The town of Hanson is seeking volunteers who may be interested in volunteering at a COVID-19 vaccination site.
If you are a doctor, nurse or EMT and you are interested, please email the Hanson Board of Health at Tcocio@hanson-ma.gov with your name, telephone number and e-mail address. Your name will be added to a list of volunteers. If vaccine becomes available to be distributed to residents you will be contacted to verify licensing and provided additional information.
The Hanson Board of Selectmen, on Tuesday, Jan. 26 discussed ways to bring information on specific budgetary needs before the public as they prepare for this spring’s annual Town Meeting.
Town officials are working on a budget with a $2 million deficit in its general fund for FY 2022.
“Obviously, we still only have limited information, but over the next month or more we’re going to have a lot more information,” said Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell. “How that number is going to impact each resident, if the override is to go through, how much should that be? But, more importantly, we’re going to have to educate the residents on what services would possibly be cut and what they would be in jeopardy of losing.”
Mitchell proposed a FY 2022 budget forum at the high school with all department heads attending to answer questions. He is looking at a March 5 or 16 date for such a forum.
“I’m also willing to go on a cable show,” he said. “I’m all ears.”
Selectman Matt Dyer agreed it was a good idea, suggesting mid-March would be better to give town officials time to get a clearer picture of the state budget or any other financial issues that may affect the town’s budget.
“Mid-March, I don’t think we’re going to be in any better position with COVID-19, so I think that we really need to consider an online venue,” Dyer said. While Zoom meeting security from invasive and abusive callers — so-called “Zoom bombing” — with larger groups, but it would be the most accessible option at this point.
He also suggested teaming up with the Whitman-Hanson Express to have Hanson budget updates on the front page. [Editor’s note: Call us to provide details of what you have in mind.]
“Each week, an update about what the budget entails, so people are informed that way,” Dyer said, adding the town’s Facebook account and website could also be used for disseminating such information.
Recording the forum Mitchell suggested and posting it on the town’s social media platforms could also be useful, Dyer suggested.
“With COVID-19, it’s going to be tough to get a bunch of people together, but if questions were submitted and you were to get on cable access to answer those questions that’s one way to do it,” Selectman Jim Hickey said of Mitchell’s suggestion. He also said a brief time delay managed by someone to control Zoom bombers would also be worthwhile.
“We do have to come up with ideas,” Hickey said, noting that while hard numbers were not yet available, the impact of cuts would be clear. “[Town Accountant] Todd [Hassett] said it. It’s going to be staff. The services we’re talking about … includes every department.”
That includes police and fire and the school system, he said.
“But without hard numbers, it’s a little bit hard to talk about that right now.”
Mitchell also expressed concern about the volume of questions that could result in a Zoom call, prompting Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett to point out that most large scale Zoom conferences ask participants to put their questions in the chat space, where a moderator is usually placed in charge of following the inquiries.
“You can mute everybody except for the speakers and take in questions through the chat,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Train, plane, automobile — whatever it takes to get the information out there.”
She also said it would be helpful for the public to hear directly from Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., and Police Chief Michael Miksch about what the budget will mean to their departments or services.
He suggested an April date might be better.
“We’re going to have to get the information out to people as a board, but then let the people make their decision at Town Meeting.
FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if town officials were ready to commit to a May Town Meeting, even with a COVID vaccine in the offing.
“I’m not ready to make a decision on cancelling something four months away,” Mitchell said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said her question was more intended to determine when such a decision might have to be made.
Hickey suggested starting to plan on holding the Town Meeting outside at the high school in any case, to be prepared for possible COVID-related planning problems.
Town Administrator John Stanbrook said, anytime he has been asked a question about the FY 2022 budget, he has made a record of it and suggested using them as the basis of an FAQ (frequently asked questions) feature on town social media.
“I think this is going to require all the tools in the shed and more,” Mitchell said.
“People just think that we’re crying wolf and then, somehow, it happens,” Dyer said, pointing to difficulties with past budgets. “All this hard work that happens behind closed doors … we all come together and they make sacrifices for each department.”
He noted that a lot of people didn’t notice that the Fire Department didn’t get the apparatus they wanted last year, or that the Police Department held off on buying cruisers to help get the school budget where it needed to be.
“I want to make sure that, any updates like those, we’re keeping track of so we can put them out front so people can read about it,” he said.
Dyer also noted that town employees are worrying about their future.
Safer sidewalks
Town Planner Deborah Pettey discussed the need for safety improvements to three intersections — at Liberty and Indian Head streets and Liberty Street and County Road and in front of Hanson Middle School — and install new crosswalks for pedestrian safety through the federal Shared Streets Winter Program grants under the CARES Act.
“It was really developed to direct money to towns with streets they might shut down, and put restaurant [tables] in the middle of the street and do temporary business in the street because of COVID [restrictions],” Pettey said. “This last winter round, they extended it a little bit more to improve walkability … because, with COVID, more people are walking outside.”
The crosswalks Pettey has in mind need repair and are not ADA-compliant now, especially since they are heavily used by middle school students on half days and by families using the ball field parking lot for events and Indian Head School.
The state permits towns to work with design consultants on such projects free of charge.
Selectmen voted to approve her moving forward with the grant application.
The Whitman-Hanson School Committee will hear the district’s fiscal 2022 budget proposal at its Feb. 24 meeting.
“We’re going to be focused on regression and making sure we can implement services for kids next year so they can make sure that, if they have regressed, they can catch up,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said. “We are going to present a budget, and let you marinate on the budget.”
Follow up meetings will then focus on getting more and more information out to the community as to where those dollars have gone.
Implementation of major new programs will not be considered, rather the district is looking to determine a benchmark of where students are academically when they return to school.
Szymaniak reminded the committee that enrollment is down and 90 students are now being home-schooled. He wants to determine the thought process of how some of those students might return to school.
Director of Business and Finance John Tuffy reported to the School Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 13, that there is some good revenue news in the offing.
Finalized state figures indicate that accounts in Chapter 70 aid and transportation and interest earnings can be bolstered with money out of money out of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant.
“The good news is we’re halfway through the year and we don’t have to cut budgets because of deficits in our original revenue projections,” Tuffy said. “The other good news has to do with the CARES Act.”
The funds were intended to run out Dec. 30 if delivery of items or beneficial use of services as well as an invoice, reimbursement would not be possible.
But, the original CARES Act running through Plymouth County is now running until next December, as it has been extended.
The committee also reviewed and accepted revisions to the strategic plan pertaining to outcomes for this year, which could change with a return to school on what can feasibly done in that time, returning to a calendar approach next year.
“This is an important document because it is the roadmap to where our district is going, and it’s certainly going to lead into our budget, which is important because … essentially our budget should align with our strategic plan,” said Committee member Dawn Byers.
She questioned the rationale for removing universal full-day kindergarten from the plan.
Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said that change was largely due to COVID-19.
“What we’re trying to say is, ‘What is tangible, what is doable, what can we move forward on?’” Ferro said. “It’s still in the plan, it’s not in the outcome.”
Byers and member David Forth made a motion to table a vote until the kindergarten plan could be included, after Ferro explained it had simply been unintentionally omitted during document formatting. Byers’ motion was changed to one amending the strategic plan to include universal full-day kindergarten.
Szymaniak also said he felt the need to comment on the Capitol insurrection that was “all over the news” in the week between Jan. 6 and the School Committee meeting.
“I know some of my colleagues have made public statements about what happened in Washington,” he said. “What we did as a school community, is I messaged to [the committee] and administrators what the recommendations were from the National Association of School Psychologists.”
W-H School Phsychologist Wendy Price, on a sabbatical this year, is president of the association.
Teachers tried to remain apolitical, but to talk to students and answer those who had questions.
“Our teachers took this as an opportunity to have discussions with their kids, nonthreatening discussions, to really see where they were at,” Szymaniak said. “We try to provide parents with information to have discussions with their kids — politics aside.”
Vice Chairman Christopher Scriven read a prepared statement in which he argued the committee to address the situation, as it is a democratically elected group charged with overseeing public education in the community.
“As we are all aware, public education is one of the fundamental institutions of our democratic society which requires factual information to function effectively,” Scriven said. “Given that misinformation has been employed in a violent attempt to undermine our democratic process, I believe it is our responsibility to ensure our district’s response is, and has been, factual and clear.”
He said it was an opportunity to present a core aspect of the mission statement to educate students with facts and support teachers in doing so, and that the committee condemn anyone found to have participated in the “seditious and treasonous actions against our democracy, leading up to and on that fateful day.”
The committee unanimously approved of that motion.
Member Hillary Kniffen thanked Scriven for the statement as an educator who teaches sophomores and juniors in another school district.
“Thursday [Jan. 7] was a really challenging day for exactly points Chris spoke to,” she said. “I think that a lot of educators are walking on eggshells, for lack of a better term. … We’re not supposed to teach them how to think, we’re supposed to teach them to think.”
Member Fred Small replied he did not think anyone could have said that better, that teachers’ role is to teach critical thinking skills without telling students how to think about an issue.
“Violence in any way shape or form, such as what we all witnessed … I don’t think has any place in our democracy at this time,” he said. “It was horrible.”
Member Chris Howard addressed parents and others watching the meeting.
“I cringe when we’re leaving it up to educators to have some of these conversations,” he said. “So, if you are listening, I think when things like this happen, it’s an opportunity to grab your kids [and] have a conversation.”
Byers added that, because it may not be the last situation like it, asked if there were professional development programs to support teachers.
Ferro said a Simple K-12 professional development program scheduled Feb. 3 will help weave in inclusion and diversity.
Szymaniak said, in light of situations he has encountered, asked the committee to remember, they are a district-wide committee and not a school-based committee, so specific curriculum requests should be made through the chairman.
He also reminded members who wish to attend a PTO or School Council meeting do so as a parent and not a School Committee member so they do not end up intimidating people or leaving the impression they are speaking as a committee member.
WHITMAN — The first round of COVID-19 vaccinations have arrived in town.
Whitman Firefighters received the Moderna vaccine this starting Wednesday, Jan. 13. First responders are some of the primary front ine workers to receive the vaccination in a state wide effort against COVID.
Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, Medical Director Dr. Daniel Muse of Brockton Hospital Signature Health Care and Whitman fire personnel combined their efforts to get the area town fire departments the vials of the anticipated inoculation.
The minimum of 200 people required for a vaccine site was not met so the department had to pool together and Brockton Hospital Signature Health Care was nice enough to take on all area departments, said Matt Busch Whitman fire’s EMS officer.
They are operating under the umbrella of Brockton Hospital who does all the ordering to meet the state mandate.
They received 24 doses for department members, which were distributed over two days. The second shot will be in 28 days for the two part vaccine.
Whitman Fire rescue went through a long process with the state to get their Massachusetts Immunization Information certification, said Firefighter Steve Foster infection control officer.
They are now registered as an inoculation site for the state of Massachusetts when and if the time comes Whitman fire will be able to administer vaccinations.
The criteria and information is all pending decisions through the State, which has not been currently established.
The School Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 13, heard a lengthy COVID update from Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak, reflecting 41 positive tests among students, seven staff members and two coaches since school resumed after the holiday break.
There have been 35 staff members and 163 students — including both varsity and JV girl’s basketball teams, the girls’ varsity hockey team, the Hanson’s grade seven and eight girls’ travel basketball team and eighth-grade boys’ travel basketball teams — under quarantine.
Four district special education classrooms have also had to be quarantined.
“We are not seeing positive transmission, necessarily, within our student body,” Szymaniak said. “We have occasional cases of kids being exposed and then with close contacts, even through an extracurricular activity [or] an athletic activity, but not necessarily in our classrooms.”
The subseparate special ed classes were the exception. Szymaniak said the high school had been placed on full remote this month because of a shortage of substitutes to cover for teachers who were ill, quarantined, for other medical appointments or on long-term leave.
Sarah Wall, a Whitman resident and mother of 9-year-old twin boys and 7-year-old twin girls who attend Conley School and was hired during the past school year as a substitute teacher, spoke to the committee during the public forum about the lack of substitutes. She had been an elementary-grade teacher in Newton schools for several years.
Wall said she believes that low wages for substitutes is at the root of why there is a shortage. As she spoke, she was receiving a call to sub, she told the committee, noting that higher wages would lead to a larger more qualified pool of substitutes.
Szymaniak said the district’s goal has been to avoid full remote days as much as possible since August.
Students have been voicing concerns about the technical difficulties and distractions of hybrid learning.
“Coming from a student point of view, hybrid learning is very difficult,” student representative Anna Flynn told the Committee. “It is challenging to stay focused and understand material when there is so many distractions.”
Among the distractions students face are WiFi cut-outs, family members also at home, cell phones and electronic devices. She said her peers have told her that fully remote days are less stressful because everyone is online and teachers are focused on everyone at once in front of them on the computer screen.
“The longer lunch on all-remote days helps students stay focused when they go back to academic classes,” she said. “It has been widely known throughout the student body [has given] negative feedback on the topic of going back to school [on a hybrid schedule Jan. 14] many feel we should be fully remote for a longer period of time due to the concerns about the COVID-19 virus.”
Athletic Director Bob Rodgers admitted that the sports program has faced its struggles during the winter season.
“We’ve advocated that the Patriot League allow our teams to practice, but not play games, and move our games to the Feb. 22 Fall II season,” Rodgers said. He had hopes it could be done at least for the girls because there would be no other sports conflict, and argued the abrupt cancellation of games was upsetting to students.
“I’m a big advocate of the Patriot League bubble,” he said. “I don’t anticipate that we’ll play outside the bubble, however there are some teams in our league — because there are so many teams shut down.”
W-H shuts a team down if even one positive case is found and other team members are asked to get tested, Rodgers said, but other schools have other protocols.
Szymaniak said school officials have also been learning about the pool testing being advocated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). His concerns include the number of people needed to administer the program and he is not certain if W-H will use it. Another concern is whether the communities are large enough to make pool testing an accurate tool.
Szymaniak is also concerned with another message sent by pool tests.
“What we don’t want to do is say, ‘There might be a test for you to come to school and test — we have a pool test — go to school if you have symptoms, and they’ll take care of you,’” he said. “Our parents have been doing an awesome job of contacting the school [when their children have symptoms] and it’s worked out relatively well.”
Staffing has been the main issue when asymptomatic students or staff receive positive tests following close contact with people outside school.
Like Whitman, which is buying rapid tests for staff only at this point, through the fire department for town employees, Szymaniak is looking into costs.
“That’s probably what we are going to do,” he said.
Pool tests are intended for both students and staff, which raises a question about manpower for conducting them.
If a person in the pool tests positive, a backup antigen test would be conducted, but if an additional test is needed due to no positive tests in an antigen follow-up to a positive result in a pool test, Szymaniak is not certain who would have to foot that bill.
Committee member Hillary Kniffen said cost considerations are not compatible with equal access issues surrounding public education.
“Testing is important and it shouldn’t be [that if] you can pay for it, you can get it,” she said.
Szymaniak suggested the Committee send a letter to state officials expressing that concern.
Member Dan Cullity asked about the vaccination plan, but Szymaniak said the state has provided no guidance about teachers yet, but unofficially “on the street” he has heard it may be February or March. It appears, however, that school nurses have been moved up into the first responder category.
Szymaniak said the district is working on the plan for the eventual return to school this academic year if it is safe as well as the plan for returning to school in September.
“April 1 is not a date that is set in stone,” he said. “There’s a lot of what-ifs in there, a lot could change.”
WHITMAN — Interim Town Administrator Lisa Green has resigned from that position as well as from her role as assistant town administrator, effective Feb. 5.
“It’s become apparent to me that there’s no growth opportunity for me here in this town,” Green said, adding she was pursuing a new opportunity. “The town has determined to go in a different direction, and I’ve determined it’s time for me to go in a different direction, as well.”
She thanked residents for giving her the honor of representing them over the past four years.
“It’s been a trip and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” she said.
New Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman starts on Monday, Feb. 8.
“I thought that we had a lot of good work done while you were here,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson thanked her for her work. “I know that you’re going to go places and do good things.”
He was joined by Selectman Chairman Dan Salvucci, who expressed his disappointment but that it was her decision.
“I would like to [express] my feeling of regret that she is leaving, but that’s her choice. She wants to further her career and that’s her choice the way she does it,” said Salvucci.
Green had applied for the town administrator position, for which Lincoln Heineman was hired on Dec. 22.
An update to the COVID policy for town employees means new guidelines for employees pertaining to extended sick leave and travel procedures.
The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 19 voted to replace current protocols with the existing policy, after several procedures and state and local health regulations were incorporated. Bezanson, whose wife is a town employee, abstained.
“The policy is really a compiled policy,” said Counsel Peter Summers. “You had several different policies addressing travel, addressing workplace procedures. This was an attempt to compile everything into one policy, along with some updates based on recent guidance from the state — DPH requirements — as well as review from your emergency personnel and your health personnel in town.”
Salvucci said Police Chief Tim Hanlon had some questions pertaining to emergency situations, as well as when an employee could be released from quarantine, that have been ironed out.
Another question from Union Steward Joanne Wing of OPEIU Local 6 regarding paid administrative leave or extension of leave allowed employees in other towns. The board can address a situation where an employee might run out of sick time on a case-by-case basis, said Selectman Justin Evans. The board had considered postponing action on late adjustments, until Selectmen could take more time to review the changes.
“Nothing here seems earthshattering or that different from what we’re already doing, it’s just codified and written down,” said Evans. “I think it’s prudent to vote this and get it in the hands of our employees.”
Summers said one part does involve procedure following workplace exposure to people who have recently traveled. Close contacts required to quarantine will either be asked to work remotely by their department head or be entitled to additional paid time off.
“I think there’s a difference between someone who is quarantining after close contact vs. someone who is really sick,” Summers said.
Whitman’s COVID-19 numbers are at 148 cases in various stages of quarantine and no new cases among town employees.
“I have not had any reports of any cluster of COVID cases,” Green said.
HANSON — The Board of Selectmen got a glimpse of preliminary fiscal 2022 budget numbers on Tuesday, Jan. 13 — and the picture they paint is not a positive one.
“We’re a little early in the process because this is one of the hardest things we’re going to have to overcome in the next several months,” Selectmen Kenny Mitchell said. “I don’t think it’s a big secret, but we have a shortfall in our up-and-coming budget.”
During the brief budget discussion, Mitchell said the issue would be coming up regularly at Selectmen meetings this winter.
Outside of some numbers not in yet, Selectmen are looking at a shortfall of “around $2 million,” according to Town Administrator John Stanbrook.
Mitchell said his goal is to were to go over the options available to make up the shortfall and, if that is not possible, what town services would be affected.
“I think it’s more of a moderate assumption list of things that could happen,” Stanbrook said. “I think it could get worse, I think it could get worse … but it’s using pretty much every dollar that we have available.”
Saying the town just doesn’t have that kind of money available, Stanbrook said.
Before Thanksgiving, Mitchell and Stanbrook met with Town Accountant Todd Hassett and Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Sullivan and Selectman Matt Dyer on the budget. They met again Friday, Jan. 8.
Hassett said the town is looking toward about $108,000 in tax revenue from newly construction, noting it is still early for state aid numbers to be available, but most of the major lines have been level-funded.
“The state is still very challenged financially,” he said adding the town is looking for the state to approve a level-funded budget by the end of the month.
Local receipts, usually producing about $2 million from motor vehicle excise tax, will not produce a revenue forecast until the first payments come in later this month or in February to permit comparison to past years.
“In terms of a lot of other revenues, a lot of them are running well to our budget, but we’re not seeing a lot of excess,” Hassett said. “We’ve put about $700,000 into this year’s budget with one-time sources.”
Both the transfer station ($107,000) and recreation ($86,000) operations have been subsidized in past budgets and the operating budget was subsidized by $450,000 in free cash at the annual Town Meeting.
In the next year’s budget, the town is expecting to be using about $200,000 in free cash to fund HVAC work at Hanson Middle School. The five-year debt was approved when the town was in a better financial position.
The town has also received about $3 million in capital requests from town departments and the regional school district in a budget that “leaves very little for the town’s capital plan.”
“It’s unlikely that we will be able to move forward with many of these,” Hassett said. “I’m not sure how that will ripple trough over the next few years.”
HANSON — Raising funds toward his Eagle Scout project, TJ Woodward of Hanson — a junior at South Shore Technical High School — hosted a can and bottle drive last weekend at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill parking area.
For several hours on Jan. 9 and despite the bitter chill, his supporters did not disappoint in the first step of fundraising towards his project he has neared his monetary goal to start gathering materials.
His purpose in the venture is to create a parking lot with leveled gravel, a trail kiosk with a map of the trail system to Poor Meadow, which has over 300 acres of town owned land.
Currently the area which abuts Saw Mill Lane and is about 1/8 of a mile from the railroad tracks is marked by a small sign and is a rough, dirt pull off. Having the area accessible and clearly marked will create better opportunities for people to explore nature.
Woodward is planning to complete his Eagle Scout project by June of 2021.
His proposal and approval, through both the town of Hanson and Mayflower Counsel, which oversees the region including his Troop 68 was completed on Oct. 26, 2020.
The beneficiary of the project is Hanson Conservation Commission.
The can drive will aid in funding his materials, and the five plaques highlighting some of the areas in Poor Meadow. He is still developing ideas on that portion of the project, which will be approximately one to two miles of nature trail.
Woodward received many warm wishes from former Scouts and residents who read about his can drive and dropped off large quantities of bottles.
With offers of assistance from several attendees during the can drive Woodward said he was pleased with the fluid crowd who kept socially distant in drive up and drop off style.
“I definitely think it was nice – the turnout we had and donations of bottle and cans. A lot of people mentioned where they saw the event posted and mentioned our signs. They were excited to see that they could drop off their cans, he said.
During the early restrictions of COVID-19 closures recycling center had limited drop offs and hours. People were saving cans and bottles, which TJ benefited from.
As of now the main materials he is looking for are lumber and recycled gravel or recycled asphalt, he said if anyone still wishes to contribute.
In his deciding factors for his Scout project Woodward knew this vicinity needed sprucing up.
“For me I realized it was a great area of opportunity it will provide a great area for the town to use.
Adding a couple more walking trails to enjoy and see all the nature we have in our town,” said Woodward.
WHITMAN — Faced with difficult choice, the Board of Selectmen in a Monday, Jan. 11 meeting, voted to indefinitely pass over closing the warrant and setting the date for a special Town Meeting this month, backing the Board of Health.
Selectman Brian Bezanson was absent.
The decision came after an angry Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, who also serves as the town’s emergency management director, criticized town employees who failed to take COVID-19 seriously and reported to work despite testing positive — and forcing the closure of two town offices.
Interim Town Administrator Lisa Green had prefaced Grenno’s report on the most recent COVID cases in town by saying, “some of them are kind of disturbing.”
“It’s very aggravating right now,” Grenno said in following up an email he had sent the board earlier in the day. “Numbers are on the rise, we’re seeing anywhere from 10 to 20 new cases a day in this community. It is not a hoax, as some people may think it is — it’s real.”
He said that, for a second time in as many weeks a town office had to be shut down, “because an employee went to work sick.” Last week, the collector’s office had to be closed and the DPW office is now closed because of a single employee in each office.
“This board has instructed town employees several times, as far as I know, that if you’re sick — if you don’t feel good, if you have a headache, if you have a sore throat — stay home,” he said. “But for some reason, ignorance plays out, and people just go to work.”
Grenno said he is passionate about the pandemic and asked Selectmen to consider the need to discipline employees who knowingly go to work ill and create a cluster of COVID infections.
“We’re a year into this, it’s not rocket science,” he said.
Grenno spoke of a conversation he had Monday with a DPW superintendent who has been doing everything right — staying away from friends, going on hikes with his wife away from other people and avoiding all other social interactions — yet he now has to quarantine for seven days because a coworker reported to work despite being ill.
“It’s pretty tiring and pretty aggravating, and it’s very irresponsible of the town employees who are doing this,” Grenno said. “They need to be held accountable.”
While Selectman Randy LaMattina said the town’s out-of-state travel policy for town employees needs to be updated, for the time-being that type of travel should not be allowed. He also firmly stands by a 10-day quarantine, mirroring the state’s policy.
Massachusetts has reached the “severe outbreak” status for the first time during the pandemic on Monday, Jan. 11, according to data tracking nonprofit COVID Act Now.
“At this point, this is about minimizing risk, minimizing exposure,” LaMattina said. “There’s acceptable risk, and then there’s some that we don’t have to put ourselves out there for. … The increase we’re seeing is tremendous.”
In fire and law enforcement services, there is now about triple the number of cases than in the spring.
“We can help this problem,” LaMattina said. “Helping the problem is getting strong on the problem, and that’s what we need to do.”
A policy update is expected to be ready for a vote at the next meeting.
COVID vaccinations will begin to be administered to fire crews on Wednesday. Vaccinations for the town’s at-risk population will be set up at Housing Authority and some other sites during the winter and spring, with residents asked to consult their primary care physicians, pharmacies or other sources offerint the vaccine, until the general population is scheduled for a drive-through vaccination effort.
“Even if you’re vaccinated, you may still spread it,” Selectman Dr. Carl Kowalski and Grenno stressed.
Town meeting
COVID considerations were also behind the postponement of the special Town Meeting planned for later this month.
“I do not want to take away from anything on the Town Meeting warrant,” LaMattina said. “I think it’s all necessary. … I oppose having this strictly out of safety concerns.”
But, he noted, the Board of Health does not recommend holding the Town Meeting at this time, stating it is too dangerous for public health.
Selectmen Chairman Daniel Salvucci suggested that, if the DPW thinks to force main issues will not lead to a sewer main break this winter, the issue could go before the May Town Meeting.
“My fear is that we have a major break and we put contaminated material in neighborhoods,” Salvucci said, adding that Brockton may also fine the town.
“We’re talking about a sewer leak as opposed to gathering a group of people together, starting an event that gets several people sick and you have somebody die,” LaMattina said. “There is no life that you can equate to me in dollars.”
DPW Commissioner Kevin Cleary said he would have no issue with a postponement outside the fear of the unknown, and suggested reaching out to state and local conservation officials if there were questions.
“It’s not dealing with the unknown, it’s the risk of the known that I’m worried about,” Kowalski said.
TA contract
The meeting opened with an executive session during which the board conducted a strategy session regard to a three-year contract offered to new Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman. They returned to open session to approve the contract and announce he would begin work on Monday, Feb. 8.
“The salary is consistent with market values,” Kowalski said. “We have gone over all the terms of the contract and voted positively for it in executive session.”
The public vote formalized the approval.
Parents and students in the Whitman-Hanson and South Shore Tech school districts moved to remote plans through Jan. 19 as COVID-19 positivity rates in their member communities have increased over the holidays.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts has reached the “severe outbreak” status for the first during the pandemic on Monday, Jan. 11, according to data tracking nonprofit COVID Act Now.
In Whitman-Hanson, high school students were the only ones in the district moved to remote learning on Jan. 8 with a return to hybrid learning planned on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak announced in an email to parents that was also posted on the district website. Another post on Tuesday announced the school’s cohort B would return to a hybrid schedule Jan. 14.
“Teachers and students will follow the remote schedule that was used on Dec. 21 and 22,” Szymaniak said. “During this time of remote learning, we are also postponing all athletic practices and contests.”
Szymaniak said the district has taken all the steps necessary to reduce the chance of this situation occurring.
“We continue to adhere to DPH and DESE protocols, and while we have seen a significant increase in the number of cases in our town and within the school community, there have only been a few select cases that we determined to have been transmitted in the school community,” he said. “Nonetheless, the numbers documented are concerning and out of caution, I feel this is the correct step to take for the health and safety of our students and staff.”
SST Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said the vocational high school is making a “slight adjustment” for the students on the academic week for the 14-day post-vacation window.
“I anticipate a return to a regular hybrid schedule during the week of Jan. 19,” Hickey said, noting he had advised parents on Facebook.
On Friday, Jan. 8, Gov. Baker said the Commonwealth will make weekly COVID-19 pool testing available to all schools and districts within the next month. The method is aimed at providing more safeguards to stop the spread of COVID while also giving school officials more knowledge about what is happening in buildings every day, he said.
Pool testing permits the review of up to 20 swabs at a time, state officials said. Salem, Watertown and Medford districts have already begun using pool testing with encouraging results, according to DESE Commissioner Jeff Riley.
“This is something people have been working on for months,” Baker said. “The data around this is clear, that in-person learning is essential to kids’ education, developmental and emotional well-being, and we’ve shown we can control the spread of the virus in classrooms when the right steps are in place.”
Detailed guidelines for the state’s approach were developed in June 2020 by medical experts and endorsed by the Mass. Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to support safe, in-person learning for all students. The commonwealth has also invested more than $1 billion to cover COVID-related expenses for schools, Baker said.
“Children, and especially high-needs children, have borne the brunt of this terrible virus as their lives, routines and educations have been upended,” Baker said.
Student achievement
Students and parents across the country, meanwhile, have begun turning to social media to lament about educational setbacks in remote and hybrid learning models, which Hickey admits is a concern.
“It is a challenge,” Hickey said. “But we’re meeting the challenge by teachers being very patient and flexible, and administratively and with our guidance staff, we’re also trying to provide some wrap-around support.”
Toward that end, SST is holding what they are calling a Saturday School on Jan. 16 to provide in-person help to catch up, if needed, in a socially distanced setting. Teachers also meet remotely with students for extra help during before and after school hours.
While SST’s in-person start times are staggered, starting at 9 a.m. on academic days, which permits teachers to meet with students between 7:40 a.m. and 9, to see a specific teacher or report to the lecture hall on remote days if they require some structure and routine even if they do not need extra help.
“We are in regular contact with all of the kids, whether they’re fully remote, or otherwise,” Hickey said.
Meanwhile, Hickey said SST is working on scheduling models for next year that will take every contingency into consideration.
“For us, one of the biggest indicators that I’ll be looking for is will the state and public health officials relax the transportation guidelnes,” he said. “If I can’t put more than 23 kids on a bus, I will be forced to continue the staggered schedule that we have.”
That and easing the social distancing regulations for lunches would be needed to allow a return to a “normal” schedule, according to Hickey.
“We will continue our partnership with the boards of health in Whitman and Hanson and monitor the cases for a safe return to school,” Szymaniak stated. “If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office at 781-618-7412.”