A rash of storm drain cover thefts overnight on December 10 in Mattapoisett and Fairhaven had police searching for suspects who stole the metal to scrap for money.

Witnesses in the areas of North Street, Winter Hill and Summer Street in Mattapoisett reported seeing a truck leaving the scene of the thefts. Police checked with local scrap yard on Saturday in an attempt to retrieve the storm drain covers and to find the perpetrators.

By mid-day, the drains were recovered when State Trooper Joshua Fries observed a white box truck on Route 25 in Plymouth. Trooper Fries recalled the description of the truck based on a “Be on the Look-Out” that Mattapoisett Police had issued to surrounding police departments. According to a state police press release, Trooper Fries followed the truck and contacted the Bourne Barracks for updated information on the suspects.

The Bourne Barracks also reported that two males had attempted to sell the grates to a New Bedford scrap dealer, who declined the sale and contacted Mattapoisett police.

Trooper Fries conducted a vehicle stop with the two suspects at the Bourne Rotary. After a brief discussion, Trooper Fries discovered the missing grates in the box truck and two suspects, Benjamin Sisson, 22, of North Falmouth and Kristofer Williams, 28, of Falmouth, were taken into custody. Both were charged with larceny over $250, and receiving stolen property over $250. 22 grates were eventually recovered belonging to the towns of Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, Bourne and Wareham.

Mattapoisett officer Matthew McGraw and Highway Surveyor Barry Denham went to Bourne to identify and recover the storm drain covers.

According to Mattapoisett police chief Mary Lyons, the suspects will be charged with eight counts of larceny.

Metal theft is not new to the area. Most recently, the copper downspouts at the Millicent Library and Fairhaven Town Hall had been stolen, and there have been several reports of copper piping being stolen from Tri-Town residences, particularly vacant or seasonal homes.

A Massachusetts bill that recently passed in the House discourages the crime of metal theft for scrapping. In the bill, scrap metal yards would have to keep stricter records of who is depositing scrap metal, and ask for photo identification for scrap exchange. Additionally, the bill makes it illegal for dealers to accept metal that has likely been stolen, like manhole covers and storm drain covers.

A full copy of the bill can be viewed here:

www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H03723

By Anne Kakley and Paul Lopes

23 students, representing the Sippican School Safety Patrol, and ten chaperones will head to Washington DC to explore our nation’s capital during April school vacation in 2012. The trip was brought before the Marion School Committee at their meeting on December 7, 2011.

The safety patrol consists of 30 students in grades 5 and 6 who volunteer to assist younger students in getting coats on and escorting them to and from their buses for the arrival and dismissal each day.

“Our plan is to leave that Thursday and return on Sunday,” said trip coordinator and parent Stacey Soucy. Ms. Soucy presented a detailed plan with a sample itinerary, including a White House tour, a visit to the Smithsonian Institute and various monuments. “We are using the Smithsonian Student Travel organization,” said Ms. Soucy. The estimated cost per person is $570, which, through fundraising, is now at $500 per person. According to Ms. Soucy, fundraising efforts will continue through February and may further reduce the cost per person. The board approved the trip.

Lyn Rivet, Principal of Sippican School said that the school is investigating a new way of grading students using a licensed software tool. PowerGrade is being investigated and experimented with for possible future use at the school. Several parents attended the meeting and expressed opinions on the current grading system used in report cards to parents on their children’s progress.

“We need to focus on what the grades mean,” said Kim Berg, a parent attending the meeting. “When we go from a zero to four scale to a two to four scale… it makes it more unclear as to where the child is,” said Ms. Berg. Another parent spoke and said that learning should be shown in a graph like fashion, with the goal at the end representing the learning achieved during the school year. A lively discussion ensued on the ways children are graded and whether teachers should focus on only one or two subjects rather than be expected to be proficient in every area. Chairman Brad Gordon said that the PowerGrade software is being investigated and studied and is not currently in use at the school.

Ms. Frangos, Director of Curriculum, reported that Grade 6 students attended the ORRHS play, The Triangle and had a follow up writing assignment on the play where they wrote to the actors and actresses commenting on their role in the play. Ms. Frangos read excerpts from some of the students letters, showing how the event triggered appreciation and understanding of both the incident behind The Triangle and those interpreting it by acting in the play.

In other business, the board approved the addition of the town of Norton as a member of the Regional Educational Assessment and Diagnostic Services (READS) in the regional collaborative. At the last meeting, the Town of Acushnet was also approved as a READS member. “The more towns included in the program, the better it is for the children in it,” said Terri Hamm, Director of Student Services.

Facilities Manager, Steven Murphy presented a Capital Improvement Requirement report generated from his tour of and meeting with the Town of Marion’s Capital Improvement Committee. The list depicted a maintenance plan designed to address capital needs based on a facility audit conducted in June of 2010 and revised in September of 2011.

At the top of the list was the repair of a ground water leak in the 1954 section of the building, estimated to cost $12,500. The work included a ground water study and removing the floor and installing a French drain, sump well and pump.

Mr. Murphy, along with Board Chairman Brad Gordon, thanked the Town of Marion’s Capital Committee for the work done in surveying every aspect of the physical plant of the school and noting work to be done to maintain and keep ahead of future building issues at the school.

Food Director, Caitlyn Meagher said that she had visited other elementary schools that had successful school lunch programs to get ideas on how to improve participation by students. “Providing samples, better display of offerings and figuring out how to reduce the backup of students lining up for lunch are areas to focus on,” said Ms. Meagher.

Committee member Christine Winters suggested working with Principal Rivet in staggering the start times for lunch by approximately five minutes, similar to the way recess is staggered.

Ms. Isernio said that the budget was “on target and on schedule”. The board approved transfers totaling $107,299.59, with $36,381.87 in contractual obligations for teachers and $70,917.72 for other obligations including gas and electricity bills.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry