Upcoming Weekend Concerts in the Tri-Town

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There’s plenty of opportunity to get out this weekend and check out one of three different concerts happening in the Tri-Town.  Check them out below!

Sippican Choral Society Spring Concert

The Sippican Choral Society will present its annual Spring Concert on Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28. Both concerts will begin at 8:00 pm.

Under the direction of Brian Roderick and accompanied by pianist Michelle Gordon, organist Dwight Thomas and a nine piece string orchestra, sixty plus voices will perform the Fauré Requiem in memory of long-time chorus member Marc Olson.

The 2012 Spring Concert will also include several uplifting and inspirational selections to honor deceased members of the Choral Society as well as the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Dixie Diehards

On Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 pm the Marion Art Center will present a Spring Cabaret night entitled ” An Evening at Preservation Hall in New Orleans” featuring the Dixie Diehards Dixieland Jazz Band.

The Dixie Diehards exemplify an on-going commitment to keep this vibrant and unique style of American music alive. The concert will feature a sampling of musical styles that influenced what has evolved into the popular Dixieland style of the turn of the century through the 1950’s.

Some of the dominant influences covered will be street marches, ragtime, gospel and early blues tunes among others. Hit tunes from popular composers of the day will include Jelly Roll Morton, W.C. Handy, and Louis Armstrong among others.

New Bedford Sea Chantey Chorus

The New Bedford Sea Chantey Chorus will visit the Mattapoisett Museum and Carriage House, located at 5 Church St., on  Sunday, April 29 at 2:00 pm to regale their audience with a variety of chanteys and songs that reflect the right maritime heritage of New Bedford and Mattapoisett.

Hosted and organized by Schooner Ernestina, this 40+ member chorus’ repertoire includes the chanteys (work songs) of the Yankee sailor and whaler, along with the ballads and ditties of global mariners and coastwise fisher folk in North America, the Cape Verde Islands and the British Isles. The group also sings rich choral music.

 

Olga H. Sroczynski

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Olga H. Sroczynski, 90, of Taunton and Mattapoisett, passed away Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston after a brief illness. Born in Taunton, she was the wife of the late Matt Sroczynski. She summered in Mattapoisett, residing at Crescent Beach during the 50’s and 60’s, and lived through Hurricane Carol in 1954.

She spent much of her time in Mattapoisett with her son Ron Sroczynski and his wife Deb of Point Connett. She was an avid reader, loved nature, the ocean, and the little things in life. She particularly found pleasure in spending time with her great grand daughters, Ellis and Casey of New Hampshire.

Olga is also survived by her grandson Michael Sroczynski and his wife Jamie of Boston, and her two special great granddaughters.

Funeral was on Saturday, April 21 from Sowiecki Funeral Home in Taunton, followed by a Funeral mass from Holy Rosary Church, and burial at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Taunton. In lieu of flowers, rememberances can be made to Shriners Burn Center in Boston.

Inn at Shipyard Park Granted Licenses

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After months of applications, hearings, and quite a bit of contention from local residents, Nils Johnson and Andrea Perry were granted entertainment and victualler licenses for the Inn At Shipyard Park, formerly the Kinsale Inn.

The original public hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, but due to the crowd of concerned residents, which approached 100 people, it was rescheduled and relocated for Thursday night at the Old Hammondtown School.

This has been a hot-button issue for a few months, as speculation feverishly grew over the vision Johnson and Perry had for the Inn, much of which was based upon rumor, conjecture, or misinterpretation of the details of the licenses in the public record.  The fear of many in town was that the Inn would be turned into a nightclub and were concerned that issues of noise and disorderly conduct on the part of late-night patrons would negatively impact the quality of life downtown.

Rumor that the Inn would be transformed into a nightclub were baseless.  “The word ‘nightclub’ was never used in discussions among the Board,” said member Tyler McAllister.

“I want to make it clear to everyone that we will not treat this as a nightclub or dance hall license,” said Board of Selectmen member Jordon Collyer.

Chairman Paul Silva began his remarks by speaking to the specifics of the license so as to dispel any doubt.

“This license is to provide music, dancing, and entertainment between the hours of 8:00 am and 1:00 am.  Ying Dynasty has the same license, so does Turk’s Seafood,” Silva said.

Johnson, who is a Mattapoisett native and resident, and Perry sat in front of the crowd of over 100 people in the Old Hammondtown  cafeteria and began by giving a little perspective on their plans.  They intend on eliminating the Irish-themed fare in exchange for a more fine dining menu, including regional favorites such as little necks with chourizo.

