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An early look at school budget

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Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak presented a proposed draft version of the fiscal 2020 regional school budget to the School Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at a meeting attended by town officials, state Rep. Josh Cutler, department heads and residents from Whitman and Hanson.

“We thought it prudent to get into the budget, and discuss where we are with the budget,” said School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “As you know, our budget is a lot dependent on what happens with the governor’s budget, so these numbers are preliminary off the history we’ve taken over the last [seven] years.”

Hayes said the intent was to give select boards and finance committees an early indication of what the schools’ numbers might be, with a budget discussion planned for every School Committee meeting until the May town meetings.

“It will give the towns the opportunity to see what the budgets of the departments are, where we’re going, how we’re going to get there and how we can possibly make it all work,” Hayes said.

The official school budget will be rolled out in February.

“I just wanted to apologize and take ownership if I have misled anybody in the process of this budget,” Szymaniak said, noting he had planned to give the finance committees the first look at it, after internal talks began in November. “Nothing formal has come out.”

He and district Business Services Director Christine Suckow had met with a budget working group over the fall to develop a capital plan for the next five years. He presented the budget numbers to the Whitman Finance Committee Tuesday, Dec. 18, despite some social media claims that it had already been discussed.

Szymaniak stressed he would not have done that before presenting even preliminary numbers to the School Committee.

“They represent their folks in the communities,” Szymaniak said of the department heads and town officials attending. “I represent the kids and the 600-plus employees here. I want to do my best for them.”

The budget at this point — and Szymaniak also stressed its preliminary status — is $53,457,929 [See site-based breakdown at top right]. That represents $2,934,748 over current budget of $50,523,181 for a level-service budget. Szymaniak said the preliminary numbers do not include revenues.

“This is a discussion,” he said. “This isn’t our formal presentation to the community.”

A budget book will be presented to town officials and the community in February, but the rough numbers provide information on the issues the schools are facing.

“We get Cadillacs for Chevys [price-tag],” Szymaniak said of teacher and administrator salaries. “But we won’t be able to maintain that if we’re not successful in a level-service budget next year. I will need to go back and do some damage to the good things and the positive things that we’ve done.”

Szymaniak ran through each school’s site-based expenses, especially utilities, custodial, transportation, phone and trash fees as well as district technology, facilities, debt, tuitions and special education and administrative costs.

Also included in technology services — at $1,371,365 — are salaries, contracted services, equipment maintenance and replacement, supplies and travel. Facilities costs — at $1,498,591 — include salaries, snow removal, contracted services, supplies, building and equipment maintenance, emergency repairs, fuel/oil, gas, police details and overtime.

Special education costs — at $6,177,353 are up by $750,000 from fiscal 2019 and include tutoring services, administrative support salaries, supplies, summer materials, travel, contracted services, legal costs, out-of-district placements and summer salaries.

Administration costs — at $4,103,043 — include central office salaries, School Committee expenses, supplies, legal costs, principals’ salaries, curriculum directors’ salaries, photocopying costs, contracted services and instructional materials.

Insurance — $8,171,802 —and debt — $890,938 —are also included in debt calculations.

“These are rough numbers, but I wanted people … to understand where we are,” Szymaniak said. “We are not adding any programs. What [Assistant Superintendent] George [Ferro] and I have done is restructuring things that we currently have and renegotiating … which might make some funds available to add programs out of the current level-service budget. We’re not adding people, we’re restructuring positions to potentially add services that are needed in the elementary schools.”

The district employs 664 staff members, including daily substitute teachers. There are 3,823 students enrolled in W-H, ages 3 to 22.

Ferro noted that the district is “on the hook for 100-percent of transportation costs” of students educated by out-of-district placements in special education programs.

School Committee member Fred Small agreed that the district is obligated to pay those transportation costs.

“I think the one key that’s missing, obviously, is to fine-tune what the revenue side is going to look like,” Small said.

Transparency

While he agreed that some people object to the level of administrative salaries, Szymaniak ($164,532 to increase to $168,645) said he and Ferro are transparent about their pay, which he said is in line with the rest of the state, excluding areas of western Massachusetts, where the cost of living is lower.

“Whatever you need to know, you just have to ask a question,” Szymaniak said, noting he is always available to answer resident’s questions on the phone or in-person at his office or even a local coffee shop. He will not discuss budget issues on social media, he said.

“I will not answer questions on Facebook,” he said. “I can’t win.”

Hayes reminded residents that the annual reports of both towns list salaries of all School Department employees.

“There is nothing hidden in this budget,” Hayes said. “This is a large operation for both towns to run and it gets expensive.”

Per-pupil expenditures in W-H, as of last week’s figures from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, show the district spends  $12,175.19 compared to a state average of $15,449.62.

W-H gets a bit less than 50 percent of its budget from the state.

Cutler discussed the state revenue picture with the School Committee.

The legislature has already begun its budget process with the consensus revenue hearing last week, Cutler said. Revenue growth for fiscal 2018 was stronger than previous years and fiscal 2019 is so far 4.1 percent over benchmarks, with potential for upsides, as surpluses are now called. For fiscal 2020, predictions are in the range for a $29.2 to $29.38 billion, or an increase of 2.9 or 3.5 percent, including a reduction in state income tax.

“On the economy, generally speaking, if I were a meteorologist I’d classify as it as mostly sunny with a chance of showers,” he said. “They were careful not to talk about the word recession — nobody wants to talk about that word —they did stress this kind of growth can’t continue, it’s not sustainable.”

Cutler said a recession is not forecast for 2020, but a slowdown is not ruled out.

Unfunded mandates

School Committee member Christopher Howard asked if Szymaniak could quantify all the unfunded mandates facing the district. Small suggested the under-funded mandates be included in that list as well as areas where revenues can be increased.

“What I would like to see our state do, somehow, is tie up our Chapter 70 money to a percentage,” he said. “Instead of a $20 to $25 increase per pupil, if the gave us a 2 or 2 ½-percent increase … I think we could solve a very large problem.” Increased state reimbursement for regional transportation, circuit-breaker funds and homeless transportation are the areas he cited were local representatives to the General Court could advocate for the district, according to Small.

The average cost to run W-H buses every day is $8,811.64, according to Szymaniak.

“The push-back that I hear at the state level in terms of the regional school transportation issue is they don’t want to give 100 percent,” Cutler said. “They feel if they do that, town’s don’t have skin in the game.”

Small countered that the district has skin in the game, having changed starting times on bus routes to save money and made efforts to obtain a better contract.

“Lack of competition when you go out to bid on a busing contract is really, really a big problem,” he said.

Learning the ropes in retail

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By Brooke Loring
WHRHS Student Intern

The WHRHS store, The Panther’s Den, has been doing extremely well during this holiday season. Teacher and overseer of the store, Brian Maiorino, says that a large part of the store’s success is because of the class connected to it.

Maiorino refers to Visual Merchandising, a class that has been available to students, at the high school, for two years now. Maiorino co-teaches the class alongside Visual Arts teacher Marcus Casey.

The class is the only co-taught general education class at the school, which combines retail and design.

“We are both creative, and like to think outside the box”, states Maiorino, “The perfect business partner has strengths that are your weaknesses, and weaknesses that are your strengths.” They both admit, however, that at times co-teaching can be difficult, “Finding common planning time for both of us is sometimes hard to do, and every assignment must be linked to one of our specific areas.”

Despite the difficulties, the class is very successful, and contains almost 50 students.

“We realized both of our classes (Photography II and Retail) were missing a hands-on approach”, said Maiorino. The store and the creation of the class, ultimately became the solution. The class is directly linked to the Panther’s Den, and allows students to design, select, and market products to the school community, “It is a very student-driven program”, states Maiorino. The class is currently working on a rewards program, and recently finished designing advertisements for new winter products.

“We are very fortunate to have an administration that supports us, and our ideas, to grow the related arts program in the school,” he said.

As a student of the class, this writer finds it interesting to see how important marketing strategies are for selling a product. I have also never experienced a class that is so much influenced by students. When we create designs of products and advertisements, the whole class votes on what we eventually choose, which allows everyone to be able to contribute. It is also cool to see the designs and advertisements we make around the school. Plus, being a part of the class has its perks, like a 10-percent discount.   

Roofer faces more charges in area

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WAREHAM — Matthew Will, 37, of Halifax, owner of Five Star Discount Roofing, was in Wareham District Court Friday, Dec. 7, facing six larceny-related charges stemming from two Middleborough Police Department complaints alleging he took deposits by check for roofing and household contract work from six residents of the Oak Point 55-plus community in Middleborough, cashed the checks but did not start or complete the work as promised.

Will faces similar charges in Plymouth District Court, stemming from Kingston and Hanson allegations.

These charges are in addition to a long list of others, including a separate case also stemming from alleged crimes at the Oak Point community, in which Will is facing 15 counts of larceny over $250 by false pretense. A pre-trial conference was conducted on that case after the arraignments on the latest charges.

Judge Douglas J. Darnbrough presided over the proceedings, to which Will had been summonsed. His Plymouth-based attorney, Jack Atwood, pled not guilty on his behalf. At one point, Will attempted to address the judge, but Atwood stopped him from speaking, bellowing “Be quiet!”

Police and court reports paint a picture of a once reputable roofer unable or unwilling to keep up with the amount of work he had committed to, and the Middleborough Building Inspector, Robert Whalen, alerting police to complaints about Will while continuing to issue building permits despite warnings from Oak Point residents.

Whalen, in a phone interview Dec. 10, stated that disputes between contractors and homeowners are outside of his jurisdiction, but that in an effort to protect the community, he contacted Detective Simonne Ryder, of the Middleborough Police, regarding Will when Whalen had received about ten complaints.

As of press time, Will is facing a total of one count of larceny over $1,200 by false pretense, two counts of larceny over $1,200, 19 counts of larceny over $250 by false pretense, one count of larceny under $250 by false pretense and one count of forgery of a document.

There are 23 area households in three communities claiming they have been victimized to date, who have lost a combined $153,197.34 in monies given for work not done, with individual losses ranging from $695 to $15,569. Most of these victims are over age 55, and many are quite elderly, according to police reports. The alleged victim who lost the most money is 78 years old.

Grievances against Will date back to at least 2017, according to public records. But by late May, 2018, enough residents from Oak Point had lodged complaints to catch the attention of the building inspector, Whalen, at which time authorities noticed Will’s insurance and building licenses had expired, according to police reports.

The detective opened a weeks-long investigation into Will on May 22, but police took no action on the inquiry until early August, by which time the number of alleged victims had grown and multiple police departments were investigating Will.

The report also stated that the building inspector was dealing with the issue, personally inspecting jobs and warning residents not to give 100 percent deposits as some residents had been doing.

Some residents were attempting to sue Will in small claims court for their losses, while the investigation was in-process.

The building department was giving Will five licenses at a time because he said that he had 30 open jobs in Oak Point, records say. The report states that he was only able to complete a handful of those jobs over the course of a few weeks and had effectively disappeared by Aug. 1, 2018.

Between June 21, and the day before Ryder’s first complaint was written on Aug. 2, there is no record of any follow-up by the detective on the matter in court files. The alleged victim in Kingston hired Will on July 15, and the alleged victim in Hanson hired him on July 31.

Whalen said that he reported Will to the Southeastern Massachusetts Building Association, which should have notified other local building inspectors about Will, according to Whalen.

He will next be in Plymouth District Court on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 9 a.m. for two pre-trial hearings. The three Wareham District Court cases have been continued to March 4, 2019, at 9 a.m. as well for pre-trial hearings.

Will cannot be reached by phone or email and the investigation in Middleborough is ongoing, police said.

Regional 911 costs increase

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 4 approved an increase in the cost of the inter-municipal agreement for fire dispatch services. The Selectmen declined, however, to support a process by which the town could seek home rule legislation to increase the number of All Alcohol Package Goods Store Liquor licenses permitted in town.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the current fire dispatch agreement with Holbrook provides 911 primary answering service as well as Fire Department answering and dispatch. Holbrook is moving toward a major upgrade of their facility and systems, resulting in a request for more financial support from member towns.

“I was a little taken aback by the first proposal,” he said of an initial request for a 25-percent increase. “[Fire Chief Timothy Grenno] did go back to Holbrook to have a discussion on it.”

That led to a gradual increase of 10 percent in fiscal 2020, 16 percent in fiscal 2021 and 14 percent in fiscal 2022. That would increase the current assessment of $54,000 to $80,000 at the end of the three years, subject to funding at Town Meeting.

A civilian dispatch system for 911 services would be “the wrong side” of $250,000, Lynam said they were told at a conference on dispatch services several years ago.

“The need to have coverage for fire is really essential, because once two calls are out there’s nobody left in the station,” Lynam said. Holbrook takes the calls, analyzes them and dispatches servies.

Grenno said the new facility in Holbrook is largely funded by a $4 million grant from state 911, but increased operational costs were also expected.

“They are planning ahead,” Grenno said. A return to town dispatch would take a firefighter off the floor each shift and onto the dispatch desk and cost the town more than $300,000 per year in firefighter salaries.

The decision came with an eye to the town’s bottom line as officials grapple with costs of the budget in general.

“We’re going to develop a budget that’s sound for the town and the schools, and we’re going to present the arguments for why that budget is needed — and it will be tied to an override, because there’s no way the levy can support it,” Lynam said. “We also have to be prepared at that point, if the answer is no, to work with a small budget.”

The Selectmen were invited to the Wednesday, Dec. 12 School Committee meeting to discuss that issue. The School Committee has asked for guidance from the towns as they develop that spending plan.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said he had recently spoken with a School Committee member who stressed the schools are only seeking a level-service budget, which Kowalski said is reasonable.

“But then, if you think of every other department … they would like to have a level-service budget this year, too, but they’re all being told to anticipate maybe a 3-percent or 6-percent cut in their budget,” Kowalski said. “So it’s not a enjoyable year to have.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson said the work being done doesn’t mean much until the citizens have the final say.

Kowalski said a pre-Town Meeting should be held, to which the voters would be invited and officials could explain their budget needs and options the town has.

“We are purveyors of information,” Bezanson said. “They decide what dollars get spent and where they get spent and sometimes we forget that.”

Kowalski said the community assessment survey being conducted with Bridgewater State University will give the town a clue about how voters are thinking.

Lynam indicated that the project has resulted in 576 online responses and 150 or more paper surveys waiting to be reviewed as of Dec. 4.

“I suspect we’re going to see more because I got my survey in the mail on Monday [Dec. 3],” Lynam said, forecasting that a total of between 1,000 and 1,500 surveys could be completed. “They were apparently divided up over time.”

He said he has seen posts on Facebook to the effect that the town is looking for validation for the need to increase revenue, and said he does not think that is the case.

“I think it was a very objective, structured survey that really asks what people think,” Lynam said. “It’s going to help us with [planning for] the long term.”

Alcohol licenses

Selectmen voted 3 to 2 not to consider the request of Dinesh Kumar Patel, of  DJ’s Country Store at 535 Plymouth St., for an additional All Alcohol Package Goods Store Liquor license in town.

Previous DJ’s co-owner Joel Richmond spoke for Patel at the meeting, noting that Patel has 30 years’ experience in the package store business, owning stores in Quincy and Canton.

“It’s a matter of competing and staying effective in the marketplace as small businesses,” he said of Patel’s request, noting DJ’s would be the only package store on that side of town.

Current licensees are located on Temple Street and on South Avenue.

“This is a license we don’t currently have the authority to issue yet,” Lynam said of Patel’s request. “Each community is limited by population as to how many licenses they can offer.”

Whitman is permitted 15 Section 12 licenses (on-premise consumption), three off-premise licenses and five package store licenses. Additional licenses must be approved by Selectmen as in the interest of the town and how many more the town would ask for, Town Meeting and Town Election approval, and home rule legislation in the General Court.

“The other question we have to ask is where that leaves us as a community,” Lynam said. There are three requests, including Patel’s, for package store licenses, he noted.

“The question out there is, ‘Is there a need for an additional package store?’” said Selectman Scott Lambiase. He and selectmen Randy LaMattina and Kowalski did not think there was such a need. Selectmen Dan Salvucci and Bezanson were willing to leave a decision on that to Town Meeting.

Inaction at JJ’s angers board

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen has lost patience with JJ’s Pub owner Patricia Harrison on her continued failure to meet court-ordered Dec. 15 clean-up deadline regarding debris from the July 5 fire that destroyed the building.

Selectmen authorized Town Administrator Michael McCue to give Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff the green light to go back to court on Monday, Dec. 17 to seek enforcement of the clean-up order until it is cleaned or the property is sold to someone who will clean it up.

“From what we’re hearing, the property is under agreement,” McCue said during the Tuesday, Dec. 11 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. “I don’t disagree with this board [that] we want to see something in writing, but all that being said, it’s my strong opinion, along with the Building Commissioner [and] town counsel … that it’s not going to be cleaned up — and we’re not entirely sure that the new person who is supposedly buying this property is going to clean it up.”

Feodoroff recommended that Selectmen authorize her to go into court Monday, but was not necessarily seeking that OK yet, as she was trying to reach the potential buyer’s attorney to determine their real intentions.

“If there really is a buyer, that buyer is going to want to clean it up” McCue said, suggesting he come back with more information at the Tuesday, Dec. 18 with Feodoroff ready to go to court Dec. 19, if necessary.

McCue had argued against wasting more time and money going back to court against the current owner, and waiting until it can be determined if the property has been sold.

Selectmen were not feeling as lenient.

“We can’t control that, and I think this board has voted enough on that,” said Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell. “If it’s not cleaned up on the 15th, send [Feodoroff] to court on Monday morning. If the property’s conveyed to a new owner, then we deal with that.”

Mitchell said that would not be a bad idea in any case, because a new owner would likely clean it up. He said the board was behind “Whatever it takes to get the damn fence up” or the debris cleared.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed.

“Let’s get on with it already,” she said.

She said residents are fed up with the continued presence of the pile of burned debris at the site.

“You’re saying all the hearings and [court] orders and everything else that we’ve had with the current owner are going to be right out the window if that property is sold to somebody else,” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked McCue. “We’re going to have to start all over again?”

McCue said that would be the case if the property changes hands.

“How do we know if it’s in the process of changing hands right now?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” he replied. “Through the Building Inspector, we have it on rather good authority that it is going to be sold and I can’t confirm that.”

Mitchell said Harrison’s lawyer sat in a Selectmen’s meeting in October, saying the property was going to be  conveyed.

“I want Kate in court at 8:30 a.m. on the 17th,” he said. “We don’t want to talk about it anymore. Keep moving forward until somebody can bring me a deed that’s conveyed with a new owner. Then we can stop.”

McCue said a vote authorizing court action is required each time the property owner fails to comply with a previous order.

Sewer district

In other business, Selectmen voted to authorize McCue to explore a potential sewer district along Main Street (Route 27) in South Hanson with the city of Brockton and other state and local entities.

McCue has already attended one meeting with legislators and area officials “to start the conversation.” FitzGerald-Kemmett had also raised the issue at a recent meeting of the Old Colony Planning Commission (OCPC), McCue noted. OCPC indicated they would be willing to assist with evaluations and other groundwork, but the town will have to apply for a technical services grant.

“I think we’ve reached the point where, not only do I want the board’s support in going forward with requesting this grant — which we will get — but I want the board to, on a more official level, support the exploration,” McCue said. “You’re not making a commitment to go forward with a sewer district, but it is a rather massive undertaking.”

Brockton and Whitman — for carrying costs through Whitman’s system — are among the area communities involved, along with state legislators and other state government officials.

“I think it’s an extremely worthwhile endeavor in moving forward our vision for that particular stretch of road in South Hanson,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she has also talked with state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, and state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and OCPC to find out what they can do collectively to help.

“There’s a lot of hurdles, we’re not looking to bankrupt the town of Hanson to do this project — so it’s all about state funding, grants — and because it’s contiguous to a lot of very important bodies of water, and I have reason to believe that there might be some grant money and then we can talk about how the rest of this project could be funded,” she said. “This is just a preliminary discussion.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that, while the issue has been raised before, Brockton had not been open to allowing new connections in the past but are now revisiting it.

“Brockton has had the capacity,” McCue agreed. “They’ve had a great deal of capacity for years, but for whatever reason … wouldn’t allow any hookups.”

Maquan reuse

Selectmen also approved a request for proposals on the reuse of Maquan School. Survey responses from residents overwhelmingly favored use of the building for a community/senior center, but the Reuse Committee is not opposed to leasing at least part of the land or other underused properties in town.

“People want us to keep some playing fields there and they would like that community center/senior center,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We keep hearing the middle school-aged kids have got nowhere to go … they’re getting into trouble, and I think with the opioid epidemic and all the other dangers out there, we can’t really risk having nowhere for them to go.”

The library has already begun studies on expanding at their existing space, but the Senior Center officials have expressed interest in using a portion of Maquan.

Taking a plunge for school technology

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By Brooke Loring
WHRHS Student Intern

HANSON — On Sunday, Jan. 27, the Hanson PTO hopes members of the community will be “taking the plunge” at Cranberry Cove, within Camp Kiwanee, to raise funds for the students of Indian Head School. Funds will specifically go towards technology needs, enrichment activities, a sound system for school-wide assemblies to strengthen a positive school culture and community, as well as other requests from teachers and staff.

In the event of inclement weather, the event will be held Sunday, Feb. 3. The plunge takes place at 10 a.m.

Melissa Valachovic, a member of the Hanson PTO, coordinated the event in hopes of encouraging members of the community to participate.

“We are fortunate enough to have Cranberry Cove here in town and I thought that using that site for a Polar Plunge would be a unique opportunity for an event, and it might be something others in the community would be interested in doing as well, especially right here in town”, Valachovic said about the chosen location of the event.

Hanson’s new Recreation Director, Josh Wolfe was all for Valachovic’s idea and immediately met with the Fire Department, Highway Department, and Police Department, who were also glad to support such an event, he said. The Fire Department will also be present to break the ice and in preparation of the event. This first-time event, will be a perfect addition to help bring necessary support to Indian Head, as well as bring the community together in a unique and fun experience. Many members of the community have already registered to jump in, including Chairman of the Whitman-Hanson School Committee Bob Hayes, Indian Head Assistant Principal Jennifer Costa, Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak, as well as the entire Hanson Board of Selectmen.

“The hope is to create an event that brings people from all walks of life, here in town, to support our youngest citizens and it seems to be doing that so far; so essentially bringing our community together,” Valachovic stated.

Each participant is asked to raise a minimum of $35 through donations on their behalf. Each jumper, upon registration, will be set up with a personal fundraising website. All participants must be 18 years of age or older, and will be asked to sign a liability waiver before the Plunge. Those registering before Dec. 10 receive a complimentary towel.

To register visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cranberry-cove-polar-plunge-2019-tickets-51407709844?aff=ebdssbdestsearch.

Stuffing a cruiser for kids

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WHITMAN — The Whitman Area Toy Drive, along with Whitman Police, hosted a collaborative effort to  Stuff A Cruiser on Sunday, in honor of Sgt. Michael Chesna, a Weymouth police officer killed in the line of duty this year.

Toy Drive Co-organizer Donnie Westhaver shook his head in disbelief over the expansion and success of the annual event. He looked over the 50 plus rows of eight-foot tables and his eyes filled with tears.

“I could not have imagined this 18 years ago. We started with just two tables,” he said.

Jane Plasse co-organizer called the event a huge success.

“What an amazing day! We couldn’t ask for a better day except the weather,” she said. “The community was awesome bringing so many donations for the Whitman Area Toy Drive in honor of Sgt. Michael Chesna. I was so glad to have met his entire family. What a great tribute.”

Jason Ho of Needham came down to the event after seeing a flyer on Facebook.

“I have a full time job and I can afford to help others now,” he said. “It was something I saw that was shared through my car club. I wanted to make a donation.”

Santa was waiting to talk with the children as families dropped items off to stuff the cruiser. He asked many what they might like for Christmas. A joyful face of a child was clearly reason to smile as emotions surfaced for some of  the volunteers and family members of Sgt Chesna, who took photos and thanked those who donated.

Grace Eezepik, 2 1/2, of Whitman was learning about generosity in giving to others. In the rain she carried a toy donation wearing her raincoat, boots and a smirk.

She walked with purpose, dropped off her gift on the back of the police cruiser and promptly told Santa  she would talk to him from across the room but would not be taking a picture with him. Evoking laughter from the gathering of adults it was a stark reminder of why they do what they do each year — simply for the innocence of the children.

Westhaver described the Whitman Area Toy Drive as a one-stop-shopping event as families in need do get whatever they need in age appropriate toys, along with wrapping paper, tape and — if needed — even a Christmas tree.

There are approximately 10 people who assist with the toy drive at its busiest time but volunteers of up to twenty five people have come in from various groups to offer a hand.

The ages of 10-15 can be considered the tween-age in which gift cards are usually given, he said.

He also gently reminds givers that you cannot eat a toy. Often time someone would like to make a donation in the form of money- we do assist with providing a holiday meal gift card to the local a grocery store in some situations, he added.

“We have created a bond between Whitman Area Toy Drive the Chesna family along with Whitman police,” said Westhaver.

Cindy Chesna widow of Michael Chesna spoke about supporting the event in the future, according to organizers. She emphasized the family was really pleased about the upcoming collaboration of future events, Westhaver said.

The event tally was astounding after all of the collections were completed organizers counted 35 to 40 gallon trash  bags at maximum capacity of toys.

For information on assistance or donations for the Whitman Area Toy Drive Donnie Westhaver’s email is west151@aol.com or call 781-447-6883. Voice messages will be returned.

Jane Plasse can be contacted at jep6363@comcast.net along with her cell 781-953-0642.

A hero’s welcome home

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WHITMAN — When 14-year-old Mason Giove returned home from two months at Children’s Hospital for brain cancer surgery, and a subsequent stint at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, his family was aware a police escort was in the works — but the procession that wound from the Whitman Police Station to their Beaver Street home Friday, Nov. 30 was a surprise.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Mason said of the welcome.

“I think it just all came together really quick, like overnight,” his father Mark Giove said, noting that some of their friends are police officers. “I imagine everyone [looking on in town] was wondering, ‘What the heck is going on?’ It caught us off guard, too.”

Mark Giove said he was told to stop by the Police Station for an escort home. He envisioned one or two cruisers, perhaps. The escort had started in Weymouth with a motorcycle officer, but along the way, more and more began to fall in line.

The Gioves were not expecting what Mark Giove termed the “hero’s welcome” Mason received on Friday, as that escort included Whitman and Plymouth County BCI and Whitman Fire Department vehicles while dozens of community members lined the sidewalk along Whitman Park to cheer for him. Purple and yellow balloons — yellow is symbolic for the fight against pediatric cancer — were placed along the park.

“The community has been very, very supportive of us,” Mark Giove said Saturday, Dec. 1 as his four children, including twins Louden and Lawson and daughter Mattea, enjoyed a pajama morning on the living room sofa. Laura Giove is a stay-at-home mom.
It’s been amazing,” Mark Giove said. “We’ve had people cooking meals for us — they set up a meal train website and people just went online and started to pick dates.”

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, meals have been left in a cooler in front of a blue and yellow sign that reads: “Mason’s Army” on the Giove’s front steps.

Mason has been battling a “low-grade brain tumor” for almost 14 years. A freshman at WHRHS, Mason has attended Whitman public schools the whole time.

“It’s always been taken care of with chemotherapy … and kind of keep it at bay and we monitor it with MRIs and everything has always been like that for all this time,” said Mark Giove, an orthopedic surgical nurse at BID Plymouth. “Unfortunately, recently it grew a cyst in his brain stem area.”

He said the community support has made the last couple of months easier.

“We haven’t been together as a family in two months,” Mark Giove said. Mason said being in the hospital for that period was frustrating.

“For about three weeks, every day he’s been saying, ‘I want to go home,” Mark Giove said. Mason had been due to come home from Spaulding on Nov. 7, but the return of symptoms required additional surgery.

Selectmen lauded the outpouring of support in the community.

“The display this town put out for him” was overwhelming, Selectman Randy LaMattina said with a catch in his voice at Tuesday’s meeing. “I want to thank every member of this town … I want to thank the police and fire and sheriff’s departments and every town organization that brought this warrior home — and he really is a warrior.”

LaMattina said the town’s coming togther in support of Mason was equally as impressive as his courage.

The case for fire services

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WHITMAN — While town officials prepare the fiscal 2020 budget, resident Shawn Kain has advocated a more transparent document outlining the needs behind various funding requests.

Selectmen got a glimpse of how that might look in Fire Chief Timothy Grenno’s departmental report, which focused on how budget cuts might affect fire and EMT services in town.

Selectmen are also advocating a pre-Town Meeting, perhaps in March, to help explain the budgetary needs facing the town.

“This is the kind of document that, kind of, Shawn wants to have,” said Selectman Randy LaMattina. “As the chief was speaking, I’m thinking to myself, if this had a fixed asset list and a little bit of Article 2 numbers on it, then our Fire Department [report] is complete. The taxpayer’s going to be able to make an educated decision based off this.”

He said it may be the kind of document that all other departments should produce and, “with that, the budget document falls into place.”

Selecman Brian Bezanson said he did not think the board had ever been supplied that kind of comprehensive information before.

Grenno’s report was sobering.

“It has taken 10 years to get to where we are with six members per shift — shift staffing is what it’s all about — maintaining six people per shift gives this community the service that they demand,” Grenno said of his current budget outlook. “Anything less than what I have requested for fiscal 2020, will not be level-budgeted, but with contractual obligations, is a detriment to the fire service and the public safety in Whitman.”

Grenno forwarded his report to Selectmen, including a cost justification study. As of the Nov. 27 writing of his report, Grenno said the department had responded to 2,249 emergency calls in 2018 — 58.7 percent for EMS and 41.3 percent for fires — illustrating that the shift had gone from all fires in the 1960s to mostly EMS by the 1990s when the difference began to even out by the 2000s.

“Those numbers justify what we’re doing every day,” he said. “That type of call volume demands the level of service that we’re currently providing.”

The three firefighters added in 2016 marked the first addition of staffing to the department since it went full time in 1965, according to Grenno. Fire-based ambulance had been added in 1973 with no addition to staffing.

“It’s a document that we need this year, obviously we need it,” said Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, apologizing that he had not yet had the chance to study the report.

On a positive note, the number of overdoses responded to by the Fire Department is down to 29, from more than 40 last year. Grenno said the availability of Narcan may be helping some people treat family members or friends without calling 911. He did caution that Narcan is short-acting and one dose is often not enough to counteract some of the opiate drugs out there.

“So the overdoes we are seeing are very significant,” he said.

Key points of Grennos’ cost justification study were:

• A second ambulance is “saving a significant amount of critical patients” who would be at risk without it. “Without staffing, these patients, who would have had to wait an excess of 10 or 15 minutes for an outside ambulance, it would have been fatal to them,” Grenno said.

• Grants are a significant revenue source, including a $6,500 SAFE grant, which funds fire education in the schools. A grant for a bit more than $230,000 replaced outdated self-contained breathing apparatus. Grenno has also applied for a $35,000 grant to replace the generator system at the fire station.

• A budget cut of between 3 and 6 percent would have a “significant impact” on services, according to Grenno, who has asked the Finance Committee for the number they predict will be available to the Fire Department before he provides a specific impact statement.

Feeling the cuts

Fiscal 2020, begins the third year of a collective bargaining agreement that would put the deputy chief on days and add new OSHA regulations, which go into effect in February 2019, under his responsibility.

“We need $300,000 just to make our building OSHA-compliant,” Grenno said. “We’ve got a lot of problems facing us down the road.”

A 3-percent reduction of $3,737,895 would eliminate that position, keeping it on shift. It also “pulls the Fire Department back 10 years from where we are today,” Grenno said, eliminating any small services for the community, including touch-a-truck events for fundraisers, banners and other events.

The IT position, which includes reporting software for providing data to the state, as well as building the database of critical information to firefighters in the field through the dispatch system, would also be eliminated. Light maintenance would also be cut from the budget under a 3-percent reduction, with out-sourced repairs costing about $260-$300 per hour.

Storm coverage would have to be eliminated, as well, Grenno said. Instead of up-staffing at a cost of between $30,000 and $40,000 to respond to downed trees and power lines as they happen, calls will be prioritized and stacked as they come in.

“When we get there, we get there,” he said.

The two-member call department would be eliminated and reduce training officer availability to eight hours per month. The EMS officer would be reduced to 20 hours per month, where Grenno had planned to negotiate placing that officer on days in a supervisory role.

“That will threaten our certification, quite frankly,” Grenno said. Call-back and overtime would also have to be reduced, risking an empty station at times.

Budget document

Kain, a former member of the Finance Committee, had kicked off the meeting with a request for an update on progress toward a capital plan and budget document during the public forum.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the process is underway, but staffing shortages affect it. The town has received grants for both the budget model and capital planning. The Collins Center at UMass has presented a proposal and two others are being looked at for a capital plan, but all are telling the town they are looking at about three months of work.

That will be done parallel to the current process in order to complete the budget.

“Having a professional budget document is excellent, but something for the public to analyze as this process continues will be extremely helpful,” Kain said, noting that Article 2 is helpful for people who know what they are looking at, but that it is not detailed or user-friendly.

Lynam said a general outline is not yet available but that Article 2 is detailed, but that a format with historical background will take more time and argued the public has been well informed of the budget cost, increasing percentage of debt and school budget impact.

“What we have are departments projecting what would happen if the budget is cut 3 percent or if the budget is cut 6 percent,” he said. “I stated at our last meeting, I don’t think that is the approach we should be taking. We should be building parallel budgets — one with cuts and one that will identify what we need to seek in additional funding to make that work.”

Minor fire causes morning Commuter Rail delay

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HANSON — No injuries were reported as Thursday morning’s commute along the MBTA Kingston line was delayed following a confirmed fire inside an engine compartment at the Hanson station.

The fire was in a small, contained area and passengers were evacuated as a precaution, according to Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr.

Keolis spokesman Tory Mazzola commented on the incident for the MBTA later in the day.

“There was a mechanical issue in the turbocharger engine of the locomotive, which can cause smoke and in some cases a small fire. The fire department was called as a precautionary measure and alternative service for passengers was provided,” Mazzola stated. “At no time were passengers at risk and we appreciate their patience as we resolve this issue as safely and quickly as possible.”

Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch issued a written press release through spokesperson Ben Paulin of John Guilfoil Public Relations.

He indicated that Hanson Police and Fire departments responded to the Commuter Rail Station at 1070 Main St. (Route 27) about 6:55 a.m. after receiving reports of fire on an inbound train.

“The fire has been put out by the Hanson Fire Department,” Miksch stated. “No injuries were reported.”

According to Miksch, all passengers were transferred to another train and transit police and Keolis employees were on the scene assisting commuters, but would not comment on the incident at that time.