Upcoming Events at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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Twice Monthly Adult Art Workshops with Jeanine Cappuccino – 2 free art instructional classes per month. Attend one or both classes.  Sign up at the library.

Thursday, August 11, 6-7:30 pm: Create a sketch journal and learn the elements of art to create realistic qualities in sketching. Saturday, August 27, 10-11:30 am: Learn one point and two point perspective, then apply techniques to landscape sketching of Various Marion Landmarks (this class involves a short walk around Marion.)

            Author of ‘How to Bake a Universe’ Alec Carvlin Friday August 12, 11 am – Join author Alec Carvlin for an interactive reading of his Picture Book “How to Bake a Universe” and some cosmic crafts inspired by his story. Program will be held at the Library.

            Ice Cream Social and Splash Party Saturday August 20, 11-2 – Cool off and celebrate the end of summer with ice cream, lawn games, sidewalk chalk and a splash pad!

            Check out our new miniature bookstore: reading Room Books! Books, DVDs, gifts & more in the front reading room. All purchases benefit the Elizabeth Taber Library.

            These programs are brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

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

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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In a recent article in the Boston Globe newspaper, there was a story about an archeological dig at a 1725 house in Canton, MA. Among the items discovered, there were three pairs of shoes found in a crawl space under a floor as well as others in the walls. Over the years, our historical society has received several calls from residents who have found a shoe or shoes while renovating an older Rochester home. The shoes are usually in a hall, under the floor or behind a fireplace. The Curator at the Canton house said, “Some early European settlers believed hiding shoes by doorways, windows and chimneys could ward off evil spirits”.

            Whenever someone calls us with a report of finding a hidden shoe, we offer to take it off their hands, but most have opted to put it back where they found it, perhaps they do not want to upset the so far appeased “evil spirits.” However, we do have some colonial era shoes. They are very fragile and as you can see in the picture, some are in pieces.

            Protected in a glass-fronted case is the sole and parts of a woman’s shoe, a child’s shoe and a wooden shoe form. All of these, as well as the larger pair of shoes were found in the walls of the Samuel Arnold III house, which was built around 1750 and is located at 205 Snipatuit Road. The house was completely renovated by Percy Parent in the 1960’s, and the shoes were donated to the museum by Anne Parent of Rochester.

            The larger pair of shoes, like the others, date from the 1700’s and are in unusually good condition. These would have been men’s shoes and are made of a heavy leather. The upper is nailed around the edges to a wooden sole. The strap has a hole that slips over a u-shaped piece of metal. The bottom edges of the sole are reinforced around the forefoot and one-inch heel by a narrow strip of metal.

            The small white shoes at the edge of the picture date from the 1940’s and are kid glove leather baby shoes donated by the Benner family.

By Connie Eshbach

Szyndlar Appointed to Assessors

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Rochester’s three Select Board members overrode the wishes of the two-member Board of Assessors and appointed Finance Director Suzanne Szyndlar as a new member of the Assessors’ panel on Monday.

            Board of Assessors Chairperson Jana Cavanaugh and member Diana Knapp had wanted recently retired assessor Debra Lalli to return to the position as an appointee, but because Szyndlar had also applied for the opening, job interviews of the both of them had to happen first.

            After the interviews, Knapp and Cavanaugh voted in favor of Lalli. But the three selectmen voted no. The Select Board’s follow-up motion to appoint Szyndlar drew “no” from Knapp and Cavanaugh but still passed by a 3-2 margin.

            In the interviews, Szyndlar told the boards about her 22 years of municipal experience, including nine years on the Board of Assessors and experience assisting with assessing procedures as town accountant and town administrator. Szyndlar said she dropped from the Board of Assessors only because at the time, she was the town accountant in both Rochester and Mattapoisett. “I enjoyed being an assessor,” Szyndlar said. “I bring a lot to the table.”

            Lalli emphasized the fact she, too, has served the town for 22 years, but all of that time has been with the Assessors Department. She noted she has worked in the department since September 2000 as a clerk, then as an administrative assistant, then as an Assessment administrator.

            Lalli became an assessor in 2015 when assessor John Mello retired. She is certified as a Massachusetts-accredited assessor; her current state certification expires in 2024. She retired as Assessment administrator in June in order to collect her pension but had every intention to reapply once the state’s mandatory one-day waiting period had been fulfilled.

            The Board of Assessors, Lalli pointed out, is currently engaged in the Massachusetts mandate of recertification. “It is unfair to the taxpayers to appoint someone new during this critically busy time,” she said, adding that she is the one person who can independently step in “to provide the leadership, skills and assistance necessary to carry out the tasks at hand.”

            After the vote did not go her way, Lalli said she will definitely run for the position when it appears on the Town Election ballot in May of 2023. Szyndlar’s term in the position expires at the time of that election; Lalli retired from an elected position. Szyndlar, too, said she will run for the position in 2023.

            In other action, the selectmen signed a new, three-year contract with the Police union. The highlights of new agreement include new longevity and retention pay. Juneteenth is a new holiday in this contract, and union members will receive a $250, one-time stipend for that holiday this year only.

            The Rochester Select Board’s next meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, August 22, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Marion Community EMS Program Receives State Approval

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             Chief Brian Jackvony and EMS Director Lt. Lyle McKay are pleased to announce that Marion Fire EMS was recently approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services to conduct Community EMS programs.

            Community EMS is a collaborative system that addresses illness or injury prevention through public health services in Massachusetts communities.

            Though community outreach programs have been a regular part of the department’s operations, state approval provides Marion’s Community EMS program, titled Marion Cares, with more resources. Marion Cares will provide community risk-reduction programs to the residents of Marion.

            As part of the state approval process, the department conducted a community needs assessment to understand the need for programs and services in the community. The 10 programs and services identified include: child passenger safety, emergency preparedness individual evaluation, fire and burn prevention and education, firearms safety, home and community falls prevention, poison control home evaluation, sharps awareness, vaccinations, water safety and well-being checks.

            As part of these services, EMS personnel will provide assistance and education to the community through discussions on preparation and prevention, evaluations of the environment and potential risks and by providing recommendations to improve safety.

            “We are pleased to be launching this program in Marion and believe that these services will benefit our community members and will promote health and safety in everyday life,” Lt. McKay said. “We will continuously monitor the results of the program and evaluate potential opportunities to improve current programming as well as add new programming. Community EMS is a fairly new program in Massachusetts, and we are looking forward to seeing it grow.”

            The Community EMS program is a true community effort and involves other local agencies as well. Each month, members of the fire department and police department meet with the town’s nurse, Council on Aging, Coastline Elderly Services and Bristol Elder Services during which the group discusses cases where members of the community could benefit from services by any of the agencies and is an opportunity to refer members of the community to services.

            Marion Public Health Director Lori Desmarais has also been an instrumental part of the creation of the program. Together, the health and fire departments have delivered COVID-19 vaccinations to homebound residents and followed up with community members who have healthcare concerns. The departments will continue working closely to provide Community EMS services to the community.

            “Prevention and risk-reduction education is an important part of what we do, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this program will have on our community,” Chief Jackvony said. “Lt. McKay and Director Desmarais have done a great job coordinating and delivering past community health services and planning for this program, and we are thankful for the participation from our partners at the Police Department, Board of Health, Council on Aging, Coastline Elderly Services and Bristol Elder Services.”

            The department is planning to arrange a community meeting in the coming weeks to share the services that will soon be available as part of the program. Additional details on the meeting will be shared with residents as they become available. Anyone interested in any of the services or who would like more information is encouraged to contact Lt. McKay at 508-748-3596, ext. 3212.

Purrington Lecture Series

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Purrington Lecture Series presents author Eric Jay Dolin at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library. There is still time to register for the Purrington Lecture Series featuring Eric Jay Dolin, author of Rebels at Sea and Leviathan, on Wednesday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m. This presentation is cosponsored with the Mattapoisett Museum and will be held in person at the Mattapoisett Library. Dolin will speak about his latest title, Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution.

            The heroic story of the founding of the U.S. Navy during the Revolution has been told before, yet missing from most maritime histories of America’s first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels, from 20-foot whaleboats to 40-cannon men-of-war that truly revealed the new nation’s character―above all, its ambition and entrepreneurial ethos. In Rebels at Sea, best-selling historian Eric Jay Dolin corrects that significant omission and contends that privateers, though often seen as profiteers at best and pirates at worst, were in fact critical to the Revolution’s outcome. Armed with cannons, swivel guns, muskets and pikes―as well as government documents granting them the right to seize enemy ships―thousands of privateers tormented the British on the broad Atlantic and in bays and harbors on both sides of the ocean. Abounding with tales of daring maneuvers and deadly encounters, Rebels at Sea presents the American Revolution as we have rarely seen it before.

            Eric Jay Dolin is the author of fifteen books, including Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, which was chosen as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe and also won the 2007 John Lyman Award for U.S. Maritime History. A graduate of Brown, Yale and MIT, where he received his PhD in environmental policy, Dolin lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family.

            To learn more about the Mattapoisett Museum, visit mattapoisettmuseum.org or visit in person Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 4 pm. Admission is free for members and $5 per adult; children under 18 are admitted free.

            The Purrington Lecture Series is funded by the Mattapoisett Library Trust, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to expanding the role of the Library in the community. Please visit the library’s website to learn more about the Trust.

            To register, send an email to jjones@sailsinc.org or visit the library’s calendar of events to find the registration form. The library’s website can be found at mattapoisettlibrary.org; find great digital resources and learn more about our events on our site.

Mattapoisett Yacht Club Results

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Tuesday night Ensign racing was a bit breezy and spinnaker flying was limited, but one thing was for sure: Odyssey was cranking on all cylinders as they won both races with plenty to spare. One Love followed with two seconds, and Black Ice finished third for the night with a third and a fourth.

            Wednesday night’s PHRF race was sailed under perfect conditions as Kindred Spirits took the first August Series race followed by No Quarter Given and Restless in Class A. In Class B, it was Fir Na Tine in first followed by Hamburgler and Chickadee.

FY22 Transfers Approved

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The Rochester Finance Committee took care of some housecleaning items for Fiscal Year 2022 with Finance Director Suzanne Szyndlar during its public meeting on Monday night.

            Two year-end transfers were unanimously approved by vote, one for $96,872.80 and another for $30,632.

            The latter was handled first and was relatively simple, as $30,632 was moved from the Reserve Fund for the treatment of snow and ice. Szyndlar explained that even if it is not a snowy year, the Highway Department still needs to treat Rochester’s roads with salt and sand.

            The Finance Committee did not hesitate to support the transfer of $96,872.80 from Highway Department salaries, group health and Medicare budgets to salary budgets for assessors, tax collector, Police and Fire, EMT, Building and Electrical inspection services, gas, and library and for sick leave and town insurance. However, the motion was not voted upon without some informative discussion.

            Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg asked Szyndlar if the Police Department’s needs emerged by surprise. Szyndlar said yes, indicating that Chief Robert Small has recently dealt with the challenge of changing personnel, “a couple of officers out,” part-timers covering overtime shifts and an officer having left for another town, necessitating coverage while hiring a replacement.

            Rochester had a treasurer retire this year so it was necessary to cover the transition with an $11,095 transfer, part of the overall $96,872.80. The $11,095 figure was the result of turnover with key department heads requiring coverage, training of replacement, overlapping employment and accrued benefits predetermined by contract.

            The increase in the cost of fuel necessitated an extra $20,000, and group health insurance is based on an estimate, reaching in excess of $63,000.

            Earlier in the day, Szyndlar was appointed by the Select Board to the Board of Assessors to fill the term of Debra Lalli, who retired from her position. Ironically, Lalli was a candidate to continue serving on an appointed basis, but the Select Board chose Szyndlar, the former town administrator/town accountant now working three days per week in the newly created role of Finance director. She will serve the term on the Board of Assessors until the next town election.

            “I’m very aware of what I just jumped into,” said Szyndlar, who will be attending board meetings with Board of Assessors Chairperson Jana Cavanaugh and board member Diana Knapp.

            In conclusion, Szyndlar reported to the Finance Committee that “revenues look very strong for FY22 as I’m closing the books.”

            Stoltenberg asked about process going forward, and Szyndlar said that henceforth Town Administrator Glenn Cannon will be the point person for the committee’s budget-based correspondence.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Finance Committee will be scheduled in December when the committee begins its winter-long process of budget review for FY24.

Rochester Finance Committee

By Mick Colageo

Pulling CWMP Together

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The next phase of implementation of Marion’s 20-year, Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP) will be financially focused.

            For several months, the town has been sharing information and consulting with Kent Nichols Jr. of Weston & Sampson, Inc. with an eye on developing a plan that can guide Marion through its many infrastructural challenges and into a new era of water and sewer services capable of addressing the long-range future.

            On July 20, Nichols met with the Select Board, Town Administrator Jay McGrail and Department of Public Works Director Nathaniel Munafo to make comprehensive the many aspects of the plan that’s been analyzed and dissected, including with public feedback.

            “We’ve focused on a lot of different components over the course of time, (but) we’ve yet to pull all the different pieces together,” said Nichols.

            The goal on July 20 was to create a big picture, then identify next steps to finish laying the groundwork that would allow the stakeholders to complete the CWMP document.

            The July 20 Zoom session was a pure workshop and did not provide a platform for public feedback in the interests of momentum for Nichols and the Select Board. McGrail said there will be another session where public comment will be included.

            Nichols’ presentation touched on feedback from past meetings and the July 7 discussion with the Buzzards Bay Coalition on alternatives. He shared an outline of the recommended plan reviewing collection systems, sewer extensions, and implementation.

            In identifying emerging information that the Town of Wareham is about to embark on its own CWMP, it could incentivize regionalization on Marion’s part. That depends on if Wareham concludes that they need additional capacity. “Then the project costs for Marion in that scenario would go down,” said Nichols.

            Select Board member Norm Hills noted that Wareham is talking about a new pumping station near the Crossings shopping plaza, and Marion was raised in the discussion. “It is nice to know there is some potential for regional cooperation. I think the challenge right now is they’re just getting around to establishing their own CWMP so there’s not a lot of detail there,” said Hills.

            In pulling together the work that has been done into one vision, Nichols reminded the Select Board that the Recommended Plan “isn’t a group of things that have to happen tomorrow. … We’re talking about a plan that is supposed to guide your activities locally on Wastewater Management over the next 20 years. A good number of things that we talk about in the plan may take until the latter part of that term.”

            He divided the plan into capital projects, physical improvements, and policy. “All the costs that we’ve presented are current costs so, if you push something out five or 10 years, you’ve got to add that much inflation,” said Nichols.

            He outlined the existing collection system, dividing sewer into capital and programmatic improvements. Under capital improvements, he identified the one major issue to be Marion’s older pipelines. The leakage results in Infiltration and Inflow (I/I).

            “The thing the town has been doing for almost a couple of decades at this point is addressing that through a system of … study and control measures, sewer-system evaluation survey, work and related items to rehabilitate the sewer program,” he explained.

            Hills sought some big-picture perspective on I/I mitigations and expressed hope that in 20 years Marion would spend more time monitoring than fixing. Nichols said most customers repeat their I/I treatment cycles and noted that the regulators ask about these programs when towns come calling for permits.

            Nichols estimates that Marion will spend $4,000,000 on I/I mitigation over the 20 years of the CWMP and that $500,000 will need to be budgeted for sewer-access programs. He also pointed out that many little problems with pipe alignment or deterioration are discovered during I/I treatment.

            The pump stations were identified for capital improvements. Capital improvements for sewer pumping stations were listed accordingly: Creek Road replacement at $2,600,000; four other stations slated for major renovations totaling $6,000,000; three other stations slated needing renovations totaling $2,000,000; and force-main evaluations and improvements totaling $2,000,000 (not including the Front Street Pump Station force-main).

            Unsewered areas are the wildcard in the equation. While the town benefits with more ratepayers, the cost of the CWMP increases should sewer lines be extended into unsewered areas.

            Sewer extensions target up to 10 areas of town with a combined capital-cost projection reaching $40,000,000. Total CWMP capital recommendations approximate $60,000,000.

            While seeking permitting from the Environmental Protection Agency for more capacity at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, regionalization with Wareham remains a possibility.

            Implementation is something where Nichols says the town has control over which part of the program to implement right away.

            Munafo touched on a July 18 conference call with state and federal agencies and Marion’s permitting status. “I think, based on the call, it sounded like there was enough unresolved questions with what we already have on the table in addition to the additional flow and the loading that we requested in the application, they want to deal with those first,” he said.

            McGrail said that he and Munafo took most-recent Select Board member Toby Burr through the many slides from Nichols’ presentations to bring him up to speed.

            Ever since Marion held a public meeting on May 23, McGrail’s office has been inundated with concerns that the town is strategizing to alter homeowners’ grinder pumps. “For some reason, maybe it’s anxiety among grinder-pump customers, the focus is with approval of this plan we’re doing something that we know we’re not doing,” said McGrail.

            Nichols acknowledged that grinder pumps fall under the category of policy, a large segment of the CWMP, but it is a 20-year program and nothing has been decided so there is no reason for immediate concern, according to McGrail.

            The CWMP will next be discussed in a public forum sometime in September.

Marion Select Board

By Mick Colageo

Phase 2 of Marion Village Historic Inventory

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            The Marion Historical Commission is pleased to announce that Phase 2 of the Marion Historic Survey Update has recently been completed. Work on this project included updating and expanding the Historic Inventory in much of the Marion Village area in order to make it more accessible, more easily usable and fully compliant with current state standards. Work began in the fall of 2021 and has now been completed.

            For this project, our historic preservation consultant, Lynn Smiledge, reexamined the existing survey forms for three distinct areas of the Village: the Water Street Area, George Bonham Nye Area (at Pleasant Street and Converse Road) and the Upper Main Street Area. Maps and Data Sheets for each building were clarified and improved, and individual Building forms were completed for a large number of properties in and near these Areas.

            The information will soon be accessible to the public on the Marion Historical Commission’s website, as well as in hard copy in repository at the Sippican Historical Society and the Elizabeth Taber Library. We will also be sending copies of the Building forms to owners of properties that were individually surveyed. It is our hope that this information will make Marion residents increasingly aware and appreciative of the Village’s very special historic and architectural significance. Properties in the survey range from the grand Shingle-Style homes in the Water Street Area to more modest 19th-century Cape Cod Cottages and Greek revival homes. Also represented are several good examples of the Queen Anne period, Gothic revival cottages, Colonial revival and Bungalow-style homes.

            The results will benefit individual property owners interested in the history of their homes as well as being a useful planning tool available to local boards to assure development decisions are in keeping with goals for preservation of the Town’s historic resources in accordance with the Marion Master Plan.

            The survey work continues with our next project: Update and Expansion of Marion’s Historic Inventory – Phase 3. This project is funded with 2021 Community Preservation funds. Its focus will be the Old Landing Area, Old Depot Area, Rev. Oliver Cobb Area and other areas of town where early historic properties remain extant and are worthy of further research to better understand and appreciate the Town’s historic growth and the significant 18th, 19th and early 20th century architectural properties that survive as reminders and reflections of our history and culture.

A Senior Citizens Thank You for Random Acts of Kindness.

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To the Editor;

            A Senior Citizens Thank You for Random Acts of Kindness. Our annual family visit in Marion was interrupted this summer by my knee replacement surgery which took place in early June. Recovery and Rehab began with short walks, bandaged and with crutches along the street near the town beach. My wife and I have been amazed at the dozens of fellow walkers, runners and bikers and motorists who stopped to offer encouragement at my weekly progress. Over time, as the two crutches gave way to one crutch, a cane, and finally to normal walking, our cheering squad expanded to include local tradesmen, landscapers, individual drivers, and many random passers-by. Every day we experienced the comments, humor, and cheers from so many wonderful people.

            In the polarized and often negative atmosphere of today’s world it is so refreshing and uplifting to be reminded by our cheering squad that concern and kindness are alive and well in our Marion neighborhood. Please know that you are all so very appreciated!

David Manning, Marion

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.