Young Voice Provides Leadership

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            Amidst a flurry of school-committee meetings, tours and open houses, Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson arrived at the September 14 public meeting of the Marion School Committee eager to share the impression made by student Nia Gonzalez, whose keynote address to the ORR faculty has become a topic of conversation in all season-opening school-committee meetings.

            Invited by Nelson to provide a keynote address, the Sippican Elementary School sixth-grader and Project 351 participant wowed the gathering of faculty and staff.

            “I’ll tell you point blank she took over the podium, and it’s one of the best Opening Day speeches that we’ve had in recent times,” said Nelson, who was gratified to tell the committee of the decision to involve students in Opening Day ceremonies. “I think that the public will hear a lot more from her, but she was very comfortable standing in front of the crowd. It was great having her family in attendance as well to support her and see her in action, and I think she did an excellent job setting the tone in terms of why teachers do what they do and why it is so important to the students even though they may not know it.”

            Gonzalez also introduced final speaker Steve Gross of the Life is Good Foundation, who talked about the power of optimism and the role that teachers play in the lives of students and families.

            “Honestly, the connection between Nia and the Life is Good message felt perfect,” said Nelson, who explained the Project 351, a statewide educational program, focuses on students as influencers.

            Sippican Elementary School Principal Marla Brown would open her report with news on Project 351 activities, including work with ORCTV.

            Committee Chair April Nye called Gonzalez’s speech, “amazing.”

            Nelson and Nye also publicly thanked the facilities staff for getting the school building ready for the new academic year.

            The September 14 meeting opened with a recognition of faculty members for length of service, as well as new members and members with new roles.

            Lisa Horan was recognized for her 20 years serving as a Kindergarten teacher. Elementary teachers Amanda LeMarier and Elizabeth Milde were recognized for 10 years of service.

            Nelson welcomed into a new role Kristine Lincoln, a familiar face as he pointed out for her many roles in the ORR District, as interim director of Student Services.

            Brown welcomed ELL Specialist Teah Keogh, Paraprofessionals Nadeen Mardo and Makayla Bumpus, Paraprofessional Officer Cassandra Craig and Student Resources Officer Jonathan Tracy of the Marion Police Department.

            Debra Smith has moved from Grade 4 teacher to Special Education teacher, Leanne Dineen from Grade 2 teacher and Grade 4 and Emily Bourgeois from Kindergarten to Grade 2 teacher.

            The district and Sippican bid farewell to Craig Davidson (director of Student Services), Kathy Dranchak (ELL specialist), Penny Sullivan (Special Education teacher), Bailey Sweet (PreK paraprofessional) and Taylor Swoish (Paraprofessional IX.)

            Brown summarized changes to the Sippican Student Handbook. Report cards go home on December 8, March 15 and June 10.

            The committee approved an OpenSciEd grant for Grade 5 in the amount of $4,100.

            The committee approved two donations, a large, red book cart (double-sided) and cart cover to the Sippican Library from community member Bernadette Kelly and a $765 donation from the 2022-23 Sixth Grade Parent Group in VASE to the Sippican School Music Account.

            The committee heard a report from Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber, who updated the members on finances, food services and facilities. Nelson also updated the committee on the progress being made in the gardens outside Sippican Elementary School, including the greenhouse.

            Nelson reported that Tabor Academy offered a donation of up to $50,000 for playground equipment to be installed on the Sippican grounds. A new play station is anticipated this fall.

            In her first Chairperson’s Report of the school year, Nye likened the school year to a blank canvas and the students to artists.

            “They have a wonderful year ahead of learning new subjects, reading new books, being exposed to new ideas and cultures and expanding their own knowledge base,” she read, going on to talk about the social side of school, including new friendships and extracurricular involvement. “I cannot wait to see the magnificent work that will be created. No matter which artistic direction each of our Sippican learners decides to take their canvas, it will be spectacular to say the least. Their shared academic experiences will help foster and create their own educational masterpieces that will last for years to come.”

            With that, Nye publicly thanked all the educational stakeholders, including the many volunteers that helped guide the process.

