Daniel Maintains Stead As Chair

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            The Marion Planning Board met on Monday for their first meeting following the recent Town Election. The board began, following the pledge, with some position reorganizations, nominations, and approvals.

            The current chair, Andrew Daniel, and vice-chair, Alanna Nelson, were nominated chair. Daniel won the internal vote and will continue to serve as chair. Nelson was then the sole nominee for vice-chair, where she will also continue her current role. Eileen J. Marum was nominated and confirmed to continue her role as clerk.

            For Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District representative, Ryan Burke was nominated and approved. Finally, for Community Preservation Committee representative, Daniel stated “I have no problem doing it again,” but Tucker Burr was nominated and approved by the board.

            Then the board moved on to the continued public hearing for a Special Permit request for Derek A. Maksy and Denise Allard of 61 & 63 Oakdale Avenue. The properties seek to be conjoined into an association with an association pier being built out into Hammett Cove. This request has seen multiple hearings, with the last ending with a request for continuance to this meeting held on June 2. The property owners and applicants were present, along with an engineer consultant and legal counsel. This public hearing was, soon after opening discussion, closed. According to the chair, further discussion and a decision on the pier will be held at the next Planning Board meeting. Daniel stated, “we have everything. We will make a decision at the next meeting.” The decision will allow for a resubmittal by the applicants in the future, should the board vote against the application.

            A discussion was then levied on the parking upgrade for the Sippican Holdings LLC storage site, located at the former Lockheed Martin office. Talks mostly centered around accessibility to the property’s Building 2 and Building 3. Following this discussion, there was a shorter talk on traffic and circulation, which touched upon public transport and rising costs.

            The next regular meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, June 16, at 7:00 pm at the Marion Police Department, though the board also has a joint meeting with the Select Board scheduled for Thursday, June 5, at 7:00 pm also at the Marion Police Department.

Marion Planning Board

By Sam Bishop

Radon – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

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            Radon is a breakdown product of uranium, which is found naturally in soil and rocks everywhere. Radon is a gas, and it is odorless, colorless and tasteless.

            Radon can seep into your house from the ground on which it is built and, particularly if your house is tightly-sealed, can build up.

            Some amount of radon is unavoidable, but levels above 4 picocuries per liter are considered a cause of lung cancer. Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the combination of smoking and radon is particularly lethal.

            There is natural variation in radon levels depending on geography. You can Google “EPA radon zones” to find a map and spreadsheet that will tell you to the county level how likely you are to be at a high level of radon.

            Some states, including Massachusetts, mandate radon tests before a house is sold, but most states do not.

            Testing is easy. You can get a test kit at the hardware store or on-line. You leave the kit in a central part of your basement (or ground floor if you have no basement) and mail it in.

            If the test comes back at 4 or higher, you should take action.

            While there are some helpful things you can do yourself, such as sealing cracks in the basement floor or walls and improving the ventilation in your home, major improvement will require professional help.

            Seek a certified radon mitigator – certified by NRPP (National Radon Proficiency Program) or NRSB (National Radon Safety Board). The typical solution involves a pipe system running from beneath the foundation that draws air through an external pipe to above the roof using a fan.

            Remediation does not come cheap: it will probably cost between $1000 and $2500. Add to that the cost of electricity to run a fan continuously.

            So, as well as having smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home, one more thing to add. Forewarned is forearmed.

            Edward Hoffer MD is Associate Professor of Medicine, part-time, at Harvard.

What Does The Doctor Say?

By Dr. Edward Hoffer

Marion Republican Town Committee

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The Marion Republican Town Committee will conduct its next monthly meeting on Monday, June 9 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion. The public and new members are welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

Whitsun Ale at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church

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Step back in time and celebrate community, tradition, and spirit at Whitsun Ale, a lively, medieval-style parish festival hosted by St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church on Sunday, June 8, beginning with a special Pentecost liturgy at 3:00 pm.

            This event marks the parish’s first-ever Parish Ale, a joyful tradition rooted in centuries of church history. Originating in England and throughout Europe, Parish Ales were festive fundraisers held in celebration of Whitsunday (Pentecost), bringing people together for food, drink, music, and fellowship – all in support of the church’s general fund.

            The day will begin with a specially crafted liturgy inspired by the Church of England, honoring the power of the Holy Spirit through beautiful music and prayer. Please note: On June 8, there will be only one combined liturgy at 3:00 pm – there will be no 8:00 am or 10:00 am services that day.

            Immediately following the service, the grounds of St. Gabriel’s Episcoapl Church will be transformed for the Whitsun Ale, featuring: Live music & medieval entertainment, Children’s activities & crafts, Food & drink, including non-alcoholic options, Artisan and produce vendors, Street closure in front of the Chapel for festivities.

            “This event is both a celebration of our faith and a fun, community-driven way to support our parish,” said Fr. Eric Fialho. “We hope families, neighbors, and friends will join us for what promises to be a unique and memorable afternoon.”

            Vendor spaces are still available for local crafters – just $25 per table. Interested vendors can contact Jenny Lime at stgabrielsmarion@gmail.com to reserve a spot.

            Come celebrate Whitsunday the old-fashioned way – with joy, laughter, and a touch of medieval flair.

Ken Souza Annual Memorial Scholarship

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The fourth Annual Ken Souza Memorial Scholarship was awarded to ORRHS graduating senior Ezra Thompson of Mattapoisett. The award is given each year to the outstanding senior video production student in the ORCTV/ORRHS School to Career video production program and is named to honor ORCTV’s first board president Ken Souza. Ezra developed and created many of the segments for each episode of Bulldog Weekly while contributing heavily to the writing and direction of the program. Ezra participated in the video production program during both his junior and senior years at ORRHS. The ORCTV staff and Board of Directors congratulates Mr. Thompson and wishes him the best of luck with his future endeavors as he continues his studies at Worchester Polytechnical University this fall.

Mattapoisett Select Board Expansion

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To the Editor;

            The May 27 Select Board meeting perfectly illustrated why Mattapoisett needs to expand from three to five Select Board members – exactly what Town Meeting voted to support on May 12.

            Our current three-member structure now presents critical problems in full display. With only three members, just two individuals can make significant decisions. This concentration of power becomes problematic when those same individuals question a democratic vote simply because some residents left afterward, a phenomenon that has occurred at previous controversial votes without anyone questioning those results.

            Our Select Board members maintain full-time jobs while serving, which limits their capacity to grow the town’s priorities. A five-member board would distribute responsibilities more effectively, preventing the delays we’re witnessing with this home rule petition.

            Massachusetts Open Meeting Law prohibits a quorum from discussing business outside meetings. With three members, no two can collaborate between meetings. Five members would allow two to work together on solutions, clearly needed given the current board’s handling of Town Meeting directives.

            When conflicts necessitate recusals, our three-member board becomes a two-member voting body, potentially creating deadlocks. We’re seeing similar dysfunction as the board questions whether to follow Town Meeting’s clear directive, despite one member previously stating he would “support the will of the citizens at town meeting.”

            At least 36 Massachusetts towns have successfully expanded their Select Boards. This isn’t experimental – it’s proven governance improvement.

            The current Select Board’s reluctance to move forward with the legislative petition suggests a troubling disconnect from democratic principles. Our community deserves governance that reflects our diversity and addresses our needs efficiently.

            The Select Board should honor the Town Meeting’s majority vote. More importantly, this situation perfectly illustrates why we need five members making these decisions, rather than just three.

            Jeanne Hopkins, Mattapoisett

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence. All letters must be typed and submitted directly to: news@wanderer.com.

Bulldogs Holding Serve

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The Old Rochester Regional High School girls’ tennis team was still undefeated heading into Wednesday’s Round of 16 home match in the MIAA Division 3 state tournament against 13th-seeded Danvers (13-6). The Bulldogs, seeded fourth with an 18-0 regular-season record, hosted 29th-seeded Auburn (18-4) in the round of 32 on June 1 and won 4-1. A win on Wednesday would send ORR into the quarterfinals against 21st seed Bishop Fenwick (12-5) at a date, time and location to be determined. The bracket placed the Bulldogs on track for a semifinal meeting with longtime tournament rival Dover-Sherborn, the only other unbeaten team in the tournament.

Girls Lacrosse

            The Bulldogs, seeded 13th in the Division 3 state tournament, hosted 20th seed Wakefield Memorial on May 30 in the Round of 32 and won 11-8. ORR took a 10-8 record into Wednesday’s Round of 16 match at fourth-seeded Wayland (10-9). The winner would land a spot in the quarterfinals.

Boys Tennis

            ORR, seeded 16th in the Division 3 state tournament, went 1-1 in the postseason and finished 10-9 overall. The Bulldogs defeated Bishop Fenwick 4-1 at home before falling at top-seeded Bedford on Monday in the Round of 16.

ORR Sports Roundup

By Aiden Comorosky

Murphy Ascends to Chair

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            Rochester’s Select Board Monday learned doubly good news regarding the plan to upgrade internet technology for town offices.

            Town Administrator Cameron Durant announced the town has received $236,000 from Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll’s Office of Community Compact Municipal Fiber Grant Award Program. But the even better news is that the quote to install a fiberoptic system for all of the town’s municipal buildings came in at $130,000, he said, meaning that $100,000 can be set aside for a future related use. Plus, the $150,000 appropriated at last month’s Town Meeting for the project will be more than covered.

            Durant said this new internet technology system will connect the main Town Hall, the Town Hall annex, the COA Senior Center, the Police Station, Rochester Memorial School and 65 Pine Street. The installation, he said, will mean “better and safer service for the town offices.”

            Also Monday, the Select Board approved Verizon New England’s proposal for a new mid-span Eversource utility pole on the west side of Cushman Road, two weeks after helping an abutter to address his objections to the plan. At the Select Board’s last meeting, Scott Snider of 149 Cushman Road said he wanted to know why a new pole was needed on his street, less than 200 feet from existing poles and almost right outside his front door. Then-Chair Bradford Morse noted such a pole can be moved and motioned the hearing be continued until Eversource could speak to the problem.

            On Monday, Eversource representative Steve Delsonno said the company has considered the abutter’s comments and redesigned the installation as a result. The pole, he said, will be moved 300 feet from its original location to a location in front of a large, wooded area. “Your comments were taken into account,” he said. “We have submitted a re-design and hope the board will approve it.” After the Select Board unanimously endorsed the new location, Snider and his wife thanked Eversource for being willing to work with them on this solution.

            In other action, the board announced and signed a proclamation that honored former Memorial School teacher and Rochester School Committee Chair Sharon Hartley. She recently retired from the school board, declining to run for re-election after more than 50 years in education.

            The board approved Jerelle Jesse as a new Conservation Commission Associate member and Meredith Rousseau as a new member of the Personnel Board.

            The board approved David Arancio’s Letter of Resignation from the Zoning Board of Appeals and Brian Porter’s letter resigning from the Public Safety Facility Building Committee.

            The Select Board re-organized, appointing Adam Murphy as the new chair and Paul Ciaburri as new vice-chair.

            The board approved the Rochester Firefighters Association’s request to donate a cargo van for carrying ATV equipment to the Rochester Fire Department.

            The board appointed Durant as the town’s representative on the SRPEDD Joint Transportation Planning Group.

            Morse announced there are vacancies on town boards that need filling, and the town would like to hear from interested candidates. There are open seats on the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Soil Board, the Historical Commission, the Historic District Commission, and the Cultural Council.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, June 16, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Hartley Leaves Impactful Legacy

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            Former Rochester Memorial School teacher and soon-to-be former Rochester and Old Rochester School Committee Chair Sharon Hartley is retiring from education after more than 50 years jam-packed with accomplishments that took her far beyond her local roots.

            The Mattapoisett native is soft-spoken and humble, yet obviously proud of achievements that include becoming principal of two Cape Cod elementary schools, one of which was new and that she helped establish, and also serving in Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy’s office working on education-reform measures.

            Hartley said her career started as an elementary school teacher at Rochester Memorial School from 1973 to 1988. After 15 years of teaching at Rochester Memorial School, she applied for and was granted sabbatical leave. Consequently, in 1988 she joined a program at Boston College called “Women in Politics and Government.” During that program, she served as an Education Coordinator on Murphy’s “Blueprint 2000” team, responsible for research and analysis of educational issues and collecting feedback from legislators and educational leaders. She traveled throughout the Commonwealth with Murphy to hear testimony from citizens regarding the needs of schools and to assist with understanding educational issues.

            “My time in the State House was very exciting,” Hartley recalls. “I learned a lot from the Lieutenant Governor and her staff, and I was inspired to pursue a Master’s Degree in Education at UMass Boston.”

            While at UMass Boston, Hartley worked as an educational specialist at the Massachusetts Department of Education in the area of teacher licensure and later was hired as associate director of a program providing professional-development programs for teachers.

            After she earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration in 1993, it still was not time for her to stop and rest.

            “I wanted to return to public schools,” she said.

            Hartley became the principal of Harwich Elementary School and, a few years later, was hired as the principal of an elementary school in the Dennis-Yarmouth School District that was still under construction. In this role, she worked with the Building Committee, helping with decisions about design and furnishings. Hartley was also tasked with interviewing and hiring the staff for the school of 600 students. Hartley became the school’s first principal and stayed for 12 years. It was to be the foremost school in the area for technology, she said.

            While establishing that school and her staff, Hartley designed a team-building retreat and took the staff to a local Coast Guard station for a unique and significant professional-development experience. “The process of guiding the beginnings of this school was an incredible and exciting challenge,” she said, “and I learned a lot about how important leadership and team building is to the success of a school.”

            Not that this lesson was removed from her philosophy from the beginning, Hartley said that, from a young age, she believed that education’s most important goals are expressing care toward children and inspiring teachers. She always wanted to be an educator, mentioning teaching her dolls as a young child.

            So, it’s no surprise that she eventually returned to her Tri-Town roots in education. In 2005, she was elected to the Rochester Memorial School Committee. In 2007, she was appointed to the Rochester Building Committee to help create an addition to Memorial School. In that role, she represented the Rochester School Committee and helped shepherd that addition to completion. For that effort, she earned regional media recognition.

            All along, Hartley’s focus has been caring for and inspiring students and teachers.

            “Through the years, I have been committed to the importance of collegiality and building relationships among the adults in schools,” she said. “It’s the spirit and the caring attitude of the staff that has a significant impact on students, as well as on the school’s quality and character. I value the environment of the educational community in our schools. It’s the caring adults in this school system that have made the difference for our students.”

By Michael J. DeCicco

Tri-County Symphonic Band

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On Sunday, June 8, the Tri-County Symphonic Band, directed by Philip Sanborn, will be under the Grand Tent at Tabor Academy for its Annual Pops Concert to benefit the John R. Pandolfi Music Scholarship Fund. The band will also collaborate with the South Coast Children’s Chorus, adding their abundant talents to our homage to the program entitled “An Animated Afternoon.” A special appearance by Sippican School’s own jazz group – The A-Minors – will be featured during the social hour before the concert.

            This year’s concert will be all about animation as the TCSB shines the spotlight on the music from such “drawn” classics as “Fantasia,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Incredibles” to name a few. We hope to inspire the cartoon buff in us all as we tip our hats to some of the finest music from these animated feature productions. Catering will be provided by On the Go catering.

            Doors will open at 12:00 noon. The music starts at 2:00 pm and social hour at 1:00 pm. The grand tent, with ample space and excellent ventilation on all sides, is virtually an open-air concert venue.

            General Admission Tickets are $40 in advance and can be purchased at the Symphony Music Shop in North Dartmouth, The Marion General Store or online at www.tricountysymphonicband.org/ General Admission Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of the event for $50 each.