The Women’s Guild at The First Congregational Church, 11 Constitution Way, Rochester is having a Spring Fair on Saturday, April 5 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.
We will have many handmade items, spring plants, baked goods, handmade chocolate lollipops, old to new items and steamed hot dogs for lunch. Please come and join us.
The monthly Rochester Historical Society meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00 pm at the East Rochester Church/Museum, 355 County Rd. The program is “Past and Present History of the Stone Family Estate at Great Hill.” The property has been in the Stone family for over 100 years. Come hear Alan Hunter, retired maintenance foreman, tell how Marion’s first summer hotel, constructed in 1860, has evolved into the present producer of the widely popular Great Hill Cheese. All are welcome to hear this interesting story and then stay for refreshments.
There will be a reunion for all past athletes, coaches, cheerleaders, and supporters of ORR athletics at the Reservation Golf Club, 10 Reservation Road, in Mattapoisett from 5:00 pm until closing on Saturday, March 29. Alumni from all years are welcome to attend. There will be food and a cash bar. Come reminisce and share with fellow athletes. Bring a scrapbook to share (the ORR Athletic Hall of Fame committee appreciates any information to help build our archives.) March Madness will be in full swing.
The Tri-County Symphonic Band will present an exciting program of music from all corners of the-city-that never-sleeps and it will be certain to delight concertgoers. This afternoon of music will also feature TCSB’s former principal flutist, Leslie Neighbor Stroud.
Included in the program will be Schuman, “George Washington Bridge”; Ellington, “ Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies”; Sheldon, “Metroplex: Three Postcards from Manhattan”; Alter, “Manhattan Serenade”; K. L. King, “The New Madison Square Garden March”; Rodgers, “Slaughter On Tenth Avenue”; Schocker, “Regrets and Resolutions” (Leslie Stroud, flute); and Bernstein’s “Highlights from West Side Story”.
The concert will be held on Sunday, March 16 at 3:00 pm at the Fireman Performing Arts Center, Hoyt Hall, Tabor Academy, 235 Front Street, Marion. Tickets are $10, Students $5, and children under 12 are free. Tickets may be purchased at the Symphony Music Shop, Dartmouth and the Bookstall in Marion; any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
Applications are now available to help qualified Mattapoisett taxpayers with their 2014 property taxes through the Town’s Elderly and Disabled Tax Relief Fund. Applications and eligibility information are available at the COA Office at Center School and online through the “Most Used Town Forms” icon on the Town’s website, www.mattapoisett.net. All applications must be received in the Treasurer’s Office by April 1. All information is kept confidential.
Graduating high school seniors from the Tri-Town area are urged to apply for several scholarships now available through the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts (CFSEMA).
The following scholarships can be applied for online at www.cfsema.org/scholarships by April 30, unless otherwise noted:
The George Earl and Katherine Hartley Church Scholarship Fund provides several scholarships of at least $1,000 annually for tuition assistance to students pursuing an LPN, RN or BSN Nursing Degree while attending a two- or four-year accredited college or university. Applicants must be residents of Acushnet, Rochester, Marion or Mattapoisett who are graduating from Fairhaven, New Bedford, Bishop Stang, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical or Old Rochester Regional high schools or graduating seniors from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. The criterion for selection will be weighted 75% on financial need and 25% on academics.
The Charles J. Lewin Interfaith Scholarship Fund was established to provide scholarships to returning students and graduating high school seniors of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes and Plymouth counties. The Fund provides several scholarships ranging from $700 to $2,000. Scholarships are granted for one year only, although recipients may reapply annually. The criterion for selection will be weighted 50% on financial need, 30% on academics and 20% on personal circumstances. Students with Expected Family Contributions (EFC) above $16,000 are very unlikely to be selected for this scholarship.
The Thomas S. Hathaway Scholarship is awarded to students residing in Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, New Bedford, Mattapoisett, Marion, Rochester, Wareham, or Westport, who have been accepted or are currently enrolled at Harvard University. Scholarships are based on financial need and academic excellence. The total amount to be awarded is $4,200 to one or two recipients. The online application deadline is June 1.
The Ladies’ Branch of the New Bedford Port Society Scholarship provides scholarships for high school seniors and current undergraduates who have one or more of the following: documented family ties to the sea, have received an acceptance letter from a Maritime Academy, or will major in maritime science. First consideration is given to families of descendants of seamen. Applicants must be residents of the Greater New Bedford area, defined as New Bedford, Dartmouth, Westport, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Mattapoisett, Marion or Rochester. The criterion for selection will be weighted 75% on financial need and 25% on academics. Please contact the school’s guidance office for details and an application.
It is the latest in trash and recycling technology and, once a contract is signed and the funding appropriated at Town Meeting, is likely coming to Mattapoisett in July of 2014.
ABC Disposal, Inc. has a new trash pick-up system that many area communities are adopting, which is saving the towns money and encouraging residents to recycle more.
“It’s a complete change in what people are experiencing now,” stated Board of Health Agent Dale Barrows. He said it will make trash pick-up and recycling much simpler.
Under the new system, a new specially-designed garbage truck uses a mechanical arm that picks up the trash bins and dumps the contents into the back of the truck.
Each residence would be given two new large plastic receptacles – one blue 65-gallon bin for trash and one black 95-gallon bin for recyclables – designed specifically to be lifted by the mechanical arm.
The wheeled bins are equipped with a hinged lid that is attached to the bin and lifts up for easy loading and unloading by the truck. Every bin will be provided with a barcode identifying that particular bin with its designated address in case of loss or theft.
