Old Rochester Debate Team

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The Old Rochester Debate Team has just completed their 2021-2022 debate season. The team was small, but mighty in their wins. Senior varsity partners Mackenzie Wilson and Eddie Gonet IV received first place as the Affirmative Team in the Massachusetts Speech and Debate League with an undefeated record of 9-0. Their negative counterparts, Samuel Harris and Maxwell Vivino, placed second in the league as a negative team with an outstanding record of 8-1.

            Varsity affirmative partners Jaymison Gunschel and Jacob Hadley also placed 9th in the league.

            The Massachusetts Speech and Debate League consists of high schools (public and private) from across Massachusetts. This year’s topic centers around answering the question, “Should the United States Federal Government substantially increase its protection of water resources?” Students take sides on the topic, often choosing a side that may not be their own personal opinion.

            In addition to the debate itself, students are judged on how well they speak. For speaker points of the entire varsity league, Eddie Gonet IV placed first, Mackenzie Wilson placed fifth, Samuel Harris placed 8th and Maxwell Vivino placed 9th.

            The Old Rochester Novice Team (First Year Debaters) did considerably well. In the novice division, negative partners Ezra Thompson and Alden Cole-Vieria placed second. Alden also placed first as the best speaker in the Novice section!

Tri-County Symphonic Band

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On Sunday, March 20 at 3:00 pm, the Tri-County Symphonic Band, under the direction of Philip Sanborn, will present “Marches For A Cure” in the Keith Middle School Auditorium, 225 Hathaway Blvd., New Bedford, MA. The concert is being held in partnership with the “Izzy Foundation,” a national non-profit organization located in Providence, RI. The foundation designs, funds and inspires creative projects, as well as academic scholarships, to help children with cancer and other debilitating illnesses laugh, love and play. The name “Izzy” is in honor of Isabelle Marie Wohlrab who passed away from pediatric cancer at the age of two and a half after inspiring many. The concert features the many different varieties of the musical form, the march. These include favorites like the National March of America, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” as well as the very different approaches to the march form by European composers from Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria and France. The concert will demonstrate that the march is indeed a “many splendored thing.”

            Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and may be purchased at the Symphony Music Shop in North Dartmouth and online at brownpapertickets.com.  Please visit www.tricountysymphonicband.org for more detailed information.

CPC Approves Top 10 Projects

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Its vetting complete, the Marion Community Preservation Committee met on March 4 to vote to recommend the distribution of $595,761 in Fiscal Year 2023 Community Preservation Act funds to 10 community-based projects.

            Seven of those projects are Town of Marion sponsored: $124,000 for a sprinkler system and ADA compliance design and bid specification at the Town House; $240,000 to complete the Main Street-side restoration of the Town House Annex building; $35,000 to continue funding the cultural and historic resource inventory being conducted by the town’s Historical Commission; $26,811 to fund the installation of fencing and ground-anchored benches and litter receptacles at the Cushing Community Center; $18,000 to the Pathways Committee for Shared Use Path easement appraisals; and two applied for by the Open Space Acquisition Commission, $8,600 for a criteria update and $1,850 for the Great Swamp Forestry Plan.

            The committee also voted to approve $75,000 in CPA funds for the Marion Garden Group’s irrigation project, $25,000 to the Sippican Historical Society for the preservation and digitization of materials, and $41,500 to the Marion Natural History Museum for collections cataloging, displays and exhibit-space improvements.

            The CPC’s recommendation will be brought to the Select Board for its vote to include on the warrant for the May 9 Town Meeting.

            Most of the projects were recommended for CPA funding with the stipulation of a June 2023 end date for the spending of the funds. The CPC recently voted to set time limits to avoid dormant moneys allocated for projects that, for whatever reason, are unreasonably delayed or abandoned. Funds coming back from FY22 awards will be in the CPC’s control on July 1.

            In justifying his $124,000 pitch for the sprinkler system earlier this year, Marion Facilities Manager Shaun Cormier said that the town is prohibited from resuming any Town House construction until ADA compliance has been established in public-access areas.

            The Annex Building’s Main Street-facing entrance, at $240,000 the largest recommended allocation of FY23 CPA funds, will see its steep steps built in 1940 torn down and completely reconstructed using the same granite blocks.

            The Historical Commission’s next phase of survey work on properties in north Marion and Delano Road, Converse Road, Spring Street, West Avenue, Point Road, and Planting Island is scheduled to begin in spring 2023 with a projected completion date of December 31, 2024.

Marion Community Preservation Committee

By Mick Colageo

Journey to Recovery Begins with Distance Run

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            Graham Correia sensed he was in the right place when he realized how much he savored a cup of coffee with a stranger in a country store somewhere in Pennsylvania.

            “I was in my glory in those 30 minutes,” said Correia, who says he is learning to place value on every experience that comes along.

            A year ago, he wouldn’t have been able to sit still long enough for a sip of that coffee. “I felt like there were bugs crawling in my skin all the time,” he said, freshly recalling a hopeless preoccupation with his physical appearance and his profession.

            Now he is somewhere between New York City and Massachusetts, a disheveled mess who feels like he can breathe freely and see clearly, even through the long hair and salt-and-pepper beard that hides his face. “It’s the most ridiculous thing,” he laughs.

            A recovering addict, Correia has come a long way and knows he has only just begun.

            “I was almost dead the day before I flew to Colorado,” he said, recounting his night on the streets of Fall River before he was picked up by an ambulance and brought to St. Anne’s Hospital. His parents picked him up.

            A key ingredient in substance-addiction therapy is replacing self-absorption with activities taken up on behalf of others. To engage in this form of therapy, Correia needed to separate himself from all the familiar places where his problems began, and Colorado resident Keeler North, fellow athlete and old friend, opened his doors.

            With an ex-wife and school-aged children at home, Correia fully understands why his decision came under harsh criticism. But the irony is he left Massachusetts in order to be present for his family. “If people don’t understand that, that’s okay because the only person who needs to get that is me,” he said.

            He obviously hopes his kids will come to see it that way as well because, when Correia was present geographically, he might as well have been the 1,970 miles away that separate Denver from Boston.

            In pursuit of therapy for his alcohol and drug addiction, Correia sought guidance from the Herren Project, the brainchild of former Fall River basketball legend Chris Herren whose professional career was affected by his own challenges. The non-profit charity bearing Herren’s name puts him and his story before at-risk children, and his career as a motivational speaker has been a source of inspiration to many but more importantly has helped those listeners understand that they have hope.

            “I want people to know there’s a way out of things. … Life was never meant to put somebody in a box and keep them there,” said Correia. “You can follow your heart and, if you trust your difficulties, you’re going to get to a place where it’s going to be good for you.”

            The run back from Denver quickly turned ugly for Correia, who embarked on January 1. On the third day, North was forced to abandon his plan to drive along to accompany Correia and return home. The new situation left Correia running with a 10-pound backpack and hotel hopping at the end of his days. Some days he ran 31 miles, others logged in at 42 and 26.

            Two weeks into his trip, Correia was dressing a gruesome foot blister that he soaked in hot water while biting down on a towel and squeezing the foot as hard as he could. To begin that next day’s run, he wrapped paper around his socks and laced up as tightly as he possibly could.

            For three weeks, it was an everyday, five-minute routine. Eventually, the blister healed well enough inside for him to remove the dead skin on the outside. “It was the most pain I’ve ever gone through in my life,” he said.

            On February 6, he ran 40 miles and had put in 31 running days, closing in on the 1,000-mile mark.

            “I knew somewhere along the line, my legs were going to catch up to this thing. … I thought it would take me about two and a half weeks. It took me until January 27,” said Correia, who had done ultra-marathons, 100-mile races and 50 milers.

            He was treated to “an awesome surprise” on the morning he passed through Flora, Illinois, a small city 100 miles east of St. Louis. It was a call from his sister who lives in Houston. “How’s it going?” was the conversation until … “all of a sudden – and I haven’t seen one runner on this road – I look up ahead and I see this person running towards me.”

            It was Megan Correia Bittner, his sister.

            The ice-cold tears shed running in a minus-10 wind chill through Kansas had awakened something in Correia. “What I’ve learned out here is, if you can sit with the discomfort and even embrace it, at the end of the day it opens you up to a whole world,” he said, overwhelmed with the kindness he encountered along the road. “I will not take a dollar, I won’t take one dime. But I will take a room.”

            A more-serious threat to the successful completion of his journey occurred during the 19th mile of his February 18 run approximately 15 miles south of Columbus, Ohio, when he felt like a screw was penetrating and sending shockwaves into the right side of his right knee. Correia had fully understood every ailment he had encountered to this point, be it tendinitis or shin splints, but he also knew that a sprained ligament would cancel his project.

            The mystery was daunting, but a hospital in Circleville, Pennsylvania, conducted a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test right away. The test revealed extreme inflammation where the iliotibial (IT) band rubs against the knee but no ligament damage and therefore no surgery required. The attending physician prescribed a steroid shot with anti-inflammatories.

            Broken in body, Correia found himself being knocked down to size by a power greater than himself. Through Kansas and Missouri, he recalled being limited to a jog, then a walk, looking up and talking to God. “I need to run, I’m a runner.” “No, you need to make it,” were the words he heard.

            “This is all God at this point and the people who have gotten around me. I’m just trying to move forward every day. I love every piece of life at this point,” he said.

            The word “grateful” gets tossed around these days more as an ideal than a reality, but Correia trembles in gratitude. He says he’s beginning to understand how fortunate he is, not only for the bullets he has dodged but for the simple realization of the precious souls who have cared about him while he was, spiritually, a million miles away.

            On his way through Pennsylvania, he said it was too far out of his pathway to run on the bridges over the three rivers converging on Pittsburgh, but he detoured 2.5 miles off the route in Somerset County to visit the Flight 93 site where he experienced the long, granite walkway and spent 90 minutes contemplating the open field ahead.

            A beneficiary of many gifts including hotel rooms along the way, Correia feels like a richer man than the one who used to earn an annual $180,000 commuting to Boston. “I have the clothes on my back (that I) let dry on the (hotel) heater vent, a backpack, a muffin and a banana every day,” he said. “Life isn’t about money, it’s hard, it’s about struggle. I always thought I understood that, but now I know it’s the case.”

            Correia wasn’t the only person out for a run in Cincinnati on Valentine’s Day, but he was probably the only one who started his run in the Rocky Mountains with plans to finish it on the east coast.

            He rested on Monday in New York City, and North was scheduled to rejoin him as a running partner for the home stretch. While in New York, Correia planned to do some media for the Herren Project.

            “Our Herren Project community is honored and grateful our teammate Graham has chosen to help support, inspire and empower others throughout his journey. The funding and awareness he’s raising is helping to grow so much good. It’s together that we recover, and helping others is one of the most powerful ways we do that,” said Pam Rickard, director of Active Engagement at the Herren Project.

            Having been in Alcoholics Anonymous, Correia says he wasn’t fully ready to engage in recovery.

            “I’m still an addict and an alcoholic, I’m always going to be,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of ‘A-A’ prior to this where I wasn’t ready to be truthful; I’ve done a lot of therapy prior to this where I wasn’t ready to be truthful.”

            When the high of this effort wears off, Correia knows he will be challenged every day. He freely admits he’s not qualified to dispense advice but says his divorce has altered how he looks at his own life and recovery.

            What he’s doing differently is learning to embrace his struggle, and inside of that, he cannot wait to be back home “just give my kids a hug. I’m not dead and that’s the important thing because I was going to be,” he said. “Five months of my life focusing on this recovery process is 100 percent worth the next 45 years with my children.”

            Correia is due to arrive in North Rochester on Saturday, March 12.

By Mick Colageo

A Message from the Marion Fireworks Committee

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Fourth of July weekend is fast approaching! The 2022 Marion Fireworks Committee would love to continue the fireworks tradition this summer, but the reality is that this event comes with a cost of $65,000. Time is a key factor in planning this event and it must go out to bid in early April.

            In order for this to even go out to bid, the funds need to be secured prior to April. To date, we have just under $20,000. With one month to raise over $45,000, we are turning to this amazing community to donate now. This beloved Marion tradition can only happen with your support and generosity!

            Please make your check out to: Town of Marion and mail it to: Marion Fireworks Committee, 2 Spring Street, Marion, MA 02738

Coming Soon at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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The Seed Library is open – Seeds are available to check out free from the library; a variety of flower, herbs and flowers available along with books on plants and gardening.  Interested in starting your own garden? Check out a gardening kit from the library that comes with everything you need to start your first planting.

            Leprechaun Hunt Friday March 11, 3 pm. Follow the clues around the Library to find the hidden Leprechaun and his pot of gold. 

            Memoir Workshop – Thursdays: March 17, April 21 and May 19, 2-4 pm.

Learn how to preserve your life’s memories with this free course. To register, or for more information, contact the Elizabeth Taber Library at 508-748-1252.

            Glass Art with Deenie Pacik – Thursday, April 7, 4 pm – Create beautiful fused glass pendants or magnets with colorful precut glass in this easy, fun class. Spaces are limited- call to sign up at the library. All ages invited – participants 9-12 must have adult supervision to participate.

