Discover Vernal Pools at MLT

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Frogs and salamanders and bugs, oh my!  While the usual indications of the birth of spring are manifested in the colors of the flowers and in the bursts of leaves, the warm weather which promotes the melting of the snow, is also responsible for the formation of vernal pools.  These small, shallow, still collections of run-off attract countless varieties of insects and amphibians seeking sanctuary to feed and reproduce.

The wetlands of Mattapoisett are no strangers to the formation of vernal pools as winter wanes and spring flourishes.  On Wednesday, April 11, at 7:00 pm, local wetland scientist Elizabeth Leidhold will hold an information session and slide show at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to educate the public on how to identify vernal pools and the creatures that call them home.

Later in the week on Saturday, she will lead an expedition to one of Mattapoisett’s vernal pools so that residents can experience first-hand the importance these small bodies of water play in the health of the ecosystems of the wetlands.  Leidhold will also have the forms on hand so that residents can apply for state certification of their local vernal pools.

Both the presentation and expedition are free. Just don’t forget your rubber boots!

By Eric Tripoli

After School at the Marion Natural History Museum

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(Top Row) The Marion Natural History Museum after-school program got a close up look at some amphibian egg masses recently.  The children were shown various egg masses and tadpoles of amphibian species found locally.  Don’t worry, all the animals made it safely back to their pools! Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Leidhold

(Bottom Row) Arianna Bessey and the rest of the Marion Natural History Museum’s after school group used microscopes to investigate some of the amphibians collected for the program. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Leidhold

The History of the Cast Iron Stove

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The meeting of the Rochester Historical Society on Wednesday, April 18th will feature “The History of the Cast Iron Stove” by member, Skip Mull. Skip’s talk includes the stoves and how they work as well as information of local iron foundries.   The meeting is at 7pm at the East Rochester Church/Museum, 355 County Road, Rochester. All are welcome.

Buzzards Bay Swim Free Registration Ends Soon

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Suit up! The 19th Annual Buzzards Bay Swim isn’t until July 7, 2012, but the deadline to register for free is April 15.  After that, participants must pay a small registration fee.  The swim is the largest fundraiser organized by the non-profit Buzzards Bay Coalition, which works to preserve the land and water of the South Coast.

“We also have programs to educate the youth and community about the Bay, and their connection to it,” said Rob Hancock, the Coalition’s Vice President for Education and Public Engagement.

Last year, they raised about $113,000.  That money goes to help purchase

land for preservation, water cleaning, and testing.

“Last year we had 234 registered swimmers. We’re hoping to pass 250 this year,” Hancock said.  Registered swimmers can also have people sponsor them before the race.  Participants are asked to raise a minimum of $150.

People don’t have to get their feet wet in order to help out, either. The event is a team effort among the Coalition and the volunteers who help get people signed up, work the refreshment tables at the finish line.

“We have kayakers who accompany some of the swimmers, if they want,” said Hancock.  “Twenty years ago, the Bay wasn’t in great shape.  This is really a community event a lot of people can participate in and enjoy.”

By Eric Tripoli

Elks Club Names Student of the Month

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(The Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 issued the following press release)

The Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 sponsors the Elks Student of the Month and Student of the Year Awards for students enrolled in local area high schools.  The criteria used in nominating a student includes a student who excels in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school, club and community service, industry and farming.

We congratulate Freshman, Zachary Rogers of New Bedford for being selected by the Old Rochester Regional High School faculty and staff.  Zachary is a Freshman that has had a great transition to the high school from the junior high.  He has made the honor roll for terms 1 and 2.  He also has volunteered his time to help the football and basketball programs by keeping statistics, assisting with public address announcers and videotaping games.  Zachary is a wonderful example of a representative for the ORR school community.

Lorraine C. (Dion) Desrochers

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Lorraine C. (Dion) Desrochers, 69, of New Bedford died April 4, 2012 at home after a brief illness.

She was the loving wife of Donat A. Desrochers with whom she celebrated 50 years of marriage on March 3rd.

Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late Leopold J. and Dora (St. Gelais) Dion, she lived in Acushnet for 31 years before returning to New Bedford in 2000.

She was a communicant of St. Joseph-St. Therese Church.

Mrs. Desrochers was formerly employed by Tilcon and P.J. Keating for 19 years until her retirement.

In retirement, she volunteered at the New Bedford Senior Travel program, which she enjoyed very much. Mrs. Desrochers enjoyed numerous trips with her husband and the new friends she met through many trips.

Survivors include her husband; 3 sons, Dana Desrochers of Pembroke, David Desrochers and his wife Dawn of Rochester and Douglas Desrochers and his fiancée Tuesday Golotti of New Bedford; 2 sisters-in-law, Eva Dion of Fairhaven and Dolores Stanley and her husband Richard of North Port, FL; 6 grandchildren, Alex, Sara, Nathan, Rachel, Lyndsey and Meghan; and several nieces and nephews.

She was the sister of the late Roger Dion, Paul Dion, Maurice Dion, Norman Dion and Bernice Martin.

Her Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 10th at 10 AM in St. Joseph – St. Therese Church. Burial will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Danny’s Team Relay For Life, please make checks payable to ACS Danny’s Team c/o Jennifer Dion, 283 Court St., New Bedford, MA 02740.

Anne M. (Mackay) Donaghy-Mayer

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Anne M. (Mackay) Donaghy-Mayer, 79, of New Bedford passed away Tuesday April 3, 2012 at home surrounded by her family after a long battle with cancer. She was the wife of Roger J. Mayer and the late William K. Donaghy.

Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late Edward V. and Alice (Clarke) Mackay, she lived in New Bedford for all of her life.

She was a communicant of Our Lady of Fatima Church.

Mrs. Donaghy-Mayer was formerly employed as a registered nurse in the Emergency Room at St. Luke’s Hospital for many years until her retirement.

She was a graduate of Holy Family High School and St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing. She was a member of the St. Luke’s Retirees.

Her family would like to thank the staff of Community Nurse and Hospice Care and Hawthorn Medical Associates for the wonderful care given to Anne during her illness.

Survivors include her husband; four sons, William K. Donaghy, Jr. and his wife Brendalee Mulroy Donaghy and Michael E. Donaghy and his wife Claudia, all of Dartmouth, Daniel P. Donaghy and his wife Leonor, and Timothy P. Donaghy, all of New Bedford; her stepchildren, Donald Mayer and his wife Janet of Rochester and Donna LaBrode and her husband Donald of Acushnet; 13 grandchildren, Edward, Ian, Justin, Andrew, and Garrett Donaghy, Caitlin Guerrero, Jennifer Nunes, Jennifer Taylor, Julie Bosworth, Eric LaBrode, Elizabeth Leifheit, Jocelyn and Alison Mayer; and seven great-grandchildren.

She was the sister of the late Edward Mackay.

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10 AM at Our Lady of Fatima Church. Burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery will be private. Visiting hours will be on Monday from 4-8 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Community Nurse and Hospice Care, P.O. Box 751, Fairhaven, MA 02719. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Rochester School Committee Approves Budget

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The budget for FY13 for Rochester Memorial School took center stage at the meeting of the Rochester School Committee on the night of Thursday, April 5. Superintendent Doug White presented the proposed budget to a crowd of teachers and parents at the Town Hall.

Because of reductions in funding from many sources due to brittle economic conditions, the Committee devised a level-funded budget proposal, which used the FY12 budget as its template. As a result of various cuts and increases, the committee is looking at an increase of $82,676, or 1.51 percent, between a perfectly level-funded budget and the current proposed plan.

In an effort to trim as many dollars from the plan as possible, the committee has proposed reduction of bus service, eliminating one school bus, saving $53,715.

“The school population is not quite as high as it was, and looking at the routes and speaking with the bus company, we can reduce the buses by one. We will be working this summer to get the new routes squared away,” said School District Business Administrator Katie Isernio.

In addition, about $50,000 will be saved because of the reduction of one teaching position, the result of an up-coming retirement.

One of the largest cuts comes from major decrease in funding in support personnel, which reduces the proposed budget by $131,203. Funding from the ED Jobs grant is not available for next year, eliminating $109,987 from the budget. As a result, the district has had to increase salary funding usually offset by ED Jobs by about $54,000.

Also, funding from the state’s Circuit Breaker program has been greatly reduced from $43,174 in FY12 to $9,000 for FY13, a cut of $34,174. The program is designed to reimburse the town for per-students for special education costs should they rise above certain levels. The law prescribes that they reimburse school systems up to 75 percent of that extra cost, but the figure has been as low as 42 percent in recent years.

These cuts come in the wake of increases elsewhere in the budget. Contracted services have increased to $117,495 for FY13, with the bulk of that because of increases in utilities and maintenance costs due to larger building space. Heat and electricity is predicted to cost almost $100,000 for the upcoming year.

The School Committee voted unanimously to accept the budget proposal for FY13.

In other business, the committee voted to approve the use of www.DonorsChoose.org as a way for teachers to raise money for supplies, projects, and educational trips. They also voted to accept Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School District into the READS Collaborative on a trial basis. READS Collaborative is a public organization made up of several area schools that works to promote special educational programs across a broad spectrum of subjects.

The committee also announced that they have narrowed the field to three candidates to replace out-going RMS principal, Jay Ryan.

“They are visiting our school next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Parents are invited to come meet with the candidates at 8:00 am or 2:00 pm on those days,” said Chairperson Tina Rood.

The next meeting of the Rochester School Committee will be on May 3, 2012, at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

Superintendent Doug White (left) and School Committee Chairperson Tina Rood (right) listen at the Rochester School Committee meeting on Thursday, April 5, 2012.  The Committee held a public hearing to explain the district’s budget for FY13, which they voted unanimously to approve. Photo by Eric Trippoli

ZBA Closes Bay Watch 40B Hearing

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The end is finally in sight for Bay Watch Realty Trust and its proposed 40B affordable housing project. After three months of hearings on its latest modification of the proposed complex – which includes 60 affordable rental apartments and 36 single family homes off Route 150 – the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals closed the public hearing on April 5.

The ZBA is expected to convene a special meeting on May 10 at the Town House to render a final decision.

The hearing closure stemmed from resolution on issues that had held a series of hearings, which began on January 26. Town Counsel Jon Whitten reported that the developer agreed to greater leniency in the number of affordable single-family homes in the project.

Originally, Bay Watch proposed zero affordable single-family homes – but came back with a proposal to set aside two of the 36 proposed residences as affordable. The Board of Selectmen had wanted 25 percent of the single-family homes deemed affordable. After the developer said that it would lose $500,000 from such a prospect, ZBA Chairman asked for a pro forma to prove this loss.

At the pro forma meeting, the developer agreed to offer two of the homes as affordable at 80 percent of the town’s median income. This could count towards the town’s affordable housing stock. The developer also agreed to set aside two additional homes at 100 percent of the town’s median income, which the state would consider as affordable housing, but it would make the three-bedroom homes more affordable at about $260,000, Whitten said.

In addition to these four units, the developer would be willing to sell two of the lots to the town for $125,000 apiece. The town could build affordable homes on these lots– although Marion residents would have to approve the transfer at a town meeting.

Bay Watch legal representative Ken Steen discussed the financial challenges of the project, which the developer had scaled back from 168 to 96 units last fall.  He said the inability to connect to the sewer north of the property and the necessity of building a pump station added to the cost to build the 40B. In addition, the 75-foot proposed wooden bridge to span the wetlands is especially pricey, he said.

