Chief Magee Selected For FBI Training

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Rochester Police Chief Magee will join the ranks of the few prestigious officers to undergo formal FBI training this upcoming fall. Town Administrator Richard LaCamera made the announcement at the Rochester Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting on Monday, August 13 in Rochester Town Hall.

“This is quite an honor for him,” said LaCamera.

Chief Magee was one of 250 police officers selected in the country to attend the 8 – 10 week FBI Academy. The training will be held in Quantico, Virginia for an undisclosed time period in this autumn.

Magee will not be leaving the Rochester Police Department. He will return once his training is complete. LaCamera said there are several sergeants who will fill in for Magee in his absence.

In other news, the Selectmen heard from Tax Collector Beatrice Renauld, who wrote a letter of concern to the Board that in her first year of duty, she was worried she was giving the wrong impression because the town is over budget for fiscal year 2013 by $4,000.

“It just looks like I’m not doing a good job,” said Renauld.

Renauld explained that $3,171 of the budget overage is a result of interest mailed to Covanta SEMASS that should not have been sent. She also explained that she was not made aware that it was sent until after the fact and she has asked Covanta for it to be returned.

LaCamera gave a final update on the Rochester Country Fair, saying all of the final preparations have been made and the new venue on Pine Street is ready for the event.

“Everyone has worked really hard,” said LaCamera. “They’re getting a terrific response.”

LaCamera met with the Town Building Commissioner James Buckles to discuss possible repair to the Town Hall. The two were in agreement that the building’s roof, windows and siding need to be replaced, and they will draft plans to put out to bid soon.

“We are all on the same page with his,” he said.

The Rochester Council on Aging is looking for new members to serve on its Board of Directors in anticipation of a few retirements that could happen this year. All interested candidates should send a letter of interest stating qualifications to the Council of Aging Board of Directors for review.

The Rochester Board of Selectmen will meet again on Monday, August 27 at 7:00 pm in Rochester Town Hall.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

New Sewer Proposed For Cove Street

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            The first hearing of the night was regarding a Notice of Intent filed by the Mattapoisett Board of Water and Sewer Commission, which is proposing the construction of a low-pressure sanitary sewer on Cove Street.

The sewer would serve almost 30 homes on the street and the project is slated to begin in a year.

“This project has been around for a while, but due to permitting issues, we needed to complete a draft and final environmental report,” said Patrick Sheridan of Tighe and Bond Engineering.

“We will put a pipeline down the center of the road. That pipeline will be upwards of 10 feet deep,” he said. The majority of the homes have pumps already installed that can be hooked up to the new sewer line.”

Conservation Commission member Ken Dawicki took issue with the installation of a manhole near the barrier beach, which would allow access to the underground pipeline.

“According to regulations, solid structures are not allowed in a barrier beach,” Dawicki said.

“You can’t have an operational system without access to the sewer,” said Sheridan. He argued that it may not be considered in conflict with the law because the manhole would not be powered in any way or attached to utilities, and therefore would not fall under the category of being a functional structure.

“It’s an essential component to this kind of system. You can’t go without it,” said Commission member Bob Rogers, who was acting as the chair of the meeting in the absence of Peter Newton.

While Rogers was supportive of the project, Dawicki and Commission member Michael King said that it was not in the purview of the Conservation Commission to grant a waiver for the manhole. That power is given only to the Department of Environmental Protection.

He noted that while they will be removing up to one foot of road during the construction, they will be using the existing pavement as fill with the original top layer back in place at the end of the project.

“The residents of Cove Street are in favor of this project, primarily from the environmental aspect,” Alice McGrath of Cove Street said.

The hearing will be continued until the August 27 meeting.

The other two hearings, both continued from previous meetings, were also continued until the meeting on August 27.

In other business, the Commission met with Becky Lockwood of Pine Island Road, who said that there have been a number of non-compliances with the work being done in her neighborhood.

“I looked at Miss Lockwood’s complaints and concerns and I met with [engineer] Doug Schneider after,” said Code Enforcement Officer Andrew Bobola. He said that the Conservation Commission has to allow the DEP to hear the issues.

“The concerns have to go through DEP and if the DEP would like our input, they will ask for it,” said Bobola.

“My intention here is to let you know this is happening in town,” Lockwood said.

She said there is not adequate silt fencing in the area and that there is an excavator parked in the wetland area of the project next to an intermittent stream. Lockwood also said that a turtle sweep may not have been performed and there is risk of negatively impacting native turtles.

Rogers noted that the Commission does retain cease and desist power and can temporarily halt the project if there is clear evidence of impropriety. Lockwood will be bringing her grievances to the DEP in an effort to rectify the situation.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission will be on Monday, August 27 at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

Marion Art Center to Hold Member’s Show

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The Summer Members Art Show opens at the Marion Art Center on Friday, August 24 with a gallery opening reception to meet the artists from 6 to 8 p.m.  All members in good standing have been invited to submit 2 pieces for the exhibition which will run until Wednesday, October 3.