            In her first address as director of Student Services, Lincoln thanked the summer staff for the work it did helping get students ready for 2023-24.

            Nelson highlighted new features on the updated ORR District website and reported that a family phone app called ORR Connect is in development.

            In committee reports, Michelle Smith reported that the ORR School Committee authorized Nelson to discuss with Acushnet that town’s interest in exploring tuition-based attendance at ORR High School.

            The committee broke into executive session for the purposes Number 3 and 7 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or nonunion personnel and to comply with applicable state and federal law and grant-in-aid requirements.

            The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for Thursday, October 19, at Sippican Elementary School, and the next meeting of the Joint School Committee is scheduled for Thursday, September 28, at ORR Junior High Media Room. Both meetings start at 6:30 pm.

Marion School Committee

By Mick Colageo

Mattapoisett Land Trust Wetland Discovery Program

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Have you ever wondered what was making all of those sounds near your neighborhood wetland or pond? Well, join the Mattapoisett Land Trust’s Education Committee to seek some answers on Saturday, September 30.

            MLT will be joined by Environmental Analyst for the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection, Carlos T. B. Fragata, for a Wetland Discovery Program. Learn about the animals that frequent wetlands and ponds, what they are and the sounds they make and how they grow and live together. The program will begin Saturday morning at 10:30 am in the community meeting room of the Mattapoisett Public Library where Carlos will lead a presentation. Following the presentation, around 11:15 am, we will offer for participants to drive to Grace Pond to meet Carlos for about 30 minutes of hands-on exploration if weather permits.

            This program is designed for adults and families alike. Grace Pond is accessed from the MLT kiosk on Bowman Road. For the Grace Pond portion of the program, we suggest wearing rubber boots, bringing binoculars and a net if you have one and bringing drinking water and bug spray if you’d like. If you are in need of carpool from the library to Eel Pond, please email elflynn@vassar.edu to arrange.

Academic Achievements

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George Whitney of Marion graduated this summer from Ohio Wesleyan University. Whitney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. At Ohio Wesleyan, Whitney majored in Business (Management Concentration.)

UFO’s

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            I don’t generally write columns at someone’s request, but a high-ranking local official has been bugging me to write about UFO’s. I am a bit of a coward so I don’t want to cross this person in the event something comes up where I might need the person’s official help.

            This same official has assured me that there have been no recent sightings reported of any Unidentified Flying Objects over our environs. Still, the official is part of the ruling class, and who trusts the government these days anyway? As Shakespeare wrote, I suspect the official “… doth protest too much …” and may have an ulterior motive behind the denial.

            Has the official seen a UFO and is afraid to admit it? We may never know.

            Anyway, the official told me that an inquiring reporter from Texas was informed that the town had no official position about tornados, though one wag with a funny, tin-foil hat stopped me in front of the Town Hall and suggested that last summer’s whirlwind tornado was, in fact, caused by a UFO taking off from the elusive Wolf Island. Just kidding. I made the tin foil hat part up.

            Ever curious, I consulted a reliable source of knowledge, my old friend ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence app that knew so much about dogs in Mattapoisett.

            It said, “As sure as the sun sets over Ned’s Point Lighthouse, residents and visitors have reported sightings of strange lights and objects dancing across the sky … lights that hover, dart and disappear without warning,” and that old timers suspect that these”otherworldly beings are drawn to the allure of the bay.” Well, there you go.

            I’m not surprised by the official subterfuge, even our leaders in Washington have buried UFO information for decades. But fear not, light is finally being shone on the Unidentified Flying Objects mystery. The Defense Department recently unveiled a website, which will reveal all available previously classified records about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP’s. In true government fashion, they had to rename UFO’s so as not to confuse the public.

            They have even gone so far as to allow a former U.S. intelligence official and UFO … er UAP expert — is that an oxymoron? — to admit there have been “non-human biologics” found at the crash sights of UAP’s. The nation’s UAP experts report that there have been 366 new reports of activity since 2021, and about half of these have been drones. Heck, I have seen plenty of drones over our harbor. Do you mean they are not UFO’s … er UAP’s?

