HANSON — Behind the headline of a recent motorcycle crash that killed Hanson resident John Edwards, is a love story that endures within the warm smile and optimism of his widow Lorraine as she carries on.

Her family says she is struggling to walk now — determined she will in due time.

In a moment the pair, who were enjoying a motorcycle ride, was separated forever following a head-on crash that took John’s life on Oct. 16 in Lakeville — Lorraine lost her sweetheart of 56 years.

“I don’t know how she has such a smile on her face, but she smiles because she is thankful to be alive,” said her adult daughter Christine Moniz.

Moniz spends much of her time by her mother’s side these days. She is the youngest of three children and still mourns her father. These are the first holidays they will spend without him. She attempts to steady her emotions with wounds still fresh, yet, she is inspired by her mother’s strength.

On Oct. 16 the Edwards were out for their ride  — John and Lorraine together as usual — with son Andy, and a family friend each following behind the other. A driver struck John and Lorraine head-on and, as daughter Christine related the words of witnesses to the scene, it resembled “a war zone.”

She said off-duty Brockton fire Lt. Scott Sweet was at the right place at the right time and, with a local nurse, did all the right things immediately, rendering first aid.

“They likely saved my mother’s life. They tied her leg to control the bleeding,” said Moniz.

Lorraine was taken by medical helicopter to the Rhode Island Trauma Center where she received multiple blood transfusions, along with the first of several surgeries. Ultimately amputation of her leg below the knee was required, and she had sustained multiple breaks in the bones in all her extremities including her hands, as well as her back and ribs.

The casts have been removed in the weeks following the crash, but she is unable to walk yet as her amputation and remaining bone heal.

In an effort to ease the family’s financial burden, a fundraiser and meat raffle were recently held by Whitman VFW Post 697 to help defray Mrs. Edwards’ medical costs. Post Quartermaster Al Rainey said the fundraiser event and an impromptu “pass the hat” collectively raised $12,000, which has already been given to the family.

Whitman VFW Post employees Michelle Piers and Dan Greenwood co-organized the fundraiser for someone they remembered as a “jolly man, who told jokes and enjoyed life.”

John Edwards, by all accounts, was a lover of the open road and enjoyed going out with his wife Lorraine who joined him in motoring adventures after they raised their four children.

He was a member of the VFW post and a member of the South Shore Hogs, and all four of his children have motorcycle licenses.

Most recently, John was the veteran’s liaison for the VFW. He would occasionally add something as part of the meeting, but if he had nothing to add he would say “ride safe,” Moniz said.

South Shore Hogs traveled the route of the fatal accident one weekend later erecting a memorial sign near Tamarack Park in Lakeville the sign bearing John’s name with those very words — “ride safe.” The community has also reached out and as Lorraine advances from rehabilitation she will need accommodations to the home including accessibility.

“We want her to be healthy enough to return home,” said Moniz.

Moniz talked about her mother’s resilience, lamenting that she may never ride a motorcycle again herself after this tragedy.

“We are told (mom) is the ‘talk of the therapy department’ because she is willing to work and she is always smiling,” said Moniz. The family is hopeful the six-month time frame given from her doctors will provide an uplifting outlook on the prognosis. They will know more as time passes.

With deep roots on State Street in Hanson, three generations have resided in the home — built in 1713 — of Moniz’s grandmother, whose maiden name was Munro then Hammond.

The bridge on State Street is named in memory of Moniz’s great uncle Robert Hammond. Grandma is now 100 years old and the last surviving sibling of the Hammond’s.

Moniz has heard from numerous local residents who knew the four Edwards siblings growing up as graduates of WHRHS. Among the countless visitors  three days after the accident many of the family returned to Lorraine’s side, including her son Wayne who resides in Ohio, and son Jack who resides in Florida.

Her father worked at Halliday Lithograph Co., in Hanover for more than 18 years. He was originally from Joplin, Mo., and was a Navy metalsmith. Lorraine was set up with John on a blind double date, after which the pair began courting and married in 1960. Lorraine graduated from South Hanover high school in 1959.

“My father used to walk from the Naval Base in Weymouth all the way to see my mother in Hanson.”

Edwards bought a motorcycle and started riding early in the ’60s and Lorraine joined him after the children got older. The pair made their way across country Route 66 once to Seattle, and also to California (to see son Wayne who was stationed there at Ft. Edwards.)

“We are all dealing — in our own way,” Moniz said.

The family will host a memorial at First Congregational Church in Hanson with dates to be determined in the spring.

“The VFW graciously offered their hall.

They have been a great support,” she said. “They have also offered medical equipment, a ramp to assist in making the home handicap accessible.”

Celebrating life with 11 grandchildren Lorraine has had visitors from several states, members of the church, the South Shore Hogs, Whitman VFW, friends where she most recently worked The Christmas Tree Shop along with Former associates of past employers.

“They have all come to see her, see how she is doing,”said Moniz.

Now with the holidays upon us the family will approach each day with optimism as they celebrate the life of their father and guide their mother to recovery.

HANSON — A traditional English Christmas carol celebrates preparation for the holiday as people “deck the halls with boughs of holly,” but Marc Benjamino, a junior at WHRHS, had a more meaningful decoration job to do on Saturday, Dec. 17.

