Eleanor Severance, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher M. Severance of Marion, was named to the Winter Term 2014 Dean’s List at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Choate Rosemary Hall is an independent secondary school enrolling 865 boarding and day students from 40 states and Washington, D.C., and 40 countries.
The Second Annual Sippican Schooner 5K Fun Run & Mini Run, hosted by the Volunteers at Sippican Elementary (VASE), will be held on Sunday, May 4. The Mini Run is for children up to nine years old and will begin at 9:30 am on Tabor Academy’s Martin Field/Hoyt Hall, Front Street, Marion. Registration fee for the Mini Run is $7.50 until April 30 and $10 from May 1 until race day. The 5K begins at 10:15 am. Registration fee for the 5K is $15 until April 30 and $20 from May 1 until race day. Registration is available online at http://racewire.com/event.php?id=1846, or by obtaining a paper registration from VASE. Any questions, please contact VASE at 508-748-0100 or vase@orr.mec.edu.
My Life, My Health: Living with Chronic Conditions, a six-week evidenced-based workshop, will be offered by the Marion Council on Aging and Coastline Elderly Services of New Bedford from April 23 through May 28. Certified leaders, Ellen Keogh and Beth Lederman, will facilitate the program. The participants will meet weekly from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm at the Marion Police Station. The workshop uses a supportive problem solving approach to develop techniques for managing symptoms related to chronic conditions.
This workshop is available to elders with a chronic illness or their caretakers.
Participants who complete the six-week course will receive a $50 Market Basket gift certificate.
To register for this free program or for more information, please call the Marion Council on Aging at 508-748-3570 or Jacqueline Medeiros of Coastline Elderly Services Inc. at 508-742-9151.
My Life, My Health helps people with chronic conditions and their caretakers regain control of their lives and do the things that matter to them. Participants feel empowered and more confident in managing their health. They meet new people, share what they know and learn new ways to actively manage their symptoms.
The program topics include: physical activity and exercise; dealing with difficult emotions; pain and fatigue management; healthy eating; communication skills; medication usage; making informed treatment decisions; and working with health care professionals and the health care system.
A five-year study of 1000 workshop participants revealed that after six months, people demonstrated increased exercise, better coping strategies and symptom management, improvement in self-rated health, increased social interaction and fewer visits to the doctor.
The First Congregational Church of Rochester is pleased to announce that the Reverend Robert Ripley has accepted the position as Senior Pastor beginning March 31. Rev. Ripley and his wife Peggy will be relocating to our area from Bangor, Maine. He was ordained on March 18, 1978 and has been active within the ministry for over 30 years.
Although Bangor, Maine has been his home for the past several years, Rev. Ripley became familiar with the South Shore area while serving as pulpit supply in Hanson, Whitman, Randolph and Braintree. His other ministerial duties have included Youth Pastor and Interim Minister. In addition to his ministerial duties, he has taught professionally in two Christian schools in Alabama.
Rev. Ripley attended what was then known as Glen Cove Bible College (now New England Bible College) and majored in Biblical Studies (including original languages) and minored in Missions. He graduated from Glen Cove in 1977 with a degree in Religious Education. After graduating from Glen Cove, he continued his religious education and attended Pensacola Christian College where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Christian Liberal Arts in 1984.
Since the spring of 2010, Rev. Ripley, along with his wife Peggy, have spent the last three years ministering in his native area of Bangor, ME.
Rev. Ripley’s selection and acceptance comes after an 18-month process of interviews and prayerful consideration by the Rochester Congregational Pulpit Search Committee. Rev. Ripley will be following in a long tradition of Church pastors in Rochester going back to Reverend Samuel Arnold, who was the first Pastor of the Rochester Congregational Church in 1703.
For the past year and a half, the Rev. Glenn Stone has been the interim pastor and his dedication and service to our Church during this time is gratefully acknowledged by the congregation.
The First Congregational Church of Rochester is a Bible-based Christian Church. All are welcome to attend our worship service each Sunday morning beginning at 10:30 am.
Annual Town Election: The last day to register to vote to be able to participate in both the Annual Town Election as well as the Annual Town Meeting is Tuesday April 22. The office will be open until 8:00 pm for that purpose. The polls open at 10:00 am and are open until 8:00 pm; the polling place is Old Hammondtown School on Shaw Street. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the election, please feel free to contact the Clerk’s office.
Annual Town Meeting: The Town Meeting is scheduled for May 12 and will be held in the Old Rochester Regional High School Auditorium at 6:30 pm.
Mooring, wharf, skiff late bills: The second billing with a $50 late fee was mailed on April 4, 2014. This bill is due and payable within 60 days. Failure to do so could result in loss of space and privileges. Any questions or concerns, please contact the office at 508-758-4103 ext. 2.
Ernest G. Lajeunesse, 89, of Mattapoisett, died Sunday April 13, 2014 at Our Lady’s Haven after a brief illness. He was the husband of the late Ann M. (Stone) Lajeunesse.