            Well, am I to doubt my own experience? In the spirit of transparency, I once saw an Unidentified Flying Object … well it was an unidentified hovering object, a UHO. But who’s quibbling?

            It was when I was in college during the famous blackout of November 1965. The whole Northeast was dark. People were running around the streets of Boston hysterically. Many thought it was an alien invasion.

            After wandering around for a while and seeing no little green men, I returned to my apartment. I was looking out my window when there in the dark sky was an immense disc the size of a football field quietly hovering over our building. I called over my roommates, but by the time they got to the window the disc had vanished.

            So that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

            Editor’s note: Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and retired newspaper columnist whose musings are, after some years, back in The Wanderer under the subtitle “Thoughts on ….” Morgado’s opinions have also appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.

Thoughts on…

By Dick Morgado

Webers Get Drainage Plan Approval

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            David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., made it to the Marion Conservation Commission’s September 13 public meeting in time to present his Request for Determination of Applicability for proposed stormwater outfall improvements on behalf of applicants William Jr. and Elizabeth Weber, 21 East Avenue.

            The Webers were awarded a Negative Determination Boxes 2 and 3 for their work, which will occur in the buffer zone but will not alter or damage the wetland.

            Two months ago, they had filed for two certificates of compliance, one for seawall repair at their reconstructed house, but the other, a problematic storm drain, was not awarded the COC sought. Davignon told the commissioners he had the affected area surveyed for accuracy before making his plans on their behalf.

            The applicants proposed to create a drainage basin with a leaching bottom with a landscaping plan along the driveway. Davignon suggested a Cape Cod berm along the driveway to prevent the poor drainage situation.

            Presiding over the meeting in the absence of Chairman Jeff Doubrava, Vice Chairman Emil Assing led a team of four commissioners, including Shaun Walsh, Matt Schultz and associate commissioner Millie Seeberg, along with board administrator Terri Santos.

            There were four public hearings, all of which were closed and voted favorable outcomes.

            David Johnson was issued a Negative Box 3 Determination of Applicability for trees to be removed at 2 Sassamon Trail.

            The proposal is to remove eight trees, none of which are in the wetland area. A site visit revealed that the trees were marked with flags. Assing noticed that the trees are near the house but asked about one tree back away from the house. Johnson said he hired Apex Tree Service, which indicated concern about beetle damage and the root system.

            “I have an ecologist for a son, and I hired an arborist. We want to do the right thing,” said Johnson.

            Don and Barbara Easterday Trustees were issued an Order of Conditions approving their plan to construct a 24×26-foot detached garage at 52 Cove Circle.

            Assing and Walsh said they appreciate that the corners of the garage were staked out for their September 9 site visit. Assing noted that the work is all contained within already-disturbed areas. The closest point of construction from the wetlands line is approximately 65 to 70 feet.

            The commissioners voted to issue Dale and Susan Snow a Negative Box 3 Determination of Applicability for construction of a mudroom at 15 Rezendes Terrace. The deck there now will be removed. Applicant Susan Snow attended the meeting. There is a wetland behind the house. Assing said he appreciated the Snows’ filing with the presence of wetlands in question.

            The commissioners voted to honor a request for a three-year extension of a Permit to manage phragmites as well as conduct beach nourishment from The Meadow Island Realty Trust, 34 Fraser Way. The plan, said Assing, is to conduct a treatment of the phragmites in October and schedule another treatment in 2024. The permit was to expire on October 15.

            Comments to the Planning Board regarding a Special Permit application filed by Sherman Briggs at Spring and Mill Streets. Assing said Briggs applied for a Special Permit for erosion control. Walsh said he visited the site a few years ago with the commission and says there is no record of a determination. He noted that Briggs had planned to build a residential development. Walsh said he thinks Mass Mapper indicates wetlands in the area. “I don’t think it’s jurisdictional,” he said. The commission agreed to communicate with the Planning Board accordingly.

            The commissioners voted to ratify emergency certification conducted by Doubrava in the wake of a collapsed cesspool off Kabeyun Road. Marion DPW reached out to Conservation. Assing said that Doubrava signed off on measures to fill the hole where a rusted, metal septic tank was posing a safety hazard.

            The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, at 7:00 pm at the Police Station.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Mick Colageo

Norman J. “Norm” Lyonnais

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Norman J. “Norm” Lyonnais passed away on Tuesday September 19, 2023, at his home in Mattapoisett. Born in New Bedford on June 11, 1936, he was the son of Eucharist Lyonnais and Viola (Phaneuf) Lyonnais.  

            Norm left New Bedford Vocational High School in 1955, at the age of 17, to join the United States Air Force. He was honorably discharged after serving his country for three years in England.

            In 1959, he married Noreen D. (Andersen) Lyonnais whom he met on a blind date. They recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary together. Norm attended and graduated from Southeastern Massachusetts University (currently UMass Dartmouth) with a bachelor’s degree in business.

            He worked for the City of New Bedford in several capacities over many years before eventually retiring from the Bristol County Sheriff’s office. In his retirement he thoroughly enjoyed his time working at WHALE and serving on the Board of Appeals for the town of Mattapoisett.

            Norm had many hobbies which included gardening, reading, singing along while he played his piano, dancing, and HUGGING. None of these were more important to him than attending every single one of his three daughters and seven grandchildren’s sporting and school events, cheering the loudest and always the proudest.

            Survivors include his wife Noreen; three daughters, Cheryl A. Pereira and her husband John, Donna J. Downey and her husband Paul, and Kristen N. Dailey and her husband Christopher; seven grandchildren, Justin Downey and his wife Sarah, Connor Downey, his wife Anne and their son Hayes, Owen Downey and his fiancée Emily Morse, Mikala “KK” Downey, Jack Dailey, Garret Dailey, and Carter Dailey; his brothers Paul Lyonnais and Donald Lyonnais and his wife Christine; and many nieces and nephews.

            He was predeceased by his brother Roger Lyonnais.

            His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, September 28th at 10 AM at St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett. A private burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery. Visiting hours are omitted. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated at Damien’s Pantry, P.O. Box 730, East Wareham, MA 02538, or to any charity of your choice. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Diane Hawley Currens D’Almeida

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Diane Hawley Currens D’Almeida, age 77, passed away in Brookline, MA on September 14, 2023, from complications after a fall in her summer home in Marion, MA. Diane was born at the Richardson House in Boston, Massachusetts on April 19, 1946, to Dr. James Hawley Currens and Helenka Chmielinski Currens. Diane grew up in Newton, Massachusetts with her three sisters, Genya, Tina, and Hawley. The Currens sisters were known for their blond hair, athleticism, and musical talent. 

            Diane graduated from Wheaton College in 1968 with a BA in French and German and later earned a Masters Degree in Library Science from Simmons College in 1996. She received Fulbright Fellowships to travel to the middle east and interview Arab women writers. Diane loved traveling, the middle east, Arab culture, and the desert. She worked for several local libraries including the Boston Public Library, the Sloan Library at MIT, and finally as the Modern Foreign Language and Linguistics Bibliographer at Boston University’s Mugar Library, where she retired in 2016. During her career and after her retirement, Diane loved spending summers in Marion, Massachusetts, with her sisters Genya and Hawley, playing tennis at the Sippican Tennis Club, and swimming at Silvershell Beach.

            Considering her love of traveling and sense of adventure, it was not surprising Diane fell in love and married a Portuguese navy lieutenant and MIT graduate student, Jorge Roque de Pinho de Almeida. The couple moved to Portugal in 1971 and Diane lived off and on for many years in Portugal, learning to speak the language fluently and raising her children. 

            To her friends and colleagues, Diane was vibrant, enthusiastic, unconventional, kind, and adventurous, with a hearty laugh and generous sense of humor. She had a wide, sly grin, and could not be accused of being mild-mannered or shy. Diane lived stoically, guarding her independence fiercely and standing up for herself in ways that felt right to her. From a young age, she studied classical music on the piano and violin and loved to read. She played in numerous orchestras and quartets during her lifetime and passed on her love of music and reading to her children and grandchildren.    

