While there’s been plenty of news about the Nov. 8 presidential election, there’s a warm-up vote taking place here in Massachusetts exactly two months ahead of it — a state primary election on Thursday, Sept. 8 to be precise — that has quietly approached.

Since Monday was Labor Day, a Tuesday election would have required overtime and opening schools, where some polling places are located, on a holiday to set up, Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan said.

Polls are open in both Whitman and Hanson from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sept. 8, customary hours for a state or federal election.

Maquan School, where Hanson’s polling place is located, is open on Sept. 8, so voters in that community are urged to take extra precautions during hours when school buses and parent vehicles are dropping off and picking up pupils.

Whitman votes at the Town Hall Auditorium for all precincts.

While there is little in the way of contested races on the state primary ballot, town clerks remind voters this is a good opportunity to verify one’s registration status — or to register to vote — before the presidential election.

Sloan said Hanson residents may report to the Maquan School polling place or the town clerk’s office in Town Hall, where registrars will be available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., during polling hours to assist voters. The town clerk’s office will be closed to other business.

Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley said her office will be open to assist voters with registration or questions about their voting status.

Every day is a good day to register,” Varley said, adding that voters can also check registration status, register to vote, apply for absentee ballots and receive other voting information at sec.state.ma.us/ele.

Appearing on the party ballots for the state primary in Hanson are:

• For representative in Congress — incumbent U.S. Rep. William R. Keating (Democratic ballot); Mark C. Alliegro of Falmouth or Thomas J. O’Malley Jr., of Marshfield (Republican ballot).
• For governor’s council — incumbent Christopher A. Iannella Jr., of Boston or Steven F. Flynn of Hull (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
• For state senator — incumbent state Sen. Michael D. Brady (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
• For state representative — incumbent state Rep. Josh S. Cutler (Democratic ballot); Vince Cogliano of Pembroke (Republican ballot).
• For sheriff — Scott M. Vecchi of Plymouth (Democratic ballot); incumbent Joseph D. McDonald Jr., (Republican ballot).
• For county commissioner (vote for two) — Greg Hanley of Pembroke and Lincoln D. Heineman of Scituate (Democratic ballot); incumbent Daniel A. Pallotta and Anthony T. O’Brien Sr., of Pembroke (Republican ballot).

Appearing on the party ballots for the state primary in Whitman are:

• For representative in Congress — incumbent U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
• For governor’s council — incumbent Christopher A. Iannella Jr., of Boston or Steven F. Flynn of Hull (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
• For state senator — incumbent state Sen. Michael D. Brady (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
• For state representative — no candidates listed on the Democratic ballot; incumbent state Rep. Geoff Diehl (Republican ballot).
• For sheriff — Scott M. Vecchi of Plymouth (Democratic ballot); incumbent Joseph D. McDonald Jr., (Republican ballot).
• For county commissioner (vote for two) — Greg Hanley of Pembroke and Lincoln D. Heineman of Scituate (Democratic ballot); incumbent Daniel A. Pallotta and Anthony T. O’Brien Sr., of Pembroke (Republican ballot).

There are no candidates listed on ballots in either town for the Green-Rainbow or United Independent parties.

Buses officially rolled for the first day of school Wednesday, but about 340 sixth-graders in the Class of 2023 and some 270 high school freshmen in the Class of 2020, have already had one foot in the schoolhouse door for the past week.

Freshmen attended an orientation session at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School on Wednesday, Aug. 24, with about 200 grade six students learning their way around Whitman Middle School and another 140 or so attending orientation at Hanson Middle School on Aug. 25.

High school athletes attended an information night Sunday, Aug. 22.

Orientations at the middle schools and WHRHS featured upperclassmen on hand to give school tours, demonstrate lockers, answer questions and otherwise ease the transition for incoming students. Parents’ questions were answered by administrators as their children learned about their new schools.

W-H Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak introduced faculty and administration members attending the high school session before explaining the purpose of the evening, organized by English teacher and student mentor coordinator Ellen Galambos.

The 80-plus student mentors had to apply for the position, Assistant Principal David Floeck said.

“They had to put down reasons why they wanted to be a mentor and, pretty much to a person, they talked about understanding how important it is to get off to a good start, remembering how it was to be a freshman coming into the high school,” Floeck said. “A lot of them wrote, ‘I remember how important my mentor was to me when I started … They helped me navigate to a good start and I want to give back.’”

Szymaniak also praised the mentors, while explaining the change to a semester-based schedule at the high school this year.

“These student leaders are from all over the walks of W-H halls,” Szymaniak said. “You have athletes, people that perform in drama, you have musicians, you have artists, you have scholars … you have the students who started the Harry Potter Society here … they all sat in your seats as freshmen.”

He said opening the door and stepping into an opportunity is sometimes the hardest thing to do, but stressed the students in school activities want freshmen to join them. Every student is welcome to attend Student Council, a non-elected body, for exaample.