This year the exhibition will be themed “Small Works”.  All work must be no larger than 144 square inches or less, including the mat and frame, or if unframed, no larger than 12” x 12”.

Artists may drop off their work at the Marion Art Center on Tuesday, August 21 and Wednesday, August 22 between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm.  All pieces must be labeled with the artist’s name, the title, and the sale price.  Artists receive a commission on all sales and the Marion Art Center receives a portion of those sales.

6th Annual Waterman Reunion

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The 6 th Annual Waterman Reunion will be held on Saturday September 15 th at the Rochester Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane.

The invitation includes anyone who attended any of the Rochester schools. Visiting starts at 11am with lunch served at noon followed a program at 1PM. Bring your memories and photos of anything “Rochester”. Boat Race memories will be featured this year. For more information or to help with the planning contact Betty Beaulieu at 508-763-2724 or Cindy Underhill at 508-789-1952.

Your check for $20 should be sent to the Rochester Historical Society, PO Box 171, Rochester, MA 02770 by September 1 st.

Local Readers Make Book Drive A Success

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On Saturday, August 11, 2012, Marion Music hall played host to the annual used book sale organized by the Elizabeth Tabor Library.  The proceeds from the sale go to help fund the library and its programs.

“I’m not sure how many we have, but it’s a lot,” said Nita Howland, one of the organizers of the sale.  “We have about 30 tables of books.”

There was ample representation from all the major literary genres, from fiction to poetry to mystery and travel.  Howland said the books were all donations made to the library by Marion residents, which are stored and sorted in the basement of the building before each sale.

“The DPW helps, too.  They actually bring the books here a day or two before the sale,” she said.

Books both famous and obscure lined the rows of tables in the main room of Music Hall.  Many patrons brought their own bags and boxes to fill, while some perused for that one special book.

“I like travel books, nature books, and novels,” said Julia Crowley of Marion, who attends the sale every year and always finds something worth taking home.

“My dad and sister really love books, so they usually come here during the summer,” said Benjamin Sussman, who is from Laurel, Md.  He and his family were visiting his grandfather, who lives on Front Street.

He was thumbing through a book about the Vanderbilt family and was planning on buying a hard-cover modern re-telling of a Chinese folk tale.

“This is my first time here on my own. It’s kind of like an antique sale, but it’s more interesting,” he said, as he sat on the floor with a stack of books by his side.

The stream of customers was steady all day, according to Howland, and she and her co-organizers have come to expect that from the sale.

“People really look forward to it every year.  It’s a great way to recycle books and we have a lot of great readers in Marion,” she said.

By Eric Tripoli

Sippican Choral Society Singer Recruitment

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The Sippican Choral Society welcomes singers for its 2012 holiday concert, The Many Moods of Christmas. Rehearsals begin Monday September 10, 2012, and are held every Monday, 7:30 – 9:30 PM at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church’s Reynaud Hall, 27 Church Street, Mattapoisett. New members are welcomed to join until September 24th. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to register.  Semester dues are $35. Concert dates: Friday November 30th and Sunday December 2nd. For more information: osuch1@aol.com. Visit our web site at www.sippicanchoral.org.

Rochester Road Race Photos

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Saturday August 11 marked the 6th Annual Rochester Road Race.  Despite rainy conditions, several hundred runners turned out to run the 5K  Check out our pictures!  Photos by Katy Fitzpatrick.

Taking a Bite Out of Crime

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YMCA Camp Massasoit in Mattapoisett is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer.  For half a century, the camp has welcomed local children and families to enjoy a variety of fun activities and sports, and to forge new friendships that help strengthen the community.

“The summer is a time to have fun and relax. We hope to provide a safe, fun place for kids to come to enjoy their summer,” said Tricia Weaver, Assistant Camp Director.

Camp Massasoit has had a full dance card this summer between its shifting weekly themes and special anniversary events.  At the end of July, they hosted a large reunion celebration, which was open to anybody with any connection to the camp and attracted about 150 patrons.

This week, however, was different.  This was superhero week.

“We talked about superheroes fictional and real.  We had a superhero training where the kids learned how to be superheroes for a day,” said Weaver.

In keeping with the theme of real superheroes, the camp welcomed two members of the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department to demonstrate the skills of their police dogs.

“We’re having a K9 unit come in so that the kids can see if this may be the kind of superhero they want to become,” she said.

Over 100 kids gathered on the front lawn of the camp’s main office building, facing the beach. As they waited, the kids chatted about their own dogs and pondered what they were about to see.

“I have a golden retriever at home!” said one excited girl to a staff member nearby.  “I wonder if this will be a girl dog or a boy dog.”

Then Deputies Kevin Ardini and Jim Creed displayed the obedience, searching, and apprehension skills of their male German shepherd service dogs, Bodo and Rony.

“These dogs are trained in tracking and they’re trained to find drugs,” said Creed as Aldini walked Bodo on a leash around the crowd of children, who giggled and pointed in excitement.

