Police Reform Leverages Staffing Request

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The Marion Finance Committee’s February 9 public meeting saw Police Chief Richard Nighelli and Fire Chief Brian Jackvony present respective FY23 department budgets.

In explaining his proposed budget increase for FY23, Nighelli pointed to 129 pages of legislation on police reform including 23 action items with delivery dates and policy changes, training requirements, and increase in required public records, and the introduction of a board that certifies and decertifies police officers.

“One of the biggest changes for us is we’ve operated over the years with special police officers, and our special police officers have all been (compensated on a) per-diem (basis),” said Nighelli, noting that the special officers account for four to five shifts per week. “What’s happening with police reform is now they’re bringing everyone up to the same (training) standard. Because of that, our farm team, as we say here, effectively has really been eliminated.”

With all officers on even keel, Marion is being leveraged into either absorbing them as full-time staff or is bound to lose them to another town. To account for the loss of special-officer shifts, the department proposes adding an additional full-time officer to the staff. Nighelli said doing so will help control overtime costs which, heretofore, have risen with every absence and vacation due to the department’s minimal staffing.

The training cost is $4,000 per officer. Six special officers work for Marion with four that Nighelli is training.

Nighelli spoke of how five years ago the Police Department started migrating from analog toward a digital communications system. He said FCC-level changes have compromised communications, making reception vulnerable to atmospheric changes.

“Years ago, the FCC made the department go from broadband to narrow band so five years ago we started to have radios go to digital, which will make communications more seamless,” explained Nighelli. “There were dead spots in town. The sound quality had atmospheric issues on the frequency when others were talking. … And so going to digital takes it to the finish line, which started five years ago. It will be better communications. We’re excited about it.”

The microwave repeater site gives dispatchers the priority in communications so they can transmit any important messages they need to convey.

The next topic turned to a new police cruiser. Nighelli informed the Finance Committee that one cruiser with capital occurs every third year.

“It’s the same maintenance as a typical vehicle. However, the 120,000 miles is our typical threshold because of idling and other driving demands the cruisers are put through, it’s not the same as your ordinary vehicle,” he said.

A question for the chief concerned staffing. He replied, “We have 14 full-time officers and six specials. We have the specials as a budget saver. Now we’re not going to be able to utilize them.

“In Massachusetts, police reform has really become a big thing. The George Floyd event is what’s driving it. And now people are realizing the financial impact of all that these reforms entail. With police reform, there are a lot of unknowns. What we do know is that we’re going to lose our ‘farm team’ within three years, that is, our specials. We lost two last year.”

Next, the increase of public-records requests was addressed.

Nighelli informed, “It’s necessary now for us to maintain a D.A. portal when officers need to testify. We never had to inform them in the past. And secondly, mandatory body cams are coming, which will increase public-record requests. A committee of 25 is going to be reviewing this.”

When asked if there were any retirements on the horizon this year, he replied one, then informed that he has lots of young officers.

            On the topic of officer retention in general, he replied how across the country in law enforcement these issues of new candidates are a point of concern.

“With the emergence of many departments offering signing bonuses these days, particularly with contributions for health insurance, the new generation is wary of working for a department that doesn’t offer them. And also it’s challenging in that they tend to be looking for more time off and preferring not to work nights or overnights. It’s different these days (from) when I came up. I would work overnights and overtime. … So, with regard to that change of outlook on young officer’s careers now, I’m not so sure it’s a good thing.”

The chief’s time was punctuated to a rousing round of thankfulness for his department’s job.

“I appreciate that. We are proud to have professionalism, integrity, and empathy,” he said.

Next up was Fire Chief Brian Jackvony.

After welcoming the chief, Town Administrator Jay McGrail stated how only a part-time administrative assistant position which had increased the budget by 2.92 percent would actually be funded by the Fire Department’s budget.

Jackvony said that Emily Fillman’s 20 hours per week would as confidential administrative assistant enable people who enter the fire station to be greeted by her. He then accounted for a not-filled slot of a Safety Department Office had resulted in a $2,000 reduction, and how also expenses were cut through employing the new voice service.

He stated aside from himself there are two other full-time employees, while assuring they always strive to have ALS staffed being available 24 hours a day.

