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Schools keep wary eye on COVID cases

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As surrounding towns of Abington, Rockland and Bridgewater-Raynham have had to return to fully remote learning due to COVID-19 spikes in their communities, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak is working to keep W-H on it’s hybrid plan

“Honestly and truly we’re kind of hanging on by our fingertips and toes right now to try and stay in school,” Szymaniak reported to the School Committee during its Wednesday, Dec. 16 meeting. “Last week, the numbers were pretty high, we’ve leveled off a little bit.”

Members Christopher Scriven and Fred Small attended the meeting via phone. Small has been doing so for a few months and Scriven was ill.

Another member David Forth was absent, and quarantining after a possible exposure to the coronavirus.

There were 29 positive students from Dec. 9 to 16, according to Szymaniak — 20 of those became positive while in quarantine as many of the positive cases are among siblings. Seven staff members tested positive during that same period.

There were 142 students and 21 staff were in various stages of illness between Dec. 1 and 16. Many of those have tested out and completed quarantine.

Lead Nurse Lisa Tobin is required to report the number of student in a building the past seven days, but the district tracks the students who have already been in quarantine. There have been no teacher-to-student transmissions, Szymaniak said.

The district was shut down for snow removal during the Thursday, Dec. 17 storm so students in the Friday cohort could be at school before the planned switch to all-remote on Dec. 21 and 22 as a dry-run to see how it will work if needed later.

Szymaniak said he has spoken with both boards of health and reported that officials in Whitman and Hanson are concerned with social interactions over Christmas break.

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro reported W-H is among the 68 percent of Massachusetts schools meeting 35-hour time-on-learning standards during hybrid learning.

“We are fine for all the models we are using,” he said.

Athletic Director Bob Rodgers said there has not been a single transmission of COVID through sports participation so far this year. Parents will be allowed to attend home games, but because of crowd restrictions all Patriot League games will be streamed online.

Szymaniak said he has met with the Whitman Finance Committee and that the fiscal 2022 budget picture is still unclear.

“We don’t have direction from the Commonwealth yet, from the governor’s office to the Board of Education to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education,” he said. “We’re all hanging out there in limbo.”

He said he is not the only superintendent with that frustration.

Szymaniak also told the FinCom the district does not plan to complicate things financially by adding, or adding back, programs.

“I don’t feel it’s the time,” he said. “We still don’t know what school is going to look like next year.”

Neither a new no-cost all-day kindergarten program or a return of middle school foreign language is planned for the coming year.

Transportation issues are also unclear.

Giving back

WHRHS Principal Dr. Christopher Jones presented the proceeds of the National Honor Society’s 11th annual Miles for Meals 5K and one-mile walk. The event, held virtually on Oct. 31 this year, raised $2,190 through Go Fund Me as participants were encouraged to walk/run the event in costume and share photos on social media.

“This is another wonderful thing that happens here at Whitman-Hanson,” Hayes said, suggesting that more advance publicity of such and event could help raise more donations.

“That’s a teacher and a group, during COVID, coming together and thinking outside the box to make sure we’re still taking care of our community. You’re seeing that in every school. They’re doing things differently.”

The WHRHS Key Club has also just completed a toy drive.

“There’s a lot of giving going on, a lot of charity,” Jones said. “The creativity that’s going on for people to get around the traditional face-to-face type of things is fantastic to see, and shows the spirit of giving that these kids have — and the type of community service that they’re displaying — isn’t just something for show.”

Committee member Dawn Byers also commended the WHRHS Panther’s Den store, which has converted its holiday sales to online shopping.

She and Jones stressed the effort is led by the Visual Merchandising students.

“The class set that up and set up a website to do virtual merchandising instead of out of the store and now they have curbside pickup,” he said.

Cannabis business clears another hurdle

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 15 voted to approve a draft special permit decision, with approved adjustments, for Impressed LLC’s proposed marijuana product manufacturing business at the town’s industrial park.

The Zoning Board of Appeals, for its part, approved the draft site plan approval as prepared by and with conditions assigned by town counsel.

