Nancy Hiller Jones

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Nancy Hiller Jones, a resident of Jekyll Island, Georgia and a summer resident of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts died at home in Georgia on March 31st, 2014. Nancy was a cancer survivor for almost 5 years.

She was born in 1928 in St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, Massachusetts and grew up in Marion, the daughter of Lewis and Cecile Hiller, and older sister of Russell Hiller. Her grandfather founded Hiller Brothers Cranberry Company in Rochester and expanded the Hiller Garage operations in Marion. Nancy attended Tabor Academy and graduated from Wareham High School.

Her first marriage to Robert J. Malm ended in divorce. In 1971 she married Perry Jones and enjoyed more than 40 years of marriage, spending time between both homes in Aucoot and Jekyll Island. She was devoted to her family and her friends. Nancy was active in the Episcopal Church and enjoyed attending St. Philip’s in Mattapoisett each summer.

She is survived by her five children (Robert H. Malm (Leslie), Tina Malm Bryan, Perry Jones (Elizabeth), Pam Abernathy, Ken Jones (Libby)), 11 grandchildren (Chris Malm, Lindsey Malm, Jessica Farmer (Dan), James Malm, Desiree Stoecker (Chris), Kristin Lupien (John), Jonathan Bryan (Angie), Sarah Jones, Kip Jones, Andy Jones, and Lucy Jones) and 4 great grandchildren. A celebration of Nancy’s life will be held later this spring on Jekyll Island. Memorial gifts may be sent to Hospice of the Golden Isles or Jekyll Island Historical Restoration Association.

Senior Citizen Turkey Dinner

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The Mattapoisett Lions Club will again host its Annual Senior Citizen Turkey Dinner on Saturday, April 12 between 12:00 – 1:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, 27 Church St., Mattapoisett.

Senior citizens are invited to come and enjoy a complimentary delicious turkey dinner including stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetable, cranberry sauce, and of course fresh turkey, plus coffee and dessert!

Delivery of hot dinners to local senior shut-ins will be provided by Lions members. Seniors, come join the fun on April 12.

Student Achievement Awards

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Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School students participated in the first annual Junior Achievement Titan Challenge at UMass Dartmouth on March 20 and three students placed second and won a silver medal and a $1,000 scholarship.

The scholarship winners are Jason Bechtold, Mackenzie Chabot, and Chad Underhill, all juniors at Old Colony in Computer Information Systems.

“There were 48 teams competing in the business skills event and our two teams did an amazing job,” said CIS instructor Ryan Robidoux.

Also participating were CIS juniors Amber Csorba, Travis Ouellette, and Alyson Wohler who “did a tremendous job during the event,” said Robidoux.

Old Colony competed against 12 other schools including Apponequet Regional High School, Bishop Stang High School, BMC Durfee High School, Bristol-Plymouth Technical High School, Coyle Cassidy High School, Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, New Bedford High School, Old Rochester Regional High School, Taunton High School, Wareham High School, and Westport High School.

The Junior Achievement Titan Challenge is a business strategy competition in which high school students spend the day at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and compete against one another in teams using an online, interactive business simulation game.

“The competition is uniquely designed to unleash student creativity, test leadership skills, and demonstrate a competitive nature of the free enterprise system,” said Patricia Grundy, Junior Achievement Program Manager.

Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Annual Meeting

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This year’s Annual Meeting will take place at the Inn on Shipyard Park, 13 Water Street, on April 10. Arrive at 11:30 am for time to socialize before the luncheon at noon. Guests are welcome.

The menu includes a garden salad, fresh baked rolls, three entrée choices and two dessert choices and beverage. A cash bar is available.

The price is $23 per person (tax & gratuity included).

The three entrée choices are:

-Savory Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Fresh Seasonal Vegetables;

-Chicken Piccata Pasta; or

-Baked Stuffed Haddock, Rice Pilaf, Fresh Seasonal Vegetables.

Dessert choices are Brownie Sundae or Apple Crisp.

With the deadline of April 4, the $23 plus your luncheon choice must be provided to Lois Ennis, 5 Pine Island Road, Mattapoisett, MA 02739 with check made out to MWC.

Inside the ORR School District

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The ORR School District School budget is this month’s topic on “Inside the ORR School District.” The series is funded through a grant from the Lighthouse Foundation. The program airs on the Tri-Town Ed Channel – Comcast Ch.97/Verizon Ch.37  Photo L-R seated: Kevin Brogioli, ORRJHS Principal; Lyn Rivet, Sippican School Principal; Rose Bowman, Center School Principal L-R standing: Derek Medeiros, Rochester Memorial School Principal, ORR School District Superintendent Doug White; Mike Devoll, ORRHS Principal and Charles Egan, Old Hammondtown School Interim Principal  Photo by: Deborah Stinson

Security Cameras Proposed for Waterfront

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Jill Simmons, Mattapoisett’s new harbormaster, reported to the Marine Advisory Committee on a number of activities that she has already completed, has underway now, or will have underway in the coming months. But nothing hit a nerve more than her suggestion that the town purchase a camera security system.

The committee members in attendance – Alan Gillis, Jack, Duff, Carlos DeSousa, Mike Chaplain and Jim Broadwater – heard Simmons detail the benefits of this level of security. She said that if cameras were situated at Ned’s Point, Town Landing, Barstow, and the town wharves, then monitoring of these important waterfront areas would curb vandalism, since vandals could be identified and charged. Residents would also be able to watch for themselves what was occurring on the waterfront since the cameras could stream live video to the town’s website where everyone would have access.

DeSousa was impressed with the possibility of this level of security that would give the harbormaster the ability to monitor activities remotely. While the price tag for a sophisticated security camera system was acknowledged as hefty, DeSousa suggested something more modest for now.

Gillis, Broadwater and Chaplain were all in agreement that this was an intriguing asset for the town and something that they felt boat owners would appreciate and desire. They moved to write a letter to the selectmen in support of this initiative.

Simmons also discussed the need for a new boat motor, renovations to the harbormaster’s building, repairs to existing docks from storm damage, dock carts, systems for tracking water and electrical use on the town’s wharves, and the building of new channel markers for recreational areas in the outer harbor areas.

Earlier in the evening, they discussed one sub-committee’s ongoing development of new “rules” for moorings, including fees and permits. One big area of concern, confusion, and consternation was the issue of mooring “grandfathering.” The members were not united in their opinion that grandfathering, as it is currently handled, is problematic, and the majority felt it was fraught with difficulties and led to possible abuses. Broadwater said, “We are doing all of this to make things fair for everyone.” The rules sub-committee is working on this issue as well.

They also established another sub-committee to take on establishing requirements for mooring inspectors and inspection methodology. At the request of the Board of Selectmen, the committee will investigate how other towns – including the town of Marion which has established qualifications for mooring inspectors – handle this critical waterfront activity. There was discussion on the importance of inspecting mooring chains, types of inspections, who has ultimate responsibility for damage caused by a watercraft that comes free of its mooring, and the town’s liability. A decision to include town counsel in any final document was deemed necessary. The sub-committee members are Mike Chaplain, Carlos DeSousa, and Jim Broadwater.

The ‘moorings’ sub-committee will meet on April 17 at 6:00 pm in the town hall or the library. The Marine Advisory Committee will meet again on April 24 at 7:00 pm in the town hall.

By Marilou Newell

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Beach Bash Raises Money for Fireworks

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People were still trickling in at 8:00 pm as the Marion Fireworks Committee’s second annual beach party on April 5 started picking up the pace with music and lights provided by Fun 107’s Michael Rock, and guests holding drinks with little umbrellas began shaking their hips. There was the scent of tropical coconutty sunblock in the air as guests perused the items up for auction, including a luxury African photo safari valued at $5,500. The portable photo booth was a new addition to the party this year, letting guests memorialize the event with a silly photo wearing a stick-on mustache and a funny hat. All proceeds go to the summer 2014 fireworks display.

