Units Released to The Pines at Hathaway Pond

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Representatives of The Pines at Hathaway Pond spoke to the full Rochester Planning Board at its regular meeting Tuesday evening about obtaining a final release for their remaining four units. In a misunderstanding, the representatives believed that the building of infrastructure on the land would satisfy the Planning Board in exchange for the release.

“They had a [catch] basin to build that has since been built, but there was still some landscaping in the plan to be done,” Chairman Arnold Johnson said. “Those four units would be released contingent that they meet the entire plan, be it landscaping, be it infrastructure, be it roads.”

The Planning Board discussed potentially reworking the covenant so that they could release all four units.

“We don’t want to make it messier,” board member Susan Teal said.

Ultimately, the board voted to release two of the units, with the developer to select which this week, while it will hold the remaining two units to ensure that the developer fully realizes his plans for The Pines at Hathaway Ponds. Board member Gary Florindo abstained from the vote.

“If it was in the plan that we approved, then we have to hold you to it,” Johnson told the representatives.

His words were echoed by board member John DeMaggio.

“We have to hold them to the plan. Consistency is key,” DeMaggio said.

In its other business, the Planning Board discussed the right-to-farm bylaw, which it is in the process of preparing. Currently, the board has two model bylaw documents.

Teal made a motion, that did not carry, to accept the model with the understanding that there were three potential areas for revision: the soil board, the water-protection overlay district, and the disclosure notices.

“I don’t think we need a motion, we have the understanding of the board,” Johnson said. “On Thursday morning we’ll get the model bylaw and the one we found on the computer today to [Town Council].”

After the review process by Town Council, the bylaw documents would go before the Board of Selectmen, who would direct them to the Planning Board for another review process by public hearing.

In its third and final act of business, the Planning Board selected a date and time for its site visit of the Little Quittacas Solar Project, which is located off North Avenue.

“Usually we don’t conduct the site visit before the informal meeting,” Johnson said, “but I think because of the size and location of the project, it would be smarter to have the site visit done before our discussion … to get a vision for this project, which has great frontage.”

Board members looked over the draft plans for the solar farm, which raised many questions about the location and maintenance of indigenous trees.

“They said they’re going to have better plans when they come to us for their informal meeting,” Johnson said.

The next Rochester Planning Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 24 at 7:00 pm at Town Hall.

By Anne Smith

Outdoor Grilling Safety

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There is no better way to celebrate summer than to barbecue outdoors. However, each year Fire Departments respond to an average of 8,200 home fires involving outdoor grills, hibachis or barbeque pits, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Five out of six home grill fires involve a gas grill, and the leading contributing factor was a leak or break in hoses or other equipment.

Let us run through a worst-case scenario. You’re happily cooking away and everyone is drooling at the amazing smells wafting their way. You are the champion of the grill and everybody loves you. Then, BOOM! Something goes wrong and suddenly, there is a fire. You scream like an infant and run away. Everyone now no longer loves you and no one will ever come to your parties again.

The moral of this story is to prevent the above scenario and check the propane tank and hoses for leaks before using it. If you determine your grill has a gas leak, by smell or the soapy bubble test, turn off the gas tank and grill. If the leak stops, a professional should service the grill before use. If the leak does not stop, contact the Fire Department. If you happen to smell gas while cooking, immediately step away from the grill, evacuate the area and contact the Fire Department by dialing 911.

Safe barbequing can be accomplished by following these simple grilling safety tips.

• Propane and charcoal barbeque grills should only be used outdoors.

• The grill should be placed well away from the home, deck railings, and out from under eaves and overhanging branches.

• Keep children and pets away from the grill area.

• Periodically remove grease or fat build-up in trays below the grill so a hot grill cannot ignite it.

• Never leave your grill unattended.

• Never add charcoal starter fluid when coals or kindling have already been ignited and NEVER use any flammable or combustible liquid other than charcoal starter fluid to get the fire going.

•When you are finished grilling, let the coals completely cool before disposing into a metal container.

These and other fire safety tips can be found on the Mattapoisett Fire Department web page at www.mattapoisett.net. For any additional questions regarding fire safety, contact Lt. Patrick Saltmarsh at 508-758-4150 or by emailing psaltmarsh@mattapoisett.net.

Marion Democratic Town Committee Meeting

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   The Marion Democratic Town Committee will hold its monthly meeting at the Music Hall on Front Street Saturday, July 21 at 10:00 am. All Democrats and Independents welcome. For more information contact Eileen J. Marum 508-758-9751.

Cow Chip Bingo at the RCF

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Watch cows do their magic as they meander over 500 squares of prime real estate at the Rochester Country Fair! This country-style fundraising event will take place on Thursday, August 16 at the Fair’s new fairgrounds located at 65 Pine Street in Rochester. Gates open at 4:00 pm and the cows will make their appearances at about 8:00 pm.

How it works: 500 squares will be sold in this random game of chance. Each parcel of real estate costs only $5, so get your tickets before they’re gone! Tickets will be sold in advance only and will not be sold at the Fair. Participants are randomly assigned a horizontal and vertical coordinate on the Cow Chip Bingo game board.

The first place winning square will be the 1st Cow Plop made, followed by the 2nd Cow Plop, then the 3rd Cow Plop. Prizes of $500, $300 and $200 will be awarded in that order for the first, second and third cow plop made. A complete list of rules and other event information can be found on the Fair’s website at www.rochesterma.com.

Take your chance on the gastronomical actions of a cow while supporting the Rochester Country Fair! Tickets are on sale now at Matt’s Blackboard Café or by contacting any of the Fair Committee Members.

ORRHS Class of 1977 High School Reunion

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Old Rochester Regional High School’s Class of 1977 will be holding its 35 Year Reunion on July 28 from 7:00 to 11:00 pm at the Reservation Golf Club in Mattapoisett. If you are interested in attending and did not receive an invitation, please contact Melanie (Wolak) Santos at 508-748-0338 or Karin (Buckley) Kingsland at klouise516@hotmail.com.

Sippican Women’s Club Scholarship Recipients

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The Scholarship Committee Members of the Sippican Woman’s Club are very pleased to announce that they were able to give 18 scholarship awards this year. The recipients were graduating seniors and continuing education students who met requirements in scholarship, service, activities and need.

Graduating seniors: From ORR, the recipients were Hope Anderson, Martha Nakashian, Catherine Ryer, and Matthew Teefy. Margaret Tracy received the Lu Chevrier Award. Andrew Bancroft, from Bishop Stang, and Anne McBride, from Tabor Academy, also received a scholarship.

Continuing Education Students: Molly Barrus, Abby Browning, Jennifer Collins, Catherine Duncan, Kiernan Dunlap, Jueri Robbins, Bryan Teefy, Abigail Zartman.

Each year, the Sippican Women’s Club sponsors the Alice Ryder Book Award, which is given to the top Marion student for excellence in English at the ORR Junior High. This year’s recipient is Jessica Rush.

Mattapoisett and the War of 1812

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During the 332 years of Mattapoisett’s recorded history, 177 years as a village in the Township of Rochester, and 155 years since its incorporation in 1857, only once is there any documented account of the town being attacked by a belligerent force. This event occurred on or about September 5, 1814 in the third year of the War of 1812 when British marines from the HMS Nimrod were dispatched to burn the ships and shipyards on the Mattapoisett waterfront.

Join Seth Mendell, President of the Mattapoisett Historical Society, Thursday, August 2 at 7:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to hear this exciting tale and others placed in context of the Napoleonic Wars that were rocking the European Continent. The lecture will be given in conjunction with the Mattapoisett Historical Commission and Heritage Weekend.

Marion Concert Band Weekly Performance

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The Marion Concert Band will present a concert of Latin-American music on Monday, July 23.