Selectmen and the ZBA continued the public hearing for a special permit pertaining to the proposed for 15 Commercial Way back on Nov. 17.

The hearing had been continued regarding drainage and wastewater filtering, HVAC systems for odor mitigation and tax revenue to the town.

“Any waivers we would make or permits we would allow, a condition of approval would be conditional on Conservation Commission approval,” ZBA Chairman William Cushing said. “Since ConCom has jurisdiction over storm water, we should defer to them.”

Town counsel agreed with that assessment.

Installation of the HVAC system must undergo an independent third party peer review, by a firm hired by the town, to obtain a certificate of occupancy and a building permit, paid for by the business. After discussion, Selectmen changed the requirement to an engineering audit.

It also empowers the Zoning enforcement officer to issue cease and desist orders if problems arise from violations of the permit if an investigation were to conclude that took place.

Selectman Matt Dyer voiced concern over whether an independent auditer would know what they are looking for in conducting the inspection.

“Or be better qualified than the inspectors you have already hired,” agreed Selectman Wes Blauss.

“We need to ease up a little bit and deal with being more welcoming to businesses that do want to open up here because I don’t want to scare away businesses over permitting,” Dyer said. “I know what it’s like. My dad has a lot in town he was interested in doing something with, and at times, he was just ready to throw his hands up and walk away.”

He questioned whether other companies would want to bring start-ups to Hanson in view of the “nightmares” that have gone on.

“With the engineers looking at it and having it reviewed, I think it’s good enough,” Dyer said.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmet strongly disagreed.

“I think our role is to be welcoming to businesses, but this is the first business of this type that we’ve had,” she said. “What’s the point of having a hearing and having people express what their concerns are … if we’re not going to advocate for the citizens.”

She said that she supports Impressed LLC and business in town generally, but said Dyer’s concern about discouraging other business is a false argument.

“When you’re operating a business of this size, $2,000 [should not be prohibitive],” said Cushing, noting the cost of a peer review  should not impose a hardship on the business.

Impressed LLC co-owner Ralph Greenberg said his company was willing to facilitate an engineering audit if the town required one.

Police issues

Selectmen voted to approve Police Chief Michael Miksch’s recommendation to appoint Richard Bekerian as a full-time police officer, effective Feb.1.

Miksch said the switch to a regional dispatch system cost the department its five civilian dispatchers and needs four sworn officers — to work in-station — to keep the station open.

“We’re kind of finishing up that hiring,” Miksch said. “We had somebody scheduled for an academy. They’re not able to take that academy in early February … and we have an alternate (Bekerian) lined up.”

Bekerian, of Bellingham, grew up in Whitman and has been a police officer in Hopedale for the past two years. He was an auxiliary officer in Whitman before that. Bekerian has also worked as a diesel mechanic and a building superintendent in North Easton.

“He wanted to be a police officer [so he] left his job as a diesel mechanic, sold his house, moved back in with his parents and used the funds from selling his house to put himself through a municipal police academy at the State Police Academy,” Miksch said.  He took a job at Hopedale because it was the first department that was hiring. He wants to join the Hanson department because he and his wife, who is from Weymouth want to come back closer to home.

“He’d be a great addition,” Miksch said.

Bekerian must pass medical and psychological examinations and a background check before he is sworn in.

Selectmen also approved memoranda of understanding with the police union pertaining to collective bargaining — including a 2 percent cost of living increase — and emergency dispatch issues.

Wording regarding the impact on work hours from the shift to a regional dispatch center was tabled until the next round of bargaining according to that MOA.

Selectmen had also voted during an executive session to approve a 2 percent raise for Chief Miksch, effective Jan. 1.

First steps towards FY 2022

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HANOVER — South Shore Tech officials have unveiled a $14,682,668 fiscal 2022 budget — and increase of $276,477, or 1.89 percent — representing a higher level of in-district enrollment along with a reduction in non-resident tuition, which will otherwise lead to a revenue shortfall of nearly $150,00.

No changes, meanwhile are projected in regional transportation reimbursement.

