Rochester Siblings Receive Youth Heroes of the Year Awards

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ORR students Arissa and Deianeira Underhill were honored by the M.O. LIFE, Inc. foundation for their community service endeavors that have been ongoing for several years. The two ladies were honored at a gala at White’s in Westport.

The sisters have donated to charities such as local food pantries, animal shelters, Reach Out and Read Literacy Foundation, We Give Books Foundation, Camp Sunshine, and many more that would be timely to name.

The donations were made possible with monies the sisters have earned babysitting, birthday and Christmas gifts, consignment of outgrown toys & clothes, and allowances.  They have also volunteered at many local community events within the Massachusetts area.

The girls were each honored with two seperate Senate Citations, a Citation from the House of Representatives, a Citation from the Governor, a Citation from the Bristol Sheriff’s office, a Citation from the Town of Fairhaven and a beautifully engraved wall plaque from M.O. Life, Inc. Foundation.

Both feel that they were humbled by the acknowledgement of their kind deeds, but stated that it is not why they do it.  Both girls were born with their own health issues and felt that through their own experiences they wanted to help others who were less fortunate than themselves.

Board Explores Marion’s Financial Future

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The Marion Planning Board is examining whether it needs to get involved in the town’s long term planning – with an eye towards better management of local assets.

At the board’s Monday, April 2 meeting, Ted North presented the first out of four presentations on the state of Marion. He spoke of the need to get a handle on the town’s current and future debts, especially as the town’s capital needs grow.

In his PowerPoint presentation, North provided an “80,000 feet from above” overview of the town of Marion – which is made up of 3,626 residents and 2,417 taxpayers. He said that 30 percent of residents are 60 and over and likely living on a fixed income, and meanwhile the town is currently facing $57 million in debt but only bringing in about $22 million in revenues per year.

“[The annual town revenue] is not a lot of money,” he said. The recently drafted Denver Broncos Quarterback Peyton Manning, he said, “is making more money than the total revenue of Marion.”

North criticized the recently proposed $27 million sewer project that he said would cost each taxpayer $46,000 to $50,000 over a ten-year period.

“It’s a big number for a town this size,” he said.

Given the challenges ahead in maintaining current capital projects and future needs – such as upgrading the sewer plant which is nearing the end of its 15-year life cycle, maintaining the water tower, and addressing the leaking lagoon issues – that the need for strong fiscal planning and coordination is great.

“This town is not very good at planning. Right now … we’re headed for a physical and fiscal train wreck unless we do some decent coordination of planning on this stuff,” North said.

“We have to spend our money wisely. Every time we issue a 20-year bond, you’ve committed a generation to pay that debt,” he added.

The board was overall receptive to North’s message.

“That was excellent,” said Sherman Briggs of the presentation.

“It’s a wake up call,” said Chairman Jay Ryder. Although he said it remains to be seen what role the Planning Board will play, “I think [North] and the Capital Planning Committee are charting a decisive path for us.”

In other agenda items at the meeting, the board sailed through two public hearings on proposed amendments to current zoning bylaws. These amendments will be considered at the Marion’s May 21 Annual Town Meeting.

One warrant article on accessory association piers would allow residents to construct them even if their lots do not currently conform to zoning requirements. Specifically, bylaw language would allow pier construction for property that abides by current zoning “or was lawfully in existence on May 1, 1996”.

The second warrant article concerns accessory dwelling units,  and would increase the allowable square footage for them from 850 to 1,200 square feet.

Marion resident Richard Shafer provided the only comment on either warrant article, and he spoke in favor of them.

“What’s proposed here makes a lot of sense. The rug was pulled from under a lot of people’s feet when this was unwittingly done,” he said of the up-zoning bylaws in the 1990s that restricted pier construction.

Shafer said, however, that a similar bylaw was voted down in recent years and urged the Planning Board to review concerns presented at that time before Town Meeting.

Lastly, Ryder reported that construction of the new two-story Cumberland Farms is going well.

“Every comment I’ve heard is positive. The building looks good,” he said.

 By Laura Fedak Pedulli

 

 

 

Rochester gymnast places first in State Meet

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Hallie Talty of Rochester placed first at the State Gymnastics Championship last weekend on the balance beam and floor exercise and placed second overall in the state!

Hallie is a member of the Tumble Time Gymnastics Club in Pocasset, and has been participating in gymnastics for nine years.  She missed most of last season with an ankle injury & subsequent surgery.

Hallie is a sophomore at Old Rochester Regional High School, and spends 23 hours per week commuting to and practicing in the gym.  She will compete at the Regional Meet on Saturday, April 28 in Waterville, Maine.

Going Once…Going Twice…Sold!

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Dozens of items were up for bid Friday night, March 30, as the Rochester Memorial School PTO held its Fourth Annual Live Auction in the RMS cafeteria. The family-oriented event attracted scores of students and their parents, eager to win the opportunity to be Art Teacher for a Day or to take home an autographed Patriots football.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the construction of a new playground at RMS. Last year, the auction raised money to construct the existing playground for the younger students.  And from start to finish, the kids are the focus of the auction.

From the craft table to the pizza and juice boxes at the concession area, the RMS PTO is an organization that consistently recognizes the importance of students in the Rochester community and that works to help the young people realize how much they mean to the town.

“I hope the kids get a sense of belonging and community,” said PTO member and auction organizer Heather Bacchiocchi.

Her son did not start talking until he was about three, but worked with the teachers and speech pathologists at RMS, who have helped him develop his conversational abilities.

“I just think back on all the time they have spent with him, teaching him, that this is the least I can do to support his school,” she said.

Planning the auction is no small task. The PTO sent out hundreds of letters to local businesses and large organizations asking for donations.  This year, attendees had the chance to win a ukulele with lessons on DVD, an autographed Red Sox baseball, rounds of golf, dance lessons, cartooning lessons, and packs of tickets for family events and activities all over Massachusetts.

Before the doors opened, PTO Treasurer Tina Rood was helping to tie up the final loose ends and get everything organized.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun, too. Today was a bit crazy because they had play rehearsal on the stage until five o’clock, so we didn’t have a lot of time to set up. But we have great volunteers who have done this before so it’s gone really well,” she said.

Jenn Hunter, a PTO member with three children, believes that parents should be heavily involved with their kids’ schools.

“I do it because it’s my job as a parent to aid in my kids’ education. I grew up in Rochester, I attended RMS. I feel invested in the school community,” she said.

For their fourth year in a row, Karen Winsper and her daughter, Julia, a sixth grader at RMS, attended the auction, this time with two items in their sights: front row seats to the RMS Sixth Grade Graduation and Art Teacher For a Day.

“[Art teacher] Mrs. Smith always makes art really fun. I really like painting and pottery,” Julia said. “There is usually a great variety of things to bid on. It’s always fun to see what the teachers offer,” Karen said. Last year, Principal for a Day sold for $750. “The school has been good for the kids.”

But knowing that their participation in the auction will benefit upcoming students is most important to Julia.

“I’ll be glad when they have their new playground because I know they’ll have fun using it,” she said.

Among some of the items offered by teachers were an underground cave adventure led by Mr. Kinsky, a Fun in the Sun Day featuring swimming and crafts by Mrs. Lucas, and an original watercolor painted by RMS Principal, Jay Ryan. He is retiring at the end of this academic year. Before becoming an administrator, Ryan was an art teacher and recently began painting more often in his spare time.

“I had put down the brush for quite a few years, but in the last three or four, I’ve gotten back into it,” he said.

He plans on focusing on his painting as he heads into retirement and felt offering this project to the auction was fitting.

“It’s for the kids, but I thought it would add a nice memory for whoever bought it because the painting would be of their own home,” he said. “I’m going to miss the kids most.  They have such a great way of looking at each day that goes by.”

The PTO had raised about $30,000 toward the new playground thanks to last year’s auction and walk-a-thon. They hoped the proceeds from Friday night would put that total closer to $50,000.

By Eric Tripoli

Motor Vehicle Crash on 195

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Around 1:30pm this afternoon the Mattapoisett Police, Fire and EMS responded to a crash for a vehicle, which rolled over into the median woods. The crash was on route 195 at the Mattapoisett North Street exit. Med  Flight was called to transport one of the victims but they were unable to transport due to a mechanical failure. Mattapoisett EMS was already committed to a previous call at the time of the crash and Fairhaven Medic One transported the patient to Providence Hospital. The highway was shut down for about an hour while the scene was being worked on and while Med Flight landed. The State Police requested a photo team to document the accident, but did not request an accident reconstruction team.

Photo by Felix Perez

Afternoon of Poetry

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The Friends of the Mattapoisett Library’s annual Afternoon of Poetry will be held on Saturday, April 14, 2:00 PM at the library. This year’s guests are Grey Held and Clara Silverstein.

