Young People’s Concert

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            The Marion Concert Band continues its Friday evening concert series with a Young People’s Concert on Friday, July 15. The concert will include an opportunity for children in the audience to play rhythm instruments with the band. The program is as follows:

Children’s March – E. F. Goldman

Looney Tunes Overture – B. Holcombe

A Disney Spectacular – arr. J. Moss

The Adventures of Kid Cam, the Rocketman. – D. Holsinger

Highlights from Frozen – arr. Sean O’Loughlin

Journey to the Lion’s Castle – R. Galante

Pixar Movie Magic – arr. M. Brown

Variations on “Bingo” – S. Reisteter

The Candy Man (from Willie Wonka) – A. Newley

Walt Disney Overture – J. Christensen

The Wizard of Oz Fantasy – H. Arlen

Moana – arr. J. Bocook

Shrek Dance Party – arr. P. Murtha

            The concert, under the direction of Tobias Monte, will begin at 7:00 at the Robert Broomhead Bandstand, Island Wharf off Front Street in Marion. All concerts are free and open to the public. “Like” us on Facebook at “Marion Town Band” for up-to-date announcements and rain cancellation notices.

NolanFest: Second Annual Nolan Gibbons Memorial Even

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Two years ago, our community lost a gifted young musical artist, Nolan Gibbons, to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC.) To celebrate his life, the second annual NolanFest event will be held on July 23 at Silvershell Beach in Marion, beginning at 5 pm and ending around 9 pm.

            Last year, over 400 attendees enjoyed live music, performers from around the country, delicious food from local food trucks, a fire dancer and more. This year we are excited to welcome Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Famer, Frank O’Donnell who will emcee the live show. Suggested ticket donation of $20 for adults and $10 for students at PayPal.Me/NolanFest. Please bring your own chairs or blankets.

            All proceeds go to The Nolan Gibbons Memorial Fund. Sponsorship Opportunities for this year’s event are available: tinyurl.com/48fvy98h

Join Us in July at RHS Museum

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July 20 will be a sweet time at the Rochester Historical Society Museum at 355 County Road. Beginning at 7:00, we will have a brief meeting followed by music with Tom and Sheila Perry and then ice cream. We will have our annual ice cream social. We hope to see you there.

            If you have a question or want to bring an ice cream flavor or a topping, please, either email eshbach2@aol.com or call 508 763 4932.

Open Season for Blood-Sucking Leeches

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Ticks are blood-sucking leeches that hide in your body, while possibly transmitting infections of a serious matter. They can hide between your toes or behind your knees or in your groin, under your armpits, in the back of your neck or behind your ears.

            To discover the location of such a bite, check your whole body carefully while taking a hot shower, as well as your children and pets afterwards. Always remove the tick promptly with a pair of sharp tweezers, gripping around the neck and pulling it straight out. Then mark the bite with a circle and date from where it was removed for your healthcare provider, especially should you develop a rash, headache, fatigue, or sore muscle there.

            It is always a good precaution to get carefully dressed before going out in tick habitat by tucking your trousers into your socks and wear a long-sleeved shirt, making it easier to spot a new tick wherever it lands on you.

            When going outside, always stick to the clear, well-worn pathways and centers of the trails you are going to take. The most common variety you may encounter at this time of year is the so-called Black Legged Tick, which is responsible for Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. You also may find at this season Adult Dog ticks the size of a watermelon seed and a Lone Star Tick causing an allergy for some people eating red meat.

            In order to counterbalance the destructive nature of ticks throughout the environment, there is out there a wide selection of wild and domestic birds that keep the tick population under control. Wild turkeys, for instance, can each eat as many as 100 ticks a day, as do countless other wild species of song birds. Domestic chickens are also descended from dinosaurs and have the inherited capacity to find and consume a meal of ticks when let out of their pen into a free range of their own selection, as clearly illustrated in my drawing.

            Mother nature subsequently has her own methods of counter measures of concern and caution that you may now have learned from, via my article and drawing, to evaluate and appreciate. Now the concerns and cautions for any member of the human race will be evident with the arrival of the contagious, tick-infested outdoor season.

            Editor’s Note: Attendance at last Wednesday’s site visit to the Mattapoisett Transfer Station with the Board of Health led to a walk through some tall grass and into the woods, after which I discovered three ticks, the first within the hour during an appointment (it fell from my ear onto my forearm), the second on my back spotted in the mirror later that day, and a third discovered after doing laundry in the lint trap to the dryer. Be careful!

By George B. Emmons

Events at the Mattapoisett Library

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Cool off and enjoy summer programs at the Mattapoisett Library. The Mattapoisett Free Public Library offers events for people of all ages during the summer! Stop in to cool off and check out all the things the library has to offer beyond books.

            Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, July 12 – All day – Craft Tuesday – This week, join us for God’s eyes/Butterflies. 4 pm, Teen Advisory Board meeting

            Wednesday, July 13, 11:00 am, Mad Science – Science experiments for children ages 5 and older *registration required

            Friends of the Mattapoisett Library Summer Book Sale, Thursday, July 14 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Members Only Preview Sale, Friday, July 15 & Saturday, July 16 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, Book Sale

            Got talent? Participate in our talent show! Performers must register and have their talent listed by Saturday, August 6. The Talent Show is scheduled for Saturday, August 20 at 1:00 pm.

            Calling all artists! Participate in our first ever recycled materials art show, RE-ART. This show is hosted by the newly formed Mattapoisett Sustainability Partnership in an effort to draw attention to recycling, the waste stream and keeping our community clean. The show will be at the library from August 23 through August 27 with a reception planned in the afternoon on Saturday, August 27. Interested artists are asked to register via the library’s calendar of events; the deadline to register is Sunday, July 31. Art guidelines can be found on the Mattapoisett Sustainability Partnership page on the library’s website.

            For more information about these programs, send an email to Jennifer Jones at jjones@sailsinc.org. Registration is necessary for some of these events. Visit mattapoisettlibrary.org for more details.

Upcoming Events at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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Summer Reading is here – Sign up for the ETL’s summer reading program starting June 21. Your summer reading kit will include reading logs, badge, stickers, and a reading buddy.  Return your reading logs to win prizes and help us raise money for Heifer International. 

            Teens and Adults: Summer Reading is for everyone! Pick up your reading log bookmarks  Return completed bookmarks to be entered into our summer prize raffle.

            Book Sale outdoors at the Library – Friday & Saturday July 8 & 9, 10-2 – Come find all your beach reads at our two-day summer book sale! All proceeds benefit the Elizabeth Taber Library.

            Campfire stories featuring celebrated Storyteller Rona Leventhal

            Friday July 8, 6 pm – Not so Spooky Stories for Kids

            Saturday July 9, 6:30 pm – Into the Dark: Haunting Tales for Teens and Adults

            Washburn Park Edible Plant Identification Walk – Saturday July 16, 10 am – The Elizabeth Taber Library is partnering with the Marion Natural History Museum to Host Edible Landscapes of Cape Cod for an edible plant identification walk through Washburn Park. Call the library to sign up.

            Mr. Vinny the Bubble Guy Saturday July 30, 1 pm at the Library – Mr. Vinny (Of Toe Jam Puppet Band Fame) will entertain the whole family with some giant bubble popping fun! This program is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

            For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library, visit us at www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org or call us at 508-748-1252

ORRHS Term 3 Honor Roll

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The following students have achieved honors for the third term at Old Rochester Regional High School:

                  Highest Honors, Grade 9: Teresa Adams, Clara Bonney, Nolan Bushnell, Erin Cardinal, Delaney Chase, Gianna DeLeo, Hailee Ducharme, Eden Dupre, Aidan Eagle, Hannah Eaton, David Fredette, Zachary Gates, Emerson Gonet, Mallory Henesey, Katherine McIlmail, Zack Mourao, Zoe Pateakos, Scarlet Patnaude, Alaina Redsicker, Scarlett Sylvia, Aubrey Sylvia-Everett, Emily Wyman, Grade 10: Emily Abbott, Chloe Bean, Ella Caesar, Julia Crain, Alia Cusolito, Cole Goldie, Jacob Hadley, Aubrey Heise, Macy Ingham, Theo Jacobsen, Lily Johnson, Sara Kroll, Megan McFadyen, Ava McLeod, Owen Modracek, Jonathan Nguyen, Rada Nuchthongmuang, Brenna O’Donnell, Marcus Robichaud, Gabriella Romig, Mariana Sudofsky, Paetyn Tripp, Arielle Troupe, Allison Winters, Grade 11: Rudy Arsenault, Maura Bailey, Reese Burger, Theodore Carroll, Caitlin Collier, Julia Foye, Paige Fuller, Liam Geraghty, Sofia Irish, Landon Maxwell, William McIlmail, Alexander Nguyen, Aidan O’Donnell, Henry Richards, Reagan Rock, Norah Schiappa, Samuel Williamson, Sarah Wyman, Grade 12: Brianna Arruda, Magdalena Brogioli, Anthony Calderone, Evan Correia, Isabella Correia, Matthew Curry, Alice DeCicco-Carey, Adam Forrest, Hannah Furtado, Mia Hemphill, Michael Holmes, Harry Hunt, Isabella Hunt, Amelia Joseph, Emma Levasseur, Jamie MacKenzie, Jillian Martin, Amaya McLeod, Cole Meehan, Emily Murphy, Olivia Mydlack, Stephen Old, Sawichaya Phimolmas, Charles Richards, Callie Tavares, Gabrielle Theodore, Autumn Tilley,

                  High Honors, Grade 9: Ella Bartholomew, Dillon Furtado, Elizabeth Houdelette, Aiden Levasseur, Jenna Lynch, Heer Patel, Alexander Pither, Brady Reardon, Matthew Rock, Kaya Savaria, Molly Sisson, Ezra Thompson, Grade 10: Hunter Bishop, Sara Costa, Dylan Durgin, Ethan Furtado, Elizabeth Harrington, Eva Hartley, Corinne Hibbert, Logan Leblanc, Zach LeBlanc, Keelin Lienkamp, Cattarinha Nunes, Emilia Perriera, Andrew Porter, Allison Root, Jackson Veugen, Braden Yeomans, Grade 11: Ava Barrows, David Costa, Madeline Dugas, Kate Feeney, Failenn Fitzpatrick, Sawyer Fox, Mason Hanks, Sakurako Huynh-Aoyama, Ashley Lawrence, Mackenzie Luong, Alexander Marsden, Jacksen Martin, Andrew Poulin, Lauren Rapoza, Corinne Robert, Arianna Vinagre, Emma Welter, Grade 12: George Barry, Breigh Christopher, Caleb DeVoe, Edward Gonet, Mia Hall, Isabelle McCarthy, Lucas McElroy, Lucas Mello, Lukas Michaelis, Ariana Miranda, Benjamin Preece-Santos, Ethan Scully, Cameran Weaver, Jennifer Williams

                  Honors, Grade 9: Braeden Christopher, Lilly Cook, Aidan Costa, Sarah Curry, Jake Dellas, Lyra Demendonca, Luke DeVoe, Elizabeth Feeney, Mia Figueiredo, Jack Gallagher, Barbara Gest, Jack Langlais, Aubrie Letourneau, Logan Maher, Madison McClendon, Jayden Pedro, Bailey Pelland, Audrey Pither, Alexis Rezendes, Christina Shultz, Amelia Trout, Cassandra Tseki, Abigael Walsh, Tessa Winslow, Grade 10: Helena Anesti, Chase Besancon, Sofia Bouley, John Bowman, Murray Callahan, Eloise Casi, Elisa Castro-Colaj, Theodore Cecil, Amalia Dupre, Amber Engel, Emerson Femino, James Kippenberger, Colin Mills, Anna Pereira, Logan Perry, Alice Prefontaine, Kelly Quinlan, Kamryn Rodrigues, Katherine Scherer, Aidan Silk, Angela Tomasso, Tyler Williams, Tyler Young, Liam Yurof, Grade 11: Samuel Balsis, Sylvie Benson, Gabriella Berg, Ryan Blanchette, Mya Braga, Torsten Brickley, Tyler Cardinal, Matthew Carvalho, Emily Cavanaugh-Fauteux, Ryan Cordeiro, Brady Dias, Joseph Dupre, Josephine Eleniefsky, Lila Galavotti, Derek Gauvin, Leo Grondin, Alexander Harrigan, Dylan Hartley-Matteson, Jack Hebert, Elizabeth Higgins, Derek Hiralall, Thomas Janicki, Konstantinos Jorjakis, Brady LaPierre, Philip le Gassick, Jillian LeBlanc, Brady Lee, Drew MacGregor, Jordan Nguyen, Quinn O’Brien-Nichols, William O’Shaughnessy, Abigail Paulette, Emma Petersen, Markus Pierre, Maeve Pires, Jaxon Resendes, Kira Sarkarati, Makenna Servais, Ella Shultz, Charlotte Sisson, Noah Sommers, Ella Soutter, Isabella St. Louis, Delaney Veilleux, Summer Williams, Grade 12: Jaelyn Allen, Nathaniel Bangs, Claudie Bellanger, Erin Besancon, Emily DellaCioppa, Benjamin DeMoranville, Zachary Depree, Anna Dube, Christopher Feeney, Logan Fernandes, Jillian Ferreira, Isabel Friedrichs, Thomas Galavotti, Keira Gleasure, Bailey Gosse, Taylor Green, Colby Gross, Ava Hall, Lila Hall, Lauren Higgins, Isabella Hunter, John Kassabian, Lauryn Lent, Sofia Martins, Drew Mastovsky, Makayla Matson, Ethan McElroy, Spencer Merolla, Alexis Morgan, Lucas Morrell, Steven Morrell, Elijah Motta, Maggie Nailor, Katherine Nilson, Jemberu Noyce, Hailey Nye, Landon Pascual, Ethan Perez-Dormitzer, Colin Perry, Michael Petrone, Sydnee Pires, Marc Pothier, Zachary Proffit, Maria Psichopaidas, Isabella Romig, Trinity Rosher, Chase Ryan, Julia Sheridan, Mickenna Soucy, Emma Thayer, Emma Thorell, Maxwell Tucker, Richard Vickery, Maxwell Vivino, Allison Ward, Klara Whalley, Mackenzie Wilson, Madeline Wright.

Looking Back on A First

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On a typical July 4th in the 1970s, a few teenagers were sitting in the sand at Mattapoisett Town Beach and squinting at one another through the sun’s rays when the subject came up.

            “Are you going to run?” was the question. “Has it started?” was a typical counter. “We’d better get up there,” was the resolution.

            If you can’t smell the sea air and hear the gulls laughing as the waves crash, then you can still remember what it was like to be a kid and take every second of summer as it comes.

            “You literally would decide that day whether to run or not,” recalls Chris Cooper, who first asked her father Frank Cooper if she could run in 1972, the second year of the Mattapoisett Road Race. As the first finisher among three girls, a 13-year-old Chris kept going like Forest Gump, right past the finish line at the Town Beach.

            “I ran straight into the water. It was so hot,” she recalls.

            Living in Mattapoisett since 1964, Chris grew up watching her dad help manage what he and Bob Gardner gradually built out of a good idea.

            “I ran track in high school, but nobody really trained for (the race,)” she said.

            The Mattapoisett Road Race had only begun in 1971 and lacked the preparation and pageantry associated with the event 25 years later, much less what it has since become.

            Nonetheless, the Coopers became a family of runners. Chris’s brother Tom finished second to Richard Reilly in the inaugural race, while brother Mike earned a third-place finish in his age category.

            Life would take her away from Mattapoisett, but when she returned in the 1990s, the Mattapoisett Road Race was a different animal.

            “Bob Gardner always mailed me a T-shirt,” said Chris, but she was not ready for what she saw when she visited home. “It is amazing to me what it became in the ’90s.”

            In more recent years, she was happy to offer sideline support alongside her father. “We’d stand with a hose at the corner of Church Street and Mechanic. … They’d say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’”

            As of Friday, 360 women and girls outnumbered 344 male registrants, but a late surge of postregistration entries, especially among the men, was anticipated for the 50th running of Mattapoisett’s 5-miler.

Mattapoisett Road Race

By Mick Colageo

Town Considers Regional Composting Facility

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            Mattapoisett Board of Health Chairman Carmelo Nicolosi was admittedly hesitant to accept Andrew Brousseau’s pitch on behalf of Gloucester-based Black Earth Composting on June 29.

            The board, including members Michelle Bernier and Russell Bailey, met with Brousseau and Mattapoisett Health Agent Gail Joseph at the Mattapoisett Transfer Station to discuss Brousseau’s proposal for a customized, regional composting facility at the Tinkham Hill Road site.

            “I’m not ready to give it a vote of confidence,” said Nicolosi, qualifying his remarks to clarify that the Select Board is the town’s ultimate vetting board and the Board of Health would bring a recommendation.

            Nicolosi made it clear he finds the concept attractive but only providing he can protect the interests of Mattapoisett homeowners.

            Brousseau is an earth scientist helping run an emerging business designed to achieve long-range solutions for municipalities running out of space and safe means to dispose of their trash, food waste and land waste. He believes Black Earth can save towns a lot of money over a long period of time, especially as towns anticipate a state mandate that they cut in half their food-waste disposal by 2030.

            What Black Earth does is finance and build a facility on a host town’s property and seek via survey of interest and geography member towns to participate in a regional arrangement. The facility processes food waste into a dry compost that can be used to fertilize yards.

            According to Brousseau, the package is designed to save the town on annual recurring costs that would include paying to incinerate food scraps at the SEMASS plant, paying to grind trees and stumps and paying to dispose of yard waste.

            On the list of services that Brousseau says Black Earth would offer for charge or free depending on how a contract is shaped: residential curbside, commercial and/or school pickup of food scraps; pickup of electronics, yard waste/Christmas trees and textiles and the conversion of the town’s organic waste into high-quality, organic compost.

            Brousseau explained that the pandemic’s drag on the supply chain has created a marketplace for the local manufacturing of compost. “Our fertilizer comes from all over the world, we need local sources,” he said.

            In listening to Brousseau explain the program, Nicolosi’s primary concern was the balance of facility usage by locals as opposed to the participating communities. Nicolosi repeatedly looked for an alternative structure that would put Mattapoisett residents first.

            Black Earth typically seeks a 10-year agreement, but Brousseau told Mattapoisett representatives that the company would consider a five-year deal. He said it takes time for the model to grow.

            The business model he proposed mirrors existing Black Earth facilities hosted by three other towns in Massachusetts. The site plan, however, would be tailored to the individual needs and land capacity of the host town.

            The proposed composting facility would need a footprint measuring between 2.5 and 4 acres of land, and the area suggested encroaches slightly on an area already approved for a solar array at the base of the hill at the site.

            Nicolosi encouraged Brousseau to propose a different footprint as to avoid creating a nonstarter response from the Select Board. After the meeting, Brousseau, Bernier and Joseph walked the proposed site.

            Speeding among trucks was a concern, and Brousseau said GPS control of the Groton facility brought down Black Earth’s trucks to 25 mph; he said the only trucks speeding now are the town’s DPW.

            Brousseau estimates that 177 trucks will go in and out of the facility in a 222-day period. The Groton facility has averaged a truck per day.

            Should Mattapoisett host a Black Earth composting facility, it is presumed that New Bedford would be among the surrounding municipalities using the facility. Black Earth’s Groton facility hosts Lowell, among smaller communities.

            In 1 1/2 years, the Groton facility has built to 300 users, while the facility hosted by Manchester-By-The-Sea has 800 users, approximately 35 percent of the town’s population.

            Participation in the survey is noncommittal, stressed Brousseau, its purpose solely to establish an indicator of measurable interest among any particular town’s residents.

            To reregister for participation in a Black Earth composting facility, visit blackearthcompost.com.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Health was not scheduled upon adjournment.

Mattapoisett Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

Tables of Content

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Dear Editor:

            Tables of Content Fundraiser a Delicious Success for Elizabeth Taber Library.

            Book discussions were lively and dinners delightful as more than 75 residents and friends gathered at various Marion homes on two evenings for the third annual Tables of Content fundraiser to support the Elizabeth Taber Library. Several book titles were offered; participants chose a book to discuss and joined a dinner party with others similarly interested. Destinations and fellow guests were kept secret until just days before the event adding to the excitement!

            These clever events were great fundraisers and friend raisers. Look for next year’s special books and join in the fun!

            Special appreciation goes to our dinner table hosts and discussion cofacilitators:

Host:  Sandria Parsons, Cohost: Trudy Kingery

Hosts: Joan and Ed Tiffany, Cohosts: Heather and Kitt Sawitsky

Hosts:  Meg and Barry Steinberg, Cohost: Dana Andersen

Host:  Susan Mead, Cohosts: Travis Woolcott and Nan Johnson

Host: Elise Frangos, Cohost: George Ferris

Host: Sally Fallon, Cohost: Kathy Reed

Host: Jennifer and Davis Webb, Cohosts: Ginny and Barry Levenson

            Thank you also to the Elizabeth Taber Library staff for their untiring support and assistance.

            The nearly $4,000 raised will support the Library’s long-range plan to upgrade its collection, technology, furniture and programming. The Elizabeth Taber Library receives 70% of its budget from the Town, and the remainder of the budget is funded by individual and corporate sponsors and patrons’ participation in events like Trivia Night, Tables of Content, the summer book sale and various other fundraising activities throughout the year.

            To participate in the 2023 Table of Content event as a host/cohost or to join the Tables of Content committee, please contact: Elizabeth Taber Library Director, Elizabeth Sherry at 508-748-1252 or Joyce LeBlanc at 508-971-9849.

Joyce M Leblanc, Tables of Content Committee

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