            Portraits in Silhouette – Saturday April 16, 11 am. Sit for a live, hand-cut portrait in about 5 minutes. The skilled paper artists from Portraits in Silhouette are visiting the library to demonstrate their amazing skills.  Silhouette portraits make a great keepsake and a beautiful gift. Spaces are limited- call to sign up at the library.

            For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library, visit us as www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org.

Warren Bryden Bowman

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Warren Bryden Bowman, 82, of Mattapoisett passed away Wednesday March 9, 2022 at Tobey Hospital after a long illness. He was the husband of Genevieve A. (Avila) Bowman; they were married for nearly 60 years.

            Born in Mattapoisett, the son of the late Alexander Bates Bowman and Edna (Morrell) Bowman, he lived in Mattapoisett all of his life.

            Warren was formerly a self-employed carpenter until his retirement.

            He enjoyed fishing, working on his clocks, and spending time with his granddaughters. He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957-1960.

            He is survived by his wife, Genevieve; his daughter, Sherry Normand and her husband Peter; his granddaughters, Cassie and Elisa Normand; his siblings, June Emerson, Nancy Borden, Joyce Gagnon, Joan Garib, Frank Bowman, Sandra Dittoe, and David Bowman; and many nieces and nephews.

            He was the brother of the late Alexander Bowman, John Bowman, Wesley Bowman, and Edna Hebert.

            A celebration of his life will be held later this summer. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Harbor Days Here We Come

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Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School junior Finn Pereira has created the winning design for the 2022 Harbor Days t-shirt (center image). The Mattapoisett Lions Club’s Valerie Kane worked with students at Old Colony to create potential designs for the t-shirt, and Pereira’s design is the result of an online vote. The Harbor Days vendor craft fair will be held July 16-17 at Shipyard Park. Images courtesy of Mattapoisett Lions Club

Committees Continue FY23 Budget Work

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            Mattapoisett’s Community Preservation Committee oversees the grant application process for monies dedicated under the state’s Community Preservation Act to special projects not covered by the town’s general operating budget or other financial instrument.

            The committee studies the applications to ensure they qualify under the state guidelines for grants in one of several categories including historic sites, outdoor recreation, open space and affordable housing. Monies are collected from a surcharge on property taxes up to three percent. Mattapoisett’s surcharge is one percent after the first $100,000. Other funding sources the town receives from the program come from state distribution via the CPA Trust Fund.

            Throughout the late fall and winter months, grants have been accepted and vetted by the CPC for FY23. Those that are accepted and positively voted on are then sent forward to further review by the Finance Committee and Select Board. Grants applications passing muster become part of the Spring Town Meeting warrant for either acceptance or decline by the voters.

            This year’s grants being forwarded after receiving a positive vote from the CPC on March 4 are: a request by the Mattapoisett Historical Commission for $12,500 to hire a professional historic preservationist to conduct a state-accredited, town-wide review of historic places to help identify and eventually record qualifying structures and locations as having historic value and recognition. This study will not limit property owners’ ability to renovate their homes but may identify a home as possessing historic value such as age of the original structure.

            A grant request in the amount of $12,500 submitted by Select Board member Jodi Bauer is for the restoration and replication of the swordfish weathervane, which has been a prominent feature on the wharves at Shipyard Park for decades. The original swordfish is planned to be donated to the Mattapoisett Museum and a replica put in its place. The original could no longer be repaired and put on display in the elements.

            The Mattapoisett Bike Path Study Committee requested $120,000 to complete several key studies including a viable design for Phase 2a crossing North Street at Industrial Drive and private property easements and wetland impacts along the proposed path using the former railroad easement.

            Also requested in part by Bauer is a grant in the amount of $55,000 for the renovation of two basketball courts located at Center School and the construction of two additional pickleball courts adjacent to the school.

            Next stop for the grants, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee.

            Capital Planning met on February 28 and again on March 7. During the February 28 meeting, the committee met with Old Rochester Regional School District Facilities Director Gene Jones. He explained the need for nearly $97,000 to replace 21-year-old controllers associated with the Center School’s HVAC system. He was asked by the committee if there were established maintenance schedules for the variety of mechanical and electronic systems used throughout the schools. Jones explained such schedules in detail.

            The Capital Planning Committee again asked Jones to document all capital needs, regardless if they are an operating expense or capital expense, in an effort to capture all major expenses for review – not necessarily on the Capital Plan spreadsheet.

            The Capital Plan lists the FY23 requests from the local schools as $12,500 for Center School master clock upgrades, floor repairs and replacement at Old Hammondtown School $25,000, and roof repairs at OHS $100,000. The planned funding source is from free cash.

            Regarding the high school’s outdoor track repairs, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said that it was unclear how the three towns would handle paying for the project but estimated that Mattapoisett’s portion would be around $153,000 of an estimated project cost of $422,000. CPC Chairman Chuck McCullough stated in a follow-up that capital expenses for the ORR junior and senior high schools do not fall under the town’s planning preview but are reviewed as a necessary part of the town’s overall financial planning.

            Later in the discussion, Lorenco shared long-range ideas for the use of the town property known as the Holy Ghost Grounds. He said that one goal is to use the building as rental space for family gatherings and an income source for the town. Lorenco said the Recreation Department also has ideas for the parcel as does the Bike Path Study Committee. On the subject of the Recreation Department, he said that in the coming years that department is likely to grow, that the Select Board is reviewing it and that study of the future of the department may be warranted including how and where the bike path fits into the picture.

            The March 7 meeting featured capital-planning needs of the Highway Department. After discussion of equipment needs that include the replacement of a truck estimated at $240,000, talk turned towards the overall roadway conditions.

            Highway Surveyor Garrett Bauer said that there are 47 roadways in good condition, 42 in fair condition and another 37 in poor condition. He described various types of roadway repair, offering a glimmer of hope that many roads would hold up with simple sealing applications. But the overarching financial impact of roadway work could not be denied. Lorenco said that the $250,000 per year sum placed in the Capital Plan for highway work is a placeholder for ongoing maintenance, not large projects.

            Large projects looming on the horizon include village streets (Main, Water, Beacon and Marion Road,) culverts throughout the town and aging or nonexistent drainage systems.

            Bauer noted the recent culvert failure in front of the entranceway to the town’s beach on Water Street, saying that the entire drainage system from Route 6 to the harbor is aging and insufficient. McCullough stressed that the residents in the community need to understand the magnitude and scope of repairs needed on roadways, while making decisions on how best to finance such projects and what priority to place on each.

            When asked about the Industrial Drive project, Lorenco said that the roadway work will be funded by a federal grant and local match but that the bike-path portion is not currently funded and was not part of the original design of that roadway.

            The Capital Planning Committee’s spreadsheet for FY23 needs totals $1,692,000 against $882,000 in available free cash. Line-item requests will be prioritized before sending the vetted report onto the Finance Committee and Select Board for final review ahead of Town Meeting.

            Mattapoisett’s Finance Committee met on March 3, continuing their review of the FY23 budget

draft. Coming before the committee to discuss the Waterfront Enterprise Fund budget was Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh, who defended a $7,000 increase for seasonal staffing by sharing the competitive nature of the labor market and the need to hire people experienced in boat handling and wharf-side activities as well as customer service. He said he wants to offer $18 per hour to wharfingers and $22 per hour to two deputy harbormasters.

            McIntosh also touched on capital needs of $30,000 to pay for a professionally produced, state-recognized Harbor Management Plan, $70,000 for additional floating docks, $8,000 for dredging and $10,000 for materials to repair the timber pier.

            The FY22 budget for the Waterfront Enterprise Fund was $309,353 and is slated to be $326,353 in FY23, a total increase of $17,000.

            Regarding the planned reconstruction of Long Wharf aka Brownell Wharf, McIntosh was asked what impact that work would have on seasonal boating. “It depends on what they find during the assessment. We’ll determine that after the evaluation is done,” said McIntosh. “It will be an interesting obstacle to overcome … with a possible miss of $12,000 during the time.”

            McIntosh also stated earlier in the discussion that plans are to hold on to $40,000 in retained earnings.

            The CPC has concluded its FY23 season. The next meeting of the Finance Committee is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, at 5:00 pm jointly with the Select Board. The Capital Planning Committee will meet on Monday, March 14, at 6:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Community Preservation, Capital Planning and Finance Committees

By Marilou Newell

Mattapoisett Lions Casino Night

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The Mattapoisett Lions Club presents its first Annual Casino Night on Saturday, April 30 at the Wamsutta Club, 427 County St., New Bedford. V.I.P. tables for eight people per table are available. $600. Early entry at 6:00 pm, advertise your business with table signage, expert card playing lessons for one hour, special appetizers, drinks tickets, casino cash (no cash value) or $60 per person. Entry at 7:00 pm appetizers and casino cash (no cash value). Dress to impress (if you like), but not required. For information and tickets, contact Valerie Kane at 1-774-993-9905.

            Proceeds will be used to fund local scholarships, help local residents in need, Mass. Lions Eye Research and Diabetes awareness and more.