Grey Held holds a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MFA from Temple University. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has had poems included in numerous anthologies including “Rough Places Plain,” edited by Mattapoisett’s own Margot Wizansky, and magazines including Potomac Review and Slipstream.  His poem “Vending Machine” was set to music by Paul Carey and has been performed by a cappella groups all over the country. Held’s book of poems, “Two-Star General” is being published by Brick Road Poetry Press. Through a prison outreach program he has led poetry writing workshops for prisoners in the Northeastern Correctional Center. He is currently Director of Client Services at Forrester Research in Cambridge.

Clara Silverstein, a long-time food writer in the Boston area, is the author of three cookbooks. Her latest, “A White House Garden Cookbook” (Red Rock Press), looks at the many ways that First Lady Michelle Obama is inspiring a nation of healthy eaters.  Recipes come from past and present White House kitchens, as well as kid-friendly community gardens nationwide. Clara’s first cookbook, “The Boston Chef’s Table” (Globe Pequot Press), presents more than 100 contemporary recipes from the city’s top chefs.  Clara is also co-author, with chef and company founder Marjorie Druker, of “The New England Soup Factory Cookbook” (Thomas Nelson).

Clara has published articles in Health magazine, Prevention, Runner’s World, American Heritage, and the Boston Globe. Formerly a food writer at the Boston Herald daily newspaper, Clara for 13 years informed readers about the city’s chefs, restaurants, and food trends. She also contributed to the “Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.” Her poems and essays have been published in many literary journals.

Clara’s memoir “White Girl: A Story of School Desegregation” (University of Georgia Press) chronicles her experiences as a white child bused to predominantly African-American schools in the 1970s under a court desegregation order in Richmond, Virginia.  She teaches at Grub Street, Inc., consults with individual writers, and tutors students in history and English. During the summers, she directs the Chautauqua Writers’ Center, a series of creative writing workshops and author programs at the Chautauqua Institution. Clara recently completed an M.A. in History from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Come celebrate National Poetry Month with the Friends. Refreshments will be served and books will be available for purchase and signing.

RHS Seeks Yard Sale Donations

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Please save those unused items you find while spring-cleaning for the Rochester Historical Society. A Yard Sale is planned for Saturday April 28 from 9AM until 3PM at the East Rochester Church/Museum, 355 County Road, Rochester. Yard sale items may be dropped off at the East Rochester Church/ Museum on Fridays in April from 9am until noon. Electrical items will not be accepted.

Dixie Diehards and the Occasion Singers at the MAC

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The Occasion Singers – Broadway Night Revue

On April 14th at 7:30pm, the Occasion Singers will take the audience out for a night on Broadway!  The elegant a cappella vocal ensemble has put together an all Broadway Revue which will include selections from America’s favorite Broadway hits:  “For Good” from Wicked, “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, from Funny Girl, and “Seasons of Love” from Rent. As always, this group will deliver intricate harmonies and memorable melodies along with lots of laughter and fun.  The ensemble is directed by Cassandra Morgan with singers Christopher Saulnier, Rui Moniz, Eric Bosworth, Melanie Hannack, Denise Bastos, and Caroline Blais.

Tickets are $10.00 for MAC Members and $12.50 for non-members. Please stop by the Center or call 508-748-1266 to reserve your seats.

The Dixie Diehards – An Evening at Preservation Hall In New Orleans

On Saturday April 28th, at 7:30pm 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.

Preservation Hall in New Orleans opened its doors in 1961 as a sanctuary to protect and honor New Orleans Jazz which had lost much of its popularity to modern jazz and rock & roll.  Its founders wanted a place where New Orleans musicians could play New Orleans jazz –  a style they believed should not disappear.  Today, the Dixie Diehards exemplify this 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.

The Dixie Diehards will be making their seventh appearance at the Art Center.  Their concerts have been well received by a growing audience of traditional New Orleans jazz enthusiasts.

Tickets are $10.00 for MAC Members and $12.50 for non-members.  Please stop by the Center or call 508-748-1266 to reserve your seats.

The Marion Art Center is located at 80 Pleasant St. (corner of Pleasant St. and Main St.) in Marion, MA. 02738.  Reservations are highly recommended.  Tables are available for reserved parties of 4.  Guests are invited to bring their own refreshments.  The doors will open at 7:00 PM.

ORRHS Musicians Recognized

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“Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.” -Paul Simon

Music has a steadfast place in the lives of almost everyone with as many manifestations as there are audiophiles. For some, there is no greater excitement than to crank up a favorite song on the radio with the windows down, singing at top volume, driving at full-speed. Others may hunker down in a favorite chair, with a special playlist, headphones and a book, creating a custom soundtrack for a fictional world of prose or verse.

For some, music becomes as necessary as air, a language of sound without words, emotion as English. ORRHS junior Mike Bliss has been speaking in saxophone for about seven years and this month gained recognition for his talents earlier this month at the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival.

He received two Outstanding Soloist awards for his work with the ORRHS Jazz Band and Jazz Combo, and was one of four people in his class to receive an Outstanding Musicianship award. ORRHS participates in the festival every year and this was his third time performing.  Despite his growing experience, he remains humble about his accomplishments.

“I wish our whole group had won an award. We played really well,” Bliss said.

His musical roots are the result of familial inspiration.

“My brother started playing [alto] saxophone about three years before I did. My dad wanted me to play the trombone, but I wanted to try sax because I thought my brother was cool,” Bliss said.

Today, his brother, Travis, studies music at the New England Conservatory of Music, a school Mike is considering in the future.

“I’m also thinking about NYU, the Manhattan School of Music, and Berklee,” he said.

At ORRHS, Bliss arranges much of the music played by the five-piece Jazz Combo, and is avidly studying the music of saxophonists Chris Potter and Kenny Garrett. This summer, Bliss is attending the Eastman School of Music camp for two weeks in Rochester, New York.

“I’m hoping to make some new friends and make some more connections in the business so I can start putting myself out there,” he said.

Keren Setkin is another ORRHS musician who has discovered a passion for music that few understand, nurturing a talent she didn’t know she had. The sophomore flutist from Westport, who attends ORRHS through the School Choice program, performed with the Massachusetts Music Educators’ Association All-State Festival in Boston during the first weekend of March.

Auditions for All-State were open to the top 50 percent musicians in their district festivals. As a freshman, Setkin was the number three flute player in her district last year, and was the number one flutist this year; that’s not too shabby for someone who has been studying flute for only five years.

“I was actually always attached to a reed instrument. We owned a flute and my mom suggested I pick it up, so I did,” Setkin said.

At first, playing the flute was a nice way to spend her time, but she didn’t feel that draw to music until she started studying under her current teacher, John Curran.

“From the moment I met him, he was very inspiring and he was really encouraging to push me into new things. He really pushes you to be the best you can be,” she said.

Her hard work has been paying off. Setkin has been involved with several performance groups in the last few years, including the Rhode Island Music School, founded by the Rhode Island Philharmonic. She has played in their orchestra, chamber, senior wind, and flute ensembles. Last year, she was a member of a youth orchestra made up of musicians from the United States and Canada, and played in New York City, at Carnegie Hall. After winning several awards for her talents, she realized her penchant for music wasn’t born out of mere interest or folly, but something deeper.

“That’s when I realized that music was really my thing,” she said.

In May, she will be auditioning for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. “They are one of the best youth orchestras in the country. And I’m scared,” she admitted.

She is also auditioning for the National Youth Orchestra of New York, a touring orchestra that performs all over the world.

Though she still has two years left at ORRHS, she is already making plans for her post-high school life.

“As far as college, I definitely want to go into music. My top two choices are U.T. Austin and Oberlin. I would love to go into music performance. A lot of people say classical music is dying and I completely disagree with that, and I think performance is the way to go for me,” she said.

By Eric Tripoli

ORCTV Free PSA Days

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Calling all local non-profit organizations!  Old Rochester Community Television in Marion will be offering their spring Free PSA Days on April 9 and 10 to any groups looking to promote upcoming community events.  Since 2008, ORCTV has offered this service twice a year, in April and October.

“This gives local non-profits a chance to talk about their mission and one or two major events,” said ORCTV’s Executive Director Kimberly Miot.

Those interested in taking advantage of the free PSA days can schedule a half-hour appointment with the ORCTV production team and record a message between one and five minutes in length.

“Some groups come in and have one person read from one piece of paper.  Others will want to add photos, videos they shot elsewhere, voiceovers, backdrops.  They can make it as simple or as complicated as they want,” Miot said.

And if a non-profit is stuck on how exactly to produce their segment, the ORCTV team is there to help

The popular event, which attracts regular and new organizations, helps bring awareness to the activities of local community groups in a unique way.

“We normally run all the spots in a row for the first few weeks so their messages get a lot of exposure, and then spread them out as their events approach and pass,” Miot said.

Time is growing short to sign up.  Miot said she will be closing sign-ups on April 3.  For more information, groups can visit www.orctv.org.

By Eric Tripoli