Operations Manager at ABC Disposal Jerry Dugan said each community is unique and comes with its own “quirks.” So, depending on the verbiage of the contract, residents may need to call ABC Disposal to schedule a pick-up of furniture or other bulky items that do not fit into the bin. Dugan said, in some communities, the driver will occasionally manually throw bulky items onto the truck, but Dugan emphasized that those details will be specified in the Town’s own contract with ABC Disposal.
Dugan said some of the concerns from towns who are either considering the new system or have already adopted it were questions such as what if a car parks in the way, what if the bin is too heavy for me to roll to the curb, and what if there is not enough room for the bin.
“This is what I meant by every town has its own quirks,” said Dugan. Mattapoisett, he said, is a relatively rural area, which makes utilizing the system easier. For example, there are not as many cars parked along the streets and, most likely, the problem would be resolved by the driver simply exiting the truck to move the bins manually over to the truck.
“In Mattapoisett there should be very little obstacles,” said Dugan. “New Bedford has a lot of cars … but it is done all over the place much easier.”
Pickup schedule would remain the same, continuing with a biweekly recycle pickup.
The new system would save the Town $32,000 annually, according to Barrows, and he hopes the new system will encourage residents to recycle more, because recyclables would no longer have to be sorted. All glass, paper, and plastic would be thrown together into the one black bin.
“All good things,” said Dugan, adding that the brand new trucks all run on natural gas so they are cleaner and quieter than the “old school” garbage trucks.
Barrows said town counsel is still looking over the contract and, once it is signed and the funding appropriated, ABC Disposal would send each individual residence an informational letter in the mail providing specific details on the transition process.
“I’m pretty confident it’s going to happen,” said Barrow about signing a contract and Town Meeting appropriating the funding. “It’s going to be a great program.” He added, “I’m confident that everybody will vote for it. It’s gonna save the Town money.”
Barrows strongly urged residents who have any questions about the new proposed system to contact ABC Disposal, not the Board of Health office. He stressed that once the system is adopted, residents would be contacted and provided the appropriate information they would need.
By Jean Perry
Shawmut Associates is now one step away from the end of a public hearing that will allow them to proceed with plans for an addition on their recycling facility at Cranberry Highway in Rochester.
“From my perspective, I think we’re pretty much wrapped up with everything that we need at this point,” said Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson of the amended Order of Conditions for work at the site.
Peter Flood of Green Seal Environmental, who was present on behalf of Shawmut Associates, said the only issue remaining as far as the Order of Conditions was concerned was with the dimensions of the drainage units, which still need to be added to the plans.
“I think that’s where we stand as of now,” said Flood, noting that the issue came up in Town Engineer Ken Motta’s most recent review of the plans.
“I think we’re ready to prepare a draft decision,” said Johnson, stating that they would take the modifications to dimensions into account when preparing the draft.
The Board also decided to continue to a later date a request from Harris Real Estate for a subdivision at King’s Highway, citing past problems with the property where a structure was scheduled to be demolished in the past but was not.
“I think it would be a lot cleaner to have the building come down and then come back with the ANR (Approval Not Required Application),” said Gary Florindo of the Board.
According to Paul Mattos, who was present on behalf of Harris Real Estate, the ANR that they are proposing consists of two lots, and new boundaries would be drawn for the property.
Mattos said that he would go back to the attorneys for Harris Real Estate to see what they thought about demolishing the building prior to the request for the ANR.
“The building should go and then they should [go forward],” said Florindo.
The Board also discussed a recently formulated Scenic Highway bylaw for the Town of Rochester that names Route 105 as a scenic highway, meaning that features such as trees, walls, and the like cannot be taken down or removed without permission from the town so as to preserve the road’s current appearance.
The Board said that they would consult with Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge to adopt some sort of protocol for dealing with issues along the route.
By Nick Walecka
The tri-town FORM concert brought together students whose combined musicality entertained a full house. The performers sang song style selections from spiritual to jazz and the crowd pleaser “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Rochester Memorial School. Combining the voices of nearly 300 students the finale was a soulful treatment of “Wade In The Water”. Funds raised through FORM concerts support scholarships awarded each year to graduating seniors who have completed at least two full years in a school music program.
Beverly “Bev” M. (Pittsley) McCombe, 76, of Fairhaven, passed away on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at Sippican Healthcare in Marion. She was the former wife of the late Eben Ashworth McCombe.
Born in Freetown, the daughter of the late Loring and Charlotte (Cornell) Pittsley, she had resided in Rochester before moving to Fairhaven 20 years ago.
Mrs. McCombe worked as an assistant manager at the Fashion Bug in Fairhaven for 10 years.
She enjoyed puzzles, socializing with her fellow residents at Dana Court and bus trips to Twin Rivers.
Her family includes her children, Loring Mills and his wife Cheryl of New Bedford; James Mills and his wife Lisa, Gary Mills and his wife Nancy, Dawn Marie Manning and her husband Joseph and Shawn McCombe and his wife Neli all of Rochester; a brother, Alan Pittsley and a sister-in-law, Helen Pittsley both of Fairhaven; sixteen grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late Rodney Pittsley and Joyce Tetreault.
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 from 9:30am-11:30am at the Rock Funeral Home, 1285 Ashley Blvd., New Bedford followed by a Funeral Service at 12pm at the First Congregational Church of Rochester, 11 Constitution Way, Rochester. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.