23 years.
His Memorial Service will be held on Monday, July 7th at 11 AM in the Bay Club, 63 County Rd. Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Joslin Diabetes Center, One Joslin Place Boston, MA 02215 or the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University, JHU/Development Business Services, Attn: Gift Processing Supervisor, 3910 Keswick Road N2100 Baltimore, Maryland 21211. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For on-line guest book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
The National Weather Service has issued Tropical Storm Warnings for portions of Southeastern Massachusetts coastal areas. There is also a flash flood warning in our area in effect until 2am on Saturday, July 5. Hurricane Arthur is expected to pass close to the area later on Friday evening bringing with it high winds and heavy rains of 1 to 2 inches per hour. For more information on what to do to prepare for and during a storm we have put together this information resource: http://www.wanderer.com//information/HurricanePreparedness.pdf
To the Editor:
The destruction of Spragues Cove has prompted a group of concerned citizens in Marion to use social media in our quest to get day-to-day management of the Spragues Cove stormwater basin at Silvershell Beach out of the hands of the Conservation Commission.
In the mid-1990s, the town voted overwhelmingly to construct the basin. There were financial donations from residents and over 130 volunteers to do the initial plantings. The Garden Discussion Group donated money to include wildflower plantings and the Town was able to secure a grant to plant shrubs on the interior dikes to keep the geese from nesting. All this has been destroyed.
At the 2014 annual Town Meeting, it was the $12,500 dollar request by the Conservation Commission for vegetation control that sparked our petition drive.
Annie Rockwell’s husband was one of the original designers of the Spragues Cove project and is chair of the Open Space Acquisition Commission. We have asked that group to establish a subcommittee of stormwater professionals and experts to oversee management of the five storm water basins they now control, and, hopefully, the Spragues Cove basin as well.
We have resorted to using Annie’s Facebook page that was set up by her grandchildren more than a few years ago. Until a few days ago, we hadn’t visited the popular website. To be honest, our younger friends told us we were too old-fashioned! It was not easy for us to navigate, but with our grandkids’ help, the petition is now up on Annie’s Facebook page. Whew!
The petition asks the Selectmen to assign responsibility for Spragues Cove artificial marsh to the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission and can be found on Annie Rockwell’s Facebook page, or if you are so inclined, you can sign up by just sending her an email: pmfarm@verizon.net.
Annie Rockwell and the Rescue Spragues Cove group
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.
The Sippican Lands Trust is excited to announce the recent acquisition of “Osprey Marsh,” a spectacular 19.8 acre waterfront property that was recently given as a gift by the Howland family of Marion in early 2014. Thanks to the family’s generosity, the SLT now owns 28.7 contiguous waterfront acres off of Point Road in Marion. Our 8.9 acre property, “Howland Marsh,” which was acquired by the trust from the family in 1995 and together with “Osprey Marsh” constitutes a quarter mile of protected shoreline in Planting Island Cove.
Mary Howland Smoyer, along with her three siblings, Meg, Edward and George, spearheaded the effort to make this gift a possibility. The Howland family has a long and meaningful history of land ownership in Marion. Presenting the gift, Mary said, “Osprey Marsh is land that we four inherited from our grandparents, Edward and Eleanor Howland. Eleanor first came to Marion as a child, and later, settled here year round with Edward in 1930. Eleanor, in particular, taught us a love of nature; especially birds, shells, ocean creatures, and wildflowers, the tupelo and the eel grass, lady slippers and ferns, the horseshoe crab and the wentletrap, the hummingbird and the blue heron, the Atlantic white cedar and the great osprey. This gift honors our grandparents’ legacy and follows their intent. Eleanor left written instructions that at any time, the property could be transferred for the benefit of the town and its inhabitants or to an educational or wildlife organization, to do so.” Continuing the Howland legacy, Mary feels strongly that this combination wetland and upland parcel remain untouched in its natural state and be made available to the public for recreational and educational purposes through the SLT.
As part of the terms of the gift, the Sippican Lands Trust is working on the property to ready its use by the public in late summer. There will soon be an off-street parking area, a kiosk and property marker, and a beginning trail down through the upland to a water vista on the shoreline. Planning is in the works for a future, developed trail system through the property with the goal to connect “Osprey Marsh” with “Howland Marsh” next door. The hope is to have an extensive boardwalk system through the wetland areas with viewing platforms at key intervals. Current recreational maps with informative historic and environmental information using the latest technology are also an intention. The SLT is also hoping to erect at least one osprey nest, although the appropriate research for this, and all other listed elements, needs to be done before its installation.
The Sippican Lands Trust is deeply thankful to the Howland family, and especially Mary, for this amazing gift to the trust and to the public. Please stay tuned as the opening day nears and as all future plans unfold.
Please do not hesitate to contact SLT Executive Director Robin Shields at 508-748-3080 or online at robinshields@sippicanlandstrust.org if you have any questions.
Over one hundred people enjoyed a two-hour cruise out of New Bedford on the 85-foot MV Cuttyhunk for the annual Charles A. R. Pickles Memorial Cruise on Saturday evening.
The event’s proceeds go to the Charles A. Pickles Beacon of Light Scholarship Fund at Community Boating of New Bedford, which offers scholarships to children who want to learn how to sail. The event also donates to the Beverly Yacht Club’s junior sailing program. Charles A.R. Pickles was a sailing instructor at the yacht club for many years.
“This event brings so many people together in Charles’ memory,” said Diane Bondi-Pickles, Charles’ mother. Charles lost his life suddenly in 2006 in a skateboarding accident.
Attendees included friends, classmates, relatives and neighbors of Charles and some who never knew him.
“Charles was one of my culinary students,” said Michael Petitbon, who came from Cumberland, RI with his family. “He was one of my most talented students and fun to be around,” said Petitbon.
“I knew him through friends,” said Peter LePage of Dartmouth, who brought a group with him on the cruise.
“I didn’t know him, but I support the cause … inner city kids learning to sail a boat sounds like a great idea to me,” said Zoriada Bohn of Acushnet.
“We host this cruise to celebrate the things that were most important to Charles which were family, friends, good food and being on the water,” said Bondi-Pickles. “We don’t do a silent auction or sell T-shirts … this is just about enjoying the company of good people in a beautiful setting.”
Pickles was the son of Marion Town Clerk Ray Pickles, and many of the attendees work at the Marion Town House.
“Believe it or not, every year we’ve had a beautiful evening,” said Bondi-Pickles, who claimed that it was Charles who saw to the weather.
By Joan Harnett-Barry