By Jean Perry

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Rochester Historic District Commission

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The Rochester Historic District Commission is seeking new members. Please send letter of interest to Rochester Selectmen, 1 Constitution Way, Rochester, MA 02770.

Habitat Home & Garden Show

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Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity (BBAHFH) will host a Home & Garden Show at Old Rochester Regional School on Saturday, April 26, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The show will be held inside the cafeteria at Old Rochester Regional School, located at 135 Marion Road in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

There is still room for additional exhibitors and sponsors for the show. The show offers opportunities for contractors, landscape designers, nurseries, banks, mortgage companies, and other homecare experts to promote products and services to the public. The exhibit booth donation is $200 for an 8-by-8 foot space. Various sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Businesses and suppliers interested in exhibiting at the show or sponsoring the event, can email Christine Lacourse, Executive Director at BBAHFH, at BuzzardsBayAreaHabitat@yahoo.com, or call 508-758-4517.

Admission into the Habitat Home & Garden Show will be free to the public with donations accepted. The event is in support of the Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity affiliate. BBAHFH will hold raffles throughout the show. The Home & Garden show will feature a variety of home improvement vendors, including contractors, window and door suppliers, energy efficiency experts, kitchen designers, architects, landscape designers, nurseries, banks, mortgage and insurance companies. The event will also include activities for children. Complimentary BBAHFH tote bags will be distributed to the first 50 attendees.

BBAHFH would like to thank our sponsors: Eastern Bank, Jonathan’s Organic, and Cape Cod Five Bank. We would also like to thank Old Rochester Regional School for the use of their facility.

Tabor Rowing Program Expands

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Tabor Academy, in its waterfront location, is fortunate to have a crew program. This particular program is certainly unique and is one that continues to improve at Tabor Academy.

Students recently returned from spring break, during which many rowers traveled to Texas to participate in a pre-season program. While this is optional, most of the rowers go regardless of their experience with the sport. Even though the crew program has organized spring pre-season trips for many years, the Texas trip has just been occurring for the past five years and has proven to be very beneficial to the program. Training on Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, the rowers get much more experience rowing on the water than they would in Marion due to the warmer and more consistent conditions.

Back in Marion, the team has found the new crew facility at Tabor Academy to be a valuable asset. This space is attached to the Athletic Center and contains a rowing tank with two pools, where up to eight people can be rowing at a time. Girls’ Head Coach Emily Chandler has found the building to have significantly benefited the program already. The space is “unbelievable,” given that the crew team has never had a workout facility of its own. She finds that “the level of focus has gone up significantly for all of the athletes: coxswains and rowers” due to the limited distractions in the area.

Productivity has increased as well, now that rowers can see their technique in the mirrors on the wall – a quality typical on an erg room. The tank itself allows the athletes to mimic the strokes and is an ideal location for coaching. Rather than yelling into a megaphone from the water, Chandler finds that being more accessible to the rowers allows them to pick up on technique much faster. “The novices will be able to learn to row much more quickly, taking more strokes than they would be taking if they were rowing on the water,” says Chandler.

Bianca Miccolis, a freshman at Tabor Academy, is trying out crew for the first time. She has been learning to be a coxswain, or a steersman, over the last few weeks and is learning the complexity of this job. “The biggest challenge has been finding the best way to motivate a crew to be their best,” remarks Miccolis, who plans on continuing to participate in the crew program this season.

Before becoming a teacher and coach, Chandler attended Tabor Academy and rowed here herself. “The best part about coaching at Tabor after rowing here is having a working knowledge of the history of the program and seeing it as it rises to a higher level,” says Chandler of her experiences with the program.

Wyatt Genasci Smith is a junior and rower at Tabor. “Our team goals are the same every year, to finish the year with every rower faster, stronger and feeling accomplished from the season,” Genasci Smith says of the upcoming season. The new crew facility certainly adds to the building program and is sure to benefit all of the athletes. The seven coaches and both the girls’ and boys’ teams look forward to the upcoming season, hoping to medal at the championship in May.

By Julia O’Rourke

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