Local Club Highlights Women in Business

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The Rochester Women’s Club plans to start off the new year by highlighting the contributions that area women make to the local economy. The club invites area business women to share their work at the January 5 meeting of the Rochester Women’s Club. The program will also give be an opportunity to network with other business women and club members.

Any woman interested in offering a brief description of her business is encouraged to call club president Marsha Hartley to register as a speaker. She may be reached at 508-322-0998.

The meeting will take place at the clubhouse on Marion Road, Rochester Center and begin with a business meeting at 6:30 pm. The program will follow at 7:00 pm. Any area women interested in the presentations or the club are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.

Marion Republican Town Committee

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The Marion Republican Town Committee will conduct its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 3 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion. New members welcome.

Sippican Choral Spring Rehearsals

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The Sippican Choral Society welcomes singers for its 2012 Spring Concert, with rehearsals beginning January 9. Rehearsals are held weekly at 7:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church’s Reynaud Hall, 27 Church Street, Mattapoisett. New members are welcome to join until January 23. Songs of Inspiration and Remembrance, featuring Fauré’s Requiem, will be the focus of the 2012 Spring Concert, which will be held April 27-28. Please arrive 15 minutes early to register. Semester dues are $35. For more information: osuch1@aol.com, or visit our website at www.SippicanChoral.org.

“Silver Foxx” Performs in Mattapoisett

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“The Silver Foxx” George Cataldo will present “Music Through the Ages” on Thursday, January 26 at the Mattapoisett Council on Aging, Center School, third floor auditorium at 17 Barstow Street, Mattapoisett. There will be a 12:30 pm luncheon and the show will be from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Come enjoy songs from the Big Band era, music from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and other classics all the way to the present. There is enough room for dancing too, so come have a good time.

Cost is $5 per person. Contact the Mattapoisett COA by January 23 for reservations: 508-758-4110.

SOLE Strives to Buy Fair Trade Soccer Balls

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Old Rochester Regional High School is home to a student organization known as SOLE, or Students Organizing Labor Equality. A division of the United Students Against Sweatshops guided by student president Sara DeMello and teacher advisor Colin Everett, SOLE meets on Wednesday afternoons in the school library to discuss and initiate ways of encouraging Old Rochester Regional to take a stand in favor of fair trade practices. Last year, SOLE was successful in purchasing fair trade soccer balls for the entire boys’ soccer team; this year, SOLE hopes to raise enough funds from its Technology Drive to purchase fair trade soccer balls for the girls’ team. The drive, which runs from January 4 to January 19, 2012, requires donations of iPods and mp3 players, cell phones from at least 2005, GPS systems from at least 2008, digital cameras and camcorders from at least 2006, video games and gaming consoles, DVDs, and laptops from at least 2008. Donations may be dropped off at the front office of the high school, among other locations.

SOLE hopes to make between $250 and $300 with the Technology Drive, as that figure will help the school to make the purchase of the fair trade soccer balls, which are naturally more expensive. “The budget that the soccer team normally puts forth, they put forth,” Ms. DeMello said, explaining that SOLE will pay the differential. “We buy [the soccer balls] in a bulk pack of 10 because they will use them for practice balls.”

Ms. DeMello also explained how the Technology Drive works. “What happens is we collect the old technology, we package it and send it to this website, and they refurbish it and send it out. We’re planning [the drive] right after the holidays and we live in a fairly affluent area — we’re going on the assumption that people will donate old items. It’s a responsible way for people to recycle their electronics and it benefits the school,” Ms. DeMello concluded. She also mentioned the specified dates for some of the gadgetry, explaining that donations need to follow those guidelines because technologies older than those that are accepted will actually cost the school to send to the refurbishing website, since those items are not appropriate for resale — they are too old.

The idea for the Technology Drive originally came from Ms. DeMello’s mom; Ms. DeMello brought it to the first meeting of SOLE this year, which she said was a fundraising brainstorm session. She added that the organization hopes the drive will be a success because “it hasn’t been done before,” while other traditional fundraisers like bake sales “have been done to death.”

Currently, there are three drop-off sites at Old Rochester Regional High School. One is in the front office, one is in the guidance office, and the last is in Mr. Everett’s room. There is also a box at Sippican Elementary School in Mrs. Roseman’s room. “We’re going to try to have them at all of the elementary schools to cover the district,” Ms. DeMello said. “The one the towns can use is in the front office [of the high school].”
The goal of SOLE is, as Ms. DeMello said, “to get ORR to automatically incorporate fair trade things in the budget.” To that end, SOLE meets to research information about what in the school can be fair trade. Ms. DeMello explained that organizations like SOLE usually start at colleges and then branch out to high schools, and thus there is a precedence for schools taking a stand in favor of fair trade practices. After the conclusion of the Technology Drive and the purchase of the fair trade soccer balls, SOLE is looking to a new potential project (a past one included a shoe drive for disaster relief in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake). “We tentatively talked about substituting a different soda/drink company because Coca-Cola violates human rights laws,” Ms. DeMello said. “It would be a lot bigger than soccer balls.” Ms. DeMello explained that such an endeavor would require presentations to the school board.

Speaking on the merit of having SOLE as a student organization at Old Rochester Regional High School, Ms. DeMello expressed belief in the need to educate members of the Tri-Town about the subject. “A lot of people refer to us as hippies,” Ms. DeMello said, “but it’s not about that—it’s about the belief that we, as a community, should take a stand.”

A press release has been posted on the website of Old Rochester Regional High School and lists the technology items that may be dropped off in the box at the front office. The drive runs from January 4 to January 19, 2012.

By Anne Smith

Marion Vo-Tech Options to Grow

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The Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School (UCCRTS), where Marion students attend, recently broke ground on a 10,000 square foot building, known as the Nursing and Allied Health Education Center.

“The demand for skilled workers in the medical field is growing and we want to provide even more opportunity for our students,” said Kevin Farr, Superintendent of the school.

Much of the construction is being done by students and staff. “If all goes well with the weather, we would like to see occupancy in the fall of 2013,” said Mr. Farr.

Years ago, the Tri-Town grappled with how and where to educate high school students in a vocational technical setting.

Rochester and Mattapoisett joined a pact with Acushnet, Carver, Freetown and Lakeville and agreed that their students would attend Old Colony Vocational Technical High School in Rochester. Old Colony currently has 67 students from Rochester and 39 from Mattapoisett.

Marion joined in with Wareham, Falmouth, Bourne and Sandwich and is part of the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School (UCCRTS) in Bourne.

The UCCRTS sits on 70 acres, and has views of both the Bourne Bridge and the Railroad Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. A brochure provided to potential students features a photo of the bridges with the slogan, “Your bridge to the future, your gateway to success.”

Approximately 700 students attend the four-year high school. The breakdown shows only 20 students from Marion, while Wareham has 226, Bourne at 120, Falmouth at 199 and Sandwich at 127. Why so few from Marion?

“Based on the total year round population, I think that this number is a little low based on history. Families have so many high school options today,” said Mr. Farr.

“I believe we do a good job of presenting our curriculum and offerings to the Marion students at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School. It’s difficult to get students to move from a Junior/Senior setting where they feel comfortable… and, our other five towns move from an 8th grade building to the high school, while Marion jumps to the junior high after 6th grade, “ said Mr. Farr.

According to Ernest Yeaw, a Marion resident and a plumbing and heating instructor at the school, Marion students are overlooking the value of a high quality vocational education.

“This isn’t your father’s vo-tech,” said Mr. Yeaw. “We go beyond and include everything from filling out a building permit, writing checks and other life lessons that go along with being a professional in today’s world.”

The offerings at the school include: automotive collision repair, automotive technology, carpentry, cosmetology, culinary arts, electrical, engineering technology, environmental technology, health careers, horticulture, information technology, marine technology and plumbing/heating.

According to Mr. Farr, the school received 335 applications from potential students, but could only accept 180. “It’s competitive, and getting more so, with an admissions policy that is based on a 100 point score for grades, behavior, attendance and a personal interview.

“I graduated in 1996,” said Mr. Yeaw, “and it’s amazing the changes that have taken place in the technology area… where the new jobs are being created… vo-tech isn’t for [those] who can’t make it academically…that’s a myth. The ones from Marion who aren’t accepted as freshman here at UCCRTS, have to go to ORR, so it’s just the opposite of what many people think.”

The school has a wind turbine and solar panels that heat water tanks in the waste water treatment area. Horticulture students maintain the extensive grounds. The school also has a restaurant, open to the public from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Reservations are required 24 hours ahead, so students know how much food to prepare. The school also has a hair salon and an auto maintenance facility.

For more information or a tour of the school, which is located at 220 Sandwich Road, Bourne, MA, call the school office at 508-759-7711. To learn more about UCCRTS, go to www.uppercapetech.com.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

American Mah-Jongg in Mattapoisett

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Bam, crack, flower…these strange words and many others can be heard on a regular basis at the Mattapoisett Council on Aging’s Social and Wellness Center in Center School on Barstow Street where the game of Mah-Jongg is played every Wednesday at 1:30 pm.  Usually, at least two tables, with 8-10 players come together in the comfortable, brightly lit game room at the COA.

Regulars include Bob Kelley, Susanne Medeiros, Nancy Fleming and Bernice Fastoso who welcome novices to sit alongside and watch the game while players explain the various moves, skipped turns, dealing techniques and symbols and language surrounding the tiles’ characters.

It was Ms. Fastoso and Ms. Medeiros’ idea, as members of the Friends of the Elderly of Mattapoisett, Inc., to bring the game to the COA in November.

“We meet in Acushnet on Mondays and also play in one anothers’ homes…we thought it would be a good idea to introduce others to the game here (in Mattapoisett) and started playing here on Wednesdays,” said Ms. Medeiros.  Everyone is welcome to come and learn how to play.  “Beginners are welcome,” said Ms. Fleming.

Ms. Fastoso, a very skilled player, suggests the book Beginners Guide to American Mah-Jongg as a great way to learn more about the game and read up on the various rules. The game is played with 136 white tiles with characters and symbols, similar to suits in card games.  Each player receives 13 tiles which they draw upon and discard with the goal of matching up the tiles to represent a winning string of 14 tiles listed on a fold out sheet of paper sitting in front of them.  The 14th tile is acquired in picking up and discarding during the game.

According to Ms. Fastoso, a new card is issued each year, in April, by the American Mah-Jongg Association and costs $7.  The card lists the acceptable combinations of tiles which make a winning hand.  Players use the same card for a year and can play with it anywhere in the U.S., and online.  The first player to complete one of the winning hands listed on the card wins.  American Mah-Jongg differs from other versions, including the original, from China, which has been in existence for centuries.

Mah-Jongg, also spelled Mah-Jongg is normally, but not always, played by four players sitting at a card table.  The basics of the game are similar to the card game gin rummy, with Mah-Jongg being played with tiles, instead of cards.  The game involves both skill and luck in the draw of tiles.  Jokers are wild and can be substituted for tiles a player is seeking to round out their hand.  The characters can be white, green or red, which also match up by color and by suit.

When asked about gambling on the outcome of the game, which is popular in Asia, Ms. Fastoso said that when she plays with friends in Florida, they’ll bet $3 on a game.

“That’s a high stakes game,” joked Ms. Fastoso, “once you lose your $3, there are no more losses for the day.”

For Ms. Fastoso, the hardest part of the game is choosing which hand, on the card, to shoot for. “If you pick the wrong one…it’s like getting into the wrong line at the grocery store,” said Ms. Fastoso.

Visitor Peggy Cooper, a Mattapoisett native, said she dropped into the center for Mah-Jongg about three weeks ago.  “Bernie has been a lifesaver and I’ve learned so much already…the game, at first, is hard to learn, but you catch on quickly…I’m sticking with it,” said Ms. Cooper.

An informational hand out, prepared by Ms. Fastoso is given to each person who comes to the COA to learn about the game.  “It’s fun and keeps your mind going, “ said Ms. Fleming, “our goal is to have four or five tables of Mah Jongg going on at once…we have two tables now and some beginners watching and learning, so we want to encourage anyone who is interested to stop by and learn this fascinating game.”

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

Job’s Cove Pier Proposal Presented

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A proposed pier, 380 feet in length, with 12 pilings with a 5 foot width, which will cross a salt marsh in Job’s Cove was proposed at the Marion Conservation Commission meeting on Wednesday.

The Notice of Intent, filed by Copper Medal LLC of 125-129 Converse Road requested permission to remove an existing solid-filled pier and construct a 380 foot long, pile-supported, T-shaped association pier in Job’s Cove with four gangways and four floats to service a total of eight homes (boats), consisting of four existing homes and four future single-family homes.

Dave Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider Associates represented the applicant and presented the plans which the board reviewed for the first time.

The association consists of 8 lots, of which 3 are vacant and for sale. Of the 8 lots, four are existing homes and one is a lot that has been purchased and will be built upon in the spring of 2012.

The proposed pier will allow for 8 slips, one for each homeowner in the association, for boats of an undetermined length. “Our goal is to solve the dilemma for access to boating for all the association members and for all the lots on the property,” said Mr. Davignon. Mr. Davignon said that remnants from an old pier, with only large rocks remaining, would be removed.

Conservation Commission member Norm Hills looked at the plans and suggested another location for boat access which would provide direct access to the water and lessen the overall impact on shellfish and fragile marsh area.

“Why is the proposal here when it would provide a more direct access and less impact over here?” asked Mr. Hills, in looking at the plans. In an exchange, it was noted that the proposed pier was located where there would be equal access to all homeowners in the parcel, possibly via golf-cart, to the centrally located pier.

When asked about the proposed length of the boats to be docked, Mr. Davignon said that it had not yet been determined.

“The size of the boat would give us something to start with,” said committee member Sherman Briggs. “That’s the starting point to determine the pier length, the closeness of floats and the environmental impact of the proposal.”

It was also noted that the proposed pier is near the recently approved half acre aquaculture project which has the potential of expanding into a one acre farm. “How close is this to that project?” asked Mr. Briggs. “These plans don’t show it. We need plans that show the proximity to that area,” said Mr. Hills.

Another issue brought up by committee member Norm Hills was the shade impact of a 380 foot pier as well as the depth of the separation from the bottom of the harbor to the proposed floats at low tide, which were less than the two and half feet recommended by a federal agency.

Mr. Davignon said that he was open to comments from all the committees and agencies involved in the proposal, including the local Marion Conservation Committee, Marion Harbormaster, Marion Planning Board and the MA Department of Fisheries, Army Corps of Engineers, National Heritage for Endangered Species and Coastal Zone Management Agency and others.

“I’m gathering comments right now,” said Mr. Davignon, “to revise and refine the proposal.”

The public has 30 days to comment on the proposal presented at the meeting.

The application was continued until January 11, 2012 at 7:20 pm.

Next up was the continuation of the proposal by Bay Watch Realty Trust for a Notice of Intent at Lots 27-29 off Front Street (Rote 105) to construct an affordable housing complex under Chapter 40B with associated parking areas, on-site and off-site utility connections, storm water management infrastructure and related mitigation measures.

The board said they were unable to comment on the proposal, due to a lack of information not yet received back by various agencies and individuals working on their behalf, but would listen to the comments by Bay Watch representatives.

Mr. Sean Hale, of Epsilon spoke about the “replication principals” surrounding the environmental impact of the shade canopy of the wood bridge entering the project, the shrubs and ground cover. “This is very similar to what was proposed before, but it’s on a smaller scale… We’re matching species that is already there… red maple, sweet pepper bush and doing soil replications,” said Mr. Hale.

Bay Watch attorney, Mr. Richard Nilen asked if a check for fees associated with a peer review study would be accepted and agreed that a sum of $2000 would be given for that purpose by Bay Watch Realty Trust.

The board agreed to continue the hearing, scheduled for January 11, 2012 at 7:20.

In other business, the board voted to increase their proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2013 to $3000, up from the current 2012 fiscal year budget of $2512, to allow for on site training for existing members and to train a new associate member and for items that fall into capital improvement, including technical equipment, which don’t fall into the 5 year, long term capital improvement category.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

SOLE Strives to Buy Fair Trade Soccer Balls

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Old Rochester Regional High School is home to a student organization known as SOLE, or Students Organizing Labor Equality.  A division of the United Students Against Sweatshops guided by student president Sara DeMello and teacher advisor Colin Everett, SOLE meets on Wednesday afternoons in the school library to discuss and initiate ways of encouraging Old Rochester Regional to take a stand in favor of fair trade practices.  Last year, SOLE was successful in purchasing fair trade soccer balls for the entire boys’ soccer team; this year, SOLE hopes to raise enough funds from its Technology Drive to purchase fair trade soccer balls for the girls’ team.  The drive, which runs from January 4 to January 19, 2012, requires donations of iPods and mp3 players, cell phones from at least 2005, GPS systems from at least 2008, digital cameras and camcorders from at least 2006, video games and gaming consoles, DVDs, and laptops from at least 2008.  Donations may be dropped off at the front office of the high school, among other locations.

SOLE hopes to make between $250 and $300 with the Technology Drive, as that figure will help the school to make the purchase of the fair trade soccer balls, which are naturally more expensive.  “The budget that the soccer team normally puts forth, they put forth,” Ms. DeMello said, explaining that SOLE will pay the differential.  “We buy [the soccer balls] in a bulk pack of 10 because they will use them for practice balls.”

Ms. DeMello also explained how the Technology Drive works.  “What happens is we collect the old technology, we package it and send it to this website, and they refurbish it and send it out.  We’re planning [the drive] right after the holidays and we live in a fairly affluent area — we’re going on the assumption that people will donate old items.  It’s a responsible way for people to recycle their electronics and it benefits the school,” Ms. DeMello concluded.  She also mentioned the specified dates for some of the gadgetry, explaining that donations need to follow those guidelines because technologies older than those that are accepted will actually cost the school to send to the refurbishing website, since those items are not appropriate for resale — they are too old.

The idea for the Technology Drive originally came from Ms. DeMello’s mom; Ms. DeMello brought it to the first meeting of SOLE this year, which she said was a fundraising brainstorm session.  She added that the organization hopes the drive will be a success because “it hasn’t been done before,” while other traditional fundraisers like bake sales “have been done to death.”

Currently, there are three drop-off sites at Old Rochester Regional High School.  One is in the front office, one is in the guidance office, and the last is in Mr. Everett’s room.  There is also a box at Sippican Elementary School in Mrs. Roseman’s room.  “We’re going to try to have them at all of the elementary schools to cover the district,” Ms. DeMello said.  “The one the towns can use is in the front office [of the high school].”

The goal of SOLE is, as Ms. DeMello said, “to get ORR to automatically incorporate fair trade things in the budget.”  To that end, SOLE meets to research information about what in the school can be fair trade.  Ms. DeMello explained that organizations like SOLE usually start at colleges and then branch out to high schools, and thus there is a precedence for schools taking a stand in favor of fair trade practices.  After the conclusion of the Technology Drive and the purchase of the fair trade soccer balls, SOLE is looking to a new potential project (a past one included a shoe drive for disaster relief in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake).  “We tentatively talked about substituting a different soda/drink company because Coca-Cola violates human rights laws,” Ms. DeMello said.  “It would be a lot bigger than soccer balls.”  Ms. DeMello explained that such an endeavor would require presentations to the school board.

Speaking on the merit of having SOLE as a student organization at Old Rochester Regional High School, Ms. DeMello expressed belief in the need to educate members of the Tri-Town about the subject.  “A lot of people refer to us as hippies,” Ms. DeMello said, “but it’s not about that—it’s about the belief that we, as a community, should take a stand.”

A press release has been posted on the website of Old Rochester Regional High School and lists the technology items that may be dropped off in the box at the front office.  The drive runs from January 4 to January 19, 2012.

By Anne Smith

100% Compliance in Rochester

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On December 29, 2011 the Rochester Police Department conducted alcohol compliance checks on establishments in town that hold liquor licenses. During the checks, police send an underage buyer into each package store and restaurant and they attempt to purchase alcohol. Clerks at Lloyds Market, Plumb Corner Market, and Adrian’s Package Store as well as wait staff at Matt’s Blackboard all requested identification from the underage buyer and refused the sale when she told them she did not have an ID. The Rochester Golf Course was not checked because they are closed for the season.

“I am so pleased that we had 100% compliance from our license holders,” said Rochester Police Chief Paul H. Magee. “This is the goal of the compliance check program and because of the efforts of the license holders, we reached that goal today.”

The department conducts the compliance checks to help ensure that alcohol is not easily making it into the hands of underage drinkers. The department has been conducting compliance checks since 2004.

Rochester Police Department Press Release