Mattapoisett Land Trust will conduct its 2020 Annual Meeting using the digital platform Zoom on Sunday, June 14 at 4:00 pm. Members may call into the meeting using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. To register for the meeting (pre-registration is required) please send an email with your contact information to info@mattlandtrust.org. MLT will confirm your registration and provide sign-in information for the meeting. We look forward to “seeing” all our members on June 14.
Colby-Sawyer College has named Marissa Williams of Mattapoisett to the Dean’s List for spring 2020. Williams majors in nursing and is a member of the class of 2020. To qualify for the Dean’s List students must achieve a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale while carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours in graded courses.
MCPHS University is pleased to announce the students who have been named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2019 semester:
Krishna Patel is a native of Mattapoisett and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Global Healthcare Management. Krishna will graduate in 2021 from the Boston, Massachusetts campus.
Jenna Howard is a native of Mattapoisett and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. Jenna will graduate in 2020 from the Worchester, Massachusetts campus.
The Dean’s List recognizes those students with a full-time course load who have achieved outstanding scholarship with a 3.5 GPA or higher for the academic term.
The following students graduated from the University of New Hampshire in Durham Saturday, May 16, 2020, during a virtual celebration. Students who received the honor of summa cum laude graduated with a GPA of 3.85-4.0; students who received the honor of magna cum laude graduated with a GPA of 3.65-3.84, and students who received the honor of cum laude graduated with a GPA of 3.50-3.64. Students are only graduated after the Registrar’s Office has certified that all degree requirements have been successfully completed. A traditional, in-person commencement ceremony will be scheduled at a future date yet to be determined.
Kristina Sauerbrey of Marion graduated with a BS degree in Nursing.
Amanda D’Amico of Marion graduated Cum Laude with a BA degree in Theatre: Musical Theatre.
Brett Noone of Mattapoisett graduated with a BA degree in Sociology.
After Monday night’s joint school committee meeting, only the signatures of chosen candidate Mike Nelson and respective regional and union-side chairpersons Cary Humphrey and Shannon Finning stood in the way of the Old Rochester Regional School District having a new superintendent effective with the June 30 expiration of retiring Superintendent Doug White’s contract.
The return of the ORR District School Committee and Massachusetts School Superintendency Union #55 from executive session to announce an agreement with Nelson was made with more relief than the joy expressed upon the Committee’s selection of Nelson as a finalist in March.
“This has been an incredibly long process of meetings with the groups. And working with (consultant) Jim Hardy – I know some didn’t like his communications style – but he was very valuable to work with so I’m very appreciative. All’s fair in negotiations, and it was frustrating for all of us to go back and forth… what was acceptable and then was not,” said Humphrey after both sides unanimously voted to accept the contract terms negotiated by the subcommittee. “I would like to encourage the region (side of the joint committee) to, number one, hold (Nelson) accountable but, number two, to support him. At a time when we have no idea what’s going to happen in the next few months… he’s our leader now.”
Applying the finishing touches to contractual agreement with a favored son promoted from within turned out not to be the fait accompli one might have assumed. The finalizing of a standard-length, three-year contract, the sequel chapter following the drama of the interview and hiring process, apparently had its own adventure.
“When we advertised for the position, there was a range (of annual salary) between $170,000 and $190,000. We knew if we were getting somebody who was getting their first superintendent’s position or this was their third. While certainly not saying that the $20,000 isn’t significant, there was a floor and a ceiling,” explained Finning. “We honored the spirit of what the contract was advertised as.”
There is much more that goes into a contract negotiation beyond quibbling over the bottom line, and a variety of concerns could factor. Nelson is a doctoral student so the timeline in which he is expected to complete his degree program is one thing, and another is potential tuition reimbursement in the mix with a negotiated benefits package.
“I think this is an opportunity when somebody’s taking on the chief role of an organization to advocate in their best interests and to ask any and all questions from what they have learned or heard from the MA Association of (School) Superintendents,” Finning told The Wanderer following the meeting. “It was a spirited, fairly intense, negotiations that occurred… There’s something about being at the same table that would have cut down on the time it took.”
Humphrey also suspects that the context of a school year turned on its side by the coronavirus pandemic brought its own measure of distraction and delay into the negotiations. Now that the process has ended, he was eager to praise those involved and thanked Finning and Michelle Smith of the negotiating subcommittee.
“I could not have had a better partner in this,” said Finning in the committee meeting, thanking members of the committee for their work and support. “We will work tirelessly to support Mr. Nelson.”
Finning told the joint committee that she and Humphrey will reach out to Nelson and White to initiate a transition period.
ORR Joint School Committee Superintendents Union No. 55
By Mick Colageo
The Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride provides one of the most scenic coastal cycling courses in all of New England, and it returns for its 14th year on Sunday, October 4. Cyclists of all ages and abilities can sign up now to bike 35, 75 or 100 miles at the Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride by visiting www.savebuzzardsbay.org/ride.
Participants who sign up before Monday, June 1 will save $10 on the registration, too.
The Watershed Ride is a fun community event that supports a great cause: clean water in Buzzards Bay. More than 300 cyclists participate in the Watershed Ride each year, pedaling through 11 coastal communities and passing more than 3,300 acres of conservation land protected by the Buzzards Bay Coalition and other conservation organizations.
Starting in Little Compton, R.I., the 100-mile route travels past coastal farms and villages, picking up the 75-mile riders at Horseneck Beach State Reservation in Westport and the 35-mile riders at idyllic East Over Farm in Rochester. All three route options finish together at a waterfront celebration in Woods Hole on Cape Cod, complete with cheering supporters, a hot dinner, beer and wine bar, live music, and complimentary massages. With a fun food truck lunch stop, water and snack stations every 20 miles, ace bike mechanics on the route, and shuttles for both people and bikes, cyclists are well cared for and supported.
Dartmouth resident Sandra Medeiros is preparing to participate in her fifth Watershed Ride with the South Coast Bikeway Alliance team. “I ride because I love my Bay. I swim in it, kayak on it and hike and ride along it. I appreciate all that the Coalition does to protect it. Giving residents equal opportunity to all that the South Coast offers along with clean water is important.
“Our South Coast Bikeway Alliance team supports these efforts and like the Coalition is working to connect communities,” Medeiros said. “The 50-mile Bikeway, when completed, will connect people and places in the South Coast with pathways that offer safe, equitable transportation as well as opportunities for recreation.”
Last year, riders like Sandra raised a total of more than $220,000 to support the Coalition. Each rider raises a minimum of $300, and prizes go to riders and teams that raise the highest totals. Many riders form a team with friends and training groups like the “Bourne Rail Trail Blazers,” “ReThink Plastics,” and “Cape Cod MOVES.”
To sign up for the Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org/ride.
Tabor Academy is pleased to induct 26 members of the Class of 2020 into the Tabor chapter of the Cum Laude Society.
These students rank in the top 20 percent of the graduating class and have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.9 or better over the junior and senior years, pursuing a rigorous and full course of study, including no fewer than six honors and advanced-level courses. Some students have completed as many as 11 advanced courses in the junior and senior years. Students’ school citizenship and moral character are considered as well.
This year’s inductees and their families will be invited to a private induction ceremony via Zoom on May 27 at 10:00 am, wherein they will hear the Cum Laude charge and the pledge to uphold the standards of the Cum Laude Society for personal and professional conduct.
“These students have worked incredibly hard in a challenging program to achieve consistently at this level,” says Eileen Marceau, Associate Head of School for Academic Affairs. “Tabor is incredibly proud of their significant accomplishment, and they should be proud, too.”
The Class of 2020 inductees from the Tri-Town are:
Evan Christopher Chase of Marion
Isabelle Wynne Cheney of Marion
Connor Andrew Macken of Marion
Riley Liliane Dongyun Suh of Marion
In its first meeting of the month, the Marion Finance Committee held a group meeting over the GoToMeeting video conferencing platform to discuss an updated agenda and resolve outstanding business. The meeting was held on May 18 after the initially proposed meeting date of May 6 was rescheduled.
Chairman Peter Winters led the committee through a preliminary review and approval of minutes. The minutes from meetings held on March 11 and April 1 were approved with unanimous votes.
After the concluding remarks pertaining to outstanding issues, the committee moved on to a review of the amended budget. Assistant Town Administrator Ju dy Mooney reported that the total projected general funds revenues for the Fiscal Year 2021 are $24,772,528. The projection is a 2.55 percent, year-to-year increase from FY20.
Town Administrator Jay McGrail noted that there is a projected negative outlook on state aid for FY21 due to the COVID-19 crisis. This came after an analysis and cross-reference of state aid received during the great recession.
“Our goal was to put together a proposed budget based on a negatively impacted state aid outlook,” said McGrail. “We tried to spread it out so that no one department was affected unfairly.”
Describing amendments to the budget, Mooney determined that the analysis of state aid and growth figures would be prudent. The changes indicate that last year’s state aid, amounting to $1,215,316, will likely decrease to $1,076,926.
Despite the marked decrease in revenue, Mooney noted that “Marion does not rely heavily on state aid,” and the 10 percent decrease from the previous year was factored into the budget in order to preempt decreases in aid caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
Mooney’s report anticipates a 15 percent decrease in overall funding to the town of Marion in FY21. That said, FinCom made specific efforts in its budgeting to guarantee that the cuts would not result in any reductions in staff.
“Thankfully, our conservative approach has allowed us to avoid any layoffs,” said McGrail. “We really tried to focus on cutting programs and services planned for FY21. That way, these programs are just no longer moving forward as opposed to cutting already existing programs.”
