Isabella King from Marion qualified for the fall 2019 Dean’s List at Belmont University. Eligibility is based on a minimum course load of 12 hours and a quality grade point average of 3.5 with no grade below a C.
Marion Hires New Student Officer
If you ask any police chief from any municipality across the nation if their police department is having increased difficulty recruiting and retaining police officers, they will likely echo the same emphatic response of Marion Police Chief John Garcia: “Oh yeah.”
The Marion Board of Selectmen held a special meeting on January 3 to allow Chief Garcia to secure himself a new student police officer while he had the chance.
The board approved Garcia’s request to appoint the department’s current part-time special officer, Peter Bourgault, as a full-time student officer to fill the patrol officer position left vacant by Scott Cowan, who resigned to join the Wareham Police Department.
Bourgault has been a special officer with the Marion Police Department since November 2018 and previously held a position in the Marion Harbormaster Department.
According to Garcia, Bourgault had to immediately schedule the pre-police academy fitness test the day after Christmas before he could be appointed in time for the January 6 start date for the academy. And with a 20-percent fitness test fail rate, they had to wait until after the exam to request the appointment.
“Pete had one shot at it,” said Garcia. If Cowan failed the test, it would have been a “no-go” for the academy, said Garcia.
Garcia said hiring student officers is a common practice for police departments, especially when they’ve already served as a part-time officer in the department.
“It’s nice when we promote from within because the person has worked with us and we know… who we’re getting,” Garcia said. “It’s going to help out a lot.”
Although Garcia is pleased to have filled the vacancy, he will again be looking to fill another position now that Officer Anthony DiCarlo resigned last Friday to start the police academy for the State Police.
“We’re trying something new,” said Garcia. Looking to cast his net more widely, Garcia is advertising the position on Policeapp.com in addition to the traditional posting of the position. “We’ve already seen… our applications double already.”
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen was held on January 7 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
Marion Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry
Duck Waddle in Marion
The Nasketucket Bird Club and Sippican Lands Trust are teaming up again this year for a trip around Marion to view winter ducks and other avian visitors on Saturday, January 11 at 9:00 am, starting at the Silvershell Beach parking area. This trip will be led by members of the Nasketucket Bird Club and Sippican Lands Trust. The group will carpool/caravan to overlooks and some Sippican Lands Trust properties around Marion to view winter ducks and other birds.
The Duck Waddle is free, and no registration is required. Some of the sites may require a short walk (1/4 mile) to get water views. Please bring water, a pair of binoculars (if you have them) and dress appropriately for the day’s weather. If the Duck Waddle is canceled due to inclement weather, then information will be posted to SLT’s website and Facebook page. For directions or further information visit sippicanlandstrust.org or call Sippican Lands Trust at 508-748-3080.
To the Editor;
Elizabeth Taber will light the way in Marion!
As we usher in the New Year, we make note of two important events in the Southcoast. Lighting the Way, a project centered at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the brainchild of Marion’s Christina Bascom, is honoring over fifty women through past history who made significant contributions to their Southcoast towns and were never recognized for their efforts. This will tie in with the coming summer’s nationwide celebration of the 100th year of the Nineteenth Amendment which gave women the right to vote.
As we all know, Marion has commissioned a life-sized bronze statue of our own remarkable citizen, Elizabeth Sprague Pitcher Taber (1791-1888) . Hence our statue project is coinciding with Lighting the Way and the 100th Celebration of the 19th Amendment.
Our chosen sculptor is Erik Durant, an accomplished artist from New Bedford. He has been creating Elizabeth now for almost a year, and will be sending the clay model off to a foundry in February to be cast in bronze. A committee is at work with landscapers to prepare the site for the statue immediately across from the Town Hall on the Bicentennial Park Corner. The statue unveiling will coincide with the Annual Town Party next August.
Elizabeth was an educator, philanthropist, visionary, and energetic activist. A true woman before her time.
Her legacy includes the Town Hall, Town Library, Music Hall, Union Hall, Tabor Hall, the Congregational Chapel, and her most expansive creation, Tabor Academy. Beyond this, Mrs. Taber left money for gardens, walkways, cemeteries, tree plantings, and endowment funds for future maintenance of her creations. And all of this in her eighties!
The Statue Committee is raising the money for this project so that no tax dollars will be used. Citizens of Marion are encouraged to contribute to the cost of the statue by mailing a check to the Sippican Historical Society, PO Box 541, Marion, MA 02738 (and please write ET Statue in the note line of your check.) All donations are tax deductible.
From now until her unveiling, there are plans to work with school children, Scouts, the Library and the Art Center, to educate our community about this extraordinary woman.
Elizabeth Taber will indeed be Lighting our Way through decades and hopefully centuries to come from her bench in the park, a book and her pipe in her hands when she returns next summer, this time forever more!
We owe her an extreme debt of gratitude and eagerly await her unveiling in August!
Tinker Saltonstall, for the Celebrate Elizabeth Taber Statue Committee
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.
Superintendent Search Committee Begins Process
There have been focus groups and surveys in advance of the creation of a search committee that on January 7 received its marching orders from James Hardy, field director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, to find a new Old Rochester Regional superintendent of schools.
Hardy had conducted focus groups and surveys, which he said aided in the development of questions or types of questions the committee would be asking candidates in the coming weeks.
But the Search Committee meeting also put in motion how the evaluation process and interviews will be conducted, with conflict of interest and Open Meeting Law concerns rising to the top of how the committee members will be expected to conduct the process.
The committee is comprised of 15 Tri-Town residents who represent parents, school committees, educators, administrators, and local government: Mattapoisett Principal Rosemary Bowman, Marion Director of Finance and Mattapoisett resident Judy Mooney, Rochester Board of Selectmen member Greenwood “Woody” Hartley, educator Marissa Hughes, Rochester School Committee member Anne Fernandes, Marion School Committee member April Rios, educator Jamie Alves, Rochester Memorial School Principal Derek Medeiros, ORR School Committee member Paul Goulet, Mattapoisett School Committee member Jim Muse, Mattapoisett resident Shannon Finning, educator Elizabeth Milde, educator Carla Cafarella, Rochester resident Kevin Thompson, and ORRHS Principal Michael Devoll.
Hardy cautioned the group that the Open Meeting Law allows personnel matters of confidentiality to be held in executive session and then explained how going into executive session would proceed. He also discussed in detail the importance of ensuring that conflicts of interest are avoided and gave examples of when such issues should be brought to his attention for immediate attention. On that matter, Hardy talked about what constitutes a family member or when a previous relationship with a candidate had to be disclosed to dismiss or otherwise handle a potential conflict of interest.
The committee members signed confidentiality agreements, then Hardy asked that they, “as homework”, review a list of questions developed from the public sessions that had taken place – questions that the committee will use during the interviewing process. He noted that each interview would last 75 minutes.
Hardy also asked that the committee members review all the applications by January 15, after which his office would arrange the process of setting up interviews.
In October and November, the MASC conducted surveys and held focus group meetings in the Tri-Town followed in November by recruiting candidates for the Search Committee. In December, the superintendent position was advertised leading into the January 7 meeting, the first of which will be at least 10 meetings between January 14 and March. The application deadline is January 13 at 3:00 pm.
The timeline indicates that on January 21, the first interviews will begin, followed by others that will be scheduled for January 22, 23, 25, and 27. On January 29, the committee is expected to present a list of finalists to the ORR School District School Committee and Superintendency Union #55, at which time they will also be discharged from further service.
By Marilou Newell
New Year, New Special Town Meeting
“We’re getting off to a bumpy start,” Melody Pacheco, secretary to the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen, commented with a chuckle at the start of the January 2 meeting of the Finance Committee.
Earlier in the week, leaking pipes in Town Hall caused Town Administrator Michael Gagne to work from home while awaiting completion of remediation efforts in his office. For several members of the Finance Committee, this latest maintenance issue underscored the imminent need to consider the future usefulness of the Town Hall structure.
That aside, FinCom had convened to discuss and more fully understand the single warrant article of the January 14 Special Town Meeting. Attending remotely, Gagne explained the need to call a Special Town Meeting.
“In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have grouped all the projects noted in Article 20 of the last Town Meeting,” Gagne began.
In the October Special Town Meeting warrant, Article 20 asked voters to approve spending that would be matched by two grants the town had applied for earlier in the year.
The projects proposed are: $375,000, the town’s share of the replacement cost of the bridge north of The Bogs on Acushnet Road, road and drainage improvements to Industrial Drive including improvement of North Street to create a pedestrian crossing to Industrial Drive, and the construction of a shared-use path from North Street to the Mattapoisett/Marion Town Line, including related engineering and construction costs.
The town’s share would be $1,665,000, but Article 20 included the caveat that the work shall only proceed if the Town is in receipt of a Mass Works Grant and a US Economic Development Grant, both totaling $1,470,000.
Although the town did receive the US Economic Development Grant in the amount of $750,000, the town did not receive the Mass Works Grant, making the article invalid.
The January Special Town Meeting article asks voters to approve new, more generic language that would allow the projects to advance in spite of the loss of the Mass Works Grant by amending the article to specify: “The Town’s share of the project cost $1,665,000 must be matched dollar for dollar from Federal and State Grant Funding sources to be used toward the project.”
Gagne assured the Finance Committee that the language change would not impact the amount of money the town would be spending; those sums would remain the same.
“Those projects should not have been bundled together,” said Gagne.
Finance Committee Chairman Pat Donoghue inquired, “This is going to represent a revenue enhancement for the town, right?”
“Yes,” replied Gagne. He said that several businesses in the Industrial Drive area are considering expansion of their footprints when municipal sewer becomes available.
In other matters, Gagne reported that he had spoken recently to outgoing Superintendent of Schools Doug White about including capital needs and other expenses in the Old Rochester Regional School District budget, and that a meeting should be arranged for further discussion of this issue. The committee concurred that such a meeting was critical for the towns and the school.
The Mattapoisett Special Town Meeting is scheduled for January 14 at 6:30 pm at Old Hammondtown Elementary School, with a regular meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen to follow.
Visit www.wanderer.com to view the January 14 Special Town Meeting warrant.
Mattapoisett Finance Committee
By Marilou Newell
Marion Reviews Route 6 Corridor Study
Marion residents got their first glimpse of possible alterations to Route 6 on January 6, when the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) brought the results of a long-term study to the public eye.
SRPEDD planner Jed Cornock began by explaining some of the biggest concerns that SRPEDD planners found within the Route 6 corridor, specifically the section of Route 6 which travels from Fairhaven through Mattapoisett to Marion and into Wareham.
According to SRPEDD estimations, 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles travel Route 6 every day, at an average speed of 45-50 miles per hour.
Amongst the biggest safety concerns, Cornock noted, were narrow travel lanes, equally narrow shoulders, and unsafe roadway curves, as well as several intersections that lacked visibility. Cornock added that in Marion especially, Route 6 is only partially edged by sidewalks, making it difficult for bikers and pedestrians to traverse the corridor safely.
Cornock explained four different options that SRPEDD had devised to update Route 6. The first was to keep the four-lane road as it remained, but add a consistent sidewalk on both sides of the road throughout the entire Route 6 corridor from Wareham to Fairhaven. The sidewalk would be narrow, which means that more often than not, bicyclists would need to cycle on the main road alongside traffic.
The second would also keep a four-lane configuration, but would provide widened sidewalks on each side to accommodate both bicyclists and pedestrians as a shared-use path.
Alternative three, Cornock continued, would reduce Route 6 (or certain sections of Route 6) to two lanes, which would add space for both a pedestrian and a separate bike lane with a buffer between the two.
Alternative four would be identical, but without the buffers between the bicyclists and pedestrians.
For those in the audience who wondered why the alternatives all included bicycle and pedestrian considerations, Cornock explained the reasoning.
“When taking money from MassDOT for road improvements, the plans require bicycle and pedestrian planning,” he said. “We can’t get the money without plans that provide for pedestrians and bicyclists.”
No matter which plan residents ultimately agree on, (and Cornock stressed that the plans could be customized if needed), there are certain changes that will come along, regardless.
“We’d like to change several intersections along Route 6 into T-shaped geometric intersections,” Cornock said, citing intersections like Spring Street and Converse Road in Marion. “We’d remove the islands and make them straight intersections to improve visibility and reduce conflict points between cars.”
Marion residents had strong feelings about the proposed improvements. Resident Steve Kokkins said he was a proponent of a “three-lane” solution, which would move Route 6 to two lanes with a middle turning lane.
“For economy, appeal, and simplicity, I really think that this is the best option for Marion,” Kokkins noted.
Several other residents recalled the years in the past when Route 6 was reduced to two lanes. Accidents and fatalities, they said, immediately skyrocketed.
“Fatalities were a real thing,” one resident said. “There were head-on collisions in a way you just don’t see anymore. It’s much safer as a four-lane road, and I hope it stays that way.”
When asked what the timeframe would be for the improvements to be constructed, Cornock had no clear answer.
“We’re still in the planning phase,” Cornock said. “Once SRPEDD’s report is submitted, it will be up to the individual communities to initiate the work with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.” He continued, “It could be anywhere between five and 15 years, but it’s something the communities will have to pick up on their own, although SRPEDD can assist if needed.”
By Andrea Ray
Viewers Find Familiar Places in New Short Film
There’s a new short film premiering this month by local University of Rhode Island film major Alyssa Botelho, and Tri-Town residents will recognize one particular local landmark that serves as the setting for the introduction of a short film that appears as to be as poignant as it is relevant to the times.
Based on a true story, Junkie is a short film about the struggles of addiction and the role of law enforcement in a community of broken people.
Botelho wrote and directed the film that she says is about addiction and one addict who “finds inspiration to change his lifestyle in the most unexpected of places.”
Some time ago, Botelho’s family member who works in law enforcement told her a story that touched her deeply, prompting her to take the story and turn it into her first large-scale production.
“He was telling me about someone he had to arrest and that person opened up to him about his struggles with drug addiction on such an honest level,” Botelho told The Wanderer during a January 7 phone interview. “And I just thought that that was super cool and I wanted to make a film based on that.”
The title, Junkie, was chosen intentionally for its disparaging connotation.
“Choosing the derogatory term ‘junkie’ was actually a very particular choice on my part,” Botelho said. “It kind of goes in line with what the main message of the film is, and that message is that, in our everyday lives – even if we don’t consciously realize it – people struggling with drug addiction are seen as ‘junkies’. That’s how people view those struggling, as junkies – even if they don’t explicitly call them junkies.
“So my goal is to show that there is an actual human person behind that label and that maybe in our everyday lives we need to start thinking about and treating them as people who aren’t just that label,” said Botelho.
Mattapoisett is where the film begins; specifically, the well-known Mattapoisett Diner on Route 6, both inside and outside in the diner’s parking lot.
“That’s where we really get to meet the characters, and the character dynamics really start there,” said Botelho.
The film, says Botelho, is a journey – one that the viewer will go through from beginning to end – that results in what she believes will be an eventual paradigm shift of how people view drug addiction and those that fall victim to it.
“At face value it’s so easy to say, oh, look at this worthless person… But the truth is, none of us really know what that person has gone through or who they are,” she said.
Junkie is by far, Botelho said, her biggest project so far. A graduate of Fairhaven High School and slated to graduate from URI this spring as a double major in film and business management, Botelho says Junkie is only the first of a succession of future projects. She’s got a taste for it now.
“This is definitely my biggest project so far,” she said. “In terms of short films, this is the first legitimate one. It was crazy; it was so intense.”
Botelho undertook the whole process from start to finish, starting with screening and casting actors in New York to screening the film this upcoming Friday.
Fairhaven TV is sponsoring a free public screening of Junkie this Friday, January 10, at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of the Fairhaven Town Hall, 40 Center Street, Fairhaven.
Botelho got herself a list of all the film festivals – domestic and international – and plans to submit Junkie to many of them that will take her efforts well into 2021. She said she would post the short film online as well later this year.
By Jean Perry
Rochester Council on Aging
The full monthly newsletter and calendar are available on our website www.rochestermaseniorcenter.com. Events and photographs are also posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Rochestercoa.
The Rochester Senior Center is having a special BINGO event (weather permitting) on Monday, January 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. BINGO will start promptly at 6:00 pm with Ann Soares calling. The Center will be opening at 5:00 pm for those who would like to come a bit early to visit with friends. Light refreshments will be served during intermission. MA Senior Center Recreational BINGO rules are followed. Cards are 50 cents each, and 25 cents per game. All Seniors are invited to participate. Reservations are not required for this event. Give the Senior Center a call at least 24 hours in advance if you need a ride to and from this event.
The Rochester Senior Center has received calls regarding a Smart Drivers course sponsored by AARP. This course is not scheduled at this time. The Rochester Senior Center hopes to offer this course to seniors at some point in the future.
Hanna Milhench and her team will prepare a Special Luncheon at the Rochester Senior Center on Monday, January 13 at noon. This delicious homemade luncheon is open to everyone. A donation of $5 is requested. Advanced reservations are encouraged.
Sippican Woman’s Club
This Friday, January 10, the Sippican Woman’s Club will have their first of year meeting. Russ Kushner, and ambassador from Road Scholar will give a presentation about travel with Road Scholar, a not-for-profit travel program designed to inspire adults to learn and discover new ideas and adventures. Russ and his wife have done extensive travel, which has included the duration of a day, to two weeks to 26 days with Road Scholar sponsored trips.
The program is preceded by a finger food luncheon at 12:30 pm at Handy’s Tavern, 152 Front Street, Marion. If you would like to attend as a guest or possible new member, call Jeanne Lake at 508-748-0619. Parking is at Island Wharf, across the street.