The district’s School Committee heard Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey’s fiscal 2022 budget presentation during its Wednesday, Dec. 16 meeting. SST uses a zero-based budgeting process to create spending plans. The final budget figures are not expected before the Wednesday, Jan. 27 meeting — the day Gov. Charlie Baker releases his budget. The budget certification vote has been slated for Wednesday, Feb.17.

Principal Mark Aubrey said there have been 206 applications an increase for the towns of Abington and Hanover and flat in all other towns except Hanson, where they are lower. The school usually sees about 300 applications at about this time, but because of COVID, Aubrey said the admissions officer has not been able to get into schools.

Assessments, based on minimum local contributions, capital, transportation and other costs above the minimum local contributions as well as debt service are calculated into the local assessments.

“The department heads did a wonderful job prioritizing and knowing this is a lean year that we would expect on the state level, and also on the local level as dollars are spread through educational and non-educational departments in each of our towns,” Hickey said.

The school district continues to control costs by long-range planning, use of grants to cover costs for technical equipment and personnel, industry donations and in-house talent.

Whitman School Committee member Dan Salvucci asked if COVID costs would continue to be included in the 2022 budget.

“One of the grants we have does have a longer [COVID-related] shelf life, which is good news,” Hickey said. “That has been on my mind, but I think by-and-large with the additional personnel and resources we have, I’m not adding substantial dollars for COVID expenses.”

He began with a celebration of accomplishments over fiscal 2021.

“Normally, I would have a long, bulleted list, [but] I can summarize it here in an obvious way, that from March 13 — almost a year, now — we have learned so much about teaching and learning in a pandemic,” Hickey said. “I couldn’t be happier with the efforts that our kids and our families and our staff are making.”

Looking to the future and goals for “the other side” of the pandemic, Hickey said the plan is to focus on pre-COVID priorities, some of which have been impacted by COVID-19:

• focusing on high-needs and economically disadvantaged subgroups who need to score proficient on MCAS;

• expanding social emotional learning initiatives while reconnecting with the school community;

focusing on larger capital projects in the facilities master plan and submitting a statement of interest to MSBA; while

• improving attendance and participation in the school’s breakfast program.

Hickey also envisions some teaching and support personnel additions, including an English language learner instructor, horticulture aide and part-time nurse support. These additions are expected to cost $76,660.

Capital requests in the budget include $35,000 for parking space expansion, $760,00 for a window and roof replacement project and $100,000 for partial design funds for master plan projects.

Whitman sets TA queries

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen are scheduled to spend the bulk of the day Friday, Dec. 18 interviewing candidates for town administrator.

Former Town Administrator Frank Lynam retired in mid-October, with Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green named to serve in an interim capacity during the process of selecting his successor. Green is also one of the candidates being interviewed.

The interviews will be broadcast on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV — no online streaming will be available — starting at 9:45 a.m. with Millville Town Administrator Peter Caruso. Green interviews at 10:45 a.m. with Hanover Finance Director Lincoln Heineman at 1 p.m. and Shirley Town Administrator Michael McGovern at 2 p.m.

The Board of Selectmen contracted with Community Paradigm Associates of Plymouth on Sept. 22 to conduct a search for the town’s new town administrator. The vote was 4-1, with Selectman Brian Bezanson voting for Municipal Resources Inc., (MRI), of Meredith, N.H.

Paradigm’s Bernard Lynch said his firm is the most active recruiting firm in the state with more than 50 town administrator searches to its credit. Recent area searches have included Pembroke, Plympton, East Bridgewater, Lakeville and Rockland. They are also currently working with Kingston.

“We know the region very well, we know the manager world very well,” said Lynch who has served as a town administrator for 30 years and Petrin has done so for nearly 40 years in Massachusetts. They generally get pools of 30 to 40 candidates.

“The list of towns [they serve], basically in our area, is very impressive,” said Selectman Dan Salvucci.

Hanson plan drive-through COVID testing dates

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The Town of Hanson and the Accu Reference Medical lab will host a COVID-19 drive-through testing clinic on Saturday, Dec. 19 and Sunday, Dec. 20 at the Hanson Middle School, 111 Liberty Street from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Everyone (non-Hanson residents, also) are welcome to participate whether they have health insurance or not. All participants must be at least 1 year old.

There is no cost for those participants who are uninsured. The contractor is receiving money from the federal government to cover the costs of participants who are uninsured.

Please bring your health insurance card (if applicable) and a government picture identification card such as a driver’s license along with a completed registration form under the Board of Health tab at hanson-ma.gov. If you could make a copy of your license and health insurance card and bring it with the completed registration form it would expedite the process.

You do not need to have your physician sign the form.

All participants must remain in their vehicles at all times (this testing is available for drive-ups only; no walk-ins). All participants should leave adequate time to wait in line for testing and the length of the wait time depends on the number of participants. No appointments will be made.

The test will be the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)/Molecular test (the nasal swab test). Results will be available within 48-72 hours. Results will be obtained by accessing Accu Reference Medical Lab patient portal at https://results.accureference.com/patientportal/index.html – If you do not have access to the web site, you can call 877-733-4522.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will be notified about all positive and negative test results. The Town will receive information about positive test results for residents of Hanson through the State’s MAVEN system.

Assessing the financial cost of COVID

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WHITMAN — Fire Chief Timothy Grenno expressed concern to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 15 about “the perfect storm brewing” around the impact of a firefighter’s job-related injury and the overall impact of COVID-19 on the department’s budget.

Grenno asked for the board’s discretion and advice on how they wished him to proceed with the budgeting issue, as he forecast that he is looking at another $40,000 to $50,000 in costs if the injured firefighter is out as long as doctors have suggested.

“It’s only going to get worse,” he predicted. “Over the last several years, we’ve trimmed our budgets, and trimmed our budgets to maintain what we can maintain.”

The firefighter may require surgery and will be out three to four months, Grenno said. One of the budget lines cut has been on the Injured on Duty (IOD) line.

Typically funded at $50,000 per year, it was funded at $20,000 for the current fiscal year and is now at -$1,534.

“I don’t have the budget money to continue to cover that person, which would result in me running short,” Grenno said. “We’re in the middle of a major pandemic — my guys are seeing COVID cases and suspected COVID cases everyday.”

The COVID ambulance has made 59 runs already, he said, noting the department runs six-person shifts generally because of the demand for service.

Board Chairman Dan Salvucci if there was any way funds could be transferred into the IOD account at the Wednesday, Jan. 27 special Town Meeting.

Interim Town Administrator Lisa Green said she has passed the issue to the town accountant so he could look at some different line items where money could be transferred. She expected a report by Wednesday, Dec. 16 and that he had already suggested the streetlights and non-mandated busing lines as possible sources. Articles will be added to the special Town Meeting warrant, Green said.

Grenno also expressed concern that the CARES Act funding source dries up Dec. 30 unless it is extended. The department has spent $48,000 in COVID-related overtime to date.

“If, on Dec. 31, I have a shift exposed and I have to quarantine guys for seven days or whatever, one shift is a little over $7,100, two shifts is $15,000, and that’s me,” he said, adding he was not sure about the Police Department’s overtime numbers. “If I start to lose people I don’t have the money to back-fill those shifts.”

He added that the fall COVID issues are “magnified by 300” over levels seen in the spring.

“My big concern is, next week is Christmas, and then we have New Years, and no one is sure what is going to go on after that, and if I lose a shift, we’re facing big problems,” Grenno said. “We don’t know what COVID is going to do to us this winter.”

He said the Board of Health also asked him to speak about their budget problems. One of the board’s temps is paid with CARES Act money and, if they don’t receive continued funding after Dec. 30, it will be “extremely difficult” to perform COVID recording and contact tracing.

Green said, unfortunately she sees no change coming in federal financial policy until the new administration takes office.

Selectman Randy LaMattina advocated developing a COVID line at the special Town Meeting to prevent continuing needs for transferring funds.

“I would hate to make a decision right now, that we’re going to decide that our Fire Department is going to ride short-shift during a pandemic,” LaMattina said. “That’s a Town Meeting decision.”

Salvucci agreed, saying left-over funds after the pandemic can be used to back-fill other accounts.

Green was asked to discuss such a line item on the special Town Meeting.

Vaccine update

Grenno also offered more details about the town’s drive-through vaccination plans for Whitman Middle School, starting with the Phase 3 round of vaccines. The vaccinations would be for Whitman residents only, he said explaining that the Mass Dept. of Public Health as said each community will receive its own supply of vaccine.

He said the state reached out about an updated plan about a month ago because they do not want indoor vaccine operations.

“The plan has been updated and we’re good to go,” Grenno said. “We’re about to sign off on an agreement with Brockton Hospital, which is going to store the vaccine for us. … Everything is still up in the air on the vaccination program.”

He noted that DPH has not yet firmed up its dispersal plans outside of health care providers.

Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at -86 F and can only be out of the freezer for two hours, limiting the number of doses available at a time and slowing the process, according to Grenno.

Johnson & Johnson is nearing the release of a vaccine that does not require storage at freezing temperatures.

“There’s a lot up in the air,” Grenno said. “Logistically, we’re set — we’re ready to go — if they came out tomorrow and said, ‘We want you to vaccinate your senior population in town, then we could do that, but I don’t expect to see that until probably late April or early May.”

Whitman already has 34 nurse volunteers signed up to administer the vaccine and firefighters are now in talks about their role. Whitman Fire has purchased 400 rapid tests and has contracted with Professional Ambulance in Cambridge to help with testing procedures and testing of town employees could begin next week, should any become exposed to COVID-19 and develop signs and symptoms.

Faster test results could reduce quarantine times and lower overtime costs, according to Grenno.

COVID places strain on food pantries

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Whitman and Hanson food pantries, may be seeing greater demand for their services due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but residents who can have been pitching in to help all summer — and those efforts have been continuing.

Whitman’s Boy Scouts have been the latest to contribute.

Cub Scout Packs 59 and 22, and Boy Scout Troop 22, collected 8,000 pounds of food this month to help the pantry’s need to help fight food insecurity in town, according to Director Bruce Perry.

“This amount raised was the most ever in a Scout Drive and it was a result of all the hard work by the scouts and their families, and also to the generosity of the residents of Whitman,” he said noting it was done almost entirely through social media and word of mouth. “It is truly amazing how the Whitman community comes through when asked.”

Perry said the COVID-safe collection yielded twice as much as last year’s donations. People were asked to drop off donations at the Congregational Church.

“It was fantastic because our resources from St. Vincent DePaul in Stoughton has pretty much [dried up],” Perry said. “We haven’t been able to get anything out of there, because they didn’t do any of the Thanksgiving or Christmas baskets like they usually do.

Whitman’s pantry typically pays $10 per meal with a turkey and all the fruits and vegetables required for a holiday meal.

“They didn’t have the funds, for one thing, I don’t think,” he said this week. “They just said they weren’t going to be able to do it. I think it’s also because of the high demand coming out of Greater Boston Food Bank.”

Perry said that when St. Vincent DePaul couldn’t promise anything to client communities this year, they decided to ask local pantries to try to meet their needs on their own.

“One thing that helped us out was the Wahlberg Fund,” he said. “They helped us out this year with a lot of the things that St. Vincent DePaul usually helps with.”

The Wahlberg Fund supplied 100 turkeys, fruit and vegetables.

“This is the second year they’ve helped us out,” Perry said. “I think a lot of people had planned on another $1,200 [in federal stimulus money] coming to them and, unfortunately, it hasn’t so we have seen a slight increase in the number of people that need help — and not just one-time help, these are folks that have been coming back the last six or eight months since COVID started.”

The pantries in both towns were also faced with the COVID-related cancelation of annual summer fundraising events such as the McGuiggan’s Pub 5K, a Freetown triathlon where pantry volunteers worked in exchange for a donation, a K of C golf tournament and other fundraisers — which meant a loss of between $12,000 to $16,000.

Claire LaMattina’s “Whitman Strong” sign project brought in $15,500 for the pantry. A similar lawn sign project raised about $3,000 for the Hanson Pantry, according to Director Christine Cameron.

“We’re in very good shape,” she said. “Our contributions have been phnomenal, we have huge community support.”

While they are seeing some new people coming in for assistance, Cameron said the client numbers have remained fairly steady.

“Somebody up there is watching over us,” Perry said. “This was the perfect year for her to do something like this, because it made up for the lost revenue that we usually get from all those fundraisers as well as the number of people we help.”

Personal donations of all or part of stimulus checks from other residents has also helped.

The pantry will be giving out 125 holiday meal baskets and has donated close to $5,000 in gift cards to the Whitman Area Toy Drive, who also refer families in need to the pantry.

The pantry usually raises about half its donations over the last three months of the year.

At Thanksgiving, students at Whitman’s Louise A. Conley Elementary School raised $584 for the Whitman Food Pantry and $567.64 for Whitman Animal Control, according to district officials. The funds were matched by the school’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC), meaning each organization received over $1,100.

In addition, one of the school’s longtime friends, Sandy McCarthy, presented the school with yet another matching donation from her company, AEW Capital Management, to add to the gift.

The school’s typical Thanksgiving celebration needed to be cancelled this year, but in its place the school held a special fundraiser, “A Dollar for Dinner, a Penny for Paws,” to raise money for the projects.

“I am so humbled by the generosity of our community, but even more so by the commitment and feeling behind it,” Principal Downey said. “Our students made beautiful cards that were delivered to both the Food Pantry and to the Senior Center. They worked diligently to make something special, something that anyone would be honored to receive. This is what we are all about. Yes, we want our kids to work hard every day, but more importantly we want them to be good neighbors, good friends, and good citizens.”

This month students at Duval Elementary School collected 500 pounds of food to donate to the Whitman Food Pantry for Christmas baskets. Staff from the food pantry picked up the donation at the school Friday, Dec. 11. Several Student Council members assisted Whitman Food Pantry staff with Friday’s pick-up, helping sort and load the shelf-stable food onto a truck. Those members include Joshua Ahola, Jackson Barbosa, Meriem Fleury, Izobel Gilchrist, Alayna Loring, Tristan Lacandula, Isabella Mateus, Sabrina Spadorcia and Maxwell Sarhanis.

The Holiday Food Drive is an annual tradition at the school.

“Seeing as how most of these kids are only in-person two days a week, we were hoping we would still be able to donate a fair amount to the food pantry this year,” said PTO parent Kimberly Sarhanis. “But we should have known that the Duval community would not let this difficult year get in the way, and instead they pulled out an amazing, generous donation of 500 pounds of food.”

Area businesses, such as North Easton Savings Bank, have also supported the pantry.

Distribution is done through consultations over the phone with clients, who then pick up the meals at a proper social distance outside the pantry. No one is allowed inside.

Whitman and Hanson students active in the WHRHS Key Club hosting a Food Drive after Thanksgiving to support the Hanson and Whitman Food Pantries.

The Key Club is partnering with the National Honor Society, Food for Thought Club, and the nonprofit organization Project 351. Their goal is to stock the pantries before the December holidays, so people/families will have access to the food they need to enjoy these times. Food items may be dropped off until Dec. 18 to the Student Dining area, the gym and the main office. Cash or gift cards to local businesses should be put in an envelope and brought to either Mrs. Edkin’s or Mr. Szkutak’s rooms.

Whitman vets salute Pearl Harbor Day

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WHITMAN — Usually, Marine Corps veteran Jim Murphy can be found each December placing holiday wreaths on the graves of fallen servicemen and women at Arlington National Cemetery.

This year, however, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has limited access to the cemetery to military personnel to perform that honor as America marks the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the United States military forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading to America’s entry into World War II.

Instead, Murphy attended a brief ceremony at the Whitman American Legion Post 22 in Whitman.

While the ceremony lasted only about five minutes, the solemn occasion was just as heart-felt for participants as if it had been a parade had taken place.

Color guards and honor guards from the Legion and Whitman VFW posts rendered salute to the fallen, while prayers were offered, “Taps” was played and a ceremonial rifle volley was fired.

Post Commander Walter Aylward offered a brief speech and participants then attended a breakfast reception inside the Post.

During the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A further 1,178 people were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) and destroyed 188 aircraft, according to the National Park Service website.

This years Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration’s theme, “Above and Beyond the Call,” represents a milestone of its own, as the first Dec. 7 commemoration to follow the nationwide commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Hanson OKs de-regionalization bid specs

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 8 voted to approve revised language in the solicitation of quotes for a de-regionalization feasibility study.

The board asked Town Administrator John Stanbrook to obtain three quotes for the work.

“I’m trying to get some feedback on what you think,” Stanbrook said. “Do you want me to include more [specifications], do you want me to take things out? It’s pretty much discussion time.”

Selectman Wes Blauss said the proposal looked good to him, but said he was curious about how three bids could be found.

Requirements that bidders demonstrate proof of work on prior school de-regionalization studies — including work on five in the last five years, and a list of three districts served in the Commonwealth — were also questioned by Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett.

“I’m just not really sure that many people have done de-regionalization studies,” she said. “I just didn’t want to hamstring ourselves. Clearly, we want somebody to demonstrate that they’ve done this before … but I would ask maybe asking the board to maybe put a little bit of flexible language in there so we don’t hamstring ourselves and don’t end up with nobody applying.”

Selectman Matt Dyer suggested amending the wording to reflect that preference would be given to firms demonstrating such a track record, rather than requiring it of all applicants. The board agreed.

Bids would be opened with the aim of awarding a contract on Jan. 8, 2021. A preliminary report for any contracted firm would be due by May 1, which raised questions about whether that provides sufficient time for a final report by June 30.

“We don’t want to extend the date and then have someone say, ‘Great, we’ve got seven months, we can take our time with this,” Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said. “We want to create a sense of urgency with this.”

Mitchell said any need for deadline extensions could involve an application process of its own.

Selectman Jim Hickey reminded the board that voters would have to be fully informed of the results by Town Meeting.

Selectmen also approved an Eagle Scout project proposed by Troop 68 Scout T.J. Woodward to improve parking and develop a trail at Poor Brook Meadow nature trail, property the town acquired through Community Preservation fund and has not done much with, according to FitzGerald-Kemmett.

“It’s pretty much an undeveloped area,” Woodward agreed.

The land, near Hanson Grain, has a partially developed trail. Woodward proposed to square up the parking area, clean everything up, placing a trail kiosk in a designated location, and develop a one to 1.5-mile trail for the area, pinpointing nature and historic features along the loop trail.

Woodward, a carpentry student at South Shore Tech, plans to build the kiosk there.

“People really haven’t been able to enjoy the property, so this is fabulous,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, asking about how the trail will traverse wet areas.

Woodward said it was very dry during walk-throughs, but said it is apparent there are potentially wet areas.

“We’re trying to go around most of them, but if I have to — based on where the trail is routed — we’ll put up to three land bridges to go over those areas,” he said.

Fundraising will center on bottle and can drives and monetary donations.

Hanson Police holds holiday toy drive events

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HANSON — The Hanson Police Department and the Hanson Police Relief Association hosted its first ever ‘Stuff-A-Cruiser’ toy drive to benefit Toys for Tots Dec. 6 and will continue to house a Toys for Tots donation bin until Dec. 13 for those who could not make the stuff-a-cruiser event.

Bring new, unwrapped toys to the Hanson Police Headquarters, 775 Main St.

“We are excited to be able to host this toy drive in support of the Marine Toys for Tots mission of helping each and every child have a toy for the holidays,” Chief Miksch said. “With the ongoing pandemic, it is more important than ever to help out those less fortunate and in need. We encourage anyone who is able to help to attend the event on Dec. 6 or stop by the station and drop off their present in person.”