“The more you get involved as a student, the more you can balance your academic, social life and extra-curricular life, the better off you are — the more successful you are,” he said.

Szymaniak cautioned, however, that academics will always come first as students build a high school transcript that will determine a lot about the direction they take in the future. He also urged students to communicate with teachers when they need extra help.

“It counts,” he said. “What people look for after you graduate is your record. Your record here is your transcript — your grades and your attendance.”

The balance of academic excellence and extra-curricular activities were also stressed at the middle schools.

At WMS, eighth-grade student leaders, wearing long-sleeve gray T-shirts with the school’s motto for the year — “Work Hard and Be Kind” — were on hand to assist new sixth-graders with the transition to what principal George Ferro termed 580 days of personal and educational growth before high school.

“This is going to be the quickest three years of schooling that you will have,” Ferro told students and parents, noting only law schools are also based on a three-year program. “If we can achieve students who know how to study, if we can achieve students who know how to communicate effectively with their peers and adults, if we can achieve students who can think for themselves, if we can achieve students who respect themselves … [who] can respect others, then we’ve given them as many skills as they need to be successful in life.”

At the same time he said students will be expected to Work Hard and Be Kind every day they come to school.

“It’s not a joke,” he said. “If you work hard and be kind you’ll be successful, your parents will be successful, your community will be sucessful.”

School rules were also reviewed.

There will be no gum-chewing. Cell phones are not allowed in classrooms at WMS, sixth-grade social studies teacher and event coordinator Beth Stafford told the students. They are to be turned off and left in lockers or placed in classroom bins. Boys are expected to remove their hats in school and girls’ tank top straps are to be at least an inch wide.

“Remember this is not the beach — this is school,” Stafford said.

Students should walk to the right in halls and use the center stairs for “up” and the side stairs for “down.”

Students also must bring a silent reading book to peruse on occasions when they finish a classroom assignment early. Some teachers give pop quizzes to check for them, she cautioned.

Rewards were also featured to add to the fun.

At WMS, it was a grab-bag of school supplies for the first team of 10 students to finish a get-to-know-your-school scavenger hunt — without losing anyone. Stafford donated the prizes. At the high school, student mentors held raffles throughout the evening.

“This group of people dedicated time this summer to go through mentor training and they also donated some of their very hard-earned cash … to put together some raffle prizes,” said Floeck, noting about $300 in gift cards and other raffle prizes were drawn during the evening.

At HMS, Principal William Tranter said his incoming sixth-graders were divided into groups for tours of the building, meeting their teachers, activities such as tug-of-   war, in which he participated and basketball — followed by ice cream.

Both middle schools will hold an open house in which parents can follow their children’s class schedules and meet teachers at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 8.

Elementary Schools held open house at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30. Families of students at all schools have been urged to follow the schools through Twitter for news and updates.

HANSON — A multi-use building at 1000 Main St., which houses offices, retail, manufacturing and warehouse businesses — as well as the Express offices — was also being used as a movie set Sunday, Aug. 21.

Filming at the Hanson was for a scene in, “Altar Rock,” an indie-film project described in media reports as a thriller inspired by the Boston Marathon bombing, but executive producer Kristin Kuhns Alexandre said this week that is not the case.

“The Boston event is not connected to ‘Altar Rock’ at all, except that there are brothers in the story,” Alexandre said Sunday. “I wanted to do a story about a young man torn between love of family and love of a young woman and America.”

The fictional story is said to revolve around Nantucket teenager Tillie Gardner, who is mourning her parents’ deaths in an airplane crash when she meets a young Albanian cab driver named Niko. She later learns Niko and his troubled older brother may have been involved in her parents’ plane crash, and are planning to blow up a beach full of people on the Fourth of July.

Amazon.com has indicated that Alexandre, of Delray Beach, Fla., planned to release the story as a novel after the film is completed, but she said there is no book planned right now. She is also a novelist (“Gem City Gypsy”) and author of how-to books (“Find a Great Guy: Now and Forever”).

“We’ll see,” she said. “Screenwriting is a whole different world of story arcs and scenes, and that’s why I worked closely with a veteran screenwriter — my writing partner A. Wayne Carter.”

Beach scenes for the movie were recently filmed in Duxbury.   

“It worked out really well, because Altar Rock on Nantucket is, honestly, not as beautiful as Bay Farm [Beach in Duxbury],” Alexandre’s daughter Cynthia said Friday that the Duxbury beach has an “absolutely gorgeous overview of the beautiful Duxbury oceanfront.”

Cynthia Alexandre is working as an assistant to director of photography Vern Nobles on the project. She said when filming wrapped there they moved to the Hanson location.

“Our locations department found an easily accessible space to build a movie set in at a great budget while taking into consideration how far base camp can be from the actual set, as well as town rules and regulations,” Cynthia Alexandre said.

Duxbury, Plymouth and surrounding South Shore communities were scouted for film locations, Kristin Alexandre said, noting that obtaining permits during summer months was challenging.

“We shot a very important beach scene in Duxbury, important body shots in Plymouth Harbor and other important shots all over the area,” she said.

Building owners at 1000 Main St., as well as Hanson town officials were pleased to have the cinematic attention.

“We’re really exited about the opportunity to have a movie filmed in our building,” said building co-owner Kelly Ryan Holmes. “But not just for us, it’s also exciting for the town of Hanson … to promote the town.”

She said location scouts  loved the space being used in the building — a loft-style office area and adjacent warehouse space — and how it looks in relation to other nearby buildings. The area is being meant to represent a warehouse area of Brooklyn she said producers told her.

Town Administrator Michael McCue said he’d like to see more projects film in town, even if this week’s footage should end up on the cutting room floor.

“Hanson as a setting for this upcoming movie, whether identified in the script or not, is a fun and boastful thing for the town,” McCue said. “I have in other communities spoken to the Massachusetts State Film Office about the availability for similar projects and will look to do the same in Hanson as appropriate.”

A Hanson firefighter on set to ensure safety while the film crew had the fire alarm system turned off during filming, said the scenes shot Sunday morning were rather exciting.

“They were ‘fighting’ and then ‘shot’ someone,” he said of the morning scenes.

Tenants of the commercial building had been group-texted Friday by the building owners about the scenes so no one would be alarmed if they heard shots fired.

Moody Independent is a film company headquartered in Boston and has produced many small and medium-sized movies, Alexandre said.

Andrzej Bartkowiak, cinematographer on “Speed” and director on “Romeo Must Die,” is directing “Altar Rock.” Bartkowiak’s cinematography credits include “The Verdict,” “Prizzi’s Honor” and “Terms of Endearment.” He also directed “Exit Wounds” and was the director of photography on “Grey Lady,” starring Eric Dane and Natalie Zea, which was also filmed on Nantucket and partially financed by Alexandre, according to Variety.

HANSON — Former State Representative and Town Moderator Charles W. Mann is being remembered by friends and colleagues on both sides of the political isle as an effective and dedicated public servant.

Mann, 81, died Friday, Aug. 12 after a long illness. [ See obituary, page 13]

The House of Representatives will be adjourning in Mann’s honor on Thursday, Aug. 18, at the request of state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury.

“After being elected [state representative] he would meet with the Democratic Town Committees and others that had not supported him — he was adamant that campaign ended after election night and that he was the elected official for every constituent of the district ­­— supporter or not,” said his daughter, Karen Barry. “Dad was known as a spokesman for our agriculture industry, especially for our cranberry growers.

Mann’s own father had been a vice president of sales for Ocean Spray, credited with the introduction of the company’s juice products.

“Legislatively he worked extremely hard for farmers and the conservation of woodlands,” Barry said, noting that, “On a lighter note [Mann] was named “Best Dressed” in the Legislature on more than one occasion.”

She said it has been wonderful to talk to people who have reminded the family of things her father had done.

Born in Pittsfield, Mann  lived most of his life in Hanson. His mother had encouraged him as he began his life in public service, beginning with the Hanson School Committee. The dedicated Republican later served eight terms as a state representative in the 6th Plymouth District — Hanson, Pembroke, Duxbury and parts of Marshfield. While in the General Court, he served on the Ways and Means, Personnel and Administration and Banks and Banking committees.

He also served as deputy sheriff of Plymouth County and was an active member of the Hanson Republican Town Committee, of which he was chairman. Mann also volunteered with the W-H Citizen’s Scholarship Foundation — Little League, and the Hanson Kiwanis Club, serving as president for both; advisor to the Hanover Hi-Y Club and as director of the Squanto Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

For some residents, Mann’s public service was their first introduction to him.

“Charlie introduced me to Hanson town government when he appointed me to the Finance Committee,” current Town Moderator Sean Kealy said. “Over the years he became a friend and mentor. I was honored when he first suggested that I run for moderator after he decided to step down; in fact at every Town Meeting I continue to ask myself and others, ‘What would Charlie do here?’”

Board of Health Chairman Arlene Dias, recalled helping her parents campaign for Mann when she was about nine or 10 years old.

“The first political event that I ever went to was a Charlie Mann thing that my parents took me to,” Democrat Dias recalled with a smile about her staunch Republican parents. “They had me handing out pamphlets. I know it was some kind of a fundraiser and I always meant to ask him what office he was running for … I think it was the late ’50s or early ’60s.”

Mann had won election to the Hanson School Committee in 1963, according to the Republican Town Committee, which honored Mann for his five decades of public service on his retirement as town moderator. He was first elected to the General Court in 1966 for  two terms, returning for three more in 1970.

Kealy is among many in Hanson official circles who feel they have lost a friend as well as a colleague.

“We have lost a great public servant and I am going to miss him very much,” he said.

For other close friends in Hanson Town Hall, Mann’s loss was too difficult  for them to offer comment, but Selectman Bruce Young offered a salute to Mann’s legacy.

“Charlie was an excellent legislator, serving the town of Hanson very honorably as our state representative for many years, and his legacy as our town moderator for 20 years, acting fairly and impartially on all issues to come before Town Meeting,” Selectman Bruce Young stated. “He set a standard for all those who hold that office in the future and will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”

Republican Town Committee Chairman and former Selectman David Soper agreed.

“He was a civic leader who truly made a difference in our community and region,” Soper said. “He knew how to work with people and get things done. He was friend a mentor and all-around a good guy.”

Cutler also lauded his predecessor.

“Charlie Mann served the town of Hanson, and our entire Commonwealth, for many years with distinction and dedication,” said state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, who now represents the 6th Plymouth District.” He was a true public servant who brought civility and dignity to the political process.”

Cutler said the loss will be felt by many Hanson residents on a personal as well as professional level and expressed his appreciation to the Mann family for sharing him with the community all these years, offering sympathy for his loss.

“Mr. Mann was a legislator, a moderator, a constable, but most of all a gentleman,” Cutler said. “I will miss hearing his stories, his sense of humor and his plain-spoken wisdom.”

In 1970, Mann joined Governor Frank Sargent’s administration as Legislative Secretary, returning to the House of Representatives in 1980 and served seven terms, including four in leadership as the Republican Whip. In 1992 he was elected in a write-in campaign for Hanson Town Moderator.

Mann’s first legislative action was to correct the application process to receive welfare, Barry said.

“Too often resources were limited and he was concerned that people of need would not get the assistance they need,” she said. “When he entered the legislature welfare benefits were administered through your local town hall.”

In 1987-89 was instrumental in the building of Duxbury’s Town Pier, Construction of the Powder Point Bridge and dredging of Duxbury Harbor. He worked closely with Duxbury Harbor Master Don Bears.

HANSON — He teaches one of the more hedonistic entries in boston.com’s list of “10 College Courses You Wish You Registered For.”

Suffolk University Senior History Lecturer Stephen O’Neill’s “The History of Piracy” made that list — along with a study of Surfing and American Culture at Boston University and the Culture of Burlesque at Emerson and others from anime to board game strategies in business. the Pembroke native has taught the course for 11 years and has researched the topic for 20 years.

On Thursday, Aug. 4, O’Neill brought his knowledge of the pirate life to the Hanson Historical Society for a program titled “New England Pirates.” He is also the new executive director of the Hanover Historical Society.

New England pirates?

“Everyone is fascinated with pirates,” O’Neill said, noting that the Johnny Depp “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie made more than $600 million to date. “But pirate stories have been around since pirates were sailing the seas.”

Among notable authors to write on pirate themes have been John Steinbeck, Emily Dickenson, Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving, O’Neill said.

“There were pirates in ancient Rome, ancient Greece … in all parts of the world,” he said. “Piracy is basically the theft of portable wealth at sea. … We’re talking a global economy in the 1690s.”

Turns out, New England was more than just a place where pirates went to die on the scaffold — after enduring a lengthy sermon on the sins of their trade from Puritan minister Cotton Mather.

More on that later.

As early as 1646, three pirate ships visited Plymouth and their crews’ resulting bender probably salvaged the settlement’s fledgling economy, according to O’Neill. The pirates were under commission to prey on Spanish shipping by the Earl of Warwick, who also had arranged the patents and charter for the Plymouth colony.

“These crewman under Capt. Thomas Cromwell really spent so much money drinking that they literally bailed out Plymouth, which was bankrupt,” O’Neill said. “[Puritans] had actually voted in early 1646 to abandon Plymouth and move the capital of the colony out to Eastham.”

Cromwell’s commission also protected him from a murder charge, for which he was acquitted, while ashore in Plymouth.

O’Neill also related the origin of the term buccaneer — with its root in the Caribbean Arawak word buccan, for the wooden frame on which meat was smoked. They used to go ashore on Hispañola to hunt feral pigs and cattle from an earlier, abandoned settlement and smoked the meats to preserve them for sale on Tortuga to supplement their piracy.

“If you watch any pirate movie, Tortuga and Port Royal are always mentioned,” O’Neill said. “Those are the great pirate havens of the 17th Century.” An earthquake eventually sank most of Port Royal under the waves.

New England did not miss out on the action in the heyday of piracy, however.

Pilgrim Edward Winslow, who sat on Capt. Cromwell’s jury, left  Plymouth Colony in 1647 for Port Royal, Jamaica and ended up on a fleet also underwritten by the Earl of Warwick to take Hispañola from Spain. He never returned, having died at sea.

Sir William Phips, the first royal governor of Massachusetts, was also a salvager of shipwrecks, who used buccaneer tactics in his failed attempt to capture Quebec in 1690.

Some of the true buccaneers also headed this way after they were driven out of the Caribbean, O’Neill related.

Capt. Thomas Paine, (not to be confused with the later “Common Sense” pamphleteer) who had attacked St. Augustine as a buccaneer, retired to Jamestown, R.I., in the 1670s. He had married the governor’s daughter and founded Trinity Church — before being called on to protect the colony from French pirates in the 1690s.

Not all New England pirates had such a successful retirement.

The infamous Capt. Kidd was arrested in Boston for trial in London where he was hanged and gibbeted — coated in tar after death and suspended in an iron cage — as a warning to other would-be pirates.

The only gibbeted pirate in New England was the body of Capt. William Fly on “Nixes Island” in 1726. Now only a concrete marker remains, as legend has it, a pirate’s curse led to the island being washed away.

On June 30, 1704, Capt. John Quelch and five crewmen were executed in Boston after the first trial for piracy by the British Admiralty Court held outside of England.

“Gallows were erected halfway between the high and low watermarks, symbolic of the jurisdiction of the admiralty court,” O’Neill said. “Rev. Cotton Mather made a specialty out of pirate execution sermons.”

The condemned men were forced to stand before Mather’s pulpit while he orated against their sins for “two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the afternoon,” O’Neill said.

One of Quelch’s condemned crewmen, John Lambert, hailed from Salem.

Capt. Edward Lowe kidnapped Marblehead sailor Phlip Ashton who famously refused to join the pirate crew, eventually jumping ship on Rowatan Island. It took Ashton three years to make his way back to Marblehead.

“I don’t know why some of these stories haven’t been made into really great movies,” O’Neill said.

After his talk, O’Neill answered some of the audience’s questions.

There was a lot to be loud and proud about last week at the Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) Summer Program held at host school Whitman-Hanson July 25-28 as more than 600 campers cheered for their teams and took over the grounds for fun and education in the sun.

With the temperature reaching 90 degrees nearly all week, campers had both in and outdoor activities where special guest performers and educators spoke to them about DARE and avoiding situations or substances that could potentially cause them harm.

Lead Camp Organizer Peter Veneto spoke to families, campers and staff at the closing ceremony on Friday as campers from 20 of the 27 communities within Plymouth County gathered to share a week of non-stop fun. The camp celebrated its 22nd year in Plymouth County and is sponsored by Plymouth County D.A Timothy J. Cruz., The Plymouth County Police Chiefs and Drug education and resource officers.

“Your behavior was fantastic,” Veneto said. “As campers you have earned your T-shirts — wear them proudly as leaders in the community. Let your friends know who you are: Leaders of a drug-free community. Be proud of yourselves.”

Host town DARE Officer Billy Frazier of Hanson asked for a moment of silence honoring law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty across the United States over past few months, as well as three former DARE Officers who have passed away since the camp was established.

Awards honoring the former DARE Officers were presented to Peer Leader Liz Short of Hanson’s Team 5 in memory of Officer Robert Quigley of the Marshfield Police Department, student service awards were presented to Emma Wojag of Hanson in memory of Helen Gray and Brayden Ferguson of Whitman was presented with a student service award in memory of Officer Gerald Mont of Whitman police.

District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz pledged his efforts to continue the camp and reminded campers that it took many officers, and donations of food,  time, money and most of the things they were able to participate in were due to the generosity of so many local companies.

Cruz intends to see the camp grow and eventually have all 27 communities in Plymouth County have resource officers and participate in the camp.

On Tuesday, July 26 Cruz and Sherriff McDonald presented two Hanson natives — Chief Warrant 3 pilot Scott Landis and Anthony Celia — with recognition awards for their decade of service in the Army flying Black Hawk helicopters. The pair talked with campers after landing on the soccer field, giving a tour of equipment and allowing the kids to explore the aircraft.

Kudos

DARE Camp organizers thanked Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr. and the Hanson Fire Department for its help in making the Thursday, July 28 foam and water day a success as well as the following Plymouth County police chiefs: Christopher Delmonte of Bridgewater; John Crowley of Brockton; Marc Duphily of Carver; Matthew Clancy of Duxbury; Scott Allen of East Bridgewater; Walter Sweeney of Hanover; Michael Miksch of Hanson; Glenn Olsson of Hingham; Robert Sawtelle of Hull; Frank Alivihiera of Lakeville; Philip Tavarers of Marshfield; Theodore Ross of Norwell; Richard Wall of Pembroke; Michael Botieri of Plymouth; Patrick Dillon of  Plympton; John Llewellyn of Rockland; Michael Stewart of Scituate; Kevin Walsh of Wareham; Victor Flaherty of West Bridgewater and Scott Benton of Whitman. Thanks were also extended to Chief Christopher Cummings of the Massasoit Community College Police and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, July 26 tabled a planned review and approval vote on the board’s goals for the town’s open space and recreation plan.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell was away on vacation and Selectman Bruce Young had notified the board he would not be able to attend, leading Selectmen Chairman James McGahan to recommend waiting to the next meeting to discuss the issue when all members would be present.

