Marion Recreation Classes

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Marion Recreation, in conjunction with SBG Eastcoast (Nexus Marital Arts & Fitness), is offering two new classes: Intro to Kickboxing (Adults) and Confident Kids Jiu-Jitsu! Both classes will be held at the Marion Recreation Department, 13 Atlantis Drive on Saturday mornings beginning April 19. The session will run for six weeks until May 24.

At the Intro to Kickboxing class, students will learn the fundamentals of Muay Thai kickboxing as part of a fun and dynamic workout. This class is tailored to beginners; $65 per person for six weeks. Purchase of gloves is required (not included). Saturdays, 10:00 – 11:00 am, April 19 through May 24.

At the Confident Kids Jiu-Jitsu class, children ages 5-12 will not only learn the fundamentals of the award-winning “Growing Gorillas” youth martial arts program, they will also develop authentic self-confidence and reinforce important success skills such discipline, focus, and goal-setting. Class is 45 minutes; $60 per person for six weeks. Purchase of uniform is required (not included). Saturdays, 11:00 – 11:45 am, April 19 through May 24.

Registration deadline for both classes is April 12. For more information, visit www.marionrecreation.com or contact Marion Recreation at 774-217-8355 or info@marionrecreation.com.

Gateway Youth Hockey

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Squirt Grizzlies: The Gateway Squirt Grizzlies lost in the Yankee Conference championship game on Sunday to Braintree 2-1. Braintree started off strong and took a 2-0 lead in the first period despite being outshot by the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies responded in the second with Chris Gauvin scoring to cut the lead to one. The Grizzlies outshot Braintree in the third period, but just couldn’t get anything past the Braintree goalie, who made some excellent saves to preserve the win. Ryker King made some nice saves in goal for Gateway. The Grizzlies had previously beaten Braintree 3-2 in the playoffs and ended the season 2-2-1 against them on the year. Overall the Grizzlies had a 25-2-2 record in the Yankee conference for the year.

Pee Wee Warriors: The Gateway Warriors lost a 1-0 heartbreaker in their Yankee Conference Pee Wee championship game against the North Devils. Effort and intensity were top priorities for both teams from the opening puck-drop until the final buzzer. In the end, a bouncing puck that somehow made its way past the Warrior goal line decided the game. Both Zachary Pateakos and Steven Strachan were superb in their ability to fend off the Devil’s legitimate scoring chances, much in part due to the defensive pairings of Beth Davis/Jared Westgate and Jackson St. Don/Noah Demoranville that allowed very little open ice for Devil skaters. Offensively, Robert Ramsay and wingmen Jameson Woodward/Zachary Barris forced the Devil goalie to earn his keep during each of their shifts. Brothers Ben and Jake Demoranville, along with linemate Dan Flynn, also moved the puck well and provided their share of shots on goal. However, nothing could penetrate the North Devil net. Both teams entertained a packed Hobomock Arena to what was easily the best hockey game of the season!

Middle School: It was another edge-of-your-seat game as the Middle School Vikings faced Mansfield in the third game of the championship playoffs Friday night. The Vikings were first to find the net, with Kaitlin Kelley scoring early in the first period, assisted by Zack Lovendale. Mansfield tied it up with five minutes left in the second period, but the Vikings quickly regained the lead, with a goal by Lovendale. Less than a minute later, Mansfield tied it up again. The game remained tied until nearly the end of the third period, with both teams firing on the net. The Vikings defense and netminders were especially put to the test as Mansfield played an aggressive game. The Vikings offense kept up their own assault on the Mansfield goalie and gained the lead again with one minute left in the game, as Vittorio Consoletti scored with an assist by Kelley, The lead was short-lived, however, as Mansfield tied it up again thirty seconds later. The game ended in a tie, 3-3.

Coach Howie Long was pleased with the Vikings performance. He especially noted Makayla Wood for her work on defense. Starting goalie Steven Strachan had 13 saves, and relief goalie Teaghin Andre had 15. With two wins and a tie in the series, the Vikings will play in the Championship game on Thursday night, facing Mansfield once again.

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ORR Hosts Honor Bowl

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Last Wednesday, the Old Rochester Regional High School National Honor Society hosted an Honor Bowl. The Honor Bowl is a trivia competition between National Honor Societies from all the schools in the South Coast Conference. There are three Honor Bowls per school year, each with three rounds and three schools participating. Last week, ORR was the victorious team.

This was a great way for ORR’s NHS to end the third and final Honor Bowl of the year, considering they also won the second Honor Bowl. Although ORR won the most rounds, there will be no official awards, since the Honor Bowl is not known to be an aggressively competitive challenge. “It’s just great for everybody to come together,” said Sarabeth Morrell, ORR’s NHS advisor.

“The best Honor Bowl we had this year was when each school won a round,” said Morrell, recalling the first Honor Bowl of the year at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School, which ended in a tie. “Everybody felt good about themselves, and it was very collegial, very fun.”

The trivia questions in each Honor Bowl cover a wide range of topics: literature, history, sports, religion, pop culture, math, geography, etc. Students need to be well-rounded in order to succeed in these competitions.

“We were psyched at this last bowl,” said Morrell, “There were questions about 1984, about Hamlet, about Of Mice and Men – all which students had read very recently.”

When it comes to the pop culture questions, it seems many of them are a bit out of date. “I don’t know who writes them, but they do a lot of generational questions – like from the 50s and stuff – that we would never know,” said Leah Thomas, a senior at ORR and member of the Honor Bowl’s winning team.

The other members of ORR’s team were John Hewitt, Emily Audet, Kati Sethares, Brianna Perry, Michael Wyman, Justin Smilan, Morgan Collings, and Nick Iacovelli – all seniors and members of NHS. Only four students are allowed to participate at a time, so the team substitutes students between rounds.

With such a wide range of trivia questions, there isn’t a very efficient way to prepare for the Honor Bowl. Thomas, however, has found that watching Jeopardy every night has been beneficial. “I know Leah Thomas, who has played, loves Jeopardy,” Morrell recalled, laughing, “so I think she’s been practicing for this her whole life!”

Next year, ORR will have new NHS members and a new Honor Bowl team. Since NHS is only comprised of seniors, the juniors often have no idea what to expect from the Honor Bowl. To ease this anxiety, Morrell invited juniors to observe last Wednesday’s competition. “I had one of next year’s NHS members come and watch the Honor Bowl,” Morrell said, “Chloe Riley came and scoped out what to do for next year.”

In other news, the ORR drama club successfully performed Seussical the Musical last April 3, 4, 5, and 6. Families, friends, and community members filled ORR’s auditorium each night to enjoy the cast and crew’s colorful performance.

By Renae Reints

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ORR’s team won at last week’s National Honor Society’s Honor Bowl. Pictured here are members of the winning team. Top row left to right: John Hewitt, Justin Smilan. Bottom row left to right: Morgan Collings, Leah Thomas, Nick Iacovelli. Not pictured: Emily Audet, Kati Sethares, Brianna Perry, Michael Wyman. Photo by Renae Reints.

Annual Easter Pie & Cake Sale

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The Friends of the Elderly of Mattapoisett is holding its Annual Easter Pie & Cake Sale on the Saturday before Easter, April 19 from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Banner Store across the driveway from the Post Office.

Delicious homemade pies, cakes, and other sweet mischiefs are available. Again this year is the sale of the cutest yarn pups you have ever seen. Also be sure to take a chance, or two, on our Easter dinner basket.

The drawing for this year’s raffle of an Easter dinner basket will take place at 12:00 noon, just at the end of the sale. Winner does not need to be present to win.

This fund-raiser benefits the FoE to enable them to support the Mattapoisett Council on Aging and the senior citizens.

Upcoming ET Library Programs

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A Visit to Vietnam with Gary Sousa: Join us at the Elizabeth Taber Library on Tuesday, April 15, at 6:30 pm for a special talk on Vietnam.

Gary Sousa, a history teacher at Tabor Academy, traveled to Vietnam four summers ago on a study tour with a number of other educators. His six-week trip began in Hanoi and Sapa on the Chinese border and continued south along the coast including Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta before flying into Siem Reap, Cambodia and Angkor Wat. Along the way, he took cooking classes, went scuba diving, crawled in the tunnels of Cu Chi, learned how to cross the street, ate fried tarantula, and slept on the floor of an overnight bus. While elements of his talk will touch upon Vietnam’s ancient origins, his primary focus will begin with Vietnam’s colonial history and extend through the American War into its modern day emergence onto the international stage. His talk will include a number of photographs and souvenirs for handling, but unfortunately no fried tarantulas to sample.

BBB’s Scams & Fraud Workshop: On Thursday, April 17 at 6:30 pm, Amy Schram from the Better Business Bureau will present a Scams & Fraud/Identity Theft presentation at the Elizabeth Taber Library that will cover the most common scams currently circulating the communities, the major red flags to watch out for, and the precautionary tactics we can use to protect ourselves and our identity. Please call 508-748-1252 to register.

Elks Student of the Month

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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 Senior Brianna Perry of Wareham for being selected by the Old Rochester Regional High School faculty and staff. Brianna is a good student who is very involved in the ORR school. She has a spirit and enthusiasm for new ideas. She is a member of the Basketball and Cross Country teams and is a wonderful asset to the ORR community.

Spring Sports Get Under Way

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Here is a look at the first week of scheduled games for ORR spring athletics.

            Baseball: The boys’ baseball team had a rough opening to the season, losing their second consecutive game in two weeks. Last week, Bishop Stang handed the Bulldogs a loss in their season-opener, and this week, the Bulldogs lost to Case High School, 4-1. Pitcher Andrew Ryan recorded two strike-outs on the loss, and senior Kiernan Besse went two for three with a double and the lone run scored. Austin Salkind, Tyler Zell, and Ryan also added hits for the Bulldogs.

Softball: The Lady Bulldogs also had a rough opening to their season, losing both of their games. Despite a great performance by Kaleigh Goulart, who pitched well and also recorded a two-run homer in the sixth inning, the girls narrowly lost to Bishop Stang, 7-6. Freshmen Hannah Guard and Olivia Labbe and sophomore Cami Zell all recorded their first varsity hits for the Lady Bulldogs as well. Later in the week, the girls suffered a tough 17-13 loss to Case. Again, Goulart shone, striking out six on the mound and adding two hits offensively. Sophomore Mia Vercellone had a huge three-run homer to keep the Lady Bulldogs in the game, but ultimately it was not enough.

Boys’ Track: The boys’ track team kicked off their season with a 78-58 win over Case, thanks to strong performances by veterans Kevin Saccone and Colin Knapton. Saccone won the triple jump, 400-hurdles, and 110-hurdles, while Knapton won the javelin, 100-meter dash, and high jump. Possibly the best surprise for Coach Bill Tilden was senior newcomer Jack Smith, who won the long jump with an impressive 20’1”, and placed second in both the high jump and 100-meter dash. Other wins came from Mike Wyman (two mile), Chris Demers (400-meters), and the 4×400-meter relay team.

Girls’ Track: The Lady Bulldogs dominated Case this week, winning with a huge score of 128.5-5.5. Paige Santos won all four events in which she competed (high jump, long jump, 100-hurdles, and 200-meter-dash), while her sister Brooke Santos won the 400-hurdles. Morgan Browning also had a great day, claiming both the shot-put and discus events. Freshman Jilani Brooks won the javelin in her first time competing with a heave of 79’8”. The Lady Bulldogs showed a wide array of depth in the meet, and they are on their way to claim their fourth consecutive spring SCC title.

Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team had a strong start to their season thanks to several strong performances. The Bulldogs swept Bishop Stang in their season opener, easily winning 5-0. Alden Truesdale, Lars Eklund, and Alex Bilodeau all won in the singles’ matches. In the doubles’ matches, Josh Lerman and Doug Blaise won at first doubles while Connor Blagden and Stephen Burke swept their opponents 6-0, 6-0 in second doubles. A day after the impressive victory, however, the Bulldogs traveled to Dartmouth, where they were shut out, 5-0. The closest match of the day came from Bilodeau, who lost at third singles in three sets: 6-4, 6-7, 6-6 (6-10).

Girls’ Tennis: Like the boys’ tennis team, the girls split their games one and one. The girls lost their season opener against Bishop Stang 4-1, with the lone Bulldog victory coming from third singles, where Morgan Middleton won 6-2, 6-0. However, the Lady Bulldogs claimed their first victory of the season over Dartmouth, where they narrowly defeated the Lady Indians 3-2. Julia Nojeim and Haley Dickerson won the first and second singles matches, respectively, and ORR clinched the win with a decisive victory in first doubles, where Middleton paired up with senior Triona Cuddy to win 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Boys’ Lacrosse: The boys’ played two hard-fought games this week. In their second game of the season, the Bulldogs lost to Sandwich High School in double overtime, 12-11. Ethan Lizotte led the Bulldogs with five goals and an assist, while Mikey Pruchnik and Connor Severino each scored three goals apiece. Junior Goalie Gerald Lanagan made 11 saves for the Bulldogs. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs came back later in the week to notch their first victory of the season. Once again, Lizotte led the team, recording three goals in a 7-6 victory over Fairhaven. Chris Nadeau and Severino also played well, each scoring two goals.

