Mattapoisett Women’s Club Luncheon

on November 8, 2013

Deputy Lisa Budge-Johnson, Program Service Outreach Coordinator, Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, will give an interesting talk at the Mattapoisett Women’s Club luncheon on November 14 on the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., the nation’s largest natural -habitat refuge developed specifically to meet the needs of endangered elephants.

The Elephant Sanctuary is a nonprofit organization, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Also, it is accredited by the Association of Sanctuaries, designed specifically for old, sick, or needy elephants who have retired from zoos and circuses. Utilizing more than 2,700 acres, it provides three separate and protected, natural-habitat environments for Asian and African elephants. The elephants are not required to perform or entertain for the public; instead, they are encouraged to just live the good elephant’s life of retirement and relaxation.

Our Mattapoisett Women’s Club luncheon will begin at noon on Thursday, November 14, in the Reynard Hall at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, 27 Church St., Mattapoisett.

You are welcome to join us for this informative afternoon.

New members are most welcome. For more information, contact Myra Hart at 508-758-4703 or Bobbie Ketchel at 508-758-9593.

Opening Week of Playoffs for Fall Teams

on November 8, 2013

It was an eventful week of sports at Old Rochester, as field hockey, football, boys’ soccer, and girls’ soccer all played in their first MIAA state tournament games, while cross country competed in their conference championships. Here is a look at the ninth week of results for ORR athletics.

Cross Country: The boys and girls competed at the annual SCC Championship Meet at Washburn Park in Marion last Monday, where the girls closed out their dominant season by capturing the championship. The girls swept places 2-5 in the meet to easily defeat runner-up Fairhaven High School. Although Fairhaven’s Bay Gammans took the top spot, ORR’s Sammie Barrett (2nd, 20:29), Emily Josephson (3rd, 20:41), Rachel Scheub (4th, 21:12), and Paige Santos (5th, 21:22) all ran great times to grab the team’s third consecutive conference championship. On the boys’ side, Mike Wyman easily won the race in a course record time of 15:46 to outpace Dighton-Rehoboth’s Ty Enos. The boys’ team placed third behind Seekonk and DR. Both the boys and girls compete in their postseason races on Saturday, November 10, at the Wrentham Development Center.

Football: The undefeated Bulldogs, sporting a perfect 8-0 record, were awarded the top seed in the Division 5 South this past week, granting the home-field advantage in their quarterfinal matchup against eighth-seeded Seekonk. The boys went on to win their first playoff game with a score of 32-15 and advance to the semifinals. Quarterback Nolan Bergeron threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score. Bergeron connected with junior Alex Aruri early in the first quarter for a 22-yard touchdown. Unfortunately, Aruri injured his knee later in the game, and will likely be out for next week’s semifinal matchup. This could be dangerous for the Bulldogs, as Aruri has been playing well and has become a valuable asset to the team. Luckily, the Bulldogs have depth, evident in rushing touchdowns from Darien Dumond and Richie Phillips. The ORR defense, led by Frank Hopkins and Kyle Henry, has also been playing well. The Bulldogs look to move on in the state tournament on Friday, November 9, in a home game against East Bridgewater at 7:00 pm.

Boys’ Soccer: The boys’ soccer team played their first and last tournament game this week, as the boys lost to Scituate High School 2-0 in the Division 3 South tournament. The Bulldogs, who were seeded ninth, were shut out in an away game against eighth-seeded Scituate, and will therefore not advance to the quarterfinal round. Melvin Vincent, the sophomore Goalie, played excellently in the loss for the Bulldogs. The boys, who failed to make the tournament last year, had an excellent rebound from a dismal 0-2-1 start of the season, and they end their season with a 10-5-4 record.

Girls’ Soccer: The girls’ soccer team provided the most thrilling playoff game for ORR, as they narrowly defeated Coyle-Cassidy in penalty kicks. The eighth-seeded Lady Bulldogs played 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime before the game went to PKs. After 5 blocked penalty kicks, senior Michaela Bouvette confidently scored the game-winning goal to launch the girls to the Division 3 South quarterfinals. Goalie Mikayla Demanche provided key stops in net during the PKs, as well as 7 saves during regulation. Demanche’s biggest save was a diving stop on the fifth Coyle-Cassidy penalty kick to allow Bouvette to net the game winner. Captain Bailey Truesdale scored the only regulation goal for the Bulldogs in the second half. The final score of the game was 2-1.

Field Hockey: The girls had an up-and-down tournament run. Earlier this week, they were given the fifth seed in the Division 2 South tournament, and faced off against Pembroke High School in the first round. Thanks to a first-half goal by junior Darby Nolet, the girls defeated Pembroke with a score of 1-0. Assisted by junior forward Ashley Pacheco, Nolet scored her tenth goal of the season and advanced the girls to the semifinals against fourth-seeded Cohasset High School. There, the Lady Bulldogs lost in a double overtime heartbreaker. After a scoreless regulation and first overtime, Cohasset was able to score and end ORR’s tournament run with a 1-0 score. Goalie Mya Lunn made 6 stops in net, and the girls took 3 shots over the entire course of the game.

