For 135 years, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Mattapoisett has held summer only services for parishioners.
Each Sunday through Labor Day, visiting clergy from Massachusetts and beyond conduct services, using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, at 8:00 am and 10:00 am.
On Sunday, September 1, the Rev. Jeffrey Paull Cave, Honorary Assistant, Church of Our Savior, Atlanta, GA will be officiating.
All are welcome at our historic church next to the Town Beach in Mattapoisett.
Maybe you’ve gone into an art gallery or museum and stood in front of a painting and your jaw dropped. Or perhaps you’ve viewed a painting that took your breath away, made you smile, cry, or otherwise struck an emotional chord, leaving you wondering about the painting’s deeper meaning beyond the images therein.
Jill Sanford has a gift for speaking in a manner that invites you to explore art in ways you may not have previously thought you could. Her “Art For Your Mind” series takes listeners on art journeys. Whether you are a novice, accidental tourist in a fine art museum, or just beginning to investigate art, Sanford has the tools and enjoys sharing them.
On August 19 at the Marion Art Center, Sanford once again wove her magician’s wand of art knowledge over her audience. The theme of this presentation, she has many themes by the way, was America’s Unique Regions.
Sanford began by showing a painting done by Grant Wood whose depictions of American life and history can be summed up as masterpieces of regional rural scenes. The first painting before the audience was a scene of Paul Revere’s midnight ride. She asked the assembled to begin thinking about the choices the artist made, those individual bits and pieces that were necessary to tell the well-known story as he wished to tell it. Sanford directed the viewer’s attention to the dark night scene, the use of light that could only be moonlight, a church spire, a winding road, and surreal tree formations. When taken together as a whole after studying those topics, one gets a fuller sense of what the artist was doing and why.
In juxtaposition, Sanford displayed Wood’s New England landscape against a more realistic style of painting, one done by George Inness. She pointed out how this artist’s use of the horizon gave depth to the scene whereas Wood was not striving for realism but for symbolism in his night scene.
Inness strove for realism giving his paintings a photographic quality. Sanford pointed to the size of the people in his paintings and how they were placed as a reference point giving the landscape its scope. The trees are real, the pastures lush, the sky a true representation.
Moving on, Sanford shared works done by Eastman Johnson whose genre of “people doing ordinary things” had become popular in the 19thcentury. She said that this style of painting placed the people as if on a stage, their gazes to be followed where they led, possibly off the canvass.
Sanford shared how artists give us the illusion of depth of height with the ability to present immense vistas on a single small canvass. “It is realistic, believable,” she said.
As she spoke, Sanford explained how the artists were influenced by the regions they were located in demonstrating this by contrasting a New England scene against one of the Midwest. She spoke of the Hudson River School, started by Thomas Cole, which would eventually expand during the second generation to include the Catskills, mid-Atlantic, and even South America.
The Pacific School gives the art lover massive scenes of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, and even influenced Albert Bierstadt, a former resident of New Bedford, who started with the Hudson River School.
Jumping into jarring, striking colors, Sanford introduced Jonathan Green, whose paintings of African Americans drew on the colorful quilts he grew up with in his grandmother’s house. Again, Sanford pointed to the choices artists have to make before putting brush to canvas.
And no art presentation of American art would be complete without Georgia O’Keefe. Sanford explained that O’Keefe began her career in New York City where her paintings of buildings were not widely received by the primarily male-dominated art industry. Surprisingly, however, art lovers appreciated the contemporary forms and use of color O’Keefe employed. One of her city scenes sold for $2,800 to which O’Keefe stated, “… then they let me paint buildings.”
Such is Sanford’s gift, helping us see art, even pieces we’ve known for decades, in new ways with a deeper appreciation for the skill employed and the choices made by the artist. To learn more about Art For Your Mind, you can visit www.artforyourmind.com.
Marion Council on Aging
By Marilou Newell
John Breault of Mattapoisett was named to the UK College of Arts & Sciences Spring 2019 Dean’s List. During this term, his academic major was Psychology. This accomplishment is a sign of his hard work and commitment to learning.
Death by Design opens at the Marion Art Center (MAC) on Friday, August 23. The Marion Art Center is pleased to present Death by Design by Rob Urbinati, directed by Kate Fishman. The cast includes Camerin Bennett, Gavin Bressler, Scott Fishman, Sabrina Guilbeault, Cynthia Latham, Tristan McCann, Susan Sullivan, and Harvey Ussach.
Performances will be held Friday, August 23 – Sunday, August 25 and Thursday, August 29 – Sunday, September 1. All Thurs, Fri, and Sat productions will begin at 7:30 pm and Sunday matinees will start at 2:00 pm. Tickets ($18 for MAC members, $20 for non-members) are available for purchase in person, by phone, or online at www.marionartcenter.org/events/death-by-design/.
Death by Design is a farcical look at the British Murder Mystery. What happens when you mix the brilliant wit of Noel Coward with the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie? Set during a weekend in an English country manor in 1932, Death by Design is a delightful and mysterious “mash-up” of two of the greatest English writers of all time. Edward Bennett, a playwright, and his wife Sorel Bennett, an actress, flee London and head to Cookham after a disastrous opening night. But various guests arrive unexpectedly – a conservative politician, a fiery socialist, a nearsighted ingenue, a zany modern dancer – each with a long-held secret. When one of the guests is murdered, it’s left to Bridgit, the feisty Irish maid with a macabre interest in homicide, to solve the crime.
Poetry Club at the MAC – The Marion Art Center will host the next meeting of the newly-created MAC Poetry Group on Tuesday, August 27from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Marion Art Center. Whether you have hundreds of poems scribbled throughout your home library or have just begun writing, you are welcome to join this easy-going group! There is no cost to join. Attendees should bring an open mind, an open heart, and 1-3 poems to share with the group. During the meetings, the group will workshop poems in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Poets of all levels are welcome to join! For more information, please call Stacie Charbonneau Hess at 508-524-5773 or the Marion Art Center at 508-748-1266.
The skies above Mary’s Pond in Rochester on August 17 were buzzing with the sounds of the brightly-colored radio control model seaplanes as they are every year around this time for the Bristol County Radio Control “RC” Club’s John Nicolaci Memorial Float Fly, named in honor of the club’s beloved late member who started the tradition of flying model seaplanes over the pond.
These are not everyday model seaplanes, either. And to these enthusiasts, building, maintaining, and flying model seaplanes is more than just a hobby. “It’s an addiction,” says club member Gerry Dupont. “An affliction, really. A joyful affliction.”
Rows of meticulously built and cared-for model seaplanes lined the shores of Mary’s Pond as dozens of enthusiasts congregated over them, getting them wired up for flight, and laughing over old memories. It’s all a thrill, says Dupont. “Delightful foolishness,” as he calls it, something his wife just doesn’t understand, he quipped. (At least he doesn’t have to hide his hobby from her like some of the others do!)
Inside Dupont’s bright yellow Piper Cub seaplane, he painted is its pilot, “Gus.” Gus has been “flying” the plane for seven years and never tires of it, Dupont said. Gus is an exact one-fifth in size man who flies the exact one-fifth in scale seaplane with a placid smile upon his ruggedly handsome face. He was created in the likeness of a very dear friend, Dupont said. “That’s exactly what he looked like.”
Dupont introduced us to fellow club member “Lee,” who humbly wished to keep the focus off of him and on the R.C. Club as a whole, whose seaplane contained the technology Dupont said he always wished he had as a kid: a cockpit camera that gives a bird’s eye view from above and broadcasts real-time POV footage down to the ground into a small monitor and, for the ultimate POV experience, into two sets of goggles.
“This isn’t virtual reality,” said Lee, “this is reality.”
Looking through the goggles, the viewer can get as close as humanly possible to experiencing what it’s like to be up flying in one of those model seaplanes. For an added element of reality, Lee even fashioned a small hand that grips the controls and moves as the controller steers the plane from the ground. We were lucky for the chance to experience this thrill firsthand, from take off to a few rounds in the air to the bumpy landing atop the choppy water; it’s easy to see how one can fall in love with all this ‘delightful foolishness.’
Everyone was enjoying the event, with the exception of a couple ospreys that call the osprey platform beside the pond home. They were the only ones squawking, aside from a few wives, perhaps, who later found out where their husbands really were that morning.
By Jean Perry
On August 7, it really was a celebration. Our hostess invited us to share her fabulous waterfront view, surround porch, and tented grounds topped off with the most elegant Johnny on the Spot many attendees had ever seen! Over two hundred attended the Friends of Marion’s COA fundraiser/celebration. Following a hot and humid day, even the weather cooperated with a welcomed Buzzards Bay breeze.
We are most appreciative of the many contributors … our hostess, the party planners, the canapé preparers, the participation of the Rec Department for its heavy lifting and set-up, and lifeguards who helped to pass the food and the shuttle van drivers. There were many vendors who supported our evening with door prizes and needed services. Thank you to all who attended and special thanks to Marion’s COA and Rec Departments who worked tirelessly toward making our event a great success.
While you may have missed the celebration and fundraiser, “An Evening on Sippican Harbor,” it’s not too late to support the Friends of the Marion COA in raising funds for the build-out of floor-to-ceiling walls creating required privacy for the COA’s existing office space. Donations welcomed: FMCOA (Friends of Marion Council on Aging), P.O. 937, Marion, MA 02738. Note in memo: build-out.
The Marion Board of Selectmen on August 20 held the final two of four interviews as they prepare to appoint – or reappoint – someone to fill the two ZBA seats up for grabs.
It started out well enough as current ZBA Chairman Marc LeBlanc gave an overview of his experience as a real estate broker and member of various real estate associations, then later as a real estate office manager.
LeBlanc explained that the ZBA “never sets a precedent” and reviews cases on an individual basis, and that the bylaws are written in a relatively vague way “on purpose” that “apply to different people in different circumstances differently.”
“What’s an issue for one case may not be an issue for another one,” said LeBlanc.
The task of the ZBA, he said, is to either uphold the building commissioner’s determination or overturn it. He hesitated to comment specifically on cases that have entered into litigation, prompting Peter Douglas, a Front Street resident who has begrudged the ZBA since it ruled against his position in one case, to sneer, “My litigation is settled,” as an invitation of sorts to discuss it.
LeBlanc moved past that and entered into the ethics training he’d attended before addressing one issue he says he has encountered on the ZBA. LeBlanc stated that he has, in the past, heard a fellow ZBA member suggest allowing an application to pass based solely on who the applicant was, and said, “Sometimes names get in the way; we try not to let them get in the way. The rules are the rules.”
LeBlanc called the current ZBA “well-rounded” as a board after months of struggling to recruit enough board members to ensure a quorum every meeting. Now, however, there are more applicants than there are seats.
LeBlanc closed by stating that he has had some encounters with disgruntled residents in the past, adding, “My reputation is everything to me. I have had no dealings that would embarrass the town or myself.”
Meanwhile, Douglas sat at the back of the room seated next to Ted North who was interviewed last week for a seat on the ZBA. The two quietly giggled over Douglas’ iPad and whispered to each other and smiled.
Later, the board interviewed ZBA applicant Christine Frangos, a private practice corporate attorney and skilled negotiator eager to share her skillset with the town.
“I’ve always been an active member of whatever community I’ve been a part of,” she said. She established and taught a course at Boston University titled “Law in Everyday Life” and spoke with a hard copy of the town’s zoning bylaws in her hand.
“There’s a lot here,” she said waving the black binder in the air, “and I actually think that this is a pretty dense law.” She continued, “I think this is actually pretty well-drafted. … What this town needs is people who are really willing to dive in, look at what’s on the page … and also look at precedent.”
Although LeBlanc differed in his opinion on setting precedents, Frangos finds value in them.
“Prior rulings – what’s really important about law … is people need, when they’re buying property, … to have something to rely on. Property values can really be affected by what’s in this code.”
So, if the selectmen are looking for someone to really dive into the regulations, which they have previously expressed that they do, Frangos is willing.
“I’m somebody who really loves diving into these dense things … [and] my training as a lawyer doing this work would really serve the ZBA and the town well.”
After a bit more discussion, there weren’t any questions remaining.
“I’m good,” said Selectman John Waterman.
“You certainly have a broad background,” said Selectman Norm Hills.
Soon after, the public was invited to provide comments, which Douglas accepted with vigor.
Douglas, armed with his iPad, started out by mentioning two cases pertaining to local developer Christian Loranger, including the one at the property that abuts Douglas next to 324 Front Street. In that case, the ZBA voted to allow Loranger’s plan to move forward, which led to Douglas filing a lawsuit against the town.
Douglas then presented the board with “evidence” that, contrary to LeBlanc’s statement that he no longer was associated with a Jack Conway real estate office, shows that he does, according to Douglas. He further stated that, “essentially, everything” that LeBlanc stated during his interview was either false or deliberately misleading. Douglas presented his personal vendetta against LeBlanc to the board, even presenting a printout of some Facebook post comments Douglas alleged LeBlanc made with bias about a case that was in front of the ZBA, which he said LeBlanc later deleted.
He then accused LeBlanc, ZBA member Michelle Smith (also up for reappointment), and ZBA member Tad Wollenhaupt of being “in the pocket” of a local developer, eliciting a weird side-look from Wollenhaupt who was present near LeBlanc.
Douglas even berated LeBlanc for not knowing off the top of his head how to calculate volume (length x width x height).
Fellow ZBA member Robert “Bob” Alves came to LeBlanc’s defense and said, “As long as I’ve been on that board since Marc LeBlanc has taken over, … everyone on that board gets along very well.” He said he understands that, “If things don’t go their (applicants or abutters) way they’re very unhappy.
“Mr. LeBlanc has done a fine job,” insisted Alves.
The vote to appoint – or reappoint – will take place during the next meeting. The selectmen may also decide whether to stagger ZBA term appointments and possibly even alter the number of years in a term.
Also during the meeting, after two interviews with two current Conservation Commission members, the board expressed its gratitude for the pair’s expertise, work, and commitment, and approved their reappointments for another three-year term.
Shaun Walsh works for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and possesses in-depth knowledge of wetlands issue and the Wetlands Protection Act.
“It’s a great commission right now,” said Walsh. “The members that currently serve are all passionate about it … fair, … and that’s what I strive for … a consistent and fair interpretation of the Wetlands Protection Act.”
Cynthia Callow joined the commission in 2013 as an associate member who enjoyed the ability to “listen and learn” before her appointment as a full member. Her interest in flowers, she said, prompted her to join the commission, and she candidly quipped that she thought that would be enough to be an effective ConCom member. “I quickly learned that it was not,” she said, eliciting a few laughs. Since then, Callow has attended a number of trainings and even served as ConCom chair for two years.
In other matters, the board granted Police Chief John Garcia’s request to change Sergeant Jeffrey Habicht’s one-year probationary appointment to a permanent appointment.
Margie Baldwin, on behalf of the Cemetery Commission, discussed some suggestions on ways to help the commission maintain the cemeteries and, possibly, improve their state.
“I think our cemeteries should be more beautiful,” said Baldwin. “I think we can be better, and I think it’s about maintaining what we have and improving it. “
She suggested designating Department of Public Works staff to provide some close supervision and labor, an idea the selectmen said they would consider.
The next regular meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for August 27 at 7:00 pm either at the Marion Town House or the Police Station.
Marion Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry
There will be a Dog Walk-A-Thon on Saturday August 24 at Center School, Barstow Street in Mattapoisett. Come strut your pup. Water station provided along walk. Come walk at your leisure anytime: 8 am to noon. Half mile or One mile marked village stroll. $20 donation. All proceeds go to building of Dog Park. Poochies entered into contest could win prizes. 2019 Tee Shirts and Dog Calendars available.
To the Editor:
The School Committees and Superintendent are in overdrive. September’s Town tax bill should be a pause for reflecting on increasing taxes.
Escalating ORR school costs 4.72% FY’20 and 3.29% FY’19 significantly above the State’s Prop 2.5 limit materially impacts tax increases. ORR is the largest line item in the Town’s Budget followed by Sippican with 3.24% FY’20 increase.
Marion taxpayers are close to spending $.60 of each tax dollar on educating 15% of the Town’s aging population. The remaining $.40 of each tax dollar is available for funding all other municipal budgets providing necessary municipal services such as health, welfare, and public safety.
State Prop 2.5 limits Town budget increases to 2.5% plus new growth from the prior year without taxpayer approved overrides. The ORR and Sippican School Committees and Superintendent of Schools cannot constantly spend more than the allowed 2.5% annual increase without squeezing and adversely impacting all other Town budgets.
Sippican is operating from a very high fixed cost basis due to excessive compensation and benefits, low enrolment trends, and the over built school building operating at about 75% capacity for less the half of the year. ORR costs are increasing faster than Sippican.
Department of Education “DOE” ranks ORR as an underperforming school “Only Partially Meeting Targets” scoring 41% of targets meet. This compares to New Bedford at 40% and Boston 58% of target.
DOE data show the state average salary is $76,502 compared to the national average of $59,661. Sippican is $86,151 ranked 50th highest in the state ORR’s is $83,437 ranked 74th. ORR and Sippican teacher compensation are in the top 25% of the third most expensive state in the country for education just behind New York and California.
Pension costs are increasing at an average annual rate of 6.21%. Long term teaches “max” their pension at 80% of the final average 3 years of compensation plus generous retirement medical benefits; costs ultimately paid by taxpayers.
To accurately annualize teacher compensation with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act “full-time” 52-week base, Sippican average compensation is equivalent to $172,302 annually; ORR’s equivalent is $166,874. The highest paid Sippican teacher makes $95,344 and 14 staff make $90,000 or more for the statutory required 26-week school year. This is $1.3 million or 20% of Sippican’s budget
Marion’s demographics, stagnant economic base, and flat school enrollment trends shown in the DOE data do not justify the current upward trends of school spending. It’s time for the School Committees and Superintendent to consider the taxpayers.
Ted North, Marion
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On Friday, August 23, the Marion Concert Band continues its Friday evening concert series, indoors at the Sippican School, with a program of music from the Broadway stage. The program, which includes highlights from some of Broadway’s most memorable shows, is as follows:
The Showman – H. Akers
Lohengrin (Introduction to Act III) – R. Wagner
Broadway Show-Stoppers Overture – arr. W. Barker
Highlights from Camelot – F. Loewe
Concertino for Clarinet – C. M. von Weber / arr. M.L. Lake
Daniel Moniz, clarinet
Selections from Into the Woods – S. Sondheim
Selections from My Fair Lady – F. Loewe
Opening Night on Broadway – arr. M. Brown
Make Our Garden Grow (from Candide) – L. Bernstein
Selections from Les Misérables – C.M. Schonberg
Them Basses – G. H. Huffine
Daniel Moniz, clarinet soloist, performs regularly with several local ensembles. He is the principal clarinetist of the UMass Dartmouth Wind Ensemble and a member of the Swansea Community Musicians. He performs regularly with the St. Cecilia Philharmonic Band from Fall River and has been a member of the Marion Concert Band since 2005.
The concert, under the direction of Tobias Monte, will begin at 7:00 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room at the Sippican School in Marion. All concerts are free and open to the public. “Like” us on Facebook at “Marion Town Band” for up-to-date announcements and rain cancellation notices.