Planning Meeting Cut Short

on

The regular meeting of the Marion Planning Board on Monday, October 1 was the shortest meeting on record at only 11 minutes. The celerity resulted from the postponement of the only public hearing for the evening, which was the continuation of a hearing for the River Road definitive subdivision plan represented by Gregory Morse of Morse Engineering Company.

Morse had written a letter to the Board asking for more time and a further continuation. The Board voted to continue the hearing on Monday, October 15 at 7:10 pm.

In the remaining 10 minutes of the regular meeting, the Board approved an ANR plan for property at 185 Wareham Street. The applicant was not present.

“There is no change to lot lines or size,” Vice-Chairman Patricia McArdle said. “There is a clerical error for bearings and distance.”

Also, the Board approved the sending of a letter to the proprietor of Cumberland Farms in Marion. The letter expresses the Board’s concern about the increased traffic on the property, which the Board cites as bothersome and unsafe, and the continued parking violations of delivery trucks. The Board’s letter asks for an associate of Cumberland Farms to meet informally with Chairman Jay Ryder to discuss these concerns as a first step to alleviating them.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board will be on Monday, October 15 at 7:00 pm at the Town House.

By Anne Smith

Cell Tower Continued Indefinitely

on

Industrial Wireless requested an indefinite continuance of their plan to build a cell tower off the end of Jane Lane in Mattapoisett.

“That’s what Town Council said they were going to have to do,” said Chairman Thomas Tucker.

Construction of the tower would require a special permit, which would normally fall under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board. But the tower’s proposed location is in a residential area, which, according to Town Council, means the permit must be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Board voted in favor of the continuance.

The Planning Board then heard from Brad Saunders of DNE Engineering on behalf of the Bay Club.

“We submitted an application for four lots such that abutting property owners were going to share in dividing up [an abutting parcel],” he said.

Saunders said that since the last meeting, some of the abutters made a few changes to adjust the total amount of square footage allotted to them. As a result, there will be more open space created by the plan.

After very little discussion, the Planning Board voted in favor of the plan.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board will be on Monday, October 15 at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

Bethany A. Clickner

on

Bethany A. Clickner, 35, of Marion, died Saturday, September 29, 2012 at Tobey Hospital in Wareham unexpectedly.

Born in Boston, Bethany was the daughter of Rita L. St. Germaine and Steven A. Briggs of Marion.

Besides her mother and father, she is survived by her brother, Jacob G. St. Germaine of Marion; three sisters, Stacia L. Briggs and Stevi A. Briggs both of Marion and Kari D. MacRae of Bourne; her maternal grandparents, James L. & Ida R. St. Germaine of W. Wareham; her nieces and nephews, Emma, Abby, Bella, Tori, Brandon, Sydney and Ryan.

Her funeral will be from the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Highway (Rt. 28), Wareham on Thurs., Oct. 4th at 9:00 AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Patrick’s Church, High St., Wareham at 10:00 AM. Interment will be in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Wareham. Visiting hours will be Wednesday from 5 – 8 PM.

Donations in her memory may be made to the Kennedy-Donovan Center School, 19 Hawthorn Street, New Bedford, MA 02740.

 

Cranberry Harvest, Rain or Shine

on

Even though the weather hasn’t been cooperating, the cranberry harvest has begun.

Friends Annual Meeting

on

The Friends of the Mattapoisett Library’s annual meeting will be held Sunday, October 21, 3:00 PM at the library. After a brief business meeting, guest speaker Anne D. LeClaire will talk about her work.

LeClaire is the author of nine novels, including Land’s End, Entering Normal, The Lavender Hour, and Leaving Eden, and her work has been published in seventeen countries. Her essays have been featured in a number of anthologies, among them I’ve Always Meant to Tell You: Letters to Our Mothers, An Anthology of Contemporary Women Writers; From Daughters and Sons to Fathers: What I’ve Never Said; and A Sense of Place: An Anthology of Cape Women Writers. LeClaire’s first non-fiction book, Listening Below the Noise, is a meditation on the practice of silence. In addition to writing novels, memoir, short stories and essays, LeClaire has taught creative writing on the Cape and on Maui, in France, Ireland, Jamaica and in women’s prisons.

LeClaire described herself  as “the family story-teller, not always meant in the good way. In fact, I love that while I was once punished for making up stories, now I get paid for it.” While raising her family, LeClaire worked as a broadcaster, actress, journalist and correspondent, writing for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Redbook and Yankee. A resident of Chatham, LeClaire and her husband have two children, and sixteen chickens.

Come to hear what the Friends have been up to this year, and for an entertaining talk.

 

Century Old Tower Razed

on

On Tuesday, September 25, demolition of the Mattapoisett water tower on North Street began. The tower supplied water to the town for almost 100 years, but was decommissioned when the newer system near Industrial Drive was completed in 2011.

A century earlier, the Town of Mattapoisett had voted to create a committee to “take action in regard to a water supply,” according to the Town Report from 1911. On December 12, 1912, the town signed a contract with Hanscom Construction Company for a project that included erecting the 90-foot tall, 330,000-gallon tower on North Street. In addition, hundreds of feet of pipe were laid down on Depot Street and Randall Road, and almost 60 hydrants were installed. The total cost of the project came in at just over $68,000 and the tower began delivering water to the town on June 15, 1913.

The demolition of the tower was scheduled to be complete by the end of this week. Here are two photos of the tower, one from 1913 and the other from September 25, 2012.

By Eric Tripoli

 

The Winds of Climate Change

on

“ The winds of climate change: are we sailing off the chart?”

Marion resident Jennifer A. Francis, PhD., Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Rutgers University, will speak to us about the realities of climate change, the causes, short-term and long-time effects, and what we can do about it.  Her research specifically focuses on the Arctic, which is changing faster than anywhere else on the planet, and may be affecting weather patterns across the northern hemisphere.

On September 21, 2012, Dr. Francis’s Guest Op-ed piece in Washington Post ,  “Shrinking Arctic ice and the wicked backlash on our weather”, was posted.  In this article she informs  us that the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced that the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean has smashed previous records.  The impacts of rising temperatures and melting ice extend, beyond the north, to us in the U.S., as we are poised to feel the weather related backlash.

This program will be held at Handy’s Tavern, 152 Front Street, Marion, on October 12th at 12:30 pm.  It will be preceded by a finger-food luncheon, tea/coffee and a sweet.  Guests and new members are always welcome.  For information, go to the club’s website at www.sippicanwomansclub.org.

Mattapoisett Women’s Club October Luncheon

on

The Mattapoisett Women’s Club will meet on Thursday, October 18th at 12:00 p.m. at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, 27 Church Street, Mattapoisett. Our exciting guest speaker, Maryann Murphy of the Marion Toastmasters Club, will discuss organization and time management skills in order to make the best use of our time.

New members are most welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Myra Hart at 598-758-4703 or Bobbie Ketchel at 508-758-9593

ZBA Approves New Swimming Pool

on

The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals met for a brief meeting on Thursday, September 27,2012.  The first hearing of the night was for Peter and Lynne Arruda of 10 Union Church Terrace who were seeking to drop a non-transferrable clause from a permit from the year 2000 for the creation of an in-law apartment at their home.  Elimination of the clause allows the structure to be regarded as a multi-family home.

“It’s just so, if we sell the house, they don’t have to go through the whole process,” Arruda said, referring to the occupants of the apartment attached to his home.

The ZBA voted in favor of the language change on Arruda’s permit.

Then, the Board held a hearing for Joe Carreiro of 99 New Bedford Road, who would like to construct a 16-foot diameter above-ground swimming pool on the property.  At the time of the meeting, no plans had been submitted to the Building Commissioner, who rejected the project because it did not meet setback requirements.

“You’re supposed to have about 40 feet from the property line to the edge of the pool and I came in around 29 feet,” said Carreiro.

Chairman Richard Cutler then said that Carreiro needed to prove hardship for the location of the pool.

“I don’t want to have to put the pool a hundred feet from my back deck,” said Carreiro.

“It appears as though, due to the location of the septic system, and the position of the driveway of the house, it seems that locating the pool where it would meet required setbacks would be very difficult,” said ZBA member Benjamin Gilmore. He said the hardship was proven by the orientation of the existing development of the property.

After no discussion, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant a variance from the setback requirements so Carreiro install the pool.

The next meeting of the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals will be on Thursday, October 11, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

Special Olympics Kick Off at Center School

on

For many parents of children with special needs, it can be difficult finding fun activities for the kids where they get to learn, play and socialize. The prospect is even harder when it comes to younger children.

Rochester resident Laura Antonellis has been working to change that for families in the South Coast. With the help of the Mattapoisett Recreation Department, Antonellis, whose daughter has special needs, organized a regular sports program for area kids and their families.

“We were going to a similar program in Tiverton, but it was a pretty long drive. This was something I wanted to do for my daughter. They really need it out here,” said Antonellis.

The program is directly affiliated with the local branch of the Special Olympics and included tee-ball, soccer, basketball and field day activities.

“I called their South Coast office, said I was interested in starting one. They put me in contact with a woman there, Megan Hoffman, who gave me some great tips.”

So far, the hard work of Antonellis has paid off. The program includes about 10 children and their families. Volunteers help monitor the activities and encourage the kids to play.

“I did the Special Olympics program in Tiverton. This is much closer and convenient,” said 17-year-old New Bedford resident and volunteer Mackenzie Martins.

Martins started volunteering about a year ago, and working with children with special needs has become a focus in her life.

“I go to Bridgewater State University and I’m majoring in motor development and physical education. In the long run, I hope to work with special needs kids. I also work for the Schwartz Center for Children in Dartmouth,” she said, explaining that the Center provides medical care, education and therapy to children with disabilities and special needs.

Another volunteer, Jac Carreiro, a 15-year-old from New Bedford, was there working with kids for the first time.

“My ninth grade geometry teacher got me involved in this. Her son is here,” he said. “I like helping out, little kids especially. This is my first time working with special needs kids and I hope to have more chances later on.”

While the program is focused on very young children, their parents see it as a way to give their kids options.

“We really wanted to broaden his horizons and get him involved in anything we can,” said Tom Vermilya of Wareham. His son, Shane, who turns five next week, participated in Sunday’s program.

He said it’s really important to take advantage of these activities where his son can exercise and socialize with other kids.

“He’s in pre-school now and he loves it. He’s always running for the door when it’s time to leave,” Vermilya said.

Making the Special Olympics program successful has been a community effort, from the work of the volunteers to the support of the parents.

“MATTREC has been great in helping us out. They let us use the Center School field on good days or the gym when it rains,” said Antonellis. “It’s fun, it brings in a lot of people. It helps teach the importance of community service, volunteerism and compassion.”

For more information, contact Laura Antonellis at 508-212-8104 or lauraantonellis@ymail.com.

By Eric Tripoli