Highly lauded for his staffing efforts in not only making sure trucks were staffed but other miscellaneous duties performed in exemplary fashion was Lyle McKay, paramedic and EMS coordinator who was hired shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. “He’s a godsend, a huge asset to the team,” said Jackvony.

Another appreciated welcome to the department had come in the form of a 2018 grant from FEMA to utilize for recruitment of unpaid firefighters.

“So far we’ve recruited 13, but most don’t live in Marion,” said Jackvony, who then shared about the department’s recruiting. “We put out promotional videos every spring, which will begin in April. So with that we hope to move from 13 to 20.”

The topic then turned toward a trend that could potentially impact staffing negatively. Jackvony informed, “Nationwide there’s a crisis amongst the graduation rate of EMT’s and paramedics. Both are down by about 30 percent. … Due to our part-time paramedics often being called into their other jobs, this hurts us more and more.”

This information prompted Select Board member John Waterman to say, “We need to look at the potential of hiring more full-time since (the dropoff) is an issue.” Board members concurred.

Alternate FinCom member Ann Iannuzzi mentioned a possible solution how in Brewster there’s a program through their health care systems which uses an at-home program geared toward keeping people out of returning to the emergency room due to the pressure that comes with that action. The program uses paramedics to take calls who can then bill for services. “That could be a revenue stream,” Iannuzzi suggested.

In Massachusetts, there is the Mobile Integrated program where a person who is discharged from the hospital and the next step is for the paramedic the very next day to assist him or her so they don’t have to return to the ER.

“We sent a Community EMS program to the Board of Health, and they embraced it,” said Jackvony. The chief also shared when he was in the Fire Academy there was a four-year program called Community Risk Reduction that he’d been skeptical of but after attending came to love it. “These are baby steps. I can’t wait to keep advancing such programs in our community because it’s a perfect fit for the community — our elderly like to stay at home.”

After the committee thanked the chief for his professionalism and that of his staff, he became a bit emotional and shared a same-day story of how there’d been a violent car crash.

“It was incredible what I witnessed of this paramedic who’d been in a highly challenging situation, two peopled involved in the crash, one fatality. But to the survivor the kind of compassion and empathy he offered was amazing,” said Jackvony.

The February 9 meeting opened with McGrail’s overview of the town’s proposed free cash allocations for FY23 that include: $931,007 for capital projects as ranked by the Capital Improvements Planning Committee (CIPC); $221,000 for the Sewer Enterprise Subsidy; $300,000 for budget support; $1,500,000 towards the Department of Public Works construction project; $300,000 for tax relief; and $130,000 to be allocated OPEB funding and/or snow-and-ice removal.

“Right now, we’re not deficit-spending yet so that’s a good sign,” said McGrail, who noted that the announced proposals maximize the town’s ability to spend free cash for FY23.

After the Police and Fire department budgets were discussed, Mooney shared two charts pertaining to ARPA funding and the CARES Act.

Firstly, ARPA (American Rescue Plan), a federal program of $2,050,000,000: McGrail commented how it has a broader reach (funds to be spent over five years) compared to the CARES program that allowed the board to spend $950,000 (in two years), which through Mooney pursuing all submissions, did accomplish it effectively. “Probably the first use of ARPA funds will be to fund the design of force main,” McGrail said.

Turning to the education portion of the CARES graph where $225,000 per student had been surpassed to $272,000, mention was then made of the tent outdoors which enabled classes to occur during Covid.

Waterman brought up another issue to do with the education component. “It’ll be interesting to know how many ‘school choice’ students are requiring special education help, as it costs families of non-special-needs students $5,000.” Mooney answered that 123 was the number.

Chair Shay Assad interjected, “ORR Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber told a board member about bus costs where consolidation of bus routes can be analogous to the special-(education) budgetary, consolidation challenge.”

The meeting adjourned with tentative scheduling of the ORR School District contract, which is up for negotiation. Sippican Elementary School was scheduled to present on Wednesday, and DPW is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Finance Committee

By Rob Grant

MAC Partners with TTAR to Showcase Student Artwork

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The Marion Art Center has once again partnered with the local organization Tri-Town Against Racism to showcase entries to TTAR’s Creative Expression Contest held during Black History Month. The theme this year is Influencers and Game Changers, Past or Present. Entries including artwork, essays, poetry, song and dance and short films were encouraged. The MAC will showcase all entries in an online gallery on the Marion Art Center website in early March, with a virtual reception scheduled on Thursday, March 10 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm via Zoom. Learn more about the contest, view all the entries including contest winners and register for the virtual reception at marionartcenter.org/virtual-mac.

Academic Achievements

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The University of Maine recognized 3,102 students for achieving Dean’s List honors in the Fall 2021 semester including Grace Magee of Marion and Emma Knox of Mattapoisett. To be eligible for the Full-time Dean’s List, a student must have completed 12 or more calculable credits in the semester and have earned a 3.50 or higher semester GPA.

            The following local residents made the Dean’s List at Rochester Institute of Technology for the Fall 2021 Semester:

– Daniel Bailey of Rochester, who is in the business administration-finance program.

– Bendrix Bailey of Rochester, who is in the software engineering program.

– Carey McCollester of Rochester, who is in the software engineering program.

– James DeMailly of Mattapoisett, who is in the environmental sustainability, health and safety program.

Full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students are eligible for Dean’s List if their term GPA is greater than or equal to 3.400; they do not have any grades of “Incomplete,” “D” or “F”; and they have registered for, and completed at least 12 credit hours.

Reform Measures Reshape Police Department

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            Rochester’s Fire and Police departments are looking at significant increases for the next fiscal year, both leveraged by common and unique factors.

            In Tuesday night’s FY23 budget presentation to the scheduled public meeting of the Rochester Finance Committee, Police Chief Robert Small said his bottom line of $1,515,370 is affected by the impending loss of his six-officer, part-time staff.

            Police reform requiring full training of all staff is effectively forcing part-time officers who wish to remain on the job to makes a commitment that can only logically progress to full-time duty. Then they are either hired by the department where they work or move on to opportunities in other communities.

            Small’s immediate solution is to promote from within the department an officer to lieutenant ($95,000) and to add a new patrol officer ($65,000.) Cell-phone lines need to be added for computers in police cruisers, along with other relatively minor expenses.

            “Some of that will depend on whether they choose to get town health insurance or not. Everything else I tried to keep as much to zero as possible,” said Small. “Hiring a lieutenant is a good move because I’m the only administrative rank in the department. The time has come … there is a number of administrative tasks to do.”

            He said many of those recordkeeping tasks are statewide requirements now. “They’re trying to standardize qualifications across the state.”

            Rochester currently has 12 full-time police officers including Small and department detective and six part-timers.

            Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg asked Small if adding one position to a full-time total of 13 will meet Rochester’s needs. Small said that in time more officers will be needed because the reform schedule will cause a three-year phase-out of part-time officers. The month of June is tricky with school vacation and the start of summer.

            “A lot of officers take time off. If we didn’t have that flexibility, it would cause a lot of problems,” said Small. “I’m not trying to overestimate the need. I figure start with one (additional full-timer) and see how it goes this year … it kind of depends on where we are with the part-timers. I’d rather do it in a step-by-step phase.”

            Upon hearing Finance Committee member David Arancio’s story of having done training and been a candidate at one time to work part time as a police officer, Small said that is how he started and believes many full-time officers in the area also started as part-timers.

            When Small became a police sergeant under the command of since-retired Chief Paul McGee, he took on a lot of the administrative duties. So did detective Don Kemmett, whose more flexible schedule allowed for him to pick up some of the slack.

            Some of it fell down to the sergeants,” said Small, noting that they do a “great job” but does not want them to have that burden when their core work is to answer calls.

            “We’re just trying to do a balancing; people have put in a good effort,” he said.

            Arancio suggested Small engage with the Capital Planning Committee’s five-year outlook and start looking at the one, three and five-year needs of the Police Department. “I appreciate the conservative approach, but … I think that would be helpful for long-term planning as well,” said Arancio.

            Small has discussed the department’s predicament with the Select Board but said there is more conversation to be had. “I’m always open to discuss with people because there’s a lot of moving parts,” he said.

            After thanking Small for his well-organized department narrative, Stoltenberg received a motion and the committee voted unanimously to support Small’s bottom-line budget figure of $1,515,370 for FY23.

            The committee also voted to approve the Fire Department’s FY23 budget of $369,628, the ambulance budget of $564,904, the Town Accountant budget of $157,764, along with $171,080 for Informational Systems, and $109,705 for the Planning Board.

            In his appearance before the Finance Committee, Fire Chief Scott Weigel said there would be no changes to salaries, resulting in $172,738 requested for FY23.

            But he did request significant increases elsewhere, as vehicle maintenance increases from $45,000 to $54,800. “The price of everything has gone sky high,” said Weigel, who explained that regular service devoid of breakdowns costs an annual $26,250.

            The two-year, 20-percent increase ($14,000) Weigel explained is due to the end of CARES Act reimbursement funding, including online certifications, OSHA, EMT’s, etc.

            Arancio requested more detailed information would be helpful to the committee.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Finance Committee is scheduled for Monday, March 28, at 7:00 pm.

Rochester Finance Committee

By Mick Colageo

Biologist Sows Seed for Thoughtful Gardening

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            Further exploring ways to aid sustainable living pursuits while at home, the Mattapoisett Public Library recently hosted a presentation by Joy Marzolf.

            Marzolf’s accomplishments in the world of nature is a long list. From rescuing and rehabilitating injured wildlife to educating people of all ages about an immense variety of animals and insects and their relationship to our survival, as well as engaging the backyard gardener to go natural with nature, Marzolf is in a league of her own.

            The presentation, supported in part by the Richard and Ann Prouty Foundation, is the latest chapter focused on sustainability issues, this time with an eye towards naturalizing the home garden with native plants in support of native wildlife including beloved butterflies or less beloved garden snakes.

            With a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and over 20 years working in various animal and natural-world occupations, Marzolf said, “My favorite thing to do is break people’s misconceptions about many animals … especially those that people fear.” She jokingly said that snakes need a better public-relations team because their value to all living things cannot be overestimated.

            Marzolf explained that wildlife and insects need the world to provide them with sustenance year-round, thus espousing the importance of having home gardens that feature berries, seeds and green leaves that both adult species can feast on as well as their progeny, even if the offspring is a caterpillar.

            The annual homeowner’s right-of-passage, fall-season yard cleanup, should not be done at all, she said. Marzolf explained that birds are feeding on the insects that are wintering under leaves, even the graceful butterfly; those that share winter digs are under leave piles hibernating. “Wait ’til spring,” she counseled before clearing away the leaves.

            The concept of growing native plants was discussed with a fine point placed on planning gardens that not only are native and therefore more likely to thrive but that also offer variety throughout the growing and harvest seasons.

            The common milkweed plant serves as an example for Marzolf, who said that many gardeners fail because they are trying too hard, sowing the seeds and fertilizing them – seeds that in nature are cast upon the ground after flying on gossamer wings blown by the winds. “They are scattered, not planted, and don’t need much in the way of fertilizers or rich soils.”

            Jumping back into the history of lawns, yes lawns, Marzolf said that during the early settlement periods New England was filled with vast fields that supported all manner of nature. As populations grew, the introduction of cattle and the like along with homesteading found fields being turned into home places with mowed grass areas. Today, she said the use of chemical fertilizers is commonplace.

            Regarding chemical warfare on insects, Marzolf said there is proof that having one’s yard treated chemically to get rid of mosquitos actually has the opposite effect. She said that because the chemicals don’t discriminate, all insects are harmed with spraying including beneficial dragonflies that eat mosquitoes. Marzolf said that people simply need more information in order to make gardening choices that help, not harm, nature.

            Marzolf displayed a picture of wild turkeys, asking if people perceived them positively or negatively. Everyone agreed they are great. They may have become a favorite on this day when Marzolf declared, “They eat ticks!”

            Marzolf also discussed how climate change is affecting local nature in ways we might not fully appreciate. Take the poison ivy plant for instance. Marzolf said that because poison ivy absorbs CO2, the more concentrated it is in the atmosphere the stronger the oils of the plant are becoming, so much so that people who previously were not allergic to the oils are now impacted with the familiar blisters and associated burning and itching.

            Some of the plants Marzolf advocated for planting as food sources for pollinators are: New England asters; tickseed or coreopsis; winterberry; Concord grapes and goldenrod. Voicing a bit of caution she said, “Know who are you buying seed from.” Marzolf said that many seed companies use chemicals on the seeds and that it is best to source organic seeds. She suggested contacting the Native Plant Trust, whose website is a great starting point for expanding one’s understanding of the importance of going native, with plants that is.

            To learn more about Marzolf’s work, visit thejoysofnature.com.

Mattapoisett Public Library

By Marilou Newell

March Events at the Mattapoisett Museum

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March 4, 6:00 pm – Southcoast Lessons presents New Sounds of Silents: silent films set to live music – Come on out for comedy, documentary and early special effects movies set to both improvised and newly composed pieces brought to you by Southcoast Lessons staff, students and guests. Space is limited, registration encouraged, doors open at 6.

            March 18, 6:00 pm – Southcoast Lessons presents Open Mic Night – The mic is yours! All ages and all genres welcome – sing a song, play an instrument, read your favorite poem, tell a story and enjoy what your community has to offer.

            March 19, 7:00 pm – An Evening of Celtic Music with Sam Babineau – Sam Babineau is a songwriter and fiddle player hailing from the SouthCoast of Massachusetts. She tells personal stories with her songwriting that echo traditional music blended with modern zest. Her introduction to Irish playing came with her involvement in Irish step at the age of 10 and since then, her fiddling has evolved to accompany others and herself. Registration is required for this event. Doors open at 6:30. There is a $10 suggested donation for this event.

            March 24, 7 pm – Join us virtually, co-sponsored with the Sippican Historical Society, for a book lecture by Skip Finley, author of Whaling Captains of Color: America’s First Meritocracy. Registration is required and can be completed on our website. www.mattapoisettmuseum.org/events or by emailing info@sippicanhistoricalsociety.org

            March 27, 1 pm – Southcoast Lessons presents Old Time Fiddle Session – Join us for a gathering of traditional string band musicians and music lovers. Bring an instrument if you play, a seat if you’ve got one you love and yourself whether you play and own seating or not!

            All events are free but donations are always appreciated. Thank you for your continued generosity! Donations can be made at www.givebutter/mattapoisettmuseum.

            Contact Mattapoisett Museum at info@mattapoisettmuseum.org or Jeff Angeley at southcoastlessons@gmail.com for more information.

             Mattapoisett Museum will be offering a group of beginner classes for those wanting to learn to crochet starting March 21 and will take place every Monday from 6 pm – 8 pm and run for 6 weeks. All materials are provided to create two projects over the 6-week session and will be yours to keep.

            The class will be instructed by Jackie Sousa, who has been knitting and crocheting since she was a small child, a skill her grandmother taught her mom and has been passed down through the generations. Most of the classes she has taught have been in a home setting with small groups to provide more one-on-one instruction. She has also worked with the Girls Scouts and has taught many people the basics of both knitting and crochet.

            This class is limited to eight people, and tickets must be reserved in advance for the session. Additional sessions may be run depending on demand.

Amy M. (Bowman) Miller

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Amy M. (Bowman) Miller, 41, of Mattapoisett passed away on February 27, 2022 at St. Luke’s Hospital following a long illness. She was the loving daughter of Rosemary T. (Zajac) Bowman and the late Walter E. Bowman, III, and the mother of the late Peter Michael Walter Miller who passed away as an infant in 2008.

            Amy graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School in 1999. She was a licensed phlebotomist. The years that she spent working as a paraprofessional at Old Rochester Regional High School were some of the happiest years of her life.

            Amy was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and loved watching the games with her father.

            In addition to her mother Rose, she is survived by her twin sister Andrea J. Clark of St. Petersburg, Florida and her brother Michael W. Bowman of Mattapoisett and her nieces Julianna and Tessa and her nephew Michael. She is also survived by her extraordinary Godparents Janet C. Shartle of Fairhaven and Peter T. Zajac of New Bedford, aunts and uncles Henry and Kathleen Zajac, Mort and Barbara Zajac, her former husband Michael J. Miller, and several cousins.

            Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, March 5, at 9 am at St. Anthony’s Church in Mattapoisett. The celebrant of the Mass will be Father Jordan Zajac, son of Peter T. Zajac and the late Judith A. Zajac. Interment will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Dartmouth. Visiting hours will be on Friday March 4 from 4-7 pm at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

EMC Settles on ‘Climate’ Identity

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            Before the issue took a timeout of sorts, the Marion Energy Management Committee had extensively debated over the course of several public meetings the merits of including the word “climate” in its proposed new moniker.

            No doubt, climate issues have been at the forefront of the EMC’s mission the past couple of years, and Marion’s major municipal building projects have been targeted as potential opportunities to influence a shift away from the burning of fossil fuels in favor of electric power.

            Well beyond the scope of those projects, EMC members have been feverishly investigating laws, loopholes and all manner of informational tidbits in hopes of providing the town’s decision makers with opportunities to minimize energy consumption and, at the same time, take advantage of any and all region, state and federal incentive plans to access grant funding for energy-related projects.

            They include but are not limited to heating conversions and other assorted upgrades in municipal buildings, electric vehicles, charging stations and the committee’s attention to Marion’s Hazard Mitigation Plan and related infrastructural projects.

            A subplot to this ongoing mission has been the same conversation on several occasions about the committee’s identity and what would be an appropriate name change to more accurately reflect its activities.

            From a tactical standpoint, member Jennifer Francis had in past meetings suggested that the word climate might be too politicized in the current social environment to be a productive choice for the EMC, but when the matter was revived on Monday afternoon during the committee’s scheduled public meeting, Francis added her yes vote to the other members’ present.

            The vote authorizes Chairman Christian Ingerslev to write a letter to the Select Board requesting its approval for a change in name to the Energy and Climate Resilience Committee.

            The rest of Monday’s EMC meeting constituted a perfect example of why the EMC seeks the identity change from “management” to “climate” and “resilience.”

            Having repeatedly come up in the course of scheduled reports, the Maritime Center that has seen significant grant-procurement progress with the state Seaport Economic Council has, along with the proposed Department of Public Works headquarters at Benson Brook, been of great interest to an EMC membership hoping its efforts to equip town officials with information will ultimately put the Harbormaster and DPW staffs in new net-zero buildings.

            EMC member Bill Saltonstall reported that he and fellow member Tom Friedman were in communication with Town Administrator Jay McGrail regarding the Massachusetts Energy Insight program as it applies to the Maritime Center. McGrail was to meet with the building’s architects and, according to Saltonstall, indicated some measure of progress.

            Ingerslev said designers were going to give an estimate on costs to get to net-zero but no information was forthcoming as of yet.

            Saltonstall compared the plan to a Plymouth building heated by mini-split units mounted on walls but behind decorative panels to obscure piping. “It was a pretty good system as far as the heating was concerned or the cooling, but they had no solar panels,” said Saltonstall. “I just don’t know how far they’re going to go with the Marion harbormaster building on solar.”

            An effective solar program depends on southern exposure.

            Saltonstall speculated that the town may be looking to generate the power off site and get it to the Maritime Center, as the present layout at Island Wharf does not provide for strong southern exposure due to the gabled ends intersecting the southern-facing roof.

            “It didn’t look (adequate) … I think they’re working on it,” said Saltonstall, who hopes to add net-metered power. “We’ve cut down our electrical use via Mass Energy Insight. If we can do those things behind the metered systems, that would be the easiest way … a little at a time so as not to break the agreement we have with Future Generation Wind.”

            Francis discussed the proposed DPW operations center and the prospects of requesting a comparison of costs of powering the facility with fossil fuels versus a net-zero building. “I don’t think we have the wherewithal to make that comparison,” she said. “If you show people a big number over 10 years, that’s more convincing.”

            The matter of photovoltaics (solar arrays) on town property remains complex, given the limitations posed by the town’s contract with Future Generation Wind.

            In an update on Green Communities grants where it applies to heating upgrades at the Music Hall and Taber Library, Saltonstall said the Music Hall did not qualify for grant funding, but a plan to install heat pumps at the library led to an award between $105,000 and $110,000.

            “We hope it can all be done, totally complete and paid for by the fall, and then we can apply for new grants. The important thing now is to get that project done,” said Saltonstall, who said he is pushing with Facilities Manager Shaun Cormier to move the project ahead.

            The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for Monday, March 28, at 5:00 pm.’

Marion Energy Management Committee

By Mick Colageo

Bulldogs Tune Up for State Tournaments

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            In final outings before the girls’ and boys’ state tournaments, both Old Rochester Regional High School basketball teams closed out their regular seasons with wins.

            After having their win streak snapped by Walpole on February 21 in the Foxboro Warrior Classic, the Old Rochester girls’ basketball team bounced back the next day in the consolation game against Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

            After the 52-29 loss the day before, the Lady Bulldogs saw a huge contrast in the 63-36 win. Logan Fernandes had a great game, scoring 17 points. Maddie Wright and Maggie Brogioli also contributed to the win with 13 and 9 points respectively.

            The boys’ team closed out their season the next day against Norwell, riding the momentum from their SCC Championship win to a 61-43 win in their final pretournament game. Liam Geraghty led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points, with Jacob Smith scoring 13 and Steven Morrell chipping in with 10 points.

            Heading into the Division 3 state tournament with an 18-2 record, the Lady Bulldogs are seeded 9th and will host 24th-ranked Quabbin Regional in a Round of 32 matchup on Thursday, March 3, at 6:30 pm. The 12th-seeded boys with a record of 14-6 will kick off their tournament campaign on Friday, March 4, at 6:30 pm on home court in a Round of 32 matchup against the winner of Tuesday’s Preliminary Round game between Bethany Christian and Cardinal Spellman.

Swimming and Diving

            Old Rochester’s swim team placed 16th at the Division 2 state championship meet on February 27. Skip Holmes placed seventh in the 200 freestyle and ninth in the 100 breaststroke, while Sean Lund placed seventh in the 100 freestyle. Holmes and Lund also picked up a ninth-place finish as part of the 400 freestyle relay team alongside Jaymison Grunshel and Sam Harris, and the 200-medley relay team of Lund, Holmes, Harris and Zackary Travis placed 18th.

Indoor Track

            Old Rochester’s Jen Williams had a strong showing at the MIAA Meet of Champions on February 26 at the Reggie Lewis Center, picking up a fifth-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.65 seconds, as well as a sixth place in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 2 inches. She now advances to the New England Championship on Saturday, March 5, in Boston.

Hockey

            The Old Rochester hockey team was able to close out its regular season with a 6-1 win over Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech on February 22. Seeded 30th in the Division 3 state tournament, the Bulldogs will be the underdogs going into their Round of 32 matchup against the third-seeded Hanover on Saturday, March 5, at 5:00 pm at Gallo Arena in Bourne.

Sports Roundup

By Matthew Curry

Cushing Cemetery

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Cushing Cemetery is starting its spring cleanup early this year due to the storms and snows that we have had. As you can see the trees, bushes and roads have taken a beating.

            To adhere to the rules of the board of health and the landfill, we now have trash barrels and recycling barrels set up at both buildings. These barrels are the same as your household barrels. Please, no sticks, dirt, leaves, stones or any other biodegradable materials are to be put into these barrels.

            Please start removing your Christmas decorations from your gravesites. You can bring your decorations home with you or you can put them by the barrels or into the trailer by the garage.

            If you have been in the cemetery lately, you will notice that our roads edges are getting run over and muddy. The only place that a vehicle should be is in the road. Not on the grass or up to your gravestone.

            When the road dries out enough we will grade, fill in holes and hopefully edge the roads so they have better eye appeal.

            Please remove all bells, wind chimes, birdhouses and brackets from the trees. Putting nails, screws and other objects into the trees is unhealthy for them. You will also notice that a number of trees have to come down; this is why we have to protect the trees we have left.

            Please, no dogs allowed in the cemetery and no doggy bags in the trash.