“Those projects set back the project by half a million. That is the main thrust of why we presented two units (as affordable),” Steen said.

Whether school buses could access the private roadway into the project remains unresolved. Wedge noted that the school committee makes that call, and if they deny that request the children would catch the bus along Route 150. Bay Watch representatives said the plans include a three-sided glass enclosure, in a colonial style, for kids riding the bus.

Wedge suggested some fencing to “keep kids and balls out of the street.”

When the discussion came up on a suggestion to move the main entrance into the project to Atlantis Drive, Selectman Jon Henry strongly opposed the idea.

“That is a tremendous change. I absolutely do not recommend doing that. It could tie up the project for another five years,” he said.

Steen said that entering from the south would require approval from both houses in the state legislature because the land has a conservation restriction. Everyone agreed that moving the entrance is a bad idea.

“I think it’s too little too late,” Wedge said.

Although the ZBA closed the public hearing, the board kept the record open for 21 days for any last minute minor changes.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 19 at 7:30 pm.

By Laura Fedak Pedulli

School Dances Fail, Class Olympics Succeeds

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It is the eternal question at Old Rochester Regional High School: what is the difference between Student Government and Student Council, the two organizations for which there are annual spring elections? And, for that matter, what are the duties of each?

Sophomore Class President Ruhi Raje, who is a member of both organizations, said that the difference lies in whom the organizations serve.

“Each grade has a Student Government responsible for raising money and organizing class events such as Junior Semi and Senior Prom. Student Council is responsible for the planning and organization of events for the whole school, like Homecoming,” Raje said.

She added that Class Presidents and Class Vice-Presidents are automatically granted positions on Student Council, although the remaining seats are filled by school-wide elections.

In late winter and early spring this year, both the Student Council and the Sophomore Student Government were hard at work planning school dances and festivities. The Sophomore Student Government prepared a Masquerade Dance for January 21, which was regrettably canceled due to lack of interest from the student body.

School dances are canceled when the ticket sales are extremely low, since the organization holding the dance has to make enough money to pay the disc jockey. Raje said that she and her fellow officers originally decided to have a Masquerade-themed dance because “we thought it would spark interest.”

They found support for their judgment in the success of the first Masquerade Dance, which was held the year before. The original Masquerade Dance served as a replacement for what upperclassmen will recall as the Snow Ball.  he Sophomore Student Government was hoping to make $100 after the expenses for the dance.

Yet the Sophomore Student Government wasn’t alone in having trouble with ticket sales. The Student Council made plans for a Spring Fling that would have been held March 17 had there been sufficient ticket sales.

“The ticket price was $5 the first week and $6 the second,” Raje said. She explained that the Student Council’s intent to hold a school dance was to fundraise for charity, since “the Student Council donates a large amount of money.” Sometimes these funds go to school clubs, other times to charity.

Raje said she isn’t sure why students at ORR High School seem uninterested in late winter or early spring dances, considering the interest that the Homecoming Dance, Junior Semi and Senior Prom receive.

“Sometimes all it takes is one person to say, ‘I’m not going,’ for a whole group of people to lose interest,” Raje explained.

Students were interested in having some sort of spring festivity, however. From March 13 to March 15, students participated in the first annual Class Olympics.

“The Class Olympics was very successful,” Raje said of the event. “Those who were interested represented their class in various events that ranged from athletic to informal to silly.”

The first day consisted of athletic events such as the popular gym class activity, Watusi.  Speedball was also on the agenda, along with other sporty games.

On the second day, the participants had their pick of carnival games, including a pie-eating contest. The Class Olympics ended with traditional events on the third day, which included the high and long jump.

Raje had difficulty estimating the number of participants, although she did note that there was a higher turnout on the first and last days of the Class Olympics. She attributed this to the availability of the late buses on those afternoons. Raje also added that the Student Council looks to expand the Class Olympics in coming years, so underclassmen have a (popular) spring event to anticipate!

By Anne Smith