“My grandfather ate at the inn, my parents ate there.  I care about what goes on in this town,” Johnson said.  “We want this to be the reason people visit Mattapoisett.”

Despite the large size of the crowd, only a few people went up to the podium to lend their opinions, much of which was supportive of Johnson and Perry.

“When a young, ambitious person said they wanted to take over the Inn, I was thrilled,” said Pat Donahue of Mechanic Street.  “It’s a very important, vital part of our community. I, as well as many of my neighbors, are delighted that you’re taking enough of an interest and a chance to improve the heart of our village,” she said.

After an hour of discussion, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to grant the entertainment and victualler licenses.  Afterward, Johnson and Perry were greeted by dozens of well-wishers, a happy ending to a frustrating situation.

“There was some embellishment and stories made up over what they thought we would do.  I understand people have concerns because they don’t know me or my business plan. I just wanted them to give me a shot,” Johnson said.

 By Eric Tripoli

Students Take Their Education Global

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Thanks to technology, information is now ubiquitous. This presents a welcome challenge to educators who are looking to incorporate the use of technology more directly in the classroom.

A few months ago, Kevin Tavares and his fourth graders at Old Hammondtown School in Mattapoisett built a website to share what they were learning with the rest of the world. Mr. T, as the kids call him, installed a location tracking widget on the page that assigns a red dot to the country of each visitor.

“They’ve been studying primarily North America, but the kids wanted to get dots from all over the world,” he said.

In the first 24 hours, their site received 124 visits from 16 different countries. As well as being marked on a map online, Tavares has pinned each location on a large global map at the front of his classroom, complete with a line of clocks hanging above, each marking time in different places around the world.

The quest now became to get website hits from all seven continents. That’s right, all seven.

“One night I came upon a website of U.S. scientists who are working in Antarctica, so I sent an email out,” Tavares said.

He did get an email back, but as for getting the dot on the map, he was out of luck. The scientists in Antarctica use satellite Internet, and the signal first makes landfall in Florida.

He eventually got in contact with Amber Lancaster, who is a scientist working with PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating), which offers teachers and students opportunities to participate in hands-on field researching projects in the polar regions of the world.

The result was the opportunity for his fourth graders to take part in a live webinar, where two scientists in Greenland would teach them about their work and equipment.  People from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Canada joined the students at Old Hammondtown, virtually, as scientists Tim Spuck and Kyle Krabill webcasted from Kangerlussauq, Greenland, near the Russell Glacier.

“We work six days a week. We don’t always know what day it is,” Krabill joked.

He and Spuck detailed their daily lives on the world’s largest island, from the bigger, slower mosquitoes that fly around in warmer weather to the unexpectedly generous amount of Thai food that is available to them.

They then explained the work they did, which focuses on studying the current changes in the Earth’s cryosphere, which includes snow, glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice due to rising average temperatures around the world.

“What’s the first thing that happens when your refrigerator breaks? Your ice cream melts,” said Spuck, when telling the students why it’s important to study Earth’s polar regions.  They used a slide show to provide the students a glimpse of the equipment they use and the landscapes they travel.

At the end of the day, Tavares was very pleased.

“I think it went great.  It exposes the students to different elements of science. It’s really about opening their eyes to it,” he said.

Judging by the reactions of his students, he succeeded.

“I like that you got to see them and didn’t just listen to their voices.  It was interesting,” said Ali Moniz.

“My favorite part was when they talked about the different things they used to take samples,” said Zoe Davis. “But watching this, it got me more interested in science.”

This webinar was only part of Tavares’ effort to incorporate the responsible use of technology and the Internet to help educate his students. In the next few weeks, his class will Skype with a scientist in Chile who was working in Antarctica when Tavares first made contact with the team down there.

Mr. T also signed his class up for the QuadBlogging program, where over the next 10 weeks, his students will have the opportunity to teach peers in England and New Zealand about school and life in Mattapoisett, and learn from those international peers about their home countries.

For more information about what Mr. Tavares’ fourth graders are up to at Old Hammondtown School, check out their class website:  http://mrtohs.weebly.com

By Eric Tripoli

Scotlyn Adler Named Elks Student of the Year

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Each month, the Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 recognizes one student at Old Rochester Regional High School for exhibiting qualities in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school, club and community service, industry and farming.

By recommendation of ORR faculty and staff, October Elks student Scotlyn Adler received top recognition and was recently awarded Student of the Year.

“The letter just came today. I was very excited and very proud of her,” said her mom, Carol Adler.

In its notice, the Elks group cited her role as Senior Class President and her star role in the production of Triangle last fall. But her attitude is what sealed the deal.

“She is … a most positive force in the classroom,” the announcement stated.

“[She is] always cheerful and eager to help whether she is planning the Ned’s Point trip or the senior activities for Homecoming.  Scotlyn treats teachers and fellow students with respect and kindness,” stated the Elks Lodge announcement.

Scotlyn herself learned about the honor when sitting in class through morning announcements.

“It was exciting,” she said.

In addition to her theater and school government work, Scotlyn said she is also involved with eighth grade tours, fresh orientation, and volunteer work through her church and youth group. She said she recently was involved in a service program to fundraise for Habitat for Humanity.

Her English teacher, Terry Dall, who nominated her, specifically noticed Scotlyn’s dedication.

“She’d see me doing paperwork for student government, and she’d see me running from this teacher to that teacher,” Scotlyn said.

Juggling all of her commitments is not easy, but she makes it happen.

“I stay up late. It’s all the stuff I really like to do so it is worth it to be busy,” Scotlyn said.

Now, Scotlyn is preparing for her next step: college. Right now she is deciding between University of Massachusetts at Boston or Wheelock College, also in the Boston area.

In the meantime, she said she is looking forward to the Elks Lodge Student Awards ceremony, which will honor all 12 ORR students recognized through the organization this past year.

By Laura Fedak Pedulli

Lucille M. Renauld

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Lucille M. Renauld, 75, of Rochester, died Monday, April 23, 2012, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston after a brief illness. She was the wife of the late Henri H. Renauld.

Born in Acushnet, a daughter of the late Antonio and Edna (Therien) Benoit, she had been an Acushnet resident until moving to Rochester 2 years ago.

Mrs. Renauld was a salesperson for Amway for over 15 years working from her home as she enjoyed being a homemaker. She was a communicant of St. Francis Xavier Church, Acushnet.

She is survived by her fiancé, Peter Bousquet of Dartmouth; 2 daughters, Beatrice G. Renauld of Rochester and Lucille M. Cabral and her husband, Raymond of Fayetteville, NC; 2 sons, Henri Renauld and his wife, Rebecca of Fairhaven and Steven J. Renauld and his fiancée, Jennifer of Fall River; a sister, Claire Benoit of Acushnet; 8 grandchildren; and 4 great-grandchildren; and a daughter-in-law, Whitney Renauld. She was also the mother of the late Leo H. Renauld.

A Memorial Mass will be held at a future date.

Arrangements are in the care of the Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute at Fairlawn, 180 Washington St., Fairhaven. www.waring-sullivan.com.

Con Com Green Lights Driveway Paving

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The Marion Conservation Commission met on the evening of Wednesday, April 25 for their regular meeting.  During the session, they voted in favor of an RFD to pave the driveway at 114 Allens Point Road, with the condition that the homeowners do not use salt during the winter so as to minimize negative ecological impact on the nearby wetlands.

They also voted in favor for another RFD to construct a driveway and underground utilities on property on Olde Sheepfield Road, to serve a proposed dwelling.  They approved a Notice of Intent to raze and reconstruct the house at 12 Hartley Lane and approved another NOI to construct a garage, two small additions, a deck, and to extend the existing driveway to the garage on property at 13 East Avenue.

The Conservation Commission continued a hearing for PNH Realty Trust to May 9, 2012, per the request of the company.

The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission will be held on May 9, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Eric Tripoli

Sea Chantey Chorus To Visit Mattapoisett

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“We be three poor mariners

Newly come from the seas

We spend our lives in jeopardy

While others live at ease

Shall we go dance the round around around

Shall we go dance the round around around”

– English Mariner Song

Harkening back to older times, the New Bedford Sea Chantey Chorus serenades audiences with songs about the work life of merchant sailors and whalers on the high seas.

On April 29 at 2:00 pm, the chorus will perform at the Mattapoisett Museum and Carriage House – treating audiences to traditional chantey music (like “We be three poor mariners” above), including songs representative of the maritime heritage of New Bedford and Mattapoisett. In addition to chanteys, the singing group will perform ballads, choral music and folk songs like “Shenandoah.”

“They book up fast, so we are glad to have them,” said Seth Mendell of the Mattapoisett Historical Society. “They are in great demand.”

Maureen McCarthy, a long-time singer of the 12-year old group, said in addition to bringing a little history to audiences, the chantey chorus wants to deliver a good time.

“It’s a motley group of anyone from 20 to 30 people, a lot of good voices… Instead of it being formal, it’s very much informal. It gets the audience involved, and they sing and they move,” said McCarthy.

Various instruments, including guitars and even an old Washtub Bass, often accompany the singing.

The New Bedford Chaney Group is considered “the voice” of the Schooner Ernestina, McCarthy said, which is retired at the New Bedford harbor. The schooner was built in 1984 in Gloucester, traveled 600 miles of the North Pole, and later brought immigrants to the United States. The Ernestina was returned to the United States in 1982 as a gift from the Cape Verdean people.

Interestingly, the chantey group’s connection to the Ernestina was recognized when a captain in Brigus, Newfoundland invited to group to perform at a festival in 2008. Before it was called the Ernestina, it was called Effie M. Morrissey – the schooner of Newfoundland’s famous native son and mariner Robert Bartlett.

“Since the Ernestina could not make its way up, it invited the group up,” McCarthy said. “We went for a couple of days, and had a wonderful time. Even the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland was there ”

Now the group is gearing up for a performance in Mattapoisett, which McCarthy described as “family friendly” with some songs to appeal to children.

“It’s foot-stomping stuff. It’s a lot of fun. You can join in and have a good time with it.”

By Laura Fedak Pedulli

Mattapoisett Native to Compete in National Pageant

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You’ve seen them on TV looking glamorous and fabulous. Pageant queens come few and far between as it takes a rare type of woman to be able to master beauty, brains and talent. 23-year-old Kaelyn Serra of Mattapoisett has proven she has what it takes to master all three. Just three weeks ago, she was named Miss Massachusetts United States defeating 14 other ladies for the title.

“Winning this title means I will get to be a role model to many young girls,” said Serra.  “I will be attending charity events, meeting new people, traveling and experiencing great opportunities. I’m happy to have won the title and wish to make the best of my year of reign.”

Serra, a 2007 graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School, is no stranger to being in the spotlight. She heard about pageants through her fellow models – a career she has been pursuing for a few years.

“They would always tell me about upcoming pageants that they were going to be taking part in or that they have done in the past and I would sign up,” said Serra. “I have always had fun competing and meeting new girls from all around the world.”

Kaelyn won her most recent title on April 1 in Portland, Maine at the Miss Massachusetts United States state pageant. The crowning moment was well deserved because it takes months of preparation before setting foot on stage.

Serra says having the right makeup, nails, hair, interview outfit, evening gown, bathing suit, body, shoes and attitude are just some of the elements that make a good pageant queen.

“It has to be something you enjoy because it can get stressful,” said Serra. “It takes preparation, like anything in life, but if you enjoy it, it makes it all worth while. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”

Serra cites her favorite reasons for competing in pageants as meeting new people and having a great time. Even the daunting task of waiting for results on stage is something she enjoys.

“It’s exciting and scary all at once, kind of like an adrenaline rush!” she said.

She will have a chance to relive that adrenaline rush on a national stage when she travel to Washington D.C. to compete in the Miss United States national pageant in July. While the stage will be larger, Serra isn’t worried because she’s got a wonderful support system – her family.

“They are a huge part of my life and success,” she said. “I don’t know where I would be without them.”

And although she’s taking her talents to the next level on a national stage, she never forgets where she comes from.

“Mattapoisett is where I grew up and my family is here,” she said. “I think it’s a beautiful town where I have made a lot of great memories.”

Whatever the future holds for Serra, she has an open mind for anything that comes her way.

“My goals for competing in pageants and for life after pageants is to follow my heart,” she said. “Do things for the right reason and you will get the right outcome.”

By Katy Fitzpatrick

Updated: Fuel Spill Causes Shellfish Closing

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Shellfishing has been closed in Nasketucket Bay due to a fuel spill. The area affected is all of Nasketucket Bay from Brandt Beach Avenue Westward. The cause of the spill is from a boat, which sank on Sunday night. The two people on board the vessel were rescued by the Coast Guard and air lifted to the Cape Air Station, both were uninjured and refused medical treatment.

The shellfish ban was lifted on Thursday morning (April 26).