An Evening with Robert Finch

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The Marion Natural History Museum presents an evening with Robert Finch on Friday May 3rd at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall located at 164 Front Street.

Widely regarded as one of America’s leading nature writers, Robert Finch has lived on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, since 1971. He has published seven books of essays and is co-editor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing. His most recent book is A Cape Cod Notebook, a collection of his weekly radio commentaries that have been broadcast for the past six years on WCAI, the Woods Hole NPR affiliate of WGBH, and for which he received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Radio Writing in 2005. His essays have appeared in numerous magazines and journals and his books have been translated into Japanese and Chinese. For his body of work he was named as one of the New England Literary Lights for 1999 by the Associates of the Boston Public Library, and in 2001 he received the Non-Fiction Award from the New England Booksellers Association. Mr. Finch has taught at numerous colleges and writers conferences, including Williams College, Emerson College, Carleton College, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. From 2002-2012 Mr. Finch was on the nonfiction faculty of the MFA in Writing Program at Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky. He lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, with his wife, the writer Kathy Shorr, and is currently working on a book about Cape Cod’s Outer Beach. Made possible by a grant from the Marion Cultural Council

Cost is $6.00 for members, $8.00 for non-members. To register in advance please contact: www.marionmuseum.org. Mailing address: P.O. Box 644, Marion, MA  02739

Habitat’s Cars for Homes

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In recognition of Earth Day, Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity invites its supporters to recycle their used cars and vehicles to help build hope and homes in partnership with low-income families in Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Acushnet, Fairhaven, New Bedford and Dartmouth.
Throughout the month of April, Habitat for Humanity’s Cars for Homes program will celebrate its “Every Day is Earth Day” initiative, encouraging people to donate their used cars, trucks, RVs, boats and other vehicles to help raise funds for Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity and other Habitat affiliates throughout the country.  In Massachusetts, that donation number is 1,751 and raised $812,523.87.  These funds have helped the Massachusetts Affiliates build 746 safe, decent affordable homes” said Christine Lacourse, Executive Director for Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity.
Donating a good used car can provide needed transportation for a new owner.  Donating a gas-guzzling heap saves energy, prevents air pollution, and keeps valuable resources from rusting away in a field or on a city street.  Steel scrap is an essential material in making new steel.  More steel is recycled annually than paper, plastic, aluminum, glass and copper combined.
Every day, Habitat’s Cars for Homes generates funding from the sale of used cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Those funds are distributed to local Habitat for Humanity organizations in theU.S. to help build affordable homes in partnership with low-income families. To date, more than 40,000 vehicles have been donated to the program.
“On average, about 25 percent of the vehicles we receive each year are recycled, so donating idle cars not only helps Habitat build homes but also gets gas guzzlers off  the road, ” said Marcia Rundle, director of Habitat’s Cars for Homes program. “Donating a vehicle is a hassle-free way for anyone to support their local Habitat affiliate while being good stewards of the environment.”
Right now, both good used cars and end-of-life vehicles are in demand and generating record revenues.  With your help, we can capitalize on this opportunity for additional revenues!
Interested donors can call 1-877-277-HFHI (4344) or donate a car or other vehicle online at www.CarsforHomes.com. Donor contact, title and vehicle information is collected, and upon acceptance of the donation, Cars for Homes will tow the vehicle away, free of charge. Donors receive an acknowledgement letter for their car donation and should check with the Internal Revenue Service or their tax advisor for information about the tax deductibility of their donation.

Body Found on Mattapoisett Beach

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Saturday April 13, 2013 at approximatley 3:10pm  a young couple walking on the beach off of Hollywoods Road in Mattapoisett discovered a body in the rocks.  It appears that the body washed up onto the rocks and that it has been in the water for several weeks.

At this time, the body has been released to the Medical Examiners Office.  Sgt. Robert Boivin and Detective Craig Leblanc are investigating along with Detectives from the State Police assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorneys office.

There are no further details available at this time.

Standout Track Performances

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To most people, spring track is really just the same as winter track: The same student-athletes must run in the spring, so there aren’t a whole lot of newcomers to the team. However, that is not the case. In spring track, four new field events are added, and virtually every running event besides the mile and two-mile are changed to different distances. This makes spring track a very tough sport to win, as there are so many components. However, the Old Rochester Regional High School boys’ and girls’ track teams have proven they can handle the multitude of events, evident in their wins over Wareham High School.

