Ghosts, Explaining the Paranormal

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The Rev’d Eric E. Fialho, Rector at Saint Gabriel’s Church in Marion, will be leading a six-week comprehensive course exploring how the Church defines, understands and explains the topic of Ghosts. Fr. Fialho is an accomplished instructor and has taught courses on many topics over the years, but he said that this one will probably be his favorite. Fialho had this to say about his upcoming class “Ghosts. Explaining the Paranormal”, This is a topic that interests many people, sometimes for the wrong reasons. There are many books and movies and TV shows on the subject of ghosts, and the public continues to be fascinated by the paranormal. We are all spiritual beings and most of us wonder about what happens to us when we die.”

            Fialho will focus on how the church has looked at this topic and made sense of it. Fialho added, “Without giving too much away, I think people will be very surprised by what they will learn over these six weeks. I am excited to burst bubbles and surprise people.” Through readings from Holy Scripture, Church mothers and fathers, and experts in the ever-evolving fields of parapsychology and exorcism, students will study one of the most misunderstood areas of belief in Christianity. Speaking about the sessions Fialho had this to say, “They will be an hour and a half each and consist of lecture, discussion, and story telling. I wanted to create a space which is both intellectual and folksy. I really wanted to make sure people had the ability to share personal ghost stories if they wanted to. I have also invited an exorcist from the Episcopal Church to guest lecture on one of the evenings.”

            This is a free-of-charge hybrid course, and will take place in-person at 124 Front St. in Marion on Wednesday evenings from 6:45 pm to 8:15 pm from September 25 to October 30. College-level reading assignments will be given for almost all sessions, and this course is open to all people aged 18 and up. Fialho hopes that many people from the area will want to attend, and he has made space accommodations for what will prove to be a very popular course. If you plan on attending in-person or via Zoom, please email Parish Administrator, Jenny Lima at stgabrielsmarion@gmail.com. In order to attend the course, students are asked to plan to be present for all sessions. Auditing and dropping in and out will not be allowed for this course.

            Fialho will also be leading an optional “field trip” to Salem in October and bring attendees around on a private tour. Information and signup about the field trip will be provided during the first session.

Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee

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The Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee welcomes members, guests and community members to join us on Thursday, September 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm to attend our monthly meeting. The location is at the Knights of Columbus, 57 Fairhaven Road, Mattapoisett. Join in the discussion and planning of the upcoming Southcoast Rally.

            2024 MA Republican Primary winner of 10th Bristol State Representative is invited to speak and share his plans for a November victory with us. There will be light snacks, cash bar and good conversation. If you have any questions, contact Paul Crisuolo, Chairperson, PCMattyGOP@proton.me.

Durant Enacts Transition

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Rochester’s new town administrator, Cameron Durant, grabbed the reins of his job quickly at his first Select Board meeting Monday.

            The former Human Resources director for the Town of Fairhaven’s first motion as Rochester’s head administrator was to recommend disbanding the Town Administrator Search Committee, which the Select Board quickly did.

            “We’ll do another in another 30 years,” Durant said. To this, Select Board Chairman Brad Morse responded with a smile, “I sure hope so.”

            Next, Durant motioned and received approval to extend Interim Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar’s contract for that job for another month, to obviously assist him with the transition. Szyndlar will remain the town’s finance director until her retirement on June 30, 2025.

            The town administrator position was vacated by the prior administrator, Glenn Cannon, when he accepted a similar role in Carver in March.

            Durant requested that he be authorized to sign all grant awards and day-to-day operational agreements with town vendors. Before approving the latter, the Select Board voted to raise the monetary limit he can spend on such operations from $50,000 per contract to $100,000 per contract.

            In other action, Durant announced the bid opening for the Gifford Park playground construction project will be held on Thursday, September 12, at 11:00 am at Town Hall. The 3,649 square-foot children’s playground’s full cost will be $81,881.70. Half of that cost will be borne by the local non-profit “Tri-Town for Protecting Children.”

            Durant announced he will be available for a “meet and greet” with the public on Thursday, September 12, at 6:00 pm at the Council on Aging Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane.

            The Select Board approved two new Rochester Police policies and procedures recommended by the new police chief, Michael A. Assad, Jr. One is a new policy for promoting department officers. The other is a policy for town police officers and patrolmen taking a patrol car home.

            The board appointed Arthur Smith to the Registrar of Voters for a term to expire on April 30, 2027.

            The board approved the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s route through town for the Watershed Ride on October 6 and the Charles River Wheelers Ride route through town on October 13.

            The board endorsed a citation to retiring employee Lorraine Thompson for her 11 years of service with the Council on Aging.

            The board approved plans for 29 new Eversource and Verizon utility poles on Snipatuit Road between Numbers 722 and 865, 655 and 694, 500 and 610 and 280 North Avenue, and a new utility pole on Stevens Road.

            The board continued to January 27 its public hearings into plans for Eversource utility pole and manhole cover locations on Rounseville Road. An Eversource representative attending the meeting said the six poles in the island right-of-way have been moved, but the company is awaiting permission from the landowner for the relocation, and it needs wetlands permits for three of the poles.

            The board continued to January 27 its public hearing into plans for a new utility pole on Featherbed Lane.

            Both of the public hearings will take place at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

            The next Rochester Select Board meeting will be held on Monday, September 23, at 6:00 pm at the Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

MA Preservation Funds Available

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The Marion Historical Commission is sharing this preservation funding opportunity for eligible 501c(3) non-profit organizations throughout the Tri-Town area.

            Preservation Massachusetts has announced the 2025 round of the Massachusetts Historic Preservation Matching Grant Program.

            The 1772 Foundation, in cooperation with Preservation Massachusetts, is making available 1:1 matching grants of up to $10,000 for exterior preservation projects, such as painting, finishes and surface restoration; repair to/restoration of porches, roofs, and windows; foundation and sill repairs; and chimney and masonry repointing on historic buildings owned or leased by eligible non profit organizations.

            Properties must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places or be located within a Local Historic District to qualify. Schools and churches generally do not qualify.

            For the full announcement, important dates, criteria, and program details, visit the Preservation MA website at www.preservationmass.org. Questions on this grant program should be directed to: scaplanson@preservationmass.org.

            Letters of Inquiry are due by November 1.

Artist Meet & Greet

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In conjunction with JP Powel’s Mattapoisett Library Art Series painting exhibit called Back Roads, Wild and Imagined Places at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library (September 3 – 29), Powel will be at the library in person on Wednesday, September 18 from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm for a Meet & Greet. Come meet Powell and hear about his work. He will be bringing his sketchbooks containing pen and ink drawings for all to view.

Love Without Limits

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On September 28 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, First Congregational Church of Rochester, 11 Constitution Way, will hold a free marriage conference and lunch for couples of all ages. “Love Without Limits” will teach couples how to maintain a God-centered loving marriage your entire life. Andrew and Jacquelyn Liput, who have been married for 28 years and raised four girls, will facilitate. Throughout the years, their faith has seen them endure ups and downs, yet they remain best friends and loving companions. Andrew is a lawyer and businessman, and he is currently the CEO of a technology company that prevents financial fraud. Jacquelyn has worked in government and fund-raising, and she has also been a home-school teacher to her youngest daughter. For more information or to register, contact the church office at 508-763-4314 or rochestercongregational@comcast.net.

Sean Patrick Young

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Sean Patrick Young, 62, of Acushnet, passed away at St. Luke’s Hospital, the day after his birthday, on September 6, 2024 after a tragic accident.  He was surrounded by his loving family and heroic hospital staff as he drew his last breath.  

            A humble, kind, self-reliant, devout, and eccentric man, Sean truly stepped to the beat of his own drummer, “however measured or far away.”  Born in New Bedford, Sean spent his childhood exploring in Marion, Massachusetts and graduated from Bishop Stang High School, where he ran track.  He was truly a South Coast native, hunting, fishing, walking, and tilling the land around Buzzards Bay.  Widely read and self-educated, Sean earned an Associate’s degree in history and could talk at length on European and Native American history, religion, current events, and the environment.  Though he truly was a homebody, he was fortunate enough to have traveled a couple of times in his life, once with a Christian Brother to Guatemala and another to a remote Indian reservation in British Columbia to hunt moose. 

            Despite his individualism, Sean was a stickler for the rules, hunting and fishing sustainably, riding his motorcycle cautiously with bright colors or reflective vests, and remaining orthodox in his Christian beliefs. Recently, Sean had entered remission after courageously battling multiple myeloma for the past four years. 

            Moreover, Sean had an immense capacity to empathize with others’ suffering.  In times of sickness or sorrow, Sean was the first to arrive at a family member’s bedside or front door.  He never forgot a birthday, and always gave thoughtful, carefully and creatively-wrapped Christmas gifts to his family.  Those who knew Sean will remember him for his kind smile and his infectious laugh that he would sometimes emit to himself at some ironic thought, while twisting a few strands of hair let loose from his ponytail.  

            Sean leaves behind his mother, Sharon L. Young, and her husband Donald Mayers of Marion; his father, Charles R. Young and wife Maria of Natick; his brother Andrew of Needham; his brother Charles of Franklin; his brother Christopher and wife Lisa and their children Thomas and Meghan of Fall River; his brother Michael and wife Jennifer with their children Tyler Harrison and Katherine Mary of Marion; and many cousins.

            He was predeceased by his brother Joseph, and his grandparents, Sydney and Beulah Burrell, and Mary and Rene Charles Young.

            His visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 11th from 4-7 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett.  His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, September 12th, at 10 AM at St. Anthony’s Church, 26 Hammond St, Mattapoisett.  Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Fairhaven. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your local blood bank or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in memory of Sean Young at themmrf.org. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Hello, Covid, My Old ‘Friend’

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We’ve come to see you once again. (Cue Simon and Garfunkel.)

            The pandemic is behind us, and life has mostly returned to normal, but Covid has not disappeared. Instead, this summer has seen an increase in cases and in such measures as virus detection in wastewater samples.

            Thanks to widespread vaccination and the immunity conferred by infection and recovery, we have not seen the huge numbers of hospitalizations and deaths that we did in 2020-21.

            Covid is still a serious threat, particularly to the elderly and those with immune deficiency, and it has shown a remarkable ability to mutate into variants to which we are not fully immune. There has been a whole alphabet soup of new variants, and the original vaccinations you received will offer only limited protection to the current virus.

            The FDA has recently approved a new vaccine and ordered the old ones taken off the market. The new vaccine is not perfect – the virus mutates too quickly – but should provide better protection and will be widely available in September.

            While Covid is not “seasonal” the way influenza is, I expect an increase in infections as we get into colder weather and people congregate indoors.

            What should you do?

            If you have had a case in the last three to four months, the natural immunity this provides suggests you put off getting vaccinated until later in the fall.

            If you have been lucky enough to avoid Covid over the summer, getting the new vaccine as soon as it is available is suggested, particularly if you are over 65.

            Also, there is good evidence that wearing a mask in crowded indoor environments is helpful, as well as such commonsense advice as staying home when you are sick and using good hand-washing practice. This will reduce not only Covid, but other respiratory viruses.

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

What Does The Doctor Say?

By Dr. Edward Hoffer

Rochester Historical Museum

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Our monthly meeting will be on September 18 at 7:00 at the Rochester Historical Museum at 355 County Rd., Rochester. Our speaker, David Schafer, will talk about the research that the Sons of the American Revolution engage in to find and honor the graves of those who fought in the Revolutionary War.

            Following his talk, we will have refreshments and conversation. All are welcome.

Mattapoisett Cultural Council

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Mattapoisett Cultural Council invites grant proposals for community-oriented arts, humanities, and science programs until October 16 at massculturalcouncil.org/communities/local-cultural-council-program/application-process/. Grants are available to support cultural projects and activities in and around Mattapoisett, — including exhibits, festivals, field trips, short-term artist residencies or performances in schools, workshops and lectures. These programs promote the availability of rich cultural experiences for Mattapoisett residents.

            Eligible applicants include individuals, nonprofit organizations, associations or groups with a nonprofit purpose, public schools (including teachers, student groups and parent groups), libraries and other municipal agencies and religious organizations or for-profit organizations under certain circumstances.

            Applicants are encouraged to review local funding priorities at www.mass-culture.org/mattapoisett. Applications will be evaluated with respect to how well the program meets local priorities, community support and involvement, evidence of track record, evidence that a public benefit will result from the project, financial need and demonstrated planning.

            Recently funded projects included: theatrical, literary and science programs for children and adults at Mattapoisett Free Public Library, concerts by Sippican Choral Society, SouthCoast Children’s Chorus, and Tri-County Symphonic Band, programs and exhibits at Mattapoisett Museum, and in-school and summertime arts and science programs sponsored by the Mattapoisett PTA, Mattapoisett Recreation, Mattapoisett Land Trust and New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, among others.

            To contact Mattapoisett Cultural Council directly with questions, please email us at chrisbrennan1955@comcast.net