Gail Joseph recently accepted the challenge of becoming the new Board of Health agent – not in just any town, but her own town, Mattapoisett.

            Joseph is a 1975 graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School and grew up attending local elementary schools.

            You may know her as your neighbor or the once-upon-a-time baker and proprietor of Gail’s Goodies, a shop Joseph ran from 2007 to 2014. Before that she was a baker at the original Shipyard Galley and, before that, was a regional manager of a retail grocery chain’s bakery department. Joseph indeed has a robust background in the food industry.

            A career move into the public sector is a shift, but, again, Joseph is not new to the demands and responsibilities associated with public health and its many facets.

            From 2014 to 2021, Joseph was a member of the City of New Bedford Public Health/Environmental Health Division, which handles everything from inspecting body-art businesses to investigating trash-related complaints, rodent control, burial permits and, last but not least, food protection programs and inspections.

            Joseph said that the emergence of COVID-19 put everyone in the public health sector on high alert and with additional duties. When asked what she thought her biggest challenge will be in the early months of her tenure, Joseph didn’t hesitate: “The transfer station.” On this point, Joseph believes educating the public will be high on her list.

            “People don’t understand that it is no longer a dump but is a transfer station. Everything that we have to touch at the station costs the town money,” said Joseph, explaining all the hidden costs this enterprise fund must bear. “When disposing of large bulky items such as recliners, couches, [and] bed frames, people should separate the metal parts and dispose of them in the metal piles.” The remaining skeleton of the former furniture should be placed in the construction dumpsters, she said.

            Joseph said that residents using the transfer station can help by also understanding that household trash is kitchen and bath rubbish, not appliances, toys, clothing, electronics, and the beforementioned furniture.

            “Clothing, shoes, rags and such, are considered textiles and should be placed in the appropriate bins or donated,” Joseph advised. Continuing, she said, “Corrugated cardboard can be recycled, as can bottles and cans.” But, again, she cautioned that placing items in the correct receptacle is paramount.

            Above all else, Joseph wants people to understand the importance of being a partner in helping the transfer station operation. “Please do not put trash where it doesn’t belong.”

            Public health careers require not only education and training, but education and training on a wide array of topics. Joseph lists training and certifications in hoarding, pool and spa operations, Massachusetts housing and lead paint testing, soil evaluations, FDA Food Code, and system inspections for on-site wastewater, to name a few. She is a member of the Massachusetts Environmental Health Association, National Environmental Health Association, and Massachusetts Health Officers Association.

            Joseph can be reached at the Mattapoisett Board of Health Office by calling 508-758-4355 or via email at gjoseph@mattapoisett.net.

Mattapoisett Board of Health

By Marilou Newell

Old Rochester Regional Psychologist Philip Allessi addressed the ORR School Committee during its October 20 meeting to talk about social-emotional learning, a familiar staple of ORR curriculum but one that for many feels largely untapped.

            With a private practice and work at reputable colleges and schools, Allessi discussed social-emotional learning and the responsive classroom, a model that facilitates the mainstreaming of social-emotional learning with academics.

            Allessi summarized the staffing at the high school and junior high.

            In the junior high are two guidance counselors, a social worker, one school psychologist, and one Individual Support Program (ISP) special-education teacher. In the high school are three guidance counselors, two social workers, one school psychologist – “That guy is really busy,” and two ISP special-education teachers.

            Committee Chair Heather Burke described herself as having come into the ORR District as an elementary-school parent focused on academic rigor, but she heard all the discussion about social-emotional learning and thought her ideas were unwelcome until she learned what social-emotional learning means.

            “(ORR HS Principal) Mike Devoll was very good explaining to me that they’re not in conflict with each other, but in order for people to learn they have to be not anxious,” said Burke. “You know, the information won’t come in.”

            Allessi agreed, saying, “You can’t really process if you’re in a state of anxiety and depression, it’s going to be really difficult.”

            Noting that her child will be entering the junior high next year, committee member Frances Kearns asked if the information laying out the resources and services can be centralized so that people can be aware of it.

            Burke said that ORR needs more repetitive efforts to match up against the regular activities that reveal the need to tap into the resources. She said the Joint School Committee plans to hold a discussion on the matter.

            Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson pointed out staffing increases over recent years.

            Committee member Matthew Monteiro suggested an even deeper dive into the role of school psychologist, for instance, perhaps sending home information with a student so a family could learn enough to get through the stereotypical reaction and maybe even take advantage of the opportunities presented.

            Senior High School Assistant Principal Vanessa Harvey and Junior High School Assistant Principal Kelly Chouinard shared proposed amendments to the Student Handbook for 2021-22.

            One change at the high school level is changing the result of missing a final exam. Presently it results in failure of a course; the proposed change would result in failure of that exam pending arrangements to schedule a makeup test.

            Another proposal will treat three instances of tardiness as one absence.

            Harvey said dress code is a controversial subject. Clothing must cover undergarments and cannot be see-through. Safety has replaced gender identification as a focal point. “It’s not a huge change in policy, it’s more the presentation of that,” she explained.

            In order to leverage the return of school-owned Chromebooks, Harvey said a new proposed change would require the students exchange their cell phones as collateral to borrow a Chromebook for the school day.

            “It’s not a consequence, it’s just a reminder because the first thing the students go for when they leave school is their cell phone,” she explained.

            Students will now be allowed to charge their phones at school.

            Asked about changing “he/she” language to “they/them” for the sake of inclusivity, Harvey explained that student feedback played a role, along with advice from the School Council and what is happening outside the ORR District.

            ORR Junior High, according to Chouinard, will use the same language as the high school handbook in its changes in pronoun usage and adding “caregiver” to parent and guardian.

            The dress code will also align with a key exception; the junior high will omit the section on wearing gang-related items. “We feel like that doesn’t pertain to the junior high school,” she said. “Also the bullet on wearing pornography, nudity and sexual acts, just more neutral, to wearing anything sexual in nature.”

            Both handbook revisions drew unanimous votes in the affirmative.

            The committee also voted to approve two-year School Improvement Plans that align with the ORR District’s Acceleration Road Map and the five-year Vision 2023 plan, albeit with local distinctions.

High School and Junior High principals Mike Devoll and Silas Coellner presented respective two-year plans.

            As a member of the worldwide U-Gen Network, high school administrators and department coordinators will meet with colleagues from around the world, the first session on Friday, November 5, at 6:00 am ET. The topic: What does a good student look like at your school?

            Devoll told the committee that ORR staff now participates in a group called the Building Anti-Racist White Educators, an opportunity that Nelson said is the byproduct of ORR’s partnership with the locally based, grassroots organization Tri-Town Against Racism.

            Nelson and Devoll credited Rick DaSilva from Tabor Academy for sharing resources leading to a significant level of involvement for ORR in the U-Gen association.

            Focusing on project-based learning, Coellner said the goal is to make sure every student has an opportunity to complete a project and then two more during the 2022-23 school year.

            The committee voted unanimously to accept both the high school’s and junior high’s two-year School Improvement Plans.

            The ORR Athletic Booster Club presented a new effort called a corporate solicitation plan. The volunteer organization wants to tap into new revenue streams to help support ORR sports programs and student-athletes.

            The club’s “Build the (Bulldog) Nation” fundraising effort surpassed its $50,000 goal, but the Booster Club is looking to introduce engagement with corporations in fundraising for ORR activities.

            In the creation of a timeline to solicit from now into January 2022 for the support of tri-town-area companies and beyond, the Booster Club is mapping out a plan to reach out beyond the traditional horizons of booster-club support. The proposal would include advertising.

            Levels of introduction to the support program will be initially categorized as follows: Varsity Sponsor $2,000; Junior Varsity Sponsor $1,000; and Super Fan Sponsor $500.

            Discussion ensued and committee member Jim Muse said anything he would be willing to vote on would necessarily maintain absolute control by the administration and the school committee.

            Burke said a committee vote would violate school policy but will bring the information to the Policy Subcommittee for further discussion.

            The committee voted 8-1 to grant the Mattapoisett Recreation Department permission to hold a flag-football jamboree at the high school’s all-purpose field on one of two weekday nights in November.

            The committee entered executive session and only returned to adjourn. The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8, at 6:30 pm.

ORR School Committee

By Mick Colageo

            The Rochester Board of Selectmen held a public hearing during the November 1 meeting in which it heard from Board of Assessors representative Karen Trudeau on Tax Rate Classification for Fiscal Year 2022.

            In accordance with the Board of Assessors’ recommendation that the Board of Selectmen vote against a split tax rate, against three exemptions heard, and in favor of the factor of one, Selectman Woody Hartley motioned that the board vote to tax residential and commercial, industrial, and personal business properties at the same rate for FY22. A unanimous vote carried.

            The report includes a total value of real estate and personal property of $1,188,414,033 in Rochester, a 10.18-percent increase over last year. The new tax levy total is $15,143,003. The Excess Levy is $7,383.60.

            For FY22, the estimated tax rate was set at $12.74 per $1,000. The average single-family assessment is $471,053, up 3.93-percent from last year, and the average tax bill is $6,001.22. The average condominium assessment is $443,936, up 2.74-percent from last year, and the average tax bill is $5,655.75.

            Residential property, valued at $1,030,661,154, makes up 86.726-percent of land in Rochester, which has 13.46-percent in commercial (3.174-percent at $37,714,816), industrial (5.188-percent at $61,812,533) and personal (4.904-percent at $58,225,500) property. Small businesses and Chapter land dominate in town, so the Board of Assessors recommended against a split tax rate. Estimated tax rates were established by using a 150-percent allowable shift.

            The three exemptions that the Board of Assessors recommended against adopting included an Open Space Discount, a Residential Exemption, and a Small Commercial Exemption.

            There are no “open spaces” in Rochester (undeveloped but not Chapter Land or subject to a Permanent Conservation Restriction). Residential exemptions are popular in towns with many second homes (Rochester has only three). The property owner would receive the Small Commercial Exemption, not the business owner on that property (Rochester has an exemption for Personal Property businesses valued at $1,000 or less).

            In her Town Administrator’s Report, Suzanne Szyndlar told the selectmen that the town’s application for a public safety feasibility study grant was not approved. Szyndlar called it “a good try,” and said it was “written very well” with assistance from SRPEDD but “didn’t make the cut.”

            Szyndlar said Rochester has money in its Stabilization Fund and is looking into hard quotes to take a different route toward realizing that study.

            An October 27 Zoom meeting brought about some frustration from various towns over the drag on establishing municipal electricity aggregation plans, Rochester included. Szyndlar said there has been 600 days without action and no answers on the holdup. “You could hear the frustration in everybody’s voice when they were talking,” said Szyndlar.

            A municipal aggregation plan allows residents to get a fixed rate on electricity bills.

            Selectman Paul Ciaburri indicated that utilities are on the rise, telling the meeting he received an email from the gas company forecasting a dramatic increase. Ciaburri called it a “big hit,” and added, “Gas rates have been fairly low.”

            Hartley suggested a letter be written to the offices of Senator Michael Rodrigues and Representative William Straus. Rodrigues, reported Szyndlar, attended Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School’s first legislative breakfast meeting, and said there are more to come as Old Colony looks to expand.

            The selectmen voted to sign Police Chief Robert Small’s recommendation of Allison Rego as new staff sergeant. Rego’s selection was the product of multiple reviews from inside and outside the department. According to Small, the final phase of evaluation incorporated performance with interviews conducted by outside agencies, and the review produced three candidates, the highest scorer of which was Rego.

            Accompanied by her parents and her boyfriend, Rego’s appointment was cause for celebration.

            The selectmen also recognized Kory Lydon as the town’s HIPAA Compliance officer effective November 1. Lydon was recently hired as the town’s treasurer.

            The Selectmen voted to add Kathy McHenry to its roster of appointments for the clerical activities to satisfy the requirements of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). McHenry will essentially act in support of Szyndlar as the two hold down the authorized representative, recipient, preparer, and submitter roles for ARPA funding purposes.

            Szyndlar said that the town’s recycling program will continue to use the pink bag pickup. The scheduled discussion of the Simple Recycling contract with Sonny Wilkens was pushed to the board’s next agenda.

            In concluding her report, Szyndlar publicly thanked the Rochester Highway, Fire, and Police Departments for their work during last week’s storm. “They did an awesome job, they really did,” she said.

            Ciaburri said 16 crews worked during the storm, some from out of state, and did “a wonderful job.” Rochester had 99-percent of its residents’ power back by 6:00 pm Saturday. He also noted that the Highway and Fire Departments cleared the roads to make it much easier for the utility trucks to do their work.

            Town Counsel Blair Bailey said he hopes by the end of the week to work out an access agreement with the solar leasing company planning to install an array at the Rochester Memorial School parking lot. While the original form gave the company access without prior notice to the school principal (Derek Medeiros), Bailey said that if it’s not an emergency, “They should really work it out with the school.”

            The selectmen went into executive session to discuss negotiations with non-union personnel and did not return to open session.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Monday, November 15, at 6:00 pm.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo