The weather was as warm and inviting as the atmosphere at the 2012 Marion Block Party.  The almost annual fest, held in front of the Town Hall, attracted hundreds of people this year to eat some bar-b-Que, kibitz over classic cars, and enjoy summery songs from local musicians.

“It’s what Marion’s all about,” said Jennifer Lagrotteria.  She and her husband had friends visiting from Annapolis this weekend and decided to join the party.  “There’s something for everyone.”

The party, which dates back to the first Marigold Festival in 1887, is held to raise money for community purposes.  One of the first projects that was funded by the party was the Marion Social Club, which was originally located on the Nelson Block.  Over time, different groups sponsored the event, but in recent memory, it has been the local VFW that has taken over organizing it.

They led the sponsorship until 2010,” said Block Party chairman Steve Gonsalves.  “But a lot of members have passed or just gotten older and they weren’t able to carry on the tradition.”

As a result, the party was not held in 2011.  Since then, the Marion Fire Fighters Association and Marion Recreation volunteered to take over in conjunction with the VFW.

“It’s really in their [members of the VFW] honor.  We’re going to continue the tradition, but it’s up to the younger generation to step up to the plate and take charge,” Gonsalves said.

This year, the money raised from the Block Party will go to fund the construction of a new playground in Washburn Park, as well as the purchase of a new thermal imager for the Marion Fire Department.

“It’s an electronic camera that works off heat images.  When you’re going into a fire, your vision is limited.  We use them to help locate victims we can’t see,” said Fire Chief Thomas Joyce.  The new camera will replace the original one that dates back to the early 1990s.

The party ended with a huge bonfire in the field behind the Town Hall, next to Sippican School.  Scrap wood piled 20 feet high blazed loudly as pockets of residents stood around to watch.  Some held hands, some snuck a kiss in the fire light.

“It’s a coming together of the people,” said Sippican Historical Society and Museum curator Pete Smith.  “With any luck, they may see an old friend when they are here.”

By Eric Tripoli

 

No matter what the reasons, there are more and more hungry people in the United States today.  The Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, is bending under the weight of over 45 million Americans who now rely on it to help feed their families.  And that number is growing.

Hunger on the South Coast may not be obvious, but it is far from invisible.  Even with the wealth of discount grocery stores and farmers markets, our neighbors are having more difficulty than ever feeding themselves and their children.

“Life is not all about one life and what you’re going to do,” said Tabitha Tripp, a Tri-Town resident who has seen the faces of the hungry first hand as a volunteer for Mercy Meals & More, a food kitchen in New Bedford which serves free breakfast to anyone who needs it.

“They are open every morning and they feed breakfast to the homeless and the hungry.  You don’t have to be homeless to get a meal,” she said.

These days, it is often hungry people, not necessarily homeless, that turn out for breakfast at the kitchen.

“What breaks my heart is sometimes I see families come in: moms, dads, and their kids. And they’re one paycheck away from being homeless, so they come in to get a free breakfast so they can put some of that money toward rent,” she said.

Tripp decided that she was going to do something other than serve food in order to help the community.  The church volunteer has organized an event for Mercy Meals where she and five others will jump out of a plane in September to raise money for the kitchen.

“[It’s] exhilarating.  It can be a little scary.  You’re trusting that the parachute’s going to open.  You’re trusting that the instructor who is on your back knows what he is doing.  It’s a little less scary than the people who are living under the bridge and don’t have any food,” she said.

While there seems to be no shortage of people needing food, there is always the problem of food shortages at the kitchen.  Tripp said that there’s no guarantee that they will receive a certain amount of donations regularly, so this fundraiser is to help partially off-set that.

The sky dive was supposed to happen on August 11, but was postponed due to bad weather until September 15.  In that time, two more people joined the jump and they’ve been able to raise more money.

“So far, we have about $3,500,” said Tripp.

Though this is not her first time jumping, it has proven to be a great way to raise awareness.

“You’re going to skydive? It catches people’s attention.  It’s the whole basis for this thing: to open people’s eyes to what’s happening in our country around us, what’s happening in our city.  There are people that are hungry.”

Tripp will be jumping on September 15 from Newport Airport in Middletown, Rhode Island.  For more information, you can visit the South Coast Community Church in Fairhaven or go to www.mercymeals.org.

By Eric Tripoli

            It is hard to believe that it is almost here. But on Tuesday, August 28, students of the Old Rochester Regional School District will be back in the classroom for the 2012-2013 academic year.  For the kids, it’s time to hit the books; for the parents, it’s time to get organized. Here is some important information on what’s going on for the beginning of the school year.

The Rochester Memorial School has welcomed Dr. Moira Rodgers as its new principal following the retirement of Jay Ryan. Dr. Rodgers received her BA from UMass Amherst and her Master’s Degree in education from Boston College. In 2012, she received her Doctorate from Northeastern University.  An educator since 1994, she was most recently serving as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Falmouth Public Schools.

Important Dates to Remember:

• Thursday, August 23: New teacher training at Sippican School

• Friday, August 24: Freshmen and new student orientation at the ORRHS auditorium from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

• Monday, August 27: Sippican School will be holding its first teachers’ meetings, as well as an open house from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

• Tuesday, August 28: First day of 2012-2013 academic year. Sippican School will be holding a special first day celebration from 8:00 am to 10:00 am in the multipurpose room.

• Wednesday, August 29: ORRHS varsity football plays Bishop Feehan at 4:00 pm at David Hagen Field.

• Monday, September 10: First meeting of the ORR Athletic Booster Club will be at 6:30 pm at the ORRHS Library.

The school committees are also gearing up for another big year. Here is a look at their upcoming meeting schedule.

• Wednesday, August 22: Marion School Committee will meet at 6:30 pm at the Marion Town Hall.

• Thursday, September 6: Rochester School Committee will meet at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

• Wednesday, September 12: ORR School Committee will meet at 6:00 pm at ORR in the school committee conference room.

• Monday, September 20: Mattapoisett School Committee will meet at 7:00 pm at Center School.

If you have a child entering seventh or eighth grade at ORRJHS, the school requires students to bring certain supplies for the year.

Seventh Grade Supply List:

Required

• Six binders: 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 black, and 2 white. All binders should be between one and 1.5 inches in width. Each class requires its own binder. You will be told which binder goes with which class in September.

• Binder dividers (at least five or six per class)

• Filler paper

• Pens and pencils

• Colored pencils

• Scientific calculator. The Casio 360 or the Texas Instruments 30XA are ideal.

• Pouch for three-ring binder (to hold pens, pencils, calculator, etc.)

• Highlighters

• Post-It Notes

• Six inch transparent metric ruler

• Index cards (any color, any size)

Suggested

• Reinforcers for filler paper holes

• Crayons and markers

Eighth Grade Supply List:

Required

•Five binders – one for each subject. English binders should be at least 1.5 inches. All other binders should be one inch in width. Each class requires its own binder. Different colors for different subjects are recommended.

• Post-It Notes for English class

• A quarter-inch graph paper notebook for math class

• Spiral-bound one subject notebook for science class

• Binder dividers

• Filler paper, college ruled

• Pens and pencils

• Pouch for three-ring binder (to hold pencils, pen, calculator, etc.)

• Protractor

• Scientific calculator. The Casio 360 or the Texas Instruments 30XA are ideal.

• 5 pocket folders

• Two spiral-bound two subject notebooks for math class

Suggested:

• Reinforcers for filler paper holes

• Crayons

• Markers

• Colored Pencils

• Highlighters

• Book Covers

Bus Routes:

            Visit the ORR School District website at www.oldrochester.org to download the 2012-2013 ORR bus route schedules (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

For more information about the bus routes, you can call your respective school(s).

• ORR Senior High School        (508) 758-3745

• ORR Junior High School         (508) 758-4928

• Center School                         (508) 758-2521

• Old Hammondtown School     (508) 758-6241

• Sippican School                      (508) 748-0100

•Rochester Memorial School      (508) 763-2049

• Superintendent’s Office          (508) 758-2772, ext. 1956

By Eric Tripoli

Stop by and check out the beautiful jewelry and accessories for sale at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library!  The first annual sale will be running until 4:00 pm on Friday, August 24 and from 12:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturday, August 25.  All proceeds from the sale will benefit the library.  Photos by Katy Fitzpatrick.