Marion town employees were treated to a free lunch on Friday when they were invited to Bicentennial Park for a cookout. The event was hosted by the Marion Recreation Department and the Marion Board of Selectmen, with members of the Recreation Department flipping burgers at the grill. The employee event started at 12:00 pm and ended at 2:00 pm. The event was meant to have happened on Thursday, but rain postponed it.

“We do this to show our appreciation,” Donna Hemphill said. Employees sat at picnic tables under white tent canopies and enjoyed hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, and cold water and soda.

“This is great that they are doing this for town employees,” Carol Brown said. “It’s nice to get a thank you.”

Jody Dickerson came up with the idea and worked with fellow Selectmen Steve Cushing and John Henry, as well as Town Administrator Paul Dawson.

On Thursday, another cookout was held for the members of the town boards. Board members from the Council on Aging, Conservation Commission, Cultural Council, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Selectmen, Board of Health, Marion School Committee, Alternative Energy, Recreation Board, Pathways Committee, Cemetery Commission, Elizabeth Taber Library, as well as representatives from the Upper Cape Vocational Technical Board were all invited.

“We want to thank everyone who volunteers to come out, often in the evening, away from their families at the dinner hour, to serve on committees in our town,” Dawson said. “We appreciate their service.”

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

Members of Mattapoisett’s Boy Scout Troop 53 gather around the completed for Owen Lee (top). The scouts were aided by the Highway Department in transporting the lifeguard stands to Town Beach. Photo courtesy of Bodil Perkins.

The Mattapoisett Free Public Library presented a unique opportunity to catch four popular authors at the height of their powers before last Thursday’s Teen Dance.

Scott Blagden (Dear Life, You Suck), Kimberly Marcus (Exposed), Joe Lawlor (bully.com), and Rebecca Maizel (Infinite Days) write for a 12- to 18-year-old audience, typically, and tackle subjects that tend to appeal to that age group.

Blagden’s novel – recently nominated for the Young Adult Library Services Association Best Fiction Award – features a Holden Caulfield-esque protagonist, and the Wareham resident said he enjoys running his workshops for young people through the Mattapoisett Library.

“I did write when I was a teen, but I gave it up, and I didn’t pick it back up until my 40s,” Blagden said. “I regret that, so talking to these kids about writing is something I’m passionate about.”

On Thursday night, Blagden could be seen mentoring fan and aspiring novelist Jacqueline Leduc, a 14-year-old Acushnet resident.

Marcus, who lives in Dartmouth, said she is drawn to both “silly rhyming books for children and angsty, edgy teen novels.” Exposed fits the latter description, but Marcus has published both.

Lawlor’s novel centers on cyber-bullying. The advertiser turned teacher turned author said he has seen bullying up close, and said that today’s brand is different from more obvious bullying in the past.

“These days, it’s different. You don’t always know who the bully is. I wanted it to be topical, but I didn’t want to make it too heavy,” said Lawlor of his mystery. “When you have a school fill of suspects, it’s a really nice way to begin a story.”

Maizel, meanwhile, said that there is a “stigma about supernatural fantasy, like, ‘Oh, another vampire book,’ but I think the idea of emergence and finding your identity really resonates with teenagers.” Infinite Days is the first book in Maizel’s Vampire Queen series, and the second, Stolen Nights, is also out now.

By Shawn Badgley