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School resolutions questioned

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The School Committee voted 5 to 4 — members Fred Small, Dan Cullity, Mike Jones and Chairman Bob Hayes — with member Christopher Howard abstaining, to support a Massachusetts Association of School Committee resolution on inclusion and diversity in school curriculum.

Those opposed expressed concern over what was described as the “narrow language” of the resolution.

The committee also voted 8-2 against supporting a resolution permitting 16-year olds to vote in municipal elections. Members Dawn Byers and David Forth voted to support it.

Byers, who was to be the W-H delegate to the MASC meeting held via Zoom Saturday, Nov. 7, was urged to speak to the concerns of the committee members who opposed or abstained on the matter. Amendments are possible from the floor during the meeting.

Committee member David Forth said the window for amending resolutions has closed. Small expressed concern that doing so could be in violation of the open meeting law.

“I just think it’s unfortunate that this congregation of people — it’ll be on record that W-H School Committee did not support this initiative,” Vice Chairman Christopher Scriven said of the inclusion and diversity resolution. “I think that speaks to something.”

“My fear is, you support something like this and you have people that are forgotten in the wind,” Small argued. “There should be no place for racism in our society today. Period. We should do everything we can to give a diverse, proper education to every student.”

Byers asked those voting against or abstaining to forward her a summation of their objections and she would present them.

A paragraph urging a curriculum teaching the history of racial oppression and works by Black authors and works from diverse perspectives, drew the most criticism from opponents.

“I think it is too narrow of a picture,” Small said. “I think it, while definitively there is no place for racism in our schools or in our lives, I feel it’s very narrow and doesn’t address the racism that many different classes face and I can’t support a resolution that would be so narrow in scope.”

Small instead argued that races to be included in instruction be specified.

He cited the Japanese internment camps during WWII, and anti-semitism, among other issues that are not addressed.

“All we’re trying to do is support this effort,” Scriven said, noting he has no problem with the resolution and believes the schools should do everything in their power to hear all voices.

“If this is the start of what you’re looking for, Mr. Small, to include more voices, then I feel we should absolutely support it,” Scriven said.

Member Hillary Kniffen said language of inclusion and diversity within the resolution addresses the populations Small spoke about.

“I don’t see this as being singular, I see this as equity, diversity,” she said agreeing.

Byers read part of the resolution — which concludes with “all lives cannot matter until Black lives matter” — into the record.

Small said that language should be changed to reflect that all lives matter.

Howard said there would likely be broadly supported, but said there is some “challenging language” within it. He noted that he found difficulty with the term “systemic.”

Cullity agreed.

“When you start specifying one race over all other races, that’s racism in itself,” Cullity said.

“Say we all had a word that we didn’t like … do we get the spirit of this?” Scriven asked. “Is this even binding or is this just to show that we’re conscious of these particular issues?”

Scriven said that, as far as he could tell it is a non-binding document.

“Are we going to nit-pick it or are we going to say this is a pretty good idea?” he said.

Howard noted that abstention was always an option.

“Someone took the time to write these words, and these words do matter to me,” he said, noting the MASC will use the resolutions to lobby on Beacon Hill.

“If we vote in the negative, or abstain, I feel as though we miss an opportunity for the bigger issue at hand,” Scriven argued. “I think it’s incumbent upon us to support any efforts toward diversity and equality.”

He said that, while it’s not necessarily going to be perfect, the district would be on the right side of the issue.

Kniffen said the purpose of public schools is inclusion and that should be focused on.

Voting age

Forth supported the 16-year-old vote resolution, saying the youth vote in the 2020 election was at record numbers, according to Harvard Institute of Politics exit polling.

“It seems to be a growing trend and more people are being invested in civics education, they’re trying to understand what’s going on politically,” he said, noting he registered to vote at 16. “I do feel there would be more engagement, especially at the local level.”

Forth argued the measure, if successful, could inspire more young people to become invested in local government.

Kniffen said it would align with the civics course work that students in would have to take in 2022, but as someone who interacts with 16-year-olds on a daily basis, she said she has a lot of concerns.

“There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with placing a vote and I just don’t know if a 16-year-old has that maturity,” she said, stressing that she was not making a blanket statement.

Small said that, since people cannot enter into a binding contract at 16, or buy a vehicle or obtain a credit card.

“There are many things you are not allowed to do as a 16-year-old,” he said. “There are federal rules and regulations that are imposed on [them], and I just don’t know if it will be the wisest thing. A vote is a privilege, a vote is a precious thing.”

The U.S. Constitution, however, describes “the right to vote” in Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, and imposes a penalty on states that abridge or deny “the right to vote.” Exceptions outlined in the document pertain to questions of citizenship or criminal conviction, which some states have challenged recently.

Small also questioned the capacity of people that young to take voting seriously or fully understand all the ramifications of it. He also said schools need to do a better job of teaching civics.

Resolutions opposing MCAS and high-stakes testing; supporting state funding for COVID-19; supporting federal stimulus spending for K-12 education; retention of Medicaid revenue; limiting U.S. funding for private schools during COVID; membership of a school committee member on the DESE board; providing equity for LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff where gender identity is not listed as a protected class in federal laws; and monitoring of student attendance during the pandemic were supported unanimously.

Mystery probe debated

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The state is investigating the school district and both towns committee chairman and vice chairman were alerted by member David Forth on Friday, Oct. 30, according to Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak, who also received the letter.

No one seems to have a clear idea what the subject of the investigation might be, however.

Forth said he had reached out to Inspector General and the Attorney General’s office in August about the process “if the committee needed to look into having an investigation or have the state get involved.”

The Inspector General followed up with him a couple of weeks later, requesting documentation from him, which he provided.

“A couple of weeks after that, they called to just inform me that the investigation was referred to the Department of Revenue and that the DOR is investigating the towns of Whitman and Hanson and the school district,” Forth said. “That is, honestly, all the information I have. … I didn’t ask for it, request it, but I was informed of it. They asked me for documentation, so I provided it.”

Committee member Fred Small asked what documentation was provided, but Forth said he was not certain he was permitted to say.

“I don’t want to do anything that could get me in trouble with the state,” he said, noting he was not even sure his complaint carried the weight to ignite an investigation. “How they went about that choice, I do not know. You would have to ask them.”

Member Christopher Howard made a motion, in the spirit of transparency that Forth provide the committee with any and all communications he has had with any state agency pertaining to the school district.

Forth, who said he wanted the school district and committee officials, as well as town administrators to know about the investigation, also indicated he would comply with the request for documentation if the state agencies involved would allow it.

Small said the committee should be permitted to have access to the same information as other parties to the investigation unless the agencies have specifically indicated is was privileged.

The committee voted 9 to 1, with Forth dissenting, to have the information provided.

“I haven’t been notified from the state,” said Szymaniak, who contacted town administrators in Whitman and Hanson about the matter. Neither had heard of the situation.

Whitman’s interim Town Administrator Lisa Green said her town had not received “notification from any state agency regarding an investigation.”

She put town counsel on notice and reported they, too, had received no notice from any agency.

“You noted that there was an ongoing and an active investigation, however none of us have received any notice of any type of investigation, which is highly unusual for the state,” Green said to Forth.

Hanson Town Administrator John Stanbrook also said he had not been notified, either.

“I’m a little bit baffled by the whole thing, and I hope we can have some sort of explanation,” said Stanbrook, who attended the meeting remotely.

Meeting in-person Wednesday, Nov. 4, the committee was cautioned by Chairman Bob Hayes that it could be switched back to virtual meetings if Gov. Charlie Baker determines that is necessary because of the increase in new COVID cases. Small also attended the meeting virtually for the second time in as many sessions.

Szymaniak called district legal counsel on Monday, but he has not yet received notification from the state.

Committee member Mike Jones asked how long Forth had been on the committee. When Forth replied five months, Jones noted this was the second occasion an issue raised by Forth resulted in a “house full of lawyers.”

“What’s going on, man?” Jones asked.

Forth countered that Jones had no right to address him directly and accuse him of causing some sort of chaos.

Hayes also reminded members to address each other through him.

Green, an attorney who has, in the past, done business with the Inspector General and AG’s offices as well as the DOR and the Division of Local Services, said “Something is not making sense here.”

“If you made a phone call to a state agency, and you made a complaint, they’re going to investigate it,” she said. “But you sit here today and say you do not know what type of documents they asked you for or [are] you not revealing the type of documents they asked you for?”

“Am I being cross-examined right now?” Forth countered.

Green replied that she was asking simple questions as a representative of the town of Whitman, which is one of the subjects of an investigation they have little to no information about.

“This is not an accusation, we’re asking you simple questions that you are not answering,” she said. “If somebody calls me and says, ‘I want your tax return for 1982, I want a copy of your marriage certificate, I want a copy of your birth certificate,’ these are documents. For you to sit here and say you do not know what type of documents were requested …”

Forth interrupted saying there was no request for specific documents, but rather for any documents he had in his possession and would be willing to supply copies to the towns.

“I’m not withholding anything,” he said. “I just don’t want to sit here and say, ‘Oh I gave this document and we look into it [only to find] I actually gave a different document.’”

He said he did not know whether or not the towns had been contacted.

Szymaniak expressed his frustration that Forth didn’t tell him, the chief executive of the district until Friday afternoon, Oct. 30 “that there is an ongoing investigation of our district and I have no idea what that is.”

He ticked off issues that would raise alarm is the subject of investigation: budget, academic, MCAS.

“Did we do something wrong?” Szymaniak said. “When I asked you on Monday to follow up, I got nothing from that, so I don’t even know what agency is looking at us right now.”

Forth said he was assuming it pertains to the budget because the Department of Revenue is involved.

Szymaniak said Forth has another records request filed with the district, which Forth said is unrelated to the investigation. The cost of records requests are $25 per hour plus copy costs, which would be billed to Forth as the requesting party.

