Whitman-Hanson Express

You are here: Home / Archives for News

Taking town’s pulse: Whitman survey seeks residents’ questions, opinions

By

WHITMAN — How questions would be placed before residents on a planned community assessment survey were discussed in detail during a meeting with town stakeholders — representatives of W-H and South Shore Vo-Tech schools, the DPW, police and fire departments, town clerk’s office, Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen — and residents in the Town Hall Auditorium on Wednesday, Aug. 15.

“I guess the question is, between the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee, once those questions are answered … is, ‘Are you willing to have your taxes increased to pay for those [services] or do you expect other areas to be cut back?’” Selectman Daniel Salvucci said. “We can do anything that people want, but they  have to be willing to pay for it.”

Anyone with questions they would like included in the survey to be used to guide budgetary decisions should submit them to Bridgewater State University Assistant Political Science Professor Dr. Melinda Tarsi by Friday, Aug. 31.

Submissions should be sent to Tarsi at melinda.tarsi@bridgew.edu or by leaving phone messages with her office at 508-531-2404. She said email is the easiest way to reach her. Contact information will also be available on the town website whitman-ma.gov or questions can be submitted through the Selectmen’s office.

About two dozen town and school officials and residents heard a presentation by Tarsi spent about an hour outlining the process and format under which a community assessment survey would be conducted. She stressed that she is not being paid or receiving a commission for assisting with Whitman’s survey.

“I’m really honored to be asked to help out with this process and I think it’s going to be a great opportunity, not only for the town of Whitman, but also for my students because they are very community service-driven and very interested in doing things in the classroom that they can see the effects of in real life,” she said.

Tarsi said her students would be assisting her in analyzing the survey data when classes start in September with the aim of having surveys completed within four to six weeks to permit Tarsi to preset a full report to the town by December.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said the stakeholders’ meeting was intended to establish some statements of value as the groundwork for the coming survey to guide long-term planning.

“We have some short-term things to deal with, in terms of budget for next year … but then we’re going to take the opportunity to maybe think about the town of Whitman over the long term,” he said. “Basically, the question that we are asking ourselves is what kind of town would we like to have — what do we value?”

A joint meeting between the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee is also scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 28 to discuss the fiscal 2020 budget. FinCom Chairman Richard Anderson said they would be looking for some guidance in making plans based on information from the survey.

Kowalski noted that his job at Massasoit Community College has involved planning, adding that the survey was suggested by his wife, whose job as director at High Point Treatment Center frequently involves surveys about the opioid crisis.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam contacted Tarsi to help Whitman conduct a survey that produces the largest possible response while protecting the integrity of survey results.

Tarsi said her students’ assistance in the project is part of Bridgewater State’s program of community service learning, which connects classroom lessons with community needs. Her students have conducted a past survey and results report for Millbury said Tarsi who is also chairman of the Halifax Finance Committee.

In Millbury, close to 20 percent of surveys were completed and returned in a tight window during which the survey was in the field. Incentives such as raffled gift cards, could help increase responses or answers could be weighted according to U.S. Census data to account for the representation of entire town.

Result analysis can include both weighted and non-weighted information Tarsi said.

“Everyone in this room has taken a survey, or hung up on someone who called to ask them to take a survey — which I’ve even done — so we’re all sort of familiar with the respondent side of things,” Tarsi said. “But I wanted to get all of us on the same page as far as the data analysis side of things.”

She said survey data could provide a sense of people’s attitudes and preferences, patterns of attitude across different demographics or time in their lives, as well as the potential relationships of the two. But, she cautioned, survey data cannot provide information on people’s core beliefs and predispositions, their views on sensitive issues, their past preferences, cause and affect or produce unbiased responses.

She said identical responses can’t give information on how opinions were developed and that people are not always willing to admit opinions on sensitive issues. Measures can be taken to limit bias, but because human beings are involved, Tarsi stressed that no survey can be completely bias-free.

How the survey will be distributed, the length of the survey, as well as the wording and order of questions were all considerations Tarsi said had to be addressed.

She said the order of questions can be shuffled in random order for every respondent for the online copy and alphabetized on paper copies of the survey.

“I want to hear from folks the kind of questions that you think are important to ask,” she said to town officials attending the meeting. “What information is it that you need to do your job better or to make better decisions?”

She advocated both an online survey through the Qualtrex platform as well as a paper ballot, which are numbered and can be provided to town departments such as the Senior Center or Library as a pdf document to provide to the public. The latter prompted a question as to how it would affect the numbering of paper surveys.

Tarsi said she could think of potential coding mechanisms for the paper survey to track them while making them available to more people.

Length, especially for online surveys, has to be considered to help get the information required while respecting people’s time.

Wording a question order will be an important consideration.

“We know from survey research that the way you write a question has a direct influence on the way someone’s going to respond to the question,” she said. “If you answer certain questions before others, it’ll change your response to subsequent questions.”

Most of the questions during her hour-long presentation dealt with how the survey would be conducted, publicized, distributed and safe-guarded against individuals submitting multiple responses while allowing that more than one voter might live in a house using the same computer for online responding.

Multiple paper copies could be mailed to a single address and they could also bear a QR code, which could direct people to the online survey, if they preferred, according to Tarsi.

“Qualtrex does allow us to block repeated attempts from one IP address,” she said. “That’s the only identifiable information that Qualtrex collects.” All IP address information is stripped off before data analysis is conducted. Data analysis can help determine if IP addresses indicate a few people filled out the survey from an out-of-town work site or whether others try to affect the outcome.

“The incidence rates for double-dipping are really low because it would require people to really want to go out and expend additional time,” Tarsi said, noting that checks could be included to determine if a person has responded to more than one survey. The cost could be paid by a research budget Tarsi has through Bridgewater State and using the university’s mailing system as a way to demonstrate to BSU how such programs need to be budgeted.

Businesses could also be included in the survey.

“The more information we can collect, the better,” Tarsi said.

One homeowner wanted to know how the information would be used.

Tarsi said it is intended to help town boards with short- and long-term planning based on information they would receive from residents, some of whom may not feel comfortable making comments or asking questions at town meetings.

In Millbury, 77 percent of people answering the survey indicated they had never attended a town meeting, according to Tarsi.

She also noted social media is not a reliable method for people to express those opinions.

Lynam asked how detailed questions would be.

Tarsi said critical issues would be included, but the Bridgewater State internal review board’s confidentiality requirements limit how detailed responses can be.

Another resident asked how the survey would be publicized.

“If you drive into our town right now, you know that it’s time to sign up for Youth Soccer because there’s a sign on every yard,” he said. “But this meeting tonight, there’s not even anything on the town sign.”

Tarsi advocated for advertising by as many means as possible, including signs and the town’s online platforms. She said the concern about how town meetings are publicized could also be the subject of a question on the survey.

Opinions of young residents, who tend to respond to online surveys, are just as important as older residents as are those of new as well as established residents and those with or without children.

Resident Mary Box, former teacher, said this is an opportunity for residents to support the schools.

“I think what it’s going to come down to is money … and the primary things in this town are services for old and young,” she said. “You owe what you are today, a taxpayer, a citizen, to a teacher. … I’ve invested my life and I will gladly invest taxes in the youth because they are our future.”

A visit with…Indian Head Principal Jill Dore-Cotreau

By

HANSON — Paving crews were at work on part of the parking lot as another work crew was installing new playground equipment outside, while work continued on the new security entrance and her office had just been finished inside, as new Indian Head Elementary School Principal Jill Dore-Cotreau worked in a conference room Thursday, Aug. 9.

Things may still look a bit jumbled, but Dore-Cotreau said, real progress is being made at the school most directly changed by the closing of the Maquan School across the street.

She has been meeting with parents and students and added that classrooms are finished with teachers already coming in to get them ready for the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 29. That means the annual open house will go on as usual on Tuesday evening, Aug. 28. A kindergarten pot luck is also planned for Thursday, Aug. 23.

Concerns about the completion work for classrooms had raised concerns earlier in the year that the annual open house would have to be delayed. Work crews have earned Dore-Cotreau’s kudos, however, for getting renovations done quickly to allow teachers to gain access to their classrooms beginning Aug. 1 to prepare for the open house.

This is an educator who values the team approach to educating the youngest students as well as keeping them safe in school.

Born in Peabody, her family — which moved a lot due to her father’s business demands — moved to upstate New York when she was a year old. When she was 7, they moved to Connecticut where she attended Sandy Hook Elementary School. At 14, the family moved to North Carolina, where Dore-Cotreau graduated high school and then earned a bachelor’s in elementary education and music from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

She moved to Junction City, Ky., in 1995 where she taught grade five in the rural community, and “absolutely loved it.”

“It’s funny, because my student teaching was in kindergarten and second grade and I was [thinking], ‘I don’t know about this fifth-grade thing,” she recalled. “But I loved it, I loved the kids.”

Four years later, she transferred to Perryville, Ky., — within the same school district — to teach kindergarten for a year, before the opportunity to do literacy coaching developed.

“I had always loved reading and writing so I moved into that role and was a literacy coach there for five years and then I came back to Massachusetts,” she said.

Dore-Cotreau was most recently a literacy coach and then assistant principal in South Elementary School in Plymouth for eight years, and then to an elementary curriculum lead in ELA/social studies in Barnstable before seeking the principal’s position at Indian Head. She is married with three children, ages 20, 17 and 9. She holds two master’s degrees in elementary education and instructional leadership from Eastern Kentucky University.

Q: What spurred your interest in a career in education?

A: “Ever since I was at Sandy Hook Elementary in second grade [she knew it was what she wanted to do]. I remember I was riding in the backseat of our little station wagon, and said to my mom, ‘I really want to be a teacher.’ She was like, ‘OK.’ I thought it would be really neat to grade papers. I wanted to get out that red pen, I thought that would be really fun. I have an older sister and she and I played school a lot. Ever since that day — and it was along time ago — that was always what I wanted to do.

“When I went into college, I thought I wanted to be a music teacher, but as I got into the program, that certification is K-12 and I really didn’t feel good about working with older kids. I really liked the younger kids, I’ve worked in a day care and I’ve always liked little kids.”

Q: And yet, you went from student-teaching little people to teaching fifth grade.

A: “I was a little intimidated at first and, of course, I’m really short, so I was thinking, ‘These kids are going to be my height.’ But I still talk to those kids who are now in their 30’s. It’s pretty neat. … That town [I started in] was very rural and I had a lot of troubled kids in my class, and it was very challenging, but I connected with them really well. In fact, the Friday before Mother’s Day, they had a surprise party for me. A bunch of them brought gifts and said, ‘You’re kind of like our mom, because we don’t all have one.’ It was the neatest, most rewarding thing. That was the year I knew this was for me. This is what I want to do.”

Q: How important is a teacher as a role model for at-risk kids?

A: “I think it’s harder [for some kids] than it was when I started. A lot of kids don’t have both parents and they don’t have the role models — and we’re in a troubled world — so I think kids really need us to show them even basic manners and how to handle situations and problem-solve when they are having problems. They need that because sometimes they don’t have the best role models.”

Q: What was it about the elementary experience that hooked you?

A: “For me, I connect with the older elementary-aged kids the most because I’m really silly and goofy and they get it. But when I first started, I had worked in a day care and absolutely loved it. I’ve always loved kids, I babysat a lot when I was younger and just felt connected to them.”

Q: What brought you to W-H?

A: “It was actually this craziness,” she said gesturing to the building around her and the renovations. “I wanted to be a principal and I was looking around for jobs and saw this opening come up. I did research to determine the situation and I felt this was a perfect time to come in, because everything’s new to everybody and, yes, I’m new but the staff is newly together, even though they’ve been in the district. It’s a fresh start for everybody, so I felt this could be a really cool time to start a new school — even though Indian Head’s been here, it’s all new because we’re merging. It’s challenging, to say the least, but I thought that was the perfect place to start because we’re all starting new.”

Q: There are a lot of changes in the schools for the coming year.

A: “It’s almost like a new district in a lot of ways. We have a new superintendent, a new assistant superintendent, and almost all of the principals are new, as well. … I feel like I’m part of the new team and Jeff and George have been working to bring us together as a team and make us all connect and work together, which I love.”

Q: Hanson parents have been very concerned about some of those changes. How are you communicating about that with them?

A: “I haven’t talked to a ton of parents. I’ve already connected with the PTO and we had a meeting the second week that I was here and we’ve been talking about the events for the year. They are awesome. I came from a school with a great PTA but I was amazed at some of the things that the PTO is doing. I [also] had a principal’s meet-and-greet Monday [Aug. 6]. We met with some parents and children and had some goodies for them.”

Q: Where does the traditional open house sit right now?

A: “We’re keeping the open house the same. The teachers were worried about having their rooms ready and, honestly, they did a great job — the rooms are ready for the teachers and they are already setting up. We just felt it was important for the kids, especially with the newness of the situation, that they’re able to see the school and see their teachers. We think it’s going to lower the anxiety for the kids and the families – and I think it helps the teachers, too, to make that contact before the school year starts.”

Q: How important is it to have an active PTO supporting the school?
A: “I think they are essential to keeping the community running. It sounds like they have a lot of activities that bring in money, but they are also doing a lot of free things — the fun run, which the kids love and get pledges to do their laps; the October Monster Mash for Halloween and a Sweetheart Dance. They are bringing in a science program for the spring. They’re trying to find ways to help us. They are doing a cookout for the open house and a kindergarten pot luck for Aug. 23. All the kindergartners can come and they are told what color T-shirt to wear so they can know, ‘I have a red T-shirt on, you do, too, that means you’re in my class.’ A magic show and pizza will be provided and we’re asking families to bring some things. It’s a nice way for the kids to come and feel a bit more comfortable and then they can come to open house, but they’ve already been here.

“The PTO president emails me all the time with ideas and questions. They have a Facebook page and added me into that so I can post things to communicate with families. They’ll ask me [about questions posted] so they can respond to it, so it’s a nice communication already.”

Q: What is your favorite part of the school day?

A: “I like it when the kids arrive, being out there to greet them. It gives you a read if someone comes in and they’re upset, so you can make that connection so we can figure out what’s going on or let the teacher know, so they can work with that.

“I also like to do a “citizen of the month” or “star of the month” and have those kids come in and have lunch with me. I used to do that as an assistant principal and — especially as an assistant principal, where you are dealing with behavior steps — it’s a nice, positive way to interact with the kids and reward them for positive behaviors.”

Q: How will you go about putting your stamp on the school?

A: “My philosophy is that I’m all about team. I’m here to make this new team kind of gel and I’m the resource if they’re going to need something, if they need help. If they need to run something by me, if they need to vent, whatever it is, I’m here to provide them whatever they need to help things run smoothly. I want to establish this atmosphere of we’re all in this together, we are a team. We help each other, we build each other up and are there when somebody else needs us. It’s all about community.”

Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing elementary school principals?

A: “Security is a reality to me. A friend of mine, who was a year behind me in at Sandy Hook Elementary School, was the one who reached out to me [that day] and asked if I had the news on. I said no because I was at work … It’s a reality that these things are happening and it seems to be happening more and more, so safety is definitely one of my hugest things. … I love the new check-in system. I think it’s going to be wonderful. Parents and/or visitors can come in the first doors and we have a window where the secretary sits [to determine if the person will be buzzed through security doors]. If they are let in the building, they get a badge.”

Q: What is the most important thing for families should do over the summer to make sure students are prepared for the first day of school?

A: “I think reading with their kids every night, and talking about what they read, that keeps the kids’ minds intact, it keeps them thinking. A lot of times you see kids’ reading scores drop over the summer, but if they keep reading and are engaged all the time, they don’t lose as much over the summer. And giving them experiences — sometimes learn more from doing.”

Stung by honey of a hobby

By

WHITMAN — By his own admission, Richard Rosen may not be the best or the smartest beekeeper, but he is becoming the face of backyard beekeeping for people tuning into their local cable access stations from coast to coast as he learns more about it.

He has already inspired the 5-year-old daughter of Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV Executive Director Eric Dresser, who was captivated by seeing a guy in a bee suit.

Rosen has been fascinated by bees, and the idea of running his own hives, for a long time — and while the real estate developer knew honey production was no money-maker, he also knew it was important to try to save them.

“It’s fascinating is what it is,” he said of the life cycle of bees and their honey production. “It was something that I had thought about for years. I thought, kind of from the fringe, that it was pretty interesting.”

He has turned that fascination into a sideline at McGuiggan’s Pub, selling jarred honey, and now working on a drinks menu on which listed beverages will include his honey as an ingredient.

Rosen has also become something of a celebrity through the syndication of his cable access series “The Buzz Around Bees,” which is now seen in programming markets in 14 states, including California and New York. It is the first show WHCA-TV has ever syndicated.

Rosen has already experienced some face-to-face feedback from fans. While attending the Aug. 8 Whitman Police Night Out Against Crime, he said a person stepped up to talk to him about the show.

“There was passion in the person who was talking to me about what they learned from what we showed them,” Rosen said. “I think that’s really cool and it’s surprising how many people do say something to me that have seen the show. … It’s rewarding when people say things to you about what they have seen on the show.”

WHCA’s Access Operations Coordinator Kevin Tocci, who shares Rosen’s interest in bees, approached him about doing the show.

“The idea of what we do here is, if you see somebody who has a unique hobby —whether it’s bees, or gardening, painting, whatever it may be — to expand upon it,” Tocci said. “We’ve been successful here at getting people to take their hobby and make it into a TV program.”

Tocci noted that Rosen had done various other programs for WHCA over the years and is comfortable in front of the camera.

“When he told me he was getting bees I thought that would be a fantastic show,” Tocci said. “And we experienced some very interesting things … we not only experience that the hive had minted a new queen, we got to experience the marking process and [to] understand that.”

Going in, Rosen thought Tocci was talking about a single program. It’s now in its second season, with Rosen shifting attention from his own hives to those of other area beekeepers.

The show’s six-episode first season was an eventful one.

Rosen and his wife Kathy demonstrated introducing bees to the hive, how a new queen had been created in one hive, and how another was “robbed” of its honey by other bees.

“It’s difficult for me to explain just how crazy it is,” he said of the life of honeybees. “But the whole life of a honeybee — how they’re born and when they’re born, how long they live and what they do — it’s pretty fascinating.”

“The Buzz Around Bees” also seems to bridge different ages, Tocci said, as Dresser noted his daughter was intrigued when Tocci posted a photo on Instagram of himself wearing a beekeepers’ outfit for videotaping.

“What’s he wearing?” Dresser said his daughter asked. “I brought up Episode 1 and I showed her ‘The Buzz Around Bees’ and I had never seen her captivated by anything that’s not cartoons until that moment.”

But long before the TV show was even a suggestion, came the development of Rosen’s hobby beginning with learning more about honeybees.

“I started researching it and I read two books and watched a two-hour-and-20-minute DVD, and I still didn’t have any idea what I was doing when I was done,” he said.

Rosen also knew a couple beekeepers, whose experiences fueled his interest. One of those friends, who lives in Duxbury, finally inspired him to buy a couple hives and give beekeeping a try.

His Danecca Drive backyard now hosts seven hives as he has added to his apiary each year.

He stressed that he is still learning about bees himself — taking the eight-week bee school program offered by the Plymouth County Beekeepers’ Association three times so far.

“I’ve said this many times on the show, they have forgotten more about bees than I’ll ever know,” he said. “The old joke is, if you ask three beekeepers the same question, you’ll get five different answers.”

That old saw did not make him hesitate to bring on, in his role as program host, three beekeepers in his first season on the air” PCBA President Anne Rein of Hanson, as well as Bill Veazie and Glen Cornell of Whitman. The sixth and final show of the first season wrapped things up with a panel discussion of issues facing bee populations between Rosen, Rein and Cornell.

This year’s shows began with the bee pickup day in Plympton — in a garage with 9 million bees in packages of 10,000 bees each —and has included the most recently produced episode about sugar shaking to determine if mites have infested a hive and the different pollinators bees seek out. Last season included a tutorial on setting up oil traps for beetles that can take over a hive.

“Last year was not a good honey year, a lot of beekeepers had a tough time … basically because of the weather,” Rosen said of that season, in which he managed a fair yield despite his challenges.

The damage done to bee populations by weather, mites, beetles and pesticides are a very real concern.

With 85 percent of plant species on earth, and about 52 percent of the food products at your grocery store, requiring bees and other pollinators to exist, a 2013 Whole Foods Markets “Share the Buzz” demonstration of the statistics proved an eye-opener for Rosen. The store showed that one of every three bites of food is produced by honeybees and other pollinators by removing all products requiring pollination from its store shelves — 237 of 453 products including almost the entire produce department.

Between learning of that demonstration and his experience as a beekeeper, everything Rosen now plants in his yard benefits bees. That includes selecting plants that have not been treated with pesticides like neonicotinoid, which kill bees.

“This year, so far, it’s been a great year and six of the seven are doing well. One is doing OK, but I think it’s because of where I have them placed. I have a couple [hives] more in the shade and I’m finding they don’t particularly like the shade.”

A daily tablespoon of local honey, produced within a 25 mile radius of where one lives, is also said to be helpful for allergy sufferers.

“There are a lot of people that live by that,” he said. “I have people who come into McGuiggan’s to buy honey that are not drinkers, they’ve just heard we have true local honey and they want to buy it.”

Stings are the last thing to worry about, he said.

“Honey bees don’t want to sting you because they’re going to die after they sting you,” Rosen said. “They won’t unless you swat them. You tend to be afraid of bumble bees, because they’re so big — bumble bees will not bother you —but yellow jackets are bad guys and will sting.”

Hanson preps for TM

By

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen has begun its review and discussion of proposed warrant articles for the Monday, Oct. 1 special Town Meeting.

Articles are due to the Selectmen’s office by Friday. Aug. 24 and will be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 28. Selectmen have to sign the warrant by Tuesday, Sept. 11 for posting by Sept. 13.

Town Administrator Michael McCue will be asking town counsel to review the amended recall article passed at the May Town Meeting to see if it covers ethical implications of situations like that of reports about an alleged affair between Rockland’s selectmen chairman and vice chairman.

Selectman Jim Hickey had suggested at the Tuesday, Aug. 14 meeting that Hanson return the recall issue to Town Meeting to address possible collusion that could result from a situation like Rockland’s.

“The collusion between the two of them outside the office — where they’d only need one other selectman to agree with them — yet, according to our recall right now, they could not be removed from office,” Hickey said.

“I don’t think that that’s true,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “We’ve got a clause … about some type of moral behavior.”

She said Hickey’s concern does not reflect an accurate interpretation of what the recall revision said. Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell agreed with FitzGerald-Kemmett.

“Based on our current recall, if that happened here, those parties would be recalled,” Mitchell said, urging McCue, who said he was not certain that FitzGerald-Kemmett’s and Mitchell’s interpretation was entirely accurate, to have town counsel review it.

“I think the voters have already spoken on what they thought a recall law should say,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I do realize that there is a vocal minority that was uncomfortable with where it was landing, but I do think the voters spoke … and they were pretty unanimous about it.”

Mitchell argued that bringing it back to Town Meeting six months later is “going down the wrong path.”

McCue noted that Hickey’s request was an effort to determine that Hanson’s recall provisions would apply in a situation like Rockland’s.

“I assure you it’s not going to happen here,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This is like the perfect storm – I don’t think you could ever recreate this particular situation. Again, at least while I’m sitting on the board, it won’t be happening.”

She doubted it was possible to legislate to account for bizarre situations, but supported obtaining town counsel’s opinion.

“This was put on the agenda [in case] anybody has articles to put on it or any suggestions they want to talk about,” Mitchell said of the warrant article review. “Now would be the time to do that.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested an article looking at the process for accepting private roads. McCue said that was not necessary as the process is governed by policy, not a by-law.

McCue did say that Selectman Wes Blauss’ suggested ban on one-use plastic shopping bags could be included on an upcoming warrant, perhaps in May.

“I think we’ve both come to the agreement that we’d want to get the word out — a little more information — before we go to the voters and ask them to make a decision,” McCue said. “As far as other articles [for October], I really can’t think of anything else we talked about that we need an article for.”

He did suggest, however, a fund to study rubbish pickup and the transfer station concerning the facility’s ability to support itself going forward. Studies of staffing needs at the Board of Health and Planning Board were also discussed.

FitzGerald-Kemmett urged funding a study of the needs at the Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center.

“Mary [Collins, the Center’s director] is quite excellent at what she does and she’s very humble — she’s not going to ask for all types of stuff — but anybody that visits that Senior Center knows that is a very confined space [and] we need to do something to help out with that situation,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “If she hasn’t already gotten a study, I think we need to figure out what it is that they need for space and then maybe looking at existing space.”

There are frequent occasions when there are two or more programs going on in addition to the daily Adult Supportive Day Program in the same room, she noted.

McCue suggested a placeholder article, which may be passed over if necessary, that could include some future use for Maquan School, which could help solve both issues. He is still looking for and at public comment on the school matter.

Standard articles for the warrant will include unpaid bills, the supplemental budget, the tax classification plan, a stabilization article from the Finance Committee and school stabilization articles.

A proposed Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) program will also be on the warrant as well as a parcel of more than an acre near Hanson Middle School — 0 Liberty St. — to be sold as surplus property similar to the plan for Plymouth County Hospital superintendent’s house. Two general by-law articles on marijuana sale establishments are on the warrant, as well.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also suggested exploring what funding might be required for interim help for the Highway Department, on a project basis, to catch up with work created by the large number of trees felled by the March wind storm and street projects. McCue said it is in the works to rather explore bringing in a tree-removal or landscape firm to assist.

A visit with … Duval Principal Darlene Foley

By

WHITMAN — With barely a month left in summer vacation, one might expect an elementary school to be a relatively quiet place — and in an average year, that wouldn’t be a far-fetched assumption. There would be classroom furniture stacked in the halls as the hum of buffing machines and the smell of floor wax tell of preparations for the start of a new school year ahead. Teachers would stop in to work on bulletin boards and lesson plans.

This, however, is not an average summer for the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District. In addition to the usual summer cleaning and building maintenance there are: new preschool classrooms, a playground and drop-off driveway being built at WHRHS, and classroom and bathroom work have been ongoing in preparation for moving grades and programs to Hanson Middle and Indian Head schools and Whitman’s Duval Elementary as Maquan Elementary has closed.

At Duval, meanwhile, new Principal Darlene Foley is one of the several administrative changes in the district this year, while her school building will feel also a bit different the minute one enters the door.

“A lot of work happens over the summer to prepare for a new year,” she said on Thursday, Aug. 2.

As she greeted this writer at the school entrance, Foley said the entrance will be locked, requiring visitors to be buzzed in to report directly to a vestibule with a service window for the office as the district works to improve school security.

“They’ll either stay here or, if they need to get into the building, they’ll go further [after checking in with the office],” she said of the work, which was still underway.

“It’s going fast,” she said of the summer during which she has already held meet-and greets with parents and students. “I’m truly happy to be here. I feel very supported, I feel a part of the school already. I’m very much looking forward to Aug. 29. Our open house is from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 28.”

Born in Quincy, where her grandparents lived, Foley grew up in Nashua, N.H., where she graduated from high school in 1984 and then attended Fitchburg State, where she earned a degree in communications media.

Her first job out of college was in video production in Boston.

“But in college I realized I really wanted to teach, so eventually I went back to school and got my masters and teaching degree at Drexel University in Philadelphia,” she said.

She then worked teaching third and fifth grade — both in a self-contained classroom and as a co-educator with a special education teacher — in New Jersey for a few years before she stopped working for a time after she and her husband welcomed their twins, Madison and Matthew (now entering their senior year in high school), and the family moved back to Massachusetts in 2004. They now live in Scituate, where Foley went to work as a teacher in fifth-grade and kindergarten classrooms.

“I really wanted that experience,” she said of teaching kindergarten, a grade in which she had been a long-term substitute in New Jersey. “I loved it. It’s a lot of work — very different than teaching fifth grade. It’s exhausting,” she said with a laugh. “The reason you go into teaching, you can really see it with kindergarteners.”

She also worked as a technology integration specialist in Scituate, covering four buildings in her involvement in district initiatives, and as a curriculum coordinator before coming to Duval. She holds a PhD in educational leadership from Lesley University.

Q: What spurred your interest in a career in education?

A: “One of my video communications professors [at Fitchburg State] had breast cancer and needed help running workshops for students while she was undergoing treatments. I ran those workshops for her and I realized then that I really enjoyed that work — working with others, even with peers, and helping them learn things and explore things. That’s kind of what started me down that road and I always thought I would be teaching adults … but as I was working in the video production industry, I realized I really wanted to try something else.

“I visited my cousin’s third-grade classroom, and spent a few days with her and realized this is what I wanted to do.”

Q: What was it about the elementary experience that hooked you?

A: “I just love working with the kids — their energy and introducing concepts to them. If kids are struggling with a concept, to help them understand, I love that.”

Q: What brought you to W-H?

A: “I reached out to people that I knew, who worked here or live here, and from what they said about the community, I knew that it was a place [where] I would feel very welcome and we could work together.”

Q: There are a lot of changes in the schools for the coming year.

A: “There is a lot of change going on here, but I have to say that the vibe is so positive, across the district. That was one of the things — even in my interviews — I sensed that among the team with the new leadership. Everybody’s really excited and I think that a lot of the principals who, like me, are new to the position [have] spent a lot of time together — we went to a conference last week as a leadership team — so we’ve gotten to know each other and it’s a very collaborative feel. … I feel like it’s under control, even though it’s a lot of change. It’s covered.

“We’re very excited [about the programs that are coming into the school]. I’ve been in contact with the special ed teachers and we met a couple of weeks ago just to talk about the transition, to make sure we have all of our bases covered and plan for a welcoming, inviting first week of school.

“We’ve nailed down a theme that embraces all of our students —You’re Incredible — and we will have an all-school meeting at the beginning of the year to kick that off. The teachers will have time in the first couple of days of school to get together and figure out ways it can connect all the kids and have a positive experience. It is still under development.

“We’re going to capitalize on ‘The Incredibles 2’ movie that everyone seems to have seen and loves, and drawing on that, everybody kind of has their own superpower, you could be that you’re great at reading, you’re super kind or great at math or an incredible artist. Whatever [a child’s ‘superpower’ is] we’re going to celebrate you and also make other kids aware of what you’re superpower is.”

Q: One often hears there are not enough male teachers in the elementary grades. Are you hoping to bring more of them to the school?

A: “Yes. There’s not a lot of applicants, actually. We’re looking at résumés now and there’s not a large pool [of male applicants]. The majority of the pool of applicants are women. I don’t know if it’s a pay thing or what. I’m not sure. It’s not only a gender thing. We have a diverse community here. Having people work here who resemble those diverse communities is also important.”

Q: How important is it to have an active Parent Advisory Council (PAC) supporting the school?

A: “A school-community-family partnership is all very important to the success of the school. It has to be two ways, where we’re reaching out to families, but families and community members are also reaching in and that we’re working together to solve issues. The Chromebooks are here because of the relationships — because there’s that sense of community and problem-solving that exists, so I will continue where Julie [former Principal Julie McKillop] left off. That was all the previous principal’s legacy.”

Q: Your tech background should help with that.

A: “Yes, but it’s awesome that every teacher here [already] has a Promethian board, that we have so many Chromebooks in the building. It’s impressive that that’s where I’m coming in and we can take it to the next level.”

Q: What is your favorite part of the school day?

A: “I love going into classrooms and seeing what’s going on. If a teacher is working with a small group and there’s kids working independently, I’ll check in on those kids and see if I can help them in any way — I love that.”

Q: How are you meeting the community over the summer?

A: “We’ve had four different meet-and-greets. Two were in July and we just had two sessions [Wednesday, Aug. 1]. Different families have come in and it was really nice to meet people one-on-one before 500 kids enter the building Aug. 29.

“Yesterday a little girl named Lauren [came in] and her mother said the student was nervous but she picked out a nice dress to wear and I thought that was incredibly sweet. I was very grateful that parents took time out of their busy schedules to come in and say hello to me.”

Q: How will you go about putting your stamp on the school?

A: “It’s hard to say what will happen. I’m a friendly person and I hope people will know me to be visible and greeting kids and out there. That’s certainly something I will aspire to on the first day of school and throughout the year, but beyond that, I’m very much a person of ‘What are the needs of the building, what’s going on here and where do we need to go?’ Everything remains to be seen.

“The same with the programs that are coming in. I would like to develop a vision for those programs with the special ed director and the team of teachers and community members: ‘Where do we want to see those programs go in the future and are there opportunities to develop them further?’”

Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing elementary school principals?

A: “Discipline is a small percentage of issues here, I think — we’re an elementary school — my bigger issue is getting kids in and out of the building safely every day, making sure the transitions are safe for kids throughout the day. Keeping kids safe is the ultimate priority, so the focus of my work right now is jus tthat.”

Q: What is the most important thing families should do over the summer to make sure students are prepared for the first day of school?

A: “If kids could just always have a book by their side for reading — whatever book or magazine, whatever it is — that they just keep plugging away at that. Maybe working in a math fact. And just getting kids out to play and be sociable with their friends and family.”

Racing to give back

By

McGuiggan’s 5K tops $15K to Whitman Food Pantry

WHITMAN — For nine years, the McGuiggan’s Pub Road Race has provided more to its community than bragging rights for runners followed by a block party to kick off the summer months.

It has also contributed proceeds to community organizations — the Whitman Food Pantry, in particular, which has received a total of $15,000 in race proceeds over the years.

On Thursday, Aug. 2, Richard Rosen and his daughter, Danielle, presented the latest check to the pantry, for $3,000.

“Since the first year of the road race, we have donated a lot of the proceeds from our race to the Whitman Food Pantry, because I think it’s really important to give back to your community,” Rosen said. “This year’s check represents over $15,000.”

Bruce Perry, Whitman St. Vincent de Paul president and Whitman Food Pantry director, said the gift is especially timely as the pantry has served about 80 families — a total of a little over 300 people — in the past month.

“This is usually our slower time [regarding people coming to the food pantry], but it hasn’t slowed down this summer at all,” he said.

The summer is also a time when donations drop off due to vacation schedules and other demands of donors’ time and resources, Perry noted. Donations don’t pick up in earnest until mid-November, when the holidays spur donations, he noted.

“The spirit of giving usually helps out,” Perry said. “We receive probably about half of our donations in the last three months of the year.”

This latest McGuiggan’s donation will buy the pantry about 10,000 pounds of food out of the Greater Boston Food Bank, possibly helping the pantry supplement other donations to meet the demand for another month and a half or so.

“Richie and his staff at McGuiggan’s have been doing this for years and it helps us at the food pantry and whenever we do have excess we call neighboring pantries, so nothing ever goes to waste,” Perry said.

St. Vincent de Paul Brockton South District President Robert Hogan noted that the Whitman Business Community has been and continues to be strong supporters of the Whitman Food Pantry especially McGuiggan’s, Duval’s Pharmacy, John Russell Studio, Regal Marketplace, Stop & Shop, Pea Pod, Mutual Bank and Dunkin Donuts.

“We are very grateful for their support and helping us to assure that our friends and neighbors of Whitman always have food on their table,” Hogan said.

Rosen noted there was a time when donations were held “close to the vest,” but said the community has a right to expect transparency concerning where race proceeds go.

“When we’re out generating funds, people want to know … and people do need to know,” he said.

While about half the funds over the years have gone to support the food pantry, several area veterans’ programs — such as Folds of Honor in support of the college education of children of deceased veterans; the Whitman American Legion; Whitman VFW Men’s Auxiliary; Disabled and Homeless Veterans — have also benefitted from the race.

Cub Scouts, the HUG Foundation, Whitman Police and Auxiliary Police, Whitman Fire Department, scholarship groups and the Whitman Library have also received donations.

“We raise money and we give it all away,” Rosen said. “But the majority has gone to the Whitman Food Pantry.”

pasta dinner

The food pantry will also be holding a pasta dinner from 5 to 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Cardinal Spellman Center at Holy Ghost Church. The cost is just $5 and raffle tickets for gift cards, various items, and services will be available.

Framing a nation’s growth

By

Hanson talk outlines rise, fall of timber frame building

HANSON — It’s said “they don’t build ’em like they used to” — but there is also an adage that “everything old is new again.”

Both can be applied to timber frame building, according to carpenter and historian of his craft Stephen Kemmett, who spoke on New England timber frame construction during the Hanson Historical Society’s final meeting of the season on Thursday, Aug. 2 at the town’s historic Schoolhouse No. 4.

Timber frame construction, it seems, is on something of a minor comeback among a clientele of means, but Kemmett cautioned that care must be taken in the trade so that demand doesn’t outstrip the raw materials — trees.

It happened once before when, paired with the demand for more economical and faster construction methods, the ancient craft of timber framing nearly died out completely.

“It’s gone 360˚,” he said. “It started off as a tradition of rich people wanting to tell the world about their affluence and their power and it has turned into a building system that’s mostly only available to affluent people.”

Kemmett has worked for six and a half years as an interpretive historian/carpenter at Plimouth Plantation and for the past two years has been learning timber framework techniques in the Midwest.

“These [restored] buildings are worth saving,” he said. “If you have any kind of idea of sustainability … it’s craftsmanship — sometimes good, sometimes bad — but regardless, these are trees that have already been cut down.”

The trees required are big ones.

“There is a serious concern if we become more than 5 percent of the housing market, we’ll deplete all the big trees and that’s something that none of the timber-framers want. … And as a whole, I’ve found it to be a community of people who care about sustainability.”

Before the presentation, Historical Society Co-president John Norton announced that a donation of a volume “The History of Plymouth County,” circa 1880. Norton joked that the hefty illustrated book “looks like ‘Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary’ but includes some valuable genealogical data on Hanson.

“You’d have to know what you’re looking for because the thing’s about 4,000 pages,” he said of the old book, which is in delicate condition.

A pharmacist’s scale once used at Plymouth County Hospital, was also donated to the Society by the David Ryan family.

The scale was a gift to Dr. David Ryan on his retirement and donated by his daughter, according to member Allan Clemons. Norton said the scale, like many of the Society’s artifacts are going to be displayed at the Bonney House when renovations are complete.

Fittingly for a steamy summer evening, the meeting and Kemmett’s talk was capped off with strawberries and ice cream and soft drinks over ice.

Kemmett began his talk with a description of what timber framing is — a building framed with timbers measuring four inches by four inches or larger, with six-by-six being more common.

“You can’t hold it together with just nails,” he said. “You can in some small parts, but generally it’s held together with mortise and tenons.”

The building style came to the New World with colonization, where it is a 3,000 year-old-plus tradition in the Old World with the oldest having been found in Egypt.

“We know that things like Stonehenge were built using mortise and tenons,” he said. “Now, those are stone, but it’s believed that there are more wooden henges far before that and that they led to the stone monoliths that you see in England.”

The early henge-like frames were covered with sticks and woven grasses to make small, low houses that were “comfortable for the times.” Ventilation was also poor.

Invading Saxons brought timber framing to England from Germany. A church built in the style in Cheddar, England between 500 and 800 AD is still standing today, Kemmett noted, providing a wealth of information on the intricate skill involved in the construction method.

But as farming developed economy and permitted specialized labor, carpentry became a skilled craft that created more ornate homes for the ruling classes as well as improvements in housing for ordinary folks.

“As a carpenter, you really can’t survive on building one home every 10 years,” he said. “So they start to find cheaper, easier ways to build these — they make the materials smaller, they find faster ways of hewing — so England develops a vernacular tradition, which simply means other people are doing it including famers building their own houses.”

But, to earn the title of carpenter in England during that era, one had to serve a seven-year apprenticeship to become even a journeyman and work under a master carpenter. The guild system — as a fraternity, social society and entrance to a trade — of that time was more organized and more powerful than today’s unions in their heyday.

With the Norman invasion from France in 1066 came more adaptable styles of framing, involving smaller, modular framing units that revolutionized the trade, Kemmett said.

That was the type of framing that was brought over to the New England Colonies as soon as people could afford it.

“They cut down the trees from here to as far west as they could get, and this really jumpstarts the American timber-framing tradition,” he said. With larger families and the broken guild system, it became easier to find the number of people needed to help build a large house in a shorter time.

Repairing timber-frame housing when rot set in became the bread-and butter of many carpenters of the era.

“There’s a tendency to view traditional houses as all craftsmanship,” he said. “In truth, they had no more an eye toward craftsmanship than any human being throughout the rest of history has ever had toward it. If they need to get a building up cheap and easy, that’s how they do it and, if somebody is willing to spend the time and money to build a nice house, then they do it.”

The saltbox style, which originated in America, combined the traditional English hall-and-parlor house with added storage space. More two-story houses followed and in the South, large airy rooms helped keep houses ventilated in humidity.

Agriculture, including horses and oxen, became vital to the logging industry to supply the demand for timber in New England and the Midwest, giving rise to sawmills. The river system of the west led to a construction and settlement boom. Railroad construction, especially, depleted trees.

“Then they start running out of timber,” he said. “They’ve clearcut everything that’s available, the only big trees are on the mountains and all that’s left is the spindly stuff.”

Builders refused to frame houses with it. And the seven years required to build timber frame houses also contributed to the decline of the trade.

Today, less than 1 percent of houses being built are of timber-frame construction, including log homes. By the 1960s and ’70s there were only four or five people left with the skills needed for restoration work. Most work involved tear-downs.

But that spurred an interest in restoration, especially of antique barns. Through a trial-and-error learning curve, several barns were destroyed, but the skills were relearned.

“You’re starting to see revival of the form, but they were just copying,” Kemmett said. “It’s an industry that’s growing because there’s something about that classic craftsmanship both for the person that’s building it and for the building itself.”

Families gain right to know

By

Can now be informed of early releases from rehab commitments

Massachusetts has taken another “step in the right direction” in the fight against the opioid addiction epidemic with the success of legislation to keep families apprised of early releases from rehab commitments.

Its success is largely due to one family’s resolve to save another family from the pain of losing a loved one to an overdose.

“You have to stay persistent,” former Hanson Selectman David Soper said. “That’s what this story is all about — persistence and luck and good people.”

Soper is the uncle of overdose victim Stephen Berry, who became addicted to opioids after oxycontin was prescribed for him to deal with pain following a dirt bike accident.

An amendment to the state’s Section 35 involuntary commitment law — requiring that a family member/petitioner is notified of any early release from the program — sponsored by Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and state Sen. Viriato DeMacedo, R-Plymouth, has been included in the opioid bill that Gov. Charlie Baker is set to sign.

For Soper, the news came as a bittersweet victory after months of work toward saving another family from his own anguish.

“As you can imagine David was very passionate about making sure that this doesn’t happen to another family like happened to them,” DeMacedo said Monday, Aug. 6. “I’m honored to have participated in a small way in getting this amendment passed so this won’t happen to another family.”

Cutler was traveling and could not be reached for comment. No information was avaiable at presstime regarding the signing date.

“The closer we got [to the amendment’s passage] the more we started to reflect on what actually happened to us to get this done, and somebody had to die to get it done,” Soper said Friday, Aug. 3. “This is probably one of the most difficult things I have ever accomplished in my life. I had to stay on this.”

The change in the notification process was driven by family members of an overdose victim in Plymouth County and DA Timothy Cruz and the family of Soper, who testified in May on the bill.

“It spirals out of control so fast,” Berry’s father Thomas told television reporters after testifying in the May at a bill hearing.

Thomas Berry explained addiction runs in his family and all his son needed was “a couple of those puppies” to become addicted. Before long Stephen’s habit was deemed serious enough to have him involuntarily committed to the Bridgewater State Rehabilitation Center on April 3, 2017.

He was supposed to be there for 90 days, but was released after two weeks because he had a pending court date.

Soper said there was no professional guidance offered to his nephew, nor any notification to his family that he was being released.

DeMacedo said he was compelled by the common sense of the request and noted most people do not understand that many people committed to treatment under Section 35 do not complete the entire 30-day hold.

“I think this gets us one step closer to addressing these issues,” DeMacedo said Monday. “When we Section 35 somebody it’s because they are a harm to themselves or others and we want to make sure they are getting the help necessary.”

Soper credited DeMacedo, Cutler and Cruz for their work in support of the change, particularly DeMacedo after the bill died in House Committee.

“Senator DeMacedo took the verbiage and created an amendment to Gov. Baker’s Care Bill Section 35,” Soper said. “That’s pretty much what saved it.”

The late filing of the House Bill had put it at risk because of timing contraints, Soper said.

“The bill was strong enough to get a hearing, but there was just too  much work in front of them,” he said. What started as a 587 line bill had more the doubled in length by the time it passed.

He noted that state representatives serve about 49,000 residents, fielding some 500 calls a week for constituent services. State senators serve some 100,000 people, resulting in hundreds more calls for assistance.

“So many people fear government and say, ‘You have to be connected to make this happen,’” Soper said. “That’s absolutely false. If you just continue to ask questions, there is not a politician alive that will not return your call because it’s what they’re supposed to do, it’s in their best interest and they’re here to serve the people.”

Soper said Cruz was very warm and understanding to his brother in-law’s family as one of the most nimble divisions in government “that sees this opioid crisis for what it is” and is working with the medical community to get people the help they need.

“When we went up to Boston and testified, everybody seemed very receptive to the idea, because it really wasn’t a big change per se — but an important change,” Cruz said Friday, Aug. 3. “All it’s really doing is making sure whoever files the appropriate petition under Section 35, is they get notified if there’s a release.”

That’s where HIPAA privacy regulations had to be dealt with, Soper said. It took several meetings with Health and Human Services, the Department of Mental Health and other agencies to work the bill through.

“I talked to many people who said it was a violation of federal law,” Soper said. “People are dying. Since when does Massachusetts shy away from leading the way.”

DeMacedo said the federal law considers substance abuse rehabilitation a medical situation to which HIPAA applies, prohibiting the release of information without patient consent.

“We worked to try to find a way to get this idea passed,” he said. That meant the inclusion of a consent form at the time of commitment for a patient to sign permitting notification of their family should they be released early.

“If we were not able to get the consent, we would not have been able to do this,” DeMacedo said.

Cruz called the change an “important additional tool” to keep families informed as they try to help loved ones fight addiction.

“Everybody knows somebody, unfortunately, or a family that’s dealing with this terrible epidemic,” Cruz said. “It’s an ongoing fight. We have a lot of good things going on in our county, from Plymouth County Outreach and Plymouth County HOPE, the Drug Abuse Task Force, but even though I think we’re leading the charge, we’re still fighting the battle.”

He described the Section 35 amendment as one step to give hope to families, keeping their loved ones safe as they work to get them into another facility when the commitment is over or they are to be released early.

“Stephen Berry was an adult, so [the rehab center] didn’t notify the parents and there was a terrible circumstance in that they had things all lined up for him and because he was released earlier that what they were told, he ended up unfortunately relapsing and getting more drugs and passing away,” Cruz said last week.

Colclough stars for the Stripes

By

Hanson Middle Schooler earns Team USA Football opportunity

It’s not everyday that a local athlete has an opportunity to represent the town of Hanson at the national level, but this was the case for incoming eighth grader Maddox Colclough last month.

The Hanson Middle School student was selected to play for the USA National football team, Middle School Division. From there, he traveled to Canton, Ohio — home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame–to practice from July 2 to 7. He then took part in the bout between the U-14 Stars vs. U-14 Stripes as a member of the Stripes.

“It was pretty fun, but nerve wracking,” Colclough, who plays center, said of the experience. “I didn’t really know what it was going to be like.”

Players arrived early to check out the field and see what everything was like.

“I got comfortable with the team and there was a lot of kids who were a lot bigger than me there, so it was tough at practice and all that,” he said.

Not only did he earn the opportunity to play against some of the best talent the country has to offer for his age group, but he also had the opportunity to represent his state and hometown in the process.

“It was a really good experience,” Colclough said. “You get to see what the talent was like around the country, who the best were and where they’re from.”

One challenge the game offered Colclough was the size difference between kids from around the country. While playing for the Hanson Warriors of the Old Colony Youth Football League, Colclough must adhere to a strict weight limit where no player can start the season weighing over 165 pounds. However, Team USA football does not have a weight limit and there was a lineman from Kansas City, Mo., who participated and weighed 320 pounds, Colclough said.

Since the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton as well, it goes without saying that Colclough checked it out.

“That was so much fun,” he said. “Me and my dad (Christopher) went and that was really fun and a cool experience.” Being on the field too was pretty fun. We also went into the downtown area and were able to do a lot there.”

Now, Colclough will turn his attention to the Hanson Warrior Division 4 Midgets team which will start practicing later this month. Their first game is on Sunday, Sep. 9 against Pembroke at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School (1p.m. start time).

DARE’s ‘Outstanding’ week

By

Whitman boy honored for aid to fallen officer’s family

A hot, humid week of DARE Camp recreation and anti-drug lessons closed on Friday, July 27 with an emotional ovation for a 7-year-old Whitman boy who didn’t even attend the event.

But Brady Proto’s compassion for the family of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna — raising $1,100 for them at a lemonade stand — earned him the traditional cheer of “Outstanding!” as campers raised their arms to make the top of an “O.”

Brady was asked to lead campers, their families and Plymouth County law enforcement officials, including about a half-dozen chiefs of police, in the pledge of allegiance. He was then presented a plaque of appreciation by District Attorney Timothy Cruz and Sheriff Joseph McDonald.

He’s also been invited to tour the Hanson Police Station with DARE/School Resource Office Bill Frazier.

After leading the audience in a moment of silence for all officers killed in the line of duty, Cruz offered his appreciation to Brady Proto for his aid to Sgt. Chesna’s family.

Chesna was killed in the line of duty on Sunday, July 15 when a suspect allegedly attacked him with a rock and repeatedly shot the officer with his own gun.

“Sgt. Chesna was a resident of Plymouth County and his death had a profound effect on all of us, young and old,” Cruz said. “A 7-year-old boy from Whitman, Brady Proto — who led us all in the pledge of allegiance today — was so affected by what happened to Chesna that he went out and he raised $1,100 by selling lemonade.”

Cruz said Brady’s selfless action “caught all of our attention” so the county’s police chiefs and officers, sheriff, and Cruz took the opportunity to thank him for his “outstanding act of kindness” with an Outstanding Achievement Award cited Proto’s gesture.

Cruz also presented service awards to three DARE campers who followed the rules and performed above and beyond what was expected of them. Officer Robert Quigley Peer Service Award was presented to Katie Bondar; the Officer Helen Gray Student Service Award was presented to Taylor Cunningham. Both the officers had served the Marshfield Police Department. The Whitman Officer Gerald Mont Student Service award was presented to Benjamin Carr by Whitman School Resource Officer Kevin Harrington.

Retiring police officers, and DARE camp volunteers, Fred Mello of Carver and James Wigmore of Duxbury were also saluted and the annual five-way tug of war event has been renamed the “Wiggy War.”

“This camp has been going on since 1994 and every year it gets bigger and bigger,” host DARE officer Frazier said in his opening remarks. In its 24th year, about 625 youths from Plymouth County communities attended the five-day camp at the invitation of their local police departments. He credited Cruz with the camp’s existence and success.

Cruz, in turn, thanked the communities, police and fire departments of Whitman and Hanson — as well as the school district — for use of the WHRHS building and grounds. He also thanked the many businesses that contributed food, funds or other donations to make the camp possible.

He stressed that the camp, which teaches and reinforces drug awareness lessons, is funded in large part by money seized in narcotics arrests and the donations he had mentioned. The camp has only been funded by the state once in 24 years.

“We felt, as the funding was non-existent, that the program was too important to let go,” Cruz said about the use of forfeited drug funds. “We take their money and give it back to the community and a big chunk of that goes to you.”

On Monday, July 23, Cruz spoke about the DARE program after addressing campers during opening ceremonies.

“DARE has changed over the years,” he said. “DARE here in 2018 is not the same as it was back 10 years ago.”

He said part of that difference is the need to reach kids at a younger age especially now, in the face of the opioid epidemic, the fentanyl and carfentanyl issues going on and marijuana legalization.

“The kids have a lot of challenges that they face and it’s really incumbent upon us to open their eyes and to tell them about the dangers so they don’t go down that wrong path.”

Vaping, which contains high levels of nicotine, is another challenge that communities and schools must control, said Cruz.

“A lot of kids are vaping in school and I think its incumbent upon each school district to make sure that kids are not vaping in school and the school resource officers do their job to make sure [to stress to students about] that path of continually smoking nicotine where that may lead somebody to the next step.”

He also said a blanket decriminalization of drugs is not an answer to the nation’s drug problems.

“We live in a world right now where the biggest drug problem that we have is alcohol,” he said. “Alcohol is legalized and that still brings all sorts of problems to us so when you’re talking about dangerous drugs like opiates [and] prescription meds, when you’re talking about methamphetamine, LSD, you’re talking about cocaine, crack — it’s important that we get that stuff off the street and we control it through illegalization.”

Friday’s graduation ceremony concluded with the introduction of the 24 teams of campers, with the top three finishers in the cheer competition performing their cheers.