Old Rochester’s Mask Making Tradition

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Every fall, just in time for Halloween, Old Rochester’s Ceramic I students embark on a captivating investigation of masks, as tools of transformation and cultural significance. Students researched selected masks from a diverse range of global masking traditions, studying symbolism and contextual rituals and/or celebrations before reinterpreting them through ceramic artistry.

            Each mask became an expression of the student’s imagination, infused with vibrant colors, intricate shapes, and meaningful designs, symbolic of the story, purpose, and power each student invented for their mask. From the initial crafting of maquettes to the final unveiling of final, life-size masks, students blended ancient traditions with personal narratives to produce the body of work you see before you.

            As visitors to this exhibit, we are invited to immerse ourselves in the rich tapestry of human history and creativity, exploring the stories and symbolism behind each mask. Through their artistry, Old Rochester’s Ceramic I students offer a glimpse into the enduring power of cultural traditions and the transformative potential of the mask as artistic expression.

Pencils Pose a Problem

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            In her update to the Marion Board of Health during its February 8 public meeting, Health Agent Shallyn Rodriguez reported a troubling discovery. What Rodriguez said she “found odd” was the fact that two body-art establishments in town are reusing pencils that draw the art before microblading begins. Marion does not require disinfecting pencils.

            “I called the state and say, ‘hey, this is what I found,’ and they (said), ‘we didn’t even know about it … we didn’t know that was a (practice),’” reported Rodriguez, who received feedback that the state will discuss the matter and could potentially revise its next set of regulations to reflect the requirement that pencils used on bodies in advance of microblading are sanitized in between clients.

            Board member Dr. John Howard does not think art pencils or a pencil sharpener can be effectively sanitized. Board Chairman Dr. Ed Hoffer suggested Marion recommend disposable pencils for the work. Rodriguez said, while a microblade is not as deep as a tattoo, it does scrape the skin and does draw blood.

            Howard playfully suggested the board send Hoffer in for treatment under cover. More seriously, Howard suggested the town become a leader since the state is apparently leaving such regulations in the hands of municipalities.

            Hoffer asked that a public hearing be held as promptly as possible so that the town could push through a regulation.

            A septic update on 38 Rocky Knook Lane included information on a sale of the property, which had received an extension from the Board of Health while looking for a betterment loan.

            In the interim, the existing owner could not produce Title 5 certification but said they would pump the system on February 3, but when Health Director Lori Desmarais reached out for confirmation, the company had no record of the service.

            The town, meanwhile, had no record of the last pumping. The septic installer said the property was to be sold on February 12 with money put in escrow as part of the sale to replace the system.        Desmarais said a 2022 percolation test will require repeating without test results.

            Howard recommended a follow-up on the sale and the status of the construction.

            At 51 Bay Road, the situation is murkier, as the property was transferred from the parents to immediate family, but the new owner had not yet pumped the cesspool, which had been treated approximately three years ago.

            The town has no record or knowledge of the condition of the cesspool. Hoffer suggested the town request pumping records and, if they cannot be produced, request that the system is pumped in the next 90 days.

            Marion has conducted 20 Community EMS visits in 2024.

            Last year, Marion had 51 cases of tick-borne illness. Desmarais is working with Plymouth County tick expert Blake Dinius on scheduling an event where shoe treatment can be administered.

            Board members would like the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project Report to include the number of respondents to the invitation to seek individual home treatment. Desmarais planned to attend the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Information Session.

            The members held a discussion on the opioid settlement and Narcan funding and would like to  have some influence in the process with town officials.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health was not announced upon adjournment.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

Sailor’s Valentines

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The Mattapoisett Museum at 5 Church Street and the Mattapoisett Land Trust are co-sponsoring a winter vacation activity making Sailor’s Valentines on Friday, February 23 from 10 to 11:30 am at the Museum.

            All supplies needed to make your own Sailor’s Valentine will be provided. This craft is recommended for ages eight and up. The event is free and open to the public, but donations are always appreciated. Snacks and cider will be provided.

            Although the exact origins of the Sailor’s Valentines are not clear, documentation shows that they were given as a token of affection by sailors to their loved ones. Sailor’s Valentines were most likely not made by the sailors themselves but were handcrafted by women in Barbados, a popular destination amongst whaling ships between 1830-1890. Sailors would then purchase these trinkets at souvenir shops while in port.

            Join everyone at the Museum to experience this long lost art for yourself and walk away with an heirloom to be cherished for years to come.

Mattapoisett Cultural Council

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Mattapoisett Cultural Council has announced the award of 28 grants totaling $20,800 for arts, humanities and science programs in and around Mattapoisett in 2024.

            Grant recipients include Friends of Old Rochester Drama, Mattapoisett Free Public Library, Mattapoisett Historical Society, Mattapoisett Land Trust, Mattapoisett Lions Club and Mattapoisett Recreation. A complete list of recipients can be found below.

            Mattapoisett Cultural Council is part of a network of Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth, the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year.

            In 2024, Mattapoisett Cultural Council’s town financial support has increased to $15,000, a very generous supplement to the state allocation of $5,500. The town’s backing at this uncommon level makes a huge difference in the Council’s resources available to satisfy grant applicants. Creative arts, humanities and science program offerings in our local region are thriving. Funding needs and requests typically increase every year – the council considered 34 grant applications totaling over $26,000 this year and was disappointed to have to decline or reduce support for several worthwhile projects. Mattapoisett residents are deserving of the rich cultural experiences that the applicants provide.

            Decisions about which cultural projects and activities to support are made at the community level by council members Patricia Apperson, Christopher Brennan, Janet Coquillette, Kathleen Damaskos, Michael Eaton, Joanna MacDonald Ingham, Barbara Poznysz, Kimberly Ray, James Rottler, Gale Schultz, Sarah Thomas and Donna Wingate.

            This year’s Mattapoisett Cultural Council grantees include: Seth Asser , Education Committee of the Mattapoisett Land Trust , Colin Everett, Friends of ORR Drama, Friends of ORR Music, Steven Hurlburt, Marion Art Center, Mattapoisett Free Public Library, Mattapoisett Historical Society, Mattapoisett Lions Club, New Bedford Festival Theatre, New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, New Bedford Roots & Branches Festival, ORRHS , Practice Best Practice, Rotch-Jones-Duff House, Sippican Choral Society, SouthCoast Almanac, SouthCoast Children’s Chorus, Greater New Bedford Choral Society, New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, Mattapoisett Recreation, Tri-County Symphonic Band, Tri-Town Against Racism, Matt York, Your Theatre Inc.

            The Mattapoisett Cultural Council will seek applications again in the fall for 2025 grants. Information will be available online at massculturalcouncil.org/communities/local-cultural-council-program/application-process/.

Mattapoisett Democrats to Hold Caucus

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On Tuesday March 12 at 6:30 pm, the Mattapoisett Democratic Town Committee will convene in the downstairs public meeting room of the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to hold its local caucus to elect four (4) Delegates and four (4) Alternates to represent Mattapoisett at the Massachusetts State Democratic Convention to be held Saturday, June 1 in Worcester at the DCU Center. This year is a nominating convention for the Senate seat Elizabeth Warren currently holds.

            Registered and preregistered Democrats in the Town of Mattapoisett may be elected as delegates or alternates during the caucus. Preregistered Democrats must be 16 years old by the start of the caucus window (February 15, 2024) and must be preregistered by the time of the caucus.

            Those interested in getting involved with the Mattapoisett Democratic Town Committee or for more information pertaining to the caucuses, please email Chairperson Nicki Demakis at ndemakis@tidlaw.com.

Thomas H. Lynch: Fine Art and Corporate Design

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Come to the Mattapoisett Free Public Library between March 1 and 31 to view the Artist Series Exhibit called Fine Art and Corporate Design by Thomas H. Lynch, National Artist and Designer. Lynch has been working professionally for some 40 years. His BFA in design is complemented by a lifetime pursuit of artistic development and excellence, which has enabled him to create award winning works of art and design for a large number of distinguished clients nationwide. Additionally, his experience as an Art Director, Senior Designer and Creative Project Director in the corporate design world has made him a world class visual arts communicator. Lynch has a Gallery in the Ropewalk Mall in Mattapoisett. Lynch will also be available for a Meet & Greet at the Mattapoisett Library on Sunday, March 10 from 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm to speak about his work.

