Sippican Woman’s Club

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The Sippican Woman’s Club of Marion (SWC) would like to thank its members for their generous donations to our “Dollars for Scholars” fundraising campaign.

            The pandemic has affected all of us and, regretfully, SWC has canceled the 2020 Holiday House Tour fundraiser. The Holiday House Tour, held annually for over 30 years, has become for many a celebrated traditional holiday fundraising event in Marion. Despite our members’ donations, we will fall short by half of our usual house tour proceeds that provide more than $10,000 in scholarships annually. SWC is committed to its mission of supporting deserving local scholars and their college educations.

            Will you help us reach our goal? The economic impact of the virus this year has made meeting the expense of a college education even more difficult for parents and students. Our community has traditionally been a great supporter of the SWC scholarship program through the purchase of tickets to the Holiday House Tour. This year we hope you will instead choose to continue to support our local students by contributing directly to the Dollars for Scholars fundraiser, helping us to bring some relief to local families.

            Please consider making a tax-deductible donation made payable to “Sippican Woman’s Club” and sent to SWC Dollars for Scholars, P.O. Box 121, Marion, MA 02738, or you can donate on our website (see below). Your donation will make a meaningful contribution to our local students reaching their educational goals. All donation funds are used exclusively for scholarships.

            Visit www.sippicanwomansclub.org/scholars/ to see a short video and hear from some of our former scholarship recipients. You can also make a secure donation below the video. The women of the SWC will continue to do our part in uplifting the community during these trying times.

Public Health Nurse: ‘Yellow’ Means Caution

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            Anticipating that Mattapoisett would bounce back to ‘yellow’ on the state’s COVID-19 map, Public Health Nurse Emily Field emphasized in her comments to the Mattapoisett Board of Health during their October 28 meeting at Center School that, even when it’s not making noise, the coronavirus is silently present.

            “We need to realize there’s a large part of the population walking around with the virus undiagnosed and asymptomatic,” Field said.

            A positive test the night before the meeting had Mattapoisett back in the red zone, and contact tracing efforts were spreading into neighboring communities.

            Board of Health member Russell Bailey asked whether any people that have tested positive were currently hospitalized. Field confirmed that there were hospitalizations, but for non-COVID reasons. When some of those cases became inactive a day later, the town was back in the yellow (4-8 cases per 100,000).

            “We are doing the contact tracing; we’re not reaching out to the state’s Community Tracing Collaborative, so there’s less lag time. I’m receiving emails 10 days later,” said Field, alluding to a correspondence she had received telling her information she had already confirmed on her own.

            Bailey asked how far contract tracing goes. Both Field and former Public Health Nurse Amanda Stone, who accompanied Field to the meeting, both said at once, “It keeps going.”

            “In this room,” explained Stone, “if we were close together and didn’t have barriers and you called tomorrow to say, ‘I have COVID-19,’ we all go into quarantine.”

            They explained that there would be follow-up on all people in isolation and quarantine and then those people must be released from quarantine. To return to work, many people need to produce a letter from their town stating that they satisfied the regulations. Last week, said Stone, she and Field had to notify another town’s Board of Health about a Mattapoisett situation that impacts their community. “It’s a mushroom,” said Stone.

            Board of Health member Kenneth Dawicki told the health nurses that he had been fearing the mushroom had reached him after a bout of sinusitis, but he, fortunately, tested negative. He waited four and a half days for his result.

            Stone said that the molecular, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for COVID-19 testing. “A lot of people are getting the antigen test,” she said, because of the two-day wait for results.

            Stone has postponed her retirement by several months to assist Field with the challenging transition. Both answered several questions posed by the board, but Field hesitated when Chairman Carmelo Nicolosi asked how many hours she has been putting in.

            “It’s so hard to keep up,” said Stone. “You never know when the call is going to come in. You wake up in the morning and … Emily is literally working 60 to 80 hours.”

            Nicolosi asked Field to keep track of and report her overtime, and he suggested that the town may be able to apply for pandemic-related reimbursement under the provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Nicolosi also pointed out that Field and Stone have been working closely with the schools.

            “The ladies here are doing an absolutely fabulous, bang-up job,” said Dawicki, thanking them publicly. “It turns us into a better organization.”

            Field noted that, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the highest percentage of transmission occurs along the coast. Stone said the 19-39 age range yields the most positive cases.