On the strength of his private fundraising effort in support of the Wreaths Across America program, for which he raised $3,000 to pay for Christmas wreaths to decorate the graves of fallen military, Benjamino was invited to participate in placing 250,000 wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.

Benjamino found the opportunity to be very moving,

“It was an experience, let’s just say — words can’t really describe it,” he said Monday, noting that there were thousands of others who also made the journey to ensure the nation’s fallen servicemen and women are not forgotten at the holidays.

“It was a very honorable experience,” he said. “I would say that it was just awe-inspiring. It hit very close to home. It was a shame to see that all of these people have died for our country, however it was very nice to see that everyone came out … and our country gives them the respect they deserve. There’s a monument for every single one of them.”

A cadet with the Forest Hill Military Army Cadet Corps in Kentucky, and as a person with veterans in his family, Benjamino said he understands the service and sacrifice made by Arlington’s fallen and encourages others to volunteer with Wreaths Across America.

“It was a really emotional and honorable experience,” he said.

While he is not entirely comfortable with the attention his gesture has received, Benjamino is committed to paying the fallen the respect due them.

Closure

“They need to be honored and they need to be remembered,” he said, describing the experience as a warm feeling that brings closure as the nation remembers that these servicemen and women sacrificed their lives for the rights all Americans enjoy.

His family and school community are just as honored by Benjamino’s fundraising effort on behalf of the Wreaths Across America cause.

“As Marc’s teacher, when I heard he was taking his time out to do this to recognize the men and women who dedicated their lives [to country], I just thought it was a must that he be recognized for this,” said Chris Googins, who is also WHRHS dean of students. “I know he’s probably upset about that, because he’s such a humble kid, but he’s an exceptional kid and he’s one of the best kids I’ve taught at W-H in my 20 years here.”

Googins said Benjamino’s passion for history helped spark his interest in the project.

Benjamino is taking an elective course on WWI, and is a member of the W-H History Club, which has also received a gift of about $500 from Wreaths Across America.

“I respect the fact that he is going above and beyond to make our community better and I’m proud to have him in class,” he said.

Founded in 1992 by the Worcester Wreath Co, the Wreaths Across America project aims to distribute holiday wreaths to graves of deceased soldiers at various cemeteries across the country, but focuses attention on Arlington.

The wreath-placing Dec. 17 followed a remembrance ceremony “so that we may pause to think about what these soldiers have given us and to remember them and honor them during this holiday season,” Benjamino wrote of the event before departing for it.

giving back

“He did this on his own,” Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak told the School Committee Dec. 14. “It wasn’t a school-funded thing. He did raise some money for the History Club, but [this is the] kind of social programs that we give back during the course of the day here. People don’t know it, but we have some wonderful, wonderful, wonderful kids here.”

Benjamino raised the $3,000 as an independent fundraiser for Wreaths Across America, going to parent-teacher conference night, Veterans Day parades and various companies and organizations to discuss the program and ask for wreath sponsorships.

He said Wreaths Across America welcomes anyone who wishes to help place wreaths, but the organization encourages fundraising first to help purchase the greenery.

HANSON — Selectmen and the Planning Board in collaboration with Environmental Partners, Inc., of Quincy, held a joint meeting Tuesday, Dec. 6 to introduce and discuss the proposed Route 14/Maquan Street Reconstruction Project in Hanson.

It was the first of what is expected to be a series of meetings on the proposals.

Selectman Don Howard, who began working to get the project on the state/federal transportation improvement program (TIP) a year ago, chaired the meeting. Planning Board members Don Ellis and John Kemmett and Selectman Bruce Young also sat on the dais for the meeting, which was broadcast by W-H Community Access TV.

“I can’t see Hanson in the middle … just to sit there an have nothing done,” Howard said. “It seems to me Hanson, in the past few years, [has received] nothing from the federal or state governments and I think it’s about time we get a little bit of service.”

The proposed project — which is viewed at about five years away — is anticipated to include improvements to traffic circulation and safety, pedestrian and bicycle facilities and roadway flooding along Maquan Street from Liberty Street (Route 58) and Indian Head Street to the Pembroke Town Line, a distance of approximately 1.2 miles.  It will also include reconstruction of School Street (approximately 0.25 miles long to link pedestrian and bicycle accommodations from the existing Indian Head School, Maquan Elementary School, Hanson Public Library and sports fields with Maquan Street and its abutting neighborhoods.

During the hour and 40-minute session, desginer Dan Fitzgerald of Environmental Partners presented a PowerPoint program on the preliminary concepts and alternatives for improving safety and roadway drainage.

Traffic volume and projections for intersections involved, taken during peak, midweek commuter times were reviewed as well as current stop sign placement.

Among the proposals for traffic alternatives up for consideration is a roundabout at from Liberty Street (Route 58) and Indian Head Street, as has been done at the Pembroke end of Route 14 and changes to other intersections along Maquan Street.

“It’s just an idea —it’s your town — but I think it’s a worthy alternative,” Fitzgerald said of the slide illustrations. “These are not full designs, these are just initial ideas based on space that we can see out there.”

He stressed that roundabouts are safer than the larger rotaries are built for more high-speed traffic.

Present roadway conditions have also been reviewed, including average speeds — 85 percent of traffic has been registered at 41 mph where the speed limit is 30 to 35 — and wetlands near the road. Residents attending the meeting expressed concern about the speeds now seen on Maquan Street.

Kemmett also asked for a cost projection of maintaining the roadway paint needed in the plans shown. Utility poles along the route will also have to be relocated.

The town owns 45-foot rights-of-way. Bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the road within a 43-footplan are proposed. Pembroke’s end of the project, which was planned before design rules changed, does not include the same bike lane and sidewalk designs now under consideration for Hanson.

Another alternative would use a narrower vehicular roadway, with a paved area for pedestrians and bicyclists to share, separated by a median. Another called for bike lanes on both sides and a sidewalk on one.

Residents at the meeting preferred the paved area for pedestrians and bicyclists to share, separated by a median option.

Fitzgerald also said any wetlands impacted by retaining walls  required by the project would have to be replicated.

HANSON — A lawyer for five former Recreation Commission members named in labor lawyer Leo Peloquin’s report on mismanagement of Camp Kiwanee has filed a report refuting Peloquin’s findings with Peloquin, who has forwarded copies to the Board of Selectmen.

The report dated Nov. 28 charges that Peloquin’s findings were “designed for the sole purpose of justifying the expenditure of $62,905 … for an investigation that far exceeded its scope,” according to attorney George H. Boerger of Duxbury, who is representing Kiwannee caretaker James Flanagan and former Recreation Commission members Maria McClellan, Sue Lonergan, Dave Blauss and Janet Agius.

At the Nov. 29 Selectmen’s meeting, however, the issue was not posted on the agenda at the recommendation of Town Administrator Michael McCue, following discussions with Selectmen Chairman James McGahan and Peloquin.

“There was information provided that went to town counsel and he’s reviewing it,” McCue told Selectmen at the Nov. 29 meeting. “I believe town counsel will be before the board at the next meeting on Dec. 13 to advise the board on his recommendations and findings.”

McCue assured Boerger in an email about the agenda decision that he would “make the Board aware of your request to come before the Board at a future meeting,” McCue.

McCue was not available for further comment this week due to illness.

Boerger’s report said his clients do not have the resources to respond to every single allegation in Peloquin’s report, but highlighted “key facts and errors, which should call into question most, if not all of the allegations.”

According to Boerger’s report:

• The original audit conducted on Camp Kiwanee’s operations did not lead to the investigation ultimately conducted;

• The Recreation Committee had been prohibited from accessing camp files for the last two years;

• There was cooperation among commission members with the investigation;

• Issues raised concerning the Kiwanee Cash program were resolved more than two years ago;

• Allegations of improper rates charged are not accurate;

• David Blauss’ cousin was permitted to stay at the camp to bolster security and stopped when ordered to; and that

• Criticism of his clients for attempting to micromanage the camp are unjust.

• He also stressed that McClellan was not the “administrator” of Kiwanee Cash, as Peloquin had repeatedly described her, but had only volunteered to type records because, as a retiree, she had the time.

cooperation

Boerger wrote that investigation interviews with Lonergan, McClellan and Dave Blauss were either never scheduled by former interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera or were delayed. McClellan, for example offered to meet with Peloquin as early as May 3, but was not contacted for an interview until Sept. 19.

McClellan, Lonergan, Dave Blauss, Agius and James Flanagan are now hoping they will have their chance to review Boerger’s report in a public meeting.

“I am so disappointed in this investigation and the people who could have handled it so differently,” McClellan wrote in an Oct. 20 letter to McCue and McGahan attached to Boerger’s report. “You have beaten up some very great people by accepting evidence from people with clear agendas to keep their own jobs and destroy other people.”

Boerger also opined that the scope of the investigation and Peloquin’s report were “an attempt to destroy the reputation” of his clients as well as being extremely detrimental to the town, which relies on volunteers to fill many positions.

“Could operations of Camp Kiwanee been improved? Certainly,” Boerger wrote in his conclusions. “Was there ever any intent by the respondents to gain any improper advantage from their role with Camp Kiwanee? Absolutely not!”

under review

Selectman Bruce Young, who has been supportive of the Recreation Commission, declined comment on the rebuttal report at this time.

“I will refrain from making any comments on this, until we receive the formal response and possible amended version of the original investigative report from Atty. Peloquin,” Young stated in an email to the Express Tuesday, Dec. 6. Young noted that Peloquin is preparing a response to Boerger’s rebuttal, which he plans to email to Selectmen before the Dec. 13 meeting, and urged the board to hold off on permitting Boerger to make a presentation until after the board has received his response, “i.e., everything is in.”

McGahan said Dec. 6 that he felt the Recreation Commission already went over many of the points touched on in Boerger’s report at the Oct. 18 Selectmen’s meeting.

“I don’t want to go into complaints about how things were done,” McGahan said. “I want them to go into hard evidence. They’ve been accused of misusing the camp up there for their own purpose and I’d like them to come back with some sort of concrete evidence — ‘Here’s my cancelled check’ — but I’ve not seen anything to refute any of those specific charges.”

Recreation members have been seeking a public forum to present their rebuttal. In answer to a question from James Flanagan at the Aug. 23 selectmen’s meeting, McGahan said that, in his personal opinion, once the investigation was complete and on paper, it should be made available to all parties involved, which was done in October.

“I would like to see that,” McGahan had said, agreeing with James Flanagan’s request that a public session be held to discuss it, including refutations from those named in the investigation.

“Open discussion on that document would be open to the public,” McGahan said in August, but contends the Oct. 18 meeting provided that forum.

Selectmen, at that meeting decided that those named in the report could have until Nov. 30 to file corrections with Peloquin’s office.

McGahan had cited the Nov. 30 deadline in his statement against voting to appoint a new Recreation Commission at that meeting.

“Maybe something else is coming up, I don’t know,” he said. Selectman Kenny Mitchell agreed, saying he wanted the Camp Kiwanee issues behind them before a vote.

No replacements

Some residents have expressed dismay at the board’s decision not to vote on the slate of applicants which is: former Recreation Commission members Audrey Flanagan and Kevin Cameron, John Mahoney, Diane Cohen, Brian Fruzetti, Brian Smith and John Zucco.

“I felt we’re still doing the investigation on this [commission],” McGahan said Tuesday, Dec. 6. “I also want to check on what the director’s position description is, I want to make sure that’s where it should be.”

He also said he’d like to see some new faces on the commission.

Young asked when the Recreation Commission members could expect to publicly refute the report as they were told they could expect to do.

WHITMAN — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday have become ingrained in the seasonal habits of many shoppers between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

A group of Whitman residents are hoping the community has come to know the Sunday after Thanksgiving as Whitman Area Toy Drive Day. For 15 years, volunteers have been taking time on that day to kick off the annual toy drive, setting up shop in the Whitman VFW Pavilion, 95 Essex St.

The drive, which will also host a Photos with Santa party at the pavilion from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 4, is the first of several holiday events — many featuring St. Nick — in Whitman and Hanson. [See box].

On Sunday, Nov. 27 a small army of volunteers, including veterans, families, members of the Whitman Mothers Club and the WHRHS Drama Club gathered at the pavilion to sort gifts already donated onto tables representing gender and age ranges.

“What you see here now is maybe one-tenth of what we do through the whole Christmas season,” said toy drive founder Donnie Westhaver, gesturing toward tables already covered with toys. “We don’t want any kid to go without a toy. I don’t care where they’re from.”

The need

Westhaver said 90 to 95 percent of toys collected would go to Whitman families with the remainder to help families in need in Hanson, Abington and Rockland when organizations there run out of toys.

“I hope I’m around for another 20 years to be able to do this and when I’m not around I hope someone picks it up and keeps it going, because there are a lot of families out there in need,” he said. “There are actually families you wouldn’t expect — it might be your next-door neighbor. You might think they’re doing well, but they’re not.”

He said families that are just scraping by for the rest of the year have an especially hard time at the holidays.

“Christmas is for kids, but it’s also for us — you never lose that spirit,” Westhaver told his volunteers.

Large donations have been received from: Whitman VFW Men’s Auxiliary — $1,500; Whitman Mothers Club — $500; Sons of the American Legion — $500; Getchell Plumbing — $300; Whitman Firefighters Union Local 1769 — $250; and Fred Small — $250. Monetary donations helped the 501 (C)3 charity do some shopping on Black Friday for toys and boosted efforts to obtain grocery gift certificates at Wal-Mart for Christmas dinners.

Donations of $2,000 worth of toys from Brian Dennehy and his mother Jackie; toys collected at a family party hosted by Kevin Mayer and John Cookson at the Hanson AA and Reebok clothing from Kristin Nelson Ross were a few of those received already. Donation boxes, including three at WHRHS for the first time, can be found at the following businesses: Marcello’s Sub Shop, Whitman American Legion, Whitman VFW, Rockland Trust and Mutual Bank Whitman branches, Joe Goldsberry Photo & Video, O’Rourke Insurance, Whitman Knights of Columbus, Dancer’s Dream, Duval’s Pharmacy, Damien’s Pub in Hanson and Bailey’s Tri-Town.

For more information on donations or registering as a recipient family, contact Donnie Westhaver at 781-447-6883.

HANSON — The community is mourning the passing of a devoted couple who took an active role in their adopted hometown.

Former Town Master Plan Committee member Bob Sutter and his wife, long-time Water Commissioner Mary Lou Sutter died Thursday, Nov. 17, according to Town Administrator Michael McCue. The Sutters’ family plans to publish an obituary in the Express nest week.

“It took everybody here, as you can imagine, with a great deal of surprise,” McCue said Friday, Nov. 18, recalling a recent discussion he had with Mary Lou regarding her future concerns for the town’s Water Department. “It’s a shock and I’m deeply saddened. They were very kind and supportive of me and I will miss them.”

Mary Lou had served on the Capital Improvement Committee and Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center Director Mary Collins said Mary Lou had also been a dedicated eight-year member of the Friends of the Senior Center, of which she had served as president.

“She just wanted to be involved in her community,” Collins said, noting that when the Sutters moved to Hanson from New York, Mary Lou also became involved in supporting the schools. “This was their town as they aged. It was their choice to be here and they wanted to do as much as they could to be involved.”

Many who worked with them in town government joined Collins and McCue and the Sutters’ family in feeling their loss.