            Diane is preceded in death by her father Dr. James Hawley Currens and her mother Helenka Chmielinski Currens. She is survived by her two children, Jaime Currens D’Almeida of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Sofia Currens D’Almeida Mabee of Bainbridge Island, Washington, as well as her five grandchildren: Mia Sibley D’Almeida, Lily Currens D’Almeida, Savannah Almeida Mabee, Jack Lavradio Mabee, and Travis James Mabee. Holidays and vacations will never be the same for them, and for Diane’s loving daughter-in-law Lisa Murray D’Almeida and son-in-law, Daniel Stephen Mabee. A memorial celebrating Diane’s life will be held at the Marsh Chapel at Boston University on October 15 at 3 pm.

            In the words of Diane’s favorite musician, Bob Dylan:

Suddenly I turned around and she was standing there

With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair

She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns

Come in, she said

I’ll give you shelter from the storm

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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            In this area, with September comes the threat of hurricanes and memories of hurricanes past. Probably the ones that most come to mind on the Southcoast are the Hurricane of ‘38, Hurricane Carol and Hurricane Bob. I just recently learned that Carol was actually just one of the hurricanes of 1954. The picture with this article is of a downed tree in Rochester on Sept. 11, 1954.

            An interesting story that I found at the museum was from Mrs. Louisa Nevius of Rochester. She was the owner of a scrapbook handed down through her family and in 1938 after what was certainly considered a 100- year storm, she came across an article on the “Great Wind” of 1815. She brought this article to the attention of a local newspaper because it stated the opinion that with each century there comes a devastating storm.

            Relying in part on information gathered from Native Americans who used to live in the area, it would seem that as far back as the 15th century, each century up to 1815 had experienced a storm that caused loss of life and property and that also caused significant changes in the land’s topography.

            Included in Mrs. Nevius’s scrapbook was an account of the 1815 storm by John Haskell, living near Mary’s Pond in Rochester. He wrote that Sept. 23, 1815 began with a gale of wind from the east. With high tide expected around 11:00, the water at 8:00 began to rise rapidly and soon covered all the “mowing lands.” The violently blowing wind switched from south-southeast to the south. Coastal saltworks were either destroyed outright or driven across the cove. Houses, blacksmith shops and wharves were destroyed.

            He goes on to say that the worst destruction at the highest tide was followed by the clouds dissipating and the sun coming out. Following what may have been the eye of the storm was “this hurricane, a sulphureous blasting vapor. The leaves of the pine trees were so blighted as to have the appearance of fire running over them” ( which reminded me of how our whole area looked like November with nothing but brown trees after Hurricane Bob.) Then the storm ended.

            In 1938, this article gave hope that they had had their storm of the century. Unfortunately, that proved untrue in 1954. We now know that violent storms are more and more common. Here on the Southcoast we have been spared since Bob and luckily, for us Lee is moving on, and we have once again dodged a hurricane bullet.

By Connie Eshbach

Rochester Women’s Club

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Join us on September 27 at 6:30 pm. Susannah Otocki will be at the Rochester Women’s Club with her last performance of our Summer Crystal Bowls Series. Come and experience the pure tones of gemstone, precious metal and mineral infused Alchemy Crystal Singing Bowls. Let these beautiful bowls take you on an inner journey of spiritual awakening and personal transformation.

            The Rochester Women’s Club is located at 37 Marion Road in Rochester. The cost of attending is $40. The event is one hour in length and is a fund-raiser for the Women’s Club scholarship fund.

            Call or text Susannah for tickets at 508 287 0864. The club house meeting room is small, and we can only accommodate 10 people.

            For further information about the Rochester Women’s Club, its activities and adventures or for scholarship information, call or text Marsha at 508 322 0998.

Trustees Pause on Little Library

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            In recent months, a mailbox-sized Little Free Diverse Library, its glass front requesting, “Diverse and Anti-Racist Books Only,” has been sitting on a post outside the Plumb Public Library’s front entrance.

            The little library has drawn criticism, as Rochester residents crowded into the Senior Center meeting room for a Board of Library Trustees meeting on September 14 to air their objections to it being there and ask that it be removed.

            According to the letters read into the record and those speaking during the meeting’s public-comment period, the main complaints are that it’s redundant to have a little library right outside a big library, that it offers messages on issues that not everyone in town agrees with, and that it’s not a message that should be accessible to children.

            Rochester resident (and Zoning Board of Appeals member) Jeffrey Costa suggested in a letter to the library board that a “little pro-family” and “a little pro-freedom” be constructed next to the “Diversity Library. … Funds will be raised for the construction of the project and expects the Facilities Manager to install a similar structure,” the letter reads.

            A letter from Costa’s mother, Roxanne Costa, said that as a Christian woman, she objected to seeing the LGBTQ political agenda being portrayed on her way into the library. Another letter said putting a little library in front of a big library is “silly and not necessary.” Referencing the Rainbow flag that once accompanied the little library (until a new town policy required taking the flag down), still another said the American flag is all that needs to fly in such a public place because it represents everyone.

            When it was time for public speakers, the first was Rhonda Baptiste, vice president of Tri Town Against Racism, the group that donated the little library to Rochester. TTAR has planted two similar Little Free Diverse libraries, at Ned’s Point in Mattapoisett and at Old Landing in Marion. Baptiste noted her group followed a careful, detailed, vetting process with library leaders that included photographs of the specific plan before they received the go-ahead.

            Retired teacher Sandra Bock took a cautious posture, stating that the books in the little library, some of which she withdrew to see what was within their covers, include graphic content to which she said children should not be exposed. “I want to keep children essentially innocent and away from sensitive material until they are ready for it,” she said.

            Stacie Schneider said children should be informed, not kept from being informed. “Childhood is time for them to learn, not be programmed into a narrow point of view,” she said.

            Another speaker, also in support of the little library, said its existence made him finally feel recognized as a gay man. “Everyone matters,” he said.

            TTAR supporter Susan McQuire doubled down on the group’s desire to spread more awareness of diversity and inclusion across the tri-towns. She said the group would like to fly the Black Lives Matter and the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) flag at its little libraries at different times as well. “This is all about human stuff!” she said. “About human beings that we need to support.”

            The trustees responded by noting the decision to accept the little library came in January 2021 before any of the current board members or even the current library director was in charge. They have only recently been informed by Town Counsel that the library, not the town, controls its own assets, such as the Plumb Library building and the donated little library. They are in a transition period, they said, needing to create their own management rules and will decide a course of action at their next meeting on Thursday, September 28.

            But before this motion, Board of Trustees Chairperson Kelley Mederios hinted what direction the panel may go in. She said the trustees have two options: developing their own regulations or adopting the town’s. The town’s policy on flying flags is to only display town, state, federal and military flags. She said she proposes adopting town policy but creating policies for what assets the library itself controls. Medeiros noted, for instance, that anything donated to the library becomes its property.

            “We can ask TTAR to remove it or we empty it,” she said.

            Trustee Shauna Makuch echoed this by agreeing that a little library outside a big library with likely the same books as rather redundant.

            In a separate interview, TTAR Marketing Director Jessica DeCicco-Carey noted Rochester is the only one of the three towns to respond with any pushback to one of the group’s little diversity libraries.

            While the little library in Rochester is receiving substantial opposition at municipal public meetings, the little library at Ned’s Point was vandalized in December 2021 but rebuilt that winter. Little libraries have also been vandalized in other Massachusetts towns.

            The Library Board of Trustees will meet next on Thursday, September 28, at 6:30 pm at a location yet to be determined.

            Editor’s note: TTAR Marketing Director Jessica DeCicco-Carey is the daughter of the author’s cousin.

Rochester Public Library Trustees

By Michael J. DeCicco