            Having attended two school committee meetings, Stone said the DPH will be involved for any potential transition from hybrid to full in-person school. Meeting every few weeks to review key indicators, Stone displayed a copy of Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson’s COVID-19 dashboard. She noted that three more busses would be needed for grades K-6 to make a full in-person return in the Tri-Town.

            “Continuation of the hybrid model is where we should be right now,” she told the board.

            Field reiterated the bottom line of caution: “If you’re keeping physical distance and keeping clean hands and minimizing, … you’re less likely to come in contact,” she said.

            Also during the meeting, Nicolosi recused himself and Dawicki presided as acting chairman as Richard Charon of Charon Associates appeared on behalf of John J. Grant Jr. and Elizabeth Hunter, trustees of the Grant Family Trust, seeking four variances at 9 Cedar Street for the proposed repair of a sewage disposal system including a new combination of a septic tank and dosing tank and a new leaching facility to replace the existing cesspool.

            The four variances were granted, but with Dawicki’s request of a barrier preventing the parking of cars on the leaching field. The variances will allow for 3 feet of groundwater separation rather than the required 4 feet; a 2-foot over-dig around the leaching field rather than the required 5 feet; the new septic tank to be placed 3 and 4 feet from property lines rather than the required 10 feet; and the new leaching field to come to within 3 feet of the property line rather than the required 10 feet.

            Nicolosi noted as he opened and closed the meeting that he will be working with Health Agent Kayla Davis to make Board of Health meetings accessible via Zoom. He anticipates a hybrid arrangement for the next meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2.

Mattapoisett Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

Mattapoisett Boy Scouts

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The new scouting year is underway for Mattapoisett Boy Scout Troop 53! Are your favorite sports and clubs canceled? Then why not check out scouting? We are able to offer all our usual activities in-person including biking, kayaking, climbing, fun monthly campouts, and more. We are looking for boys ages 11–17 to join us for adventure. No previous scouting experience is necessary. Call 508-245-2948 for more information and check out our Facebook page at Mattapoisett Troop 53.

Marion Open Spaces Acquisition Committee

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To the Editor;

            The Marion Open Spaces Acquisition Committee’s (MOSAC) $250,000 charitable contribution to the Sippican Lands Trust (SLT) is problematic.

            MOSAC’s Town Meeting Warrant Article requests up to $250,000 for the purchase of a conservation easement on a 33.7-acre property to be owned by the SLT. MOSAC’s recently disclosed target purchase price is now $300,000.

            Simply put, Town Meeting authorizes the Town to contribute up to $250,000, (83%) into the land deal. The SLT contributes $50,000 (17%) and purchases the ownership to the land. The Town receives no public benefit for the conservation easement since the land would be owned by the SLT, a private charitable conservation land trust.

            The SLT’s ownership of the property provides the conservation protection of a restricted land trust, not the town’s conservation easement.  The SLT can simply buy the property for $300,000 and the conservation restrictions would apply. Leaving the town out of the deal saves taxpayers up to $250,000, yet the property has the conservations restrictions through the SLT trust charter. Financial angels are available and SLT needs to go out and hustle the money to fund the deal.

            If this property is of significant strategic importance to Marion’s Master Plan, the Town should simply up the $250,000 authorization by $50,000 (20%) and buy the property outright. This would give the Town complete one hundred percent ownership control over the use of the property for any public purposes. This would include use of the land’s water assets, use of the land for solar projects, affordable housing, and Marion recreation, conservation, bird sanctuary, and park. As the deal is now structured, the Town gives all these rights up to the SLT with the $250,000 charitable contribution. The SLT would own all the rights to the land for $50,000. The Town owning a conservation easement on property owned by a private charitable land trust is meaningless and servers no public purpose.

            The MOSAC proposal can be realistically viewed as nothing more than a charitable contribution funding the SLT’s purchase of the land. This deal, as MOSAC has it structured, is problematic. The Commonwealth’s Constitutional Anti Aid Amendments prohibits municipalities from making charitable contributions to fund special interest or private projects such as the SLT land purchase.

            If the deal were structured such that the Town would retain and reserve the rights in the land for water use and development, solar use, affordable housing and the like, at least there would be a colorable argument that the Town’s $250,000 contribution serves some public purposes.