The Lady Bulldogs beat the Lady Vikings 82-45. Ally Saccone took four events for the Bulldogs: the long jump (15’ 7.75), the high jump (5’), the 400 hurdles (68.1), and the 100 hurdles (15.9) to lead the girls to their second victory of the season.

Senior Erin Murphy won the javelin with a toss of 77’2, and senior Hannah Walsh won the shot put, 100-meter dash, and 200-meter dash to solidify the win. Other wins came from freshman Rachel Scheub in the mile (6:18), and junior runner Morgan DaSilva, who provided the most exciting race of the day in the 800 meters. DaSilva battled it out with Wareham freshman Paige Feshkens, but she was able to pull ahead with 200 meters left to grab the win in a state-qualifying time of 2:30.7.

Exciting victories in the 800-meter run seemed to be the theme of the day, as senior captain Fred Murolo passed Wareham’s Mason Vasconcelles with 250 meters to take the win in a career best 2:07, and lead his team to a 103-33 victory over the Vikings. Murolo, who is hoping to run under 2:05 this season, commented on his personal success, and the team’s success in the meet.

“My strategy was just to let the kid exhaust himself and make my move on the second lap while he was tired,” Murolo said. “Everyone had good performances today. Overall there weren’t many standouts but the team did well.”

One of the standouts in the meet was junior Colin Knapton, who in addition to winning the high jump (5’6) and the 100 meters (11.3), set a career best in javelin, where he threw 162 feet, 7 inches. Sophomore Kevin Saccone also was a triple winner for the Bulldogs, taking the triple jump in 36’10.5, the 400 hurdles in 61.2 seconds, and the 110 hurdles in 16.6 seconds. Other wins for the Bulldogs came from Chris Demers, who ran the 400 meters in 54.9 seconds, Mike Wyman, who ran a 9:59 in the two-mile, and Aaron Holick, who won the shot-put with a throw of 42 feet, 10.5 inches.

With the victories over Wareham, the boys’ and girls’ teams improve their records to 2-0. Their next meet is against Bourne High School on Monday, April 22 at Old Rochester Regional. The meet is set to begin at 3:30pm.

By Michael Kassabian

 

Marion COA Needs More Friends

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Marion’s Council on Aging has some friends, but they want more. The newly-formed Friends of the Marion Council on Aging plan to support the Council on Aging so it can provide even more services to the town’s seniors and other citizens.

“Our goal is to raise money for the COA,” said Priscilla Ditchfield, the treasurer of the organization. According to Ditchfield, the COA is town-funded and cannot fundraise or apply for grants from private foundations or corporations.

“We want to be an advocate for older people in town and expand the scope of the council,” Ditchfield said.

The group formed last fall and quickly gained momentum. A town-wide mailing explaining the purpose of the Friends will go out in May.

“We hope that everyone in town will become a friend,” said Chrissie Bascom, the secretary of the FMCOA. “You can become a friend for a $10 donation.”

According to Bascom, one-third of Marion’s population is over 60 years of age. In the 2012 census, 1,635 people, or roughly 30.5 percent of the population, is over 60.

“We are not sure, but looking down the road 10 to 20 years, it could approach the 50 percent mark.”

The diverse offerings for seniors in Marion include movies at the Marion Music Hall, classes at the Marion Recreation Department’s Atlantis Avenue facility and exercise sessions at the First Congregational Church of Marion.

“One of the issues is that there isn’t a place where all of these opportunities are offered and where people can move from room to room and socialize,” Bascom said. “Perhaps a community center in the future would be a goal.”

“We are impressed with the work of the COA,” Bascom added. According to the statistics provided by Director Susan Schwager, the Marion COA delivered 5,340 meals and provided 5,996 rides for shopping and medical appointments in 2012. Other services included a Health Fair, a monthly lecture series, a safe driving program and free tax preparation during tax season. The COA also manages the Senior Work-Off program, where seniors work as volunteers and reduce their real estate taxes.

To become a friend of the COA, you can volunteer or donate as little as the aforementioned $10. The organization is also looking for volunteers to join their membership, fundraising, communication, enrichment and long-range planning committees.

