Whitman-Hanson Express

You are here: Home / Archives for Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

Whitman looking to grants

By

Whitman looking to grants: Funds could back dog park, trail improvements

WHITMAN — Grants are enabling the town to save money on energy costs and may help plan for a dog park and continue improvements to walking paths in Whitman Park.

Selectmen supported an application to the Stanton Foundation, an organization that helps finance dog parks through grants and which has expressed interest in assisting Whitman. Grants would cover 100 percent of design costs and 90 percent of construction costs.

“We would have to come up with a committee to review where we want it, make sure that it’s on town land and provide water and a maintenance plan,” said Assistant Town Administrator Gregory Enos.

Officials in West Bridgewater and Holbrook are also pursuing the non-competitive Stanton grants for dog parks.

The grants range from $100,000 to $250,000. Town Administrator Frank Lynam said his talks with foundation officials indicated Whitman could receive $120,000 and the town would have to fund $12,000.

Whitman officials are currently looking at the parcel between Memorial Field and the DPW facility of Essex Street as the location.

“We’re looking for a way to move dogs out of the park and off of the streets to an area where it would be more natural to take them,” Lynam said. “We will have an article on this year’s Town Meeting for it.”

Patrons would be assuming any risk in using the park, as would be outlined by signs at the entrance.

“We will be insured in the event a claim is filed against the town,” Lynam said. “It’s really not very different from recreational use [of town property].”

Funds received from a Green Communities Grant in the amount of $166,215 are planned for interior sand exterior lighting changes at municipal buildings and switching to variable speed motors at the town pumping station. The lights in Town Hall Auditorium —priced at $4,200 to replace 85 light bulbs — have been postponed for now. Future grants through the Green Communities program will likely focus on mechanicals and HVAC controls.

“Right now this gives us more bang for our buck,” Enos said of this year’s plan. “It will save the town $50,000 a year on energy costs alone.”

A $50,000 Trail Program Grant is being applied for in an effort to continue funding Whitman Park walking paths, Enos said. Selectmen voted to support the application due in February and sign a support letter.

The grant provides 80-percent funding for such projects and requires a 20-percent match of funds or in-kind gifts. Enos estimated the grant, if obtained at the end of a nine-month application review period, could finance another 2,000 feet of curbing and path work at the park in spring 2017.

Friends of Whitman Park and DPW may be approached for funds or in-kind services.

In other business, Selectmen agreed to a two-week extension for David Federico, the owner of Diesel Trucks, 575 Bedford St., to complete the cleanup of the premises ordered by the board on Jan. 5. The extension was recommended by Building Inspector Robert Curran.

“There’s been some changes, but not nearly enough as far as I’m concerned,” Curran said. Still, he suggested an extension until Feb. 9. “I will attend whatever meetings on-site that he needs for me to guide him on what I think is best for the town.”

Federico has reduced the number of vehicles from 65 down to between 48 and 50, and has created a handicapped parking space, but more issues — such as a car parked in the loading area — remain.

“I did see some effort there,” said Selectman Dan Salvucci. “But if you look at his lot and the lot next to it, it was night and day. One lot looked like it was open for business and the other one looked like it was there for salvage.”

Salvucci said he supported an extension, but would advocate further action if Curran was not satisfied by Feb. 9.

The board also voted to adopt the one-day suspension of O’Toole’s Pub’s All-Alcohol License as recommended by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. The board had initially sought a five-day suspension last year after infractions at the pub were reported by Whitman Police. Selectmen selected Saturday, March 19 as the suspension date to give the pub owners time to inform patrons of the date it will not be open.

Selectmen also offered “friendly advice” to the Police Department to determine the suspension is heeded.

WH hoops alums fundraise for grandkids of coach

By

The goal in sight: WH hoops alums fundraise for grandkids of coach

HANSON — PJ Fisher, 3, and his little sister Jovi, 1, are like a lot of children — he loves train sets and hanging out with his grandpa and she has a favorite blanket to snuggle.

But an eye exam at 10 days old, confirmed PJ had bilateral retinoblastoma, a genetic mutation that causes tumors to grow in the retina. His sister was diagnosed in-utero and was delivered prematurely to permit surgery on her right eye.

“My eye was sick,” as PJ puts it now. “We had to heal it.”

kidglasses

PJ Fisher, 3, says ‘Swiss cheese’ for the camera as his dad, Paul Sr. looks on while discussing his children’s retinal tumors. Photo by Tracy Seelye

It’s not quite that simple. PJ and Jovi have to have MRIs every six months, if not sooner, to monitor their eye tumors and any potential growth in their brains. They also have very routine eye exams under anesthesia (EUA) on a monthly or bi-monthly schedule. The EUAs will continue for the rest of their lives.

Tumors had also started to show up on photos, such as at PJ’s baptism when he was 3 months old, according to his mom Kate Daley-Fisher.

“It started glowing white [in photos],” she said. “It’s a big movement called ‘Know the Glow.’”

Red-eye in photos is normal, a white spot is a sign of trouble.

“It’s pretty obvious when you see it,” said the children’s maternal grandmother Maureen Daley.

Reaching out

W-H girls’ basketball alumnae who played for PJ’s grandfather, James Daley when he coached the Lady Panthers, have stepped up to help fund some of the children’s medical costs. Their fund-raising goal is $10,000.

As the song puts it, “That’s what friends are for.”

It still elicits an emotional response from their former coach.

“I see a lot of them at different times and we do connect and get some nice Christmas notes,” Daley said of his former players Sunday evening. “This took me by surprise. They’ve really done a wonderful thing.”

One of those former players, Susan Cole of Whitman, said she and Kate (Buckley) Lussier are “planning to give back” with a fundraiser at the Meadow Brook Restaurant from 7 to 11 p.m., Saturday Feb. 20.

“At W-H Mr. Daley touched so many kids’ lives,” Cole said. “It’s time for us to start to give back to them.”

Admission is $20 per ticket. Baskets for raffle range from Bruins ticket packages to an overnight stay at the Cape, gift card tree and much more. At this point there are 20 baskets up for raffle as well as cash prizes.

“Mr. Daley was a huge part of my life and our family,” Cole said. “Mrs. Daley babysat my son from the time he was 6 months old. I want people to realize this family wouldn’t seek anything out and they’ve handled this like champs — they are those people who just do, do, do, including Kate and her husband Paul.”

Daley-Fisher was also touched by the gesture.

“It’s really nice,” she said. “It’s nice to see them come together and want to help.”

Future risk

Retinoblastoma carries a higher risk for secondary cancers and sarcomas, so PJ and Jovi will be watched very carefully. They also will pass the genetic mutation on to their children.

The children inherited the mutation from their dad.

There are about 200 cases of bilateral retinoblastoma diagnosed each year, but there are “tons” of mutations, Daley-Fisher said. Her children and husband are three of only four people with their specific mutation.

“I’m the first one to have it,” Paul Fisher Sr. said. PJ is a family nickname for Paul Jr. “When they found mine it was pretty much by accident because my mother had brought me to the doctor for an ear infection.”

During that examination, Fisher’s eye tumors were discovered.

“Our kids’ form is hereditary,” said Daley-Fisher. “Not all forms are. We were told of would be a 50/50 chance one of our children would get it. We just hit the jackpot and got two.”

Daley-Fisher is a teacher in Randolph and her husband is self-employed shipping contractor. The couple reside in Holbrook.

PJ’s left eye was removed due to spreading tumors in the fall, when daily radiation appointments forced his mom to take a leave of absence from teaching. She is now back at work.

“He likes to say, ‘I fixed my eye’ and hands it to you,” Daley-Fisher said of PJ. “He’s trying to get used to it — it doesn’t fit right yet.”

Petition seeks action on Murray mystery

By

Petition seeks action on Murray mystery using Change.org

On Feb. 9, 2004 Hanson native Maura Murray, then 21, disappeared after a car accident on a remote stretch of Route 112 in Haverhill, N.H.

Almost 12 years later, private investigator John E. Smith of Truth Seekers Investigations in Bethlehem, N.H., has launched a change.org petition to ask the FBI to actively enter the case.

Petition seeks action on Murray mystery

Photo courtesy of https://truthseekersinvestigationssearch4mauramurray.wordpress.com/

“We’re trying to keep Maura’s story in the light,” Smith said. “We’re not looking for anyone to be ‘on our side’ … we just want what we’re trying to do put out there.”

Smith, a retired Littleton, N.H., police officer who lives about 15 miles from the scene of Maura’s accident, has been working with the Murray family for nearly 12 years.

The FBI, meanwhile maintains it is already aiding in the investigation.

“The FBI is assisting New Hampshire Sate Police and we’re going to defer to them as they are the lead agency,” spokesman Kristen Setera of the Boston FBI office said in a prepared statement this week. “Due to the fact that there is an ongoing investigation, we have to decline further comment.”

As of press time, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Sate Police had not returned calls for comment.

The petition has 2,880 of a 5,000-signature goal as of Wednesday morning, but Smith would like to see 50,000 people sign it. A podcast interview with Maura’s father Fred linked to the petition has had more than one million views.

A father’s pain

Fred Murray described his daughter as one who “never gave her parents any trouble in her entire life.” Initially interested in a military career, she later determined it did not suit her personality and transferred to UMass, Amherst midyear to study nursing.

“We just want her back,” Fred said on the podcast. “I need help and I’m so totally frustrated. … It’s my daughter. I can’t go away. I’ve got to find her.”

He said his daughter’s car was malfunctioning and due to be replaced within a week.

At about 7 p.m. on the night Maura disappeared she evidently veered off the road on a curve near a farm, a review of case information on the change.org petition states. A witness calling 911 reported hearing a vehicle accelerating and a thud. It was determined her car had spun out of control and hit a tree but Maura was nowhere to be found.

Accident reconstruction later determined no trees were hit by her black 1996 Saturn and that the damage to the car was likely caused by “a solid stationary object or a solid object at the same height as the damage” to the car.

A rag was also found stuffed into the tailpipe, according to the writeup.

“The only thing that the FBI ever did was, in late 2004, they went to Hanson, Mass., and talked to Maura’s high school friends,” Smith said last week. “We’re not sure what that had to do with the whole investigation because none of her high school friends were her college friends.”

That was one of the questions on which the FBI deferred comment.

“I think the only way it can be [solved] is if we have, hopefully, and unbiased FBI that will step in here,” Smith said. “We’re not sure what happened. We have several different theories.”

He said she could have just walked away, she could have been picked up by someone at the scene and  “taken far away and murdered or something.”

Smith said there have been a lot of inconsistencies with police reports over the years, including conflicting ID numbers of responding cruisers and a lack of timely investigation to the east of the crash site.

“We’re even looking into the possibility that there’s some type of police involvement or some type of cover up on the part of the locals because someone important might have been involved,” he said.

He said New Hampshire authorities would have had to ask for help and that he was told they felt the assistance was not needed.

Questions

Smith said that is one of the questions surrounding the case that has never been answered and hopes signatures on the online petition will generate answers and a full-scale FBI investigation into a case involving Maura’s movements through three states.

“We actually have three states involved because she lived in Massachusetts, she drove though Vermont and she ended up in New Hampshire,” he said. “Now, with as long as this case has been going on, there’s just so many inaccuracies and inconsistencies that have followed this case for years that it just   made no sense and made it harder to investigate for all of us involved.”

Nurse mourned after fatal crash

By

‘Always a smile’: Nurse mourned after fatal crash

HANSON — Amanda Turner Russell, 32, of Hanover was getting in a training run for the Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car on Winter Street just over the town line in Hanson on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

She died from traumatic injuries to her head and neck on Monday, Dec. 28, according to family spokesman Brian Dever of the Taunton-based Keches Law Group.

nurse

Amanda Turner Russell, a labor and delivery nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was taking a training run for her first Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car in Hanson Dec. 23. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Russell was a labor and delivery nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She leaves an 8-year-old son.

At about noon on Dec. 23, Hanson Police received numerous 911 calls reporting a motor vehicle crash with a person ejected from the vehicle in the area of 854 Winter St., according to Chief Michael Miksch.

“Hanson Police officers working a paid detail in the area arrived to find a motor vehicle had struck a pedestrian and a utility pole,” Miksch stated.

Hanson Fire and Hanover Fire also responded to the scene.

The pedestrian, later identified as Russell, was transported to Brockton Hospital for treatment. She was flown by Med Flight to Boston for further treatment. The operator of the vehicle, a female Hanson resident, was transported to South Shore Hospital for treatment.

Miksch said the driver’s name won’t be released unless charges are filed, but Dever indicated civil action is likely regardless of whether the driver faces charges.

The vehicle involved in the crash is a 2004 Nissan Altima, according to Miksch. The Altima was travelling south on Winter Street when it crossed the roadway and struck Russell. The vehicle then struck a pole, snapping it in half before coming to rest in the center of the roadway.   

National Grid crews responded and shut off power to the area while pole repairs were made — a job that took about an hour. Approximately 480 customers lost power in Hanson and Hanover.

The road remained closed as members of the Hanson Police, Massachusetts State Police, and Plymouth County BCI investigated. The roadway remained closed for the afternoon as crews worked to restore power to the area.  Hanson Police were also assisted by the Hanover Police Department.  The office of Plymouth County DA Timothy Cruz is also investigating, a process that is still ongoing, according to spokesman Beth Stone.

A family steps in

Russell’s son is being looked after by her family members, including her ex-husband and the boy’s grandparents, according to Dever.

“The family is a strong and supportive one,” he said. “There’s an actively involved father. There are grandparents that are actively involved. There are wonderful aunts and an uncle. … Everyone is really trying to do what’s best for Amanda’s 8-year-old son.”

Dever said the family is in the process of setting up a fund for the boy’s education.

“It’s a tragic situation,” he said.

Russell’s colleagues at BIDMC are also mourning her death.

“I had intended no more blog posts for this year, but then Amanda died, and she merits recognition,” former Beth Israel CEO Paul Levy wrote on his “Not Running a Hospital” blog. “She was a loyal friend. Working in the most optimistic part of our hospital, she saw and delivered joy.”

‘shining light’

Levy called her “a shining light in so many ways.”

As Russell was fond of posting sunrise photos on social media (#bidmcsunrise), dozens of her friends are honoring her life on Facebook with #sunrisesforamanda posts of their own sunrise photos, according to Levy.

As of Tuesday, Russell’s Crowdrise page for Team BIDMC had raised $19,073 — 254 percent over her original goal of $7,500 for what would have been her first Boston Marathon run. Her fellow labor and delivery nurse Nancy Eaton told Runner’s World magazine she now plans to run the marathon in Russell’s place — to earn the finishing medal Russell wanted so much.

A GoFundMe page  has been created by Beth Sinibaldi of Marshfield to benefit Russell’s family, raising $26,721 of a  $30,000 goal from donations by 440 people in six days.

“Amanda succumbed to her injuries earlier this week and gave the ultimate gift in her passing, the gift of life,” Sinibaldi wrote Dec. 30. “Amanda was always the first person to help out someone in need, she would always go that extra mile for anyone, and always with a smile on her face.”

 

Whitman-Hanson school budget gains support

By

Whitman-Hanson school budget gains support

A group of nearly 500 concerned parents, community members, educators and business leaders who have teamed to form Whitman-Hanson Supporters of Schools (SOS). Representative members from both towns presented their concerns to the School Committee — and pledged to affect change in school budgeting — during the committee’s Wednesday, Dec. 16 meeting.

Kara Moser of Whitman read the group’s mission statement, which was printed in the Dec. 17 Whitman-Hanson Express opinion page.

“We aim to be a credible, proactive resource for accurate information to support education and drive informed action,” Moser read from the statement. “Together we will support our schools to build the future our children deserve.”

They were joined by retired Hanover Schools teacher, and Hanson resident Peggy Westfield, who also urged greater budget transparency to ease the effort to adequately fund the schools.

“I’m not here to chastise anyone,” Westfield said. “I’m here to say I’m very happy to defend the schools in Whitman-Hanson, but I cannot defend the way the budget is presented.”

Westfield said she had downloaded the fiscal 2016 budget from the district website and compared it to area schools, in particular the Hanover school budget posting.

She found the differences glaring.

“Transparent means open, frank and candid, and looking at the [W-H] budget on the website it is not open, frank or candid,” Westfield said, noting that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner offered to sit down with her and explain it. “The Hanover school budget is a line-by-line budget and you know every thing that the Hanover Schools spent … right down to copy paper/postage.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said that information is printed in the town reports, but Westfield urged that it be available online. He applauded her for asking the questions.

“She’s not hitting us over the head and I know that,” Hayes said. “Communication is everything.”

Westfield stressed that, if people don’t know what the school district does with the money, they don’t want to give it any more.

“You have no trust out in the community,” she said.

Westfield also related that state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, has said Whitman-Hanson has the highest percentage of state aid than any school system on the South Shore.

Committee members and district officials said that assertion is inaccurate.

“We have to be very specific in telling [legislators] that increase didn’t cover anything,” said member Steve Bois. “It could have been $200 or $400 — after the charges from the state … it’s not an increase.”

Committee member Fred Small said the increase in Chapter 70 funds was actually $125,000 — only $25 per pupil.

“Part of the issue is, they look at what the state gives Whitman-Hanson [reimbursement rate] vs. what other towns are and they don’t take into consideration we are a regional school system,” said Hayes.

On the transparency issue, Gilbert-Whitner also noted that the district puts together a community guide to the budget, available online and at both town meetings. The committee also holds a meeting at which the budget is presented the first week of February. This year that meeting will be 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 3.

The budget is certified in a public meeting in mid-March.

“Nobody comes to the meetings,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “As we move forward with FY ’17 we’ll be working on making it more and more transparent.”

Chris George of Whitman suggested that part of the communication problem stems from the fact that, as a regional school district, the budget for the schools appears as a single line in the budget warrant article.

“If you come to the meetings they are [being transparent], but folks aren’t coming to those meetings so how do we put it back in their face — to say ‘Here it is. You’re voting on one line item, but here’s every single line in the budget,’” George said. “We need to do something different in how we present it.”

The committee has also planned a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at which Cutler, state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, and state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton have been invited, and will attend, to discuss budget issues.

State aid

Gilbert-Whitner said an important issue about which they must be informed is proposed formula changes for Chapter 70 state aid that could be felt by fiscal 2018.

“The more aware we are about the change in that formula, the more intelligently we can speak to our senator and our two representatives,” she said.  “Whitman-Hanson runs on its Chapter 70 money — $24 million of our $47 million budget comes from the state.”

Bois, who arranged the meeting as a member of the Legislative Affairs Subcommittee, said it is important for the legislators to see and hear from the large groups of teachers and the members of SOS who have attended recent School Committee meetings.

“It’s going to be very interesting and I’m asking them all to be here for the January meeting, because we told them it’s going to be somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half,” Hayes said. “We have people that have questions. Our task to you would be come with some questions. Ask them.”

Communication is a large part of the job, he stressed.

Hanson business owner John Ferry Sr

By

Hanson business owner John Ferry Sr, decorated WWII vet

HANSON – John J. Ferry, Sr., 92, the proprietor of Ferry’s Automotive, Inc. of Hanson, and a decorated veteran of World War II, died peacefully on a beautiful Sunday morning at home surrounded by his family.

ferry-2Mr. Ferry was a B-25 flight engineer-gunner in the China-Burma-India theater of the war, flying 75 missions during that time and achieving the rank of staff sergeant. He served with the 83rd Bomb Squadron, 12th Bomb Group of the 10th Air Force. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, seven Bronze Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal.

John-Ferry

John J. Ferry, Sr.

Mr. Ferry was born on Sept. 30, 1923, in Halifax, where he loved to spend time on the Twin Lakes when he wasn’t bothering his four beloved sisters. He graduated from Whitman High School before joining the armed services in 1942.

An avid mechanic, he worked for Bryantville Olds after the war, and then Lloyd’s Garage in Hanson. In 1954, he married Dorothea “Dot” Girouard, and built their home on Winter Street in Hanson. In 1965, he opened John’s Jenney in Hanson, which became John’s Citgo in 1968. In 1975, he opened Ferry’s Automotive Inc. – better known as “Ferry’s Sunoco” – on Liberty Street in Hanson. This year, Ferry’s Sunoco celebrated its 50th year of operation. The business was his great passion, and he loved to spend nearly all of his time at “the station,” where he worked alongside his son, daughter, grandchildren, and many beloved friends. When his health began to prevent him from working long hours on his feet, Mr. Ferry still spent every afternoon at the station, visiting with his many customers and friends.

He is predeceased by his son James “Jimmy” Ferry, and leaves his wife of 61 years, Dorothea M. Ferry, his son John J. Ferry, Jr. and his wife Kathleen of Hanson, his daughters Victoria Miller and her fiancé Beau Dyer of Plympton, Vivienne Gilbert and her husband Andrew of Hanson, and Vanessa Ferry of Hanson. He also leaves his six grandchildren: Erik Miller, Sara and Taylor Ferry, and Cassandra, Cory, and Kelsey Gilbert.

His services will be held at 8 a.m., Monday, Dec. 28 from the Blanchard Funeral Chapel, Plymouth Street (Route 58 at the rotary) Whitman, followed by a funeral Mass at 9 a.m. in St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hanson. Burial will follow in Central Cemetery, Halifax. Visiting hours will be held from 2 to 6 p.m., Sunday Dec. 27.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Whitman-Hanson Dollars for Scholars, P. O. Box 26, Whitman, MA, 02382.

For online condolences and directions visit blanchardfc.com

 

Hanson Business Network promotes small firms

By

Hanson Business Network promotes small firms

HANSON —About a dozen small business owners and employees gathered at the Edward Jones office in Shaw’s Plaza Wednesday, Dec. 2 to kick off the Hanson Business Network (HBN) to help each other develop and promote their companies — and perhaps shake up town officials’ attitudes toward business development.

The group is looking to meet on the third Wednesday of each month for now as they work to define the group’s direction and structure. The next meeting is slated for 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Edward Jones.

Hanson Business Network promotes small firmsAmong the issues discussed Dec. 2 was the need to revitalize the Main Street area near the MBTA station and High Street near the former Plymouth County Hospital as well as ways the town can help attract new business — while remaining neutral politically —and how members of the group can help each other.

“What I’m looking for out of this group, is a support system for some of us in the area,” said host business manager Josh Singer of Edward Jones. “It’s pretty tough to run a business in such a small town as this.”

Still Singer, like the others in attendance, loves doing business in Hanson.

Laurel MacCurtain, who owns Five Rings Pet Resort with her husband Michael, a Whitman firefighter, said they are very comfortable in Hanson, too.

“If there is anything we can be doing to increase local business, we’re on board with it,” she said.

Like MacCurtain, most of those attending the meeting have business, if not personal, roots in Hanson.

Meadow Brook Restaurant owner Wilbur Danner, for example, is a longtime resident who has served as chairman of the Whitman-Hanson School Committee, has worked on several of the town’s building committees and has served as an assessor. He, too, spoke of rough going to get his establishment going.

“It’s hard to open a small business in the town, you have no support from anyone,” said Danner, who also owns restaurants in Abington, Rockland and Hyannis. “You have to go by your reputation from other places. I’d like to see something develop to shake up the town fathers a little bit.”

Whitman native Kathy Jo Boss, who has operated Boss Academy of Performing Arts in Hanson for 14 years, agreed with Danner.

“I feel very connected to the town, but it is difficult to get a business here,” she said. “We just built a new building and it wasn’t easy.”

Bill McDonough, managing partner of Scribendi Advertising & Public Relations, noted that — despite operating a small Hanson-based firm with a portfolio of national and global clients since 1998  — “I haven’t had a single client in Hanson.”

McDonough has also been a member of a handful of chambers of commerce in the region, and has been dissatisfied with the general attitude toward small businesses in such organizations.

“You need that water cooler moment, but there’s no one to meet at the water cooler when you’re in business for yourself,” said HBN organizer Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, a legal consultant preparing to launch her own firm. Her husband John Kemmett is also considering an expansion of his electrical business.

She got the idea for the HBN while doing fundraising when she realized the same businesses in town are approached all the time. Building a network can help businesses define projects they want to support.

“I wanted to jump-start it, get everybody introduced to one another, figure out what we wanted the group to be, what’s important to you and what’s this going to look like,” she said.

For one- and two-person businesses, such informal information sharing can also be vital to business development, as well as encouraging socially.

Bob Sullivan, owner of Sullivan Funeral Home in town since 1976, and his daughter, Office Manager Amanda Sullivan, characterized their interest as part of their family business’ commitment to the community.

“The town needs to be strong,” Bob Sullivan said. “I’m always interested in the business people and seeing what we can do to keep the towns strong, because it helps everybody.”

Amanda Sullivan is also a Hanson resident and plans to stay with the business in town for a long time.

Also attending the meeting were Julie Gainey, president of Master Gourmet Packaging who sells specialty packaging to hotels and restaurants across the country, Steve Smith of Max Machine, which machines medical devices, robotics and projects for the Department of Defense, and Timothy Dunn of Wicked Design Group which is involved in custom automotive design work and fiberglas repair, both Smith and Dunn are located at 1000 Main St.

Smith is hoping the networking opportunity can help his business survive amid challenges from international competitors and the advent of 3-D printers.

Whitman panel to study voting devices

By

Whitman panel to study voting devices

WHITMAN — A committee is being formed by Town Moderator Michael Seele to study the pros and cons of electronic voting at Town Meeting — an issue affecting bylaws that will ultimately be put before Town Meeting to accept or reject.

Seele and Town Clerk Dawn Varley are the first two members of the study committee, being asked to update selectmen on its progress in March. Members from both sides of the issue will be placed on that panel.

Whitman panel to study voting devices

Small, remote control-type devices, like the one showed above, are being studied as a voting toll. They have a numeric keypad on which a yes or no vote would be cast by punching number one or two. They can be leased or purchased with the town able to borrow extra from other towns if a huge Town Meeting turnout is seen.

The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 15 expressed divided opinions on the idea — with Brian Bezanson and Dan Salvucci supporting electronic voting, Scott Lambiase voicing objections and both Lisa Green and Chairman Carl Kowalski saying they need more information before forming an opinion.

“I’m not really comfortable being on the fence on anything,” Kowalski said. “My first reaction was we don’t need that.”

But, he added that he understands how a shy person can feel cowed by the number of people around them that may be voting differently.

“I’m interested in hearing some more about the motivation for this,” he said.

Varley opened the discussion with a report on how electronic voting works and opinions of officials in towns now using it.

The small, remote control-type devises with numeric keypad on which a yes or no vote would be cast by punching number one or two. They can be leased or purchased with the town able to borrow extra from other towns if a huge Town Meeting turnout is seen.

“I’ve pretty much given you all the information that I found out, and that’s what my job was,” Varley said.

She did report that voice votes are generally inaccurate, standing counts are time-consuming and public votes can result in the potential for intimidation.

“I have a problem with that [last point] because we shouldn’t feel intimidated or fear retribution when we’re in our own town — in our own community — and we all have a common interest,” Kowalski said. “They’re our friends and neighbors.”

Kowalski said, even though there have been contentious town meetings in the past, the current practice of voice and standing votes has worked for a number of years.

“I don’t remember the really weird times,” he said.

Another reason for considering electronic voting is the continuing effort to increase voter turnout.

“Every Town Meeting, I’m fighting to get 150 people,” Varley said. “I think this might be it.” Lawn signs and reminders on census forms are also being considered.

“The participation is going to be [based on] what you have for warrant articles,” Lambiase said. “I think that the biggest thing is that a great majority of the populace has no idea what we do at Town Meeting.”

Bezanson said he, too, likes to think intimidation is not a big factor in low Town Meeting turnout.

“It doesn’t stifle any discussion,” he said of electronic voting. “But I think it really takes a burden off the voter when it comes time to make the vote.”

Salvucci also favors electronic voting, but expressed concern over its ease of use, especially for seniors.

“I like the idea of the device,” Salvucci said. “I like the idea of secret ballots because you vote the way you want to vote. It’s that simple.”

Seele discounted concern about intimidation, saying he has not received any complaints from voters about it.

“We have a tradition here in this town of standing up and being counted for you vote,” Seele said. “I’ve not gotten the sense … that there was any sort of recrimination or intimidation going on against anybody.”

He called it “probably the largest conceptual issue” around electronic voting.

Police Chief Scott Benton again argued that intimidation could cut both ways, as his department “doesn’t make everybody happy.”

While the police have a lot of supporters in town, he said the job doesn’t always make friends in performing their duties.

“I’m not saying I’m against [electronic voting],” he said. “In my line or work, I’m here to represent our department and look at the misuse because that’s what we deal with.”

Seele said he is also concerned about the nuts and bolts of how it would work, especially for the disabled and those uncomfortable with the technology.

“I’m all for technology,” he said. “But I wonder if this is a hammer in search of a nail.”

Lambiase, who works in Duxbury where electronic devices — but only on close votes — are used, said officials in that town calculated they only saved four minutes in an eight-hour town meeting.

“Personally, I don’t agree with it,” he said. “I’m more of the spirit that Town Meeting is to be an open town meeting and we should not be afraid to get up and speak our mind and be proud of our vote.”

Green said the discussion toward making Town Meeting more efficient is a healthy one, but said more information is needed before any decision is made.

IT Director Josh MacNeil said a lot depends on the company used and whether devices are leased or purchased, but agreed with Green that more information is needed.

“I agree with everything that’s been said here,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “I can agree that the concerns people have are valid, because I can remember town meetings when I may have been the only one standing up.”

He said people genuinely feel intimidated in voting for contentious issues.

“I don’t know that that’s a reason to do this,” Lynam said. “I think it’s something we should look at.”

Hanson author writes about Boston El trains

By

Hanson author writes about Boston El trains

HANSON — For Hanson resident Lawrence D. Mills, retirement has literally opened a new chapter in his life — several of them in fact — as he recently completed work on a book saluting Boston’s erstwhile elevated train system.

The book [“Main Line Elevated,” Xlibris, 83 pages, hardcover $61.99/large format paperback, $51.99/E-book, $24.99] is not a history, but rather a photo essay of the last years of Boston’s Main Line elevated train.

Hanson author writes about Boston El trains“It describes what it was like to see and use this transportation on one of the heaviest transit lines in the city of Boston,” Mills states in his promotional materials.

The elevated trains also afforded the chance for Mills and his sister to spend hours of locomotive and people watching at Dudley Station from a display window in Roxbury’s Ferdinand’s Furniture Store where his parents met on the job and his father worked again after WWII.

The Charlestown elevated route ended in 1975, followed by the one in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain in 1987, and “there are adults today that never saw it” he said of his reason for doing the book.

“It’s a way to see what life was like in those days because you see everything — the cars, the way people dressed, the ads — the whole business,” he said. “My view has always been that these pictures don’t do any good sitting in a closet. They should be where people can see them.”

While he never worked for a railroad or the MBTA, Mills continued his lifelong interest in railroads and transit systems during his military service, which included postings in Germany, and during a career with the Federal Protective Service, which protects federal buildings, for more than 35 years. His FPS service was largely in Boston and other New England sites.

“I’ve had this as a hobby all my life,” he said of his collection of El photographs. A book he bought about the Third Avenue Line in New York City provided the spur to create his own book.

Most of the photos are his from a personal collection dating back to 1964, except for a half dozen from Rockland resident George Jason, a few from a retired Boston Fire Lt. Jim Teed and some black white photos from Mills’ father Thomas.

“This was something I have been thinking about for years and when I retired, we sat down and [decided to] do it,” he said. His wife Michele, a former librarian, used her expertise and connections to find Xlibris, a self-publishing firm in Bloomington, Ind.

“The quality of the book turned out well,” he said. “I was impressed with that.”

Mills had done all the scanning and layout of photos on his home computer.

“That’s one of the good things about his pictures, he has all the old cars, the old buildings, the old signs,” Michele said. “They’re historic.”

Mills plans to make appearances at train and hobby shows — such as one held in Springfield next month — as his primary merchandising avenue, but the book is also available online via Barnes & Noble and Amazon and at rail museums.

Michele noted that the book will also be in The Library Journal so town libraries and special libraries may purchase it if they wish.

The book provided Mills with a project during last winter’s worst weather. He is now looking toward the next project while he continues interest in trains.

Even his move from Brookline to Hanson hinged on the Commuter Rail service, as his job did not initially include a “take home” vehicle.

“It was a convenient commute and they were building the area up,” he said.

“We worked together on the house,” Michele said. “Larry told me what he wanted and I worked with Jack Conway himself [to design it].”

Conway had been a friend of her family in Cohasset for years.

 

Security cameras eyed for Whitman Park

By

Security cameras eyed for Whitman Park

WHITMAN — Police Chief Scott Benton is considering a Town Meeting warrant article calling for the placement of security cameras in Whitman Park. He has been discussing the issue with Town Administrator Frank Lynam, IT Director Josh MacNeil and DPW Parks and Highways Superintendent Bruce Martin.

Lynam urged Benton to bring the idea to the Board of Selectmen so, from a policy standpoint, “We can clear the air and not just surprise people by throwing cameras up there.”

Security cameras eyed for Whitman ParkThe discussion was intended to inform the town and spur public discussion on the proposal.

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Lynam said. “Ten years ago, this was Big Brother watching everything. I think today people realize that [cameras] serve a public and public safety purpose.”

He said cities, such as New York and London, are heavily covered by security cameras, and the trend is coming to smaller communities now. Lynam added that he’d like to see them used downtown, as well.

“There’s always a big debate on do cameras reduce crime? No,” Benton told selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 1. “The long and the short of that is no, but they go a long, long way to solve it.”

He noted that the Boston Marathon bombing, and many other cases including motor vehicle accidents, would not have been solved without video evidence gleaned from security cameras. FBI Academy information Benton cited points to security cameras as “holding more evidence than any other source — more than DNA, crime scene analysis or eyewitness testimony.”

“The need is there,” Benton said, citing past vandalism damage to the park area and town pool. He also stressed that recordings would only be reviewed when there is cause to do so.

“When something happens, people want answers,” he said. “You want to be able to provide those answers.”

Others make move

Many surrounding communities are also making the move to post security cameras. The initial cost is expected to be lower than the cost of maintaining equipment and archiving recordings.

“The ability to identify people who do bad things goes a long way toward deterring other people from doing bad things,” Lynam said. “The concern I have always had is one of infrastructure cost.”

Estimates are being sought on the cost of fiber optic and other wireless systems for a pilot program consisting of a couple cameras as a test, perhaps ahead of a Town Meeting vote.

Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who conducted the meeting in the absence of Chairman Carl Kowalski, asked if permission from the Historical Commission would be needed to place cameras in the historic park.

“We have talked about putting cameras in the park in the past,” Salvucci said.

Lynam said the small cameras would in no way alter the park’s appearance.

“In the times that we live in, I think it’s critical,” Benton said. “I think it’s my responsibility to make the board aware — make the people aware. I think we let the people vote, let the people have their say.”

But he stressed the importance of protecting the park as a place of recreation for young families.

“You don’t want to be the guy who’s looking at a family saying, ‘Geez, I don’t have any answers to that,’” Benton said.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea, and I don’t think you’ll have to do a lot of convincing,” said Selectman Lisa Green, citing recent “questional behavior” in the park as well as questionable items left behind.

Selectman Brian Bezanson also voiced support.

“Who knows what’s going to come around the corner and for us to say ‘we should have’ is not good enough,” Bezanson said.

Living Nativity

In other business, the board approved a request by the Rev. Joshua Gray to permit closing off a portion of Broad Street between Washington and Central streets from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 20 so the First Congregational Church may conduct a living Nativity program. Refreshments and a carol sing will follow in the church Fellowship Hall.

“It’s just a great community event, [we’re] trying to get people out to remember what this season is about for those of us who are Christians,” Gray said. “Just a fun community event.”