Member Dan Cullity asked if Forth was asking as a citizen or a member of the School Committee when he called the AG office. Forth said he told state officials he was calling as an individual and was not reporting a complaint, only asking what the process would be.

Cullity said if Forth got a call back, he must be considered the one who filed a complaint.

“They just don’t come out to somebody and say, ‘Hey, by the way, we need documentation,’ unless you called to put in a complaint,” Cullity said. He added that the School Committee can’t afford to go chasing down rabbit holes and asked if Forth was going to continue to act as a citizen or a member of the School Committee.

Forth maintained that the state’s call for documentation led him to believe they were already investigating the district. Howard asked why Forth was informing them about the issue.

“I’m just trying to be on the same page,” Forth said.

Committee member Hillary Kniffen asked how “wasting a half hour” on the issue helps educate children during a pandemic. Jones asked what the issue involved is.

Forth said his issue was with the assessment and school funding formulas were done correctly, but stopped short of confirming that is the state’s investigation.

“He honestly believes that, after calling the state, the state just calls him and starts randomly asking these questions,” Jones said.

Whitman looks at quorum reduction

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WHITMAN — COVID restrictions on public gatherings have motivated Whitman officials to consider lowering town meeting quorum during their Tuesday, Nov. 10 meeting.

Hanson had done the same for its special Town Meeting in October, lowering their quorum to 25 voters who met physically distanced in the gymnasium.

“Due to COVID, we would like to follow what other towns have done,” said interim Town Administrator Lisa Green. “We were hoping to pull something together and have this for December, however, [according to Chapter 92 of the Special Act of 2020 centering on COVID] in order to consider adjusting the special Town Meeting quorum … Selectmen need to publish seven days before the vote or when the discussion takes place, of adjusting the quorum.”

The Town Clerk must also report the adjusted quorum vote to the Attorney General, who must approve it.

Selectmen will be discussing an adjustment to the special Town Meeting quorum at the Dec. 1, meeting. Town Moderator, Michael Seele will be consulted and with his approval will prescribe the number of voters necessary to constitute a quorum for the special Town Meeting to be held in January 2021 regarding the DPW force main project, according to Green.

Under its by-law, Whitman requires 150 voters for a Special Town Meeting.  The Governor’s March 10 declaration of a state emergency allows a town to act “by a vote of its Board of Selectmen to lower a quorum that is less than the number that would be required by law, town by-law or town charter. The number of voters necessary to constitute a quorum shall not be less than 10 percent of the number that would otherwise be required,” Green stated.

“Where the governor just lowered the COVID restrictions and the number of people you want in a room, I don’t think we should move forward with 150 people for a special Town Meeting,” said Selectman Justin Evans. “I don’t think there’s much more to discuss than that.”

That guideline is currently no more than 10 people within a space and the town is not certain that includes town meetings, according to Green. No motions by Selectmen were required.

During her COVID update, Green noted that as of Nov. 10 there were 15 new positive cases in Whitman. The week before there were 39.

“We are still designated as high-risk, still in the red,” she said. She also reported hearing at a regional meeting that Brockton has 463 new cases as of Nov. 10 with a total of 5,615 and 306 deaths.

“Right now, the virus is running rampant in Brockton,” Green said. “The positive tests are now in the 20-to-40-year-old age groups … the deaths are in the 76 to 90 range.”

The spike among younger people is attributed to parties and a failure to take it seriously.

“Fortunately, it’s not spilling over to Whitman,” she said.

In other business, power outages related to traffic lights at routes 14 and 18 were discussed during a joint meeting between Selectmen and the DPW commissioners.

Parks and Highways Superintendent Bruce Martin said outages have been frequent and, on occasion, of long duration and asked for a letter from Selectmen and/or the DPW commissioners to MassDOT requesting some kind of back up system at that intersection.

Salvucci asked, and Green agreed, for a letter from the town to that effect, which Selectmen and the commissioners can all sign onto.

“The last outage, I believe, was approximately 12 hours,” he said.

MassDOT was contacted in the middle of the night for assistance and could offer none, he added. All the DPW could do was place stop signs on traffic barrels and illuminate the intersection with a light tower in an adjacent parking lot.

“[It was] very unsafe with high speeds going north and southbound on Route 18,” Martin said. “It’s just not a very good situation.”

The DPW reached out to MassDOT engineer currently working on the project the next day to ask if battery backups were available to automatically make the lights flash red.

“We were told there currently wasn’t anything like that in service in the state and that was pretty much the end of it,” Martin said of the state highway intersection that is not maintained or controlled by the town DPW. “We plan on continuing on doing what we have to do to make it a safe as possible during these frequent power outages up there.”

There are systems powered by either batteries or solar, available, according to Commissioner Kevin Cleary.

Shaken as we stirred

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Residents of Eastern Massachusetts were jolted on a lazy Sunday morning Nov. 8 as a 3.6 magnitude earthquake, centered off Bliss Corner, near New Bedford.

Cracked walkways were reported on Twitter by Taunton residents, and houses shook in Whitman. More than one resident of the region compared the sound and feel to “an overly loud truck” on nearby roads.