Two of the goals, which would allow the town to apply for grants, are expansion and improvement of recreational opportunities as well as protection of natural resources and biodiversity.

“We need to have our plan in place sooner rather than later, especially if we want to apply for grants,” McGahan said. “Each department has goals that they report in to the Recreation Department and it’s all pertaining to open space.”

McGahn said the Board of Selectmen’s goals have been in place for several years and involve a review of recreational and parks committees (Recreation, Parks and Fields, Memorial Field and Town Forest) and considering the consolidation of two or more of the committees under a newly created Recreation Committee. There would also be an effort to improve the General Bylaws to be consistent with state regulation of off-road vehicle issues and to participate in state efforts to regulate use on a regional level.

“I’ve had a lot of people calling me concerned that motor bikes and ATVs are [being driven] where they should not be,” McGahan said. “Obviously we want to enforce our state regulations for those.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said the town has received an updated letter from the Attorney General’s office correcting an inaccurate report on an open meeting complaint. The original report erroneously faulted Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan in regard to improperly destroyed Capital Improvement Committee reports.

Hanson 200

Hanson’s bicentennial is still four years away, but town officials are already gearing up to plan the celebration. The town was incorporated in 1820.

“We may think it’s too soon, but it actually isn’t,” McGahan said.

“I have been involved in other communities that have had other similar significant anniversaries celebrated in my time there, and … we are reaching out to other communities to get a good idea of how they set up their committees.”

Since Mitchell and Young were absent, however, selectmen also tabled the process of appointing a bicentennial committee.

McCue said committees generally include citizens at-large.

“We would envision a celebration that lasts an entire year,” he said, to perhaps include a ball, large parade and family field day, among other events.

A full discussion is planned at the next meeting, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 9.

They say “make hay while the sun shines” for a reason — but too much sun and summer heat present risks for people, particularly the very young, very old, members of low-income households and those with chronic medical conditions.

Senior center directors in Whitman and Hanson remind elders of the importance of taking care to stay in a cool place and drink enough water, with more hot, humid weather were forecast. The towns’ senior centers are good resources for such an escape.

“I think it’s the perfect place for a cooling center,” Whitman Senior Center Director Barbara Garvey said. “People come in to relax and be cool. ”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said Monday morning that he would be discussing whether the Whitman Senior Center needed to extend hours into Saturday to offer that resource.

Fire Chief Timothy Grenno said he is monitoring the forecast and heat-related EMS calls this week, but as of press time, there was no plan to open a cooling center over the weekend despite a forecast for 90-degree weather, because temperatures have been cooling at night. In the meantime, anyone experiencing heat-related emergencies should call 911 and “if we need to transport them to a cooling center, then we can open one,” Grenno said Tuesday.

If weather conditions require it, the Council on Aging could be opened on the weekend, Grenno said.

“If we need some place on Thursday or Friday, we’ll open the great hall at Town Hall,” he said. Notification will be posted on the town and website if a cooling center is opened.

“It definitely would be up to the fire chief,” Garvey said. “Normally we’re not here on the weekend. We’ve not had to deal with it on a weekend just yet.”

Overall, Garvey said many of her center’s clients tend to stay home when the heat is on, although they do have some who visit to sit in the AC for a “cool start” to their day.

“Pretty much everybody has air-conditioning now and, if they don’t, then we stress that they should,” she said. “The Fire Department would help [seniors] with installing an air conditioner, if need be.”

In Hanson, Senior Center Director Mary Collins reminded seniors that the 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. hours may be extended during heat waves. She also urged, in the center newsletter, that residents check in on aging neighbors to ensure they drink enough water and that fans and air conditioners are being used when necessary.

“If you need to escape from the heat and humidity, come and join us,” Collins said. “Along with planned activities, we offer a great place to meet friends, have lunch, or enjoy a book.”

When the temperature climbs above 90°F, older adults and people with chronic medical conditions need to take precautions. So check the outside temperature on summer days. If it’s above 90°, older people should keep in mind the following tips from Old Colony Elder Services:

• Stay out of the sun if possible. If possible, wait to go out until the sun starts to set or until early the next morning. Adjusting when you go outside could mean a difference of several degrees.

• Air conditioning is your friend. Spend as much time as possible in air conditioned spaces. If you don’t have an air conditioner, go somewhere that is air-conditioned. Read a book at the library, walk around in indoor malls, watch that new movie at the theater, or meet your friends at the senior center. (Note:  The federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps adults 65 and older who have limited incomes cover the cost of air conditioners and utility bills. To reach your state’s LIHEAP, call 1-866-674-6327.)

• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of cool water, clear juices, and other liquids that don’t contain alcohol or caffeine.  Alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate you (dry you out).

• Dress appropriately. Whenever you can, try wearing loose, light-colored clothes (dark-colored clothes absorb heat). Top it off with a lightweight, broad-brimmed hat and you are dressing like a pro! These simple changes will help you both stay cool and avoid sunburn.

• Did someone say sunburn? Use broad spectrum sunscreen with sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.

• Cool down! Take tepid (not too cold or too hot) showers, baths, or sponge baths when you’re feeling warm. Don’t have the time? Then wet washcloths or towels with cool water and put them on your wrists, ankles, armpits, and neck.

Watch the kids

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adds the caution that the very young are also sensitive to the effects of extreme heat and rely on other people to keep them cool and hydrated. Never leave a child — or your pet, for that matter — in a parked car, even if the windows are open. Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing and seek medical care immediately if your child has symptoms of symptoms of heat-related illness.

Hot jobs

While people who work outdoors are familiar with the need and methods to acclimatize themselves to warmer conditions, there are times when they, too, need to stop and seek a cool environment. The CDC recommends these workers take the following steps, if they do not already, when working during severe heat conditions:

• Drink from two to four cups of water every hour while working. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink.

•  Avoid alcohol or liquids containing large amounts of sugar.

•  Wear and reapply sunscreen as indicated on the package.

•  Ask if tasks can be scheduled for earlier or later in the day to avoid midday heat.

•  Wear a brimmed hat and loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.

•  Spend time in air-conditioned buildings during breaks and after work.

•  Encourage co-workers to take breaks to cool off and drink water.

•  Seek medical care immediately if you or a co-worker has symptoms of heat-related illness.

Motorists may have noticed lately that they’ve been driving through flurries of moths on the region’s roadways — the latest stage of what entomologists are calling the worst gypsy moth infestation since the early 1980s.

Those moths are now laying masses of beige eggs before they die off, leading experts to fear a worse infestation next year.

Hanson and Kingston are among the state’s communities seeing spotty damage from the moths that, in their caterpillar stage, can irritate more than one’s nerves. Tiny hairs on the caterpillars can cause skin irritations for some with allergies.

There may not be much one can do to combat them at this point, however.

“It seems like the consensus is that, because we’ve had two very dry springs in a row, the fungus Entomophiaga Maimaiga … needs a lot of moisture to get going and it has to happen early enough in the season — a nice, wet April and May,” said Tawny Simisky an extension entomologist specializing in woody plant entomology with the UMass, Amherst Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. The fungus is a natural enemy of the gypsy moth caterpillar that winters over in the soil and is most effective when it can get into the caterpillar population at an immature stage.

“Although we did see some of the fungus this year and we’ve had more reports recently about the fungus, it didn’t get kicked up into the population soon enough — or early enough — back in April and May,” Simisky said. “We didn’t have enough rain to have the fungus to do enough damage to the gypsy moth caterpillars.”

Now the male moths are flying about seeking females with which to mate, as the females do not fly.

“They [caterpillars] were able to eat quite a bit,” Simisky said, noting her office has received a lot of reports about defoliation. “Unfortunately, we do not map it, but I do have some lists of towns [where damage has been reported].”

spotty damage

Besides Hanson and Kingston, there have been reports of spotty damage in, but not limited to, Sturbridge, Monson, Uxbridge, Brimfield, Charlton, Northborough, Westborough, Plymouth, Carver, Wareham, Sharon, Winchendon, Framingham, West Bridgewater, Braintree, Rowley, Georgetown, Ipswich, Newbury, Boxford, Topsfield, Gloucester, and Wrentham have reported continued and elevated caterpillar activity paired with defoliation this spring.

“Defoliation (mostly oaks) was observed by motorists driving in certain areas on Route 3 (Plymouth area), I-495 (Acton, Littleton, and Worcester areas), and the Mass. Turnpike (I-90) near Charlton. However, there have been multiple reports of gypsy moth caterpillars having fed on pines and spruce this season,” according to the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment’s periodic Landscape Message. A lot of calls were also received concerning the sound of caterpillar waste — known as frass — falling from the trees.

“It’s psychologically difficult for people to deal with, it seems,” Simisky said.

what to do?

What is a homeowner to do?

Some extension services across the country have suggested soap and water as an acceptable method for removing egg masses within reach. But Simisky said that is not a very effective method, instead recommending horticultural oil applied by a licensed company.

Simisky said each cluster laid by gypsy moths contains 500 or more eggs.

“Where folks are seeing a lot of egg masses being laid right now, that’s a likely sign that next season they’ll have a lot of gypsy moths again, unless we have a wet spring,” she said. “I’ve been advising folks to make their management plans now.”

The horticultural oils suffocate the egg masses, while soap and water requires one to scrape the egg masses into a container of the solution.

“That is really, I think, futile, labor-intensive work,” Simisky said. “You have to be able to reach every single egg mass and getting good coverage with those horticultural oils can be difficult, too.”

That’s where a Massachusetts-licensed pesticide applicator is important in targeting host trees that are covered in egg masses early next spring.

According to UMass entomologist Dr. Joseph Elkinton, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.), a low-toxicity pesticide option that only acts on moths and butterflies may be sprayed on susceptible host plants (such as oak) when gypsy moth caterpillars are still small and feeding. The compound is created from a naturally occurring bacterium that is relatively safe for other beneficial insects, but can harm pollinating butterflies.

“It is derived from a bacterium specific to that group of insects and is considered to be safe for people and pets,” Elkinton stated in a recent article. “There is nothing that can be done now to manage the adult moths.”

Wrapping trees in foil — as was the common “remedy” for saving trees from caterpillars in the 1980s infestation — is also considered ineffective today, Simisky said.

WHITMAN — As the town’s Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee met to close the book on fiscal 2016 Thursday, June 30 it reorganized, reviewed its responsibilities and looked to the next phase of a Public Works building.

Work on test borings involved in the DPW project, involving a new garage facility, were allowed to start with the new fiscal year July 1 and must be done before a structural engineer is brought in to design a foundation, according to committee member and Building Inspector Robert Curran.

Town Meeting approved funds for site assessment and design within the fiscal 2017 budget.

“If we can stay on this, we can probably have a project scope and reasonable cost estimates before the end of the calendar year,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “[That] would give us a decent amount of time to hold public meetings and hearings and make sure people know what we’re doing and are informed enough to come out and make a decision on it at the next annual [Town] Meeting.”

The aim would be to begin construction — should the project be approved — by about December 2017.

“The major focus of the committee for the next 24 months or so is going to be building a DPW building,” he said.

Lynam said the committee has assumed the duties of the Capital Advisory Committee in addition to its role as a building committee.

“We have tried for several years to get an effective Capital Advisory Committee but, for whatever reason, it just never worked,” Lynam said. He then went to the Board of Selectmen asking for a redefined role for the Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee and dissolve the Capital Advisory Committee. Town Meeting voted to do so by amending the by-laws in May.

“This committee is now charged with capital facilities and capital expenditures,” he said. “We are concerned with ensuring that our infrastructure and major capital purchases are reviewed and evaluated and that a recommendation is made.”

He stressed that, going forward, the committee would “have a voice in all major projects and in all significant capital expenditures” looking at them from both a utility and cost standpoint.

Because of the DPW project, Lynam said he has been urging that department to get “somebody very involved” in the Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee and DPW Commissioner Wayne Carroll was appointed. A Whitman resident and retired Hanson firefighter, Carroll will play an important role on the panel.

“Wayne is what I would call a frugal person,” Lynam said. “He’s willing to pay for what needs to be done but he’s not a ‘let’s throw money at it and see if it works’ kind of guy.”

Carroll was also elected to take over the chairmanship from Lynam, whose duties have increased since the departure of Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos this spring. Lynam will stay on as a member, as required by his position, and will serve as vice chairman with Selectman Dan Salvucci remaining as clerk.

Right now, Lynam said he has $163,009 in projects pending for the Green Communities grant to deal with, as well as three projects under the Community Compact — $25,000 for a wage and personnel study, $15,000 for solar energy project analysis and some $10,000 for the reuse plan for the old Regal property. Mass Development funded an environmental study that has found cadmium and chromium on the site.

“Chromium can either be your friend or your enemy,” he said, noting he signed an extension agreement with Mass Development, allowing them to continue their research on the 17-acre site next to the railroad station. “We’re waiting for those studies to be completed.”

In other business, Lynam noted that some issues remain which have delayed completion of the Town Hall air-conditioning project. The project account has $69,680 left in it, but some of that has to be reserved to repair the auditorium floor, where past humidity problems have caused it to buckle.

Due to a complication following replacement of the Town Hall’s computer network core switch, the network in place was not communicating with a faster switch, and the slower device for the air-conditioning network was not communicating with the server, causing heat and humidity problems in the auditorium a few weeks ago.

A hub was installed to slow down the network and permit the necessary system communication without affecting the rest of the network.

There is also an issue with smoke controls designed to close the air vents in case of fire that town officials have not been able to link to the fire panel because that panel is proprietory — and license has been taken over by the Tyco Corp.

“Only one company in the world can take care of it, and they won’t give us the codes,” Lynam said. “We are working to get those codes.”