Girls’ Lacrosse: The Lady Bulldogs were the only ORR team to remain undefeated in two or more games this week. After a 16-8 victory over Silver Lake earlier in the week, the Lady Bulldogs returned to defeat Fairhaven, 8-5. The win marks the first girls’ lacrosse win over Fairhaven in the history of the program. Thanks to strong performances by Mikayla Demanche (four goals, one assist), Bailey Truesdale (two goals), and Chloe Riley and Ali Grace (one goal apiece), the girls remain undefeated at a perfect 2-0 for the season.

Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of April 6.

Baseball: (0-2-0) (0-1-0); Softball: (0-2-0) (0-1-0); Boys’ Track (1-0-0) (1-0-0); Girls’ Track (1-0-0) (1-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (1-1-0) (0-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (1-1-0) (0-0-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (1-2-0) (1-0-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (2-0-0) (1-0-0).

By Michael Kassabian

Prioritization Vote Is In

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It was like waiting for the election results as the Capital Planning Committee for Mattapoisett cast their votes to prioritize proposed expenditures. After weeks of meeting with department heads, engaging them in dialog about their 2015 and beyond needs, and hammering out the details behind the requests, the committee members cast their votes and gave each 2015 request a numbered position.

Sitting in the number one position is the fire department’s $15,000 request for Engine 4 repairs, followed by: (2) police utility vehicle – $35,000; (3) library window repairs – $7,000; (4) fire department Engine 2 refurbishment – $125,000; (5) new ambulance – $200,000; (6) local school combined computer infrastructure upgrades – $49,000; (7) local schools technology upgrades – $30,000; (8) Hammond Street parking – $18,500; (9) local schools playground repairs – $21,000; (10) beach raft repairs – $10,000; (11) town hall office equipment – $13,400; (12) road sign project – $22,000; (13) highway department building repairs – $40,000; (14) library generator – $50,000; (15) fire department station vehicle – $36,000; (16) highway department utility vehicle – $50,000; (17) new math curriculum – $49,000; and (18) new police cruiser – $32,500.

On Tuesday, April 8, the list will be presented to the Board of Selectmen. The following evening, the Finance Committee will take on the task of fine-tuning this list and putting the finishing touches on the exact dollar amounts voters will be asked to approve at the spring town meeting.

Of those items that may not make the cut during town meeting, the Finance Committee can bring them back if funds become available and present them at the fall town meeting for voters’ consideration, said Chairman Chuck McCullough.

Enterprise businesses such as the water and sewer departments will be reviewed independently from other departmental requests. The water department requests are: #2 well refurbishment phase 2 – $1,400,000; Marion Road water main rehabilitation – $315,000; new water meters – $250,000; and partial payment for new truck – $17,500. The sewer department is requesting: grinder pump repair – $30,000; additional sewer capacity from Fairhaven – $250,000; 50% towards a new truck – $17,500; and North Street up to and including Industrial Drive sewer tie-in – $2,600,000.

“This is the longest list we’ve ever had…”stated McCullough. And their work isn’t done. He said that in a couple of weeks the committee will begin defining the ten-year capital planning spreadsheets.

 

By Marilou Newell

MTcapPlan

Backlash Continues Over Good Friday Decision

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Grief over Good Friday continued at the April 9 ORR School Committee meeting, as one resident introduced a petition with 115 signatures opposing the Joint School Committee’s decision to switch Good Friday in 2015 from a religious holiday into a regular school day.

Margaret McGee of Rochester said that in 1776 the Declaration of Independence established the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. *

“And I still believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” said McGee.

The joint committees voted on March 27 to make Good Friday a regular school, Superintendent Doug White pointed out. He said in order for the vote to be rescinded and a new vote taken, one member from the prevailing side, a member who voted to nix the religious holiday, would have to make the motion to rescind and the motion would need to be seconded.  Subsequent debate would take place, and then the original motion would be made, seconded, and re-voted.

Slightly complicating matters, some members who originally voted for the change are not returning to the committee after elections. Rochester School Committee Member Michelle Cusolito did not run for reelection, and Tim Scholz lost the election later in the evening.

“We look at the best practice for the best quality of education,” said Chairman James O’ Brien. He said the committees looked at several factors when making the vote on the school calendar.

Rochester resident Robert McGee told the committee, “Nine out of ten people that I have talked to are against it.” He added that “most people” are also going to keep their kids home on Good Friday next year.

O’Brien said there was no attack on any singular religion. “It was in defense of all religions,” said O’ Brien. “Jewish, or Hindu, or no faith at all.” He continued, “We try to make the best decisions that will affect great education.”

School Committee Member Charles Motta said he would like information about how students and their families actually celebrate Good Friday this year to better understand the situation.

            Speaking in favor of the committees’ decision to eliminate Good Friday, Rick Cusolito, husband to former School Committee Member Michelle Cusolito, cited the 1971 Lemon v. Kurtzman Supreme Court decision regarding public funding of religious schools. The ruling established the “Lemon Test,” a three-prong test concerning law and religion.

The Lemon Test governs legislation pertaining to religion, which must contain each prong: 1) must include a secular purpose; 2) must not enhance or inhibit a religion; 3) there must be no “excessive government entanglement” with religion.

Since Cusolito voiced his concern at the end of the meeting, there was no further debate on the subject. The topic will likely be discussed at the next Joint School Committee meeting on May 8, however O’ Brien stressed that the meeting could be rescheduled to a different date.

Also during the meeting, the board discussed ORR school choice slots for the 2014-2015 school year, yet took no action until further information could be provided.

White said his office has received many applications rather early in the season, and his administrative assistant is receiving between 20 and 25 calls requesting information, daily.

The junior and high schools could increase its number of slots for next year and use the revenue to go toward bringing faculty levels back up, as Devoll suggested, or put toward “stuff” like computers, as suggested by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos. The schools currently have 93 school choice slots filled by out of district students.

In other matters, ORR High School Principal Michael Devoll asked the committee to vote to approve a new location to host the 2014 senior prom, after the chosen venue, Lakeview Pavilion in Foxboro, burned down April 5. Devoll said the venue has promised the return of the $1,000 deposit for the event, and the committee approved relocating the prom to the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston.

The committee also approved the Athletic Trainer contract, which received two bids this year instead of the single bid received every year by the school’s current athletic training provider, Southcoast Occupational Health.

White said the bid from Hawthorne Medical Associates was a lower figure, however the deal was contingent upon the school’s current trainer leaving Southcoast and accepting an employment position with Hawthorne. The employee refused, so the school will continue with Southcoast.

The next meeting of the ORR School Committee is scheduled fro May 14 ay 6:00 pm in the superintendent’s conference room at ORR.

 

*The Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776, affirmed the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and stated the reasons for separation from the British Kingdom. It was not until the U.S. Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 and ratified on March 4, 1789 when the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights prohibited Congress from establishing a federal religion, “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The Fourteenth Amendment subsequently protected citizens from discrimination, including religious discrimination.

By Jean Perry

ORRschool)41014

Thank You from the Lions Club

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Dear Editor:

Last Friday night the Mattapoisett and Rochester Lions club joined together to bring the Harlem Ambassadors to the ORR High School gymnasium. Those who attended were treated to a very fast-paced and upbeat basketball show. The smiles on the faces of the kids are all you needed to see to know the event was a complete success. Like many Lions’ events, the success could not happen without the support of the community as a whole. The Superintendent’s Office, Custodial Staff and Athletic Department provided unconditional support of our efforts and the businesses of the community who sponsored this event with ads in the program guide given to the spectators made this event possible. Special thanks goes to The Chowder House, who donated the required after dinner meal to The Ambassadors. Finally, I would like to thank the Fairfield Inn & Suites of New Bedford, who provided the rooms for The Ambassadors on Friday night.

The success of all Lions Club projects is due to the support from the community. A perfect example of this is a recent request from a private citizen in the community, for the Lions to build a handicap access ramp for a resident of Mattapoisett. As a result, the Lions got two local businesses to step up to the plate and offer assistance at no charge: Mahoney’s Building Supply donated the materials and Fisher & Rocha donated the design and construction management needed to construct the ramp. The Lions will soon be building the ramp.

I am very proud to be a member of the Mattapoisett Lions Club and community we serve. If you have a heart for community service and like being active in the community, please consider joining the Lions Club. If you would like more information about becoming a Lion, please contact us at MattLionsClub@gmail.com or join us as our guest at a dinner meeting the 2nd or 4th Wednesday of the month.

Remember our motto is simply “We Serve.”

Yours in Lionism,

Donald Bamberger

President of the Mattapoisett Lions

 

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.