“I thougt it was a very low flying plane,” a Rhode Island resident reported to the NWSBoston/Norton Skywarn Twitter feed.

Farther north in Cambridge and Hingham, people reported hearing, but not feeling the quake, which had intally been estimated as a 4.2 temblor by the U.S. Geological Survey. It was downgraded before noon to 3.6.

COVID-19 funding reviewed

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen on Thursday, Oct. 29 voted to ask Fire Chief Timothy Grenno to get quotes for cleaning town buildings with it’s Plymouth County CARES Act funding.

Going forward they are looking to fund expenditures to prevent the virus in the short-term, with vaccine distribution costs to be calculated when a vaccine is available.

Treasurer Mary Beth Carter said the deep cleaning of common areas in Town Hall would likely have little difficulty gaining reimbursement from CARES Act funds.

Purchasing priorities discussed, to be revisited for discussion Tuesday, Nov. 10 include supplies for vaccine distribution logistics, IT equipment, first responders overtime, electronic signage and permitting costs. The funding deadline is Dec. 30.

“It’s our duty [however] to look at what other items we could use the CARES Act funds for,” Carter said, noting a couple of things to consider are submissions for which the town has not yet been reimbursed. “I’m concerned about spending too much money and not seeing the money come in. … I just want to keep that in mind. I’m always looking at cash flow.”

Without reimbursement, COVID-related expenses would have to come out of the municipal budget.

Town Accountant Ken Lytle said Whitman was allotted $2,322,000 in the funding after five phases, with the first submission received last week. The second and third are currently in the review stage and a fourth was ready to go out Oct. 29.

Selectman Justin Evans said he wanted to ensure that all the expenditures already made would be covered. Lytle said the current submission should make the town current.

WHRSD has send in a first submission and Lytle is waiting for the documents on the second. He has also received a second submission from South Shore Tech as of Oct. 2.

WHRSD Business Manager John Tuffy said PPE and computers to bolster remote learning were priorities for the district right now.

Whitman still has $1,109,000 left after those submissions are processed.

Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Timothy Grenno said former Town Administrator Frank Lynam oversaw the CARES process.

Selectman Randy LaMattina said he was under the impression the meeting was intended, in part to put a team back in place to “give a more global position over what is submitted” for CARES Act reimbursement. Selectman Dr. Carl Kowalski said that committee still exists.

Grenno said he is processing a “large PPE order to get us through next summer.”

“Our biggest concern was our town buildings, our employees and making sure they had everything they needed to keep themselves safe,” Grenno said. “We have no town employees that are positive that I know of.”

The PPE he is ordering includes fogging machines, hand sanitizers, gloves, masks and face shields.

Grenno has been discussing with Carter and Lytle as to what the town needs to get through the next phase of COVID as well as capital items the town needs to “navigate those waters,” as they look to use the remaining $1.1 million.

The town has been advised in the meantime, that the CARES funds cannot be used for anything that is budgeted or part of any capital plan.

Grenno has also consulted fire chiefs from several communities in the region as to how they plan to use funding and was told they planned to do what Whitman had already begun to discuss — a drive-through vaccination program once a vaccine becomes available. Regular flu vaccines, however, are not covered under the CARES Act.

“Logistically, it’s a nightmare, but it’s nothing that we can’t deal with and put together,” Grenno said of a COVID vaccine program.

“A deep cleaning for Town Hall, when you’ve had probably more the 65 percent of the town roaming in and about Town Hall, it is one of those things that is going to be a no-brainer,” LaMattina said. He said that, if other town buildings are getting a deep cleaning against COVID, there is no reason why Town Hall should be excluded.

Kowalski agreed, noting some residents taking part in early voting have not paid heed to limitations on where in Town Hall they were permitted to go.

Selectman Brian Bezanson also backed the proposal for a deep cleaning of Town Hall.

“The Town Hall will probably be the busiest place in the town during this election and the pandemic and for us not to do our due diligence and completely scrubbing down and disinfecting that would be a dereliction of duty, I think,”’ he said arguing it should be done “first and foremost” within the next week or so.

Grenno said he is certain there is money available for that kind of cleaning and, if the whole building needs to be cleaned, it should be done.

They will be leaving $750,000 on the table for now, with the CARES funds lasting through March 2021, giving the town the ability to keep public safety operational if it is needed later this winter.

LaMattina said he is also concerned that a second spike in COVID could lead to the firefighters union to ask for renegotiation of contract language concerning working conditions and the effect that could have on COVID response.

Lytle said COVID-related overtime is already tracked on payroll forms.

Grenno said he does not disagree with LaMattina’s concerns, but his direct concern is getting the town ready for vaccine dispersal when a vaccine is available. The union agreed to do so, but a local pharmacy has agreed to do it, with the fire department providing logistical support.

Both the state and federal approach is to have the National Guard do it.

“That’s not going to work,” Grenno said.

He fully expects the Guard to depend on first responders and private ambulance companies.

“There are several towns that have spent all their money and it’s gone,” Grenno said. “I’m totally against that, because if we have … one shift exposed [to COVID come January] and I lose six guys, we need CARES money to keep public safety operational.”

He said they are trying to be frugal knowing that the funding could ­­­­­­­also end in December.

Josh MacNeill suggested talking to other communities about concerns regarding reimbursement for what the town spends under CARES, noting the Bridgewater Library used the funding to purchase a 3-D printer that could be used to make PPE, if needed.

“No IT requests have been rejected to this point,” he said. “We’re not going to see this opportunity come by again, so if there are needs we can identify as in response to COVID, let’s just do it.”

LaMattina also said technology is needed as part of the new normal that makes the town run effectively during COVID.

Acting Selectmen Chairman Dan Salvucci argued that, when vaccinations are available it is a commendable goal to organize an approach, but he prioritized preventive issues such as cleaning buildings right now.

Biden leads Electoral vote

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As the presidential contest awaits late results from key states including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, former Vice President Joe Biden led the incomplete Electoral vote count by 264 to President Donald Trump’s 214.

“Your patience is commendable,” Biden told supporters at a drive-in rally in Wilmington, Del., early Wednesday morning. “We believe we are on track to win this election. It ain’t over until every vote is counted. Every ballot is counted. We’re feeling good about where we are.”

Some states count ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive afterward.

A similar process is underway locally.

According to a notice on Hanson’s town website, The Town of Hanson will be holding a ballot counting session at 9 a.m., Monday, Nov. 9 in the Selectmen’s meeting room to count and tally any ballots that were dropped in the Ballot Drop Box in front of Town Hall after 5 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3 as well as any ballots that were received with a postmarked date on or before Nov. 3 and received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.

Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley said they would be going through the same process.

Biden took Minnesota at 12:17 a.m., minutes before his remarks. Trump had won Iowa, Montana and Ohio at about the same time.

Locally, Biden carried Whitman and Trump eked out a win in Hanson.

Incomplete results posted Tuesday night, gave Biden 4,487 votes in Whitman to Trump’s 3,875. Third party candidates garnered 197 votes. In Hanson Trump received 3,312 votes to Biden’s 3,240 with 158 for third party candidates.

There were 58 write-in votes in Hanson in the presidential race and 53 in Whitman.

Cutler re-elected

Incumbent state Rep. Josh Cutler carried all three towns in the 6th Plymouth District against Republican challenger Tatyana Semyrog.

“I’m truly grateful to the voters of Hanson for the vote of confidence,” Cutler said of the incomplete results. “We had a great coalition of support here in Hanson, across all political stripes. I’m looking forward to getting back to work. Thank you to everyone who came out to vote and thank you to my opponents for a spirited race.”

Asked for a comment about the race at the polls Tuesday, Semyrog declined to speak with the Express.

Supporters of candidates in both parties were out in force to support them, holding signs or flags and waving to passersby and motorists.

Whitman Democratic Committee Chairman Michael Hayes said he was confident of Biden’s chances and expressed concern about apparent voter suppression in several states, as he held a Biden-Harris placard.

“Locally and across the country, we’re very optimistic,” he said. “I think the voter turnout is unprecedented.” He noted there was a line out the door at Town Hall by 6:40 a.m., despite two weeks of early voting.

“Voter turnout, pre-Election Day, was about 47 percent, that’s incredible,” Hayes said. “Bottom line, just to see the people participate in the process is extremely encouraging. I wish we could see this every year.”

He expressed disappointment that there was no Democratic challenger to state Rep. Alyson Sullivan for the 7th Plymouth District. Sullivan garnered 6,385 votes against 2,181 blanks and 96 write-ins.

“That was disappointing,” Hayes said. “We’ve got to try to rectify that next time around.”

Down the street, acting Selectmen Chairman Dan Salvucci and School Committee member Dan Cullity were staffing the Republican visibility tent.

“We’ve got a lot more Trump support, we just have to see what the country does,” Cullity said. “It’s kind of up in the air. You can’t go by what everybody says.”

He noted 2016 polling that indicated Hillary Clinton was a sure winner, but that she “ended up losing all the key states.”

“You can’t go by the polls, it’s what the people want,” Cullity said. “There’s a whole lot of unenrolled people, they’re the ones that decide what happens in the country.”

Varley said the early voting turnout would prove helpful in counting ballots. Early vote ballots are counted, starting at the midafternoon slowdown in voting traffic on Election Day before after-work voters arrive.

She estimated that 85 percent of eligible voters could cast ballots, noting that at nearly 1 p.m., Whitman usually gets a turnout of 75 percent in a presidential year.

“We’re pretty happy here,” Varley said, crediting retired Assistant Town Clerk Yvonne Evans for stepping forward to help with the process. “I didn’t have a problem getting workers.”

Two students from the W-H History National Honor Society were slated to observe the ballot counting process for a school project.

Hanson Town Clerk Elzabeth Sloan said just under 4,000 people took advantage of early voting, out of 8,059 registered voters — nearly half — and she was hoping for another 3,000 to cast ba­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­llots Tuesday.

Whitman votes

Biden/Harris —4,487

Hawkins/Walker — 44

Jorgensen/Cohen — 153

Trump/Pence — 3,875

Senate

Edward Markey — 4,611

Kevin O’Connor — 3,762

Shiva Ayyadurai — 63

U.S Rep.

Stephen Lynch — 5,580

Jonathan Lott — 2,016

Councillor 4th Dist

Chris Iannella — 6,155

State Rep. 7th Plymouth

Alyson Sullivan  6,385

Register/Probate

Matt McDonough – 6,069

County Commissioner

Greg Hanley — 3,891

John Riordan — 2,548

Jared Valanzola — 3,341

County Treasurer

Thomas O’Brien – 4,814

Carina Mompelas – 3,014

Question 1

Yes — 6,290

No —2,121

Question 2

Yes — 4,591

No —  3,517

Hanson votes

Biden/Harris —3,240

Hawkins/Walker — 34

Jorgensen/Cohen — 124

Trump/Pence — 3,312

Senate

Edward Markey — 3,244

Kevin O’Connor — 3,351

Shiva Ayyadurai — 156

U.S Rep.

Bill Keating — 3,397

Helen Brady — 2,945

Michael Manley — 141

Councillor 4th Dist

Chris Iannella — 4,549

State Rep. 6th Plymouth

Josh Cutler — 3,555

Tatyana Semyrog — 3,047

Register/Probate

Matt McDonough – 4,575

County Commissioner

Greg Hanley — 2,966

John Riordan — 1,859

Jared Valanzola — 3,009

County Treasurer

Thomas O’Brien – 3,627

Carina Mompelas – 2,582

Question 1

Yes —5,036

No — 1,596

Question 2

Yes —1,930

No —  4,635

Bold = winner based on incomplete results tabulated Tuesday, Nov. 3

Whitman cleanup fees eyed

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

WHITMAN — Dr. Carl Kowalski informed Selectmen via email on Tuesday, Oct. 27 that he was resigning as chairman of the board effective immediately.

“There are times, even in our current Zoom world when a chair must be available for in-person events and meetings, and unfortunately, I cannot do so for reasons of health,” he said in a prepared statement before the board met Wednesday, Oct. 28 with representatives of MassDEP regarding the process of site work at the former DaKor Novelties building at 602 Bedford St. “I did hold a [morning] meeting today because of its critical importance, but I can no longer do so.”

Vice Chairman Daniel Salvucci has agreed to take over as chairman for the rest of the 2020-21 term.

“I will continue to serve as Selectman, just not as chair,” Kowalski said. “I’d like to thank you all for allowing me to serve you as chair for such a long time, and I look forward to my continued service as a member.”

He asked the board to support Salvucci in his service as chairman.

Salvucci thanked Kowalski for his many years of service and that he hopes Kowalski’s health improves.

Following their discussion with state environmental officials, Selectmen decided against a fee agreement for a special counsel for environmental site work, opting instead to go with a licensed site professional who can work directly with state and federal officials.

Representing the DEP at the meeting were Kait Carvalo, who is brownfields risk assessment section lead on the 602 Bedford St. project and her team; Maryellen DeFrias of MassDevelopment; as well as attorneys Sean Murphy and Jeffrey Thompson who are looking at the property as a possible site for a Hope for Heroes project they represent.

Kowalski raised, as a point of order, that the agenda did not reflect any discussion of the Hope for Heroes project, only the fee agreement for special counsel involved in site work.

“I’m not sure this is the proper time to introduce people who are interested in making a project on that [property],” Kowalski said.

“The biggest concern that most people on this board have is that the town is not held responsible for any particular cleanup of that site,” Salvucci said “We want to be assured that, although we want that site becomes a useful site, we do not want it at any cost to the town,” once the board reviews the fee agreement.

Selectman Randy LaMattina said he completely agreed with Kowalski, noting that the meeting was the first any of the Selectmen had heard there was a project proposed for the properties, which included the Regal Property.

Selectman Brian Bezanson pointed out that Plymouth County Commissioner Sandra Wright is an acquaintance and they had discussed the Hope for Heroes project, with which she is involved, many months ago. During the discussion, they talked about possible sites and he mentioned the Bedford Street property, suggesting that Wright contact former Town Administrator Frank Lynam to discuss it further.

“I didn’t know the condition or ownership of the land, I just knew it was vacant for a long time and I thought it would be a good location,” he said.

Thanking Bezanson for his discussion with Wright, Kowalski suggested the board stick to the agenda and discuss cleanup issues with the DEP and MassDevelopment officials.

Interim Town Administrator Lisa Green said she has had discussions about the two properties with DeFrias, including the application for site assessment grants. Regal Street property would be Phase 3 and 602 Bedford would be a Phase 1 cleanup.

The town has no ownership issues as 602 Bedford is an abandoned property, but there have been discussions about risks for which a cleanup might put the town at risk.

DEP representative John Handrahan said liability issues are
pretty straightforward.” Should the town take the property for back taxes and sell it, the town would have no liability under the Brownfields Act.

“Most towns don’t take that simplest route,” Handrahan said. “Most towns … do engage environmental professionals, because what they fundamentally discover, through economics more than anything, if the town were to take the property, they often discover that if they were to do some of the cleanup work themselves, just doing the cleanup work would not make them liable.”

It would elevate the property’s value for potential buyers.

Handrahan and Carvalho stressed taking the property for back taxes was made more streamlined in that the previous owners of the property are no longer living and the former tenant never held control over the property.

Bezanson asked if the town could get access to the property —without owning it — through the courts to conduct contamination tests “to put in motion these possible conclusions” so that the town is not liable.

“That’s a question you’re going to have to have town counsel, possibly talk with the attorney general about,” Handrahan said, noting it is neither how most towns do it, nor the mechanism written into the law in 1998.

“This is going back to what I’ve been saying throughout this process,” LaMattina said. “I think we’re all in agreement that cleaning up brownfields in our town is a fantastic idea, but to make it so the taxpayers and citizens of our town don’t go on the hook for something.”

DEP representative Angela Gallagher said the targeted brownfield assessment process at the former Regal Shoe site does not require ownership or access for the EPA to do the assessment either via access or from a nearby vantage point.

“There’s no cost or fees associated with it for the town, the EPA picks that up completely,” she said. “You just have to make an application or contact the EPA for that.”

She said the Bedford Street property also comes under that program.

Handrahan also stressed that the normal municipal process of hiring environmental consultants to help with the site cleanup because “they know where the checkbooks are.”

“This is just the town of Whitman looking for pots of money — and they are out there,” he said.

Hanson board OKs a uniform tax rate

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HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 27, voted once again to adopt a uniform residential/commercial-industrial tax rate for fiscal 2021 during the annual tax classification public hearing. Assessor Lee Gamache said her board had recommended such a move again this year.

“We have so little commercial property, that we don’t want to put the extra burden on them,” she said, noting property values continue to rise. “Everything is certified by the Department of Revenue.”

Gamache said residential property values increased by 4 percent for the average single family home, while condominiums were up about 4.3 percent and commercial-industrial properties were up about 3.2 percent.

The annual tax on an average one-family home — valued at $368,000 — would be $5,556.80 at a rate of $15.10 per $1,000 in valuation. The annual tax on the average commercial property — valued at $513,000 — would be $7,746.30 at the same rate.

Selectmen also voted, as they do every year, against invoke residential tax exemptions, usually used by communities with high numbers of residential rental properties.

The board also voted against small commercial exemptions, which are not guaranteed to go to small businesses, but rather go to the property owner. Home businesses do not qualify for the exemption. Assessors recommended against each of the exemptions.

Gamache also reported that the excess levy capacity for fiscal 2021 was at $88,310.60.

Town Accountant Todd Hassett provided his quarterly update to the board for the first quarter of the fiscal year.

“We have had some pretty strong permit activity this year with the Building Department, so that may be a nice sign for not only permit revenue going forward, but also new growth, new tax revenues a year or so out from now,” he said. Car sales indicators, expected in February, will provide a better picture of fiscal 2022.

The Recreation Enterprise fund, meanwhile, where several programs had to be deferred or canceled at Camp Kiwanee and some reimbursements made or income pushed off to a future date due to the pandemic, estimated revenues have been reduced from $219,000 to $142,000 this year.

“This is probably the area of most concern from a financial standpoint,” Hassett said.

COVID risk map raises issues

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There are currently 31 students and staff in quarantine for COVID-19 by either Whitman, Hanson health boards, or the boards of health where teachers live, but no decision is being made right now on the future of hybrid learning.

There have been 12 positive student cases and one positive in the district so far, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported to the School Committee at the Wednesday, Oct. 21 meeting.

“As of this week, we have 35 students coming out of quarantine and they all — or a large majority — were in a hockey cluster,” he said. “We’ve had zero transmission within the district. Our kids are abiding by the rules that we’ve set forward with the boards of health, with the Mass. Department of Public Health. We’re doing the right things.”

Szymaniak stressed there have been zero transmissions within the school district, and voiced frustration about color-coded risk assessments for communities issued by the (DPH).

He said he would look to the boards of health to make recommendations on whether or not students should stay in school if both towns in the district end up in the red zone.

“It’s not going to be a lone decision on my part,” Szymaniak said. “If they close us, it’s their decision.
He stressed he does not think a decision will be made without input from the regional school district. He is also concerned about the impact of surrounding districts — where some of W-H’s teachers reside — going to remote learning and their own children have no place to go while they are teaching here.

Szymaniak said he has conferred with area superintendents and all are now of the mind that schools are not affected as they are cleaner and safer than they have ever been.

There is a remote plan set to go if it is needed, however, he said.

“The concern I have is the state map,” he said. “We know Hanson went into the red last week, Whitman was in yellow last week.” Based on numbers reported after Columbus Day weekend, Szymaniak anticipates Whitman will also soon be in the red.

“What does that mean?” Szymaniak said, noting he issued a letter to parents and staff last week saying that just because the towns are in the red, doesn’t mean school will be interrupted.

Gov. Baker’s guidance of going to remote after three weeks in the red, has been followed by a contradictory message from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that decisions should be based on internal data — not just on whether a town is in the red area.

“Right now, we have one week in the red in Hanson and we are a district,” he said, explaining that, if Hanson stays in the red it is almost like Whitman students are also in the red. “We’re not going to say to the Whitman kids, ‘Come to school,’ and the Hanson kids stay home.”

Szymaniak said lead nurse Lisa Tobin is practically working around the clock, even taking calls from parents at home during weekends.

“I’ve got to give praise to both boards of health,” Szymaniak said. “They are working their tails off with us.” Health officials have been calling the school, if necessary, in terms of contact tracing.

“If you’re six feet apart and you’re wearing a mask it is safe and parents and families need to know that,” said School Committee member Hillary Kniffen, who is also a teacher. She said 12 cases in a district student population of 3,800 students,  the risk is minimal.

In other business before the School Committee, school principals were afforded the opportunity to update the committee on what students are doing and what education looks like in a “COVID world” at their respective buildings.

“The most important part of our opening really has been that the kids are so excited, so happy to be there and we are, as well,” Conley Elementary Principal Karen Downey said, noting the special distancing and cleaning efforts under way to keep students and staff safe. “Kids are having individual supplies, as opposed to shared supplies, we’re cleaning the seats and the work areas in between [classroom changes] during travel time between classes.”

There are seating charts in all classrooms and special areas such as the lunchroom, and Chromebooks are cleaned and inspected by an industrial hygienist twice a week.

Indian Head interim Principal Gary Pelletier added that students are provided scheduled mask breaks and there are assigned seats on the bus and cafeteria.

Eucationally, he lauded the alignment of curriculum in all elementary buildings. New software, technology glitches and Chromebook capacity are among the challenges teachers are seeing.

Hanson Middle School Principal William Tranter notes that teachers rotate and students stay in classrooms all day — including lunch.

“None of us ever took the class, ‘How to Teach in a Pandemic,’” Tranter said. “Every day, we get a little bit better. We learn something, we figure it out, we make changes, and it gets a little bit better every day.”

Szymaniak said there have been no detentions or disciplinary issues at the middle schools.

“I think kids want to be here,” he said.

High School Principal Dr. Christopher Jones credited teachers, staff and students for making a flexible educational approach that is more focused on relationships with maximized learning with teachers, and constant communication a success.

Students at home are paired with students in the classroom to improve cohesion. All floors, except the main floor have one-way foot traffic.

They are struggling in terms of teacher workload and school culture, however.

Remote schooling principal Michael Grable reported that, “It’s been an interesting ride, so far.”

There are 316 students in kindergarten through grade eight in the remote program, learning at home full time, taught by nine teachers and five paraprofessionals.

Keeping ahead of COVID

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HANOVER — South Shore Tech Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey told his School Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 21 that, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 safety guidelines, having students in their school community really matters.

There have been some positive tests among the school population, but Hickey said he is pleased with parent cooperation. They are letting the school know if their children are showing symptoms after possibly contracting COVID outside of school.

Like W-H Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak, Hickey said he is looking for more guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on how any decisions on possible future lockdowns might be handled.

“We all know about the COVID map that gets published, usually Wednesday nights or overnight into Thursday, and we know about the red, yellow and green coding of towns,” he said. “Last week, a lot of towns in the Route 3 corridor moved to red.”

He said the state wants schools to think in terms of three-week trends.

“There is no immediate trigger such as, if red, something — like close or go all remote,” Hickey said. “We need to look at the data for at least two more Wednesdays and see what those numbers look like.”

The state would then provide guidance on what might have triggered a red designation within a community.

Senior horticulture student Faith Ryan of Scituate was introduced as the student council representative and also gave an idea of how COVID is affecting the school.

“I think you’re going to hear a different kind of report tonight from her,” Principal Mark Aubrey said. “I think she’s going to speak honestly to you folks about what she’s exploring and what the kids are feeling with the hybrid model.”

Her report was a frank look at the challenges vocational education faces in an online setting.

“I feel like a lot of kids are struggling, because it’s hard to learn online for a lot of kids here,” Ryan said. “As you know, this is a vocational school. Most of us are hands-on learners.”

She said she has spoken to several seniors who are struggling with their grades as a result of not having the access to extra help they would receive at the school.

“It’s preventing a lot of kids from going out on co-op because they’re not getting the proper grades they need because they’re not getting the help they need,” Ryan said. She is not currently on a cooperative education assignment.

Most of the hands-on shops such as HVAC and carpentry are in school all five days each week, but shops such as graphics and allied health are only in the school two days.

“We are educating students on how they get their extra help,” Aubrey said. Teachers are available before and after school, but he said it has to be scheduled, a process that is being worked out.

Clubs and activities are also meeting online, as are regional SkillsUSA competitions.