“This dog alerts by scratching, barking, and biting,” Creed said of Bodo.  He also explained how the dogs are trained and how the dogs perceive the smell of illicit drugs as a reward trigger.  When a police dog finds a stash of drugs, its accompanying officer always congratulates the dog and gives him a treat.

The entire training process takes months, he said, with ten weeks devoted to drug tracking alone.

The highlight of the demonstration was, of course, the apprehension.  Deputy Aldini donned a special protective sleeve that went up to his shoulder as Deputy Creed shouted at him as if he were running from the police.  Creed then released Rony, who had his jaws around Aldini’s sleeve within a few short seconds.

As the presentation drew to a close, the staff members smiled as the kids barraged the deputies with questions about the dogs and their jobs.  It seemed like the kids were sold on the idea of becoming real-life superheroes.

“I love how every day is something new and exciting.  They’re always happy to learn something to and to experience something new,” said Weaver.

By Eric Tripoli

Lace Up For The Rochester Road Race

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Get ready for the fourth annual Rochester Road Race, to be held on Saturday, August 11, 2012.  The race, which begins at 9:00 am on Dexter Lane, serves as a fundraiser where the entry fees will be donated to “The Family Pantry- Damien’s Place” in Wareham, Mass.  The organization helps provide food to over 500 needy area families each month.  So far the Rochester Road Race has raised over $20,000 and donated over 1,450 pounds of food.  Participants and spectators are encouraged to bring canned or other non-perishable food items to the race for Damien’s Place.

“We do the timing and registration for the races around here,” said John Brawn of JB’s Road Race Management, a company that has helped coordinate the timing and results logging of the road race since its inception.  “Right now, I’m looking at 160 [registered runners].”

He said that figure is quite a few more than last year’s race, but expects a lot of people to register this week, just ahead of the race on Saturday.

Registration costs $20.00 the day of the race, but if you sign up before Wednesday, August 8, the cost is $15.00.  The first 300 participants receive a free road race tee shirt.

The race is for runners, joggers, and walkers alike and is open to anyone.  Beginning at Dexter Lane, participants will follow the course to Mary’s Pond Road, Walnut Plain Road, then Clapp Road, where a water stop will be situated.  Then racers will continue on to Mendell Road to Rounesville Road, eventually ending at the church green in the center of Rochester.

For more information and entry forms, visit www.rochesterma.com.

By Eric Tripoli

ZBA To Deliberate Main Street Garage Plan

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The Marion ZBA met on Thursday, August 9 to continue a discussion tabled from the July 26 meeting. The sole item on the agenda was regarding approval for Sanford Russell, Jr., to replace a carport with a garage, remove a retaining wall, relocate and expand a boulder retaining wall, reconstruct part of the driveway and install a trench drain at 5 Main Street.

A final decision by the ZBA has been prolonged due to some concern from abutters, such as encroachment over property lines, drainage problems and the height of the proposed building.

The garage would be large enough to house two cars and would have a second floor to be dedicated for storage only. According to Will Saltonstall, the architect on the project, the structure would be hooked up to electricity but not sewer.

At the previous meeting, upon ZBA Chairman Bob Wedge’s recommendation, Saltonstall advised the Russells to request the discussion be tabled so they may speak individually with their neighbors in order to directly remedy their concerns.

Saltonstall presented new plans to the ZBA tonight.

“The proposed location of the building has changed since we last spoke. As you recall, the original proposal had the proposed structure right up against the property line,” he said. The structure has since been moved back several feet.

Saltonstall also presented a revised architectural drawing of the building, which now includes a lower pitch, which reduces the top volume of the building.

“The total height now at the peak is 20 feet, eight inches,” he said. The original height of the structure was 25 feet.

He said that they even used balloons to better illustrate the visual impact of the height of the proposed garage.

“We tried to do our best to keep the utility of what we’re doing and to address the concerns of our neighbors,” Russell said.

William Rogerson, an abutter at 9 Main Street, thought that the height of the building would hinder the view of the harbor near Hiller Street, a popular area for people to walk and bike.

“I would argue that it is one of the most heavily traveled areas in Marion,” he said. “I think it changes the character of the neighborhood to some extent or to some significant extent.”

He cited the design of the garage, which he said resembles a barn due to its block and tackle pulley system and large front doors, as being incongruent with the aesthetic of the neighborhood.

Rogerson also said that the current structure violates setbacks no matter which street, Hiller or Main, is considered to be the frontage of the house.

Linda Goodwin of 5 Hiller Street was originally worried that the structure would encroach on her property, but the revised plan addressed her concern in full.

“I just wanted to say that I have no objection to the revised plan,” she said.

Chairman Bob Wedge said that he was confident the ZBA had an adequate amount of information about the project and would take the next two weeks to examine it in full and render a decision.

“We will notify you by mail on our decision. The owners will be notified at the same time as the neighbors,” said Wedge.

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals will be on Thursday, September 13 at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli