Whitman-Hanson Express

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Renewing a school culture

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HANOVER — South Shore Tech school administrators reported a “little bit complicated, but normal” start to the school year during the region’s School Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

Principal Mark Aubrey said there are challenges to be handled, but officials are working through them, including trying to handle traffic layouts to improve the time involved at the start and end of school days.

“We’re also working inside to keep the children as safe in learning as possible,” he said.

Some traditions are also returning, including the annual Ken Thayer Classic Car Show, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 3. The Parent’s Association will host its fundraising craft fair from 9 a.m. To 3 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 16. Open House for grade eight students interested in possibly attending SST is being planned for Saturday, Nov. 6.

“School spirit has taken a hit during COVID,” Aubrey said. “We haven’t had fans at games, there hasn’t been a lot going on, so I’m going to focus this year on school culture and making sure that people are happy to be here and excited to be here.”

From a welcoming façade to ensuring that the school works in a way that makes both students and staff feel they belong and are valued.

Banners, a small business alumni Hall of Fame, a showcase of achievement – both sports and SkillsUSA trophies and awards — student-created murals in hallways are planned, as well as an outdoor fall dance with a harvest theme so that masks will not be an issue.

“We are forming an Equity Committee … having an equitable school culture for everybody involved,” Aubrey said. “This is an organization that’s going to talk about reality and education and promotion of equality throughout the school to make sure everybody’s voice is being heard.”

A recent day when the football and soccer teams joined the crowd to cheer on the volleyball team, was an example of that, said Aubrey, noting he has lauded the students for supporting each other.

Assistant Principal Sandra Baldner thanked the committee for a “school year that feels mostly normal.”

She reported that students and teachers alike are settling in well.

“It’s great to see students back in the building,” said Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “We were in school a lot last year, but it’s great to be back every single day — and under these very challenging circumstances, people are doing their best every day.”

The school’s window replacement project has been interrupted by supply chain delays, but any work to be done once materials are delivered will be done after school to avoid interfering with instruction at no added cost.

The estimate is that the project will take about 24 workdays to complete, Hickey noted, saying he is hopeful that work would begin by Sept. 30.

A walk-through of the building for the next slate of projects was expected to take place soon — that work includes roof replacement on the 1992 side of the building as well as beginning conversations about a targeted building addition, Hickey added.

“I would like to be in a position that, as we prepare the fiscal 2023 budget, we will have an educated estimate of costs for both of those projects so as to make estimates on the debt service,” he said. The district has a debt service approval behind them and now must begin the process of planning out the projects.

“Between now and December, there will be a lot of work to be done,” Hickey said. That includes going out to bid and hiring contractors in the spring for work to be done next summer.

In other business, the committee approved an interim public comment policy, being worked on by the policy subcommittee since 2020, provides the committee chairman with some guidelines on the public comment process, including time limits, according to Hickey.

Frank Molla was welcomed as Hanson’s new representative to the committee.

WMS feasibility panel sets invoice policy

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WHITMAN — The Whitman Middle School Feasibility Study Committee approved a final request for services for the owner/project manager on the Whitman Middle School building project reported during its Sept. 21 meeting.

It will now be advertised in the central register and in the local newspaper.

The Mass. School Building Authority had returned it’s comments on the district’s request that day, Feasibility Study Committee Chairman Fred Small said.

The committee also discussed the need for managing the flow of funds and invoices between the town of Whitman and the school district. Thus far, the only invoices being handled are for newspaper advertising, but the move is a way of getting ahead of things.

They voted to have a process under which the district would pay invoices up front, sending them to Whitman for the town to reimburse the district, as school capital projects are now paid. They also voted to create a five-person subcommittee to handle invoices, and requiring that payments be made in five business days. Payments would require two signatures for approval and release of payments.

“It got us thinking that we ought to have a process in which the monies flow,” Small said of the need for such a process. “The monies are held by the town of Whitman, the school district would get the invoice, present it to the town and the town will pay the school district — the school district will pay the vendor. I think that’s a pretty easy way of doing things.”

Small pointed to the larger staff at the school district to be able to facilitate invoicing.

“It’s also a nice check and balance, because the monies do have to flow through Whitman as well,” he said. “I just think we should have the ability to sign off on them before they go to the town or before they get paid.”

School District Business Manager John Stanbrook said invoices typically are turned around within 30 days.

Committee member Randy LaMattina, a selectman, suggested a smaller warrant subcommittee be appointed for signing off on payments.