Even with the committee’s successful efforts to avoid any loss of jobs, the projected budget still includes sweeping cuts to Marion’s local programs, including a $60,000 cut to the schooling fund. Members of the committee made mention of their gratitude toward local groups for their cooperation during this crisis. “We told them what we needed to cut, and they chose where to cut the money,” said Mooney.
The hope for many committee members is that the cuts will not need to be as significant if reimbursement for increases in spending due to the virus is received.
“We will be looking into getting reimbursed for all of our COVID-19 spending,” Mooney explained to Winters. “Some will come from FEMA, some will come from Medicare. The hand sanitizer, plexiglass, gloves, and masks will all be reimbursed from different pools of funding, but some money needs to be accounted for preemptively in the budget.”
Even with precautions added to the budget, Mooney explained that FY22 would likely be the biggest challenge. “FY22 is going to be very difficult, more difficult than this year. We have a large amount of tax revenue that is not coming in because of closed businesses.”
One positive budget topic brought before the committee related to the town’s local receipts, a tax-free revenue source. The projected amount from receipts totaling $1,600,000 for FY20 has already been surpassed and is closer to $2,000,000. The committee made it clear that the added revenue will help ease future budget cuts.
Winters echoed the sentiment that a conservative approach is the most appropriate course of action in this economic climate. The Marion Finance Committee took efforts to aggregate more revenue to stabilization funds. These funds essentially act as monetary reserves in case of dips in revenue.
“Our greatest expense is the revenue being dumped into the stabilization funds, which is good news with economic uncertainty in the future,” said McGrail.
With the amendments to the budget addressed, Winters called for a motion to approve the budget. The motion unanimously passed, and the budget will be recommended at the Marion town meeting scheduled for Monday, June 22.
Town meeting is scheduled to be the town’s return to in-person meetings since the COVID-19 outbreak. The meeting will take place in three locations including a central location in Sippican School and a fourth location, the Tabor Academy fieldhouse, for a total of four different locations. Attendants will be socially distanced, and a screen with audio feeds will project the meeting to each location.
McGrail expanded on the impact of the virus on the town offices and explained some radical transformations taking place to guarantee the safety of the town’s workers. The changes include socially distanced office desks and the addition of plexiglass shields. Those changes, along with facial masks and gloves, will be the new normal when the offices reopen.
“We have hit our targets, and we have not had to do any layoffs,” McGrail told the committee. “All workers are working from home or in the office on abbreviated schedules.”
The offices are set to reopen in full capacity on Tuesday, May 26. The reopening will see the return of all current staff, but the offices will likely continue to be closed to the public until June, when further examination of the current crisis will take place.
The next Marion Finance Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 3, at 7:00 pm. Barring any changes, the meeting is set to take place remotely on the GoToMeeting video conferencing platform.
Marion Finance Committee
By Matthew Donato
During the May 18 meeting of the Rochester Council on Aging Board of Directors meeting, Woody Hartley made a suggestion that quickly won the hearts and minds of the other board members as well as the COA Director Cheryl Randall-Mach.
Hartley, who is also a selectman, stated, “The teenagers went home and – boom – on Friday it was over,” speaking of the abrupt closing of all schools. He said that high school seniors had been especially impacted by school closures and believed it was important to let those graduating seniors know how important they are to the community.
“We have 77 students from Rochester graduating from three high schools,” Hartley said. But none will know the joy of participating in graduation ceremonies. To take the sting out of that disappointing reality, Hartley suggested that senior citizens, COA board members, videotape celebratory greetings naming each of the students, giving them a moment, albeit brief, of joyful recognition.
Laying out the process, Hartley said that each participating board member would be given a list of students’ names and as the member is videotaped they will say each graduate’s name with best wishes and congratulations. He said the videos would then be compiled, edited, and made available on various social media platforms. “It’s a simple thing, but it’s something we can do for our students,” he said. Hartley said that once completed the schools would be contacted to let them know what Rochester’s COA Board of Directors had done for the graduates. The board members unanimously approved the idea with several members volunteering to share good wishes to the graduates.
Another bit of good news was shared by Randall-Mach, who told the members that the annual Rochester Memorial first grade Arbor Day tree giveaway to first graders was once again planned. In a follow-up Randall-Mach said that for 30 years the COA has been purchasing blue spruce saplings and passing them out to first graders on Arbor Day. She said that this year the program would be held outdoors and the trees would be given to the children as they arrived to collect materials and personal belongings that had been left in the school when it closed. Randall-Mach said, “We are so happy to be able to do this,” adding that safety, social distancing, and the wearing of face coverings would be employed.
Earlier in the meeting, Randall-Mach shared that grant training for vans was now in process and that the food bank held monthly was still in operation. She said that through Coastline Elderly Services the food program might be extended through the summer months. The food bank distributes from the Rochester COA parking lot on the second Wednesday of each month. Interested parties can contact the COA for further details.
Staff adjustments due to COVID-19 and subsequent Senior Center closure were briefly touched on with Hartley commending the staff and the director for their efforts. Regarding van service for healthy seniors needing transportation to medical appointments, Randall-Mach explained the intricate process that will be required to maintain physical distancing once the service resumes.
Randall-Mach said that at the present time there were no plans to re-open the senior center, but that the installation of safety shields would be taking place soon.
The next meeting of the Rochester Council on Aging Board of Directors has not been scheduled at this time. Visit rochestermaseniorcenter.com for details.
Rochester Council on Aging Board of Directors
By Marilou Newell
Christopher John LaRochelle, 53, passed away on May 15, 2020 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston following a sudden, brief illness. Chris was the beloved son of Ronald and Cecile (Guimond) LaRochelle of Marion. Born on April 1, 1967 in New Bedford, he was a ’85 graduate of ORRHS and a talented carpenter by trade.
Chris was an accomplished home cook and particularly enjoyed preparing complicated recipes for family gatherings, much to the delight of everyone in attendance. More recently, he cultivated an organic garden to support his cooking passion. He enjoyed researching best practices for cooking and gardening and never tired of teaching anyone what he had learned. He will be greatly missed and always remembered for his delicious food, his quick wit, his ability to teach his old dog new tricks, his long and detailed memory and the funny stories with which he loved entertaining his family.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his sister Christine Payette and her husband Matthew of Dartmouth, his much-loved nephews and niece, Lucas, Simone and Eric Payette and extended family around the country.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, a memorial Mass is planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Christopher LaRochelle to the Massachusetts General Hospital, Palliative Care Service Fund, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston, MA 02114. https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/
Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett
Would you like to join a group chat about art? Or perhaps you would like a better understanding of works that you “just don’t get”? Join the MAC for a virtual discussion about art (no knowledge of art or art history required!).
The Marion Art Center’s new monthly program, ArtTalk at the MAC, is similar to a book club. Participants will be sent two different artworks by a host. This could be in the form of images, videos, or links. The host will choose one piece of artwork that he or she is fond of for group discussion. The second piece will be artwork the host doesn’t particularly like or understand but might interest others. The host will provide images and/or links, plus short artist bios and/or descriptions of selected works to the group, prior to the monthly scheduled meeting.
Art could be from a private collection, a publication, seen online, or a famous work found in a museum. Art may also include poetry, dance, video, performance, or installation art. The group will meet at a scheduled date and time (currently via Zoom). Participants are invited to make their own cocktails or refreshments! ArtTalk at the MAC will continue on-site when we are able to safely meet as a group.
The first session of #ArtTalkattheMAC is scheduled on Thursday, May 28 at 7:00 pm. This will be an organizational meeting to discuss the schedule and arrange hosts, with a brief art discussion. Jennifer Wolfe Webb, MAC board President, will host the initial meeting. To register, email info@marionartcenter.org with “ArtTalk at the MAC” in the subject line. Be sure to include your name, preferred email address (if different than one you are using), and phone number. Contact Executive Director Jodi Stevens at the Marion Art Center with any questions.
ArtTalk at the MAC is one of the Marion Art Center’s new online offerings through its program titled “the Virtual MAC.” Join an online gallery, submit poetry, see artists’ videos, and more at www.marionartcenter.org/virtual-mac.
Bishop Stang High School is proud of the accomplishments of our students and recognizes those students earning Honor Roll distinction. Students on the President’s List have an average 95 or above, and a 90 or above in all courses. Students receiving First Honors have an average 90 or above, and an 85 or above in all courses. Those with Second Honors have an average 85 or above, and an 80 or above in all courses.
The following students from our area are being recognized for their academic achievement at Bishop Stang High School for their performance in the third quarter:
Marion, President’s List: Raquel da Costa ’21, and Aaron Wilkinson ’20
First Honors: Maeve Egger ’22, Fiona Lonergan ’20, Catherine Russo ’20, Luke Tougas ’23, Laurenne Wilkinson ’20, and Nellie Zygiel’22
Second Honors: Bridget Clavell ’21, Sophie Lynch ’21, Morgan Miedema ’22, and Redmond Podkowa ’23
Mattapoisett, President’s List: Julia Downey ’23, Kathleen Downey ’20, Liam Downey ’21, and Eleanor Senna ’23
First Honors: Lauren Lapointe ’20, and Ella Meninno ’21
Second Honors: Chloe Lanagan ’20, Cameron Letourneau ’23, Joel Michaud ’21, and Claire Surprenant ’22
Rochester, First Honors: Dylan Aguiar ’21
Second Honors: Maxwell Brulport ’21, Michelle King ’20, and Briana Pothier ’22