Repair panel eyes TM article

By Tracy F. Seelye,  Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

HANSON — The Indian Head and Maquan School Repair Committee voted 6-0, Wednesday, Aug. 13 to request that the Board of Selectmen approve a Town Meeting article seeking an unspecified sum to repair the Indian Head roof, with the understanding that an cost estimate would be available by the October Town Meeting.

The panel also reviewed the immediate repair needs supported by selectmen in a 4-0-1 vote the night before. Both meetings were broadcast on Whitman-Hanson Community Access Television.

“I just want to make it clear that this is an investigative committee, it’s an advisory committee and it basicaly works in conjunction with the School Facilities Subcommittee and the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen to determine what the priority repairs ultimately should be to present at the Town Meeting,” Chairman Bruce Young said in response to questions he has received about the powers and scope of the repair committee. “We can’t order anybody to do anything.”

During their discussion, it became apparent that two of the immediate repairs selectmen approved, involving a dishwasher replacement at Indian Head and boiler repairs at Maquan — at a combined $35,000 — seemed to come as news to the repair committee.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have any say,” said Vice Chairman Michael Jones. “We didn’t even know there was anything wrong with it until they put it [before] the committee last night for $16,000 as an emergency.”

Jones suggested the School District should work with the panel more cooperatively to develop repair priorities. A more pressing need, Jones agreed with Selectman  Bill Scott, would be a new set of door locks at Maquan School. It was one of the four emergency repairs the panel voted to recommed at its July 30 meeting.

“I really think they are remiss in not addressing that issue,” Scott said. “Nothing’s an emergency until something happens … the locks are a key part of that.”

Assistant Superintendent of Schools for District Operations Craig Finley told the Board of Selectmen that, while the lock updates would not be done prior to the Wednesday, Aug. 27 start of the school year, it is work that could be done while classes are in session without too much disruption.

Resident Wilbur Danner, who had served on the W-H Regional High School Building Committee, suggested the district consider leasing a new dishwasher, rather than spend the $16,000 to purchase a new one. He had also attended a recent School Committee Facilities Subcommittee meeting at which the repair was discussed. The item was included in a list of five immediate repair needs because a wash tank is leaking and the tank’s deterioration is beyond repair, according to a letter to Town Administrator Ron San Angelo from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and Finley. The letter, dated Aug.12 was presented to selectmen that night and the repairs were approved for presentation to the October Special Town Meeting.

“We don’t have to shell out $16,000,” Danner said. A restaurant owner, Danner leases equipment from GNC for four years and maintenance is included in the lease agreement. “At the end of four years, I have to pay 5 perecnt of the original price and the title passes.”

The purchase proposed would involve Hobart, a manufacturer Danner said, “used to be the Cadillac of the restaurant business.”

“Hobart has slipped,” he said. “Most of its restaurant equipment is made in China. They’re really living on their name.”

The other item in the School District’s letter which took the repair committee by surprise was $19,000 in repairs to a Maquan School boiler to meet state certfication compliance.

The state came in early for an inspection on Monday, Aug. 11, according to Jones, who said state inspector was asked to come in, but he was uncertain why.

“Looking at it, I don’t blame them,” Jones said. “But at the end of the [school] year, it wasn’t an issue and now … I don’t understand how no one looked  at that.”

The fire sheild inside of the door was severely deteroiorated.

“It’s like hitting a moving target,” said committee member Maria McClellan of the latest reports.

Committee member Christopher Howard suggested that the panel request from the School District a complete list of all outstanding open repair items at both schools.

“I also think you should pay attenion to the validity of the items that are brought forward to you, and make sure they really are what they are,” said resident Mark Vess.  “There’s a big difference between corrosion and failure.”

In other business, the committee continued discussion of rood repair options for Indian Head School as well as possible options for renovating or replacing Maquan.

Vess suggested a nonbinding referendum could help determine the town’s preferred direction on the latter issue.

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

WHITMAN — The Whitman Police Department welcomed two new sergeants to the ranks Tuesday night with the promotion of officers Matthew Kenealy and David Gregory.

Both were sworn into their new rank by Town Clerk Dawn Varley during the Board of Selectmen’s meeting Aug. 19.

Kenealy, who joined the department in 2000, serves as the WPD armorer and is a member of the SWAT team. In noting that Kenealy became a police officer in the same year as Deputy Chief Tim Hanlon and Lt. Christine May-Stafford — who served as chief for four years —  Chief Scott Benton quipped that they have made a mark for themselves in the department as well.

Gregory had served as an auxiliary officer from 1986 to July 2004 when he was appointed a full-time officer. He is one of the department’s certified motorcycle officers.

“Without the auxiliaries the department and this town would not run as well as they do,” Benton said.

The board voted 4-0 to make the appointments, before they were sworn in, Kenealy first to establish seniority, and then Gregory. Selectman Brian Bezanson was absent.

Kenealy’s parents Bill and Cindy and his fiancée pinned on his badge. Gregory was pinned by his wife Lisa, daughter Samantha and his parents Anthony and Barbara.

“The first in-service class I’m going to send you to is “Silence is Golden,” Benton joked after the ceremonies.

Benton and Fire Chief Timothy Grenno also gave their monthly reports on their departments’ activities.

Benton reported the department has responded to 6,175 calls so far this year, compared with 6,322 at this time last year. He also shared a complimentary email concerning officer Gary Nelson’s actions in helping retrieve the $400 prescription glasses stolen from a resident’s daughter.

He also noted a change in how domestic assaults are reported in the police logs. A law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick designates some crimes as similar to sexual assaults in how they are reported and Benton has begun redactions accordingly.

“It was done for a number of reasons, but one of them I’m sure is it probably exacerbated things — after things cooled down — for somebody to see their name in the paper,” he said.

Residents interested in having a radar trailer placed on their street — especially in view of the Aug. 27 start of the school year — should call the station at 781-447-1212 to make a request.

Grenno reported the Fire Department is conducting its annual apparatus service and certifications cycle.  Since Jan. 1, WFD has done 1,614 emergency runs. Last year at this time there were 1,619. Grenno said the miniscule difference was surprising as there were no significant storms “which usually jack our calls up by 200-300 runs.”

According to Grenno, 60 percent of the emergency runs were medical calls and of those, 58 percent were for behavioral or psychiatric issues. Another 35 percent were cardiac issues. The busiest days for runs over the past three years have been Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Busy times are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — with 1 to 2:30 p.m. the busiest of those hours.

Ambulance revenues are also up with $74,000 coming in during July alone.

Both chiefs spoke of the Thursday, Aug. 14 rollover on Franklin Street in which three people were seriously injured.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on how well the fire and police departments work together,” Grenno said. “If it wasn’t for the help of the on-duty police officers that evening it would have been more difficult for us to handle the situation.”

In other business, Selectmen voted 4-0 to accept DPW Superintendent Bruce Martin to reduce the trash/recycling pickup fee for fiscal 2015 from $250 for the year to $225.

“It appears we had a surplus in that line of over $106,000,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “On that basis, he’s recommending that we reduce the fee.” Lynam said he and the Finance Committee chairman are concerned that the volatility of the market may cause a seesaw effect in the future.

“I reluctantly recommend it because I have concerns about how it fits the overall budget for the town,” Lynam said. The surplus becomes part of the excess funds that bankroll capital purchases.

“Apparently people are listening and recycling and we need to show them that what we said would happen will happen and we’d be able to reduce the fee,” said Selectman Daniel Salvucci.

Kiwanis fundraising effort stocks Hanson pantry’s coffers

By Stephanie Spyropoulos
Express staff

HANSON — The recent culmination of fund raising efforts between two groups working to make Hanson a better place has been successful following the announcement of a $13,548 donation to the Hanson Food Pantry.

Hanson Kiwanis International South Shore Chapter President Gerry Lozeau and Kiwanis member Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett presented Hanson Food Pantry Director Sharon Kennedy and Paul Nicol, a Rotarian and pantry volunteer, the donation check as well as gift cards and a deposited cash statement at the annual Steak Fry dinner on Monday held at the Hanson AA on Reed Street.

FitzGerald-Kemmet also chairs Hanson’s Community Preservation Commission.

Sharon Kennedy who has been with the pantry for 20 years, her husband Bill Kennedy and son Jason Kennedy — both Masons — have been working with other volunteers on the new expansion project of the food pantry at the High Street location. Work is steadily nearing completion, according to Nicol who said the effort is progressing.

Kennedy calls her service of two decades at the food pantry a vocation.

“It is part of my faith. God asks us to serve him by serving others,” she said.

She addressed members and guests at the Steak Fry thanking the efforts of everyone involved.

“We are grateful for all donations and the ability to witness what this great group of people has done. 3,000 people are serviced each year through the Hanson Food Pantry,” she said.

Nicol has been overseeing most of the renovations at the High Street building along with local plumber Mark Schneider, Liz and Bob Lundgren and numerous other volunteers. He said they have received $200,000 in in-kind donations and materials toward the renovation project.

The building has passed recent inspections and the group is moving toward the next phases of sheet rocking the bathrooms, said Nicol. They hope in the near future to get a temporary order to open on High Street.

In 2013, the Hanson Food Pantry 65,000 meals’ worth of food, said Nicol.

In the coming weekend of Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 St. Joseph’s the Worker Church of Hanson will take a second offering at their Masses, with funds going directly to the food pantry. Good Deeds thrift shop located at 209 Water St. in Pembroke will donate October proceeds to the pantry.

Ballot question draws bipartisan signature backing

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

Voters on Nov. 4 will have four ballot questions to answer while they are making decisions on state and federal office holders.

Question 1 has a local connection and enjoyed wide bipartisan support during the petition phase — that is one to repeal a new law linking the gasoline tax to the rate of inflation.

Questions to expand the bottle bill to include containers from sports drinks and other beverages, to repeal the casino gaming law and to mandate sick time for workers in Massachusetts were also placed on the ballot.

State Rep. Geoffrey Diehl, R-Whitman, was among a group of Republican legislators and activists who organized to fight the gas tax law shortly after is passed last year. During the petition phase, however, it became clear that signatures of Democrats outnumbered those of Republicans nearly 2:1.

The margin became evident as town clerks began transferring signatures electronically to the Secretary of State’s office.

“We didn’t even ask them,” Diehl said. “They told us afterward, ‘This is one funny little fact for you — you had twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans that signed your form.’”

It is perhaps not surprising in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, but Diehl notes it is also an indication of displeasure over the “triple whammy” effect of the law. Candidates for office also depend on that cross-part appeal to win.

In fact Diehl, who is running unopposed this year, is able to devote more time toward campaigning for the gas tax repeal than for his own race.

Eying opposition

But poll numbers don’t win elections, he cautioned, pointing to reports that opponents of Question 1 plan on spending $3 million to defeat it.

Right now, the issue’s ability to anger voters has been working in favor of the “Tank the Gas Tax” effort.

“Clearly there is no need to link the gas tax to inflation,” state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton, told tankthegastax.org. “By giving the State House more and more money we are not demanding accountability.”

She equated the law with taxation without representation, a comparison with which Diehl agrees.

“It had a provision by which all future gas tax would be subject to an automatic increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI),” said Diehl of the law that initially raised the tax by three cents per gallon. “We saw it on Blue Mass Group (a progressive Democratic organization), that they consider this a regressive tax. It affects middle-to-low income families more than anybody else.”

Those consumers have to drive to work, often in less fuel-efficient vehicles and they lack the funds to replace a car with a hybrid. Corporations hit with the tax pass it along to the consumer for hit number two and a Diehl amendment to exempt municipalities from the gas tax was defeated.

“Obviously, your property taxes are hit as well because ultimately towns have to bear the cost,” he said. “It’s what you put in at the pump, anything you buy and even your property taxes get hit.”

It is the only state tax that can increase without a vote.

Tech’s clout

Within six weeks of the bill’s passage, an accompanying sales tax on internet services — the so-called “tech tax” — was repealed, but the gas tax change remained in effect.

AAA has not worked against the gas tax, as it had done on a similar measure 23 years ago, since is has partnered with MASSDOT to offer licensing services, according to Diehl. The state’s tech industries worked hard to get the tech tax repealed, by contrast.

“We were already collecting record revenue above and beyond what was expected,” he said of the fiscal climate when the tech tax was repealed. “We want people to know that you need to manage your money better before you start asking for more.”

1812 is the backdrop to a novel of early America

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

HANSON — Perhaps it could be called the Rodney Dangerfield of wars.

Even on the bicentennial observance of its final year — and of the writing of the “Star-Spangled Banner,”  during the 1814 British bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry — there has been little notice of the  War of 1812, as the Napoleonic Wars were called hereabouts, outside of history classrooms.

That may be due, in part, to how close we came to losing our fledgling nation back to the British only about 20 years after winning it.

Author Deborah Hill of Brockton suggests that today’s attitudes toward the conflict are also not much different from those of 1812-14.

“Most people never strayed far from home, communication was very difficult, America was really just a collection of citizens here and there whose concerns usually stopped at their front door,” Hill said.

Eonomically, states were fairly autonomous.

“The new nation was was becoming firmly locked into regional power struggles,” she said. “The sea provided for anybody, like the fisherman and the mariner who got rich as the Boston merchants got rich.”

At least that was the case before President Thomas Jefferson decided an embargo on trade with Britain in an attempt to halt the impressment of American sailors.

“The embargo meant that both merchants from Boston and mariners of the seas would face ruin,” Hill related.

Her latest historical novel, “This is the House,” intersperses chapters of a fictionalized biography of such a mariner — an ancestor of her husband’s family, Cape Cod sea captain Elijah Cobb of Brewster — with those of an invented character representing his wife and the struggles they faced as a result of the embargo and war.

“I am not a professional historian, I am an author and authors are known to take liberties with fact,” she said to a Hanson Historical Society audience Thursday, Aug. 7. “I hope not to take liberties with history.”

As part of the cadre of mariners working to establish trade and credit for the new nation, she recounted how Cobb ran afoul of British press gangs looking to bolster their navy during the Napoleonic Wars. By that time, America had become entwined in the conflict, though few were aware of it.

Cobb and his crew were held at St. John, Nova Scotia and later exchanged for the crew of another merchant ship,  the Alert, captured earlier.

“The people I’m writing about are based on my husband’s family, based on the town of Brewster,” she said. “I keep telling my husband’s family this is not a biography.”

Hill grew up on Lake Erie in Ohio — which is where some of the heaviest fighting in the western frontier was experienced, usually with the United States on the losing end, as Canada was dragged into the conflict.

“These skirmishes might as well have happened on the moon,” she said. “They were just not relevant to us at all and news of them would come weeks after they occurred.”

Hill outlined how, as the state militias dispatched to Ohio, the British were able to take territory in Maine, burn Washington D.C., and be prevented only by fortifications in Baltimore from taking back the United States after Napoleon abdicated and the French were out of the war. Militias from Massachusetts and Connecticut, who refused to go fight in Ohio, as well as Southern militias helped protect Baltimore.

“But the British people did not feel like having anymore war and they didn’t want to raise taxes — and they saved us,” she said.

A certain respect for America had been earned by the victories at Baltimore and New Orleans, demonstrating the renewed military organization of the militias and regular Army, she concluded.

4-H course teaches the ins and outs of child care

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

HANSON — Where do good babysitters come from?

Parents seeking dependable child care while they go out for the afternoon or evening are sometimes confronted by the challenge of how to find a good sitter.

Plymouth County 4-H helps to increase the supply in an effort to meet this demand by offering babysitter certification courses, which provide an overview of the ways to keep young charges safe and happy. The certificate of participation students received for the course attests to the six hours of instruction in safety and appropriate diversions for different age groups as well as hands-on practice in diaper changing and the crafting of “boo-boo bunnies” with which to ice bumps or scrapes.

CPR certfication comes with a different course not offered by 4-H, but this class offered guidance on when and how to deal with first aid needs and when to call in help. Basic nutrition and bottle feeding were also covered.

“It helps parents realize they take babysitting seriously and that they have thought out some form of training,” said instructor Evelyn Golden, a program assistant with Plymouth County 4-H. “I encourage them toward getting certified in first aid and CPR.”

Golden was assisted in conducting the class by 4-H Ambassador Emily Capasso, an experienced club member and role model who mentors 4-H youth.

“I am glad Emily agreed to share her stories of being a  babysitter and how babysitting has allowed her to choose a major that will allow her to work with children when she graduates and leaves for college,” Golden said.

The next course Golden teaches will be at the Pembroke Library, but a date haas not yet been determined. Golden has already conducted the class at libraries in Whitman, Abington, East Bridgewater and Scituate. They are often held once a year in each town.

On Saturday, Aug. 9, a group of about 15 tweens and young teens attended such a course at the Hanson Public Library — four of them boys.

“That is the most boys I’ve had in a class to date,” Golden said. “Of the six classes I’ve taught, I’ve only ever had one other boy sign up, so to get four in a class was pretty exciting.”

She said two of the boys were very interested and the parents of another thought their son should do it.

The students entered the library’s Community Room yawning at the compartively early hour for a class on a sunny summer Saturday — 9 a.m. — but soon Golden was peppering them with thought-provoking questions and exercises.

She started off with an overview of her own expertise.

Growing up in a small Kansas town, Golden said she babysat a lot for her siblings as well as the children of teachers and friends.

“The fact that I had been babysitting for these people led to my first non-babysitting job when I was in high school,” she recalled. It also afforded her a change of scenery when she took a job as a nanny while in college, which brought her to the South Shore in Massachusetts. It also inspired her to study early childhood development in college and led to her starting her own daycare business and eventually to her post at 4-H.

“You’re thinking of babysitting as a couple of extra bucks here and there, but it could be something that could carry you and affect you into the next step of your life,” she said.

Babysitting skills also transfer effectively to the responsible care of the frail elderly, which can help them assist with family situations, according to Golden.

“Today is your chance to shine and show me you are ready to become a responsible babysitter — that you are ready for parents to leave their children alone in your care,” she said.

The students began by discussing age-appropriate contents of a “babysitter’s magic bag” that good babysitters bring along to help them entertain young charges and good storybook choices to read to children of various ages.

Some basic rules of deportment were also reviewed:

• Never answer a knock at the door while babysitting.

• Ask the parents how and if they want the phone answered.

• Never spend time texting or talking on the phone with friends.

• Be prepared. Know the children’s names and ages ahead of time, their bedtimes and any allergies and other information parents may need you to know.

• Know the street address in case of emergency and get parents’ cell phone number.

For more information on future babysitting courses or other 4-H programs, visit the site plymouthcounty4h.org or call 781-293-3541.

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

HANSON — Selectmen voted Tuesday night to support five immediate repair needs at Indian Head and Maquan schools in an effort to finish the work before school starts Wednesday, Aug. 27.

The board also discussed an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by a resident after selectmen Bill Scott and James McGahan attended a July 30 meeting of the School Repair Priority Committee, which is chaired by Selectman Bruce Young. The complaint was deemed unfounded, as no dilerations were conducted between the three selectmen at that meeting.

In the meantime, Tuesday’s 4-0 vote — Selectman Don Howard abstained — clears the way for the $82,169 in repairs to be made and a financing article prepared for Town Meeting approval.

The list of repairs — sidewalks, library carpet and dishwasher replacement at Indian Head as well as cafeteria floor and boiler repair at Maquan — were deemed emergencies as they present insurance liability risks, the need for state certfication compliance for the boiler and a diswasher deemed beyond repair.

The meeting was attended by School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes of Hanson, School Committee member and Facilities Subcommittee Chairman Fred Small of Whitman, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and both assistant superintendents Craig Finley who heads district operations and Ellen Stockdale who supervises teaching and learning.

Vice Chairman of the Priority Committee Michael Jones also attended.

“We’re looking at some of the larger items, but we also want to address the smaller items that we’ve come across,” Young said. “We definitely need to address some of these before school takes place, and that’s agreed on buy the members of the school department.”

Town Administrator Ron San Angelo reminded selectmen that the School District is expending the money now and need to “feel comfortable that they’re standing side-by-side with selectmen” so residents know the warrant article at  Town Meeting is a joint recommendation.

Howard asked why the inside projects were being handled before the leaking roof.

“The roof is under consideration for some other type of repairs,” Hayes said. “These repairs we’re talking about we’re trying to get done before the opening of school because of some of the insurance problems.”

Past repair efforts on a low-bid carpet installed several years ago have been ineffective and the rug presents a trip hazard, as does the unneven tile in the cafeteria.

The repair considerations have also raised the issue of how an emergency is determined.

“We do agree that going forward we are going to establish a new policy or agreement on what an emergency might be [determined],” San Angelo said. “Now that we are recognizing that the schools are getting older and we’re talking about a lot more emergency repairs than we have in the past, all of a sudden these numbers are starting to inflate.”

He suggested a town-side budget line, similar to that approved at Whitman’s Annual Town Meeting, so emergency repairs can more quickly be funded.

Gilbert-Whitner said a subcommittee is reviewing the regional agreement including whether the $5,000 school obligation before towns are required to foot the balance of repair bills should be raised.

“Whatever it is, it essentially comes out of taxpayers’s pockets, so you’re going to have to pay it one way or the other,” she said.

The locking system at Maquan School, which “doesn’t even exisist,” is an item which should also be included as an emergency repair, Scott maintains. It was not included on the list brought forth to selectmen Tuesday.

Finley said the district has been meeting with both the police and fire chiefs to vet the systems for door locks, which should be able to be installed with children in the schools.

The Open Meeting Complaint, filed by resident James Armstrong, was determined to be unfounded by both Town Counsel Jay Talerman and San Angelo, who reported that finding in a letter prepared for him by Talerman to the Attorney General’s Office Division of Open Government. The corrective action sought was completion of training in the law’s requirements, which is already being done by the board’s newer members.

Selectmen Chairman David Soper said the proper procedure for such a complaint should have been to contact the board first.

“Going forward, you’re going to see two or three selectmen at some of these meetings,” Soper said. “I would just caution everybody who wants to make a call that the board should be notified first, that’s protocol.”

The board would then discuss the issues involved with a complainant and determine the next steps.

“The Open Meeting Law is taken quite seriously and shouldn’t be used as a political widget for whoever thinks it’s to their advantage,” he said.

Scott and McGahan sat in the audience at the July 30 meeting in question. Scott said at the time he was offering his comments as a private citizen, which the Open Meeting Law allows, and McGahan explained he was attending in his role as a member of the School Committee’s Facilities Subcommittee.

“We were acting on the best interests of the town,” said McGahan who also called Armstrong to discuss the matter. That discussion revealed the Board of Selectmen’s vote to rescind the pay-as-you-throw grant was the real issue involved, he said.

“I truly was disappointed,” McGahan said. “We should try to be respectful of one another.”

By Tracy  F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

WHITMAN — The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Monday, Aug. 11 continued a hearing on an AT&T application to install a self-supporting, 150-foot tall monopole with cell anntena at 672 Bedford Street near Churchill Street and Diane Terrace.

The project includes spaces lower on the pole for three future antenna colocations and would be located in a 40-by-40-foot compound behind the school bus depot.

Continuance will allow the company to literally float a trial balloon in the area between 8 a.m. and noon on Saturday, Sept. 6 — with a rain date of Saturday, Sept. 13 — before the project comes back before the ZBA at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15 for more discussion and a decision.

The required balloon test, in which a large balloon is floated 150 feet in the air is desined to give an idea of what the height of the monopole looks like, ZBA Chairman John Goldrosen explained. Residents of the Diane Terrace area in attendance indicated they will be keeping an eye to the sky on test day.

The application seeks a laundry list of special permits and variances to local zoning bylaws for the project on land leased from TMZ Realty Corp. II of Hanson, and leans on state and federal telecommunications laws.

“AT&T is currently developing its wireless communications network, bringing 3G and 4G service which will provide voice and data services on the same platform,” said Brian Grossman, a lawyer with the firm of Anderson and Kreiger of Cambridge, representing AT&T. “Customers are demanding to use those [data-centric] services, whether it’s Facebook, streaming media, Netflix, HBO GO, to use their dish network options … this has put a strain on the network and also means the useage patterns have changed. It’s no longer enough to provide coverage on or near roadways — people expect and want to use their devices when and where they want to use them.”

Grossman was accompanied by Site Asquisition Specialist Elisabeth Rutkowski of the firm TRM in Foxboro, but the project engineer was unable to attend due to a personal emergency.

The Board of Health has expressed no objections to the project, but the Planning Board has recommended denial as the “applicant does not show compliance” with a bylaw limiting space between towers to one mile. The proposal has yet to go before the Conservation Commission.

The ZBA’s concerns expressed Monday included security measures, effect on drainage, noise, impact of weather on tower integrity, safety of the tower’s height, status of property tax payments by the site owners, environmental impact, cost to remove it in the future and any remaining gaps in coverage.

“It looks like a nice, wooded area but I guarantee you will have two-legged critters visiting you and challenging to try to get into that site,” said ZBA member Wayne Andrews said of site security.

Several people at the meeting — both abutting residents and board members — agreed with Building Inspector Robert Curran’s suggestion that AT&T consider colocating its antennae on the tower behind the Police Station in an effort to reduce the height of the proposed monopole.

“There’s no colocations right now [at the station’s tower],” Curran said. “The question is if you could consider colocating on that and then maybe building a 100-foot-tower here.” He added the 150-foot tower there was approved so other firms could colocate.

Rutkowski indicated the company is not in a position to do so and build a tower at this time.

“It may be that if there were one on the Police Station, does that affect the ideal location for a second one?” Goldrosen said.

The representatives of AT&T pledged to have answers to the board’s questions and suggestions when they return on Sept. 15, and indicated they would amend fence and security measures as the board might request.

Michael Hayes, 18 Diane Terrace also asked if a noise test had been conducted of a generator at the site, which will run for about 45 minutes on a one-day-per-week basis and continually during a power emergency. Company representatives said the sound level would be about 42 decibeles and 375 feet from the nearest residence.

“The typical ambient nighttime noise level in quiet suburban areas is approximately 40 dba,” Grossman said.

Stephen Frech of 30 Diane Terrace expressed concern over how plans for construction of a support building would affect a drainage basin on the property as well as the effect of snowpack on the monopole tower.

Grossman explained the tower is desined to bend, or kink, but not fall over at the base as a result of severe weather. He added it does not burden public safety services — it will be visited by maintenance crew once a month — and produces no sewage or trash.

Four other locations were considered by AT&T and rejected for service coverage limitations inherent in the location and available height of structures available:

• A colocation in the steeple of the First Congregational Church on 519 Washington St.;

• The bell tower of Holy Ghost Church on School Street;

• The National Grid stanchion at 1005 Temple St.;

• The smokestack of the Bostonian Shoe Lofts at 7 Marble St.

A monopole siting at the Whitman Middle School was rejected due to the complexities of using public property, Grossman said.

By Stephanie Spyropoulos
Express staff

HANSON — He has been a presence in the hallways and in the lives of nearly every student in the Whitman-Hanson school for the last 18 years as Hanson Police and School Resource Officer Rick Nawazelski has implemented the DARE program in Hanson schools.

He feels he has given hundreds of students the opportunity to have a person in their lives they know they can trust and talk to.

Success stories of students, who have gone on to teach and help others in their community, are only a few of the triumphs being in the school system has afforded him, Nawazelski said. Often, a student will have spoken to him about deciding not to attend a party or hearing that story in DARE camp that allowed them to trust their gut about a situation, these have brought so many affirmations to his career, he recalled.

“Officer Rick,” as his students and colleagues fondly know him, is a true Hansonite, born and raised here as well as raising his own two children here.

Nawazelski started out as a dispatcher in 1984 and went on to become a part-time officer after attending the police academy. He became full time shortly thereafter completing his 30 years in Hanson. He took over the DARE program in 1997, which he said proudly kept him as an officer instead of looking towards gaining rank in his career.

“I had to stay an officer to remain in DARE. That is what I loved,” he said.

The DARE program will continue in Hanson as Nawazelski passes the torch to fellow officer William Frazier of Hanson. Officer Frazier is currently in training to become the full-time DARE Officer and ended the school year becoming acquainted with students as the new resource officer. Officer Kevin Harrington, as a full-time DARE and resource officer, serves Whitman schools.

Nawazelski encompassed patience and wisdom, which he uses to be a positive influence to educate the youth of tomorrow, and he believes in second chances.

Seeing his work as a DARE officer come full circle is what has kept him grounded, committed and pulled him through some of the more difficult portions of his career.

 “I was a hockey coach for a long time and I kept that as a positive, which always helped if I had a hard shift the night before… it helped me keep from being tainted in the bad I saw. It let me see and find the good in people,” he said.

Nawazelski admits the highs and lows of a career in law enforcement can do a toll on someone’s mind.  His haunting memories are those of two suicides he responded to. Car accidents and injuries to people have been the hardest calls he admits for him to respond.

“There was a suicide where a man intended to kill his family and then himself but because they were late and he was extremely depressed,” Nawazelski said. “He killed himself. The family came home and found him. This was found out after the investigation… it was 18 years ago and it still comes to mind. It has stayed with me.”

In those days the department didn’t have the counseling and support programs available today.

Still, Nawazelski would encourage anyone who asks him about pursuing a career in law enforcement to find an internship, learn about the career, and find what fits such as forensics there are many different parts of working within the police services not just as an officer. He is a first-generation officer in his family. Both of his children have careers in law enforcement his son is a guard at the Plymouth County Corrections facility and his daughter is a state corrections officer.

Nawazelski lauded Hanson Chief Michael Miksch who has been a strong supporter of DARE.

“We are lucky to have a chief who is committed to DARE and resource officers in the school.  I believe it makes a difference, “said Nawazelski.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has sponsored DARE camp as a week of summer fun for 970 campers over the last 20 years. Before him, the late William O’Malley and Michael Sullivan also supported and helped fund the DARE camp — a time of bonding for local officers and kids on the South Shore through fun and education, themed days, special guest performers, a visit from the state police helicopter, a day of water fun, lunches, snacks and team bonding are all part of the nonstop week. Nawazelski has hosted the camp 14 out of 15 years at WHRHS and the middle school. Several other towns in Plymouth County hosted and from 2005-2008 Duxbury co-hosted when camp ran for two weeks.

Planning camp is a yearlong labor of love and begins almost as soon as the camp ends each year. Securing donations when times are tough has been a struggle but with local businesses offering discounts, and sponsorship of lunch, snacks, drinks, and activities there are many behind-the-scene hands to pull the camp together in success.

Cruisin’s New England Magazine, a strong local supporter of DARE education, honored Nawazelski as DARE Officer of the year in 2007.  He also received numerous citations for his career from Plymouth County organizations at the last DARE graduation he oversaw for the school year 2014. He said the emotional impact of guest speaker Amanda Earner’s life after her brother Greg died of a tragic overdose is something all in attendance won’t soon forget. He admitted that he, too, had tears following her emotional speech at DARE graduation. In all his years as an officer he has seen a lot happen but he has never allowed his heart to harden.

On the last day of school, he received messages of thanks from dozens of students, piles of handmade cards and countless teary goodbyes.

As he gets ready to retire in late August he is looking forward to the next chapter in life spending time and vacations with his wife of over 40 years — they hope to go on a cruise. He is looking forward to his daughter’s upcoming nuptials and spending time with his grandchildren.

Exchange program forges cultural connections

By Dave Palana
Express Contributor

WHITMAN — Donna Gardner of Whitman has been hosting exchange students long enough to know the Wrentham Outlets are a must-stop destination for Massachusetts visitors. She’s also been hosting long enough to get a pleasant surprise on her recent trip to the shopping Mecca.

Gardner, and her Whitman host families, took the five Italian homestay students staying in town this summer to Wrentham last Thursday only to run into an old friend all grown up.

“I said ‘I know this walk, it can only be this person,’” Gardner said. “It was my first exchange student and his wife, who he met at Whitman-Hanson. Now they live in Belgium.”

Gardner is the Bay State’s administration for Cultural Homestay International, a volunteer organization that matches students hoping to spend time abroad with local families willing to provide room and board. Whitman-Hanson has been a gracious host for exchange students for years, but when five students from Italy decided to take in New England for three weeks on their summer vacation, Whitman families were more than happy to oblige.

“We wanted to learn English better and know another culture — their habits and what [Americans] usually do,” said Chiara Cassiano, a high school student from Milan. “And to leave your life and try something new.”

Cassiano, Giulia Fontana and Marco Tardivo all came to Whitman from Milan, though they did not know each other before the plane ride over. Giorgio Meloro and Riccardo Fomina both hail from Manza, near Milan, knew each other previously and decided to take the trip together.

The group took in Provincetown and Plymouth in addition to Wrentham, but the trip to Boston was the highlight for most.

“It is very different from Italian cities,” Meloro said.

Tardivo, Meloro and Fomina also saw a stock car race in Seekonk while Cassiano ventured to Pittsburg with her host family and Fontana took in a New England tradition — the whale watch.

“It was amazing,” she said. “There were, like, 15 whales all around the ship.”

Tardivo got a sampling of American soccer with a trip to Gillette Stadium to take in a New England Revolution game ­, which didn’t quite have the same atmosphere as watching AC Milan in his eyes.

“It is different,” he said jokingly. “In Italy, it is better.”

Tardivo was the first student taken in by the Winnett family. Michelle Winnett said the positive experiences her children had meeting the Cultural Homestay students during their time at Whitman-Hanson motivated her to volunteer a bed in her house and added the experience was so positive that she will now be hosting a Swiss boy for the school year.

 “It’s been great,” Winnett said. “We enjoyed being able to show [Marco] the things that were around here, and he’s been just a wonderful guest.”

“Most people think the reward is just for the student, but that’s not true,” Gardner added, “the families have such an amazing time with the kids… I think because we’re volunteers I think there is a lot more love and effort put into the kids. The kids are not a paycheck.”

The five students headed home Sunday after cooking a goodbye meal from their families and taking one last trip to the Cape. Cassiano is hoping to return for the school year, and hoping to stay with the same family, while the others all said they either hope to return for a visit or return the favor by showing their host families a slice of Italy.

“I wish I could come back,” Fontana said. “I had such a great time.”

If Cassiano returns, she will join students from Australia, Brazil and Slovakia at Whitman-Hanson in addition to the Winnett’s Swiss guest.
“Whitman-Hanson is wonderful with taking students,” Gardner said. “Families host over and over and over because it’s an amazing experience.”