The Rochester Planning Board will hold a public workshop to discuss and solicit public feedback on the potential establishment of a Village Center Overlay District to allow for mixed-use development in and around Rochester Town Center. The workshop will be held on Saturday, May 5 at 9:00 am in the Town Hall Meeting Room.
With a wide range of vegetation and landscape, Gooseberry offers a great opportunity to view a variety of birds including shorebirds, hawks, and hopefully migrating songbirds. Join the Bird Club on Sunday, April 22, at 7:00 am. Meeting place: Park & Ride, North Street, Mattapoisett. All welcome. Info: Justin Barrett, 774-207-8515 or jmbarrett426@gmail.com.
The club’s monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, April 26 at 7:00 pm in the Mattapoisett Public Library. This monthly meeting of the NBC features Ellen Jedrey, Assistant Director of Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird program and Shiloh Schulte, American Oystercatcher Recovery Campaign Coordinator at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.
Sippican Lands Trust seeks applicants for its $1,000 “Helen A. Arthur Scholarship Award”, which will be awarded to a local high school senior and Marion resident graduating by June 30 from Bishop Stang High School, Old Rochester Regional High School and Tabor Academy pursuing an education in environmental studies or a related field.
Helen Adams Arthur (1940-2008) was a beloved resident of Marion, MA for 43 years and a long-time steward for Sippican Lands Trust alongside her husband, Richard I. “Dick” Arthur. Helen and her entire family have always been deeply interested in the preservation of beautiful open spaces in Marion.
The scholarship is made available through the Sippican Lands Trust stewardship fund. The scholarship is consistent with the SLT mission of preserving land in order to enrich the quality of life for present and future generations of Marion and visitors and of furthering environmental education in the community. For further information and the application please go to www.sippicanlandstrust.org/education. The deadline for application is May 15.
“Puppy Patron” cards are ready at the Elizabeth Taber Library. Have you been out walking with your pet and have wanted to stop in at the library? You both can. Or, do those of you who have brought your pets, ever pass by the library without your furry friend straining on the leash, wanting to go in, because they know the library has treats? Pets, especially dogs and cats, have been welcome at the Elizabeth Taber Library in Marion for years. All pet owners are welcome to keep on contributing to our picture gallery, “Patrons and Pets”, proudly displaying photos for everyone to admire.
A panel of K-12 teachers from the Old Rochester School District will share classroom practices and lessons that promote social studies and civic learning. The teachers will show how they use technology, make connections with young people from other countries and cultures, engage students with debate and counterargument as well as teach the history of Massachusetts and the democratic process. A question and answer period will follow the panel’s presentation. Refreshments will be served and childcare provided. Wednesday, April 25, from 6:00-7:15 pm at the Center School, 17 Barstow Street Mattapoisett.
The Sippican Woman’s Club will host the Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Friday, April 27 at the Kinsale Inn in Mattapoisett, at 11:30 am. It has been an eventful year, most notably, with the replacement of Handy’s Tavern’s windows. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Handy’s Tavern. The club will be celebrating this benchmark by recreating the clubhouse as a “Tavern” for the Christmas House tour. Also, this summer the club members will hold a tea and garden party in commemoration of the anniversary. At the Annual Luncheon, the new “Bicentennial Marion Plate” will be available to club members, and soon to the public.
One nickel is worth five cents. Lots of soda or beer cans and bottles together can save lives. Join Team F.A.C.T. (Friends Against Cancer Together) in the fight against cancer. Donate your bottles and cans on Saturday, April 28 from 9:00-11:00 am at Tastebuds Bistro and Catering, 42 Main Street, Mattapoisett. All donations will benefit Relay For Life of Tri-Town. For more information please, contact Caryn Hodges Coulombe at 508-989-7805, Carol Lareau at 508-758-9229 or Marybeth Tripp at 508-991-9870.
• Old Rochester Boys and Girls Track – The boys and girls teams faced Wareham High School and both teams came away with a win. Ally Saccone and Paige Santos took first and second in hurdles, respectively. Janice Weldon scored well in the 800, and Gabby Kondracki and Meagan Bell took first and second in triple jump as well.
For the boys, they swept the two-mile, and Eric Geldmacher and Alex Milde scored first and second in the 400 hurdles. Next up, the boys and girls face Fairhaven High School
• Old Rochester Boys Tennis – Unfortunately, the ORR boys lost to Dartmouth 3-2. Matt Teefy won his matches 6-2 and 6-0, but it was not enough to overtake the other team.
Things improved for ORR tennis with a win against Apponequet 4-1 later in the week. Matt Teefy again won his matches, both 6-0, and in doubles Noah Filloramo and Ollie Sughrue won theirs as well 6-1 and 6-0.
• Old Rochester Softball – The ORR girls lost to Apponequet High School 8-3, but despite this, the players put forth an excellent effort. Sarah Marchisio and Molly Magee both went 2-3 in their hitting records, and Jen Galavotti pitched well even in defeat. They will take on Seekonk in their next game.
By India Krawczyk
Cucumbers, radishes and sugar snap peas, oh my! The onset of spring brings the promise of homegrown goodness – as green thumbs begin to prepare their gardens for the warmer months ahead.
The Mattapoisett Community Garden is entering its third season, with some of its gardeners already readying their plots. The garden is a three-fourths of an acre lot – located at Pine Island Rd. and Prospect Rd. – which contains 25 garden plots.
“We didn’t have a problem getting a core group together,” said organizer Jim Stowe of the garden’s beginnings in 2010. However, he said this year about five new people will join the “informal” gardening group.
When the idea was floated in 2010 to start a community garden in Mattapoisett, the first task was identifying not only land to garden but a water source as well.
Florence Martocci, owner of a local organic farming business, stepped up and offered her property at Prospect Rd.
“She was happy to let us use the land, she wanted it for the continued use of gardens,” Stowe said, explaining that the expansion of Martocci’s business prompted her to move her crops to Rochester – rendering her sunny, garden-ready Mattapoisett lot available.
Martocci allows the gardeners to use her water supply, and at the end of the season they compensate her for whatever is used.
Also, the gardeners agree to keep their crops organic and pesticide-free.
“We don’t put peoples’ gardens under a microscope, but there is an understanding you’ll keep it organic,” said Stowe.
The garden boasts an impressive number of vegetables and flowers each year.
Entering his third season, gardener Jim Bradshaw names off an extensive list of vegetables he has harvested: tomatoes, radishes, peppers, kale, summer squash, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, and lettuce. He said of the sugar snap peas: “They are so good, you can eat them right there at the garden.”
“I’m loving every minute of it,” he said of the community gardening experience. “You get to meet a lot of different people and it gets you out of the house. We have a yard that’s too shady, and it’s perfect soil over there.”
Bradshaw said that in addition to feeding himself and his family, he also gives excess fresh vegetables away – including to the Church of the Good Shepard in Acushnet and a homeless shelter in New Bedford. He said they always welcome the food with open arms.
Bradshaw also related a funny story how his garden harvested something he didn’t even plant: pumpkins.
“There were pumpkins in the yard that we threw in a compost and in the springtime we dumped the whole pile on the lots,” he recalled. Later during the season, he said, “I could not believe the pumpkins growing all over the place. There were probably 50-60 pumpkins and they took over the whole garden. But they won’t be there this year.”
An avid fisherman as well, Bradshaw said, “between the fish and the veggies, I eat pretty well.”
Stowe said there are about four unclaimed plots. Anyone interested in gardening at the site could contact him at 508-758-4982
By Laura Fedak Pedulli
It is decided: there will be no fireworks display in Marion this summer. At the Marion Selectmen’s April 17 meeting, the board voted 2-1 against fireworks this year mainly because no committee work or fundraising has yet taken place to make it happen. Selectmen Jon Henry and Stephen Cushing voted against the 2012 fireworks, and Selectman Roger Blanchette wanted to keep options open in case donors step forward.
“It’s too late. It’s just not realistic,” Henry said. Even if a fundraising campaign came together now, he said it wouldn’t be enough time for logistical planning. “I think it is too risky.”
“We’re probably $50,000 from where we need to be,” added Cushing – noting that contractors often need this money in advance.
Looking to the future, the Board of Selectmen voted to put the fireworks entirely under the Marion Recreation Department’s purview in 2013 and beyond. Blanchette made the suggestion, remarking that other towns rely on their recreation committees to organize the fireworks.
Present at the meeting, Recreation Director Jodi Dickerson accepted the Selectmen’s decision although expressed some concern about the task – especially the fundraising component.
“I kind of agree with you. I present over 32 programs year round and I average 32 hours a week. I don’t think I’ll have the time,” he said, asserting his belief that “this is year round fundraising.”
Selectman Henry acknowledged Dickerson’s hard work and commitment to his job, and the Selectmen promised to work with him to devise a fireworks strategy for 2013.
In other business, Town Administrator Paul Dawson spoke with the Selectmen about using small signs at one or two locations to “gently remind” residents to pay their tax bill. He said a town employee originally suggested a banner, but Dawson said using small signs “is a more subtle way of doing it.
The board was favorable towards Dawson’s endeavor. Blanchette suggested mailing tax bills out four times per year instead of twice per year, but Dawson said that would be significantly costly.
In other action items, the board reviewed and signed bond anticipation notices for two bonds: $50,000 to replace a failed septic system as approved in April 2000 and $260,000 for a sewer extension bond approved in April 2002.
Information on the town meeting warrant will be sent out to residents within the next two weeks, Dawson also announced at the meeting. The Town Meeting is scheduled for May 21 at 6:45 pm.
In addition:
• The board formally renewed Town Administrator Paul Dawson’s contract
• The board indicated a need to further review a bylaw prohibiting alcohol on Silvershell beach, especially as it affects an annual summer fundraiser hosted by the Sippican Lands Trust
• The board approved putting up for bid surplus property – a 15-foot fiberglass sailboat in poor condition.
The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen is scheduled for May 1 at 7:00 pm.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli