Solar Array Moves Forward, But Steen at a Standstill

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            In the Rochester Planning Board meeting held on August 11, Phil Cordeiro of Allen and Major Associates Inc. came before the board to provide updates on the planned developments on Cranberry Highway. Cordeiro joined the hybrid meeting via Zoom to represent the application filed by Steen Realty and Development.

            After a meeting with the Rochester Conservation Commission last week, Cordeiro reported that their work with the commission had resulted in a conclusion of their discussion in terms of stormwater conditions. Cordeiro explained that though proactive work with the commission’s review engineer, Henry Nover, his team was able to address all of the concerns put forth. Cordeiro hopes that the next meeting with the commission will result in a positive order of conditions and ultimately conclude the conservation side of the planning.

            From an engineering perspective, Cordeiro moved to submit an updated plan to the board’s peer-review engineer to address any concerns that were brought up, and he expressed his hope that a response to those plans would come toward the end of the week. The peer review would allow Cordeiro to make the needed changes to his plans in order to satisfy the conditions required to obtain the necessary waivers and satisfy his team’s engineering requirements.

            One new potential addition to the site could be a Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority bus stop at the site. Phil Cordeiro and Ken Steen have been working with GATRA to determine the ideal location for the bus stop and bus shelter at the site. The proposed bus would provide alternative access to and from the Middleboro/Lakeville commuter rail stop.

            Ultimately, the main problem stalling the project is the traffic review for the site. “The board was engaging traffic-review consultants to review the entry conflict off of Route 58 relative to the Seasons Corner Market near the development,” said Cordeiro. “As I understand it, the peer-review consultant has not been fully engaged as of yet.”

            The conflict surrounding the access point has lingered since the board brought up concerns surrounding the turning radius for trucks entering Route 58. After numerous delays and multiple design proposals for the access point, the development is still at a halt. Cordeiro asked Town Planner Steve Starrett if there had been any updates to the traffic review. Starrett explained that two different traffic-consulting firms had said they would be willing to undertake the review of the plans, but that the board had yet to choose a consultant. With that, the board voted to continue the project until its next meeting pending a traffic review and a response from its review engineer.

            The Rochester Planning Board moved to address an application submitted by Greg Carey pertaining to his proposed solar array located at Sarah Sherman Road. Carey explained that since the last meeting with the board he had been issued a letter stating that he successfully complied with any comments and that there were no outstanding issues related to the proposed plans.

            Carey also provided the board with copies of signed easement agreements from the abutting property owners. The added vegetative easements to the site will satisfy the concerns from neighbors and effectively shield the solar array from abutting properties.

            Satisfied with the current plans, the board went through a number of bonds and waivers pertaining to the project that were necessary for its ultimate approval. The board approved bonds relating to stormwater maintenance and landscaping upkeep. In addition, the members unanimously voted to waive requirements relating to traffic studies, maintenance plans, and vehicular emergency access, as Carey had made sufficient explanation for the need of those waivers in his proposal.

            The Rochester Planning board voted to close the public hearing on the matter and await the draft resolution that would be brought before them at the board’s next meeting. With the conditions satisfied, Chairman Arnold Johnson explained that the project would very likely achieve full approval in early September, which would allow the development of the site to go forward.

            With the public hearings concluded, the board addressed internal business. After over a month of hybrid meetings, with access provided in person at the Rochester Middle School and via Zoom, the board discussed whether or not now is the right time to make the transition back to full, in-person meetings.

            Johnson initially proposed the idea but sought insight from other board members about their feelings toward the hybrid meetings. Though he stated that he prefers in-person meetings, board member Ben Bailey explained that the Zoom access provided a convenience for members who may not be able to attend in person. Town Planner Steve Starrett agreed and added that the addition of Zoom did not hinder the capacity of the meetings in any way and ultimately allowed for more participation.

            The board agreed to continue with the hybrid meetings but decided to revisit the subject in September. The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is set to take place on Tuesday, August 25, at 7:00 pm.

Rochester Planning Board

By Matthew Donato

Wind Back in Racing Sails at MYC

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            Participation may not be at normal levels yet, but Mattapoisett Yacht Club is back to having fun.

            Just like youth sports leagues and other recreational clubs in the Tri-Town area and all across Massachusetts, Mattapoisett Yacht Club felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had to shut down all activities as the state closed its doors.

            “We’d have our conference calls (as a staff) and we’d all discuss where we were,” Mattapoisett Yacht Club commodore Kai Srisirikul said. “Everyone was on the same page. The safety of our members is the most important thing.

            “(Members) were supportive and everyone understood what we had to do. It was really out of our control at that point. As an organization, we really wanted to keep up with whatever the guidelines were from the state.”