Below are the overall team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of November 3.

Football: (8-0-0) (6-0-0); Field Hockey: (12-4-2) (11-2-1); Girls’ Soccer: (10-5-5) (8-3-5); Boys’ Soccer: (10-5-4) (9-3-4); Golf: (l0-6-0) (10-6-0); Volleyball: (1-17-0) (1-15-0); Boys’ Cross Country: (4-2-0) (4-2-0); Girls’ Cross Country: (6-0-0) (6-0-0)

By Michael Kassabian

Front Street Garage Improvement Discussed

on November 8, 2013

The addition of a third garage, which encompasses a proposed 30-by-36-foot addition that does not meet the side-yard setback requirements was discussed at the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals’ Thursday evening meeting. The property is located at 407 Front Street in Marion. Currently, the property has two garages and the applicants want three garages, with a bedroom above the additional third garage bay. There was no input from abutters, who were notified of the proposed change on the property.

Charles Blanchettte requested a Special Permit under section 6.1.3 of the zoning bylaw to allow the reconstruction, extension, alteration, or change to a nonconforming single family structure.

Anthi Frangiadis, of Anthi Frangiadis Associates, represented the applicant. Frangiadis provided a plan of the existing property and the proposed changes.

John Silvia, sitting in for Chairman Eric Peirce, asked about the comments received from the town assessors regarding the two lots on which the property sits.

“The assessors recommended that the two lots be combined, officially,” Silvia said.

Silvia noted that the Marion Board of Health and Conservation Commission had no comment on the ZBA request due to the lack of notification to them regarding health and conservation issue on the property.

The applicants were silent on the issue of combining the two lots into one. ZBA member Tom Cooper asked about a second method of egress from the bedroom above the proposed garage bedroom. “We will have an egress ladder,” Frangiadis said. Board member Cooper wanted to discuss the matter with the Marion fire chief.

The board closed the hearing and told the applicants that members had 90 days to come to a decision, but that a decision would be forthcoming ahead of that time.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

Helen Marcia (Watt) Aldrich

on November 8, 2013

Helen Marcia (Watt) Aldrich, 75, of Rochester passed away Wednesday November 6, with her family at her side at the New Bedford Health Care Center. She is the wife of the late Arthur G. Aldrich.

Born in Bourne, MA the daughter of the late William A. and Helen Mary (Porter) Watt, she attended Bourne Public Schools, North Eastern University and Bryant College. Marcia received a Bachelor’s degree in English and Business Administration. She loved her children and grandchildren. She also enjoyed reading, gardening, cooking and knitting.

Marcia is survived by her children; Elizabeth A. Aldrich of Bourne, Jeremy A. Aldrich of North Dartmouth, Sarah J. Dury and her husband Shawn of New Bedford and her step daughter Linda C. Dugas and her husband William of New Bedford. She was the sister of John A. Watt of Texas and William A. Watt of Buzzards Bay. She is also survived by her grandchildren James P. Dugas, Ryan J. Aldrich, Katie Dury and Emma Dury and her great granddaughters Jamie and Rena Dugas. She is the sister of the late Edward Watt.

Funeral service and burial in Massachusetts National Cemetery will be private. Memorial gifts may be made to: It’s all about the Animals 103 Marion Rd. Rochester, MA 02770

Tri-Town Bike Club Rides

on November 7, 2013

The Tri-Town Bike Club, organized by Marion Recreation and Mattapoisett Recreation, will be having three rides next week. The first is at 10:00 am on Sunday, November 10. The second is at 12:30 pm on Sunday, November 10, and the third is at 12:30 pm on Thursday, November 14. Each ride begins at Ned’s Point in Mattapoisett. For more information or to sign up to be on the email list, please contact Marion Recreation at 774-217-8355 or info@marionrecreation.com

Community Preservation Act

on November 7, 2013

To the Editor:

I’ve lived in Rochester for about 15 years and I love it here. I’m in favor of adopting the Community Preservation Act (CPA) for lots of reasons. The one that gets my attention most is that our town has missed out on state matching funds from the CPA. Acushnet adopted the CPA in 2003 and has received over $600,000 in state funds; Mattapoisett adopted the CPA in 2010 and has already received over $230,000. 155 Massachusetts cities and towns benefit from these state funds while Rochester has missed out completely.

We all know that there is no such thing as a free lunch. So what do towns do to get the state funds? The CPA allows towns to apply a surcharge on our real estate tax bills to create a special CPA fund. The cost to the average Rochester homeowner would be about $47 per year. The state match is based on real estate fees collected by the state. For 2013, the state match is expected to be over 27%. So if Rochester raised $200,000, we would get over $50,000!

Massachusetts towns have used CPA funds to purchase land for open space and recreation, for creating or improving playgrounds and ball fields, and for preserving and restoring historic buildings. Rochester has projects in all of those areas that need funding.

I am a retired accountant, and I think the Community Preservation Act is a good deal for Rochester. Where else can we get that kind of return on an investment while making Rochester an even better place to live?

I encourage Rochester residents to attend Town Meeting on November 25 to help us bring the CPA and those state matching funds to our town.

Rosemary Smith

Chairperson, Rochester Conservation Commission

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.

Community Preservation Act Too

on November 7, 2013

To the Editor:

The Community Preservation Act is a state-run program in which the state gives money to towns that choose to set aside money to preserve their communities. The state CPA fund comes from real estate transactions. The town collects a surcharge on property taxes (the average home owner will pay less than $50 per year, and low income and the elderly can get a surcharge exemption), and each year receives a percentage of what it collects from the state fund. This year’s percentage is projected to be 27%. I wish my savings were collecting 27% interest.

The “Vote No on CPA” signs are starting to show up on Rochester lawns as the Fall Town Meeting approaches. The naysayers oppose new taxes, but this tax is unique in that town residents get to determine how the money is spent. A CPA committee, made up of town residents appointed by existing town boards, will present proposed projects to Town Meeting for our vote. Preservation projects may be historical, open space and recreation, or affordable housing. The CPA fund is allowed to accumulate until needed for approved projects and can never be taken over by the general fund.

Much of the opposition comes from the bigger land owners who actually stand to benefit more from preserving the community we all love. While they stand to pay more based on their greater land holdings, they will gain more as land values increase from maintaining our rural character.

A public forum will be held at the Rochester Senior Center on November 13 at 7:00 pm, where you can get the facts and judge CPA for yourself.

Most of our neighboring towns have already received hundreds of thousands of dollars to preserve their communities. Why not Rochester?

David Smith

Rochester

Chekhov’s Seagull at the MAC

on November 7, 2013

The Marion Art Center’s production of Chekhov’s Seagull opened last weekend, and will continue on November 8 and 9 at 8:00 pm. For more information, visit www.marionartcenter.org. Photos by Felix Perez.

Donald J. Bourque

on November 7, 2013

Donald J. Bourque, 71, of Mattapoisett died November 5, 2013 at Beth Israel Hospital after a brief illness.

He was the longtime friend of the late Philip J. Murray, Jr.

Born in New Bedford, the son of the late Hector J. and Anna E. (Lemire) Bourque, he lived in Mattapoisett most of his life.

Mr. Bourque was formerly employed by Acushnet Company for many years until his retirement.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

Mr. Bourque was a member of the Fin Fur and Feather Club in Mattapoisett. He enjoyed spending time at Ned’s Point.

Survivors include 4 brothers, Paul Bourque, Raymond Bourque and Hector Bourque, Jr., all of New Bedford and Ronald Bourque of Seekonk; 3 sisters, Pauline Longley of Palm Harbor, FL, Vivian Kirkwood of New Bedford and Lucille Viera of Tucson, AZ; his good friend J.R. Flanagan; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was the brother of the late Janice Leger and Robert Bourque.

His Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, November 9th at 9 AM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. Burial will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Visiting hours are omitted.

Sippican School Moves Up a Level in Quality

on November 7, 2013

Accolades went around the table at the Wednesday evening meeting of the Marion School Committee at the Marion Town House. According to state standards, Sippican Elementary School was at a level 2 last year, but due to improved MCAS scores and other various improvements, it moved up to Level 1, a Massachusetts educational rating, which was celebrated by the school and School Committee last evening.

In other business, volunteers from Marion, young and old are needed to come and give input to the school on four issues involving the future of education in the community.

The board is looking for anyone in the community who has an interest in giving input on any of four areas being researched. Areas include: Academic Rigor, Twenty-First Century Technology, Organizational Goals, and Relationships Between the Town of Marion and the School District. Anyone interested in joining in can call Diana Russo at (508) 758-2772, ext. 195

In Superintendent Doug White’s report, he highlighted the success of the Abigail Adams Scholarship and said that almost one-third of the graduating class had received a tuition waiver for up to eight quarters of undergraduate education at a Massachusetts state college or university.

These ORR students have scores of advanced and proficient on grade 10 MCAS tests in English language arts and mathematics and have combined scores on MCAS tests that place them in the top 25 percent of students in the graduating class in their district.

“This is an amazing number of our local students receiving this incredible advantage,” Chairman Joseph Scott said. “This is an incredible success story.”

Next up was Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Elise Frangos. Frangos said that on December 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, a highly noted speaker will give a talk for parents, grandparents, and students on the responsible and ethical use of social media. The talk will be held in the ORR Junior High library, and all are welcome.

“Sexting, texting, and all about what is ethical and appropriate will be discussed,” Frangos said. “We encourage parents, grandparents, and others to attend.”

A statistic quoted by Frangos noted that those between the ages of 16 to 34 years old regretted social media notes and data that remain in the social domain years later and may be resulting in fewer job opportunities and future options.

A parent of a student came before the board and asked for permission for a fundraiser for the sixth-grade class at the school. His proposal was for students to draw a map of the town of Marion, with local advertisements around it, as seen in many towns, and distribute it, free, to local businesses. The board, after a brief discussion, agreed to the request.

In other business, Gene Jones, Director of Facilities, reported that the interior and exterior light upgrade at Sippican is 95 percent completed.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry