Mattapoisett Elementary Schools Budget

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To the Editor:

            It is critical that Mattapoisett voters understand the FY23 Mattapoisett Elementary Schools Budget that has been recommended by the Mattapoisett School Committee, which represents a modest increase for next school year. The proposal is a level-service budget that aims to maintain the current resources and does not include recommendations for any new positions or programming.

            If the proposed budget is not approved at Town Meeting on May 9th, the School Department will have no choice but to layoff teachers and support staff to balance the budget. As a result, our class sizes could increase, electives (i.e. art, music, technology) may become more limited, and special education and student service supports would be negatively impacted.

            The recent vote held by the Mattapoisett Finance Committee to not support the proposed budget is not only disappointing, but disheartening.

            The Mattapoisett School Committee facilitates a thorough budget development process open to the general public and involves ongoing communication with the Town Administrator, Finance Committee, and Select Board. Four Budget Sub-Committee meetings were held in accordance with open meeting laws leading to the Public Budget Hearing that was held on April 4. The School Department met with the Finance Committee and Select Board to discuss the proposed budget, hear feedback, and answer questions. Throughout the process, documentation was shared including a line-item budget, class-size data, etc. These efforts are made to collaborate and ensure the process is comprehensive and transparent not only to town officials but the community at large.

            The Mattapoisett School Committee wishes to address certain topics discussed at recent Finance Committee meetings. First, no school administrator’s salary increase has been determined for FY23, and no school administrator received more than a 3% salary increase in FY22. Second, the building administration will remain a two-person team with one school administrator overseeing the day-to-day operations at Center and Old Hammondtown schools. Lastly, the current number of school-choice students enrolled in Mattapoisett Elementary Schools does not impact the number of teachers needed, nor does it influence current staffing needs at Center or Old Hammondtown but does generate additional revenue per state reimbursement rates.

            We urge Mattapoisett voters to prevent staffing cuts and reduction of programming by supporting the school budget at the May 9 Town Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Rochester Regional High School Auditorium.

Sincerely,

Karin Barrows

Carole Clifford

Tiffini Reedy

Vice Chairperson Carly Lavin

Chairperson James Muse

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.

Robert Randall Sworn In

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Robert Randall was sworn in as Sergeant with the Mattapoisett Police Department, and three, new full-time officers, from left: Louis DaSilva, Matthew Bates and Aaron Myers, were introduced during a special meeting of the Select Board on Monday at the fire station. Chief of Police Jason King welcomed the new officers, and Randall was sworn in by Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger. Randall’s daughter Madelyn, 9, applied his pin, as his son Beau, 8, looked on. A 2000 graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School, Randall has spent 15 years on the force. DaSilva, 44, a Fairhaven resident with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Wentworth, was a deputy sheriff of Bristol County; Bates, 40, a longtime Mattapoisett resident who graduated from Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School, worked in Rochester prior to his transfer and is an EMT; Myers, 25, a Fairhaven resident with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Bridgewater State University, was part time with the Mattapoisett Police Department and graduated this year from the 71st Plymouth Police Academy. Photos by Mick Colageo

Decades-Old Covenant Released

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Monday night’s brief Mattapoisett Planning Board meeting found the members looking at a 1987 subdivision roadway covenant for a project that never took place.

            Outgoing member Janice Robbins said that while combing through files in the Planning Board office, she happened upon an unreleased roadway covenant for Brookside Estates, a subdivision that would later be absorbed into another project along Appaloosa Lane off River Road. Robbins said that a subsequent subdivision was filed with a different road covenant and that the earlier encumbrance should have been released when the newer filings were made. She asked Planning Board Chairman Tom Tucker to call for a vote to release the 1987 covenant. When the vote was taken, all were in agreement.

            Waivers for the Park Lane two-lot subdivision as represented by David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon and Leone, Inc., were granted and the public hearing closed. Those waivers included that the subdivision standards be waived for sidewalks, length of dead-end streets and that a hammerhead design of dead-end street be permitted. Davignon also pointed out that peer-review consultant Ken Motta of Field Engineering reviewed the plans positively, as had the Highway and Fire departments. Robbins said she would write the decision in the next few days.

            Dandy Realty Trust’s Nicky Lane roadway for a subdivision was closed to future public comment, as Robbins noted the numerous continuances the project has requested and received. While the board voted to grant a continuance to June 6 and an extension to June 30, the motion also included that this would be the final such action taken by the board.

            As the night’s business wrapped up, Robbins, who has declined to run for reelection to the board, said of her time as a member, “It’s been a good experience, but the last year has been very stressful.” She has publicly stated that a lack of clerical support and lack of an experienced town planner has pushed the board to take on unplanned responsibilities with much work pending.

            Tucker said, “You’ve contributed so much to this board.” Member Karen Field thanked Robbins for her expertise and thorough, detailed work. Member Arlene Fidalgo said, “You are much appreciated.”

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, May 16, at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

Upcoming Program at Rochester Historical Society

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We are really excited to be offering a program by Rochester resident, Stephen DiMarzo at our monthly meeting on May 18 at 7:00 pm. He will be talking about the work he has done investigating petroglyphs and stone structures found in the area. The descriptions of these carvings and their connection to indigenous people will give us a look back at the ancient history that is still around us. We are looking forward to a good turnout for this special program. The museum is at 355 County Road. This also presents an opportunity to visit our current exhibit and enjoy some delicious refreshments.

Free Community Shred Event

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A free, community Shred Event will be held on Saturday, June 4, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center parking lot, 465 Mill Street, Marion. Securely dispose of your unwanted papers and keep your identity safe and out of the trash. This is a free event. We do ask that you bring a non-perishable donation for the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center Food Pantry.

Sippican Woods

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To the Editor;

            The Mattapoisett Tree Committee would like to thank the Highway Department and Tree Warden for planting two trees at the Police Station for Arbor 2022. Highway Surveyor Garrett Bauer and his crew, along with Tree Warden Roland Cote, were instrumental in the placement and planting of the trees.

            One of the trees, a white Magnolia, was planted and a plaque was placed to recognize the Town’s first responders and emergency personnel. We would also like to thank Police Chief King for his support and assistance over the past several months.   

Sandra Hering

Chairperson, Mattapoisett Tree Committee

To our fellow residents of Marion:

            On May 9, we have the opportunity to officially welcome tax-paying residents with a positive impact on our town by voting YES on Article 40 and adopting Fieldstone Lane and Village Drive as public ways.

            When we vote YES on Article 40 at Town Meeting, we are siding with nurses, first responders, veterans, young professionals, retired grandparents and families with kids at Sippican and other district schools.

            When one votes NO on Article 40, they are voting against their fellow tax-paying Marion residents. Since 2017, Fieldstone Lane has contributed roughly half a million dollars in taxes to the town. As proud tax-paying Marion residents, we support, donate and participate in our local community.

            While we were promised by the Town Manager a report to our neighborhood detailing issues that officials have with the road, we have still not received one, despite several requests.

            From what we can tell in his remarks to the media, the Town Manager has expressed his concern for a “major problem … with the Hammerhead T-shaped dead end.”

            Yet, the Marion Fire Department visited our street recently with their largest ladder truck to perform a turnaround, and they were quoted as being quite pleased with the configuration and its safety, especially as compared to others they have encountered in the town.

            What’s more, Waste Management has collected our trash and recycling with zero issues. A wide variety of carriers routinely deliver our packages. This road has been plowed for five years without any incident. And maintenance is expected to be a nonfactor for at least 15 years, according to the developer, due to the road’s newness.

            We are your friends, neighbors and fellow residents. We pay full property taxes and water bills. Please tell our representatives we deserve equal rights and privileges when you vote on May 9.

            Thank you,

Tia Getty on behalf of the Sippican Woods neighbors

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.

A Mother’s Day Remembered

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            The paper her note is written on has yellowed over the 54 years since she wrote it. The ink has faded a bit too. But her words carry so much relationship history, decades of living, so much pain, misunderstandings and yes, love that just holding the folded slip of paper inspires a flood of memories.

            I’ve cherished this note from the past, though it is a mere 27 words. She wrote to me, so it is important, and the words she wrote, well, every single one is a gift.

            For decades, I’ve kept her note safe and securely tucked under a velvet-covered jewelry case where I keep my best pieces. It waits there for my return just as she waited.

            About once a year, I’ll take it out and read her words, “Dearest Daughter – Thank you so much for the lovely flowers and gifts and for spending the day at home. It meant much to me. Love always Mother.” I think she wanted the note to hold as much significance to me as that day had held for her because she referred to herself as “Mother,” a name her children never used – she was always simply “Ma.”

            Ma’s thank-you note would have been written in 1968 or 1969, placing me at about 17 or 18 years old. By that point in time, the close relationship I had enjoyed with my mother had changed. I had become a rather bitter teenager and she a rather bitter mother, often at her wit’s end where I was concerned. There were boys of course, but not the type she wanted me around. Ma was right to be concerned for the most part. But I was very headstrong and immature.

            The early connection we had forged from her overwhelming need and maternal commitment to keep me breathing and my total, childlike devotion to her fused us together in spite of the arguments that would later scar us. Problems were never solved; they were just ignored until the next big thing came along. As we aged together, disagreements would become fewer, eventually evaporating into the ether of time.

            As for Ma, she’d had a tough upbringing. Her father had a stroke as a young man in his 40s, leaving his wife the sole provider for their children. My grandmother must have been exhausted most of the time. I image what it would have been like for her during those years when her husband was helplessly laid out in their front bedroom, demanding attention both implied and explicit.

            Ma told me stories of what her life was like before and after her father’s demise. He was a harsh, hardworking, French Canadian immigrant. He fished the local shores, eking out a very modest living. He could rain down terror on his children or go to New Bedford and bring home rock candy during Christmastime.

            After the stroke, my grandfather was totally undone. Paralyzed, he was unable to do much of anything for himself. Ma said she was about 12 years old when this happened. With her mother out working one of the many jobs she’d held until the day she too succumbed to a stroke, Ma became a caregiver. She once said to me, “Imagine being 12 years old and having to clean your father’s bedpan … awful!”

            The stress and struggles of her early life never really left Ma. She’d recall how completely crazed her mother became with worry in the aftermath of the 1946 gas explosion in Onset Center. Her youngest son couldn’t be found. That horrific event killed nine and injured 60. That missing son had witnessed the explosion but was safe.

            Ma could recall in detail how her mother would come home from work and immediately go to her room to remove her coreset. “She’d fling it around the bedpost,” Ma would chuckle. But then returning to her kitchen, my grandmother would cook for her hungry crew a simple but nourishing meal maybe of baked beans and brown bread or a stew with seasonal vegetables.

            “My mother was a good cook,” Ma would say. In spite of her feeling culinary inadequacy, I remember some truly wonderful meals at Ma’s table.

            Ma had the capacity to love deeply. Her grandchildren brought her joy. She’d lavish love on them. She’d watch them with care and a type of early childhood psychology her own children never experienced.

            Insight came to her late in life, and she mourned all she had poorly or not at all done for her children. I would tell her in those later years when she would feel sad over something she now believed she could have done better, “Ma, your children are adults. We are responsible for our own happiness and our own decisions.” Those talks never really eased her troubled mind.

            In the winter season of 1968-69, I was still living at home but either working, going to school or spending time with my boyfriend. I stayed away from home as much as possible.

            As that particular Mother’s Day approached, my boyfriend’s mother, in whom I had confided some truths about my relationship with my mother, encouraged me to cut Ma some slack. “She is your mother after all.” It was she who told me I should spend that Mother’s Day at home with my own mother. I have never regretted taking that advice.

            As the years went by, from that point forward I always made a point of spending as much time as possible with my mother on Mother’s Day. Those celebrations now blend into an overall memory of sentimental cards, flowers, small gifts, luncheons or maybe just taking her for a ride to get an ice cream.

            In the last two decades of Ma’s life, I spent hours either helping her with shopping or just going for those rides she’d call adventures. We even took a short vacation to Vermont where she marveled at the tree-covered mountains. I see her now riding shotgun as we toured the north and south shores, Cape Cod, Rochester, Marion and her beloved Onset. I’m so glad we had those times together. For me, as I now creep towards the twilight of my own life, the pleasant memories, thankfully stand out more and more.

            Holding that note, written so long ago by a mother who had a hard time saying “I love you,” is her Mother’s Day gift to me every year.

            If she knew I still had that note she might pooh-poo it as my being overly sentimental. The truth is, it reminds me that she always loved me even when I didn’t believe that was true. She was, after all, a mother – my Mother.

By Marilou Newell

Agent Replacement Requires Strategy

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A technical glitch that prematurely knocked the April 21 remote-access, public meeting of the Marion Board of Health offline was resolved with a special meeting called for April 27.

            In that subsequent meeting, the board officially closed unfinished business from April 21 and further developed its discussion on a strategy to replace Health Agent Ana Wimmer, who recently resigned.

            “All of us agree that it’s more than a 19-hour position,” said Board of Health member Dr. Ed Hoffer.

            Chairperson Dot Brown proposed hiring a part-time agent for all but septic-related work and contracting a consultant to do the septic work, suggesting that the applicant would pay for the consultant to look at the application. The part-time health agent would still need to help with the paperwork.

            The premise is that going forward, the health-agent position would hold the potential to grow into a full-time job.

            Brown said that Public Health Director/Nurse Lori Desmarais did “a beautiful job establishing a checklist” for such an arrangement, but Town Administrator Jay McGrail said the financial mechanism to execute it would require more information.

            In questioning whether the town can legally set up a 53G account for this purpose (as is commonly done for the sake of hiring peer-review consultants to advise town boards and commissions that adjudicate cases at the applicants’ expense,) McGrail noted that the money would go to general fund. The Board of Health, he said, has a revolving fund with a $70,000 cap earmarked for vaccine.

            Should the town opt to establish another revolving fund, it would require a vote at Town Meeting for approval.

            Meantime, the Board of Health would have to get a proposal from a consultant to verify the adequacy of a proposed fee.

            “George (Heufelder of the Barnstable County Environmental Health Division) has been reviewing Marion’s septic plans,” said Brown. “He is potentially the person who could do it, too.”

            Hoffer anticipates citizen pushback on the proposal, while Brown wondered aloud if the application fee could be applied toward an associated consultant’s fee.

            McGrail suggested advertising for the health-agent job, taking stock of the candidates and then based on that, determine a long-term strategy to shape the role.

            “We can maybe work on this too. Who does the reporting to whom?” asked Board of Health member Dr. John Howard, alluding protocols and procedures. “It’s a good time to deal with those two issues.”

            Howard said that for many years Marion had a part-time health agent and that “things did go well.”

            Hoffer disagreed, pointing to the situation at 464 Front that “stewed and festered” because it was put to the back burner and “not handled properly by our previous part-time person.”

            Howard said he does not want to look back at what went wrong but to the future.

            “I think there’s definitely a case for more than 19 hours. Things change, positions change and needs change,” said McGrail.

            Brown said Marion has not digitally recorded septic information to this point. “It’s an expense that’s there because we haven’t taken the time to do things in a better way and have that information available,” she said, noting that the town does not have a map of all the septic systems.

            Going forward, said Brown, Marion should be recording all work. I/A (denitrification) systems are followed up by Barnstable County, “but we have to make sure we give them all our information. … There’s still a lot of records there that are not updated,” she said.

            “These are reasons why we need additional hours,” said McGrail who said he would post the same part-time job by April 29.

            McGrail and one board member would screen candidates, after which interviews would be conducted.

            Desmarais said that (former health agent) Dave Flaherty is currently assisting the town but does not have time for food inspections.

            In other business, the board revoted and reaffirmed its denial of a variance at 6 Derby Lane, where applicants James and Cathy Tripp were looking to avoid the purchase of denitrification septic system contrary to Marion’s regulation as it applies to any new septic construction in town. The member then voted to close that public hearing.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Thursday, May 5, at 4:00 pm.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

New Members See Solar Go Underground

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The Rochester Conservation Commission approved an underground connection to solar power on Old Middleboro Road and gained two new members on Tuesday night.

            Middleboro Road solar-farm developer Solar MA Project Management, LLC’s original plan was to install utility poles down the length of Old Middleboro Road to a homeowner there. Tuesday night, company representatives proposed being allowed to bury the utility connections underground instead.

            “We decided the best path forward was changing from above-ground to below, using PVC pipe and pumps for the water we will encounter,” consultant Austin Turner said.

            Turner said this is a better alternative than the homeowner being cut off from access to the street by falling utility poles in a storm and having to cut down trees in the area.

            The Conservation Commission approved this plan after receiving assurances the work will be under the road surface and will not disturb the existing culverts.

            The roadwork proposal was acceptable, Conservation Commission Chairman Chris Gerrior explained later, because Old Middleboro Road is already an unpaved dirt road.

            The board’s most impactful action Tuesday, however, came before this vote. As the meeting began, Mike Gifford was appointed as a new full member. Gifford has been a resident for 65 years, he said, and is the third of his generation to reside in the town. He is retired after working 42 years in the defense industry, for Sippican, Inc. and Lockheed Martin.

            Bill Clapp was appointed as a new associate member. Clapp said he has been a resident most of his life. He is retired from a career in the finance and accounting field.

            Ironically, associate member Clapp was able to sit at the board’s table on Tuesday, but new full member Gifford was not allowed to do so because he has not yet been sworn in.

            In other action, the commission approved the compliance certificate for work to remove a trailer and block storage at 68 Bowens Lane that had been built within the 25-foot, no-disturb zone adjacent to an intermittent stream and to restore 2,735 square feet of that land.

            The commission had tabled a decision on this project at its last meeting in order to verify the work had been done. Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly said that after visiting the site, she has seen the work has been done. “The trailer and storage are long gone,” she said. “The area is marked by boulders and hydroseed.”

            The commission also approved scheduling a site visit to the MBTA facility at Routes 58 and 28 on Friday, May 6, at 9:00 am.

            The commission’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 17, at 7:00 pm at Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School, 476 North Avenue.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Michael J. DeCicco

Gross Comes Back Strong from Injury

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The Old Rochester Regional High School boys’ track team got off to a strong start this spring season, kicking off the spring season with dominant wins over Apponequet and Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. However, there was one valuable asset that the boys’ team was missing: sprinter Colby Gross.

            Gross was a standout athlete for the Bulldogs during the indoor season. He placed third in the 300 meters at the Division 4 championship with a time of 36.46 seconds, before running the 400 meters at the New Balance Indoor National Championship in New York. A foot injury kept him from running his best in that race and forced him to miss the opening portion of the outdoor season, but on April 28, he made his return in the Bulldogs’ meet against Somerset Berkley.

            In his first race back, Gross came in second place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.1, finishing just short of teammate Leo Schiappa’s 11.0. Gross followed up with a dominant win in the 200 meters, winning the race by a wide margin with a time of 22.5 seconds.

            Also contributing to the win was Schiappa, who on top of his 100 win also took first in the 400 and long jump. Sam Balsis came in first for the 400 hurdles, while Jackson Veugen picked up a win in the 2 mile, and John Kassabian won the high jump. Murray Copps, Aidan Silk and Veugen swept the mile, while Copps, Kassabian and Matthew Curry did the same in the 800.

            The girls’ team also continued their streak with a dominant 83-47 win. The Bulldogs will have their only home meet of the season on Thursday, May 5, when they host conference rival Dighton-Rehoboth at 3:45 pm.

Baseball

            The Bulldogs went 1-1 in their final two games of April, defeating Seekonk on April 27 before taking a 7-2 loss to Somerset Berkley on April 29. ORR kicked off May with a 7-6 win on Monday over Apponequet. The Bulldogs will visit Joseph Case on Friday, May 6, in Swansea.

Girls Lacrosse

            Following their first loss of the season to Dartmouth, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back with two big wins. On April 27, they defeated Dighton-Rehoboth, 14-4, in Mattapoisett and followed up the win with a 16-7 victory over Fairhaven on April 29. The Lady Bulldogs hosted Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech on Wednesday and will host Weymouth on Saturday, May 7.

Boys Lacrosse

            The boys’ lacrosse team continued to extend its win streak last week. On April 27, the Bulldogs visited Dighton-Rehoboth and picked up a 7-4 win. On April 29, they hosted Fairhaven and defeated the Blue Devils, 6-5. ORR visited Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech on Wednesday and will visit Seekonk on Wednesday, May 11.

Sports Roundup

By Matthew Curry