Walter A. Pierce, Jr.

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Walter A. Pierce, Jr. 72, of West Wareham died peacefully on Friday, September 11, 2020 at St. Luke’s Hospital, New Bedford with his wife and daughters by his side. He was the husband of Carol L. (Peltola) Pierce.

            Born in Wareham on December 2, 1947, he was the son of the late Walter A. Pierce and Emily J. (Vecchi) Pierce of Rochester. Walter graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School in 1965. He worked several jobs in his early years; Hayden Separator in Wareham, Braincon Corporation in Marion and Maxim Motors in Middleboro. He was in business with his cousin, Glenn Pierce at Pierce T.V. & Electronics, Inc. in Rochester for 23 years. For over 50 years, Walter was a member of the Town of Wareham Fire Dept and then later the Wareham Fire District Fire Dept, as well as their dive squad before retiring in December 2013. During the 51 years married to his wife, Walter was supportive of the family cranberry business, Big Rock Farm, Inc. in Middleboro. He maintained the bogs for over 20 years; recently with his grandson, Owen.

            He was a member of the Wareham Fire Association, the Dude’s Crossing Health Club in Tihonet and a 44-year member of the Tri Town Golf League. He enjoyed; fishing, hunting, golfing, table shuffleboard with the “Bog Rats,” also cribbage and poker with his buddies. He also enjoyed working on his 1986 Buick Grand National and taking it to classic car shows.

            Survivors include his wife; his daughters, Nicky (Pierce) Wilson, of Mattapoisett, MA; Jessica (Pierce) Kinney of Rochester, MA and five grandchildren, Owen Kinney, Delaney Wilson, Olivia Kinney, Makenzie Despres, & Jeffrey Despres. Walter had six sisters; Frances Florindo & Gail Purdy of West Wareham, and Bonnie Hartley of Rochester. He was predeceased by his sisters Laurianne Lowe of Minnesota, June Gainey of N. Carolina and Joyce McWilliams of W. Wareham.

            Relatives and friends are invited to a graveside service at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 19, 2020 at Hillside Cemetery, 380 High Street, Rochester. Appropriate COVID-19 protocol will be required including the use of face masks and social distancing.

            Donations in his memory may be made to the Wareham Fireman’s Association, 273 Main Street, Wareham, MA  02571.

Hazel (Stanfield) Conlon

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Hazel (Stanfield) Conlon, 77, formerly Worcester and Mattapoisett, passed away on Friday, September 11, 2020.  

She was predeceased by her loving husband of 48 years, Francis J. Conlon II; her parents, Ivan Stanfield and Marjorie Graham. Hazel was born in Belfast, Ireland and graduated high school from the Belfast School of Girls. She married her husband in 1962 in Germany, where they met while he was stationed abroad. 

Hazel lived in Worcester for many years before moving to Mattapoisett. Hazel was a bus driver for Worcester Public Schools for over 35 years, before moving to Mattapoisett, where she worked as a bus driver for Laidlaw Bus Company for over 10 years, before retiring to Briny Breeze, FL, before her husband’s passing in 2010. 

Hazel enjoyed spending time with her family and loved ones, along with knitting and spending time at Crescent Beach. She is survived by three sons; Graham Conlon and Christopher Conlon of Worcester, and Joseph Conlon and his wife Nancy of Oxford. Hazel is also survived an honorary daughter, Ella Wrubleski of Connecticut, and by her only living cousin, Grant Smith of Carrichferfus, Ireland, and by six grandchildren – Michael Conlon and his wife Elizabeth of Worcester, Mandee Yursha and her husband Jonathan of Auburn, Christopher Ferris of Orlando, FL, Liam Conlon, Riana Conlon and Rylee Conlon of Oxford. Hazel also leaves 3 great-grandchildren, Liliana Kay, Kristopher Kay Jr., and Lucas Yursha of Auburn. 

Memorial calling hours are Thursday, September 17, 2020, from 5-8 p.m. at Paradis-Givner Funeral Home, 357 Main Street, Oxford.

paradisfuneralhome.com

Lynnea Beth (Johnson) Walker

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Lynnea Beth (Johnson) Walker, 65, of Rochester, MA gained access to the secrets of the universe upon her passing unexpectedly on September 10, 2020. She was the daughter of the late Walter and Sandra Johnson of Bethany, CT.

            She is survived by and was the loving “child bride” of her husband of 36 years, Bradley Stedman Walker; her four girls, Morning Amanda Walker of Fairhaven, Carrie Lee and husband Jason Sousa of Fairhaven, Bethany Lowell Walker and her partner John Chester of Providence, RI, and Elizabeth Stedman and husband Joseph Ulbin of Lakeville; her sister, Syndie Johnson of Orleans; and her brother Clark Johnson of Branford, CT. She was Nee Nee YaYa to her favorite grandson, Connor Bradley (for whom the sun rose and set in his eyes) and strong little granddaughters, Alayna Lee, Lucy Quinn and Liza Valentina, whom she adored. She is also survived by friend and family member, Margaret Ulbin of Lakeville.

            Lynnea studied Theatre and English at Quinnipiac College and wrote for several publications. Being a talented and passionate dressage instructor and lover of her thoroughbred “C.J,” she rode, trained and showed with her daughter Carrie. Her barn that they raised themselves would go on to become the infamous Men’s Room. She worked in sales along with Bradley for Nynex, sat on the Town of Rochester Master Plan Revision Committee and was elected to the Planning Board where she served for 6 years. Lynnea was also the past president and vice president of the Rochester Land Trust. She served the community as real estate agent for Upper Cape Realty until her passing.

            Lynnea loved cooking (which Bradley showed her the love of) and feeding loved ones delicious meals. She always said she was keeping her feasts smaller this time, but she did not. Her greeting was “Are you hungry?”.

            She adopted strays of the four-legged and two-legged variety and created Christmas extravaganzas, but her favorite was Thanksgiving- a time to be grateful for friends and family. She playfully pantsed Bradley on a train platform and for 36 years he has said he would get her back for it. She had the last laugh.

            Lynnea lived in such a way that she is not gone. If you listen carefully, she will share the secrets of the universe with you in the canter of horses, when you feed people, in the mischief of redheads, when you vote, on days at the cottage, the laughter of children, in silly puns and in the authenticity of true friends. Loving her was easier than anything we’ll ever do again.

            Her visitation will be held Saturday, September 19, 2020 from 12-4 pm in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, donations in Lynnea’s memory may be made to the Nauset Light Preservation Society, P.O. Box 941, Eastham, MA 02642. For directions and guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

‘Balanced Cohorts’ Start at Sippican on September 16

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            “Meaningful” learning opportunities remain the objective for the Marion School Committee and Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson, despite the daunting task of reopening schools for the 2020-21 school year. At their scheduled meeting on September 2, Nelson took a moment to provide a “brief overview” of how the school year is coming into focus, addressing issues ranging from cohort schedules, desk spacing, bussing, and hygiene protocols.

            Some of the major work has been done to promote hygiene practices, handwashing, and marking the floors of the school for traffic patterns. Classrooms will “look different” according to Nelson, but they are working on those classrooms to “look inviting to our students” while maintaining 6 feet of distance between students and staff members. Bus occupancy has been reduced to 25 to promote spacing.

            The hybrid school year begins on September 16, said Nelson, and will feature two cohorts: Cohort A will attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Cohort B will attend on Wednesdays and Fridays. All students will be remote on Mondays. The ORR School District has secured independent assessments on HVAC and air quality reports at Sippican School, and Nelson reported that administration was “extremely pleased with (the) results.” They will continue to monitor HVAC and air quality needs, and Nelson pledged to upload these regular testing results to the school website.

            Cohort assignments will be communicated to families prior to school start on September 16.

            “It doesn’t mean expectations have changed,” said Chairperson Michelle Smith, later in the meeting. After thanking administrative staff, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, and other community stakeholders for their hard work to make the school year safe, Smith put a positive spin on an uncertain year: “We still expect our students to meet and exceed (these) challenges … we know the Sippican community will rock this year. We know this is going to be a great year.”

            Smith led the Committee in a moment of silence for Nolan Gibbons, a 15-year-old Marion student who passed away suddenly at home on August 18. Smith referred to young Gibbons as a “remarkable student” and a “talented young man.”

            In a Central Office staff update, Superintendent Nelson received a round of applause from the Marion School Committee members when he announced that the Central Office is now fully-staffed. After a recruitment process that Nelson called “thorough and thoughtful,” he announced the appointment of Howie Barber to the position of assistant superintendent of Finance and Operations, Dr. Jannell Pearson-Campbell to assistant superintendent of Teaching and Learning, and Craig Davidson, director of Student Services. “We finally have a full team,” Nelson said, calling the new administrative leaders to be “the right folks who can serve our district now … and into the future.” Superintendent Nelson praised Barber, Pearson-Campbell and Davidson for their impressive backgrounds and for jumping right into one of the most “unique school years I think we all can remember.”

            The committee unanimously approved the creation of a district-wide Anti-Racism Subcommittee, which – pending similar affirmative votes from Rochester and Mattapoisett school committees – will be staffed by representatives of each town’s school committees. This subcommittee will be charged with translating meaningful conversations to policy creation to promote tri-town equity and inclusion “meaningfully, but also in a sustainable manner,” according to Superintendent Nelson. In a separate vote, the committee appointed Mary Beauregard to serve on this regional subcommittee, and adopted an anti-racism resolution, based on a similar resolution shared by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. Mattapoisett and Rochester school committees will be also asked to adopt this resolution.

            The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for October 14.

Marion School Committee

By Anne O’Brien

Be An Engaged Health Care Consumer

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            As more senior citizens begin a Medicare journey necessitated by the ravishes of aging and illness, educating seniors on how to understand Medicare summaries, pamphlets, annual guide books, and a whole host of other health care documents is also necessary. Add to this the threat of fraud, identification theft, and plain old ordinary clerical errors, well it’s a lot to take in. But help is available.

            Most councils on aging offer annual Medicare workshops, and Medicare also has layers of services available online. But what if something goes wrong and you need help untangling a billing problem on your account – enter Senior Medicare Patrol.

            On September 2, Mattapoisett’s Council on Aging hosted a remote presentation featuring Dennis Hohengasser of the SMP. Established in 1997, this watchdog group works to protect, detect, and report health care fraud and to provide assistance with claims resolution when things go wrong.

            Hohengasser stressed the importance of reading Medicare summary statements to ensure that services that were paid on your behalf were correct. Fraud, waste, abuse, and errors in Medicare billing amounts to a mind-blowing $60,000,000,000 every year, 10 percent of the estimated $600,000,000,000 spent on Medicare services.

            Seniors, Hohengasser stressed, are the first line of defense against taxpayer’s dollars being stolen or wasted. He said that Medicare statements should be thoroughly reviewed and saved for up to two years. He cautioned that when services are inappropriately billed to an account, the patient may be denied treatment or services in the future. He used the example of a one-time medical procedure being billed to an account when it never took place. Subsequently, when the real claimant needed that service, they were denied because it appeared in records that they had already received the procedure. “It can take months to clear up a problem,” he said so it’s important to take action.

            Hohengasser also discussed the importance of protecting one’s Medicare card. He said it is not necessary to carry it with you at all times. Identification theft as well as scams can cost the system hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the claimant months of agony trying to correct matters. “Never give out your Medicare or Social Security numbers over the phone or online,” he pleaded.

            On the topic of record-keeping, Hohengasser promoted the use of a health care journal, a small diary where one can keep track of medications, treatments, and procedures, as well as questions for the doctor and the doctor’s answer. He also pointed to the importance of asking your doctor questions. “Ask the doctor, ‘Do I really need this test or procedure, what are the risks, is there a simpler option, what if I do nothing, what’s the cost.’”

            Reporting of subpar care was another topic touched on by Hohengasser. He told the story of his aunt who was admitted into a rehabilitation facility. She experienced stomach pain that was treated as if it were simple constipation. After two days she called an ambulance to the facility and had herself taken to the emergency room. She was suffering from a serious colon condition. If poor quality care either in the home or in a facility is an issue, the organization to contact is Kepro, a quality-assurance contractor for Medicare reachable at 888-319-8452. You may also contact Medicare’s Senior Medicare Patrol at medicareoutreach.org. A video of Hohengasser’s presentation and two other related videos are available at orctv.org.

            Earlier in the day, the Mattapoisett COA board of directors met. The monthly meeting covered repairs to the COA van in the sum of $1,600 and grants being used to provide more movement classes.

            On the issue of bringing programming back inside for the winter, COA Director Jackie Coucci said, “I don’t know what to say about that at this time.” She said she had discussed the possibility of using the Congregational Church hall, given its spacious interior, but needed to work with the Board of Health and town administrator. Coucci said that pandemic guidelines will most likely restrict the number of participants to any given activity. She also said she personally is not in favor of reopening the spaces used for the COA at Center School yet, saying, “Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.” However, she also asked the board to vote on whether or not she should move forward pursuing that option. The board moved to have Coucci begin those discussions and return to the October meeting with a plan.

            Shirley Haley, board vice chairman, brought the group up-to-date on the recent Master Plan workshops. She said it is important for everyone to complete the online survey in order to give voice to their thoughts and ideas. The survey can be found at mattapoisett.net.

            Coucci said that the COA continues to provide a variety of services from rides to medical appointments and grocery shopping, to podiatrist services, distribution of medical equipment, legal and financial counseling, and friendly caller outreach. “In spite of the closure we are still servicing the community,” she said.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett COA is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, at 8:30 am. Remote details will be available at mattapoisett.net.

Mattapoisett Council on Aging

By Marilou Newell

Friends of The Mattapoisett Bike Path Are Fundraising

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The Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path (the “Friends”) announced today that they have undertaken a concentrated effort to raise the last funds needed to complete the Marion Connector. 

            The Town of Mattapoisett was recently awarded a $110,000 state MassTrails grant for construction of a section of the bike and pedestrian path between the eastern end of Industrial Park Drive and the Marion Town line, known as the “Marion Connector.” (At the border, it will connect with a similar shared use path to be constructed in the future by the Town of Marion.) While state funding for trail projects has been cut back by necessity, this grant gives us a great opportunity to continue building our community’s shared-use path. Since the Town hopes to combine the Connector project with its Industrial Drive reconstruction project (already funded from federal and Town money), it is looking to private sources to make up the remaining difference.

            The budgeted construction cost for the Marion Connector is $410,000. The Town is authorized to match any non-Town funds dollar for dollar. If the Friends can raise $95,000 in commitments from private sources, the project will be fully funded and can be put out to bid this December with the other planned Industrial Drive improvements. Construction of the Marion Connector could then begin next year and open by the end of 2021.

            The Board of the Friends has taken on this fundraising challenge, already raising more than $50,000 in cash and commitments for this project, so only $45,000 remains to be raised.

            “We are very excited that we are so close to making this piece of the bike path a reality,” said Bonne DeSousa, President of the Friends. “This multi-use path will provide safe, off-road access for runners, walkers, and cyclists, not only to Marion but also to trails leading to the Tinkham Forest, to the Old Rochester Regional High School campus, and to a host of beautiful wooded trails on Sippican Lands Trust Property. When the Marion pathway is built, our “connector” will enable pedestrians and bicyclists to walk, run, or ride from the harbor in Fairhaven to Point Road in Marion on low traffic roads or paved trails away from heavily traveled roadways.”

            The Friends is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, so contributions to the Friends for the construction of the Marion Connector are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The  Friends will apply 100% of contributions toward the construction of the Marion Connector. Commitments payable during 2020 or 2021 will count toward meeting the required funding.

            Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path, PO Box 1336, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. Contacts: Liz DiCarlo, 508-942-9343, lizdicarlo@comcast.net, and Bill Coquillette, 216-789-2303, william.coquillette@gmail.com.

Eco-Friendly Beaver Much More than Nuisance

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            Beavers can best be described as Mother Nature’s ecosystem-beneficial engineers, by building dams that benefit both people and wildlife. They work day and night to industriously produce and sustain enriching backwaters of slow-moving ponds and streams for every creature imaginable that breeds life into an otherwise-sterile habitat. They create homes for water-loving birds, mammals, insects, and a variety of warm water fish.

            Slow-moving waters also filter out nitrogen and heavy metal sediments that sink to the bottom, preventing them from spreading downstream. Studies of ecohydrology prove that beaver-dam wetlands thrive with islands of widely distributed vegetation during periods of drought and provide wildlife refuge during dry-season wildfires.

            No other animal has had greater influence on the habitat of North America than the beaver. Subsequently, Native American tribes called it “the sacred center of creation in the land.”

            It was one of the reasons Europeans first colonized the continent for beaver pelts in the late 1600s and 1700s, finding them more valuable than spices originally sought. Subsequently, British and French trappers nearly overhunted, trapped and traded with Indians, almost to extinction. Millions of pelts were shipped to European hat makers for a process called felting, and stretched over frames to dorm top hats.   The meat from the tails was salted down in wooden barrels and sent to England to be eaten, while they were classified as fish for tax purposes in customs records. Pelts became so valuable Britain and France fought wars to control the fur trade.

            Beavers were once hunted for their castoreum, which was used in perfume and folk medicines, as well as for their meat and pelts.

            Legal protection and resupplying efforts worldwide began in the early 20th century, and today because of conservation efforts beavers now number about 15,000,000 in America.

            Long ago in mythology of the Delaware and Wyandot, they were thought to possess artistic, cultural, and almost supernatural powers as one of the creators of the natural world. But in modern, rural, and urban environments it is often a considered nuisance for damming and flooding drainage systems and low-lying property as well as basements of houses. Although there is still some trapping for pelts worth several hundred dollars in Buzzards Bay backwaters, to help effected landowners a special permit must be purchased in advance.

            There have evolved many non-lethal methods of beaver control with the clash of wildlife renewal and modern living. As the cambial layer between a tree’s bark and inner wood is a mainstay of a beaver’s diet, they have four sharp incisors and 16 other teeth for grinding and chewing for digestion.

            Landowners may wrap fencing or metal barriers around tree trunks or apply a compound called thiram that gives off a strong odor to irritate a beaver’s nose. If they clog culverts in ditches, mesh cages at culvert openings, or running a pipe through the dam to control water flow can be costly and difficult. Whenever possible, wildlife managers prefer to assist landowners in relocating beavers to more suitable habitats.

            Understanding beavers’ place in the global system and respecting their instinct to engineer and construct dams is necessary if we are to successfully share the world and its water with these inventive creatures.

By George B. Emmons

Selectmen Chew on Potential Source of Additional Revenue

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            Exploring new ways to create revenue for the town is one of Mattapoisett’s new town administrator’s goals. On September 8 during the regular meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen, Mike Lorenco demonstrated one way that new revenue sources could be secured: a local meals tax. The quest for ways to increase revenue while leveling or decreasing property tax burden has begun.

            Lorenco calculated that over the course of the last several years the town could have collected annually between $80,000 and $90,000 of income through a .75 percent meals tax. In 2020, that sum could have been as much as $94,172. He said that at his prior post in Eastham, where he held the position of assistant town administrator, that that community had joined the ranks of nearly every other community in the commonwealth that generate local revenue in this manner. He said he wanted to open the discussion up with residents and local businesses, but Selectman Paul Silva commented, “That’s a significant sum of money. I think it’s a decision we should make and let it go to town meeting.”

            Selectman Jordan Collyer said he sees the local meals tax throughout his professional travels and was in favor of pursuing it, as was Selectmen John DeCosta.

            Staying on the theme of money, Lorenco said that additional monies will be coming to the town from the Plymouth County-administrated CARES Act funding to reimburse non-budgeted, COVID-19 expenses and to aid Old Rochester Regional and Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical high schools with masks and hand sanitizers. He said that the state has calculated a $225 allowance per student. While the town is scheduled to receive another $279,000 for unplanned emergency expenses, Lorenco said the program is set to expire in December and that the greater needs of other communities may impact what Mattapoisett may receive.

            Lorenco also brought the board up to date on construction around the police station and location of the new fire station. He said that Hubbard’s Way will be closed on September 11. Entrance to the police station will be through Church Street, as drainage systems for the police station site and construction of the fire station proceed.

            Rounding out his updates, Lorenco said that Freetown has expressed an interest in sending students to Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School. He said a public meeting would be held on Wednesday, September 23, at 6:00 pm to discuss what he felt was, “exciting news.”

            Town Hall hours of operations were also discussed as the selectmen sought to have expanded evening business hours balanced by a day of early closure. Silva said, “Residents are our customers.” He said that, while employee concerns need to be weighed, the needs of the community are important. “We can find a good balance.”

            Lorenco said residents can make their voices heard on the town’s Facebook page as well as its website.

            Further discussion on the merging of the Shellfish and Harbormaster departments was tabled, as well as appointments to functional areas therein until such time as the selectmen can meet in Executive Session.

            Earlier in the evening, the selectmen appointed a number of existing employees and volunteers to various boards and committees. A full list of those positions can be found at mattapoisett.net. School committee appointments were tabled until members of the school committee could be present as well as the town moderator. Up for the four vacant slots are John Jacobsen, Van Cantor, Mike Rosa, and Mike Dahill.

            Mattapoisett will honor its newest and soon-to-be retirees at a brief ceremony planned for September 22 at 4:00 pm at the gazebo in Shipyard Park. While large gatherings are not encouraged, it was decided that holding a brief ceremony at the outdoor venue will allow for adequate social distancing.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, at 6:30 pm via Zoom.

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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The Museum’s 2019-2020 exhibit of Rochester’s Notable People has been taken down and work has begun on a new exhibit, hopefully, for the 2021 season or whenever we once again feel comfortable gathering. The Museum has a large inventory of historically significant items and because of size constraints, many are in storage. Our next exhibit funded by the Rochester Cultural Council will be a Curator’s Show. We’re going to display and explain many of our artifacts that have been hidden away.

            With all the talk these past weeks of mailboxes, lockboxes, and mailing ballots, it seemed a good time to share the ballot box from the 1930s that was donated to the museum by Martha Moone. The box was used to mail voting forms from the Office of the Secretary of State to Rochester’s Town Clerk’s office.

            The front of the box says: 

Official Ballots 

from Secretary of Commonwealth 

Frederick W. Cook, Secretary

Town Clerk Rochester, Mass.

EX. Paid

Open immediately and read directions

By Connie Eshbach

Conflicting Narratives End in Revocation of Aquaculture License

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            By the time the revocation of Shea Doonan’s aquaculture license got to the Marion Board of Selectmen at its September 8 meeting at the Music Hall, the license had been suspended for three weeks and nothing the selectmen decided was likely to override a decision that had essentially already been made at the state level.

            Nonetheless, a heated debate ensued when Harbormaster Isaac Perry and Assistant Harbormaster Adam Murphy officially recommended the selectmen revoke Doonan’s license in two locations, Ram Island and Mittons Flats. According to Perry, the two, half-acre sites became the subject of five documented issues and nine instances where gear washed away from the site.

            “That’s a big problem for us,” said Perry, noting that the other oyster growers in town have had “zero issues.” He said there have been ongoing problems since Doonan took over the site, “from winter to midsummer, pretty much non-stop.”

            With board approval, the action to revoke would require Doonan to clean up the sites within 60 days.

            Doonan was given an opportunity to speak and said, “The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.” He acknowledged two mistakes and said he accepts responsibility for those mistakes, including not keeping his log on his person while at the site, and accepted he would have to pay a fine. The rest of it, he said, is personal against him. “These guys, they don’t like me, I don’t like them. That’s the way it is.”

            Perry said that the nature of Doonan’s violations, especially with oysters being culled at market size, were being left out in the open and could potentially cause harm to consumers if marketed. Furthermore, he said that, should any fish farmer in Marion waters be the cause of a health hazard in a restaurant, all the farmers in town waters would have to be shut down.

            Doonan insisted he has not acted in bad faith.

            He said he invested $150,000 on the whole site and barely made a dollar. “This is going to be complete financial ruin. How can one incident after I gain approval be a death sentence? There’s no room between paying a fine and a complete death penalty,” protested Doonan. “This is my life. I put everything into this. I’m sorry, I made a mistake.”

            Perry said he hopes for a new applicant(s) to take over the sites.

            “Marion cannot legally remove product from the site so it’s a problem. The gear is in the water,” said Perry, who said there is a procedure moving forward should the gear not be transplanted to a new owner. After the 60 days, the town charges the owner $25 per day per person to remove it.

            He called the problem minor in the short term, “but the longer we wait the more gear comes off the site.”

            After the selectmen voted unanimously to revoke Doonan’s license, the latter repeated his assertion that the process “is a joke” and stormed out of the Music Hall.

            Town Administrator Jay McGrail asked Perry if he wanted Chief of Police John Garcia’s assistance, but Perry said he and Murphy would handle it.

            In a 4:10 pm appointment, Tangi Thomas and Alison Noyce appeared on behalf of Tritown Against Racism, and spoke as mothers of black children in the tri-towns.

            Thomas, who grew up in Marion, has two children, a son in the second grade and a daughter in the eighth grade. Noyce, a mother of four from Rochester including two teenage sons of color, said she is trying to create some change in the tri-towns.

            Under the banner “Tangi’s Drive for Diverse Books,” Thomas has collected hundreds of books to diversify and create new libraries focusing on black history.

            Both Thomas and Noyce told stories of racially motivated conflicts at school, some involving their own children. After a Facebook group was formed following a racially offensive social-media post by an ORR student during the 2019-20 school year, it became apparent to Noyce and Thomas that the time to actively pursue systemic change was now. They alluded to members of the black and brown community sharing painful stories.

            Thomas participated in the group’s meeting with the Old Rochester Regional Joint School Committee, where she expounded on ways to make real and lasting change and said that 155 people attended the Zoom meeting.

            Tritown Against Racism’s goal, they explained, is to create an anti-racist tri-town, and the representatives noted how ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson has committed to partnering with the group including a representative at each school committee meeting. He has also committed to bi-monthly meetings with Tritown Against Racism.

            The group is also working with Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School and with Tabor Academy.

            Over 1,000 people are in Tritown Against Racism’s Facebook group and more members who are not on social media.

            “Although we believe black lives matter, we are not a Black Lives Matter organization,” said Noyce, calling Tritown Against Racism “a grassroots organization” with a mission statement to identify and change systemic and/or institutional racism and dismantle it in the tri-towns while enhancing education and celebrating diversity.

            Selectman John Waterman asked, “How will you measure success a year from now?” Noyce answered, “We’d like to come back here in a year if we can.” “I think you should, too,” said Waterman.

            In a 4:20 pm appointment, the selectmen voted to accept a donation of up to $250,000 from the Sippican Historical Society to fund renovations to the front entrance to the Town House. They also voted to approve an arrangement to oversee the project that will include landscaping, a wheelchair ramp and will bring the building back to its 19th century grandeur. Will Tifft, the president, past president Frank McNamee and David Croll represented the donors.

            Among the other action items, the board approved the appointment of David Wilson as Special Police Officer for one-year probationary period. Wilson, as Garcia explained, is the town’s assistant harbormaster, in addition to being a 2014 Mass Maritime Academy graduate.

            “This helps us in a number of scenarios … Mr. Wilson has done a fantastic job for the town,” said McGrail.

            Also approved was a change prohibiting overnight parking at several locations listed at mariomma.gov. Parking overnight at Island Wharf is still allowed with a permit.

            Already below desired membership levels, the Zoning Board of Appeals is going through a personnel emergency after the passing of a member last week, the withdrawal of two aspiring members, and the intended resignation of another. The selectmen approved the addition of Jim Ryba, a retired prosecutor now living back in Marion after a career in New Hampshire, and Dr. Ed Hoffer, the chairperson of the Marion Board of Health.

            Ryba was interviewed during the meeting, but Hoffer was not present and resident Barry Gaffey said he would like to ask Hoffer a couple of questions. Gaffey disapproved of Hoffer’s role in condemning a home in town. Hills, who works with Hoffer regularly, vouched for his capabilities and fairness. The selectmen considered Gaffey’s debate to be hypothetical in nature and, once the discussion had been aired out, approved both appointments.

            The selectmen approved the Energy Management Committee’s addition of three new members, Tom Friedman, Alanna Nelson and Alex Roy, and approved the addition of an alternate, non-voting position so that member Jennifer Francis could volunteer to become the committee’s alternate member.

            In a brief Town Administrator’s Report, McGrail said Marion anticipates receiving $71,153.57 on Thursday through Plymouth County’s administration of CARES Act reimbursement funding. It is the first of four rounds of Marion’s $655,000 allowance in COVID-related, non-budgeted reimbursement requests. Marion’s second-round request, said McGrail, will top $250,000.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectman is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, at 4:00 pm at the Music Hall.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo