Marion Art Center Unplugged Jazz Series

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ugged in the MAC Gallery. This series of jazz concerts began in 2023, and this was the tenth program since its inception.

            The unplugged concerts are held upstairs in the Patsy Francis Gallery which is transformed into an intimate jazz club, complete with cabaret seating and mood lighting. Introduced by MAC director Jodi Stevens, Ott and Lopes proved to be the perfect duo for this space, mixing an interesting collection of jazz standards, some lesser-known jazz tunes, and two of their own compositions. Playing “things that they like”, these two skilled accompanists and improvisers took the attentive audience on an interesting journey.

            The Latin-American influenced ‘Angelica’, written by Italian pianist and composer Salvatore Bonafede, opened the set, followed by Worcester, MA jazz legend Jaki Byard’s twelve-bar blues ‘Chanda’, and Gerry Allen’s jazz fusion tune ‘Unconditional Love’. This mini-set of the lesser-known songs was introduced by Ott as, “great jazz tunes not heard as much”. By highlighting specific artists and styles of jazz, Ott says that she tries to “vary the energy and tempos, and factor in the context. So, for a duo, realistically, it won’t work to play much Afro-Cuban music. I try for a theme.”

            Thomas “Fats” Waller’s lively ‘Jitterbug Waltz’ followed, and then a pair of their own very imaginative jazz compositions, Ott’s ‘Orbit 13′ and Lopes’ ‘Snowy Owl’. As far as including original music in a set, Ott says, “We both love to write and arrange jazz music.” She added that when presenting original music, it helps to have a “friendly and open-minded audience.” I also asked Ott if there is an advantage to being a “married jazz couple”. She said, “Yes I think so. We definitely rehearse for our concerts, and we inspire one another, for sure.”

            The one-hour set concluded with the Thelonius Monk standard ‘Bemsha Swing’ and the oldest song in the program, Whiting and Chase’s 1930’s popular song ‘My Ideal’, here reimagined in a jazz style and completing a span of almost 100 years of jazz music compositions.

            Both Ott and Lopes loved the small venue, calling the atmosphere upstairs in the Marion Art Center “a dream with a very chilled vibe”. They will continue with several performing and recording projects this fall, working with a new quartet named “Hum” which includes saxophonist John McKenna, guitarist Steve Fell, and the multi-talented Lopes on drums. Ott and Lopes are also working toward a trio recording of some “minimalist jazz” in November with drummer Steve Langone.

            Ott and Lopes will perform with their Latin-jazz ensemble at UMass Dartmouth on October 23 in CVPA room 153 from 7-8 p.m. This group features Bertram Lehmann on drums, Manolo Mairena on congas, and Jared Sims on sax and flute.

            There are two more Unplugged Jazz programs at the MAC this year. On November 21 (sets at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm), Donn Legge will be joined by keyboardist Jack Coleman, and on December 17 (7:00 pm and 9:30 pm), a “holiday jazz” program will feature Legge and vocalist Dori Rubbicco, joined by keyboardist Matt Richard. Additional information on all MAC music events can be found by visiting www.marionartcenter.org/music.

By Matt Richard

Marion Republican Town Committee

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The Marion Republican Town Committee will conduct its next monthly meeting on Monday, October 13 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion. The public and new members are welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

Buzzards Bay Shellfish Beds

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To The Editor:

            There are reports that Buzzards Bay shellfish beds can be contaminated with pollutants from various sources, including boats, runoff from roads and farms near the shore, and naturally occurring bacterial outbreaks. However, the main offender is combined sewage overflows.

            Massachusetts seeks to address the pollutants by creating a Coastal Waters Waste Management Financing Committee to combat nitrogen pollution and outdated sewer systems that jeopardize coastal ecosystems and public health in the communities of Acushnet, Carver, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Lakeville, Gosnold, Marion, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, New Bedford, Plymouth, Rochester, Wareham, and Westport.

            To safeguard these precious coastal ecosystems, the community must embrace the transformative potential of Bill H.R. 1000 and S. 638. This legislation envisions the formation of a commission dedicated to assessing infrastructure needs and nitrogen reduction targets across multiple towns. It aspires to craft equitable and sustainable funding and cost-sharing mechanisms, laying the groundwork for essential upgrades, expansions, and groundbreaking innovations.

            The true impact of this bill hinges on the committee’s ability to design effective funding structures, allocate costs fairly, and implement strategic initiatives. Securing robust state and federal support to bolster local resources is crucial, alongside fostering seamless collaboration among local governments and stakeholders across municipal lines.

            When thoughtfully structured and adequately funded, the committee can unleash a dynamic portfolio of engineering, policy, and ecological strategies to tackle nitrogen pollution head-on, modernize aging sewer and septic systems, and ultimately protect public health while nurturing the richness of the SouthCoast waters. By joining forces, we have the opportunity to foster a healthier and more dynamic future for both our communities and the precious environment we cherish.

Eileen J. Marum, 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. All letters must be typed and submitted directly to: news@wanderer.com.

Snipatuit Road Solar Array Approved

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            Rochester’s Conservation Commission Tuesday approved the Order of Conditions for Logging Swamp Solar’s plan to install a solar panel array on 49 acres in the area of 600 Snipatuit Road, a property located within a Residential-Agricultural District and partially within a Groundwater Protection District.

            Project representative Sarah Sterns of Beals and Thomas Engineering reported she and her associate Jeff Murphy were back after several months of continuances with a comprehensive plan that has been modified based on the public’s and the town engineer’s comments. The proposed access road has been moved in a southwesterly direction away from abutters’ property lines, as these abutters had requested. “The access road has been shifted significantly,” Sterns said.

            Murphy elaborated that an old logging path is being extended, and a culvert is being removed. A water channel will be connected, and a timber bridge will be built over it. Sterns added that test pits have been done. The data from these pits and Town Engineer Ken Motta’s comments were all incorporated into the new plan.

            “I think you’ve addressed all our comments,” Member Mike Gifford said. The commission motioned the positive Order of Conditions after the abutters who have been attending the hearing since it began in the spring had no further comments.

            The proposal includes work within bordering vegetated wetlands, the 200-foot riverfront area associated with an on-site perennial stream as well as within a local 25-foot No Disturb zone.  Next, the project itself must be reviewed for approval by the Planning Board.

            The Conservation Commission next reviewed a request for a negative Determination of Applicability to wetlands regulations for a proposal at 756 Snipatuit Road. This plan would relocate a drainpipe that currently runs under the house and level off the grading in a backyard within the 100-foot buffer zone of a vegetated wetland. Homeowner Cameron Pierce explained he simply wants to match the grading of his neighbor’s yard. This hearing was continued to the board’s next meeting so Pierce can return with engineered plans.

            Next, the commission granted a negative Determination of Applicability to a proposal at 0 County Road to develop an agricultural water supply reservoir as a “normal improvement” of land in agricultural use as a cranberry bog. Saunders Family Cranberry Company engineer William Madden explained supplying water to the bog will be the reservoir’s only purpose.

            In other action and onto continuances, the commission continued to its next meeting an Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation hearing for work at 0 Walnut Plain Road proposed by Botelho Custom Homes.

            The commission also continued to its next meeting the Notice of Intent hearing for a plan to construct a single-family home within the 200-foot riparian zone at 0 Robinson Road.

            The commission again continued to its next meeting the Notice of Intent hearing for the construction and installation of floating and ground-mounted solar arrays at 53 Dexter Lane, upon the petitioners’ requests.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission will be October 21 at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Michael J. DeCicco

Healy Takes FinCom Chair

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            The Marion Finance Committee met on Wednesday, October 1 to go over various action items, including the reorganization of the committee with new appointments, discussion on the town’s Budget Timeline, and deliberation on the Special Town Meeting Warrant.

            It was announced at the beginning of the meeting that Shay Assad, not in attendance, would be stepping down as committee chair. Sean Healy was nominated and sworn in as the Finance Committee’s new chair with a unanimous vote. Healy recommended Assad become the new vice chair, though a decision couldn’t be made due to his absence. Healy explained Assad’s schedule has been busy, but “is gonna calm down next month, and he expects to be fully engaged in the budget process. Discussion on a vice-chair was tabled until the next meeting.

            Next, member David Herron volunteered and was subsequently nominated and confirmed as committee clerk with a unanimous vote. Prior to this meeting, GR Pitman and Mal Durkee were appointed as alternate members.

            Onto the meeting itself, chair Healy delegated work regarding the town’s budget, saying “I communicate with Mike Nelson and the School Committee; Tom (Crowley) would talk to police and fire; Fred (Mock) would work on civic, Dave (Herron) might do civic.” In planning like this, he’d like to have each member become an expert of a certain facet of the town’s budget.

            For the Fall Town Meeting, the Finance Committee agreed they should, similarly to last Town Meeting, offer recommendations towards the different articles to the Select Board. The Select Board will discuss and close the warrant on Tuesday, October 14 at the Marion Police Department Conference Room at 6:00 pm. A Town Meeting Review has yet to be scheduled. The Fall Town Meeting will be held on Monday, November 24 at 6:45 pm at Sippican School.

            The next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee was unscheduled at adjournment, but will be held in November.

Marion Finance Committee

By Sam Bishop

Finding Solace in Nature

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            Autumn is here, like an old friend arriving with ease and familiar comfort. Welcome back! Your return gives us much to be thankful for. Empty beaches to roam, comfortable weather and some of the most dazzling colors in nature.

            We know the signals – the orange, red, and yellow foliage that begins to blanket the landscape, the maples ablaze with color, and pumpkins appearing at farm stands.

            What comes to mind when you think about fall? I asked Suzanne – we’ve tallied many falls together since meeting in 5th grade – coincidentally she visited yesterday when I was thinking of this column. Her response: “Crisp mornings, sunny blue afternoons, fall festivals and hayrides and corn mazes, coastal bike rides, vineyard tours, apple picking, chili cookoffs, apple cider, and pumpkin latte.”

            We heartily agree – the sights, the smell and the taste of fall and the colors of the trees seen on the commute to work – all of fall’s present and past converge. When you grow up in New England it’s a much-cherished time. For many of us, it’s the sensory overload that is so captivating. Not all of it is about pumpkin-flavoring, but more the natural scents that fall brings – the decaying leaves, wood fires, crisp morning air, the orchard’s fallen apples fermenting. This morning’s mist, mingling with the crunch of fallen leaves, deepens the simple pleasures of the season. The quiet hush of birdsong has given way to the steady chorus of crickets.

            Gardening season is winding down, but there is still plenty to do and it’s much more comfortable now with temperatures hovering in the 70s. Now is the time to assess and to (in following the lead of our local squirrels) get everything inside that isn’t hardy. Any avid gardener knows that fall is time to take inventory of plants and also to make plans for alterations and expansions of borders.

            While clearing the withered remains of plants in a woodland garden yesterday, I instinctively considered ways to improve it. The understory of this garden is home to epimediums, bluebells, lily of the valley and other spring blooming wildflowers and ferns. I think it might be nice to add a companion to the fall-blooming Kirengeshoma palmata (yellow wax bells) to add more interest. I tackle the uninvited vines that have woven their way into the rhododendrons and mountain laurel. It becomes more than a few hours of work.

            Sometimes I think fall comes too quickly as there are things I forgot to do or didn’t quite get to yet. Like gathering seaweed to overdress the winter garden. Some gardeners go further – drying the seaweed, then combining it with fallen leaves and chopping them up (with the mower) and spreading it over the beds like a winter blanket. In spring it can be incorporated into the soil to add tilth.

            Fall is also the time to collect seeds of flowers and add them to the already numerous piles of labeled paper lunch bags. That reminds me I have to purge the shed again and replace a broken windowpane. I need two label seeds that I have saved. Divisions and decisions about how the garden will be shaped or changed next year happen now. Many of these flood my head – one such is creating a dahlia bed – I used to grow them, and I’ve missed these beauties.

            Autumn is also a time to take note of stone walls again – plants having receded or in some stage of decay. As I was taking in the laundry from the clothesline the other day, a section of wall caught my eye – a large cinnamon fern splayed out underscored by ivy and above them the shrubbery – now shedding its leaves… all of this backlit by the afternoon sun.

            Another great feature of fall is the blue slanted light. It doesn’t seem real. Notice how everything is sharply defined. It has a solitary quality. Fall is sort of like the goodnight kiss at the front door. There’s no follow up.

            Well, there is winter. But we’ll leave that alone for now. There are still pleasures to be had. Watching the bees rustle the blossoms overhanging our patio, I try to recall lines from the romantic poets.

