FinCom Applauds ORR’s Transparency

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            The complicated task of preparing the annual school budget is something that for years has frustrated the Marion Finance Committee in part due to a process the committee considers alien to a transparent presentation of facts on the part of the Old Rochester Regional School District.

            While the mechanics of the school budget remain complex, ORR’s current administration has won fans by bringing the Finance Committee members into its brain trust as a participant and partner. In return, the committee indicates a significant gain in appreciation for the work done by Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber.

            It was ORR’s turn to present to the Finance Committee on March 2, and the committee only had Wednesday night’s meeting with the Department of Public Works left on its schedule of interviews for the FY23 season.

            As presented by Barber, the FY23 overall budget for the Marion School District is $6,488,440, a 2.5 percent increase over FY22 ($6,330,071.) This figure does not count Bristol County Agricultural, a $67,245 assessment, or $404,910 in funding offsets that bring the overall FY23 budget to $6,960,595.

            Barber summarized the approach as a “zero-based mentality maintained” and “three instructors per grade maintained.”

            “We budget what we know,” said Nelson, acknowledging Covid 19’s effects on all students, not just those in special education. “We’re taking advantage of every single grant opportunity that is out there.” Nelson said doing so helps Barber’s remediation work. “We will continue to do this.”

            Barber said Marion has four paraprofessionals, one in Project Grow and one teacher at 25 percent compensation via Title 1 so there are five full-time and one part-time paraprofessional.

            Based on the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief I (ESSER I) fund via the federal CARES Act, Barber said a cafeteria worker and an interventionist ($60,000) are on staff. “We’re looking at six (staffers,) but this year we have eight,” he said.

            Another aspect of school budgeting in the Tri-Towns is higher property values in Marion translate into a larger assessment per capita. While Marion’s values are up by $60,000, Mattapoisett’s and Rochester’s are down, affecting the minimal state-required contribution.

            “It looks not fair, but in the state’s eyes it’s very fair,” said Finance Committee Chairman Shay Assad.

            “I guess we’re getting it in the property-tax values, and we wouldn’t want to give that up just to save on the assessment,” said Marion Town Administrator Jay McGrail.

            Assad speculated that the eventual sale of the Lockheed Martin property could have a detrimental effect.

            Declining public-school enrollment has been a hot topic in the Tri-Towns. While Marion’s enrollment is 4.1 percent down over a three-year period, Rochester (10 percent) and Mattapoisett (9 percent) are seeing steeper declines. But between Mattapoisett and Rochester, 135 students are attending vocational high schools, while Marion has 20.

            “There’s a much larger portion of a bill that we don’t see in Marion that’s associated with the vocational schools,” said Assad. “In the world of capital, we’re actually benefitting a little bit. … the door kind of swings both ways.

            “We’re going to take a few months of communications with the voters and answer their questions. School Committee calls the shots, we give our opinion. … It’s not the same for every student … it’s really complicated.”

            Select Board member John Waterman called Barber’s presentation “the clearest, most-transparent explanation of the school budget.”

            Heather Burke, the chairperson of the ORR School Committee, said, “We wanted the next leaders of the district to be transparent and be fiscally strong.” Burke credited Nelson and his short staff.

            Former Finance Committee Chairman Peter Winters agreed. “It’s definitely the best presentation we’ve had. The better the information, the better we can make our decisions,” he said.

            McGrail was happy to report to the Finance Committee a successful rerating process with S&P, resulting in the highest possible ratings for both short-term and long-term borrowing.

            “I’d be remiss if I didn’t say a lot of that has to do with (Finance Director) Judy (Mooney) and how she’s managed this town over the last several years,” said McGrail. “It means we get to borrow money for … .2 percent.”

            McGrail also announced that Tabor Academy has committed to make a three-year donation to the town targeted in year one at ORR’s new stabilization fund.

            In saying that Head of School Tony Jaccaci “clearly wants to find ways to build a relationship with the town,” Waterman noted that Tabor has donated to town projects in the past. Those include the village infrastructure project, $10,000 toward carpets at the Cushing Community Center and $10,000 for the Harbormaster’s building. The prep school also provided pies for the town’s senior citizens.

            The committee was scheduled to meet with DPW Director Nathaniel Munafo in its final department interview on Wednesday night.

            The next meeting of the committee has not been scheduled.

