Thanking My New Heros

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To the Editor:

I am writing to you today to thank my new heroes publicly and to let the residents of both Mattapoisett and Marion know how special our Police EMS Officers are and how lucky we are to have them.

On May 12, my husband had the misfortune to take a horrible fall, which resulted in a serious head injury. Upon calling 911, we were given immediate instructions by dispatcher Jack Macedo to keep him awake. Within minutes, which felt like forever, EMS arrived, assessed the situation and called for a Med Flight. I knew the situation was very bad.

My husband was flown to Rhode Island Hospital Trauma Center in Providence where he underwent many tests both neurological and physical. He sustained a fractured frontal love, fractured eye socket, fractured wrist and a few broken ribs. Doctors at the hospital let us know just how lucky we were. Many injuries like that don’t end with happy endings. From the dispatcher telling us not to let him lose consciousness to the EMS officers making the decision for the Med Flight made all the difference. IF time had been wasted with an ambulance to St. Luke’s, results may have not been the same.

24 hours later, I was given the best Mother’s Day gift when he walked out of the hospital on his own. Although he has a few broken bones, he is on the mend.

My family would like to thank Officer Jack Macedo, Officer Paveo, Officer Nick Lorenco, Officer Matt McGraw, Officer Kevin Porter, Officer Mike Florio and the unknown Boston Med Flight Crew. Everything you did is so humbly appreciated by our family and we are forever grateful.

I would also like to thank Chief Lincoln Miller of the Marion Police Department. Chief Miller was there like my superhero when I needed him. He made sure we got to Rhode Island safe and stayed with us until we were sure of the outcome, which meant so much. Please know that you will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Thank you for everything that you all do.

The McDonough Family, Mattapoisett

Response to Questions About Solar

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To the Editor:

Marion’s Energy Management Committee would like to take this opportunity to answer some questions and allay some concerns that were expressed in a Letter to the Editor in the May 24 issue of The Wanderer by Bendrix Bailey regarding installations of solar arrays. These so-called “solar farms” sprouting all over Massachusetts on both private and municipal land are clusters of photovoltaic panels that generate electricity directly from the sun. Similar installations are being discussed in Marion and nearby towns. The recent proliferation of solar farms across America is occurring because they are cost-effective, quiet, and easily screened from view by trees or fencing. A typical installation pays for itself in about 20 years at today’s electricity prices, but that’s without the rebates and tax credits that are presently available from federal and state programs. The pay-back time is much shorter after applying these incentives. Renewable power industries are also lowering unemployment in our state. In Massachusetts alone, the solar power industry now accounts for about 14,000 jobs, according to an article in The Boston Globe on May 27.

Mr. Bailey raises two main issues in his letter that we would like to address. The first is the economic feasibility. Massachusetts has provided incentives to spark the development of renewable energy, which has resulted in our state being one of the “greenest” in the country. Government support for energy generation is nothing new, however. In fact, every source of energy we rely on – oil, coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, and nuclear — would be substantially more expensive if it were not for subsidies on its development and distribution. An economic comparison of solar energy with other energy sources, therefore, must take into account the long-standing subsidies for existing power sources as well as incentives for solar installations. If support for traditionally generated electricity were removed, the price for power would be much higher, and the payback time for a solar array would be greatly shortened.

The other main point raised by Mr. Bailey is a concern that if incentives were to disappear, solar farms might be abandoned and possibly become financial burdens and/or structural hazards for a community. Clearly if a structure of any sort, solar farms included, is built on municipal property, a provision for decommissioning should be in place at the time of installation. It should be recognized, however, that in the case of a solar array, all of the investment in the project occurs at the time of construction, and the rebates and tax credits occur within the first few years of its life. If subsidies are no longer available after the panels are in place, there is no impact on an existing facility and thus no reason to abandon it. Mr. Bailey also expressed concern that a solar farm might pose a mechanical hazard to children, but it is unclear why this structure, with no moving parts, would be more attractive than any other equipment or facility.

Finally, the letter suggests that a solar farm would harm the environment by blocking rainfall from reaching the soil and by clear-cutting woodlands. In fact, rainwater runs off of each panel and drains between them to the surface, which is usually crushed stone or grass. Moreover, most solar farms are preferentially sited on land that had been cleared for another purpose, such as a dump, abandoned quarry, or unproductive field. The state’s Green Communities Act discourages tree removal in preparation for renewable energy facilities.

Solar farms are growing all over Massachusetts because they make sense economically and environmentally, as well as for their contribution toward reducing fossil fuel use. Planners must understand and consider the facts about solar arrays so that clear, sensible bylaws can be developed to ensure proper siting and installation, and to encourage communities to see the light in solar power.

Jennifer Francis

Marion Energy Management Committee

 

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

ORR Students to Attend State Convention

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Ten members of the class of 2013 at Old Rochester Regional High School will be attending Boys’/Girls’ State Convention sponsored by the American Legion’s Florence Eastman Post 280, June 16-22, at Stonehill College in North Easton.

The Mattapoisett Lions Club will sponsor Kevin Noone, Nicholas Pacheco, Jaclyn Hahn, and Chandra PerezGill.  Lawrence DiCara, Esquire will sponsor Edward Costa, Adam Costa and Alexandra Saccone.

To be eligible for Boys’/Girls’ State, a student must be a member of the junior class who has achieved high academic success. Delegates must also show evidence of leadership ability and an interest in the democratic process. At the convention, delegates will study local and state government. They will establish and operate their own cities and towns and state of government in miniature. This will include forming two political parties, holding conventions, nominating candidates, conducting campaigns, and electing officials. The primary goal of Boys’/Girls’ State is for attendees to develop a better understanding of how State Government functions.

BoxTops/Campbell’s Labels for Education

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Please help support Center School and save your BoxTops and Campbell’s Labels. Funding from these products helps pay for transportation to field trips and recess equipment.  Community collection boxes for the BoxTops and soup labels are located at the Mattapoisett Town Hall, the Children’s department of the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, and at the Mattapoisett Senior Center. Thank you for supporting your local school!

Rochester Historical Society Event

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The Rochester Historical Society will present Three Centuries at Eastover Farm and the Sippican Mill, an interesting peek into the history of this beautiful Rochester farm and the families responsible for its preservation for over 300 years. 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Hiller family involvement with the property. The meeting is at the East Rochester Church/ Museum on Wednesday, June 20 at 7:00 pm. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

MCS Class of 1952 Seeking Classmates

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In mid-July, members of the graduating class of 1952 from the Mattapoisett Center School will gather in Shipyard Park to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The committee is looking to get in touch with the following classmates: John Bowman, Walter Bowman, Thelma Cambra, Mary Cruz, Barbara Dexter, Robert Dudgeon, Perry Enos, Perry Faria, Ray Faria, William Fields, Oliver Fonseca, Richard Frates, Donald Gerry, Eva Hathaway, William Hubbard, John Hyland, Catherine Jones, Carl Junior, Harry Kerst, George LeForest, MOnette LeForest, Irene Morgado, Edith Oliveira, Madelina Oliveira, Pat Pacheco, Eleanor Peacock, Charlotte Purrington, Jo-Ann Raphael, Richard Roberts, Donald Russell, Alice Souza, Jose Souza, Ronald Sylvia, Patricia Stone, Robert Sturtevant, Betty Tripp, Lottie Vaughn, Lenora Veira, David Vermilyea, George Washburn, Robert Waterhouse and Peter Wertz.

For more information on how to join the celebration, contact Donald Correia at drtire@aol.com or 508-758-4738.

Marion Recreation Summer Programs

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Camp Silvershell is for children entering Grades 1-6. New this year, each two-week session will include a field trip, such as Roger Williams Zoo and Battleship Cove. The camp is Monday-Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. (No camp on July 4). Early Drop Off and Late Pick Up are available.

Marion Recreation has created a fabulous sitting area at Washburn Park. We’d like to ask community members to donate any new or gently used picnic tables that you no longer need. We would also like to have some picnic tables at Silvershell Beach as well. Please call 774-217-8355 and we will gladly pick up any donated item.

There are many new programs offered this summer:

•Sign the kids up for Art Classes with Mrs. Erin Kirk. The classes are Creating with Clay, Mimicking the Masters, Fiddling with Fibers, Amazing Animals and A Plethora of Printmaking. Sign up early, space is limited!

•For children going into Grades 1-3, there is the Junior Scientist Summer Mixology Camp. The children will experiment with a variety of chemistry, biology, ecology and geology hands on activities. One week only!

•Tap and Hip Hop Dance Camps are offered for ages 5-13. There is also a Musical Theatre Camp based on the movie “Lemonade Mouth”. Each of these one-week long camps will be held at the Music Hall during the month of July.

•Horsemanship Program is offered in August. It will consist of learning the basics of horse handling, safety and horse care, as well as a riding lesson for beginners to advanced.

•Movies in the Park will be held each Wednesday night beginning July 11 at 7:00 pm. Admission is free! Bring your blankets and chairs and enjoy a show with the family. Refreshments will be available for purchase. All proceeds to benefit Marion Recreation Programs.

For more information and for many more programs such as Swimming and Sailing Lessons, please check out the website at http://marionrecreation.com/Marion_Recreation/Home.html or call Marion Recreation at 774-217-8355.

Plumb Library June Programs

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•Café Parlez’ selection for June is “The Three Junes”, by Julia Glass, winner of the National Book Award. If this book were a triptych, you’d have the first section, where Paul, a Scottish widower on vacation in Greece, reminisces about his life, marriage, three sons, and the death of his wife. The middle – a larger section – would be about Paul’s oldest son, Fenno, a gay expat who runs a bookstore in Greenwich Village. He befriends Malachy, who is dying from AIDS, and has an unexpected dalliance with photographer Tony. The third section would be about Fern, an American who met Paul in Greece, and whose vacation with Tony is interrupted by Fenno and one of his brothers. Taking place in June of 1989, 1991, and 1999, this book is about life, death, and the importance of family. We will be discussing “The Three Junes” on Thursday, June 28 at 6:30 pm. Books are available at the desk, or bring your own copy.  Café Parlez is sponsored by the Friends of Plumb Library.  Continue the discussion on Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com

•Join fellow knitters and crocheters around the world for the annual World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKIP Day).  Started in 2005, WWKIP has grown from 25 events in 2005 to over 700 in recent years. There are events scheduled in Australia, China, Ireland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States.  Our event will take place at 10:30 am on Tuesday, June 12, and will last throughout the day, ending at 4:00 pm. We will meet in the gazebo. Participants are asked to bring lawn chairs, a bag lunch, and their latest knitting or crocheting project. Come and go as you please. The Friends of Plumb Library will provide beverages and dessert.

For more information, call the library at 508-763-8600.

“Dream Big—Read!”  This is the theme for the 2012 Summer Reading Program, for ages 3-9.  Registration starts on June 16 and will end on June 30. Children can register at the library, and online at www.readsinma.org/rochester. After registering for the program, children can read books or magazines, read aloud to others, listen to books being read aloud by parents or older siblings, listen to audio books, or participate in the online book service Tumblebooks; keep track of the hours spent reading or listening; and report online or in person at the library. Events this summer will include magic, comedy, puppets, cartooning, inventions, scavenger hunts, and a stuffed animal sleepover.

Important dates in June are:

•June 16: registration and logging starts

•June 18-Aug 25: Weekly drop-in activities

•June 23, 11:00 am: Greg McAdams presents “Team Magic”, at the Congregational Church

•June 30, 11:00 am: Pumpernickel Puppets presents “Sir George the Dragon”, at the library.  Sponsored by the Rochester Cultural Council

•Tweens/Teens ages 10-16 can register for “Own the Night”. Adults ages 17 and up can register for “Between the Covers”. In both programs, logging reading hours can earn raffle tickets.  Weekly drawings will take place starting June 18.

Elizabeth Taber Library Summer Programs

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Children ages 2-12 and their families can discover the joy of reading at the Elizabeth Taber Library this summer. The fun begins continues through Thursday, August 2. Play the “Camp Out at the Library Reading Game” for fun, prizes and a good cause. We are using the time spent reading to support the work of Heifer International.

Join us for our “Kick-off” event: Alex-the-Jester on Monday, June 25 at 2:00 pm. Young audiences will enjoy mystifying magic, juggling, colorful costumes and comedy. Performance will be held at the Music Hall (corner of Front and Cottage Streets). This performance is made possible in part by the Marion Cultural Council.

•Lunch Bunch I begins Tuesday, June 26 at 12:30 pm at the Elizabeth Taber Library.  Children ages 7-10 can bring lunch and a drink (we supply dessert) and listen as we begin reading aloud. Contact the library to join this group.

•Summer Story Time begins Wednesday, June 27 at 10:30 am for 2-4 year olds (accompanied by enthusiastic adult companions). Sign up today and enjoy the fun!

•Lunch Bunch II begins Thursday, June 28 at 12:30 pm. Children ages 5-7 can bring lunch and a drink (we supply dessert), and listen to a book being read aloud. Contact the library to join this group.

•Drop-in Activity Days are every Friday and Saturday during the summer program at the Elizabeth Taber Library. Instructions and materials are available in the Children’s Room during regular library hours.

•Reading Activities: Play the “Camp Out at the Library” Reading Game! Independent readers going into grades 2-7 and/or family groups of all ages can read together for fun, prizes and a good cause.

•Pre-Readers: Help decorate our “Campsite” by putting up a Camping sticker each visit to the library.

•Junior Volunteers:  Students going into grades 5-9 can become junior library aides for the summer. Contact Mrs. Grey at the library or by email at rgrey@sailsinc.org before June 18 for more information and to fill out an application.

•Make a Teddy Bear Sleeping Bag! Wednesday, June 27 at 2:00 pm Get ready for a Teddy Bear Camp-out at the Library! Bring your stuffed animal and we’ll help you make their very own sleeping bag for a camp out at the library.

•Make Your Own First-Aid Kit! Wednesday, July 11 at 2:00 pm Kathy Downey, RN, MSN, our Town Nurse, will show us how! You’ll learn all about first aid while assembling your very own kit to take camping.

•Awesome Robb! Magic! Juggling! Comedy! Monday, July 16 at 2:00 pm. Performance will be held at the Music Hall

•Build a Fairy House! Wednesday, July 18 at 2:00 pm.Upstairs in the Marion Natural History Museum Create a home for fairies with materials from nature; rocks, twigs, shells, flowers, feathers and more.

•Make a ”Sit-Upon” for Campfire Fun!  Wednesday, July 25 at 2:00 pm Cozy around the campfire on these soft pillows and toast marshmallows!

•Make a Beaded Compass Lanyard! Wednesday, August 1 at 2:00 pm. Personalize your new compass with a beaded lanyard to find your way home!

•Ice Cream Sundae Social. Thursday, August 2 at 2:00 pm. For everyone that enjoyed reading and the library this summer!

All events are free of charge! For more information, call the library at 508-748-1252, check our web site at www.elizabethtaberlibrary.org or email Rosemary Grey, Children’s Librarian, at rgrey@sailsinc.org.

Sippican’s Got Talent 2012!

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Families and friends packed Sippican Elementary School’s auditorium on Tuesday night for the fourth Sippican’s Got Talent show.  The evening featured over 30 performances by about 60 students, including dancing, singing, and piano playing.

Stacey Soucy, the school’s enrichment teacher, has helped to organize the talent show since it first began four years ago. Despite the energy it takes to keep the attention of five dozen students, she loves offering the chance for parents and friends to see their talented children on stage, under the spotlights.

“I love seeing them with their costumes. You can tell how much time they have put into their routines. That’s my favorite part,” said Soucy before the show.

She put together the talent show with the assistance of the Sippican School Student Council, who opened the show with a dance in the pitch dark, each member wearing a black body suit with neon green glow sticks attached to the front, in the form of a stick figure. They danced to a medley of modern pop and rock tunes, before two members of the Student Council took over the mic to act as Emcees for the evening.

As each student dared to dance, joke, and sing in front of an audience of their eager peers and families, their smiles got bigger and the cheers got louder. It seemed that the performers knew that, no matter what happened during their acts, everything was going to be great and their friends and parents were there to support them.

Third grader Emma Williamson was in the follow-up act to the Student Council’s neon stick figure dance.  She and her friend Grace Magee danced to a song from one of their favorite websites, Moshi Monsters. It was her first talent show, and her father, Roger, and step-mother Liz were in the audience.

“I’m very nervous, but I’m very excited for her,” said Roger. “We’ve seen a little bit of the routine, but not the whole thing,” Liz said.

It seemed that the majority of the performances were designed or created by the students, with very little outside help.  Emma and Magee’s dance was choreographed by the girls themselves, who are also neighbors. “She got together with one of her friends down the street, and they came up with this together,” said Roger.

In addition to featuring student performers, the tickets and refreshments were also sold by enthusiastic Sippican School students.

By Eric Tripoli