Small suggested taking the School Committee’s approach of having three committee members sign warrants, with the balance of the committee voting on them at the following meeting.

But, on Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak’s suggestion that the warrants be uploaded to Google Drive so committee members can review them, Small suggested that approvals be made after invoices are placed in Google Drive, asking for questions or objections be emailed. Since the building study committee is not legally required to sign off on payment warrants with a formal vote, as the School Committee is bound to do.

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said it is still wise to form a small subcommittee to review questions and objections.

“We’re only talking feasibility,” LaMattina said. “There really shouldn’t be a tremendous amount of invoices. We’d have to have a different process during the building phase.”

“Once we’re in the building phase, it has to be a totally different dialog,” Szymaniak said.

Hanson assessment debated

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HANSON — Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding’s effect on the town’s assessment change was involved  in a heated discussion about school assments at the Monday, Sept. 13 meeting of the Hanson Board of Selectmen.

Former Selectman Bruce Young challenged the way a $1.85 million override was voted at the annual Town Meeting this spring — $1.55 million for general government and about $305,000 for the school district whether the override passed or failed. He also questioned how the $304,885 was dropped from the Hanson assessment.

“You need to consider going back to Town Meeting and changing line 54 of Article 5 of Town Meeting to read $12,646,000,” Young said in urging support of his article requesting that change. “If you don’t do that, before Sept. 20, what you’re going to end up with is that $305,000 that everybody knows is never going back to the School District in fiscal ’22.”

Like Whitman resident John Galvin at the Sept. 15 School Committee meeting, Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green noted that the committee voted to lower the assessment by the amount of the grant on April 14.

“That had been in the original budget all along, so it’s not like he added it to the budget, but what he did was say, OK, I’m no longer going to charge this to Whitman and Hanson, I’m going to pay for it out of our ESSER III funds,” Galvin said of his question about school interventionists funded by the Whitman assessment this week.

Green explained this Monday that, when the budget lines were called out at this year’s Town Meeting, Young held that several line items for question and explained his concern to voters and proposed a motion to lower the lines he questioned in an attempt to lower the budget. He also challenged the override in an effort to change the assessment. The Town Meeting voted to accept the line items anyway.

“You cannot go back and undo a Town Meeting vote unless you follow the right procedure,” Green said. “Mr. Young did not do that.”

The $305,000 may still be used by the schools for capital needs during FY ’22, Green said.

“The money is there for the schools if they need it,” Green said. “At the end of the year [the unused portion] goes back to the Dept. of Revenue and it’s certified as free cash.”

Young has challenged the Town Meeting vote with several state agencies, Green noted.

She said there has not been a single state agency, including senior managers for education and municipal associations alike, that has come to the district to say the budgeting process has been invalid.

“Believe me if the [attorney general’s office] catches an error on procedure or anything, they are the first to reach out to you,” Green told Seletmen, Thursday, Sept. 16. They then provide the procedures and steps to correct it.

“We have not done anything wrong,” she said, adding that the impact on taxpayers would be “pennies on a tax bill … but that’s beyond the point,” Green said emphasizing there is no wrongdoing involved.”

One Selectman saw Young’s point during the Town Meeting debate.

“I was a constituent at the time, and I had some issues with this and brought it up to a couple of people, but it’s all said and done at this point,” Selectman Joe Weeks said of his Town Meeting vote. “We were trying to save jobs, quite frankly, and were trying to fund schools. … But I definitely, as a concerned citizen brought up the same issue [as Young].”

“When I became aware after Town Meeting, that there was that discrepancy, we definitely reached out to town counsel,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We did not take these accusations and allegations with a grain of salt. …This was a matter or timing of when the vote came down and the ballot had to be printed.”

She explained it was not the original intent to put the $305,000 into free cash. Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer said the money might still be used for a schools capital need, if not, it would go to free cash.

FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested the whole board be involved in strategizing on how the matter would be handled.

“We all should have been made aware that there was a $305,000 difference and we all should have been part of a conversation about how that was going to be handled,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I would hope we’ve learned from this.”

At a special Sept. 16 Selectmen’s meeting, she indicated an understanding of where the concern is coming from — “It doesn’t feel like that was really transparent,” she said. “But to question the credibility or the integrity of the process…”

But the problem really stemmed from poor timing.

The School Committee originally had an assessment of $12,251,003. On April 14, the committee learned that the district had received a grant for the school’s food services department, according to Green.

“At that committee meeting, they lowered the assessment by that amount,” she said. The annual Town Meeting was two weeks later.