“Absolutely it’s a shock,” said Water Superintendent Richard Muncie said, noting Mary Lou had served as a Water Commissioner from 2003 to Nov 12, 2016. “We had a little celebration for her 13 years, we had a cake and told her how we appreciated all the things she and her husband had done for the whole town.”

“She just wanted to do the best for the town and she was always very positive,” Muncie said.

Selectman Don Howard, who also serves as a water commissioner, said Mary Lou wanted to make sure her post was filled before she retired.

“I don’t know what to say,” Howard said, noting Bob had been calling him recently about the work of the Final Plymouth County Hospital Reuse Committee. “They’ve done a lot for the town of Hanson that people don’t even realize.”

Bob Sutter had served on the original PCH Reuse Committee.

Community Preservation Commission Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and her husband John Kemmett, a former Planning Board member, had known the Sutters for about 10 years.

“From all outward appearances, it seemed like an unlikely friendship,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We had a 30-plus year age difference and vastly different backgrounds. Despite that, we found no end to the number of things we all enjoyed from woodworking to politics and everything in between.”

Unlikely friendship

She said Mary Lou and Bob left an indelible impression on them. FitzGerald-Kemmett had accompanied Mary Lou to the Nov. 1 Selectmen’s meeting at which she resigned as a Water Commissioner.

“They were a shining example of a life well-led,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “They were incredibly devoted to each other and despite their declining physical health they continuously strived to make a difference in their community and to help others who were less fortunate. We feel so blessed to have had these dear souls in our lives. We take comfort in the fact that neither of them was left to mourn the passing of the other and that they are no longer in any pain.”

Collins said she respected the way the Sutters worked with people of all political beliefs with respect and kindness.

“I will miss her,” Collins said of Mary Lou.

Those who met the Sutters more recently were also affected by their loss.

“I’m shaken to my core,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. “Deep inside I feel a loss, although I was just starting to get to know them” McGahan said. “We’ve lost two great citizens who contributed a lot to the town and they will be sorely missed.”

McGahan said he had last spoken to Mary Lou at the Nov. 1 Selectmen’s meeting during which she announced her resignation from the Board of Water Commissioners due to health concerns. He and McCue had also recently spent  nearly an hour talking with the Sutters following a coffee he hosted at the Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center.

“[Bob] had built a model of Liberty Street and he wanted to show it to me … we never confirmed a date or time frame after that,” McGahan said. “I liked them very much and I thought they were community leaders. These people were ingrained in Hanson’s political life.”

McCue, too, recalled Bob Sutter’s architectural background.

“He had given me a book on architecture and he would bring me architecture magazines he thought I might have interest in that were applicable to municipal issues,” McCue said. “He’d come in and talk about different things the town could do moving forward.”

McGahan also noted that the Sutters had donated the funds to repair the lower-level doors at Town Hall, which are equipped with handicapped access buttons to open the doors for people who use walkers or wheelchairs. He also recalled that Mary Lou made it clear she preferred to be addressed by her first name.

The couple’s support for the failed new Hanson elementary school project as well as for override proposals to fund school budgets was also noted. They were strenuous supporters of the school building project, to the point of suggesting financial assistance programs such as food stamps and tax abatement volunteer work for those on fixed income.

The Sutters firmly believed every generation had a duty to educate their community’s children.

“Mary Lou and Bob Sutter were two very special people who were deeply committed to the Town of Hanson and the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner. “They will be missed and our memories of them cherished as we recall and reflect upon their unselfish contributions of time, energy, and talent to the community and to the school system.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes, a Hanson resident, also lauded the Sutters’ dedication to Hanson.

“Mary Lou and Bob Sutter were probably two of the finest people in the town of Hanson,” Hayes said. “They did an immense amount of volunteer work on several boards and committees and they will be sadly missed.”

He said they were very active in the school system.

“I used to hear from them all the time,” he said. “They believed in education.”

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen told representatives of a business proposing a medical marijuana growing location in Whitman that any letter or non-opposition or support for such a facility hinges on its exact location.

“This may be the first time that the town has heard this is a possibility,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said. “It might make sense to, maybe, at our next meeting see if we receive any kind of input. There’s no need for a meeting with the Board of Appeals.”

The issue will be acted on at the Selectmen’s 7 p.m., Dec. 13 meeting.

“It’s important to know where it’s going to be sited because that’s going to trigger some response,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam, who indicated he also wants to speak with the state Department of Public Health before any decision is made regarding the letter.

“If I’m going to ask the board to sign a letter, I want to know what we’re signing,” Lynam said after the meeting.

The letter is the next step the company, Mission Partners — to be known as Fresh Meadow Farm — must complete toward obtaining a Department of Public Health license. Because they are already in the licensing process, company officials said they qualify for the pool of applicants for a recreational marijuana license, but are now solely focused on the medical-use growing facility they hope to locate in Whitman.

Ben Smith of Fresh Meadow Farm gave a brief review of the process during the Board of Selectmen’s Tuesday, Nov. 15 meeting.

Smith said he had reached out to Lynam about the possibility of a medical marijuana growing facility in a warehouse-type building to be sited on Route 18 near routes 14 and 27. The company is working with Crosscup Realty on purchasing a site and is not releasing the exact location until it is firmed up.

The parcel is zoned for light industrial use.