The program is as follows:

•National Anthem

•La Bonita (Spanish March)

•Mexican Overture – M. J. Isaac

•Montego Bay (Samba) – S. Nestico

•Fandango – J. Turrin:  Tobias Monte, trumpet; Kevin Kane, trombone

•Martinique – R. Washburn

•Danzon – L. Bernstein

•The Golden Ear (Paso Doble) – M. San Miguel

•Mas Que Nada – J. Ben

•Serenata – L. Anderson

•Malagueña – E. Lecuona

•Spanish Flea – J. Wechter

•Brazilian Festival – A. C. Jobim

•Cantico – A. Grayson

•Copacabana – J. Feldman

•Commandante (Marche Espagnole) – G. Guentzel

Trumpet soloist Tobias Monte is a music teacher in the Fall River Public Schools. He is also on the faculty of the music department at UMass Dartmouth where he directs the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting, brass methods and applied trumpet. He holds positions in the trumpet sections of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Simon Symphonietta, and has been the director of the Marion Concert Band since 1985.

Trombone soloist Kevin Kane is currently on the adjunct faculties of Rhode Island College, Providence College and Roger Williams University. In addition to being a freelance trombone and euphonium player, he has performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Concordia Brass Quintet, the Narragansett Brass Quintet and the American Band of Providence, RI. Kane has been principal trombone of the Marion Concert Band since 2006.

The concert, under the direction of Tobias Monte, will begin at 7:30 pm at the Robert Broomhead Bandstand, Island Wharf off Front Street in Marion. All concerts are free and open to the public.

Marion Classic Auto Show

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The Second Annual Marion Classic Auto Show will be held on the lawn at Silvershell Beach in Marion on Saturday, July 21. Gates open for participants at 8:00 am and to the public at 10:00 am. Admission is free. All proceeds will benefit Marion Recreation programs. To register your vehicle, please visit www.themarionclassic.com.

Peace Corp in Jamaica

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To the Editor:

I am a resident of Marion residing at Little Neck Village, but now away from home serving as a Response Volunteer in the US Peace Corps. I wish I had a copy of the Wanderer in my hands, but my hands are quite full here with these adorable “Mustard Seed Kids” from a school & orphanage in Kingston, Jamaica. It was my pleasure to spend time with them a few weeks after arrival in Kingston for my Peace Corps assignment. As described in AARP’s article, I am at work helping to develop a pilot anti-bullying program in conjunction with a Steering Committee made up of two UN agencies, UNICEF & UNESCO, the Peace Corps, the MICO Youth Development & Counseling Agency, as well as other organizations dedicated to children in Jamaica. My first task is to complete an extensive cross-cultural analysis of the bullying problem worldwide, identifying common cultural contributors to bullying escalation, compiling and summarizing news stories from around the globe about this epidemic, and describing the best strategies and bullying prevention programs available. A key component of my work on this ever-growing document is an analysis and discussion of the pervasive homophobia in Caribbean countries contributing to the most serious and violent bullying perpetrated against children perceived to be gay, whether or not they are. It has led to suicides and other tragedies.

We have affiliated with Bridgewater State University, who has generously shared their Bullying Prevention Program materials with us to adapt for the Jamaican culture. I am indebted to Dr. Dana Faria, President of Bridgewater State University, and a personal friend from my own earlier days as a student at Cape Cod Community College, where my son, Michael Bejtlich of Rochester, is now a tenured professor, for sharing the program with our Steering Committee.  This excellent program was developed and is administered by Dr. Elizabeth Englander and her staff and graduate students in school districts across the state and elsewhere.

I also want to thank Deb Martin from the Margaret Grassi Insurance Agency and the Wareham Lion’s Club for their recent, generous gift of sports equipment and playground playthings donated to a small, underfunded school I visited on the north shore of Jamaica, where another Response Volunteer runs a Literacy Program. She needs small items to reward her children for their progress as well as the student mentors she trains to help the younger children; pencils are a treasured commodity! The children are the real treasured commodity and the future assets for their country.

We hope to make progress in the next year (my term is in the process of being extended), working with the Ministry of Education to ameliorate the bullying problem in Jamaica’s schools and communities.

AARP and the Peace Corps now share a website dedicated to recruiting seniors for this special Response Volunteer Program, encouraging them to share their knowledge and skills throughout the world. I can say without reservation that I will never forget this incredible experience and especially the people of Jamaica, who have taken me in and opened their hearts to me, as well as helped to keep me safe and healthy. Think about joining!

Organizations or private citizens willing to help with children’s programs in Jamaica can contact me at burrilld@aol.com and may make tax-free donations using a Peace Corps protocol.

Dorothy Burrill, Marion