An article submitted by Young to reduce the amount approved at the annual Town Meeting to $12,646,118 — which had been rejected at the Town Meeting — failed to attain a second.

“You made an appropriation to the schools,” Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said. “I think the reality is it’s acceptable at this point.”

The assessment in question was to the schools and the town did not find out until it was too late to react.

“It’s not uncommon to overbudget,” she said.

ESSER changes raise questions

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The school district fielded some questions from residents this week as to how the second and third round of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds will be incorporated into the fiscal 2023 school budget.

Whitman resident John Galvin noted that the committee certified a new budget before Town Meeting last year in which $775,000 was taken out of the assessments from the towns, and asked how the schools were planning to spend the $2.3 million in anticipated ESSER III funding.

“From my understanding [the district] was going to take ESSER money to fund a special team of interventionists because everyone was coming back from remote learning,” Galvin said, asking if the $775,000 was coming out of ESSER money. He also said his understanding was ESSER funds were going to be used for the $775,000 again next year because the towns would be able to handle that since if was one-time money, and asked if that was still in the plan.

“You’re correct in both spots,” Szymaniak said. “I just don’t know if it’s ESSER II or ESSER III at this point.”

Galvin asked if the interventionists would continue their work into a third year, eating up a lot of the ESSER funds.

“What I was asking him was, because he [Szymaniak] had this big community survey on how they wanted to spend all this money [with ESSER II and III funds left],” Galvin said.

He said he wanted to confirm that while $775,000 last year, you said was coming out of ESSER III, Szymaniak also said he planned were going to use ESSER III this next year, and possibly a third year — which would eat up more than the $2.3 million anticipated.

“That’s what I wanted on the record,” Galvin said. “Using one-time money in an operating budget’s a bad thing.”

Szymaniak indicated that the interventionists were not a long-term program, he said.

Stressing his question came as a private citizen, Galvin said the School Committee on April 14 voted on a new assessment funding $775,000 from their own funds for the special group of educational interventionists, with Szymaniak indicating he was going to use ESSER III funds instead.

“When I presented the budget in February, we were taking some ESSER III money from that allotment,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak replied at the meeting. “We might not have to do that, because we still have ESSER II money, but in June we found out we had to jump through some more hoops than we had to do for ESSER I and ESSER II.”

There are some “wide-range things the district can look at” using ESSER III money, according to Szymaniak. “Potentially, the assessments to the towns don’t include the interventionists at this point.”

ESSER I for the district totaled $292,273 and expending all but about $100 for initial COVID response; ESSER II grants totaled $1,001,704, expending $592,066, leaving a balance of $996,411.

“That’s there right now because I’m still outstanding $1.1 million-something in CARES [Act funding],” Szymaniak said at the School Committee meeting Sept. 15. “We thought ESSER II might have been used to cover some of our CARES money. We put in a lot in CARES, so we didn’t have to dive into ESSER II.”

ESSER III was just coming out, without any parameters last year and $2.314 million has been awarded, but the district hasn’t applied for it. The grant is due on Oct. 4.

“So we were looking at CARES not covering some of our expenses and using ESSER II money,” Szymaniak said. “We didn’t use that yet and we’re feeling pretty sure – 98 percent – that we’re going to get all the CARES money, so we’re going to be able to use this ESSER II money in fiscal 2022 and ’23.”

One of the necessary components of the ESSER III grant application is a needs survey of what the community sees as the district’s needs, Szymaniak said.

The one-year grant includes extensions to a second and third year, with the total allotment having to be spent by Sept. 30, 2024. Symaniak said the district is still trying to find out if the money has to be actually spent by that date or if it can be encumbered for later spending by that date.

It can be used to benefit students and for building up-keep, but can’t be used for teacher, administration or staff raises. Improvements may also be made to after-school activities, help sessions for students or even summer programs, but it can’t be used for a program like foreign language curriculum in the middle schools that would then have to be supported by the budget. The funds can be used for air-conditioning and, potentially, for playgrounds if COVID was in some way a concern that needed to be addressed.

“It has to be for programs or for people to put in that program,” he said. “These are one-time monies. We have to be very careful how we structure our finances going forward.”

Not having to dig into all of ESSER II and ESSER III, is a positive, “but it doesn’t necessarily take away the responsibilities of the two towns to fund our budget,” he said.

An update on the overall budget outlook and how ESSER funds might be used this year will be outlined at the October meeting, Szymaniak said.

“We’ll be clear and transparent about how those funds are being expended,” he said. “Our budget was approved at Town Meeting and then we got a notice from the fed saying, ‘These are some of the stipulations around ESSER III’ and a lot of us said that would be great to tell us back in May before Town Meeting.”

Szymaniak said the district is also waiting for CARES reimbursements from Plymouth County for things done last year.

Smooth school opening

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The opening of the 2021-22 school year on Wednesday, Sept. 1 had “no real issues,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported to the School Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

“There were lots of happy eyes,” he said. “You couldn’t see smiles, but, with kids, you could tell how excited they were to be in school, same with teachers.”

While there were “a couple hiccups” with transportation, nothing critical as far as opening, he said.

Szymaniak also touched on the COVID protocol, it’s effect on the first days of the school year and “where we’re at right now.”

Schools throughout the state are under a mask mandate until Oct. 1, depending on a vaccine percentage of 80 percent.

“It’s frustrating for me, and reporting to the committee, that’s the extent of the information that I have to share with you about the vaccine mandate and what 80 percent is,” he said. “There are a lot of us guessing, to say is it by school? By district? Is it by teachers? Is it by community? We don’t have that information.”

Hanson figures put 38 percent of the town’s 12-to-15-year-olds vaccinated and 61 percent of 16-to-19-year-olds. In Whitman, 47 percent of 12-to-15-year-olds and 58 percent of 16-to-19-year-olds are fully vaccinated.

Both Whitman and Hanson have encouraged people to get vaccinated. A vaccine for children under age 12 is supposed to become available sometime in October, but what that exactly means and where it can be dispensed has not been provided.

“If the commissioner [of education] holds true to 80 percent, we’re not taking the masks off at this point,” Szymaniak said.

“I’m extremely frustrated because I don’t have any information to share with the community,” he said.

He said he has been asked by residents if the mandate is linked to school funding. Without directly addressing that, he said 50 percent of school funding comes from the state and it is important to follow the COVID mandates.

Szymaniak said the School District is not seeing transmissions between kids at the schools. But there is an increase in the COVID positivity rate in both communities.

Mass. DPH numbers indicate that there have been two positive cases at the high school since Sept. 1, Whitman Middle School had three, Hanson Middle School has had four cases. Six other students in Hanson tested positive before the start of school.

Duval Elementary had three positive cases since Sept.1, Indian Head and Conley had none and the preschool had two.

Szymaniak also spoke about COVID testing.

“We were ready to go with tests Day One, and we didn’t have them,” he said. “They came in last week.”

The training that Lead Nurse Lisa Tobin was supposed to attend was canceled, so she is trying to self-train virtually.

He said the “Test and Stay” program — which administers five tests in the nurse’s office over five consecutive days — only tests students if they are in close contact within school.

“If you play Pop Warner [football] and come to school, I can’t test you,” Szymaniak said, noting the confusion surrounding the Test and Stay program.

He said mask protocol is being adhered to without incident and, the few situations at the high school have involved the need to remind students to pull the mask up over their noses.

Masks are provided to students that need them.

A severe shortage of bus drivers, limit the available buses for sports.

“We’re lucky we’re getting bus drivers to drive our kids to school,” Szymaniak said. “After school [activities] and field trips are going to be severely limited by the amount of drivers that are there.”

Class size

More parents are either opting to homeschool or take advantage of school choice, although the number is down from last year’s pandemic.

Compared to 2019, when there were 35 homeschool pupils and 58 school choice students coming into the district. In 2020-21, during the peak of the pandemic, there were 93 homeschool students and 50 school choice; In 2021-22 Szymaniak is up to 65 homeschooled and 50 school choice students coming in and 36 going out.

“We’re still choicing kids in from all over the South Shore, which is a good thing,” he said. “[Students going to other school districts] is something we’re going to dig in deeper.”

He noted that enrollment is decreasing across the district with Hanson enrollment leveling off at about 100 students per grade below grade five. In Whitman, it seems to level off at grade six at between 150 and 160 per grade.

“This committee has worked extremely hard and diligently to try to lower class size in the district,” Szymaniak said. “I’m pleased that, in our elementary schools we have some really good balance, especially in our earlier grades.”

At Duval, top class sizes range from 16-18, Indian Head is around 20-23. The middle schools average class sizes is about 20 and the high school is around 20, except for foreign languages, which average close to 30.

Public Comment

John Galvin, of High Street in Whitman, expressed concern about a “significant” transfer of $3.7 million in line item transfers voted at the previous School Committee meeting to balance the fiscal 2021 budget.

“Last year, at this time, you also took a similar vote [of $3.1 million] … to balance the budget of fiscal year ’20,” he said. “This year, $3.7 million is over 6 percent of the budget, so that means that, at the end of the year, this committee re-appropriated 6 percent of the budget.”

Glavin said he sent an analysis comparing the two transfers to the committee and administration.

“What I found was simply mind-bending,” Galvin said. “The amount of line items in one year that had a significant deficit, the next year had a significant overage. Some of the line items were $1 million from one year to the other.”

He said a new subcommittee on budgets is forming and the hiring of a new business manager is still ahead, but he said he hopes it is time the committee really takes a look at how they prepare the budget, “starting from the gound up.”

Legion salutes the fallen

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WHITMAN — Under a brilliant blue sky, eerily similar to the one 20 years ago when America came under terrorist attack with the hijacking and weaponization to four commercial airliners, Whitman American Legion Post 22 began the town’s commemoration of that fateful day.

Color guards from the Sons of the Legion, Whitman VFW and Whitman police and fire departments taking part in the ceremony, the community honored the first responders and civilians — who worked in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and who were aboard Flight 93 over Shanksville, Pa. — lost that day. The fire department unfurled a huge American flag from its ladder truck for the ceremony, and a wreath-laying at the department’s 9/11 Memorial concluded the event at 8:45 a.m. — the time the first plane struck the WTC on Sept. 11, 2001.

Laying the wreath was Hanson resident and former call firefighter for the Whitman Fire Dept. —  now a Plympton Fire Department firefighter-paramedic, Paul Skarinka, who later was deployed to Iraq as an Army corporal, where he was wounded in action. Clancy said he asked Skarinka to do the honors because he could not think of a more fitting person to do so.

“We all have reflections of that day,” Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said before the wreath ceremony. “I was here working that day, when we watched the world change forever. Little did we know we were watching history unfold before our very eyes.”

Clancy said the thing that sticks with him is how America came together on Sept. 12.

Police Chief Timothy Hanlon also spoke.

“Public safety, first responders, military and civilians alike, came together,” Hanlon said. “This was perpetrated against us as a nation.”

“It’s a dark day in our nation’s history,” said Sons of the Legion Commander John Cameron. “We’ll never forget those who passed away on that day.”

After a benediction, state American Legion Chaplain William Sheehan delivered the official American Legion commemorative speech, focusing on the legacy of Sept. 11, 2001 and the new generation born after it. Former state Rep. Geoff Diehl and Boston City Council candidate Donnie Palmer, both slated as featured speakers were unable to attend.

“Some lost parents that day,” Sheehan said. ‘Others lost siblings and friends, some have served in the military or became first responders as a tribute to those who were lost.’

He described how, much like those coming of age at the time of Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 generation did not seek to grow up during war.

“Evil came to America, and Americans responded,’ he said, noting that the feelings most Americans experienced on that Tuesday morning 20 Septembers ago, are still remembered by those old enough to understand their significance and the way shock, sadness and anger swiftly turned to resolve.

He compared the heroism of passengers on Flight 93 with that of other Americans who fought at Gettysburg, only 90 miles away.

“President Lincoln said, ‘…the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here…,’” Sheehan said. ‘Just like Gettysburg, a field at Shanksville is hallowed ground. It is where Flight 93 was brought down to Earth, not by terrorists, but by those bravely resisting their evil intent.”

Sheehan noted the post-9/11 surge in American patriotism, marked by skyrocketing sales of American flags, and funds established for the lost first responders and their families.

“Where have all the flags of Sept. 11 gone?” he said. “It is up to us to answer that question.”

He said the flag is still brought forth on the traditional patriotic holidays and in response to horrific attacks such as the Boston Marathon bombing, the Pulse nightclub attack and so many others.

“We have been inspired by the service of healthcare workers, volunteers and first responders throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sheehan said. “Yet those moments seem to be overshadowed by violence in our communities, vitriolic politics and a questioning of America’s role as a beacon of hope and freedom.”

Sheehan said the legacy of the more than 3,000 people — Americans as well as citizens of many other countries who worked in the WTC complex, need not be lost to current political divisions.

The better legacy would be to reassure those worried about the future, to comfort those mourning a lost loved one and to temper the rage of those angered by such events, he said.

Cameron spoke again following a ceremonial volley by the Sons of the Legion firing squad and the playing of “Taps.”

“On this day, 20 years ago, 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights, 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning, 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shifts, 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for their morning patrols,” Cameron read from a writing about the night of Sept, 10, 2001. “Eight paramedics went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift. None of them saw past 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001.”

He urged those in attendance not to take one second of our lives for granted.

Hanson EDC updates board on South Hanson project

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HANSON — The town’s Economic Development Committee on Monday, Sept. 13, presented its latest work in the efforts to revitalize the Main Street corridor.

The EDC gave its second presentation during a joint session with the board. Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who also serves on the EDC, along with fellow members Ken Sweezy and Jim Geronaitis attended the session.

Geronaitis and Stantec representative Phil Schaeffing and, at times, former Town Planner Deb Pettey, past and present town administrators have worked on a grant to fund and plan for the Main Street efforts, according to FitzGerald-Kemmett.

The local rapid recovery plan, as it is known, includes actionable plans tailored to the unique economic challenges and COVID-19 impacts of downtown areas through a planning grant funded by the Mass. Dept. of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Hanson is one of 120 communities — mostly medium or small in size — across the commonwealth to participate in the grant program.

The area between Elm and High Streets is being referred to as South Hanson Village, Schaeffing said.

A business survey was conducted in the spring and the EDC has been reviewing project recommendations during the summer toward drafting a plan and public presentation, which is due to DHCD by Oct. 8.

Those project recommendations include building and façade improvements — which is one of the primary recommendations — maintenance and repair and general improvements such as signage. Projects fall into one or more of six categories: public realm, private realm, revenue & sales, administrative capacity, tenant mix and cultural/arts.

Improvements to the pedestrian environment, to improve access to businesses and the MBTA station are looked to in an effort to aid safety to cyclists or pedestrian, which are also safety priorities of the federal Department of Transportation.

Infrastructure improvements to accommodate present and future development and connection to the Burrage Pond trails are being explored, Schaeffing said, as is the encouragement of more housing.

“From a business perspective, having more residents that are living nearby, especially for retail or service-oriented businesses, is helpful for that business,” he said.

“There’s more to talk about on this,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “It’s not our place to be unilaterally saying that we’re knocking on people’s doors and saying, ‘Please come to Hanson and develop this type of housing.’ We’re talking about is there a way for us to develop a zone and work with it so we can effectuate the outcome more than we have the existing 40B.”

Schaeffing said any housing development depends on having regulations in place that permit the development.

Engaging local business owners is also being looked at to help increase sales and encouraging a “buy local” atmosphere as well as facilitating third-party technical support to help increase online sales and marketing.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer said a town-wide visioning process might be the best step to take next.

“We had some really good outcomes with the Plymouth County Hospital property where that was quite the turnout for a committee,” Dyer said.

Sweezy suggested a good approach would be to look at the area in terms of what image Hanson wants to project as a community.

Selectman Jim Hickey endorsed that approach, but had a question about the funding, especially for sidewalk extension.

Sweezy said the main focus is what funding is available now and then

“What do we want it to look like?” FitzGerald-Kemmett said of the zoning and visioning considerations. “Do we want it to be modern … or are we looking for it to resemble a quaint New England town with lighting so people feel safe?”

She noted that the EDC has received feedback that people do not feel safe walking to the MBTA.

“This is really a pivotal time for the town of Hanson,” Dyer said, while agreeing with FitzGerald-Kemmett that none of it will happen overnight.

“A quick-hit that may make some of us feel a lot better … is the façade piece,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I really hate to use the analogy about slapping lipstick on a pig, but I’m willing to do that if it makes people not cringe when they drive through that area.”

Green elevated

Selectmen voted to change Town Administrator Lisa Green’s title from interim to permanent, pending a good performance evaluation.

“I think that Lisa’s been doing a great job,” said Dyer. “One of the things I keep on hearing, as I make my way through Town Hall is, ‘Well, we’ll see how long Lisa is with us,’ ‘She’s interim,’ and I think, at this point, … I personally would like to keep her and I would like to see her become the town administrator and drop the ‘interim.’”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she has done an outstanding job after having to hit the ground running.

“Boy, did she get handed a lot of ticking little time bombs, not getting into details, but you guys all know,” she said, but expressed concern that the board take extra pains to ensure proper procedure.

“She goes constantly above and beyond,” Dyer said. “She’s here for the best interests of the town of Hanson.”

Selectmen Joe Weeks said he did not feel he had enough information to make that decision and preferred to wait until after seeing how Green works Town Meeting on her own. Selectman Kenny Mitchell’s absence also concerned him, as Weeks felt the full board should be able to weigh in.

Selectman Jim Hickey said the issue is simple.

“All it does is take off the interim,” he said. “Her contract runs out next August anyway.”

Hickey noted that, if she misses Town Meeting for a training program, it’s because she wants to be a better town administrator.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said that, while the move might be unprecedented for Hanson, it is not unprecedented for other communities.

“There are certainly many, many examples of interims that morph into a permanent without doing an exhaustive search because its like a probationary period,” she said. “You have the benefit of seeing people in action as opposed to on paper or how the interview. In that sense, it can be quite positive.”

She said that takes place routinely across the commonwealth.

Dyer also argued that former Town Planner Deb Pettey was hired the same way.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also noted that Green was among the top four applicants of an “exhaustive” search that yielded a hire that lasted 16 months.

Selectmen approved the change 3-0-1, with Weeks abstaining.

Whitman welcomes new police officers

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WHITMAN — The Whitman Police Department has officially welcomed two new members as officers.  Richard Belcher and Christopher Ezepik were sworn in by Town Clerk Dawn Varley on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

“In this time of ongoing reform in the police profession, our most recent addition of officers Belcher and Ezepik have been a blessing, as the number of people interested in this career has dropped dramatically,” Police Chief Timothy Hanlon said. “It’s encouraging to see that there are people who realize the difficult situations that police officers respond to, but who remain committed to facing the challenge.”

He said besides Belcher and Ezepik, there are “a few in the bullpen waiting for an opportunity to open in the ranks of reserve/intermittent officers as well as the auxiliary unit.

Hanlon described each officer’s background before they were sworn in, by turn.

Belcher is a long-time Whitman resident and a 2006 graduate of WHRHS. He received a certificate in criminal justice from Lincoln Technical Institute, Somerville in 2008 and was appointed as a reserve/intermittent officer in 2017 and appointed as a full-time officer in November 2020. Belcher recently graduated the Cape Cod Municipal Police Academy, completed training and has been assigned to a permanent shift.

Ezepik is also a Whitman resident and a 2007 graduate of Cardnial Spellman High School and received a bachelor of arts degree in 2011 from Stonehill College.

He was also appointed as a reserve/intermittent officer in 2017 while he was employed as a court officer at Taunton District Court. Ezepik was appointed as a full-time officer in March 2021 and graduated in the 70th officer recruit class at the Plymouth Police Academy on July 23, receiving the top academic award. He is currently undergoing field training while awaiting a permanent shift.

“I’m glad to see that you’re Whitman residents, I like that idea,” said Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci in welcoming the new officers on behalf of the board. “Congratulations, and the main thing is stay safe.”

Reflections on those lost

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WHITMAN — If Saturday morning’s American Legion 9/11 ceremony was about national unity and patriotism, the evening ceremony hosted by the town’s public safety departments was an occasion for more personal reflections on the meaning of the day.

After Whitman firefighters again unfurled their huge American flag, suspended from the ladder truck, in the setting sunlight, federal, state and local officials were joined by Fire Chief Timothy Clancy and Police Chief Timothy Hanlon in reflecting on Sept. 11, 2001 and beyond.

“This gathering is good for the soul,” said U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. “It allows us to remember and appreciate the heroism and the sense of unity that tragedy sometimes brings.”

Selectmen Vice Chairman Daniel Salvucci placed 9/11 as one of the three news events in his life that personally affected him — along with the Feb. 3, 1959 plane crash that killed rock and roll singers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination of President Kennedy. He had been a fan of Buddy Holly and he had voted for the first time in 1960 and he could not understand why anyone would kill a president.

“My wife and I planned a vacation to Las Vegas … on Sept. 11, 2001,” Salvucci said. “The flight that took off before ours was the one that hit the second tower. A higher power was protecting my wife and I.”

They had briefly considered taking the earlier flight.

Lynch kicked off the program following W-H student Grace Morgan’s performance of the national anthem.

Lynch recalled his experience as a candidate on a primary ballot on Sept. 11, 2001 as he watched news coverage of the attacks and the selfless work done by police and fire personnel — and the passengers and crew of Flight 93.

“While there was much tragedy that day, I choose to remember the heroism,” he said. “When I first arrived in Congress, my swearing-in was delayed until Oct. 26, because following those attacks, there were antrax attacks on several of the [federal] buildings, including the U.S. Capitol.”

He recalled being assigned to the Oversight Committee, which was charged, among other work, to review the 9/11 attacks — work that required several trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I will never forget [that] during our investigation, we had to review the radio transmissions of the firefighters and police from inside the World Trade Center,” Lynch said. “WE were amazed, listening to those tapes, and reading the transcripts, because … we tracked the progress of those rescue teams … The last transmission from the New York Fire Department was from the 81st Floor of Tower 1.”

He said there is no doubt in his mind that fire personnel “knew that they were in great peril and that they would probably not come out alive.” He said such heroism is what first responders like those in Whitman sign up to potentially face every day.

“We should be thankful, and grateful, for the commitment they make to our families on a daily basis, because it is unpredictable what the demands of that job might require them to do,” Lynch said.

State Rep. Alyson Sullivan, R-Abington had a similar message, but began her talk with her experience as an eighth-grader whose friend lost their father on one of the planes flown into the World Trade Center.

“As a 13-year-old, I remember how our country came together,” she said. “We thanked our police officers for the services that they gave to our communities. We thanked our firefighters … Our flag was a sign of pride and unity.”

She said her hope, going forward is that we continue to do those random acts of kindness, encouraging people to buy a coffee or lunch for a veteran and thank them for their service and to thank police officers and firefighters for their service of protecting their community.

“We must teach our children, to learn their history so they don’t repeat the mistakes of the past,” State Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, said in thanking parents for bringing their children to the ceremony. “A house divided does not stand, so we should all work together …we all work together for the betterment of our community.”

It’s almost impossible to consider that the 9/11 attacks were 20 years ago, Selectman Randy LaMattina said, noting that he remembered exactly where he was that day.

“We join together to remember some extraordinary lives lost that day,” LaMattina said. “Tonight we honor the bravest — 343 New York City firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, and countless other heroes, who on that day, met danger head-on and chose to selflessly put the safety and protection of others in front of their own. Their actions have not been forgotten.”

He also reflected on how, after that day people were more willing to compromise and worked together with pride in their nation and treated neighbors with more kindness.

“In the times that we face now, maybe that’s something else that should not be forgotten,” he said.

Town Administrator Lincoln Heneiman also spoke of the legacy of loss.

“The attack on Sept. 11 brought a sadness too deep to imagine, let alone name,” he said. “Furthermore, it happened on a day so bright that pilots actually have a name for it — it was a severe clear day. … A day that began with infinite visibility became a day of blinding grief. We shall never forget.”

Selectmen Justin Evans and Brian Bezanson also attended the event. Honor guards representing the VFW, Whitman Police and Fire departments also participated.

Hanlon thanked the residents and guests who attended and reflected on what could be learned from 9/11.

“Public safety encompasses many forms from the various departments,” he said. “We are your Whitman Police Department and we do much more than enforcing laws.”

He said police address many issues that have to do with the quality of life, like homelessness, unemployment and drug addiction.

“Agencies come together to achieve greater access to one or more of these resources to get people back on their feet,” in addition to the work they do that can put them in harms way as they protect citizens.

Clancy concluded the program by thanking the dozens of residents who attended to remember the defining moment in history that was 9/11 and the rallying phrase: Never forget.

“I can safely say we have not forgotten and we shall never, ever forget that day,” he said.

Rev. Joshua Gray, also a Whitman firefighter/paramedic offered the benediction, and Rev. Christy Coburn offered a closing prayer. Two moments of silence for the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City, the Pentagon and over Shanksville, Pa.

School graffiti probed

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Staff report

HANSON — Whitman-Hanson Regional School District Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak and Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch report that racist graffiti was found outside the Indian Head Elementary School this week.

During an open house event on Tuesday, Aug. 31, a parent noticed the graffiti on a light pole outside the school. The parent then reported it to a police officer on detail.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District and Hanson Police are actively investigating the situation.

“We take this situation very seriously and want the community to know that what was found at the school this week in no way reflects the values and principles of our schools or the community as a whole,” Szymaniak said. “We strive to make the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District an open and inclusive place for all, and if any student, parent or community member would like to discuss this or any other issue with us we encourage them to reach out to us immediately.”

Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch described the graffiti as writing, “either done with a marker or a greasy finger” on  pole on school grounds.

The department has reviewed the past 30 days of video surveillance footage from security cameras, saying it may have been done before that.

“This incident is uncommon in Hanson, and does not reflect this community,” Miksch said. “Whoever is responsible, will be held accountable for this. We urge anyone with information to contact the Hanson Police.”

Anyone with information on this incident may contact Hanson Police at 781-293-4625.