Marion Finance Committee

By Mick Colageo

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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            Our Curator’s Show Part II included not only the displays of artifacts inside, but also, outside, a tour of the Woodside Cemetery’s veterans’ graves and a (tongue in cheek) tour of the two outhouses behind the Museum. While outhouses, also called necessaries and, locally, backhouses are well known to many of our older residents, they were a revelation to the ORR students who visited on a field trip.

            The first outhouse is thought to have been built 500 years ago as a sanitary improvement over latrines and other open pits. As late as the 1930’s and 40’s, the U.S. government was actively encouraging homes in rural America to construct outhouses. During the Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the replacing of dilapidated outhouses was one of the many WPA projects. Given $5.00 and 20 hours, the workers could build an outhouse that had proper ventilation, privacy and flooring.

            Looking through the Rochester Journals, there is mention of family outhouses with three to five holes (some smaller for children) and the whole family would make a nightly trek out to the” necessary”. The Sears Catalogue pages often took the place of toilet paper  (hopefully none of us had to resort to that during “the great pandemic toilet paper shortage”). Outhouses were often set 50 to 100 feet behind the home, making for a cold walk in the winter.

            Behind the Museum there are 2 two- holers, one for women and one for men. They lack the sun or moon sometimes carved in the doors. The sun meant it was for males and the moon for women. There are no longer pits under our outhouses which were used during the church’s active years. The men’s side, however, does have a zinc lined urinal. While most of us consider outhouses as relics from a distant past, they were in use for many years after the invention of the flush toilet. Besides the ones at Snows Pond, now replaced by “porta-potties”, I remember taking a nighttime trip out to one during a cousins’ sleepover in the late 1950’s at Aunt Mary Nute’s house. Many former students recall the “backhouses” at the Waterman School. In fact, the East Rochester Church outhouses were in use until a bathroom was installed in the basement of the church in 1968. A welcome addition, I am sure. One last outhouse story from a poem by Hilda Nevius Peirce:

Each Halloween night some hi-jackers

The Woman’s Club privy would borrow,

Whoever had irked those sly hackers,

Could expect a gift house on the morrow.”

By Connie Eshbach

Buzzards Bay Swim Registration Open

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Get some exercise, make new friends and support a good cause at the 29th annual Buzzards Bay Swim on Saturday, June 18 in New Bedford and Fairhaven. Registration is now open at www.savebuzzardsbay.org/swim.

            The Buzzards Bay Swim is an exciting outdoor experience that welcomes swimmers of all abilities and fitness levels ages 11 and up. Over 300 swimmers complete a scenic 1.2-mile point-to-point open water course from New Bedford’s South End, past the iconic Butler Flats Lighthouse and New Bedford Hurricane Barrier with a crowd of hundreds watching and cheering.

            At the finish line at Fort Phoenix State Reservation in Fairhaven, swimmers and their guests are welcomed with a beach party featuring a live steel drum band, pancakes cooked to order, gourmet coffee, local craft beer and awards and prizes. First-time and beginner swimmers can swim with a personal kayak or paddleboard escort for added support.

            Dartmouth resident Martha Yules and her husband tried the Swim for the first time recently. “We loved it – what a fun and memorable experience! This event should be added to the proverbial bucket list for everyone living on the Southcoast.”

            Last year, in a reduced capacity event with only 50 participants, the swimmers raised a total of $125,000 to support the Coalition’s ongoing work to prevent pollution and protect clean water in Buzzards Bay.

            Registration for the Buzzards Bay Swim is $25, and swimmers commit to raising a minimum of $300 each ($150 for youth.) Most find they can raise much more – including Rob Thieler of Falmouth, who together with his team, the Chappy Swimmers, raised over $4,300 last year. “We are long-time supporters of the Coalition and its mission,” he said. “Water quality, conservation and public access are all vitally important to how we enjoy the Bay. And honestly, we also love a good race! The Swim is one of the most fun and best-run events in New England.”

            Have a great time for a good cause at the 29th annual Buzzards Bay Swim on Saturday, June 18. Sign up now at www.savebuzzardsbay.org/swim

Back to Drawing Board for Dumpster Regs

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            Several weeks of work that Marion Health Agent Ana Wimmer put into formulating dumpster regulations were put through the shredder in but an hour during the March 3 public meeting of the town’s Board of Health.

            Alarmed by a set of proposed regulations that they strongly feel do not apply to their businesses and would only result in bureaucracy-driven paralysis of their operations, several entrepreneurs attended the meeting to voice their objections.

            The common message was don’t fix what isn’t broken.

            “There’s an awful lot in this regulation that goes after (waste haulers), I would describe as harassing them,” said Tucker Burr of Burr Brothers Boats, Inc., who prepared a detailed list of notes in response to the proposed regulations.

            Burr said that between 10 and 15 years ago Marion had a municipal dumpster service that fell into disrepair and was discontinued. Business owners, he said, were instructed to arrange their own private services. “These companies strictly volunteer to come to our town. If you end up overburdening them … they might decide that Marion is a place they don’t want to do business,” he said.

            Waste-hauler violation fines proposed in new regulations would begin at $300 for a first offense, $600 for a second offense and $1,000 for a third. Dumpster-operator violations were scheduled out at $100, $300 and $600.

            What the board intended to do with the regulations, said Board of Health Chairperson Dot Brown, is leverage “a few bad actors,” but lacking any regulations the board has been powerless to act on recent complaints emanating from a residential housing project. Therefore, the members requested that the health agent study other towns’ practices and produce a working set of rules that could address such situations.

            “It’s public health, that’s what we’re trying to protect here,” said Brown of the proposed regulations that would levy fines on trash haulers. “If you’re a good citizen and doing the right thing, our purpose is to not let the bad citizen get away with it. We’re not asking you to get a new permit, even every year. …

            “If somebody isn’t a good actor, we have a way to enforce something. Right now we have nothing.”

            Wimmer told the meeting that she had received four or five complaints from June 2021 throughout the summer and into the fall. She said the problems resulted in raccoons. “This is the solution that was proposed by the board,” she said.

            Upon hearing several other business owners echo and/or elaborate on Burr’s sentiments including Dan Crete of Saltworks Marine, Mark Riley of Top of the Hill Liquors, Todd Zell of Brew Fish restaurant, Chris Washburn, Ryan Cosman of Barton’s Boatyard and Michael Sudofsky of Sky Development, board member Dr. Ed Hoffer suggested the regulations need to go back to the drawing board.

            “It really helps if you write down some of your excellent objections as Tucker has here,” said Brown, suggesting that the think-tank of business owners can assist in the process.

            Tension was already high for the March 3 public-comment session after the Board of Health’s failure to post the required 48-hour notice of its February 17 agenda until the morning of the meeting scheduled for 4:00 pm. The notice that was posted did not contain the required time stamp from the town clerk’s office, according to attorney John P. Mathieu of New Bedford-based Mathieu & Mathieu Attorneys and Counselors At Law.

            Mathieu sent the board a letter on February 17, advising its members that he intended to file an Open Meeting Law Complaint with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts pursuant to MGL Chapter 30A, Section 20 (b).

            The meeting was called off, and the next day the Town of Marion issued a statement apologizing for the cancelation: “The Proposed Dumpster regulations that were the subject of the Public Hearing have been discussed in multiple open meetings. There was some interest in yesterday’s meeting and as such we welcome input on the proposed regulations. We encourage either written input or comments at our meeting on March 3, 2022 where time will be allotted for comments on the proposed regulations. The proposal will then be finalized and the public hearing rescheduled.”

            Brown and the board addressed the matter at the start of their March 3 public meeting.

            “There was a time sensitivity and mistakes were made, and we apologize for that. We have changed our procedures,” said Brown after reading a letter that Health Director Lori Desmarais prepared for the state attorney general. The board voted to approve the letter in response to Mathieu’s complaint.

            The business owners felt wrongly targeted not only by the threat of losing their private services due to what they consider an unreasonable schedule of fines but because of proposed regulations that would undermine operations already governed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

            “That fee schedule is scary,” said Riley. “If a guy makes a mistake, … we are going to lose people in town.” Riley said that, if the town is going to write any new regulations, “it should be extremely targeted at a known problem and not anything else. … Five sentences, I know we can’t do it, but that should be the goal.”

            Brown thanked Hoffer for his time serving as the board’s chair.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Thursday, March 17, at 4:00 pm.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

Filter Project Not Favored by State

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            In his regular report to the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission on Tuesday afternoon, Tata & Howard engineer Jon Gregory was disappointed to announce that the State Revolving Fund did not approve the MRV’s filter replacement project, ranking it significantly lower in its points scale (413-331) below the last project funded.

            “Not much we can do about it at this point,” said Gregory, who intends to follow up for a clearer picture of why the project did not make the cut.

            The SRF program provides low-cost financing to assist the suppliers of public water comply with federal and state drinking water requirements.

            The next move for the MRV is to investigate funding mechanisms, and that will necessarily mean dialogue as towns finalize annual budgets and articles for their respective town meeting warrants.

            MRV Facilities Manager Henri Renauld suggested separating into two projects rather than trying to push them through together. Gregory believes the merits of that approach depend on whether the state Department of Environmental Protection requires PILOT testing.

            Total project estimates range up to $7,400,000, according to Renauld. Gregory had a slightly more conservative estimate between $6,800,000 and $7,000,000. “The wild card in this thing is the cost of materials right now,” said Gregory.

            Koch, the manufacturer of both the existing filters and the Puron system to which the MRV voted last year to upgrade, has issued a notice of cost increase of $370,000 from its original proposal.

            Renauld said that the MRV will have to fund 31 to 32 percent of the project, borrowing somewhere around $2,000,000.

            Marion representative Nathaniel Munafo asked about the procedure of funding, noting that his deadline for warrant articles was seven days away. Jeff Furtado indicated that the MRV would seek to borrow but that member towns would need to have funding in place to support the commission’s action.

            Paul Howard of Tata & Howard said that In order for the MRV to get its bond in place, towns would have to make some sort of commitment.

            Renauld was compelled to take the member towns’ temperatures: “Are we not ready to bring this to Town Meeting in May? Every one of us has to go forward with this.” With $600,000 to offset the project, Renauld estimates that the borrowing figure will drop down to $1,800,000.

            Gregory considered the situation precarious only because of volatile construction costs. “We’re trying to fund something where construction isn’t likely to start for a year,” he said.

            Munafo sought clarification as to the funding including construction and all administration. Gregory qualified “with an engineering contingency.”

            Hoping that the project can be earmarked for ARPA funding, Howard recommended working off a $7,200,000 figure, “whatever your percentage may be.”

            In response to Munafo’s concern over an insurance cost that was brought for decision in June, Commission Chairman Vinnie Furtado said the review and approval of proposals and agreements is “something we’ll iron out in the next meeting or two. We typically do our best not to have the element of surprise.”

            Renauld’s treatment plant update addressed weather-related challenges including the winter’s snowstorm, along with high winds and power losses. He said that a new dual chlorine monitor will be in place over the next couple of weeks.

            In her Treasurer’s Report to the commission, Wendy Graves itemized $65,713.31 in invoices paid in March.

            Member emeritus David Pierce reminded the commission that the regular Southeastern Massachusetts coast water meeting was put off and that the MRV had been discussing a social including former members.

            Munafo spoke at greater length during the meeting of the MRV Water Protection Advisory Committee, following a committee vote to approve the MRV sending out invoices to district towns requesting $5,000 in funding.

            “I think we should have something where we’re not just voting on large expenditures out of the blue,” said Munafo, acknowledging the immediacy of a level logger that goes out of service.

            Renauld explained that getting the funding approved was necessary with town meetings coming up. “We all try to get everything to the agenda as soon as we can. … I do understand Nathaniel’s point very well … but there are going to be occasions,” he said.

            Pierce said the MRV used to keep a spreadsheet of scheduled votes. Marion representative Meghan Davis said it would be beneficial to get agenda matters out to the members ahead of the meeting when possible.

            Gregory presented a river-monitoring data review from 2021, displaying via graphs how the drought of 2020 and heavy rainfall in 2021 affecting both deep and shallow monitoring wells.

            Member Rick Charon said that the DEP uses stream flow to determine the draw on water and wondering openly if it could be more of an effect than a cause. The concern is in how to offer the state rebuttal to decisions made on misleading data.

            Gregory said he will further research the stream flow. Howard said that Tata & Howard is trying to push for more alternative measures by the state such as groundwater rather than stream flow.

            In his Treasurer’s Report to the committee, Jeff Furtado announced a total balance of $278,798.65 as of March 1. He reported $22,371.71 in total debt and $73,622.07 in total income.

            The next meeting of the MRV Water District Commission/Water Protection Supply Advisory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, at 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm.

MRV Water District Commission/Water Protection Supply Advisory Committee

By Mick Colageo

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