Ted North, Marion

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

Tabor Academy Mourns Passing of Travis Roy

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            Inside the Travis Roy Rink on Tabor Academy’s Marion campus, a black curtain was draped over a hockey net; on it, Travis Roy’s No. 14 along with a copy of the book “11 Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage & Triumph” that Roy had written in 1998 with co-author E.M. Swift of Sports Illustrated.

            Likewise, the seaside prepratory school’s flag will continue at half-staff through Thursday, November 5, according to Interim Headmaster Julie Salit.

            “It didn’t matter if you knew him for 25 years or 25 minutes; you were touched by him,” said Salit. “As a trustee, absolutely, he impacted us. He was such a thoughtful, incredible person who lived a very meaningful life.”

            Travis Roy, a 1995 Tabor Academy graduate, died on October 29 at age 45 due to complications from a procedure he underwent in Vermont intended to improve his life as a quadriplegic.

            “There were things happening on Tuesday telling us that Travis was getting close,” said Dick Muther, former athletic director and assistant boys hockey coach at Tabor. “They’ve had such a long 25 years. He got tired, I think.”

            A native of Yarmouth, Maine, Roy was a talented young hockey player whose life changed forever on October 20, 1995, only 11 seconds into his first shift as a member of the Boston University hockey team. Roy jumped from the bench and pursued the puck; his body glanced off an opponent, sending him crashing head-first into the boards in the corner of the Walter Brown Arena ice.

            The injury, a complete separation of his fourth and fifth vertebrae, was chronicled in his 1998 autobiography published by Warner Books; but his legacy is his 25 years of response to the higher calling he received from the ashes of his own catastrophe.

            “He was a gift. He was the best of the best. He left his mark wherever he went,” said Merry Conway, former communications director at Tabor, whose son Ian and Travis were “very best friends.”

            In 1997, Roy founded the Travis Roy Foundation, which for the past 23 years has been a channel for the former skater’s competitive fire. The nonprofit has raised millions of dollars to benefit the survivors of spinal-cord injuries.

            Paralysis and the dependence that accompanied it formed a life he detested everywhere he saw it, for himself and especially the many whose lives were changed by war on the other side of the world. To that end, Roy divided his fundraising efforts, with half going toward any measure of independence that nuts-and-bolts assistance and equipment could give the survivors of such injuries and the other half toward medical research, including stem cell.

            Amidst his heroic response, Roy was a sought-after public speaker, at first because of his extraordinary story but later because of the effect his visits had wherever he went. He bared his soul and rarely, if ever, did a gifted athlete with so much potential tragically lost in an instant remain so lucid, so daring to emote, so willing to let others in to tell him their story, so present to all whom he had met. He confronted us with ourselves and made us want to be better.

            “It took every excuse we ever had away. In his humble way, he humbled us all. Not making us feel guilty, but just making us realize (our potential),” said Muther. “I think of Travis and he’s somewhere off skating on a pond and his hair is flying.”

            Connecting at first on the soccer field, Roy and Ian Conway walked into the Fish Center the same way at the end of the concourse and took opposite turns; Conway left to the squash courts and Roy right to the hockey rink that now bears his name. “Travis used to ask Ian, ‘How do you run after that little ball?’ Ian used to ask Travis, ‘How do you chase after that little puck?'” recalls Merry Conway.

            Both went off to play their best sport in college. Ian Conway played squash at Trinity, where he won a national championship, and Roy played hockey for Jack Parker at BU. When Trinity’s squash team had a match in Boston, the coach had the bus driver drop Ian off at the hospital to spend time with his pal. They would later room together for a year in Boston.

            “Friday was a very sad day, and then we started remembering all the fun stories,” said Merry, recalling the two taking their little Whaler out after school but never bringing back a fish. “Luckily, we’ll have those stories with us for a long time.”

            Early fundraising efforts began with a golf tournament, then a partnership formed with St. Sebastian’s to play the annual Travis Roy Cup game.

            “Tim Pratt and I were coaching Trav at the time in soccer, and I was fortunate enough to be his academic advisor,” said Muther. “There were a bunch of BU hockey players who went to St. Sebastian’s.”

            The game was an annual opportunity for Roy to simultaneously connect with his BU and Tabor friends. His visits to the teams’ locker rooms were thought-provoking. “Why are we playing this game?” Muther remembered the message resonating with players. “It was a good reminder.”

            “Dick Muther did such a great job because it was personal for him,” said Tabor boys varsity hockey coach Gerry Dineen. “The fundraising for the foundation – it really created a lot of buy-in. Then (the players) got to meet him. I think they really felt a deep connection with him.”

            As years passed, Roy’s visits evolved from those who played with him to those who knew him, then those who knew of him, and finally those for whom it had become time for Roy to reintroduce himself. “I give credit to Gerry and those guys for all they have done to keep it going,” said Muther, now athletic director at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. “I don’t know if it’s going get played this year.”

            The Travis Roy Cup game is in doubt for this winter because Tabor’s athletics program, as a member of the all-prep Independent School League, is on pause. Students participate in skills practice and intra-squad activities, but member schools have yet to play against each other in 2020-21.

Dineen, behind Tabor’s bench for the 20 years, will miss visiting with Roy.

            “He’d come to a few games and we’d chat, and the conversation quickly morphed into, ‘Gerry, how are your kids, how are you doing, how are the guys, what’s the team like, what’s the chemistry like, what’s it like in the locker room?'” recalled Dineen. “He has a really, really high emotional intelligence. Three things: love, compassion, and family; those are the three things that I think about with Trav. I never got to coach him. The amount of alumni that have reached out to me in the last 24 hours is just remarkable. My phone’s just been blowing up.”

            The 2020 version of the Travis Roy Whiffle Ball Tournament was a virtual event recorded on the foundation’s YouTube channel, but the 2021 edition plans to be back with a 32-team field at the original site that has expanded into three fields, including “Little Wrigley” and “Little Field of Dreams.” The tournament began in 2001 at “Little Fenway” on Pat O’Connor’s farm in Essex Junction, Vermont, in the Burlington area not far where Travis’ mother Brenda grew up.

            “I remember him saying to me he didn’t want people to be uncomfortable around him,” said Merry Conway, marveling at how Roy engaged the participants in a manner that made them comfortable with him and with each other. “As a result of that, there is a whole group of people who engaged. He didn’t want anyone to be unhappy.”

            Lasting friendships were made, and those who only met Roy once or twice were made to feel like they had known him their whole lives.

            When Roy was engaged in his motivational speaking tour, he asked if Merry Conway would accompany him to Cape Cod for an insurance conference. Merry looked forward to the seafood, but said, “The best part of it was spending time with Travis.”

            While Boston University retired Roy’s No. 24 hockey sweater, Tabor boys varsity hockey has managed to keep Roy’s No. 14 out of circulation.

            According to Muther, longtime equipment manager Tom Walsh told him that the school does not retire numbers, but that didn’t mean they have to order a No. 14 sweater either. So, ever since Roy’s injury, the No. 14 only appears painted into the ice surface. Roy’s father Lee wore 14 at the University of Vermont, where he is an Athletic Hall of Famer.

            “We have No. 14 by our bench. Travis and his jersey and his story greet the students at the Travis Roy Rink. When we walk recruits around, we tell the story. … It just means a bunch to the guys,” said Dineen.

            Roy’s last investment in his alma mater will be a lasting one.

            As chairman of the Tabor Experience, he worked closely with Salit, the staff liaison. They took on what the latter called “deep dives into school life,” discussing “ways to improve,” such as in the residential program with the Matsumura House, a new type of living and learning dormitory, and Cornelia Hall, the sister facility of Matsumura. The other was a deep dive into athletics and visual arts.

            “Trav was excited to do the Visual Arts deep dive because, while at Tabor, he discovered he had a knack for ceramics and frequented the Braitmayer Art Center,” said Salit. “He certainly stayed connected to Tabor.”

            Salit’s statement on behalf of Tabor invited friends to leave their memories and wishes for the Roy family at taboracademy.org/rememberingtravisroy and concluded, “Rest easy, dear Travis. You made it. With deepest sympathy to Brenda, Lee and Tobi.”

By Mick Colageo

Town of Marion Shares State’s New Measures in Response to COVID-19

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            Town Administrator James McGrail and the Marion Board of Health wish to share with the community information about the new measures announced by the Baker-Polito Administration to address the recent steady increase of COVID-19 cases in the state.

            On Monday, November 2, Governor Charlie Baker announced a series of targeted measures to disrupt the increasing trend of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. All of the orders and advisories announced today are effective Friday, November 6 at 12:01 am.

            A revised Stay At Home Advisory has been issued and instructs residents to stay home between the hours of 10:00 pm and 5:00 am. Exceptions are made for activities such as going to work, running critical errands to get groceries and address health needs, and taking a walk.

            A new executive order will require certain businesses to end and activities to close each night at 9:30 pm. This closure requirement is aligned with the revised Stay At Home Advisory and together the two new initiatives are designed to further limit activities that could lead to COVID-19 transmission.

            Effective Friday, the following businesses and activities must close to the public each day between the hours of 9:30 pm and 5:00 am:

            Restaurant in-person dining must cease at 9:30 pm. Takeout and delivery may continue for food and non-alcoholic beverages, but not alcohol.

            Liquor stores and other retail establishments that sell alcohol must cease alcohol sales at 9:30 pm but may continue to sell other products.

            Adult-use marijuana sales must cease at 9:30 pm, not including medical marijuana.

            Indoor and outdoor events

            Theaters or movie theaters, including drive-in movie theaters, as well as indoor and outdoor performance venues

            Youth and adult amateur sports activities

            Close contact personal services (such as hair and nail salons)

            Gyms, fitness centers and health clubs

            Additional businesses and activities that are affected include golf facilities; recreational boating and boating businesses; outdoor recreational experiences; driving and flight schools; zoos, botanical gardens, wildlife reserves and nature centers; casinos and horse tracks/simulcast facilities; indoor and outdoor pools; and museums, cultural and historical facilities and guided tours.

            The face covering order has also been revised. Face coverings are now required in all public places, even if 6 feet of social distance can be maintained.

            Exceptions remain for residents who cannot wear a face covering due to a medical or disabling condition, but the revised order allows employers to require employees to provide proof of such a condition. The order also allows schools to require that students participating in in-person learning provide proof of such a medical or disabling condition.

            A new gatherings order reduces the gathering size limit for gatherings at private residences. Indoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 10 people and outdoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 25 people.

            The limit on gatherings held in public spaces and at event venues (i.e. wedding venues) remains the same. The new order also requires that all gatherings, regardless of size or location, must end and disperse by 9:30 pm.

            The new gatherings order also requires that organizers of gatherings report known positive COVID-19 cases to the local health department in that community and requires organizers to cooperate with contact tracing. The gatherings order authorizes continued enforcement by local health and police departments and specifies that fines for violating the order will be $500 for each person above the limit at a particular gathering.

Sippican School in Marion Reports Positive Cases of COVID-19

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Superintendent of Schools Michael S. Nelson, Marion Town Administrator Jay McGrail, and Marion Board of Health Chair Dr. Edward P. Hoffer report that the Old Rochester Regional School District and MA Superintendency Union #55 was informed of a positive case of COVID-19 on November 3.

            An individual at Sippican School has tested positive for the virus and is self-isolating in accordance with Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol. The individual has not been in school since October 28 and was tested for the virus on October 30. The individual’s test results came back today, and the school district was immediately notified. Under state and federal health privacy laws, no further information is available about the individual.

            Contact tracing is being conducted by the Marion Board of Health and thus far it has been determined that there are seven close contacts related to the school district. These individuals are currently quarantined and have been referred for COVID-19 testing.

            All schools will continue with their normal schedules on Wednesday, November 4, including Sippican School in Marion, at the recommendation of the Marion Board of Health.

            All schools will continue to be cleaned every day after school and as needed with a deep and thorough sanitization and disinfection process.

            The positive case is the eighth involving an individual in the school district(s) since schools reopened September 16.

            If you or your child are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, such as a fever, chills, respiratory illness, aches, or change in taste and smell, please stay home and get a COVID-19 test. Testing can be done either through your primary health care provider or at one of the testing sites located throughout the state.

            Deep cleaning of all schools will continue to be conducted each night. High touch surfaces are and will continue to be cleaned frequently and as needed throughout the day while the buildings are occupied. Sanitizing wipes remain available in each classroom to wipe down desks when necessary.

Eric A. Johansen

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Eric A. Johansen, 60, of Rochester, passed away peacefully Friday, October 23, 2020 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after a recent cancer diagnosis. He was a loving husband to Jacqueline M. (Comeau) Johansen for over 33 years.

            Eric was born in New Bedford to Ronald and Beverly N. (Corrie) Johansen of Fairhaven, where he spent his youth. Also known as ‘Yo’, he graduated from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School class of 1978 and then served in the Coast Guard as a Machinist until 1986. After living in Fairhaven for several years, he settled in Rochester with his wife and sons in 2001.

            Eric was the Assistant Vice President of Terminal Ops and Special Projects for Global Companies LLC of Waltham, where he had worked for 35 years. He was a Master Mason at the Abraham H. Howland, Jr.  Masonic Lodge AF & AM, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and a 20-year member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Fairhaven, a past committee member and volunteer for the Rochester Country Fair, and a former Assistant Boy Scout leader for Rochester Troop 31.

            He always made time to help family, friends, or anyone who might need a hand with just about anything. Eric loved to go sailing and lobstering in Little Bay, and spent many hours tinkering with his antique Farmall tractors.

            He is survived by his wife Jackie; his parents; sons, Aren A. Johansen of Unionville, CT and Kristoffer T. Johansen of Rochester; his brother, David Johansen and his wife Nancy of Sebastian, FL; mother in law, Mary Comeau of East Freetown; a brother in law, Steve Comeau of East Freetown; two sisters in law, Joanne Gurney and her husband Mike of East Freetown and Jennifer Bigelow and her husband Scott of Denver, CO, four nieces, Renee and Nicole Gurney and Ivy and Leah Bigelow. Eric also leaves behind aunts, an uncle, several cousins, and many friends and colleagues.

            In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated, and private arrangements are by the Fairhaven Funeral Home, 117 Main St., Fairhaven. A celebration of Eric’s life will take place in the future when safe and appropriate to do so. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to either of Eric’s favorite charities: shrinershospitalsforchildren.org, or Hospice and Palliative Care Federation of MA, www.hospicefed.org, or a charity of ones choosing.

Citizens Express Frustration, Demand Transparency

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            The October 21 meeting of the Mattapoisett School Committee was held to confront mounting frustration on the part of citizens on two related fronts: There is a crisis of faith with the Old Rochester Regional School District’s lack of transparency where it concerns a full, in-person learning plan for the 2020-21 academic year; there are those who simply believe the coronavirus pandemic is not something that should prevent normal, everyday, full attendance.

            Mattapoisett parent Stephanie Clark led off by summarizing the current predicament often alluded to by residents –the inability to recover the lost learning of 2019-20 to meet current standards and deal with collateral financial hardships in families with two working parents.

            “After being in the hybrid model for over five weeks, these issues are not being remedied, and it feels as if it is getting worse. We come to you because we see our children as not progressing and we need to be provided a concrete plan for the near future,” she said.

            After hearing from several residents in the October 21 meeting, committee members requested a date when ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson would roll out a plan for incremental changes to the hybrid learning model in order to accelerate in-person learning opportunities for Grades K-6 and the district’s most vulnerable learners.

            Nelson reported back at Monday’s regularly scheduled Mattapoisett School Committee meeting that he has shared with all the ORR District school committees his COVID-19 dashboard, together with key indicators, and on a weekly basis will do so with the community at large. On Friday, October 30, he will send out what he called “reasonable feasibility information” to the public, “options for more in-person (learning) opportunities” and “what a full return to school could look like.”

            During the summer, the state had asked for three distinct return-to-school plans: fully remote, hybrid, and full in-person. The state requested a priority on the in-person model. While the vast majority of schools across the state began with a hybrid model, fully remote and in-person models were to remain at the ready should the state alter course.

            Only an hour prior to the October 21 meeting, Mattapoisett and Rochester were recategorized by the state into the red (high-risk) category. On Sunday morning, Nelson would announce a fifth positive COVID-19 case in Tri-Town schools; this one at ORR. In his press release, he stated that schools were to remain on course into the current week per the recommendation of the Mattapoisett Board of Health and acknowledged an expected uptick in the number of cases.

            “Unfortunately, the data and information currently in the last few days is not very good, but we’re still willing and open and would like to do whatever we can to do as much as possible to have as many students as possible in the school building as long as it can be done with equity and safety,” said Mattapoisett School Committee Chairperson Jim Muse, adding that there is no set equation of data factoring together that would “create a tripwire” and trigger a decision to change over to a full, in-person learning model. “It does not exist. We take all of the information, we absorb it, and then we vote as a committee.”

            In the October 21 meeting, committee member Shannon Finning buttressed citizens’ frustrations by saying that, despite requests on three separate occasions, she had not seen in writing an in-person return-to-school plan. Pointing to that as the cause, she identified herself as a lone dissenter when the August 6 vote to approve the reopening plan was taken.

            “I am heartened by the key indicators that Mr. Nelson rattled off during his remarks, but hope they will be provided to our community in writing for review,” said Finning. “I believe our community deserves to have a specific timetable established and shared for what an in-person plan requires. Allow us to be part of the solution; parents, educators, community members and more.”

            Earlier in the meeting, Muse responded to a resident’s accusation that ORR administration had no intent to prepare an in-person return-to-school plan, saying that all three plans were submitted to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), which they approved with no comments or suggestions for change.

            “The school committee heard this information, had public meetings on this and voted to go with the hybrid plan for the number of reasons that are currently proven to be advantageous, given the fact that we have had a COVID case in our school and we are now a community that’s in the red (high-risk category),” said Muse.

            Noting Finning’s request, committee member Carly Lavin clarified that her request was for feasible changes to the hybrid plan. Muse reiterated that, as long as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, a full in-person plan cannot be implemented.

            Before the October 21 meeting was adjourned, Finning told Muse, “I think we have the responsibility as a committee not for you to dismiss an in-person plan, but that one would be brought to the committee for the committee to vote on and make a decision.”

            “With respect, Dr. Finning, I’m not dismissing it; I’m not dismissing anything,” answered Muse. “But this was discussed in our initial vote and it was discussed in the initial plan and, should there be an ability to do that, that could happen. But I think we would be better served to do what you said, which would be to look at timelines and look at incremental opportunities to improve the situation.”

            While some parents on the call, including Joint School Committee member Frances Kearns, say their children are thriving on the hybrid learning model, others are considering an unconventional outlook, including area professionals.

            Dr. Mike Grossman, a Mattapoisett parent in the October 21 Zoom meeting, quoted statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) addressing age group percentages of both fatalities and cases of severe illness as a result of COVID-19. He interpreted the statistics as suggesting that the coronavirus is far less a threat than public education strategy – at least locally – has indicated.

            “The risk of the virus killing you is exceptionally, exceptionally low,” he said. “The risk of it making you very sick is exceptionally low, and this has unprecedented social engineering relative in the United States to this risk in the history of our country, and these are statements of fact. Please access the website.”

            Grossman is not alone. In her statement, Clark had referenced recent articles from Brown and Harvard professors recommending that students at low risk be back in school full time. The recommendation came with a warning that the social, emotional, and nutritional risks of not being in school are greater than any risk posed by the coronavirus. “We’ve never been told the specific reasons why we can’t do this,” she said.

            As an actuary who researches data and assesses risk management as a profession, Lavin took a measured approach.

            “Bringing children back is the best [scenario]; there’s no doubt there. I personally felt like I heard themes of stability, equity, safety, and that’s beyond COVID, in my opinion. I think there’s also safety in terms of – I would be hard pressed to think we’re going to put the school layout out in public forum. That is just not a safe thing for us to do,” she said. “I mention that because I’m asking for continued trust in this committee that we are taking all these things in and that, when we can be fully transparent, you will get it. When you can’t, I ask you to reach out to us as you have to have those conversations.

            “I think it would be detrimental for us to go back full in-person today, but I do think we should be moving forward with how do we get significant incremental value for the students at greatest risk. (Going back full time) would jeopardize the stability.”

            Lavin asked Nelson to take as much as possible from his stakeholder engagement survey and add to the data that would help the committee make decisions.

Mattapoisett School Committee

By Mick Colageo

Thanksgiving Food Distribution Event

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Marion Town Administrator James McGrail, Council on Aging Director Karen Gregory, and Marion Recreation Director Jody Dickerson are pleased to announce an upcoming Thanksgiving food distribution event for any Marion residents in need this holiday season on Friday, November 20 from 10:00 a.m. – noon at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center, 465 Mill St.

            The Town of Marion invites all residents who have been affected financially as a result of COVID-19 to register for the Thanksgiving food distribution.

            “As we approach the holiday season still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to make sure it remains possible for residents to celebrate the holiday, even amid the hardships they may face due to the pandemic,” Gregory said.

            The food baskets will include vegetables, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and other staple items, as well as a gift card that can be used to purchase a turkey.

            Residents are asked to register for the food basket distribution by Friday, November 13 by contacting the Town of Marion at 508-748-3570. Registration is required to ensure that there will be enough supplies for all participants in need.