“We have identified a property that might work for us and a land owner that is willing to lease to us to run this operation,” Smith said. The company will be working with Forefront Advisers, a national expert on helping businesses obtain marijuana-related licenses in states where it is legal, as well as helping with the day-to-day operation of the facilities.

Smith’s associate Andrew Thut, affiliated with Forefront Ventures, the financial entity of Forefront Advisers, said a municipal letter of support simply indicates “the town is fine with that facility being there.”

In 2012, 63 percent of state voters passed a ballot question legalizing marijuana for medical use. On Nov. 8, ballot Question 4 passed, legalizing marijuana for personal recreational use.

“The facility we’re looking to do would be [regulated] by the state Department of Public Health,” said Smith. “It’s strictly for cultivation. From the outside it will just look like a warehouse.”

He said the state has already vetted the firm, checking the background of all the people involved and Fresh Meadow Farm has been invited to the next phase of the licensing process — the siting profile.

“Since they’ve already vetted us, invited us to siting, as long as we [receive] the letter of non-opposition and a lease a license will be granted,” Smith said.

This phase requires evidence of interest, a letter of municipal support and compliance with municipal regulations.

Phase one of the project will involve an 18,000-square-foot building that matches area buildings, with an eye to doubling the size when the business grows. The company envisions about 20 job openings at the facility to start.

A Hingham resident, Smith runs his portion of the business from his home, but said Mission Partners has an office at 2 State St. in Boston.

Selectman Daniel Salvucci asked about proximity to schools and residential areas as well as security. Selectman Brian Bezanson suggested the local Board of Health be contacted in light of its recent work on tobacco control regulations.

The parcel meets the state law requiring a distance of 500 feet from schools, houses of worship or locations where children congregate and that a filtration process would be put in place to control smell from the operation.

“I have no objection if it meets legal requirements,” Salvucci said.

Security will be a top priority of Fresh Meadow Farm, according to Smith, who said the business partners with Cana Security, which works with about 500 businesses out West, and Windmill Group that just worked with a Quincy facility.

“We’ll have to work with [Whitman Police] Chief Scott Benton and come up with a plan that satisfies him,” Smith said. Other facilities now operating in the state have not had security problems, he said.

While they don’t plan to sell products directly to the public, Smith said the company would manufacture oils and edibles for medical use.

Park access

In other business, Lynam said the town has received a notice from the state’s Architectural Access Board summoning officials to appear before the board in Boston on Feb. 27, 2017 to discuss being fined at the rate of $1,000 per day in relation to a complaint about accessibility of Whitman Park. Town counsel has been notified of the summons and DPW superintendent Bruce Martin has been notified of issues outlined in the complaint.

“The DPW has made notable improvements to the park area based on findings that were made two years ago and again last year by the AAB,” Lynam said. “There was some movement by the AAB and the complaining party to require us to pave all the paths in the park and we are resistant to that. The park is over 100 years old. It was built by the firm of Frederick Law Olmstead, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places and I’m not at all interested in tarring the area.”

He also noted the AAB “went so far as to tell us we should grade the hills so they’re more level” at the last hearing, during which the AAB voted to find for the complainant before opening the hearing.

Lynam said photos submitted to the AAB “do not accurately reflect the conditions” and that a rut has been caused in the path because of water runoff and a lip on the apron of the pool is due to a past concrete lift that evened it out that the town was ordered to remove. A cobblestone path, which the complaint calls a barrier to park access, has been closed to all but maintenance vehicles, with another access path installed opposite the Senior Center.

“This complaint is disingenuous,” Lynam said.

Salvucci agreed the DPW has done a lot in the park.

“We’re getting it done as quickly as we can,” he said. “They can’t expect us to do it all in one year. The town just doesn’t have the money to do it.

 Thomas Joyce
Express staff

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, cruised to a third term over former Pembroke Selectman Vince Cogliano on strong numbers in all three 6th Plymouth District communities of Hanson, Pembroke and four Duxbury precincts.

“I’m a big believer in the best way to keep your job is to do your job, and I work hard — and I think folks recognize that — and I feel honored that they’re sending me back for another two years,” Cutler said.

In Hanson, Cutler garnered 3,718 votes to Cogliano’s 2,045. Pembroke delivered 8,853 votes for Cutler to 4,648 for Cogliano and from Duxbury’s precincts 2 through 6 were 5,135 for Cutler to 2,603 for Cogliano.

Cutler received 64 percent of the voted (15,173 votes in total) while his opponent received 36 percent of the vote (8,550 total votes).

“It’s an honor to serve,” Cutler said. “I love my job. With the presidential election being a nail-biter, it’s nice we can bring people together who don’t always agree on things.”

Previously, he won the 2014 and 2012 elections, but never by as wide of a margin as this campaign. In those two, he never received more than 55 percent of the vote.

“Even a one vote victory would have been gratifying,” he said. “But I am appreciative of the voters for sending me back for another term. I appreciate my opponent running a classy race and I’ve always thought the best way to keep your job is to do your job.

“Hopefully, the voters recognize that, too, and I’m ready to go back to work,” he added. “I’m truly honored by the result and am looking for another two more years doing work for Pembroke, Hanson and Duxbury.”

Unlike the nail-biter going on in the presidential campaign — projected behind Cutler on TV screens during a joint election-night party with state Rep. Jim Cantwell, D-Marshfield, at Marshfield’s Cask N’ Flagon restaurant — Cutler spoke of his winning effort after addressing well-wishers.

“I was a little surprised,” Cutler said of the margin of victory. “I felt [good] going in, but as a candidate you’re always a little nervous to the very end so I was pleased with the outcome.”

Earlier in the evening Cogliano, who joined his supporters at the British Beer Company in Pembroke, had called Cutler to concede the election.

“He was very classy and very kind when he called me and congratulated me,” Cutler said.

“It’s such an odd year, but that’s the way it is,” Cogliano said after the polls closed. “As much as I’m disappointed about losing, it’s been a fun experience until tonight. We’ve met a lot of great people. I think if we had thought of the signs earlier and done the things that your mom says, it would have been a different story.”

Challenger
concedes

Republican Cogliano had entered the day with cautious optimism. Holding a sign for some polling place politicking,  Cogliano declined to express early-morning confidence in the day’s outcome.

“Any time you run against an incumbent it’s a challenge,” Cogliano said, noting that even some candidates he knows who are running unchallenged campaigns were feeling a bit nervous in an uncertain election year. That said, Cogliano — a Trump supporter — said, Tuesday the morning that he expected Clinton to win in a presidential race he felt would be called early.

Among issues, Cutler noted some of his top priorities are: bringing in more funding for local schools, cleaning up ponds, fixing roads and attending to the Opioid Crisis. In his two terms as a representative, Cutler has not missed a roll call vote yet, and he said he hopes to keep that streak alive.

During his brief victory speech, Cutler thanked several of his campaign’s key personnel.

“We had great supporters and volunteers out at the polls right until eight o’clock tonight,” he said. “I was out there door knocking. I wasn’t taking anything for granted and never will.”

Cutler spent most of the day campaigning before heading to his election night party at the Cask ‘N Flagon. Had Cutler not been re-elected, he would have left office when his term ended on Jan. 3, 2017, not that he is concerned about it now.

“I didn’t have a plan B,” he said with a laugh. “I just had to let the chips fall where they may.”

In Whitman, where more than 3,200 eligible voters cast early voting ballots, Town Clerk Dawn Varley said her election workers would be feeding those ballots into voting machines to be counted after the polls closed at 8 p.m., and expected it to be “very late” before unofficial results were posted.

Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan, meanwhile, said her election workers would be feeding ballots into voting machines all day to count the more than 1,700 early voting ballots in her town.

Several weeks ago, Varley had forecast a 75 percent turnout for the election while Sloan on Tuesday said she expected about 70 percent of Hanson voters to cast ballots. Voting at the Whitman Town Hall polls was steady and busy, Michelle Winnett, voter registrar, said minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night.

“Early voting is amazing,” Winnett said. “We’ve had all-day elections where only 3,000 people show up, so this is fantastic,’ she said.

Whitman saw 77 percent of voters cast ballots this year — with 8,060 of 10,420 registered voters turning out. In Hanson, about 80 percent of the town’s 7,560 voters, more than 6,000 voters cast ballots.

HANSON — Selectmen have voted to seek a new computerized bookkeeping system at Camp Kiwanee, but rejected a deeper audit of past event contracts and the applications of five residents seeking appointment to the Recreation Commission.

The latter vote hinged on whether the proper application process had been followed by former commission members Janet Agius, Tricia Dransfield and Sheila Morse as well as resident John Mahoney, who has been active in Camp Kiwanee programs over the years. Only former Commissioner Audrey Flanagan had completed an application form to support her letter seeking appointment, but she was also passed over in a 3-2 vote when Selectmen voted on the applications as a slate, instead of individually.

Selectmen Bruce Young and Don Howard voted to approve the appointments and Kenny Mitchell, Bill Scott and Chairman James McGahan voted against. Young and McGahan had earlier voted to support a more detailed audit while Mitchell, Scott and Howard voted against it.

“For us to move forward would be putting the cart ahead of the horse,” Scott said on the appointments vote while the 30-day period for objections to the Kiwanee report is still in effect. “I want to hear the results of that, to hear whether or not that changes anything … and then consider applications.”

He said at that time anyone who applies would be considered. Young, however, argued there is no correlation between the two issues.

The heated discussions on both the audit proposal and appointments came after Young had proposed three recommendations regarding the Recreation Commission in the wake of last month’s report on the Camp Kiwanee investigation by labor counsel Leo Peloquin. Besides the new bookkeeping system and audit, Young had also suggested disciplinary action be considered against the town employee whose “serious errors” fueled the investigation. No action or discussion followed that recommendation, as it was deemed a personnel matter.

“The report basically deals with examination of records,” Young said. “One of the problems you have at Camp Kiwanee is the records down there are not integrated with the rest of the town.”

Young, a retired accountant, successfully argued that the WHRSD technology department, which also serves the town, be asked to install a simple online bookkeeping system to solve the problem.

His urging for a more detailed audit, however, met with resistance from some Selectmen who wished to move forward on the issue.

Young’s concern was that the 49 contracts focused on as examples of improper rental discounts in the report were pulled by “the same individual who had a strained relationship with many people named in the report, members of the commission and some employees.”

“The possibility does exist that there are many other instances of mistakes or deviations from the rental agreements and policies and procedure over that time,” Young said. “We need somebody to go through and ascertain what the magnitude of those deviations are because I don’t think it ends with the 49.”

He said he went through some of them before the Tuesday, Nov. 1 meeting and found 10 to 15 other contracts that showed rates that deviated from policy.

Young said a neutral third party should have reviewed the contracts as part of the investigation.

“I want to move on with this,” said Mitchell, who did agree a new bookkeeping program was needed going forward. “I don’t want to keep going back and looking into contracts and coming up with the same result. We’ve got to move forward.”

“We’re talking about things that were done and completed and are gone,” Howard agreed. “Can’t we just start now?”

Several members of the audience, including past Recreation Commission members, expressed concern with Young’s findings even as they agreed on a need to move forward.

One resident reminded Selectmen of their decision following Peloquin’s report, against seeking unpaid balances owed on improperly discounted rental agreements. Young replied that was not the point of an audit.

“He still wants to know how much of this is a problem,” McGahan said.

“We have no idea what the magnitude of this problem is,” Young said.

Resident Colleen McGrath-Smith said the purpose of a compliance check, with which she has experience, is simply to establish an historical record and offered her services to conduct one on a voluntary basis.

“It’s how you build the framework for the future,” she said.

Former Kiwanee employee James Flanagan also urged an audit.

“Everything was pointed at me [in the report] … now everyone wants to sweep it under the carpet,” he said. “I’m getting stuffed under there, too.”

McGahan expressed concern about the cost and time involved in a “full-blown audit,” but that, going forward, an independent audit every three years would be desirable.

Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett also reminded the meeting that the Recreation Commission has been given until Nov. 30 to challenge the report with Peloquin, but added that since the problems are already known, the benefit of “exhuming all these bodies” is unclear.

“I don’t think it’s going to further our goal of moving forward [and] getting things on the straight and narrow,” she said.

“She obviously doesn’t understand what I said,” Young retorted, drawing a reprimand from McGahan for a lack of respect. Young also reminded residents that the records, as public documents, are open for any resident to review.

Mitchell’s aside sparked another argument about Young’s offer to do just that.

“That’s not a conflict of interest?” Mitchell said.

“I don’t have any financial interest in this,” Young strongly countered. “I resent that remark.” As McGahan gaveled for order, Young said, “He went there.”

appointments
delayed

The contentious atmosphere intensified when the Recreation Commission appointments were discussed.

McGahan started that conversation by reading a decision from town counsel that the Recreation Commission members’ August mass resignation was effective as soon as their letters were filed with the town clerk.

“A resignation need not be accepted by the appointing authority to be effective,” McGahan read. “Unless a resignation notice sets forth a public future date of resignation, it it’s effective on the date of its submission.”

Selectmen were divided on whether the letters for application or reappointment they received from four of the five applicants constituted actual applications since a form had not been filled out.

“[In] the letters we sent you, we asked to be reappointed,” Agius said.

McGahan said he did not think the window for applications had been opened, but Town Administrator Michael McCue said the board had alluded to its wish to fill the positions.

Members of the audience, including Audrey Flanagan noted the vacancies have been read as announcements at Selectmen’s meetings since Sept. 9, which meant that the application window had been opened.

Agius said if the board waits much longer to reappoint a Recreation Commission, hiring a new director by January would not be possible, but McGahan indicated McCue could start that process in his current status as interim director for Kiwanee. Young also pointed out that McCue has said he does not want to serve in that role any longer than he has to.

“It’s a seven-member board,” Joanne Blauss said. “You have five people here who are willing to go on it now, that still gives you two positions for the general public.”

McGahan said public servants owe their service to the public interest, not self-interest. Resignations, therefore, should be limited to “just cause,” such as health or family considerations.

“Resigning simply to make a statement was a selfish thing,” he said to a chorus of catcalls. “That’s how I feel about it, regardless of whether you agree with it or not — with all due respect.”

McGahan said, for that reason, his personal vote would be no.

Morse said they were told the matter had been tabled when the resignations were discussed and that they were later told a letter of application were appropriate. Dransfield said that, when she was first appointed to the Recreation Commission in January by a letter of application, she was given no indication that an investigation was being conducted and her resignation outlined how she felt about the situation and her inability to be effective as the investigation dragged on.

“We’ve been accused of bad record-keeping from another perspective,” McGahan said. “I want to see the paperwork.”

McCue said he had told the applicants that a letter would be permissible, based on past discussions with the board.

“It seems like you’re moving in the right direction,” said resident Tim Leonard. “But you’ve got a lot of people who want to help you out, and they are eager to do it. Why not just let them do it?”

The 3-2 vote was followed by an emotional outburst, prompting McGahan call a recess during which time a police officer was summoned to ensure order and McGahan, as well as other Selectmen, held sidebar conversations with some of the applicants before the meeting was resumed.

Early voting began in cities and towns throughout Massachusetts on Monday, Oct. 24 and ends Friday, Nov. 4. Early voters may not cast ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Early voting hours in Whitman are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,  Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday. For public convenience, Whitman has also decided to offer weekend hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 29. Voting is in the Town Hall Auditorium.

In Hanson, early voting is held in the Town Clerk’s office from from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and from 8 a.m. to noon Fridays.