            “To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,

            And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

            To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

            With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

            And still more, later flowers for the bees,

            Until they think warm days will never cease,

            For Summer has o-er-brimmed their clammy cells.”

             – from “To Autumn,” by John Keats

The Seaside Gardener

By Laura McLean

Rochester Republican Town Committee

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The Rochester Republican Town Committee will be meeting on October 13, at 6:30 pm, at the Ponderosa Sportsman Club, Acushnet. David Hughes, an Old Colony School Committee member, will be in attendance and will speak about the Old Colony Vocational building project. All are welcome to attend.

Town Election on Horizon

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            Rochester’s Select Board Monday approved two warrants for the November 18 Special Town Election. One will ask voters in the Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School district (Acushnet, Carver, Lakeville, Mattapoisett, and Rochester) to approve a new school building. The other will be the town’s question seeking approval of a debt-exclusion override to fund its share of the new construction.

            The vote came as the board added its own take to that Election Day approval by motioning there be no early voting allowed in Rochester with the new school question “pending Town Counsel approval.” Town Administrator Cameron Durant urged this qualifier after noting this voting provision might not be legally allowed.

            Durant said, due to state mandates, the elections must be on separate warrants but on one date, and neither election can have a no-early-voting restriction. He agreed the questions Rochester voters are being asked to decide on are confusing and complicated and might need some separation. The new school building would mean a $288,000,000 borrowing measure the district’s five member towns would share in funding (with or without the help of a debt exclusion; that part is up to the individual town). Either way, Rochester’s two warrants must be run simultaneously.

            Durant said, however, Rochester’s Town Counsel is studying the matter further. That’s why his ultimate suggestion was the “pending Town Counsel approval” phrasing. Select Board member Brad Morse noted absentee voting will still be allowed either way.

            In other action, Durant announced a variety of grant awards the town has received. Rochester has been awarded a $66,000 Rural Development Grant to fund recodifying town bylaws. The results of this rewriting of town regulations will need to be approved at a Town Meeting, he said. Other new grants totaling $158,000 are funding new electric-vehicle charging stations ($50,000), library hotspots and digital access devices ($17,000), and Police Department radar guns (from a $25,000 traffic-safety grant). Durant said one of these new charging stations will be available for the public to utilize, for a cost.

            The board approved a $41,000 contract with Vadar for new financial software services.

            The board approved adopting a new wine and malt license law that will allow restaurants with this type of license to trade up to an all-alcohol license “pending Town Counsel approval.”

            The board appointed Sarah Jacques and Kathryn Tarkenton to the Cultural Council.

            The board appointed Keith Riquinha as a new associate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, October 20 at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Upcoming Events at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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The Elizabeth Taber Library will remain closed on Sundays for the remainder of 2025.

            Join us in welcoming Jeff Belanger back to the Elizabeth Taber Library with Wicked Strange New England: Your Guide to Ghosts, Monsters, Oddities and Urban Legends from New England, Friday October 10 at 6:00 pm. Copies of Jeff’s newest work will be available for purchase during the program. No Registration required.

            The Banned Book Club will meet at the Library on Tuesday October 14 at 6:00 pm to discuss the horror classic Dracula by Bram Stoker. All are welcome to attend, find copies available at the circulation desk.

            There will be a break in regularly scheduled children’s programs between October 15 and October 24. Storytime and Afternoon Activities will be held as scheduled on Tuesday, October 14.

            School is out early on Thursday, October 23 and Friday, October 24. You can join us for Early Dismissal Lego Days from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm both days. Participate in our building challenges or free build.

            For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library visit us at www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org or email the library at ETLibrary@sailsinc.org. 8 Spring Street Marion, MA 02738. 508-748-1252.

Marion Special Fall Town Meeting

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The Marion Special Fall Town Meeting will be held on Monday, November 24, at 6:45 pm in the Sippican School Multipurpose Room.

            The Select Board will close the warrant at their Tuesday, October 14, meeting which will be held at the Marion Police Department Conference Room, 550 Mill Street, at 6:00 pm.

            The Select Board and Planning Board will hold an informational Special Town Meeting Warrant Review on Monday, November 17, at 6:00 pm in the Music Hall. The public is invited to attend.