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Five-alarm fire destroys Whitman house

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Fire crews train their hoses on flames bursting through the roof of a multi-family house at 316-18 Commercial St., in Whitman Wednesday night. No one was injured as some 80 firefighters from 15 South Shore departments responded to the fire. (Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

WHITMAN — Nearly 80 firefighters from Whitman and more than 15 South Shore communities battled a five-alarm blaze that destroyed a multi-family house at 316-18 Commercial St., Wednesday night.

No injuries were reported in the fire.

The building was a total loss, and including personal possessions, Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno estimated that the damage could add up to nearly $1 million.

All of the nearly a dozen residents of the apartment building were displaced as a result of the fire. The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist residents in finding shelter for the night.

A preliminary investigation points to the fire starting in a second floor apartment, but the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation by Whitman Fire and investigators from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS). They were expected continue their investigation later Thursday morning, but at this time officials said it does not appear to be suspicious. Grenno said that he did not know when the last fire inspection was done at the building, but that it had previously been up to code, according to a statement. He stated that he did not know when the last fire inspection was done at the building.

“This fire spread extremely fast and I want to commend our firefighters and those from our surrounding communities who responded to help put this fire out as quickly as they did,” Chief Grenno said.

Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno watches Thursday afternoon as equipment from Watson Excavating of East Bridgewater is used to raze the multi-family home at 316-18 Commercial St., Whitman that was destroyed in Wednesday night’s five-alarm blaze.

Residents told reporters on the scene that the power went out and they heard a popping sound before the flames broke out.

Whitman Fire/Rescue received a 911 call reporting a fire at an apartment building at about 7:45 p.m. Upon arrival crews found that heavy flames were coming from a second-story window. The fire was spreading to the third floor and simultaneously burning the wooden deck outside of the window.

Deputy Fire Chief Joe Feeney immediately struck a second alarm. Because of the size of the building and its wood-frame structure, the fire quickly spread through the house and Grenno called for additional mutual aid from other towns, striking a fifth alarm at approximately 9:25 p.m. Firefighters from Hanson, Abington, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Rockland, Brockton, Norwell, Hanover, Halifax, Hingham, Holbrook, Randolph, Marshfield, Avon and Pembroke responded to mutual aid calls. The Whitman Police Department, Whitman Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), DFS Rehabilitation Unit and Boston Sparks Association A-10 also responded to the scene.

$53.5M school budget rolled out

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School Committee, officials taking another look at level-service plan

The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District rolled out its level-service budget for fiscal 2020 during a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 6 — a $53,562,534 spending plan that increases costs by 5.6 percent without adding new programs or staff. Revenues are expected to come to $49,926,186. The current budget deficit is $3,636,348.

“Although it pains me to present a level-service budget tonight, we will always continue to move toward the greater for our students and for both Whitman and Hanson,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said. “This budget does not include new programs or positions.”

Instead, Szymaniak and Assistant Superintendent George Ferro have made adjustments for new curriculum materials, including a new math program and a continuation of the new technology program initiated last year. They have also restructured some positions and responsibilities to “maximize efficiency and create equity for all of our students.”

That could include, if the budget is fully funded, providing counselors at the elementary grade level.

Szymaniak reported that rising health insurance rates, contractual agreements for staff, transportation and custodial services as well as higher utility costs make up the $3,039,353 increase.

Unfunded or underfunded state and federal mandates cost the district $5,067,542. The strategic plan and fiscal 2020 budget are available online at whrsd.org.

The district has $961,237 in its excess and deficiency fund, and is required by law to keep 5 percent of the operating budget in reserve to fund unexpected expenses such as special education services.

The School Committee was scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13 to further discuss the fiscal 2020 budget.

Szymaniak outlined the district’s educational and student social-emotional and staff development goals.

He also noted that 85 positions in the school system are funded outside the operating budget by federal grants.

“Some of those grants, I’m cautious, might go away when Washington decides to make changes in education,” Szymaniak said, noting programs such as Title I, Title IIA and IDEA (a special education program. Grants totaling $1,747,524 in Fiscal 2017 and were down to $1,646,256 by fiscal 2019.

Revolving funds involving full-day kindergarten tuition, pre-school, athletics user fees and the food services program also help fund the district.

Szymaniak said he has heard “buzz” that dyslexia testing is likely to be the next unfunded mandate to come.

“I think it’s actually a good thing to do, but I don’t know where the expenses are going to come from on some of the new testing that we may have to do,” he said.

State budget trends

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, Alysa Sullivan, R-Abington, and state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, attended the meeting, with Cutler presenting a PowerPoint update of the state budget.

Overall, state revenues are expected to see “moderate growth” for fiscal 2020, according to economic forecasts, with December and January revenue data at 2.7 percent below becnhmarks, Cutler reported.

“That’s a bit of a concern,” he said.

Gov. Baker’s budget, while up by $42.7 billion, or 1.5 percent, level funds regional school transportation at $68.9 million and McKinney-Vento homeless transportation at $9.1 million. Chapter 70 is seeing an overall increase to $5.1 billion — up 4.2 percent, but sets minimum per-pupil funding at $20.

Cutler said the minimum per-pupil increment will be one of the areas of the local legislative team’s focus this term.

“We want to make changes to the state budget that are going to most directly impact our districts [and] our schools that we represent,” Cutler said. “We’ve led the charge to try to do this increase minimum per-pupil increment) on a statewide basis …  This is the key driver for our foundation budget.”

W-H’s Chapter 70 trends have increased less than 1 percent per year for the past four years and is expected to go up only .3 percent — to $24,739,620 — in fiscal 2020, due, in large part, Cutler said, to the fact that the aid is based on enrollment.

“Even though we’re adding to the big pie, we’re not necessarily seeing that translate to the local school districts like W-H,” he said of a trend that is affecting suburban districts all across the state. “It really is tied to enrollment.”

Special education Circuit Breaker funding is up by 1.4 percent to $4.5 million in the governor’s budget. Special education transportation, which costs the district close to $1 million is not reimbursable under the federal formula, Szymaniak said.

“Legislators are working to make changes on those line items,” Cutler said, noting the Chapter 70 formula is also being looked to as well as a task force on educational mandates.

Community concerns

“Thank you for presenting a level-service budget,” said Whitman resident Dawn Byers of 20 Russell Road, noting the loss of certified librarians at the elementary schools four years ago. “It’s so important not to lose any programs.”

She stressed that there are still no gifted and talented programs available in elementary and middle school grades and too few language classes at both the middle and high school level.

“I know of area high schools that provide Mandarin [Chinese] and Arabic foreign languages,” she said. “That’s not in our budget right now but it would be wonderful in the future if that would be something that we could add.”

She also said rolling the high school start time closer to 7:30 a.m. would be preferable and asked for clarification of the kindergarten revolving fund so “people don’t read that and interpret it as something that is being put on top of this budget.”

Szymaniak explained that universal full-day kindergarten has been a district priority for six years, but that tuition is charged for families who can afford it in the meantime, bringing $452,289 into a revolving fund, which pays for four teachers and seven paraprofessionals. Within the operating budget $462,775 funds five teachers and two paraprofessionals.

To go to a district-wide full-day kindergarten, the budget would have to increase by $631,732 covering three new teachers and three paraprofessionals as well as eliminating the $452,289 revolving fund, Szymaniak said. It would cost almost $1 million in the operating budget if that were done next year. He did not include it in the fiscal 2020 budget because he knew the towns were facing financial challenges.

“I don’t think there is a person on this committee that doesn’t support all-day kindergarten,” Chairman Bob Hayes said. “It’s how do you fund it when you’re in a difficult funding cycle as we are.”

Szymaniak also noted a push at the state level to require no-cost all-day kindergarten, but as an unfunded mandate unless the state opts to finance it.

“We’re getting buried by unfunded and underfunded mandates,” he said. “[DESE is] not adding things to add things, it’s for the good of the kids … and for the educational process, but some of the stuff that comes out and we put in there’s a definite cost and it’s pulling away from the education of our students.”

“It’s not an equitable situation for all the students of Whitman and Hanson at this point,” Ferro added, noting the issues that Dyers had mentioned earlier.

 

Whitman: ‘In override position’ in face of FY 2020 budget challenges

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam advised the School Committee at it’s Wednesday, Feb. 6 budget roll-out meeting that a level-funded school budget will place Whitman in an override position.

“My guess is we’re going to see a combination of things this year in what we present ultimately for a budget,” Lynam said. “It will involve a request for an override. It will involve cutting some services. Ultimately, unless we find the voters very responsive and very supportive, those cuts will be system-wide.”

That means cuts to town departments as well as the schools. Identifying the needs of the district and towns and creating a sustainable way to address them is needed now, he advocated.

The level-service $53,562,534 fiscal 2020 school budget now carries a deficit of $3,636,348.

School Chairman Bob Hayes noted that the panel has tapped excess and deficiency for anywhere from $500,000 to $750,000 in past years to help close the budget gap, and did not recommend the latter amount for fiscal 2020 as it would leave little for fiscal emergencies.

The district has $961,237 in its excess and deficiency fund, and is required by law to keep 5 percent of the operating budget in reserve to fund unexpected expenses such as special education services.

“We have one bite at the apple with both towns,” Hayes said. “We know that both towns are rather close and tight dollars and cents-wise.”

Each percent in the assessment is equal to about $221,835 Hayes noted, with a 16.4-percent assessment required to balance the budget without making cuts, tapping into excess and deficiency or considering an override.

“Everyone is keenly aware of where the two towns are right now,” Lynam said, advising the committee that 16 percent isn’t going to happen.

“You’re going to have to assess what your minimum abilities are,” he said. “It is extraordinarily unlikely [16 percent] will happen. It would be great to see it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

School Committee member Fred Small said it therefore falls to the board to ask for only what they need and pointed out it is likely that universal free all-day kindergarten is not something that can happen this year.

“The only way we’re going to implement this is you’re going to have to cut,” School Committee member Dan Cullity said of the prospect of adding all-day kindergarten to the school budget. “We’re not going to see that from taxpayers because of the way that override went the last time … there’s no way the towns want to pay for this.”

School Committee member Steve Bois recalled past information that parents make the school choice decision based on where they can attend all-day kindergarten and never return to the WHRSD.

“We are losing students that will never come back to our district because we are charging $3,200 for a family to come to school here,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak confirmed.

“Short of an override, which isn’t going to happen, for just pre-k/k, we’re going to have to seek help otherwise,” Cullity said. “We’d love to jam this in there just to get it going, but when you’re looking at a $3.6 million deficit it’s hard to sell to the folks because it’s not just parents [making the decision].”

Whitman resident Marshall Ottina of 100 Lazel St., reminded the committee that of 438 districts in the state, W-H is one of only 47 not presently offering all-day kindergarten, and asked if any districts that had implemented the program, had to pull it back for lack of funds in subsequent years.

“It’s like jumping off the bridge, you can’t get back up,” Small said to illustrate his belief that once, implemented, such a program could not be withdrawn.

Lynam argued that the towns will have to decide community-wide what is important and how they get there.

“I’m not an advocate for overrides, but I am a realist,” he said, “I’m really frustrated when I hear people say, ‘No, we’ll never do an override,’ because that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

He noted that, six years ago when then-Superintendent Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner posed the question of about how to close that budget gap and, when an override was advised, asked how much to seek.

“I said, if you’re going for an override, go for all of it,” Lynam said of what would have been a 14.5-percent override question. The committee went with a 6-percent override that “flew through” instead.

“My response then was, ‘fix the problem while we have the opportunity,’ but we didn’t,” Lynam said. “We took a short-cut because we were worried about whether a 14.5-percent override would pass. I honestly believe whatever we presented would have passed … because people were aware of the need.”

School Committee member Robert Trotta said the panel always finds themselves trying to close gaps at the last minute.

“How do we improve? I don’t know,” he said. “The funding system in Massachusetts doesn’t work, the federal government impacts us with their mandates and we have state testing that impacts us.”

Committee members were also cognizant of the needs of other departments.

“We’ve got policemen handling guys with guns out there,” Small said. “God bless those guys. You’ve got firefighters running into burning buildings, you’ve got the DPW out there on the roads with the ice.”

Lynam said the problem is that, while the state is going through the same budget process, they have more revenue to spread around. The towns of Whitman and Hanson have fewer avenues through which to collect revenue.

Murray family presses for answers

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VIGIL: Organizers Adrienne McDougall, left, and Diane Ostranber take part in a candlelight vigil for Maura Murray in Hanson Saturday, Feb. 9, the 15th anniversary of her disappearance after a New Hampshire car crash. (Photo by Abram Neal/Express News)

HANSON — Maura Murray, then 21, a native of Hanson, vanished after she crashed her 1996 Saturn into a snowbank along a curve on Wild Ammonoosuc Road (Route 112) in Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village of Haverhill, 15 years ago. The UMass Amherst nursing student’s mysterious disappearance on Feb. 9, 2004 has sparked worldwide attention in the press, on the Internet and on social media over the course of the last decade and a half.

Family, friends and supporters of Maura Murray marked the somber anniversary Saturday in New Hampshire and here in Hanson by lighting candles in hopes that she will be found. Her father, Fred Murray, 76, had shared with the public new details of an investigation he has conducted into her disappearance with the hope that the public attention will put pressure on New Hampshire authorities to further look into the matter. Investigators, meanwhile, say the investigation is still active.

Fred Murray, who spoke to the Express Monday, Feb. 11, says that he is certain he has found a burial site in a house “astonishingly close” to the site of the accident. According to him, locals first tipped him off about suspicious activity at the house in the first year after his daughter’s disappearance, including rumors of new concrete being poured in the basement shortly after the accident, he says.

The Boston Globe reported last week what Murray said, based on those tips, “that a man who lived in the home at the time of the crash, as well as the man’s extended family members who lived nearby, were responsible for his daughter’s death.”

Although he told the Express that he is not positive that it’s his daughter who is buried in the house, he strongly believes that there are human remains in the house and that they are likely those of his daughter.

“I only need to be right once,” he pointed out.

The house, which he says police never searched, a point which officials don’t advertise unless pressed in statements, has come under new ownership since Maura Murray’s disappearance, and the new owners have been receptive to Fred Murray’s investigation. He says he is willing to pay to dig up their basement, although he’d rather New Hampshire authorities do it.

The New Hampshire Attorney’s General office said in a statement that they “searched the area with dogs at the time,” but never searched inside the house in question.

In November and December 2018, Fred Murray brought in two trained, accredited cadaver detecting dogs to the house, each one on separate occasions. They alerted, he says, by lying down in the same spot in the basement of the house. He says that video of the dogs alerting exists, and is available widely online from local television media outlets.

Later, ground-penetrating radar was used and indicated strong findings of an abnormality in the same spot in the concrete, he said. Much of Fred Murray’s investigation has been paid for by donations and through pro-bono work of those who support him, he says.

“It’s astounding that this [basement] wasn’t looked at before. I told the police about this in the first year … the State Police did an inadequate job when my daughter first went missing,” he added, adamantly.

Fred Murray said he has found the local police to have been less-than-helpful, and as for federal law enforcement, “The FBI has been dodging it [the case] for 15 years … they’re useless,” he said of the Boston office of the FBI.

He says that law enforcement’s response to his investigation, when he’s notified them of his findings, has been, “We looked at that, we looked at that, we looked at that.”

“Because of the institutional intransigence of the New Hampshire State Police the case is still alive 15 years later,” he said.

Fred Murray said that he thinks he’s been getting “the run around,” and that officials have been waiting for him to go away. “This time, the guy didn’t go away, and that guy was me.”

A representative for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, of which the New Hampshire State Police are a division, refused to comment because of the active nature of the investigation, but did refer the Express to the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General.

“The case is still open and active.  We do receive tips and information periodically, as well as generate new information from investigative efforts,” said Jeffrey Streizin, Associate Attorney General and Director of the Division of Public Protection with the New Hampshire Attorney’s General office in an emailed statement.

He continued, “We are aware of the allegations regarding a home’s basement in that area and have considered and are considering next steps. That area was searched by law enforcement in the past, including with dogs, and nothing of significance was discovered.”

When asked to clarify whether the home itself was ever searched, Streizin said, “The State Police conducted a canvas of that area in 2004 and searched the area where that house is located with dogs. They did not go into the house at that time.”

“I need help. I’m asking for help,” Fred Murray said. “The people of northern New Hampshire have been wonderful. They are salt of the earth people … The goodness of people has really come to the forefront. Maura’s only friends in this have been the Massachusetts press, her friends and the great people of the area.”

Exactly where Maura Murray was headed, and why, has remained a mystery over the years. Moments after the crash, a good Samaritan stopped to assist her, but she waved him off and told him not to call the police, according to original police reports from 2004. The passerby called local police anyway, although he did drive off. A Haverhill police cruiser arrived within minutes, but the Saturn was locked, and Maura Murray was gone.

According to a four-part series reported by Maribeth Conway in this paper’s predecessor, the Hanson Express in 2007, Fred Murray had dinner with his daughter in Amherst two days before her disappearance.

She caused damage to her father’s car that night in a minor accident near UMass in Hadley, Massachusetts, and later friends reported she had been drinking that night, although no charges were filed in that incident.

The following day, she performed Internet searches for driving directions to Vermont and the Berkshires. She also called for a condominium rental reservation in Bartlett, New Hampshire, which she did not end up reserving. Her family often vacationed in Bartlett, a town in the White Mountains near the Attitash ski resort.

Her belongings were neatly packed up in boxes in her UMass dorm room before she left, according to reports, leading to speculation that she may have been considering leaving school permanently. But she had good grades, and her college textbooks were found in her car by investigators after the accident.

Maura Murray withdrew $280 from her bank account, leaving the account almost empty, and emailed professors and her boss at a local art gallery that she would be away from school because she was needed in Hanson due to a death in the family. Relatives later confirmed there was no death in the family.

No one is sure exactly why the college student made up the story.

A friend later suggested that Maura Murray may have been under a lot of pressure and wanted to get away to think about something important.

She grabbed some toiletries, a favorite stuffed animal — a monkey given to her by her father– and a necklace her boyfriend had given her. She then departed. Police say she next stopped at a liquor store, bought about $40 worth of alcohol — which police reports say some of which was found in plain sight in her car after the crash– and never returned to Massachusetts.

Fred Murray says his next step will be to try to enlist the help of senior New Hampshire State Police officials but that he continues to wait and marvel at the lack of help. He added, “We’re still going to win.”

When asked to clarify what a win for him would be, he hesitated and said, “There is no win. There is no satisfaction. I have to find her, bring her home and give her a proper burial. Every father who ever drew a breath on the planet should know what happens next.”

Firefighters battle fire, weather in Hanson

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HANSON — No injuries were reported Tuesday night as Hanson firefighters and those from three other towns battled stubborn flames in cold sleet and drizzle, making for a long night.

The call for the structure fire was received just after 7:30 p.m. with firefighters encountering heavy fire throughout the structure, according to Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson.

Two occupants and a dog were able to flee the fire at 45 Milford St., according to published reports.

Upon arrival all occupants had exited the house, said Thompson.

The home was listed on several real estate websites Tuesday night as foreclosed, on, but the updated property sites now report the home as off the market. Neighbors who watched the mammoth flames take over the structure at the scene said they did not believe anyone was living in the home.

The jumbled debris on the interior made the conditions for firefighters challenging.

“Excessive clutter in the house made it difficult for firefighters to continue an aggressive interior attack and contributed to a lengthy overhaul process,” said Thompson. the fire is under investigation.

Fire, smoke and water damage was extensive throughout the house, which is uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Hanson Fire Department, Hanson Police Department and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office. The occupants are being assisted by the Red Cross.

Firefighters were assisted at the scene by Halifax, Pembroke and Whitman fire departments. Hanover Fire covered Hanson Headquarters and Pembroke Fire responded with an ambulance to a medical emergency in another part of town during the incident. Also assisting at the scene was Hanson Police, Hanson Highway and Water departments. All crews cleared the scene shortly after midnight.

Film tells story of ‘A Father’s Fight’

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Will he or won’t he?

Whitman native Mark Chauppetta, who used to participate in mixed martial arts bouts to raise funds for muscular dystrophy research — after his twin sons Troy and Andrew Chauppetta, now 23, were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy — has been toying with a return to the ring for another fundraising fight for some time now.

The question has been, will he?

Chauppetta says his family and friends have been divided on the issue and his doctor had advised against a return to the MMA ring.

“You’re going to have to wait and see if I get in there,” he said. “But I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

The resulting film, “A Father’s Fight,” will premier at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 in Brockton’s War Memorial Hall, 156 West Elm St. Tickets for the event are available at wheelchairstrong.com.

“The film is a docu-drama, I guess you’d call it, a kind of remake of a documentary I did in 2009,” Chauppetta said. That film, also titled “A Father’s Fight,” on which he worked with Ron Van Damme who worked with WHCA-TV’s late Executive Director Steve Roy. That film, done with “no budget” when Chauppetta was turning 40 and getting into mixed martial arts fighting to raise funds.

“It was really grass-roots,” Chauppetta says. “But I felt like my vision was 10 years too soon. At the time Troy and Andrew were young so they didn’t have a voice and they were seen in the film, but it was kind of in the background.”

He said that latest film focused on his getting into the ring and “didn’t have much substance to it.”

The new film looks at that focus from a different angle and Chauppetta didn’t want to pull at the heart-strings. While Duchenne is terminal, the film shows ability and over disability, he said.

“It shows my sons driving and living life and going to the mall and fighting and bickering with me — being a family,” he said. “It shows the concern my wife has for me, coping with this disease. It’s very raw, it’s very honest, it’s very real.”

His sons, who can now advocate for themselves and have a voice, enables the film to focus more on them than their dad. Chauppetta hired a local Brockton production company, Anaone Street Productions and filming began in in September 2017, finishing in June 2018.

“I’m not giving it away,” Chauppetta said, but some of the narrative of the original film is repeated in the new one, he said.

Chauppetta, now going on 50, was a wrestler on the WHRHS team and describes that experience as a brotherhood that gets into one’s blood.

“I still compete and wrestle and grapple,” he said. “It’s something that I dabbled with in my 20s and 30s and then when I was turning 40, a local promoter asked me if I would be interested in training and having a cage fight and he’d give $5,000 to my charity, So I was, like, sure!”

The documentary, while well-received, didn’t reach the type of audience Chauppetta wanted.

Fast-forward 10 years, and a busy life filled with caring for his boys, directing the Wheelchair Strong Foundation while running a private investigation business, he said he finds himself getting into ruts.

“Caring for disabled boys is physically and emotionally very strenuous,” Chauppetta said. “Lots of times, you slip into funks.”

Working out helps, especially since Chaupetta is a person whose wellbeing on all levels depends on physical fitnesss.

“I always find myself going back to the one thing that cures my anxiety, my depression over this disease, had been martial arts — Brazilian ju jistu, it’s been wrestling,” he said.

The film has been quite a journey, he said. Chauppetta started out story-boarding it, but it also took the necessary detours as life unfolded during the year and a half of shooting.

“I directed the film and I produced the film — and I micro-managed it,” he admits, as he used his past experience in film work to best advantage.

Appearing in the film, along with members of the Chauppetta family are Lenny Clarke, Patrick Renna — best known as Smalls in “The Sandlot” — Joe Lauzon from the UFC circuit plays Chauppetta’s trainer. Hip-hop violinist Damien Escobar and Five for Fighting worked on the film score.

Chauppetta’s goal is to negotiate a distribution deal with a Hollywood-based company such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon for streaming. It is not yet available on DVD.

If that effort is successful, he would like to transform it into a scripted film, and perhaps a goal closer to home.

“One of my passions has always been television and television production,” he said, noting he has had pre-production meetings on a second documentary project on the wheelchair power soccer program in which his sons are involved.

His suppressed desire to be named to the W-H Wall of Fame has also become something of a running joke in his family.

“Maybe if I can get an Emmy for best documentary, then maybe I can finally get my picture on that wall,” he laughed.

W-H families hear mental health talk

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Kristina Rowshan is a fighter.

The psychologist, originally from Philadelphia, is a recent college graduate, a daughter, a sister, and a survivor. She did not battle cancer — she battled her own mind and even though she still contests her thoughts daily. Rowshan is New England Outreach Coordinator for Spanish-Speaking Communities with Minding Your Mind, a mental health education collaborative.

She spoke candidly about her mental health struggles to guests at Minding Your Mind, a program Whitman Hanson Regional High School on Jan. 30 hosted by school counselors and guidance department.

The Minding Your Mind was a free event for the families in surrounding communities.

“I felt that Kristina was an amazing  presenter in sharing her story and made such good connections with the families  in attendance. I would bring  her back in a heartbeat,” said Kaitlyn Robichaud, an adjustment   counselor at Whitman-Hanson within the Bridges for Reslilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) network and  student  support services.

She is also planning to have three major events for families to come and be able to learn something and gain support not just from the school but from each other.

For future information on guest speakers and family support programs upcoming calendar announcements are posted on W-H social media and the W-H school page.

Minding Your Mind offers self-empowerment to individuals who are taking control while working on their own treatment; connecting with others who need to hear and understand that there is hope. Her goal along with the organization is to encourage a reduction in the stigma around mental health and to increase the help seeking behaviors that often accompany improved coping skills.

Her recovery has been a long walk marked by small moments that have added up to great progress. While she continues to heal from her own self-destructive behavior, Rowshan proudly noted she is three years free of self-harming behavior.

Rowshan’s mind was obsessive as far back as grade school.

Paralyzed for hours about returning home, feeling completely unable to enter her house she would wait in the driveway until she felt at ease about going inside. Obsessive thoughts would set off crying spells with fears of her home or bedroom being dirty, contaminated, or imperfect followed by inability to repair or clean the area with the ruminating thoughts taking over.

She would not completely feel relief but would eventually be coaxed in the door by family members, she said.

Her attempts at receiving help appeared to backfire, as the adults in her life did not know how to provide help and silently denied her crisis until she attempted to take her own life.

Still, she said it was never her intention to die.

“I didn’t want to die, I told those around me,” she said.

She desired expressive actions that would allow others to see the kind of pain she was in. Her daily struggles against her own frame of mind — and her battle to live a normal day. She wanted to ease her pain ever though she could not always explain it.

A perfect straight-A student and a varsity sport athlete during her early teens she walked around school with ‘a cool kid smile’ concealing her mental anguish.

She received a compliment from a fellow student who gushed that she idolized her and wanted to be just like her. The complimentary comments crushed Rowshan, as she realized the personal façade was now shattered.

She attempted her first suicide that next day.

Her mask of cheer and joy soon gave way to unforgiving self-harm, cries for help that she said went unanswered for years and through several steps of her treatments.

To her surprise, as she starved herself to death, blacking out from fatigue and malnourishment she had a mental health practitioner congratulate her on her excessive weight loss rather than question the red flagged behaviors.

An eating disorder she knew was so severe yet her deprivation and weight loss were unachievable strives for perfection. She was in a vicious circle of self-harm, which she explained was a coping mechanism to gain control instead she attempted suicide again at age 20.

She was placed in a long-term clinic for eating disorders and her life slowly turned around as she had only loose connections with clinicians, patients and staff that soon gave her a realization of importance.

Sharing her ultimate achievement she recently graduated from college.  Not an easy feat for someone who changed schools multiple times and continuously battles depression, anxiety and severe obsessive compulsive disorder.

Her treatment in working with Dr. Reid Wilson, a specialist and pioneer in the treatment of OCD, has been an enormous step in the right direction, Rowshan said.

Challenging her own thoughts, talking back to her OCD can be freeing, according to Rowshan. She laughed with the audience about some of her positive coping mechanisms such as hitting her pillows with a racket and yelling out loud that although seemed slightly twisted — for her, they have proved extremely helpful.

Within her family, genetics and personal beliefs, once stopped them from reaching out for assistance but they are finally able to seek support. The family continues to see a counselor and works on recovering together as well as creating healthy boundaries, and conversations.

“Everyone has a backpack in life and it is OK to ask if you need help carrying it,” she said, sharing her mother’s words of wisdom, as well as what she had learned herself. “I was meant to be on this earth and I am worthy of being happy, my life is important.”

This self-acceptance is a new language as she speaks to individuals about her recovery and renewed attitude on life.

Minding Your Mind Programs move away from crisis based response to prevention through education, according to their website.

“The mission of  Minding Your Mind’s primary objective is to provide mental health education to adolescents, teens and young adults, their parents, teachers and school administrators. Our goal is to reduce the stigma and destructive behaviors often associated with mental health issues. Treatment is available, yet only three out of 10 individuals needing help actually seek help.

“Our educational programs provide information regarding signs and symptoms of these disorders, in addition to stressing that they are treatable and treatment is available. Mood disorders have been identified by the World Health Organization as the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Research studies have demonstrated that over 90% of people that die from suicide have one or more psychiatric disorders at the time of their death. The second leading cause of death of individuals between the ages of 14-23 is suicide. Since the age of onset of most psychiatric disorders is typically during adolescence, it is essential that the proper information be brought to the attention of secondary school educators, counselors, students and their parents.

Minding Your Mind offers several programs for students, teachers, faculty and the community at large,’ according to the website mindyourmind.org our programs aim to reduce stigma by promoting awareness about the prevalence of mental health disorders and the effectiveness of seeking help. The ultimate goal is to create a supportive environment in schools where students feel comfortable speaking up and asking for help.

Growing Food for Thought

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HANSON — When Troop 68 Life Scout Liam Keane began planning his Eagle Badge project, he was also looking for a way to make a difference in the world. His mom Patricia showed him the USA for Africa video of the Michael Jackson/Lionel Ritchie song “We Are the World” for some inspiration.

Dozens of music industry giants had left the Grammy Awards ceremony Jan. 21, 1985 and entered a recording studio to record the song — seven weeks after the Christmas 1984 record of UK Band Aid anthem “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” produced by Bob Geldof raised funds for African famine relief. The American recording, released in March 1985, also set aside funds for combatting hunger at home.

Fighting hunger at home was a concept that resonated with Keane, a junior at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. WHRHS Guidance Counselor Courtney Selig thought a community garden at the school would be a good way to achieve both his goals.

“I wanted to change the world and help people,” Keane said. “Since we’ve been doing it, I realized so much about kids who you wouldn’t even think of going to the food pantry getting food or on free and reduced lunch.”

In some district elementary schools, nearly a quarter of students depend on free and reduced lunch programs, principals have reported at past School Committee meetings.

Keane’s idea was the beginning of what became Food for Thought, a school activity club of about 20 charter members working with Keane to bring awareness within the school about childhood hunger.

“School, community, home — we’re always looking for different ways to make that partnership and connection,” Selig said. “I think this was one great way to do that.”

The first project of the club was to build a garden out behind the school with produce going to the school’s culinary program as well as the pantries.

“We built it Memorial Day weekend, and club members have taken turns maintaining it, watering it, and harvesting it throughout the summer,” Keane said. “We have donated over 100 pounds of food to both Whitman and Hanson Food Pantries.”

He hopes the club keeps going long after he graduates and so long as there is a need in both communities. Members of Food for Thought have signed a meeting table they painted in hopes future members of the club will add their names for years to come.

“This project has become very personal for me and it has gone above and beyond my expectations,” he said.

Selig joked that the group thought they would be lucky to harvest a single tomato and it yielded 200 pounds of vegetables divided between both food pantries as well as tomatoes for the culinary program and salad fixings for the cafeteria. The carrot harvest was also impressive, Keane said.

“I wanted to do something different,” he said.

Bottle and can drive

To help fund his Eagle project, Keane is conducting a bottle and can drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill on Route 58/Liberty Street in Hanson. [See page 4]

“There’s a lot of beer bottles, beer cans — especially after the Super Bowl,” he said. His drive will not only recycle the containers but continue to help feed neighbors in need.

Throughout this school year, we have also held other events to help support these food pantries as well as letting people know the importance of ending hunger within our communities.

One event was World Food Day, on Oct. 16. The club sold bracelets and hung posters around the school stating facts about childhood hunger.

“We raised $300 which was split and donated to the food pantries,” Keane said. “We also have also started an indoor garden in the green house at Whitman-Hanson High School where we will begin our seedlings for the outdoor garden, but also develop it so that we can continue to grow fresh “salad” vegetables all year long for the food pantries.”

Hanson Food Pantry Director Christine Cameron said donations of fresh produce from the Greater Boston Food Bank, area farms such as Lipinski’s in Hanson and projects like Keane’s are vital for clients.

“Or goal is to have people eat healthy,” Cameron said. “We have great farmers in our communities that help us that are very generous. …  Anything we can get that’s fresh, we consider that much better.”

Youth involvement at the pantry has also included Hanson Girl Scout troops and the National Honor Society as well as the Boy Scouts.

“It’s great to see them involved because they are our future volunteers and they see what happens in their community,” she said. “We have some wonderful kids that come through and help.”

Last year the Hanson Food Pantry gave out more than 100,000 pounds of food last year, helping an average of 200 to 300 clients on a monthly basis.

“It is unfortunate, but we will always have people that need our help, and so we’re there,” Cameron said.

Two upcoming projects Food for Thought students are currently working on are a “Bagged Lunch” program for which they will be making 200 bagged lunches over February vacation and donating them to Main Spring House in Brockton and raising funds to enter a team into the Project Bread Walk for Hunger 5K in Boston which will take place in May.

To sponsor the group, contact Keane at lt.keane@icloud.com.

A Souper Bowl fundraiser also raised canned goods donations for the pantries.

Sullivan pledges budget, opioid focus

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WHITMAN — State Rep. Alyson Sullivan, R-Abington, said that “time management” is the key to her success during a wide-ranging interview Monday, Feb. 4, with the Express. The busy final-year New England School of Law student, 30, who has been a working student for the better part of her adult life, is now also officially a full-time legislator.

Sullivan was sworn in Jan. 2 as the representative for the 7th Plymouth District which includes all of Whitman, Abington and several East Bridgewater precincts.

“I’m still new at this,” the lifelong Abington resident said, but has already sponsored several bills, co-sponsored dozens and has set clear priorities, such a tackling the opioid crisis, criminal justice reform and responsibly dealing with school budgets.

Sullivan has been appointed to several legislative committees for the 2019-2020 session by house leadership. She will be a member of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery as well as the House Committee on Personnel and Administration, according to her office.

In Whitman in particular, which is facing tough school budget cuts, she said she is meeting with local officials, including selectmen, to see what she can do to alleviate the crunch, although she admits she doesn’t have all the answers.

She said she has also reached out to lawmakers, both state representatives and state senators from both parties to work on local aid and school district issues.

She says that bipartisanship is important to her, in order to get things done on Beacon Hill, and that she will work closely with state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, who represents the 6th Plymouth District, which covers all of Hanson, Pembroke and most of Duxbury, and shares the Whitman-Hanson School District with her.

Sullivan has said that she wants to work to change the formula, known as Chapter 70, by which state aid is distributed, using the state’s budget surplus and rainy-day fund to pay for school funding.

“I ran on a platform of not raising taxes,” she said, but wasn’t sure where to make tough choices when it came to spending, yet. “I’m still only four weeks into my role; I’m still learning really how to be a state representative.”

“We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem,” she noted.

Sullivan also addressed the opioid issues affecting the state.

“One issue in particular, the opioid epidemic is affecting every corner of our commonwealth. It is impacting so many communities and I look forward to get to work on this critical issue right away,” Sullivan said through a statement.

She highlighted legislation she sponsored that would allow Plymouth County Outreach (PCO), the county-wide coalition of police and health care workers that provide support to those that suffer from substance use disorder, their family members and loved ones to be able to be trained immediately on and have access to Naloxone, known under the tradename Narcan, the life-saving opioid-blocking nasal spray, in the immediate aftermath of an opioid overdose.

Currently PCO only refers those in need of Nalaxone to a social services organization, she said, such as Brockton Area Multi-Services, Inc. (BAMSI) which trains people on and distributes the medication for free, or to local pharmacies, which depending on one’s insurance situation, charge for the medicine.

“This will [eliminate] a step,” she said.

Sullivan addressed questions both about supervised injection sites, which she is noticeably cautious and “on the fence about,” arguing that they don’t address the underlying issues of substance abuse disorder, as well as medically assisted substance abuse treatment in the corrections system, both of which she said she wants to look more into before taking a position.

Sullivan said she had already toured the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, as part of her interest in substance abuse and criminal justice reform and spoken with officials and inmates there, including those in detox units.

Regarding the issue of money and politics, her campaign committee raised significantly more money, almost half from the state GOP, than her Democratic opponent, Alex Bezanson, which she did not dispute.

“You have to raise money to get your message out there,” she said.

During the election Sullivan was working as a legal assistant in the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, she said.

“During the campaign I [personally] could not raise any funds … I was a state employee … other people raised money for me,” she pointed out.

The state Republican Committee donated $37,163.95, consisting mostly of funds from outside the district, out of $88,235.30 raised for her during the election campaign, according to state filings. That represents about 42 percent of the total funds raised.

There were also 15 $1,000 donations, the maximum donation amount allowed by law for an individual. Without the donation from the Republican Committee, Sullivan would have had $51,071.35 in the bank.

Bezanson received only $1,000 from the state Democratic Committee, and five $1,000 donations. He raised $54,464 in total. (He donated $1,000, as well, to his own campaign.)

“The support from outside the district doesn’t concern me,” she said. She added that her family is well-known— her father, Michael, is a former acting Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives director under President George W. Bush, a former Plymouth County district attorney, former federal prosecutor and in fact held his daughter’s 7th district seat in the early 1990s— and that people believe that she has the best interest of the commonwealth at heart.

Sullivan said her priority was to be an independent voice for the district and the state as a whole.

She said she is not a particular “type” of Republican, although she acknowledged that she was a minority as one in Massachusetts. She said she supports President Trump, calling him “my president” with a slight grin on her face, and that she respects anyone who runs for office, but doesn’t agree with him on everything. Nor does she agree with Gov.  Charlie Baker or the Republican Party on everything, for example, tax increases, she added.

“I’m trying to look out for everyone within the district,” Sullivan said. “I’m here focusing on Massachusetts, I’m here focusing on my district, so that’s where my focus remains.”

Freezin’ for a reason

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HANSON — The January thaw was a blessing from Mother Nature as dozens of local residents, school officials and town employees made the plunge into the icy water at Cranberry Cove Sunday, Jan. 27 as part of the Hanon PTO Freezin’ for A Reason inaugural polar plunge fund raiser.

Event Coordinator Melissa Valachovic of the Hanson PTO was enthused by the level of support that the community brought to the event.

Calling the event outcome “amazing,” she reported the total raised by the plungers reached nearly $12,000.   

Some of the top pledgers each exceeded $1,000 to $1,500.

With combined efforts of the PTO and a subcommittee assisting with the six month planning- prior to the event — Valachovic praised the abundant dedication and enthusiasm by many hands to bring the fund raiser to fruition.

Naming and thanking the town officials and first responders who contributed with safety of the 53 registered plungers, Valachovic acknowledged the entire board of selectman that made the plunge. Chairman Kenny Mitchell, who could not attend Sunday, took his frosty dive on Thursday in the presence of several witnesses.

Collectively giving to the school was the most important factor for most who powered through the chilly water although several carried individual reasons in participating.

Pam Fager and her lifelong friend Sondra Allen, both of Hanson, checked doing a polar plunge off their bucket lists.

Sharing childhood memories of summers gone by at Cranberry Cove the pair decided to take the icy dip contributing to the school that their children have attended.

“It was awesome and I cannot wait to do it next year,” said Fager.

The water temperature was a concern for many as they saw the chunks of ice floating at the surface after Hanson firefighters and dive team members prepared the plunge area by sawing into the waterway.

“It actually felt similar to the air temperature,” said Fager after she realized she accomplished the feat.  Several plungers, in fact, said the water was not as cold as they had feared.

Enjoying the camaraderie of her small hometown, Allen said she would like to see more of those types of events.

“They really help bring the community together,” said  Allen.  Some of her fondest childhood memories were at the boat races on Memorial Day and the huge bonfire held at the town hall on July 4.

Shaun Doyle, a police officer on the South Shore and a Hanson school parent, found a little extra motivation in the morning as he dressed for the polar plunge. He chose to honor his fellow brother in blue SGT. Michael Chesna, a fallen Weymouth police officer killed in the line of duty.

“It’s nice at the end of the day — to give back — it’s all about the kids,” said Doyle.

Army Sgt. Aaron Meade a Hanson resident who graduated from W-H in 2002  said he had the memory of fellow Army soldier Black Hawk Pilot Scott Landis on his mind as he took a back flip into the chilly pond.

“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Meade who made the trip from Hanscom Airbase where he is stationed.

Meade was overjoyed to have been cleared two days prior from a medical injury in which he was wearing a walking boot.

“I may feel this later,” he said as he laughed off the cold.

Volunteers served hot cocoa and coffee to ice-cold bodies that were high on adrenaline. All participants were thanked deeply by organizers, wrapped in warming foils and given a cranberry colored commemorative towel as they exited the water.

Notably, some plungers such as Patrick Powers of the town Finance Committee and WHRHS Principal Dr. Christopher Jones, donned mismatched Hawaiian garb. Others looked pretty with headbands, Hawaiian skirts, bikini bathing suits and matching sunglasses, amusing hats and other costumes, which matched what appeared to be faces of exhilaration and relief.

Selectman Matt Dyer raised $260 of his $900 by taking up his father’s challenge to wear a pink tutu, crown, bow tie and knee socks into the water.

The typically warm summer sand, which was hardened with cold, was alive with the sounds of musical genres  — themed with winter weather lyrics, pumped up pledgers, family members and onlookers who packed the earth of the Cranberry Cove.

To see how many people participated and supported the plunge Valachovic commended onlookers many of whom contributed money on site.

“We are unbelievably grateful at the amount of support we couldn’t have done this without them,” she said.

Looking at budgets ‘By The Numbers’

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As the two towns approach a difficult budget season, Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV is producing a series of interviews with stakeholders in both communities.

“By The Numbers,” debuts at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 1 with Whitman resident and former Finance Committee member Shawn Kain. A regular schedule for the show is still pending.

“This is a new program that will focus on an issue that is actually a major topic of discussion by town officials in both Whitman and in Hanson, homeowners, parents, educators and — yes — even some conversation on social media,” Producer/host Kevin Tocci said to introduce the first show. “What are we talking about? We’re talking about budgets.”

That is planned to encompass school budgets, department and town budgets, right up to the state’s budget.

“There’s no necessary order in which they appear, but each of them have their own importance and are part of the fabric of the communities,” Tocci said in an interview with the Express. “Some of their information, some of their experience is in varied areas.”

Kain, a teacher at Brockton’s addiction recovery high school is also a business owner and has been vocal in advocating a long-range budget plan for Whitman. He says he has no plans to seek a seat on the Board of Selectmen, but stresses that decisions made there affect people and accountability is needed.

“When you’re in the classroom it’s really like the front line of an organization that starts, really at the Board of Selectmen,” he said. “I feel like when there’s a bad budgetary year, programs like mine are marginalized.”

He said that when the organization is not in good shape, the lives of everyday teachers, police officers, firefighters and others can feel uncertain about their welfare. He began his involvement by attending Finance Committee meeting to learn the “nuts and bolts” of the process.

Kain suggested that the School Committee’s efforts at securing increased state aid, for example, holds out false hope.

“People have to be told the bitter truth, they should be told that, realistically, we’re not going to get more money from the state,” he said. “If we do, it’s just going to be these small amounts of money, nothing that’s going to create a sustainable budget.”

Tocci asked Kain about transparency and current budgeting practices in Whitman.

Also slated to appear in episodes that have already been recorded are Whitman businessman and former Selectman Richard Rosen, current Whitman Selectman and former Finance Committee member Daniel Salvucci, School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes, a Whitman native who now lives in Hanson and Whitman Selectman Scott Lambiase, who is spearheading the town’s budget timeline planning and works for the town of Duxbury.

“The budget is always the most difficult time of the year,” Hayes said in the episode he recorded with Tocci. “You have two towns and the finances of each town changes with the needs of the town … both towns needed police stations, both towns are at the particular point where they both need highway departments. The budgets are on the backs of the taxpayers, more or less.”

Programs with Hanson officials are also planned, Tocci said, including Town Administrator Michael McCue and a member of the Board of Selectmen. He also plans to sit down with department heads such as police and fire chiefs in upcoming programs.

Rosen, who served as a Selectmen in the 1980s after winning a six-way race for a vacancy on the board, has been out of public office for some time and cautioned that, like most residents his current view of the budget process is from the outside in.

“It wasn’t easy times back in those days, because it was a few years after Proposition 2½, and, frankly I think it was a good thing,” Rosen recalled.

In one year, officials had to cut $1 million from the pre-regionalization school budget. But in 1984, a sewer project debt exclusion was approved. He also outlined how the current library and the senior center were built.

“We had financial issues, but we managed to resolve them back then,” he said, noting he has heard talk of a financial crisis every year at budget season for the past 30 years and that finger-pointing generally ensues.

“Everybody blames [Town Administrator Frank Lynam] for all the problems and it’s not Frank’s fault,” Rosen said. “Frank is the messenger. So it’s the old ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’ Back in the ’80s with the business manager, it was the same thing.”

The bottom line, Rosen said, is a revenue shortfall. He noted his residential and commercial developments have helped the town but have not been enough to close that gap. Whitman can’t afford to shift the tax burden to commercial properties without endangering small businesses.

The great police and fire departments, schools and library as well as a park that is better than most, bring people to buy homes in town, Rosen said. Attracting business is harder, he noted, because space is harder to find.

Salvucci, who has the perspective of serving on the South Shore Tech zero-based budgeting, had been a financial officer with Star Market before his retirement.

“You start with zero and justify every single dollar,” he said of the SSVT budget system. Flexible building heat systems and use of Scituate’s solar fields for electricity helps control SSVT’s utility costs. “We run South Shore Tech like a business to keep costs down.”

He advocates that Whitman’s departments adopt a zero-based approach and that underfunded and unfunded mandates be addressed.

“The state needs to look at what they’re doing and what they’re asking school departments to do,” Salvucci said about the burden of unfunded mandates.

He echoed Rosen’s comments on the town’s residential/commercial tax rate in view of the town’s revenue needs.

“If we change it, we’re going to lose business,” he said. “They’re going to leave.”

He spoke with Tocci about ideas under consideration for meeting budget needs such as possibly going for a debt exclusion to remove the balance of the Police Station project from within the levy limits and the need for a new DPW building.

“I would vote to put it on a ballot and let the people decide,” he said.

Hayes also spoke about the problems of obtaining a quorum at town meetings and how social media hinders people’s willingness to serve in local government as well as the damage done to the tax base through the competition from online shopping at the cost of local businesses.

Hayes also offers an explanation of how the annual school assessment is calculated, said Tocci, who also wants to schedule state budget officials to appear on the show.