            Mattapoisett Yacht Club’s original target date to resume activities was June 30. As the state delayed its reopening process and pushed things back, the club had to do the same, but only a smidge. By the time July 6 rolled around, Mattapoisett Yacht Club was back in business and has been running its races ever since.

            On Tuesdays, members are back to competing in the one model Ensign series, as is the case on Wednesdays with the PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) races. However, there hasn’t been the same number of racers as there normally are. Participation is at about 50 percent of typical participation in a regular summer.

            “Attendance is very light, which is explainable and understandable,” Mattapoisett Yacht Club Vice Commodore and Race Chair Rick Warren said. “We have a lot of older sailors that have chosen not to participate.”

            Srisirikul and Warren made sure to communicate with the members who planned to get back in action in order to go over regulations and guidelines. Because, unlike some other recreational activities, with sailing, officials cannot be on the boats to ensure everyone is sticking to code. It all falls on the shoulders of those who are on the boats.

            “We were in touch with all the skippers and said that. ‘We can’t control what happens on your boat so we need you to be responsible for your boat and the people on your boat.’

            “So far, that’s been good. We have some boats that don’t have very many people on them and other boats that do, the bigger boats. And most of the skippers have their family and/or close friends with them. So, it’s their own little circle or bubbles, as they would say.”

            Events that were scheduled to be held prior to July 6 will not be rescheduled. Additionally, Mattapoisett Yacht Club has canceled all social events for the remainder of 2020. “We just thought it was better that we just cancel all social events this year out of an abundance of caution,” Srisirikul said. Mattapoisett Yacht Club has also shut down the use of its clubhouse for the year.

            “We’re one of the easier-to-deal-with yacht clubs… with the COVID because we don’t depend on the yacht club itself making money from having like a bar and drinks, and all that. Our social (events) are usually bring-your-own-everything. Even our own board meetings are over Zoom. We don’t really get together as a group.”

            Right now, the board and members are glad to have racing back again. Even with the lower numbers, the chance to be out on the water and competing has given them back a feeling they missed.

            “When you’re out there, things are back to normal,” Warren said. “You don’t have the volume of boats, but when you’re into sailboat racing and you get a little competitive, it really doesn’t matter the volume. You’re competitive and you have fun with the people that are out there.”

Sports Roundup

By Nick Friar

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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            As we watch the protest marches of the Black Lives Matter movement, it is interesting to look back at the years of similar marches, protests, and arrests that finally resulted 100 years ago in women gaining the right to vote.

            For all the preceding centuries, women were second class citizens and in most cases without the right to not only vote, but also to own businesses or to access their own money, including inheritances. If a woman married, any family wealth or business that was hers reverted to her husband. Unmarried women or widows had their affairs managed by male relatives.

            At times the women’s struggle coincided with the fight for black men to gain suffrage. At the first Women’s Rights convention in 1848 at Seneca Falls, N.Y., it was Frederick Douglas’s support that put the right to vote on the convention’s platform. Unfortunately, as each group fought for the same goal, the groups argued over which one should receive suffrage first. Acrimonious accusations and bad feelings caused a large rift between them.

            However, the twin causes suffered many of the same dangers and indignities. When women spoke out at suffrage rallies, they were heckled and subjected to everything from threats to thrown tomatoes. Many were arrested and some, like Lucy Burns who went on a hunger strike in jail, were subjected to force feedings. On November 14, 1917, known as the ” night of terror ” many suffragists were tortured and abused in the jail where they were held.

            The women in the movement knew that equality came with education, career opportunities, and political power, all things absent in most women’s lives prior to 1920. (Of course, just as the Civil War and emancipation did not provide black Americans with equal access, gaining the right to vote did not take away all discrimination for women).

            Given that many women were forced to live powerless, uneducated lives of drudgery, it is empowering to look at two sisters whose lives took different paths and who called Rochester, home, in their adulthood. Mary Hall Leonard and Caroline Leonard Goodenough’s connection to town comes through their mother, Jane Thompson, sister of Zebulon Thompson, a stone cutter and philanthropist who lived on New Bedford Road. Zebulon supported his brothers and sisters and helped all to get educations after their father’s death.

            Jane married James Leonard of Bridgewater and over the years, they had seven children. Unusual for the time period, James provided all of his children, both boys and girls, with education beyond grammar school. The third oldest child, Mary, graduated from Bridgewater Normal School and taught school for a time. After a trip to the Continent with relatives where she was able to do some post graduate work in Germany, she returned home and her career diverted from the norm.

            Her next job was as an instructor teaching prospective teachers at the Normal School. She was not only successful, but earned the respect of many in the educational field. Her reputation was so strong that she was hired to be the principal and first instructor at Winthrop Training School in Columbia, South Carolina. The unusual decision to hire a woman as principal paid off. Under her leadership the school went from 19 students in 1886 to 100 by 1894. However, in 1892, her title was changed to just first instructor (glass ceiling?) and two years later, she left and returned home. She moved in with her mother (who had left Bridgewater after her husband’s death) and her uncle and lived at 487 New Bedford Road.

            Mary Hall Leonard was a prolific writer who wrote technical articles on the art of teaching, novels, books of poetry, and an excellent reference book for local historians, Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, as well as Old Rochester and Her Daughter Towns, and was considered Rochester’s historian for many years.

            Mary’s younger sister, Caroline, also received a college education. Her life’s direction was affected by her marriage to Herhert Goodenough, who trained to be a missionary. The couple spent 35 years in Africa working as missionaries to the Zulus. After Herbert’s death, Caroline like her sister moved into her uncle’s Rochester home. Also like her sister she was an author. She wrote many books of hymns and poetry and the memoirs and genealogy of the Leonard, Haskell, and Thompson families titled Legends, Loves and Loyalties of Old New England. Both women are buried in Rochester’s Center Cemetery.

By Connie Eshbach

Author Margot Livesey Book Discussion

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Everyone is welcome to join the Mattapoisett Library Book Discussion Group in welcoming author Margot Livesey on Wednesday, August 19 at 6:00 pm to discuss her novel Eva Moves the Furniture. The novel is a captivating story of a young girl who is visited by two ghost “companions” throughout her life, a woman and a girl, and isn’t always sure if they are there to comfort her or otherwise. Set in Scotland, this heartfelt tale captivates and challenges readers’ sense of reality. 

            The discussion will be via Zoom, and those wishing to participate should email spizzolato@sailsinc.org to receive the meeting invitation link. 

            The library is welcoming Margot Livesey again, as she was very well received in 2009 when she read from her novel Banishing Versona as the speaker at the Friends Annual Meeting.

            Her new novel The Boy in the Field has just been published and she will be giving the group a preview.

            Livesey is the author of eight novels, one collection of stories, and a work of nonfiction. She has taught at numerous writing programs and universities, and resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to the author Alice Sebold, “Every novel of Margot Livesey’s is, for her readers, a joyous discovery. Her work radiates with compassion and intelligence and always, deliciously, mystery.” 

            This virtual program is part of the Purrington Lecture Series sponsored by the Mattapoisett Library Trust.

Marion Early Voting Information

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Marion will be offering three ways to vote in the September 1 State Primary. There will be voting by mail, early voting in person at the Town Clerk’s office, and regular voting at the polls. The deadline to register to vote in the State Primary is Saturday, August 22.

            The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Wednesday, August 26; however, remember we must mail you the ballot and receive it back by Tuesday, September 1. Vote-by-mail ballots may be returned by mail, in person to the Town Clerk’s Office, or in the locked drop boxes in front of the Town House on Spring Street.

            In-person early voting will be held at the Town Clerk’s office at 2 Spring Street at the following times: Saturday, August 22, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and from 7:00 to 8:00 pm; Sunday, August 23, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and then Monday, August 24 through Thursday, August 27, from 8:15 am to 4:15 pm and Friday, August 28 from 8:15 am to 3:15 pm.

            The polls at the Benjamin D. Cushing Center will be open from 7:00 am until 8:00 pm on Tuesday, September 1. There will be COVID-19 safety precautions in place such as hand sanitizing stations, socially distanced check-in/check-out lines and voting booths, and separate entrances and exits. Please wear a mask and bring your own blue/black ink pen.

            For any questions or concerns, please call 508-748-3502 or email (lmagauran@marionma.gov) the Town Clerk’s office.

Water Agreement Amended to Delete Destination of Funds

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            The Rochester Board of Selectmen met on Zoom for a specially called session on August 7 to execute the amendment of the town’s water agreement with the Town of Wareham.

            Two weeks prior, the Rochester selectmen had signed the water agreement that included a sentence saying where the funds from a 15 percent user fee would go. The latest amendment unanimously approved in Friday’s remote access meeting deleted that sentence and restored the agreement to its original wording.

            The agenda had listed an executive session, but there was none, nor were there minutes or people on the agenda or a Town Administrator’s Report. There was no old or new business, and the meeting adjourned approximately three minutes after it started.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Monday, August 17, at 6:00 pm.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

hallBy Mick Colageo

Stamp Collecting with the Mattapoisett Library

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A patron recently generously donated their collection of stamps to the library. These stamps are perfect for new stamp collectors to try their hand at the hobby. Stamp collecting, or philately, is a wonderful opportunity to learn about people, places, and history and is a great affordable hobby for all ages. We will set up the new collector with a batch of stamps and information on philately. If you are interested, please contact Michelle Skaar by email, mskaar@sailsinc.org, or by calling the library.

            Our Teen and Adult Summer programming, the MFPL Scavenger Hunt and Bingo, are still going on till August 28, so don’t forget to join in the fun! Each task you complete will earn you a raffle ticket. Each raffle ticket will be put towards our awesome prizes which include gift certificates from local restaurants.  

            An important reminder, to participate you must contact Michelle Skaar, by email or by calling the library, notifying her of what you have done to earn raffle tickets; otherwise, you will not be eligible for the prizes.

            Please contact Michelle Skaar at mskaar@sailsinc.org or call the library for more information. All programs are free and open to the public.

Little Library at Matt Congo Church

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The new Little Library at Matt Congo Church has been a huge success. We now find we are running low on children’s books. Please search your bookshelves and see if you have any age appropriate books you would be willing to donate. We need books for children of all ages but particularly books for young teens. Please contact the church office at mattcongchurch@gmail.com to schedule a drop-off time and location since the building is currently closed.

Building Upon A Strong Foundation

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After the loss of her three young children and her husband, feeling lonely, rich and restless, Elizabeth Taber returned to Marion for her final years to enrich the community and “put some snap into her village.” In 1891, under architect Williams Gibbons Preston, Elizabeth’s dream was realized in the Marion Music Hall. A historic and beautiful building for meetings, concerts, and special festive occasions in the center of the village where she grew up, the Marion Music Hall stands proudly today as a lasting legacy and Elizabeth Taber’s final gift to the town.  

            Over the past months, the Music Hall has focused on shoring up the building’s foundation. Shaun Cormier, Marion’s Facilities Director, and a team of skilled craftsmen broke up the old concrete floors and carted the debris to the Benson Brook Dump. They removed all of the dirt from trenches and installed new perforated drainpipe – adding and leveling 60 yards of crushed stone. Soon they will be pouring concrete throughout to create an entirely new dry basement floor. In so doing, the result will lower the water table, preventing further deterioration of the brickwork.  They have also totally rebuilt ten basement windows as well as the stairwell to the basement. 

            Shaun gives enthusiastic credit to his team which included his foreman, Peter Wood, his laborer, Eric Cormier, and three members of the DPW, Adam Carvalho, Toby Gonsalves, and Nathan Fincher. The Music Hall Advisory Committee is appreciative of all this recent foundation work which will clearly extend the life and use of this historic building.

            Elizabeth Taber would be proud to know that we continue to build upon this strong foundation. Thanks to the public/private partnership between the town and the Sippican Historical Society, other recent upgrades include acoustical additions to the concert hall and the stage, a new Bose sound system, the hanging of numerous Cecil Clark Davis portraits, a new generator, and the recent addition of a rebuilt Steinway piano, a generous gift from the Charles Paulsen family.

            Future projects on the Music Hall to-do list include repairs to the brick walkway, additional stage improvements, new gutters, and the refinishing of all the hardwood floors.

            While the Covid-19 currently limits the town’s use of its public facilities, there shall soon come a time when the Music Hall will reopen to the public for all its intended uses: chamber concerts, exercise classes, book sales, lectures, weddings, and more.

            If you or your organization is interested in booking the Marion Music Hall, please contact Tami Daniel, Coordinator at 508-748-9556. This exceptional facility is ready and waiting to host your favorite future event – sooner or later!

Donn Thomas Stangohr

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Donn Thomas Stangohr, of Rochester, MA, bright blue-eyed, gregarious, and wildly loved, passed away on August 11, 2020 at the age of 69. He is survived by his best friend (passionate spouse, business partner, and partner in all things) Sandra Lee Stangohr (Sandi), along with a whole troop of family – his son Blake Stangohr and his step/half children Alex Schinas, Jon Lagreze, Keith Lagreze, Kit Lagreze, and Emma Lagreze; his siblings James Stangohr and Chrissy Stangohr; his six nieces and nephews; his nine grandchildren; and an incredible circle of friends. He was preceded in death by his parents James and Helen Bernice Stangohr.

            Donn resided with Sandi in Rochester for 28 years, boating in Mattapoisett on their boat Cruzan, a Cape Dory Typoon, and cruising around town in their big yellow Chevy Capri Classic 1973. Donn and Sandi founded Norumbega Associates, a high-end, decorative, hardware business that they own and built from the ground up together since 1991.

            Donn, a man of endless talents, was the person to call for every obscure handy-man question or history lesson. His knowledge was boundless and incredible. He was born in Evanston, IL, and went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (SMFA) to study sculpture and went on to express himself in many ways beyond sculpture. He was creative, laughed with his whole body, and made everyone feel welcome.

            The family will hold a celebration of Donn’s life in October. In lieu of flowers, donations, or food, please shower your loved ones with hugs, kisses, and “hello, beautiful’s in remembrance of Donn and his daily expressions of care and affection. We raise our glass and share in a big belly laugh for Donn. Bear hugs to all.

            Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For online guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.