Rochester Senior Center

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The Rochester Senior Center would like to remind people about the COVID restrictions and guidelines in place; there is a maximum capacity of 15 people permitted in the large room at the Senior Center. This includes staff and participants. This limit is in adherence to the MA Department of Public Health guidelines for reducing capacity indoors. Meetings and activities held outside can accommodate more people, weather permitting. Face coverings are required and six feet of social distancing from non-household members apply. Everyone attending activities held at the Senior Center will be asked to sign a COA Waiver of Liability Agreement. Waivers are available at the front desk and will be kept on file. You do not have to fill out a waiver each time you visit.

            Stepping and Stretching with Larry is returning to the Rochester Senior Center beginning Thursday, September 3. The class will be held on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:30 am. This class will held outside, weather permitting. The number of participants will be limited if it moves indoors due to weather.  

            The Rochester COA Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 2 at 9:00 am.  This meeting is held in-person, outdoors, and via webinar. Immediately following is the Friends of the Rochester Senior Center meeting at 10:00 am. This meeting will also be held outdoors.  These meetings will be moved indoors if the weather is inclement, but will be reduced in size due to the maximum capacity of 15 people in the large room.

            The Greater Boston Food Bank distribution is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Participants of this program can pick up their food in person at the Senior Center. To receive food from this program, you must apply and be approved prior to the distribution day. Please call the Senior Center for an application. Please let the staff know if you need assistance completing the application. Also, food items must be picked up by the person participating in the program unless other arrangements have been made in advance.

            There are still a few slots remaining for the tax work-off program for Rochester Seniors. Please contact the Senior Center to participate in the program.

            The Rochester Senior would like to thank all of the program participants for following the COVID restrictions and guidelines in place to keep everyone safe and healthy. The programs have operated successfully thus far, and the Senior Center, Board members, and staff look forward to adding more programs in a similar manner. The Senior Center recently purchased a restaurant style propane heater so that outdoor programs can continue into the fall.  

Tri-Town and Beyond Community Read

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            On August 1, educators and local leaders in the Tri-Town and beyond kicked off a Community Reads focused on social justice. The goal of The Read is to collaboratively learn about the ways that racism plays out in society at large, as well as in the towns where we live. In addition, the hope is that through listening and learning from People of Color about lived experiences of racism, all of us will take steps to create a more equitable society—so that people of all races will be able to fulfill their potential—for the benefit of society as a whole.

            Now, at the halfway point in the readings, we invite everyone to share their thoughts and questions about the books we’ve been reading, How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

            Do you have questions or observations you want to explore? Then join us for this free online event to hear what others are thinking and learning. Let’s keep this conversation going! Feel free to join us even if you have not completed the readings or if you just want to listen in and learn!

            Community Read Co-sponsors are: Mattapoisett Museum, Mattapoisett Free Public Library, the Tritown Against Racism Facebook group, YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts, the Elizabeth Taber Library, and The Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library. Everyone is invited to participate.

            This event is free and will be held on Zoom but please RSVP via Eventbrite to get the link for the online conversation: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tri-town-and-beyond-community-reads-midpoint-check-in-conversation-tickets-117584180449

            This event will also be simulcast on ORCTV.

            For questions or more information please contact Stacie Charbonneau Hess at (508) 524-5773 or via email Stacie.CharbonneauHess@bristolcc.edu

Sept. 10 Looms as Day of Zoom for ZBA

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            During its August 13 remote access meeting, the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals voted to reduce the letter of credit to $20,398.46 in accordance upon request by builder Ken Steen, whose Sippican Village work was confirmed as being nearly complete at Fieldstone Way.

            Steen had put up the line of credit compared in the meeting to an insurance bond, as a part of the normal course of action pertaining to a 40B (housing) project.

            The ZBA was not clear on the exact nature of the Planning Board’s request for comments regarding the Special Permit requested by Daniel Gibbs Sr. to erect a road sign at 459 Mill Street advertising his son Dan Gibbs Jr.’s roofing business. The business used to belong to Daniel Gibbs Sr. and to the latter’s father before that. Lacking explanation as to where its comment should be directed, the ZBA refrained.

            With only herself and board members Margherita Baldwin and David Bramley present, Chairperson Christina Frangos said it would not be fair to hear Cases 778 and 779 because there would not be enough members to vote or even invoke the Mullin Rule.

            Case 778, applicants Patrick Fischoeder and Allison O’Neil at 498B Point Road, was continued with apologies to the applicant to September 10 at 6:45 pm and Case 779, applicant Thomas C. Webster III at 34 Oakdale Avenue, was continued with apologies to the applicant to September 10 at 7:00 pm.

            Beforehand that night, the Heron Cove 40B affordable housing case will be heard at 6:30 pm.

            Board administrator Anne Marie Tobia told the board she had planned to take advantage of the emerging opportunity to meet in person at the Music Hall.

            “The problem is the governor has limited the amount of people that can be in the Music Hall to 25,” she said, acknowledging the possibility of, in addition to board members and herself, media coverage, and interested attendees from the public as is their right. “In most cases, we’re not going to have 25 people at a Zoning Board meeting so I don’t necessarily think it would be a problem. However, if we hit that 25-person mark and we need to turn people away, then we need to put that meeting off. We need to put it off to a new date.”

            Building Commissioner/Zoning Officer Scott Shippey noted that the Zoom can be offered in conjunction with the in-person meeting.

            It was noted in the meeting that 19 people attended the Conservation Committee meeting at the Music Hall the night before, despite hearing only four cases. There was concern the ZBA could become “collateral damage” should a public hearing not be held in person due to overcrowding. Abutters are expected to attend the Heron Cove hearing on September 10.

            Tobia, who introduced the subject, said this is likely to be a decision that will need to be made “on a meeting-by-meeting basis, and this will be the first meeting that’s live on Heron Cove and people may come out for that. We may end up with more than we can handle there.”

            Tobia suggested September 10 be a Zoom meeting, and then decide from there how attendance should affect the decision over the mode for the next meeting.

            Frangos took it a step further, saying Zoom works well in her private business and, from what she can tell, in public meetings as well. She doesn’t think the ZBA should hold any in-person meetings until the coronavirus situation has changed substantially according to the governor. “That way we’re not putting people into attending something they may or may not feel comfortable with,” she said.

            Frangos also suggested that Marion make Zoom meetings more accessible by placing hyperlinks on the online agendas. Tobia said she will look into the matter.

            In light of the continuances due to a lack of quorum for public hearing votes in the August 13 meeting, Frangos said the ZBA would benefit through a document outlining internal rules of participation and processes in the event the chairperson, for instance, is unable to attend.

            Shippey suggested the ZBA use its time during an uneventful meeting to discuss its questions and take votes on such matters, then propose its solutions to the Board of Selectmen for review and decision. Frangos agreed to email Shippey on the details of related administrative matters that were discussed.

            “I’d like to start with what is common practice – what do towns do – rather than starting from us pulling stuff out of the air,” said Frangos.

            Shippey said he would reach out to Barbara Carbone, a former ZBA member in another town, at KP Law for advice on the matter.

            Case 774, involving construction at 114 Point Road, was continued to October 22.

            The next meeting of the Marion ZBA is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, via Zoom.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Mick Colageo

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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Both the month of August and the year 2020 have significance for women across America. The fight for a woman’s right to vote ended in 1920 when women finally won suffrage. I’m sure it was a victory cheered by many women in Rochester. When you read through town history, there are many stories of strong women who faced and fought through adversity.

            Mary (Smith) Haskell followed her husband, Mark “Witchcraft” Haskell to Rochester five years after he left Salem to settle there. Over those years, he had built a home and a farm and become Town Clerk. Mary brought with her their six children. They were Mary, whose wedding was the first to be recorded in Rochester township, Roger, Joanna, Mark Jr., John, who were all in their teens, and Joseph who was six years old. Once in Rochester, Mary saw her house burn down, and two years later, the death of her husband at the age of 49. She managed to carry on, making some money by sweeping out the meetinghouse once a week. Her children married and several built homes near their mother. John, the next to the youngest, married and built a house on the shores of Mary’s Pond on land said to have been bought for him by his mother.