To volunteer, join or get more information, email friendsmarioncoa@gmail.com. A new website is under construction at www.fmcoa.org.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

A Diverse Education Agenda

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School choice led the eclectic list of items to be addressed by the Old Rochester Regional Joint School Committee on Wednesday, April 10.

Superintendent Doug White explained the current status of the program. There are 75 slots presently between the junior and senior high schools. Since ORR hasn’t been participating in school choice long enough for the number of incoming students to match the number of graduating students, it was decided that the District would continue in the program but not add any additional slots for the 2013-14 school year. When asked about the financial incentive of being in the program, White stated that the school receives $5,000 per student for a total of approximately $390,000 per year. With some students’ of choice needing special services, the grant per student wasn’t always equable. But he said it wasn’t a burden either. He did share that the state is looking to increasing the per student incentive.

Another highlight of the meeting centered on Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos’ report of new guidelines on issues relating to gender identification dysphoria. In a first of its kind conference that she had attended, she learned about anti-discrimination rules, as well as locker room and restroom concerns and considerations for student with gender dysphoria. Educators will need to become more sensitized to this population and their specific needs will need to be addressed.

Frangos’ report also included results of a survey taken by teachers on needs assessment for professional development. Of the 450 e-mail addresses used to send out the five-question survey, her office received a total of 96 responses – 36 from secondary teachers – which she indicated was about average for statistical evaluation purposes. However, the committee wondered what could be gleaned from the limited number of responses. She assured them that one could at the very least have a starting point to work from for reviewing the educators’ professional growth needs.

ORR High Principal Michael Devoll next spoke at length about the Advanced Placement science needs facing the schools. He said that increasingly students are asking for AP science classes to help them compete for college placement. In the absence of more AP classes ORR graduates were at an extreme disadvantage. It was pointed out that the academic challenges innate in AP science programs demonstrated a student’s ability to not only achieve high grades but a well-rounded personality able to integrate self-motivation with high personal goals and standards. Devoll said there was a need to increase the number of AP science classes at both the junior and senior high levels to meet the rigors of college placement applications. The committee agreed and plans will move forward.

State budgets were also discussed with White telling the committee that the Leglislature had been discussing deep education cuts requiring some difficult choices that White acknowledged could be confronted soon. Although the state may not move forward with such wounding funding cuts, he did tell the group to prepare for the worse.

Before the members got down to the business of running the district, they were entertained by members of Destination Imagination. This afterschool program that draws from Tri-Town talent is coached by Tina Rood of Rochester.

After Rood set up what the group was about to experience from the students, the players sailed into their nonverbal performance. Destination Imagination is a program that encourages teams to take risks, focus collective energy, and meet the challenges of collaborative problem solving and team dynamics. The program aligns the work needed to complete a task with STEM, National Education Standards, and ELA Common Core. Rood’s team is heading to the global competition in Nashville, Tenn., in May.

With congratulations and well wishes from the committee, the students were acknowledged for their hard work, commitment, and abilities.

ORR JHS Principal Kevin Brogioli shared that 39 eighth-grade students will be inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. He also spoke to an assembly the students participated in on the subject of Social Media and Sexting given by the Mattapoisett Police Department.

And rounding out the agenda’s highlights was Devoll’s noting of an upcoming College Admissions Seminar for parents of sophomore and junior students hosted by the Guidance Department. The seminar will be April 25 at 6:30pm in the high school’s Media Room. A guest speaker from the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority will be on hand to discuss the college search and application process.

By Marilou Newell

A Caregiver’s Story

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Mine is a cautionary tale of what not to do. I’m sharing not for my glorification but in the hope that someone reading this will benefit and know they are not alone.

For 13 years, I was involved with caring for my father. In 1998, he sustained a closed head injury so damaging that he spent four months in an amnesia state housed in the locked unit of a nursing home. Slowly, as he regained some mental functioning and as Medicare coverage was coming to an end, he returned home. He could perform all the habits of daily living, but his emotional and psychological equilibrium ebbed and flowed with the tides. It took a couple of years for this to level off. My parents were able to resume a fairly normal life. What we didn’t fully understand at the time was that Dad also had dementia. Our wild ride was just beginning.

By 2008, my mother no longer was able to care for herself. Her falling episodes rendered it necessary for her to receive nursing home care. When she left home for the last time, Dad was alone, completely and utterly alone — except for me.

So began my journey of living several full-time lives concurrently; a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a person with a career and a caregiver. The last few years of Dad’s life were an endless array of medical appointments, in-home evaluations with service providers, or hands-on assistance bathing him, cleaning his home, preparing meals and being his confidante. I drove thousands of miles between his home and mine. My life was dictated by the needs of an elderly man with dementia.

My husband and son were allies as I pulled out all the stops in surrounding Dad with personal care attendants. I was the general forging battle plans against the advancing disease. I was continuously striving to give Dad good in-home care. For a long time, he was okay. But I was not. I just kept going, pushing, doing. I didn’t recognize my own unraveling.

By 2010, Dad’s dementia had reached the stage where his delusions were his reality. The following is from a passage I wrote at that time, as I attempted to deal with all the unpleasant emotions his condition stirred in me:

“One day, Dad told me, ‘I got a new baby boy. I want you to take me and him to visit your mother. She’ll like that.’ As he said this to me he was smiling with the joy any new father would feel, except in this case, it is just plain sad. I am sick to my stomach.”

After nine decades of independent living, being a responsible reasonable father and husband, the end was coming. He began wandering off trying to find imaginary family. He searched for fishing boats and businesses he was so sure he owned. He’d ask complete strangers to give him a ride to the bank and on the way tell them he’d be withdrawing millions of dollars. Dad needed someone to watch over him on a full-time basis.

But this type of care, known as custodial care in the health care industry, is not covered by Medicare or Mass Health. If the sick person is able to walk, feed themselves, go to the toilet, dress, and perform other basic functions, they are not candidates for nursing home care. My parents did not have any other form of health insurance or financial resources to purchase assistance. The total responsibility for custodial care falls to family members. I couldn’t manage his advancing disease any longer and I could not bring him into my home. I’d lie awake at night tortured by how to take care of Dad. His disease had become too much for me, and he had become a danger to himself. Something would have to give.

That something came in February of 2011. He developed pneumonia. This allowed the Medicare system and me to have him hospitalized for three days and then admitted to a nursing home for a limited period of time. The complicated and multilayered processes that Medicare and Mass Health programs require cannot be described easily. Suffice to say, with tremendous emotional agony, I negotiated government and health care regulations, securing the professional 24-hour care he now needed. Dad was transported to the nursing home.

He railed against me: it was my fault; I was keeping him from his new family, his millions of dollars, his fishing business and the store he owned. He told me I wasn’t going to get anything. I had failed him by placing him at “the end of the world.” He called the nursing home a “funeral parlor.” In spite of his delusions, there were moments of complete clarity. It was heartbreaking.

After a few weeks, it was as though he gave up living. Although it was never discussed, he knew he wasn’t going home again. Those weeks were agonizing for us both and remain a pulsing open wound in my soul. I watched his will to live slide away moment by moment. I still feel tremendous guilt. Dad’s battle ended in May 2011.

One in every three senior citizens will develop some type of dementia. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death for seniors. As for the caregivers, 1.5 million caregivers provide 17.5 billion hours of care per year, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Dad and I were a winning team for a long time. But when the disease ended his ability for any rational thinking, I really needed more help than my husband and son could possibly provide. I needed professional support, but did not ask for it.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s. It is progressive, life-altering and impacts everyone in its wake. Without proper support, caregivers are in jeopardy of breaking down under the strain of the disease. When the caregivers break down, the disease victims are placed in jeopardy, also. The ripple effects throughout an entire family are profound. As I look back through the veil of time, I realize I should have reached out for help — help that is there for the asking.

No one is immune from Alzheimer’s. People from every walk of life are afflicted. Consider Glenn Campbell, Ronald Regan and Pat Summit. The odds are very high that you or someone you know will have a personal experience with this devastating disease.

If you are facing the challenges that come along with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, ask for help right away; don’t wait. Reach out to your local Council on Aging Office for contact information. You should also visit www.alz.org or call 800-272-3900 (the hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year). It really is okay to say, “Help me.”

By Marilou Newell

Bay Watch Work Bond Passes

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With a short agenda long on discussion, the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night approved a $2 million performance guarantee for Bay Watch Realty’s 40B affordable housing project – finally set to break ground this summer – and heard a variance request from Sean and Lisa Sweeney of 307 Converse Rd.

Ken Steen presented for members’ approval a $2 million construction bond for the decade-in-the-making Bay Watch multifamily development on Route 105. The bond is a pre-construction condition for work to begin in July after “monumental paperwork,” according to Steen. The ZBA passed the item after each member questioned the realtor.

Meanwhile, the Sweeneys seek a permit to build a new, non-conforming garage that would occupy roughly the same spot that the current one does, but reach 23 and a half feet high at its tallest point – an increase of 7 and a half feet.

Non-abutting neighbor Annie Hayes expressed some concern about the height.

“When we spoke, I got the impression that the height would stay essentially the same,” she said to Sean Sweeney. “I’m just visualizing it: Seven feet is substantially higher than I thought.”

Sweeney responded that the spike would result from the continuation of an A-frame incline in select spots, as opposed to a level height for the structure all the way around.

Board Member Bob Alves asked Hayes if she was satisfied with the explanation.

“I can’t say I’m satisfied,” Hayes said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m opposed to it.”

Abutters of the lot voiced approval ranging from tepid to unreserved.

“We’re basically OK with it,” said Charlie Duane, sitting next to the mural he painted in the Town House Conference Room. “As Sean has planned it, it would be kind of a shock at first.” Neighbor Davis Sanford said he had no problem with the proposed structure. Vicki Aubrecht, after a question about how much closer the new garage would be to the property line, also assented.

But the ZBA, resuming discussion after public testimony, was skeptical about whether the project would fulfill the requirements for a variance. In addition, members were underwhelmed by the support of the neighbors.

“They seemed surprised by the scope of it,” member Anne Marie Tobia said. “I found that interesting.”

The ZBA has 60 days to decide on the Sweeneys’ request. The couple purchased the property in 2007.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 25.

By Shawn Badgley

Mary F. (Vaughan) Gray

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Mary F. (Vaughan) Gray, 88, of Rochester passed away April 7, 2013 at Sippican Health Care Center. She was the widow of George M. Gray.

Mrs. Gray was born in Rochester, daughter of the late Harold G. and Lena (Bettencourt) Vaughan, and was a lifelong resident of the town. She was a member of the Long Plain Baptist Church, the Rochester Grange for 60 years and the Rochester Council on Aging.

Survivors include her brother: Clifton L. Vaughan; her caregiver: Lorraine Vaughan; and several nieces & nephews. She was sister of the late Harold Vaughan, Jr., Lloyd A. Vaughan, Sr. and Arlene M. Kucharski.

The family would like to extend their thanks to the staff of the Sippican Health Care Center.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service on Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 11 A.M. at the First Congregational Church of Rochester, 11 Constitution Way, Rochester.

Jean S. (Simpson) Sparling

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Jean S. (Simpson) Sparling, 87, formerly of Rochester, passed away Tuesday, April 9, 2013, at the Oceanside Nursing Home, in Hampton, New Hampshire. She was the wife of the late Arthur M. Sparling.

Born and raised in New Bedford, the daughter of the late David and Ethel (Gatie) Simpson, she had lived in Rochester for 25 years before moving to New Hampshire after her husband passed away. She was a graduate of New Bedford High School and later was the bookkeeper for the family business, Sparling Brothers, Machine Shop.

She is survived by a daughter, Pamela J. Sparling and her husband Randy Jamison of Stratham, NH; two sons, Brent A. Sparling and his wife Teri of East Freetown and Scott D. Sparling and his wife Judy of Fort Myers, FL; three sisters, Ruth Ashworth of Hampton, NH, Hazel DeJesus of Fairhaven and Marge Haack of MN; two grandsons, Sean and Jonathan; a great grandson, Seth; four step grandchildren; seven step great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Mrs. Sparling was the sister of the late Barbara West.

Calling hours are Thursday, from 4-7 PM, in the Donaghy Funeral Home, 465 County Street, New Bedford. Her funeral service will be in the funeral home, Friday, April 12, 2013, at 11:00 AM, with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM. Interment will be in Rural Cemetery, New Bedford.