Born in Acushnet, the son of the late Narcisse and Laura J. (Vallier) Lajeunesse, he lived in New Bedford and Dartmouth before moving to Mattapoisett 38 years ago. He also wintered in Florida for many years.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army with the 101st Airborne Division – “the Screaming Eagles ” – in the European Theater, participating in the Battles of the Rhineland, the Ardennes, and Central Europe. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon with bronze service arrowhead, the American Theater Campaign Ribbon, and the Distinguished Unit Badge.
He was a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett.
After completing his military service, he studied to become a mechanic and eventually became the fleet maintenance supervisor for Gulf Hill Dairy. He later worked for ComElectric where he was the senior purchasing agent until his retirement.
He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans.
His family would like to say thank you to the wonderful people at Our Lady’s Haven for their excellent care; to his special friends and neighbors; and to Mason, the young man who helped Ernie with projects with his car and around his house.
Survivors include his son, David E. Lajeunesse and his companion Nancy of Dartmouth; two grandsons, Scott M. Lajeunesse and his wife Beth and their children Zachary, Nathan, Sarah and Brooke, and Brian D. Lajeunesse and his wife Ali and their children Haley, Ben and Jack; and several nieces and nephews.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday at 10 AM in St. Anthony’s Church, Mattapoisett. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Visiting hours are omitted. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Disabled American Veterans Chapter #9, 755 Pine St., Fall River, MA 02720. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
The Sundays of spring are sacred inside the cathedral of the woods. And this past Sunday, the first springy Sunday of the season, I found two wildlife reserves in the throes of this emerging spring, far off from the beaten path of Route 6 in Marion.
Hello fellow nemophilists, and welcome to the third installment of Take a Hike! This time, we found ourselves far down Point Road, where a chorus of peepers sang love songs, and rows of budding daffodils lined the sides to the entrance to Peirson Woods – a place bursting with the momentum of the awakening life force.
Greeting me was my first butterfly of the season, and judging by the way it fluttered around me, I was its first human of the season. I was definitely smitten with this property right from the start.
The Sippican Lands Trust does a superb job marking their trailheads and paths and maintaining the trails in very good condition. Each bend in the path seemed thoughtfully plotted out, and it makes you feel like you belong there – not at all like a trespasser.
The loop is not a long hike, but it is a satisfying one. There is a lot of beauty to take in. The trail opens up at the sea and offers a fantastic vista of the water and marsh. There is a wooden observation deck you can climb for a better view, which you should do just because it is there. There is a sturdy picnic table beside a boulder with a plaque paying homage to a beloved local woman – a peaceful spot to stop along the way and watch the Red-tailed Hawks circling above the trees.
The second leg of the hike had me brushing up against the undergrowth, reminding me that it is indeed tick season and from now on insect repellant is essential.
Since we were already on Point Road, why not head farther down and visit the small, but splendid, Howland Marsh? There is no off-street parking and it is easy to drive by it, so keep an eye out for the small white sign on the right.
After a short woodland walk, the landscape changes and there is a wall of reeds and a narrow raised wooden walkway that takes you to the marsh where the presence of a healthy osprey population is evident from every direction. You could walk all the way to the edge of the water, but there are some swampy patches that could be hiding beneath the carpet of reeds.
There is a letterbox hidden in a tree stump on the property that you can find without too much effort, if you are into letterboxing or geocaching.
Tri-Town has a lot to offer suburban forest freaks like us who need to bathe themselves in the peaceful beauty of the woods to restore their reserves every now and then. Sometimes we forget what lies beyond Route 6 as we drive back and forth every day.
Do you have any suggestions or secret spots you are willing to share with us? Send an email to jean@wanderer.com so we can check them out…
By Jean Perry
On Sunday, April 27 at 2:00 pm, the Mattapoisett Historical Society, located at 5 Church Street, will hold a special meeting combining a brief by-laws review and a performance by the beloved New Bedford Sea Chantey Singers. Members will meet to vote on proposed changes to the Society’s by-laws. Copies of the by-laws will be available, indicating the proposed changes, for review and discussion prior to the vote.
The New Bedford Sea Chantey Singers will then entertain the audience following this brief meeting. The Sea Chantey Singers’ repertoire includes a variety of chanteys and songs that reflect the rich maritime heritage of New Bedford and the region. Toe-tapping fun for all!
The Marion Democratic Town Committee will hold a meeting at the Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Saturday, April 19, at 10:00 am. Brendan Joyce from the Juliette Kayyem campaign will be guest speaker. All Marion Democrats and Independents are welcome.
For more information, contact Chairwoman Eileen Marum at 508-748-1282.
To the Editor:
Let me thank one and all who contributed their time and talents to the gift of my bag of goodies for an Easter Taste of Spring.
My neighbor and friend, Paul McLaughlin, one of the students, brought me the surprise on Saturday, April 5th. He knew I am an elderly lady who rarely goes out.
Enclosed in a canvas bag decorated for Spring contained a deck of cards, a calendar, a crossword puzzle book, a puzzle to put together, a bottle of water, candy and a letter from a 4th grade student telling me all about herself.
My thanks to the Mattapoisett PTA for putting together these special gifts from the students in kindergarten through the sixth grade at Center and Old Hammondtown schools.
Thank you,
Virginia Morgan, Mattapoisett
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.