            Another widow who persevered after the death of her husband at the age of 46, was Bethiah Church. Her husband, Lemuel, one of a long line of Rochester Churches, had opened their house, built on the east side of the Mattapoisett River, as an inn for “the accommodation of the traveling public”. In the mid-1700s that public consisted of horsemen and footmen, as no wheeled vehicles were in use in this part of the country. Bethiah, who was married to Lemuel for 22 years was known as a woman of unusual energy. After her husband’s death, she continued to run the inn or public house and to raise her nine children. She outlived her husband by 60 years and died in 1832 at the age of 100.

            Not every Rochester woman who had to single-handedly keep home and family together did so as a widow. In the 1840s, Julianne Smellie was alone with her children while her husband, James, traveled west for the California Gold Rush. During his absence, she became very sick and was bedridden for weeks until a painful operation was performed. After that, the couple’s youngest child, Lizzy, became sick and died at the age of 14 months and 24 days. Julianne, who later died in 1855 when she was struck by lightning, wrote in an 1849 letter sent to her husband in California and recounting her these events, ” I often think that if you was at home you could bear a part of the afflictions with me”. 

            Then there was Bessie Hulsman who came from Nova Scotia to Rochester with her husband, Oscar, in 1900. They settled on 60 acres of land along Walnut Plain Road and started a farm. Over time, three daughters were born. In 1930, Oscar decided to walk across the country to California and back, which he did leaving Bessie to tend to farm and family. When he returned in 1931, he said he had taken his trip, “just to have an adventure”.

            Lastly, we have Annie Louisa Snell who at the age of 18 married James Hartley in 1885. Together, they had a farm and sawmill and 15 children, 13 of whom survived infancy. James died in 1918 at the age of 56. Annie, in later years known to many in Rochester as “Grandma Hartley” outlived her husband by 43 years. With the help of her older children, she raised the younger ones and continued the family sawmill company. She was active in the Grange and the First Congregational Church into her 90s. She was honored at the Grange after her 90th birthday. She died at the age of 95 leaving 450 or more descendants.

By Connie Eshbach

SLT Hosting Grab ‘n Go Oyster ‘n More Fest

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Sippican Lands Trust (SLT) is hosting a “Grab ‘n Go Oyster ‘n More Fest” as its annual fundraiser on Saturday, September 19 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Benjamin D. Cushing Center, 465 Mill Street, Marion.

            Tickets are now available for purchase at www.sippicanlandstrust.org with this year’s event featuring local oysters and shrimp from Snug Harbor Fish Company and Bryant Brothers Shellfish Company, lobster rolls, hamburgers, and hot dogs from Oxford Creamery, clam chowder from Harriet’s Catering, and cookies from Flour Girls. SLT is also launching an online auction as part of this year’s Grab ‘n Go Oyster ‘n More Fest to support the work of the Sippican Lands Trust. SLT’s online auction features some amazing items including homemade baked goods, a personal guided walk of an SLT property, and a personal tour of the Stone Estate at Great Hill in Marion.

            Ticket prices are $50 (food package for one person) and $100 (food package for two people). Tickets for this year’s Grab ‘n Go Oyster ‘n More Fest can be purchased online at www.sippicanlandstrust.org. Tickets must be purchased in advance by Wednesday, September 16 at noon to reserve your Grab ‘n Go Oyster ‘n More Fest food package. The event will be held rain or shine.

            For more information, purchase tickets, or visit our online auction go to www.sippicanlandstrust.org or call Sippican Lands Trust at 508-748-3080.

            Hope to see you at this year’s Grab ‘n Go Oyster ‘n More Fest on Saturday, September 19 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center in Marion!

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To the Editor;

            I write to Thank You for the gift that is Marilou Newell’s writing.  Her articles about “The Mattapoisett Life” are always so beautifully written and so much fun to read!  Although I’m loathe to admit I, too, am of a ‘certain age’; her stories deeply resonate and take me back to a time that seems so much simpler.  I’m tempted to cut-out each one and tape it to the fridge and/or send it to my sister, who would undoubtedly chuckle right along with me.

            So, to summarize, let us raise a glass of wine (or your preferred adult beverage) to Marilou and hope that her creative juices, memories and stories keep on flowing.  Here’s to you, Marilou!!

            Sincerely,

Cindy Johnson formerly of Mattapoisett

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.

Tabor Academy Reopens with Focus on Safety

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            With the start of the school year upon us, the Tabor community is excited for an educational and healthy academic year. To mitigate the risks surrounding COVID-19, Tabor Academy in conjunction with our state and local government, has been hard at work strategizing and reorganizing our facilities to keep our community, and the community at large, safe. Many of these changes are available for viewing in our recent informational videos. These videos include changes to the Health Center, the Dining Hall, our academic rooms, residential life, and more. 

            Tabor has made countless changes to adapt to best practices laid out by the Board of Health, the Commonwealth, and other agencies. Some of these changes are, but not limited to, the following: 

            • Students, faculty, and staff will be tested for COVID-19 upon return to school for the new academic year and then again 14 days later. 

            • All community members will be required to wear masks unless they are in their dorm rooms with the door closed. 

            • We will provide COVID-19 rapid antigen testing through Southcoast Health for all students who may be ill. Students living four hours or less will return home if they become sick. Students living four hours away or more, will be cared for in our Health Center. 

            • Our Health Center has been expanded to include a Health Center Annex which will provide quarantine space for COVID positive patients and persons under observation. 

            • Students, faculty, and staff will use a phone app every morning before school to identify any symptoms that might have arisen overnight. 

            • Our large venue meetings and events will go virtual (i.e. weekly chapel talks, all-school meeting, etc.) 

            • All spaces including classrooms, the dining hall, and common spaces have been organized for social distancing. As well, we have decreased the number of students in each classroom setting. 

            • The Dining Hall will have Grab ‘n Go options and seating available across our campus in tents, picnic tables, and other areas, all designed for physical distancing. 

            • All classrooms are equipped with webcams and microphones, allowing students who are remote to join their class in real-time.

            • All students, faculty, and staff will be asked to sign a social contract. If the contract is not adhered to, they will be required to study and work remotely. 

            • We have increased outdoor seating for students, faculty, and staff to access throughout the day. 

            As you can see, Tabor will look to de-densify our spaces wherever possible, restrict movement about campus, and adhere to state guidelines. Additionally, Tabor has put in place several contingency plans to help stop the spread of illness should any case arise. We are in a unique position as a school to have a successful year: our class numbers are naturally small, our campus is vast – giving us the ability to socially distance, and most of our facilities are separated from one another. 

            As always, the health and safety of our students and community are paramount. This year has seen an increase in changes due to COVID-19; however, we believe the plans put in place will make our community as safe as possible. We are proud of the work that our Plant Ops department, and our community as a whole, have done to re-shape our school to fit the current climate. We would also like to thank Marion Public Health Nurse Kathy Downey, and Jim Feen, current parent and Senior Vice President and CIO at Southcoast Health for their involvement and guidance as we went through the planning stages. Although life at Tabor may look a little different this year, we are steadfast as ever in delivering the same quality educational experience in a healthy and safe environment.

Despite Opposition, Eldredge Bogs Will Get Solar

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            The Rochester Planning Board moved quickly in their meeting held on August 25 after the majority of public hearing applicants submitted requests to continue their proposal reviews until the next scheduled meeting.

            The continuances included the hearings on the Cranberry Highway development, which still require work with the board’s review engineer before any progress can be made.

            Sarah Stearns of Beals and Thomas Inc. came before the board to discuss the finalized plans for a proposed solar canopy over the canals located at the Eldredge Bogs. After numerous meetings, Stearns and the board were able to amend the plans according to the desires of both parties.

            The new plans feature changes to the design structure of the proposed canals in order to more adequately generate power from the proposed solar canopy. Stearns explained to the board that the proposed changes will not substantially impact design or conflict with any of the town’s bylaws.

            Despite the board and Stearns coming to a general agreement surrounding the proposal, community members arrived at the meeting to express some of their concerns surrounding the project. Mainly, concerns about the value of nearby homes after the construction of the solar array were relayed to the board.

            One community member brought a petition to block the construction of the solar panels; this petition was signed by 28 households in the surrounding neighborhood. The general concern put forth by area residents was that the solar construction would be unattractive and decrease the value of surrounding homes. In addition, there were concerns that, even if this particular site was screened from the view of the abutting properties, the construction may set a precedent that would permit similar solar sites on more visible properties.

            Despite the dissent, there was some support from town residents. One participant argued that the solar project would be beneficial to the bog and that, even though he lives next to the bog, he has no problem with the solar canopy. To him, anything that could potentially benefit the struggling bogs would be a benefit to the town.

            Chairman Arnold Johnson explained that there is little that the Planning Board can do in order to stop the project even if its members wanted to. The site in question falls into an agricultural zone, meaning that it is exempt from a vast majority of regulations that other projects have to address. Moreover, Johnson explained that solar sites have a kind of protective status under the law that means they cannot be blocked by the town without significant justification.

            The Planning Board did address concerns surrounding screening by making it clear to town members that the board will do everything it can to ensure proper measures are in place to prevent the view of the site from abutting properties and nearby roads. Johnson also revealed that the site would be low impact, requiring no tree cutting or clearing of any kind. All of this would mean that minimal construction vehicles would be needed to complete the project.

            After Johnson’s explanation, the board voted to close the public hearing on the proposal and await a draft decision to be reviewed in its next meeting. The Rochester Planning Board will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, September 8, with remote access through Zoom and in-person access at the Rochester Memorial School.

Rochester Planning Board

By Matthew Donato

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church

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St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, next to the Town Beach in Mattapoisett, will have 8:00 am services August 30 with the Rev. Marc Eames, Rector, The Church of the Advent, Medfield, MA.  Masks are required and all other safety precautions will be in place at the church. All are welcome.

Town of Marion Hires Lori Desmarais As Public Health Nurse

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Town Administrator James McGrail, the Marion Board of Health, and Council on Aging Director Karen Gregory are pleased to announce the hiring of Lori Desmarais to the position of public health nurse as well as the relocation of the office of the public health nurse to the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center.

            Desmarais has over 25 years of experience as a registered nurse, including as a medical-surgical nurse and private duty/home care nurse, as well as experience in staff education, infection control, and public health.

            Desmarais has worked as the public health nurse at the Town of Dighton since June 2019, the Town of Lakeville since April 2018 and the Town of Freetown since December 2014. In these positions she coordinates communicable disease investigations, case management, immunization clinics, collaborative wellness programs with community groups and more. She has also performed COVID-19 case investigations and contact tracing in her service areas. Desmarais will serve in a similar capacity in her new position administering the public health program for the Town of Marion.

            Desmarais holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a licensed registered nurse. She is a licensed emergency medical technician and has served as a call firefighter for the Freetown Fire Department since March 2019.

            “We are very pleased to welcome Lori to the town and look forward to seeing the knowledge, skills, and abilities she will bring to the public health nurse position,” Town Administrator McGrail said.

            The office of the public health nurse will also be relocated from Marion Town House to the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center, 465 Mill St. Desmarais will be located in the Community Center when she begins in her new role on Tuesday, September 8.

            The public health nurse provides a variety of services to Marion’s senior population. As the Council on Aging is currently located at the Community Center, the new office location will be more convenient for seniors and will enhance the level of service already provided by the public health nurse.

            “We are excited for the opportunity that the office transition will offer for the continued collaboration between the Board of Health, public health nurse, and the Council on Aging,” Director Gregory said.