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WH Forum: Hope, Loss, and the Law

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On Saturday, March 5 residents, recovering addicts, those who have suffered loss of a family member due to an addiction, community activists and law-enforcement officers gathered at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School to discuss the problems surrounding substance abuse and including the on-going opioid crisis in the state and country.

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, was scheduled to speak but could not be present due to a family matter, according to forum organizers. His Legislative Aide Rick Branca spoke briefly on his behalf regarding the representative’s efforts in the legislature to tackle the issue, including advocating for a law tightening rules on opiate prescriptions, with versions passed by both the House and the Senate and currently in a conference committee for reconciliation.

Branca also spoke of graduating from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School not very long ago, and witnessing too many fellow classmates pass away from substance abuse disorders.

Following Branca, Brendon Curran, a former drug abuser in recovery told his story. Currently 39, he said that it took him 12 years of attempts to finally “get clean.”

Curran said that his problem began when he began smoking marijuana around the age of 13, and that despite not liking the high, marijuana eliminated negative thoughts he was having. But this quickly led him to other drugs.

“Less than a year later, I had a needle in my arm,” he said. By 14, Curran was using heroin and other I.V. drugs. He was also smoking crack. This led him to a string of serious life problems, including stints in jail.

Today Curran is sober, and putting his life back together. “Addiction doesn’t discriminate; it can happen to anybody,” he said.

He went on to describe his thoughts on solving addiction issues.

“Punitive measures don’t work,” Curran said. He believes that more vocational programs to teach useful skills to those in recovery would be helpful.

Everything lost

Another recovering substance abuser, 36-year-old Sean Merrill, who works as the Executive Assistance/Community Relations Liaison for Teen Challenge in Brockton, a faith-based recovery program for adults, described his story of addiction and recovery.

Merrill became an electrician at age 22, and was doing well in life, he said, including buying a house, getting married and having a daughter.

But by the age of 25, he and his younger brother began experimenting with opioid painkillers, which he stated led to him becoming “hooked, and losing everything, including his house, his wife, his electrical license and visitation rights to see his daughter.

In February 2011, Merrill’s younger brother died due to his addiction. This tragic event in Merrill’s life prompted him to get sober. After getting sober through a Christian recovery program, which he now works for, he and his wife got back together, and they now have two children.

“My son has his father back, my daughter has her father back, my wife has her husband back, and my mother has her son back,” he said.

Foundation in faith

Rich Barnes, 48, of Bridgewater spoke next. Also a former substance abuser in recovery, he said he started drinking at age 10.

He continued drinking until 17, when he progressed on to other drugs, such as cocaine, and by 22, he was smoking crack. “I loved it…[it] buried pain and negative thoughts.”

He married in 2000, but said that he was soon spending $10,000 a month on crack and cocaine. “My life was a negative vortex,” he said.

But as life continued with a new daughter, and he continued to struggle, he decided finally that enough was enough after a suicide attempt. “I missed the first 2 and a half years of my baby’s life due to addiction,” he said.

Now sober for 10 years, Barnes is writing a book with the working title of, “From Stealing to Healing,” and is an inspirational speaker and author of the website richfulthinking.com.

“Never, ever think that it’s not going to be your kid,” he said. “You don’t know what an addict looks like…addiction affects everyone.”

For Matthew

Mary Peckham, of Halifax, addressed her son’s death from addiction, in September 2012 at the age of 27. Matthew Peckham was a “normal kid from a normal family,” said his mother.

Peckham became involved in drugs in high school, and in a now all-too-familiar scenario, it involved other students trading, buying and selling pain medication prescribed for minor sports injuries or pulled wisdom teeth. Mary Peckham never noticed anything amiss.

The secrets began to come out, however, in April 2011, when Matthew Peckham was found overdosing on heroin on his bedroom floor. His drug dealer had sold him heroin that was cut — diluted to increase its weight and volume — with cement. He was brought back to life by first responders with the medicine Naloxone, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, which reverses the effects of an acute opioid overdose.

Peckham denied the drug use, even when in the hospital confronted with positive blood tests for heroin, due to embarrassment. Mary Peckham lost her son the next year.

Peckham strongly stated her belief that her son’s death could have been prevented. She had harsh words with regards to doctors who overprescribe pain medication, calling pain killers “heroin in pill form.”

As for pharmaceutical companies, she had this to add: “They are making money off the backs of our children.” She also faults expensive recovery programs and complex insurance issues that she feels contributed to the death of her son.

Peckham recently started a support group, Matthew’s Candle, for those who have lost a loved one due to an overdose, stating that she has experienced stigma in other grief or loss-support groups because of the cause of her son’s death. Matthew’s Candle meets in Hanson, and the group can be reached at matthewscandle922@gmail.com for more information.

There’s HOPE

Finally, Susan Silva, an East Bridgewater mother of a son in recovery, described the work she is doing with other local activists and local law-enforcement. She was inspired to take action spreading awareness because of the stigma her family went through on her son’s years-long path to sobriety

She described extended family turning against her family, her church turning against them, even neighbors wanting them, “removed from the neighborhood.”

“I know what it is like to feel stigma.”

She eventually teamed up with the East Bridgewater police, and led a coalition of local stake-holders with the goal of creating a model for law-enforcement and the community to help those suffering from addiction rather than send them to jail or prison.

The fruition of their efforts is the EB HOPE Outreach Center, a twice-monthly drop-in center open on the first and third Thursday of each month from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Community Covenant Church, 400 Pleasant Street, East Bridgewater. The center is open to the community at large, not exclusively residents of East Bridgewater.

The EB Hope Center can provide information about and access to a variety of services, including inpatient and outpatient detoxification programs, addiction recovery services, resources for family members (including training to administer Naloxone/Narcan and information on how to obtain the medication), and on-site mental health triage.

First responders

Although East Bridgewater police personnel are present as partners of the Center and as a resource, according to Police Chief John Cowan the presence is not intended to intimidate anyone or keep anyone needing help away. He stated the purpose of the program is to help substance abusers and their families, not arrest them.

East Bridgewater Detective Sgt. Scott Allen, a career drug-crimes detective himself involved with the center, summed it up this way: “I think we’ve realized that we can’t arrest our way out of this problem.”

The EB Hope Center can be reached at (504)-800-0942 or at www.ebhopes.net.

Nearly every speaker continuously made the point that addiction can affect anyone, anyone’s family, anyone’s child, anyone’s neighbor, anyone’s friend. Addiction does not discriminate, and the public needs to educate themselves on the issue of substance abuse, as addiction is often “hidden in plain sight,” according to those who have lived it.

Hanson Names TA Finalist

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HANSON — Selectmen will interview the four finalists for the Town Administrator position starting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 22.

The search committee released the names of the final four — Michael McCue of Mansfield, Gregory Enos of Brockton (currently Whitman’s assistant town administrator), Sarah Smith of East Bridgewater and Chawner Hurd of Plainville — of seven semi-finalists they interviewed Feb. 24 and 25. This second round of the search process attracted 30 applicants. They were listed in no particular order or ranking as to preference.The selectmen’s interviews with finalists are open to the public.

Executive Assistant to the Board of Selectmen Meredith Marini will now forward questions used in past interviews to the selectmen for their review.

Selectman James McGahan also encouraged residents to submit their questions for consideration.

Search Committee Chairman Kenneth McCormick said the increased salary range approved at the October special Town Meeting, along with a revision of the job description, helped attract a better pool of candidates this time.

“You did an excellent job chairing that committee,” said Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young, who served on the search panel.

“I had an absolute blast,” McCormick said. “People that I worked with on the committee were professional and very good at deciphering what we needed to pick and the route we needed to go.”

The committee had worked together to formulate its goals, he said.

“You want to do it right,” he said.  “We’ve had some good, but not long-term town administrators in the town, and that [longevity] is one of the things that we want. We want someone who’s going to be vested, outside the box — not your typical town administrator.”

Key considerations included environmental awareness and budget experience.

“I believe we got it right,” McCormick said.  “We got the cream of the crop, I think, for [selectmen] to pick from when you do your interviews.”

He thanked selectmen and the town for allowing the committee to start over when it was not felt that the first search attracted enough qualified candidates to present more than two finalists to selectmen after a third withdrew.

The hope this time around is to have a new town administrator in place, and working along side interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera by the end of April.

“Hopefully you’ll be impressed —  because we were — with the  candidates,” McCormick said.

McCormick, who had never served on a board before, lauded the dedication and diversity of his committee.

“That’s one of the reasons I picked you,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell. “I’d never seen your name on any board or any committee.”

McCormick replied he saw the opening and decided to “give it a whirl.”

The Search Committee will meet one more time to approve minutes and dissolve itself.

School Repairs Eyed

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HANSON — Selectmen have some homework to do as they weigh options for a second statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) by April 8.

The board will vote March 15 on their options, such as whether or not they support expansion at either Indian Head or Hanson Middle School, to replace the crumbling Maquan School. School Committee members will vote March 16.

The first SOI — the district is allowed two — would be a resubmission of the Maquan replacement core project proposal, which was not funded in the last round of MSBA grants. One SOI must be identified as the primary, or priority project and the other as a secondary.

School officials provided selectmen with 10 options to consider. Selectmen seemed to prefer an expansion of the middle school with the intent to weigh the options carefully. Hanson Middle School’s septic system is designed for 700 students, and currently serves 414. Indian Head School will need work in any case.

“This is a great start,” Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young said of the presentation. “This is exactly what we’re looking for. We appreciate all the work you’ve done on this.”                                                                                                                                              Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said that, according to MSBA, Maquan has to be the primary as “it’s the one that needs the most work.” In 2012, a new Maquan was priced at $36.4 million with Hanson’s share put at $17.8 million.

An addition to Indian Head to create a pre-K to grade five school was estimated at $52.7 million in 2012 with Hanson’s share put at $26.3 million. The new pre-K to grade five school building option voted down was estimated at $53 million in 2012.

“Any option is possible,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “You need to let us know which you think is the option that will be best supported by your town, because I don’t think we want to go through what we went through again.”

MSBA does not support renovation of Maquan School, a decision made during the last school building process that voters rejected.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes and W-H Regional School District officials — Gilbert-Whitner, Facilities Director Ernest Sandland, Director of Business Services Christine Suckow and School Committee member Fred Small, who also chairs the board’s facilities subcommittee — met with selectmen on the matter Tuesday, March 8.

“Since we last met with you, we felt it was important that we do some data collection and come back to you with some information that may be helpful in trying to decide how we’re going to move forward,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “The first thing we did is we really looked at the spaces we currently have.”

She noted that some residents had asked if pupils could be moved out of Maquan into one or both of the other schools. A tour of both Indian Head and HMS, as well as conversations with both schools’ principals showed each building could absorb only one grade level.

“We tried to determine, if we did nothing, what would our spaces look like?” she said. “If we had to move students out of [Maquan], what kind of spaces would we need?”

While grade five could move to HMS, allowing grades one and two could be moved to Indian Head, it would still leave 160 kindergarten and integrated preschool pupils to be placed. The 52 Whitman preschoolers, attending the Maquan program either due to special needs or paid tuition, would have to be moved back to a school there. The pre-K program is currently at Maquan for space and cost-saving considerations.

Space leased at Maquan by the Pilgrim and North River special education collaboratives is on a year-to-year basis as space is available.

Any addition at HMS would have to be made on the side near the library. A separate entrance would be designed if an early learning center for kindergarten and preschool classrooms were moved to that building.

Among the 10 options selectmen are considering: build a pre-K/kindergarten school to replace Maquan; build a pre-K to grade five school (the project that failed; move grade five to HMS and build a pre-K to grade four school; renovate or add on to Indian Head as a pre-K to grade five school; renovate or add on to Indian Head as a pre-K to grade four school, which would require a retrofit Indian Head for little kids and some asbestos and lead paint abatement; renovate or add on to HMS; renovate Indian Head for pre-K/kindergarten; or add portable classrooms to Indian Head for pre-K/kindergarten.

“Cross that off,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell about portables. “I was there in the mid-’80s.”

Suckow said portables are better now but more expensive, costing $250,000 for a 10-year solution.

The feasibility study done for the rejected school project gives the town a head start on a feasibility study for any option Hanson chooses this time.

WHITMAN —Approaching annual town meetings, school repairs are very much on the minds of town officials in both Whitman and Hanson, especially roof projects at Whitman’s Duval Elementary School and at Hanson’s Maquan Elementary School.

W-H Regional School District officials — Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner, Director of Business Services Christine Suckow, Facilities Director Ernest Sandland and School Committee member Fred Small, who also chairs the board’s facilities subcommittee — met with building committees in both towns on Thursday, March 3.

They presented Whitman’s Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee with a five-year plan of facilities needs at Whitman and region school buildings listed in order of need. The Duval roof topped that list. High school capital projects are apportioned based on student population.

“I don’t think we can vote on a single thing until we get this huge picture … this is overwhelming this year,” Finance Committee Chairman William Capocci said about a proposal to update Town Hall records storage after the school presentation. He said right now there are almost $900,000 in requests from the schools. The Fire Department has 17 articles totaling more than $800,000, the Police Department has six or eight articles and IT has close to 10 on the warrant, plus there is OPEB to deal with.

“The Duval roof is a serious concern,” Gilbert-Whitner said during the district’s presentation. “To go through something like that again would just be a terrible thing. … I think long-term concerns about Whitman Middle School and how best to spend money now, and then later, are big concerns.”

In Hanson officials are weighing options for the Maquan School and repairing the roof, where leaks have been a long-term problem. Selectmen approved a $7,500 engineering study for the project March 8, which now goes before Town Meeting.

“If you all recall last winter, we had horrendous ice dams and damage of well over $100,000 — which was covered by the insurance company,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the Duval roof at the Whitman meeting. “But the insurance did not cover any kind of a repair to the roof.”

The price tag on the Duval roof has yet to be determined. A full engineering study will be needed to determine a price tag.

“I think the money has to be set aside for [an] engineer to come in and figure out what the real cost is going to be,” Sandland said. The engineering of the much bigger Indian Head roof project was $90,000, but Sandland suggested a Duval study and design could cost $20,000 to $30,000. At Maquan, the investigation into the extent of the problem cost $7,500 with the engineering study running between $35,000 and $40,000 to design a replacement roof.

Gale Engineering, which worked on the Indian Head School roof, was asked to survey the Duval roof and “found some deficiencies that needed correction,” Sandland said. Gale estimated the full repair could cost between roughly $200,000 to $300,000 — with a required threshold of $200,000 before the district could even apply for accelerated repair funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

“If we’re going to do this, we need to plan it at this town meeting,” said Lynam of an estimated $335,000 to investigate, design and repair the roof.

Suckow said that, for an accelerated green repair, which could bring an estimated 50 to 60 percent reimbursement, the town would have to commit to the full $300,000 for a repair project.

The damaged portion of the Duval roof is on the addition, not the original building once known as the Regal Street School.

“This has been a construction design problem almost since the building opened,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the expanded Duval School. Information was supplied to the MSBA last fall. MSBA succeeded the former School Building Authority when the SBA was revamped around 2005.

An MSBA accelerated repair grant could, if received, reimburse some of the repair costs to the Duval roof. Whitman has approved a statement of interest for an accelerated repair grant and Hanson is moving to make repairs to the Maquan roof until a permanent solution to that school’s problems can be found.

Parameters of the accelerated repair grant require a project involving a building at least 20 years old. The failing portion of Duval’s roof was built in 1999.

“We recognize that this is going to be a significant expense,” said committee chairman, Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “We also, I believe, will be taking the position that if there’s no relief on clawback then we’re going to do, at minimum, the work we have to do to last the 20 years. I don’t see any other way.”

Gilbert-Whitner agreed, noting there was no guarantee of reimbursement.

The district, on advice from MSBA, wrote a cover letter to the statement of interest outlining how the original roof work in question came under SBA oversight.

A search of records on the 1999 project did not yield a lot of detailed information what had been done at that time, according to Sandland.

“That’s why we got to the point where we submitted the information to MSBA, asking them for help in uncovering what could be a very expensive fix,” he said. Contractors involved in the 1999 work have either retired, been unresponsive or gone out of business, he noted.

The Whitman schools projects list also include fire alarm/smoke detector replacement ($50,000 each) at all three, replacing rooftop units ($50,000) at Whitman Middle School, replacing aged kitchen equipment ($53,000) at and carpet replacement ($55,000) in areas of WMS and Conley, Univent replacement ($55,000) at WMS and installation of acoustical tile to soundproof the Conley gym ($20,000).

Sandland said replacing fire alarms/smoke detectors should reduce the number of false alarms, as was discovered when Hanson replaced them in two schools over the summer. Kitchen equipment in need of replacement present health issues if used much longer.

WHRHS projects sought for fiscal 2017 are bleacher chairlift replacement ($26,000 apportioned between the towns) at the turf field, tennis court refinishing and upgrading lights to LED ($165,000) and repairs to the concrete walkways at the entrances ($45,000).

The company that manufactured and installed the chairlift is no longer in business, Sandland said, adding that the state, which now inspects chairlifts every year, has shut the lift down as unsafe. A reinspection is slated for March 31 at which time Sandland aims to get in writing whether the chairlift can be fixed or must be replaced.

The tennis courts were expanded from four to the MIAA-required five by overlaying the surface in 1990. Severe cracks and heaves have now materialized and the playing surface must be ground down and replaced, Sandland said.

Suckow added the that tennis courts have been listed as a hazard by the insurance company for the past two years.

Weather damage has also taken a toll on the entrance sidewalks.

The Whitman building committee, however, wondered if Whitman DPW and Hanson Highway Dept. could work together on the repair to save money.

“We have streets in town that were built by the WPA that are in better shape than what you’ve got going on up there,” Lynam said.

“I’d rather throw the money at our people than give it out to somebody else,” said committee member Selectman Dan Salvucci.

Police Seeking would be Abductor

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WHITMAN — After a failed child abduction attempt on Lazel Street Friday, Whitman Police have asked for the public’s help in identifying the male who reportedly grabbed a 9-year-old girl in her front yard.

The girl’s grandmother, who talked to the Express on Sunday, was still visibly upset as she recalled the previous day’s events. Whitman police and the Express are not identifying the family name because of safety concerns.

Just after 4:15 p.m. Friday, when her two granddaughters and their friend — all elementary age — were playing outside in the driveway of the family’s Lazel Street home a man came and put his gloved hands over one girl’s mouth.

“She came in the house and said, ‘Nanny there was a man in the driveway, he was whispering something to me and he put his hand on my mouth and he unzipped my jacket,’” the woman said. “She said the man ran away when the other girls came towards the yard.”

The child didn’t hear what the white male whispered but she told police he jumped over a fence and ran when the other girls approached —perhaps startling him, according to police who released the following information:

The suspect is a white male, 5’10”, in his late 20s to early 30s, thin build, clean shaven, with acne on his face. He was wearing black stocking hat, brown jacket, blue jeans, black shoes, and black fingerless gloves.
“My granddaughter is very articulate and she described him in detail to police,” the woman said. “She was comfortable talking with the officer (School Resource Officer Kevin Harrington) who assured her that the school and her teachers would be aware of what happened.

“She had the presence of mind not to panic,” the grandmother continued. “She told the neighbor, her grandfather and the police were here in minutes.  She was calm Friday night and was still OK. We thought maybe she would have a tough night sleeping.  We clarified with her that this was in fact an event and she was very clear in recalling what happened.”

Whitman police sent out several community alerts regarding the description of the suspect immediately following the occurrence.  Whitman Police Department received several reports of persons matching the description of the suspect.  Each report was followed up and although the descriptions were close, the suspect was not identified, said police in a press release.

“After an extensive search by the K-9 teams, the suspect was not located.  Anyone with information regarding this incident should call the Whitman Police Department at 781-447-1212.  Detective Pete Aitken is the lead investigator for this incident.

Deputy Chief Timothy Hanlon said the department is also analyzing surveillance video from area businesses.

Sanders is top choice on local Democratic ballots

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With nearly half the registered voters in both towns turning out to vote Tuesday, Whitman and Hanson backed the outsiders in both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Massachusetts. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders garnered 1,414 votes to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 970 in Whitman, while he received 997 to Clinton’s 692 in Hanson. Statewide, Clinton carried the day by a slim margin of some 20,000 votes. Businessman Donald Trump received 1,242 votes in Whitman as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio got 292, Ohio Gov. John Kasich had 266, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had 186 and Dr. Ben Carson had 52. Other candidates who have withdrawn from the race split 60 votes in Whitman. Trump sailed to the front of the pack in Hanson with 1,000 votes, compared with 237 for Rubio, 205 for Kasich, 194 for Cruz, 50 for Carson and 46 for withdrawn candidates or no preference.

Of Whitman’s 9,909 registered voters, 4,582 — or 46 percent cast ballots. In Hanson 48 percent of the town’s 7,215 registered voters — 3,475 — cast ballots. “There was a line when polls opened this morning,” said Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley. “People were waiting.” She was hopeful, based on interest, phone calls and the number of people registering, that they might see a 50-percent turnout. In the first hour alone, 300 votes had been cast in Whitman. While voters lined up to vote, sign-holders supporting candidates were an unusually rare sight during the day on Tuesday. Two, supporting Sanders in Whitman and Cruz in Hanson, spoke of their support for their respective candidates. Anastasia Mykoniatos of Whitman, holding signs for Sanders in front of the post office next door to the Town Hall polling place, was counting on a high turnout to help her candidate, who she said needed five states to stay competitive. “I like the fact that he’s paying attention to the lesser-thought of issues such as student debt and the climate change that a lot of the other people aren’t paying attention to or supporting,” she said. “I like the fact that you can trace back his stance on issues for at least two decades.” Mykoniatos noted Sanders has supported LGBT rights since 1992, while Clinton voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Sanders took four states — Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Colorado — on Super Tuesday to Clinton’s  seven. Trump took seven — Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Vermont —with Cruz winning Texas and Oklahoma and Rubio notching  his first primary win in Minnesota. “Trump scares me,” Mykoniatos said.

Leslie J. Molyneaux, also a candidate for GOP state committeeman said he was backing Cruz for similar reasons. “I’m working for Ted Cruz because he’s a constitutionalist,” Molyneaux said outside of Hanson’s Maquan School polling place. “He knows the Constitution front and back and he’s been fighting for it his whole life.” Molyneaux noted that Cruz, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, is also the most experienced candidate in terms of governance. “He successfully argued several cases regarding personal liberty before the Supreme Court,” he said. “Donald Trump, I don’t feel, is a conservative. Donald Trump is a populist and he has reached a nerve with the American people who truly are sick of government.” But, Molyneaux said, what happens down the road has yet to be determined. “Certainly the establishment Republicans are really unhappy because they don’t have a dog in the hunt,” he said. “I think the establishment is putting all their money behind Rubio, and he’s really not one of them, but he’s closer to being one of them than Trump or Cruz is.”One local official that has gone to work for Trump as the state co-chairman of that campaign is state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman.

“He’s clearly going to win, it’s just a question of how big,” Diehl said of Trump’s chances Tuesday morning. “Just like my run in 2010, I think Donald Trump brings that same business background to D.C. with the momentum of supporters who feel like D.C. is no longer listening to them.” Diehl compares Trump’s past business setbacks with the experimental failures Thomas Edison experienced while inventing the light bulb. He also noted that the economic climate of the past few years has made Trump realize that government has done a poor job of allowing businesses to grow. “I’m a  Cruz man, but Geoff is a good man,” Molyneaux said.

Lennie Baker serenaded at funeral

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WHITMAN — In a final standing ovation for his lifetime of generating music and melody, musician Leonard J. “Lennie” Baker, 69, of Whitman was laid to rest Tuesday at the Colebrook Cemetery surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and classmates.

His bandmate and longtime friend Paul Pennini, also a graduate of W-H and part of the group Paul Wayne and the Wantells, performed “Rock ’n’ Roll is Here to Stay” in front of Baker’s casket — asking those in attendance to rise one last time for Baker. Pennini said the song was his connection to his fellow musician and would forever remain that memory. So he jammed on his guitar with not a dry eye in the room.

As a graduate of Whitman Hanson class of 1963 Baker was a well-known member of the 1950s-style doo-wop group Sha Na Na and appeared on a TV variety show from 1977- 1981. The group made their biggest appearance in the classic movie “Grease” in 1978. Baker sang lead on “Blue Moon,” a song he continued to perform for more than 30 years — even selling out Carnegie Hall. The movie soundtrack album went multi-platinum. He never disregarded smaller venues and hit all the local Boston night clubs, colleges and universities around the country. Fame didn’t change him. “Lennie never left his roots,” said sister- in- law Marcia Baker. “He was a grounded man and he did what he could for his family and the town of Whitman.”

He was always generous and committed to his family. Although he had failing health, he received a kidney transplant from his nephew David Baker, surviving 15 more years. He recently celebrated the anniversary in his life, said the Rev. Sue Webster of Winthrop Church of Holbrook who performed his services. He celebrated the millennium and officially retired Jan. 1, 2000 after playing at the International Dateline in Fiji. He was one of four brothers and his natural gift of music emerged in elementary school when he learned to play the clarinet then the saxophone. He was asked to perform with the W-H high school band while he was still in middle school. He performed early on in his career at local clubs with the musical group the Pilgrims and later The Spellbinders. He joined Sha Na Na in 1970 performing with them for the next 30 years. He sang, played sax and enjoyed life spending time on the water with his two boats, and living in Martha’s Vineyard for several years. However the musician was only one side of Baker’s personality. His family and friends described him as a generous, kind-hearted soul.

Baker’s picture hangs in the W-H Hall of Fame. His first and last public performances were in the presence of his community. He appeared on stage in the musical “Grease” in February 2014 with the cast at W-H under the direction of Laurie Healey, theater director and owner of Dance Dimensions in Whitman. His career came full circle when he appeared in one show with the full cast even though he was in a wheelchair at the time. “I asked him to attend the show and meet the kids…he was so personable,” she said. “He offered to perform ‘Blue Moon’ in the show.” He spoke with the cast, answering questions, and was a classy, wonderful spirit, she said. “He finished where he started off,” said Healey who emphasized how thrilling it was to have him perform and attend their show. Baker had been in failing health recently and died peacefully on Feb 24, at the South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.

 

 

 

National Grid growth felt in Whitman

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WHITMAN —  It may sound like a good thing for the town, but while a National Grid personal property report has added $72.8 million in new growth, it has raised the town’s levy limit — and it’s not expected to last.

The anomaly was discovered during an analysis of available funds, including new growth, according to Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

“Typically, we estimate new growth before Town Meeting and we plan our budget with an awareness of what our ability to raise funds is based, in part, on new growth,” he said.

national gridThe town had been notified in March that National Grid and its affiliates reported new growth of $72,784,278 in taxable personal property in Whitman in fiscal 2016. The growth was not presented until the classification hearing, which set the tax rate, Nov. 10.

Last year, the town’s total of taxable personal property was $9,745,287 — a value that had held fairly steady for years. Added to the National Grid growth, should put the total for new growth at about $81 million, which means National Grid’s report already includes a depreciation of about $8 million from the value of their personal property.

If that trend continues, the new growth funds from the National Grid property is going to run out in nine years, according to Lynam. He likened depending on the funds to balancing a budget with free cash.

Lynam will be recommending that the town uses the National Grid growth figures only for capital expenditures that are voted from year to year. He will recommend using $300,000 of it this year for the Duval school roof as well as more for other non-recurring capital projects.

“If you build the budget using personal property which doesn’t typically grow, unless you add more real property to it, your ability to raise money is going to drop each year,” Lynam said.

Real estate valuation is generally more reliable than that. Single-family homes will add $110,600 to the tax value, condos $23,400, two/three-families $15,500, multi-families $1,100, vacant land $4,400 and commercial $1,154,300.

“Real estate typically appreciates in value or, at least, kind of stays stable,” Lynam said. “Even in cases where it declines the total value of real estate is sufficient that it doesn’t impact us as a community.”

Even when property values are in decline, he noted, there is room between the levy limit and the levy ceiling to raise money for town operations. The levy ceiling is the most that can be assessed on property, including overrides.

“If we exceeded our levy limit and needed more money, we could call for an override election,” he said. “As long as the people vote it, we could then raise the tax revenue up to that levy ceiling — we can never go over that under any circumstances.”

Lynam said there is a “healthy difference between the two. This year’s levy limit is $23,142,555, with the ceiling at $35,582,215. The town has to raise $22,189,069 from real and personal property to operate. The tax rate is $15.59.

“The problem is personal property is a depreciating and depleting asset,” he said.

Diesel Trucks faces deadline

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Dealer gets last chance

WHITMAN — Vehicle dealer David Federico now faces a solid March 1 deadline to clean up the lot of his 575 Bedford St. Diesel Trucks business or face suspension of his Class II Auto Dealer’s License until he does.

The Board of Selectmen voted 4-1 Tuesday, Feb. 9 to support Building Inspector Robert Curran’s recommendation to grant the second extension. Selectmen Dan Salvucci vehemently disagreed.

diesel trucks“It’s been five weeks now,” Salvucci said. “I’ve seen a little improvement, but then you go back to your old ways. … I would think that you would do what we asked you to do and then come back [to request more vehicles]. You haven’t done that. It’s like pulling teeth for you to do what we’re asking you to do.”

Federico raised the board’s level of frustration by suggesting he should be permitted to store at least 52 vehicles on the lot and that they did not understand the nature of his business and were being unfair to him because he is not a Whitman resident.

“I’m working on an extremely tight margin here as profit goes,” Federico said after the vote. “I’m not from the area, I’m not from Whitman, I’m from Needham. Maybe I do feel I’m not being treated as fairly as another car dealer who’s from the area.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson agreed with Salvucci’s frustration and asked if the board wasn’t being more lenient with Federico than with other dealers in town.

“I believe we need to treat everybody the same in this category,” Bezanson said, but deferred to Curran’s judgment for now. “I don’t want the public to get the impression that we’re going the extra, extra mile.”

In January, Federico had been granted an extension to Feb. 9 after he had reduced the number of vehicles from 65 down to between 48 and 50 and created a handicapped parking space, but more issues — such as a car parked in the loading area — remained, bringing about the extension to Feb. 9. The board had ordered Federico to limit his inventory to 35, be open normal business hours and provide adequate customer and handicapped parking by Jan. 19 or risk revocation of his license.

Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski suggested endorsing Curran’s recommendation, while requiring a site plan and Curran’s oversight of the improvements.

“Mr. Federico ought to understand that March 1 is the dead deadline,” Kowalski said.

Curran now suggests 40 is a more realistic vehicle limit for the business and said he would continue working with Federico to develop the best layout for that number. He said March 1 is a workable deadline.

“He’s trying to keep the amount of vehicles to around 50 or a bit over that,” Curran said. “The issue here is, and I think I have to change my opinion a little bit, this gentleman is selling trucks — Diesel Trucks is the name of the business. I can’t go in there thinking I’m going to see cars for sale.”

He said Federico has a lot of older vehicles with diesel motors in them and said the motors are, more often than not, more valuable than the bodies and Federico markets mostly on the Internet.

“However, I still feel it’s over-crowded,” Curran said. “You should give him a little time to get rid of another 10 vehicles and then restrict him to 40 until he wants to re-address it.”

Inspections over the past week reveal the handicapped parking space is blocked again and the Federico still has the loading area blocked. Snow removal was also an issue.

“The vehicles at the rear of the property are kind of three or four deep and they seem to be backed up into the woods,” he said.

Federico brought in a plan he said took him eight hours to draw up, but Selectman Lisa Green noted there was no provision within it for the size difference between passenger cars and larger diesel vehicles and trucks.

“I don’t own the property,” Federico said, repeating several times his absentee landlord’s advice that he hire a lawyer. “My response to him was … ‘These guys seem like nice guys, I don’t think we need an attorney. I think we can go in and move some cars around here and get everything squared away.”

Federico suggested the property owner is ready to litigate against somebody.

Selectman Scott Lambiase and Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos both reminded Federico the license is in his name, not in the property owner’s, and goes with Federico if he moves within town.

W-H district rolls out budget

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Officials unveil level-service plan, make case for ‘Student Success’ budget

As promised, the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District rolled out two budget proposals during the Wednesday, Feb. 3 School Committee public hearing on the fiscal 2017 budget.

A $45,714,344 level-service budget, already reflecting a $1,388,214 deficit due to increases in fixed costs, was outlined by line item, followed by the review of three goals that would be incorporated in a “Student Success” budget that would add $3 million to the bottom line.

WHRSDWhat form the budget will ultimately take will be decided by the School Committee in the coming weeks.

The current fiscal 2016 budget of $45,688,067 had been increased only .01 percent — reflecting an increase in local assessments of 3 percent, or about $500,000.

Several officials from both towns’ select boards and finance committees were joined by the district’s state legislators and dozens of educators and concerned parents at the annual budget presentation.

“I have in front of me a stack of letters from constituents of the School District to all of us,” School Committee Chairman Robert Hayes told his members. “I also had come to the district a stack of letters from a second grade group of students talking about restoring libraries. We’re hearing you. We’re going to be discussing it.”

He implored concerned residents to attend meetings during which the budget is discussed.

“We believe in education, that’s why we’re on this board,” he said.

The budget is available online at whrsd.org along with information on state Chapter 70 aid reviewed by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) representative Melissa King.

Whitman is currently 8.5 percent — or $1,322,998 — short of the target share sought by the state in its Chapter 70 calculations. Hanson is 5.21 percent below target share — $1,170,654.

Two Whitman residents urged adoption of the student success budget.

“I think the students deserve that,” one resident said. “They’ve lost a good amount of things over the years.”

“Our kids deserve every last bit of this,” Marshall Ottina said. “How can we, in any good conscience, not vote for this $3 million?”

“This is the beginning of the budget process for the district,” said Hayes in his introduction to the hearing. “The superintendent meets with the leadership team and they go over and present the budget and formulate what you have in front of you. This is the first night.”

He stressed that the final budget may not end up looking “anywhere near” the presentation as the committee works toward a vote on a spending plan for fiscal year 2017. That vote must come in mid-March, 45 days before the town meetings.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner made the budget presentation, beginning with an overview and historical background. She then discussed grants/other funding sources, revenue and the budget proposals in turn, pausing for questions as they came up.

“This has been a long process, and probably one of the most challenging ones we’ve done,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “It’s going to cost 2.25 percent — or approximately $1.1 million — more just to do the same thing [as in fiscal 2016].”

The average per-pupil spending statewide, according to DESE, is $14,518 (fiscal 2013-14), but W-H spends $11,126 per pupil — 10th from the bottom, she noted.

Perceptions

“I think we do a great job in this district in terms of getting a lot out of a dollar,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the student success budget proposal. “But there’s a lot we’re not doing. For many years we’ve been told W-H cries wolf because we’re getting good results and, darn it, look what they can do. But this year we couldn’t fix it.”

The “three pillars” of the proposal — healthy bodies/healthy minds, a cohesive prekindergarten to grade 12 system and safe/secure schools — include budgeting $500,000 toward reducing elementary class size, $400,000 to implement free all-day kindergarten, $320,000 to restore the library program, $240,000 to replace the grant funding the elementary science curriculum, $70,000 for middle school foreign language programs and about $170,000 for music and art, among other line items.

Professional development expenditures have declined to $35.17 per pupil, vs. a state average of $217.34. Enrollment had also been declining in recent years, but has begun to stabilize. One lower-than-average expenditure Gilbert-Whitner highlighted was administrative costs — 2.77 percent of the budget. The state average is $500.15 per pupil, while W-H spends $314.81.

“We often hear in the district that people think we are administration-heavy,” she said. “We put our money into classroom and specialist teachers.”  [W-H is at $4,437.61 per pupil with the state average $5,441.36.]

Grants augment revenue in several key programs, but some the district receives are expiring and competition for some others is becoming more keen.

“There aren’t nearly as many grant opportunities available, but we certainly need them,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We are funding 81 positions outside of the LEA budget.”

School Choice, accepted for high school students only and bringing in $5,000 per student from sending districts, funds programs for that school only. WHRHS is using the funds to hire the teachers needed to help implement a schedule and program of studies change next year.

Hayes vehemently denied rumors that the high school recruits school choice students. It is also against MIAA rules.

The bulk of revenue, however, comes from Chapter 70 and local aid funds.

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, as well as state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, have signed onto a letter to the House and Senate Ways & Means committees seeking an increase in the Chapter 70 funding formula. The increase would change the minimum aid increment from $20 to $50 per pupil. It was $25 per pupil last year.

“It’s a protection,” Diehl said. “Chapter 70 is a formula because it protects those funds from being politicized.”

That said, he noted legislators on both sides of the aisle recognize more funds are needed. Diehl also credited Cutler for his networking on behalf of regional schools on Beacon Hill.

“We try to bump up the numbers wherever we have the ability to do so,” Cutler said about the minimum aid. “It is something we are all in unison on.”

Brady said the school budget funding formula is reviewed every year.

“But at the end of the day, we have to balance the budget,” he said. “In the meantime, we can try to file any amendments you’d like to try to adjust the budget.
Projected revenue for the WHRSD level service budget now stands at $45,326,130 with no assessment increases from the towns other than to account for population shifts.

Debt payments for the high school are about $100,000 lower for the towns after a refinance in June.

Non-mandated transportation assessments in the FY 2017 budget are $351,012 for Whitman and $96,280 for Hanson — also calculated by enrollment, a figure that also drives local assessment calculations.

Organized by school, the FY 2017 level service budget line items show, for example, that elementary principals’ travel and supplies funds were eliminated and teacher salary changes reflect contract or status changes and any use of revolving funds. District expenses also reflect changes in debt service and reductions in legal fees not needed after teacher contract negotiations concluded.

McAleer shines for Shriners

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W-H junior named to All-Star Classic game

By Nathan Rollins
Express correspondent

McAleer shines for Shriners: Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake girls’ hockey is sending a player to skate in this year’s Shriners All-Star Classic. Forward Melanie McAleer has been selected to compete in the event.

The Shriners All-Star Classic is a showcase of the best and most talented hockey players across Massachusetts. The game is played to help raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children, specifically for the Aleppo Transportation Fund. Every year, the event raises thousands of dollars for the hospitals. The event illustrates the devotion Shriners Hospitals for Children has for their patients.

WHSL co-captain Mel McAleer, a junior forward, has been selected to participate in the seventh annual Shriners All-Star Hockey Classic on Saturday, March 26. Photo by Sue Moss

WHSL co-captain Mel McAleer, a junior forward, has been selected to participate in the seventh annual Shriners All-Star Hockey Classic on Saturday, March 26.
Photo by Sue Moss

McAleer said being one of a handful of girls chosen to take part in the action is a tremendous gesture.

“To play in the Shriners All-Star Classic Game is truly an honor,” the junior said. “I always knew that the players that were picked to participate are highly respected on and off the ice and it is truly a privilege to be one of them this year.”

The game, which is scheduled for Friday, March 26 at the in Loring Arena in Framingham, held an orientation on Feb. 6 at the Performing Arts Center at Reading Memorial High School. It was there, that the players took team and individual pictures had the chance to meet with their coaches. McAleer said it was an incredible feeling to be among some of the best hockey players around but that’s not the real reason the game is held.

“What inspired me most during the orientation, was the video presentation that was shown of the patients that Shriners has helped,” McAleer said. “Listening to their stories made me understand why they bring us all together. It is awesome to be considered one of the best hockey players in the state, but it feels much better to be looked to with the responsibility of raising money for such a great organization.”

The 17-year-old McAleer said the sport of hockey drew her in at a young age and she has pursued it ever since.

“My family has always been into hockey, but my love for the game was natural,” McAleer said. “I always loved skating and when I was 7-year-old, my mom finally agreed to let me start playing. Ever since then, I haven’t stopped loving it.”

Whitman-Hanson / Silver Lake girl’s hockey coach, Kevin Marani, said McAleer has an incredible amount of talent on the ice.

“[She’s] an amazing strong skater with great stickhandling and a hard shot,” Marani, who coached McAleer for one year in youth hockey, said. “What separates Mel from most of the players is her unselfishness, commitment and leadership. Those three characteristics are paramount to our team’s success.

McAleer has notched 26 goals and complied 13 assists so far this season.