Rochester Homeschool Cooperative

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A Homeschool Christian Cooperative will open its doors in Rochester in September, for Grades K-8.

            Rochester Christian Learning Center is a ministry of the First Congregational Church of Rochester and will open three days per week on the property of the church, located in the center of Rochester.

            To inquire, please email RochesterChristianLC@gmail.com

Walega to Retire in June

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            After a 40-year career, Town of Rochester Health Director Karen Walega is retiring in June.

            That was the big revelation to come out of Rochester’s February 7 Board of Health meeting, in which Walega advised that it was time to start the search for her replacement now. She said the panel should not wait to decide where the job should be posted, and the board agreed to start the process.

            After the announcement, Walega reflected on her retirement after a four-decade career as a municipal health director and inspector.

            “I was very lucky,” she said. “I loved my job. But times are changing. I’m retirement age, and after COVID the state wanted all health directors recertified. I didn’t want to go through all of that again. It is time to move on.”

            Walega was the Marion-Rochester Health District director from 1989 until retiring from that position in 2020, and she has served as Rochester’s health director since then. She was previously the health inspector for the Town of Bourne from 1986 to 1989 and the health inspector for the Town of Norwood from 1983 to 1986.

            In other action, Walega announced that complaints against 515 Rounseville Road are being forwarded to state Assistant Attorney General Lizabeth Marshall, who will file a receivership to speed up cleaning the property. Walega said she recently inspected the property, which consists of an abandoned house and trailer, after complaints of odor and rodents from a next-door neighbor.

            “The trailer inside is still a mess,” Walega said. “The main house is in better shape, but we’re turned it over to the AG’s office. I think rodents are coming from the property. And flies. We found a fly-trap strip in the bathroom and the electricity still on in the trailer, which is a fire hazard.”

            Following the meeting, Walega said the two dwellings on the property were abandoned about a year ago when the mother, who lived in the trailer, passed away, and the daughter, who lived in the main house, relocated. The brother, who now owns the property though it is also under a reverse mortgage, also now lives outside of the area.

            “We’ve been after them for a while to clean it up,” Walega said. “There’s an abandoned car and there was a large boat. They did remove the boat. But an AG receivership will look at what to do with the property.”

            In other business, Matt Armendo, director of Public Health for the South Coast Health Collaborative that includes Westport, Marion, Freetown, Lakeville, Mattapoisett and Rochester, reported its newest health inspector, Gabriella Almeida, is making progress with her training and her first few months on the job; she began in the position in August.

            Walega reported she will soon go before the Rochester Finance Committee with requests to boost the board clerk’s hours to 18. “She needs more hours,” Walega said.

            The Board of Health did not schedule a future meeting date upon adjournment.

Rochester Board of Health

By Michael J. DeCicco

Private Equity in Health Care

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Those of you in the metro Boston news market have been regaled with the saga of the failing Steward Health Care System, owner of nine hospitals in eastern Massachusetts. One eye-catching story described the $40,000,000 yacht purchased by Steward’s CEO, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, while Steward hospitals were having equipment repossessed because of failure to pay their bills.

            While a 190-foot yacht catches attention, it is only a symptom of a deeper problem.

            Private equity (PE) firms’ business model is to buy companies as cheaply as possible, pull as much cash as they can from the company and then either resell it or declare bankruptcy. To be able to sell the business, they have to jack up profits by cutting costs and/or raising prices.

            Private equity investment in healthcare is a recent phenomenon but one which is rapidly growing. These firms focus on specialties where lucrative procedures can be done and/or where patients have little choice.

            Many emergency medicine groups, pathologists and anesthesiologists now work for entities controlled by private equity. These groups were responsible for most of the “surprise” out-of-network bills that made headlines in the last few years. Knowing that patients rarely if ever have the option to select a physician in these fields, they would pull out of insurance contracts and then bill whatever they wanted.

            Quality is secondary to the acquiring PE firm; profits come first. They can increase revenue by raising fees and/or encouraging their employed physicians to do as many well-paid procedures (such as catheterizations and endoscopies) as can be justified, even if not all are truly needed.

            They can cut costs by skimping on equipment and supplies that are not “revenue-producing,” even if they improve quality care. They can also substitute less-qualified, lower-paid personnel, such as aides in place of nurses.

            Steward offers a textbook example. Cerberus Capital bought the troubled Massachusetts-based Caritas Christi hospital system, promising to turn it around. Soon after, they sold the land and buildings of its own hospitals to a real estate trust, pulling out $1,200,000,000 and saddling the hospitals with hundreds of millions in annual rent.

            That transaction allowed Cerberus to quadruple its investment and to pay its investors a $100,000,000 dividend. They bought hospitals around the country, including Texas, Florida and Ohio. Many of these have since been closed, doubtless after the PE investors had pulled as much money out as possible.

            So, Steward’s CEO has a very expensive yacht, and communities around the country are dreading the closure of what is often their only nearby hospital.

            Tell your state legislators that private equity has no place in health care, certainly not without very strict guidelines and oversight.

            Dr. Ed Hoffer is the chairman of the Marion Board of Health, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Medical School. He is Associate Professor of Medicine, part-time, at Harvard and a Senior Scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

By Dr. Ed Hoffer

Charlotte “Sharlie” (Pratt) Sudduth

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Charlotte “Sharlie” (Pratt) Sudduth, 84, died peacefully at her home in Marion, MA on February 10, 2024.

Born November 1, 1939, Sharlie was the eldest daughter of Aileen and Edwin Pratt. She was born in New York. In her early years she lived on the campus of Westminster School where her father taught, then moved to Cambridge, MA where he was the Headmaster at what is now Buckingham Brown and Nichols School. She graduated from St. Timothy’s School and majored in history at Smith College.  She transferred to Goucher College for her senior year after marrying Scott Sudduth (her former husband), who was attending medical school at Johns Hopkins.  She remained close to the Smith Class of 1961. Later she received a Master’s of Counseling Psychology from Lesley College and worked with Habitat for Humanity and Hospice.

Sharlie spent her summers in Marion as a child and later moved there full time.  She raised her children in Exeter, NH, where she owned the knitting store, “Charlotte’s Web”. An accomplished knitter, Sharlie was known for her ability to knit complicated patterns while engaging in the many community meetings she attended. She taught many the joy of knitting in her living room.

Sharlie’s lifetime of creativity took a turn at age 60 with a painting workshop on Monhegan Island in Maine. Sharlie went on to produce thousands of watercolor and oil paintings. She painted with the Westport Art Group, Providence Art Club, and the Marion Art Center. Sharlie loved to travel around the world to paint with Monhegan Island, Block Island, England, Portugal and Italy being some of her favorite locations. Many homes display her beautiful paintings, a box of her note cards, or a copy of her book of watercolors, “My Marion ”.

Sailing was a lifelong passion of Sharlie’s.  A past member of Beverly Yacht Club, she was a skilled H12 racer and also appreciated an afternoon sail on Sippican Harbor in her boat the Weecapa. On Weecapa she shared her love of sailing with friends, four children and nine grandchildren.

Sharlie is survived by her son Robert and his wife Jean of Marion and their children Katie and Ben; her daughter Jennifer Walsh and her husband Paul of Newton, MA and their children Charlotte, Brin and Liam; her son Matthew and his wife Anne of Brookline, MA and their children Ella and Claire; and by her late son Andrew’s children Zoë and Sophie Sudduth and their mother, Saiya Remmler, and his wife Ruth Kennedy Sudduth. Sharlie is also survived by her brother Andrew Pratt, niece and nephews Lisa Humpreys and Ben and Boh Hinds.  She was predeceased by her brother Edwin Pratt and her sister Wendy Hinds. The family would like to thank Fran Emery who manages her home and her care companion, Pat Debarros.

A Celebration of Life is planned for Sunday, April 28th, at 1:00 pm at St. Gabriel’s Church in Marion, MA where she was a devoted member.  In her honor, the family asks that those who attend wear happy colors as she reveled in the beauty of life’s color. In lieu of flowers, donations in Sharlie’s memory may be made to the Marion Art Center, Box 602, Marion, MA 02738. For online guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.