Carrying on for Kent:  Pinewood car workshop honors late scoutmaster

WHITMAN — Cub Scout Pack 22 hosted a tri-town Pinewood Derby workshop Saturday at the Cardinal Spellman Center in Whitman.  Dozens of volunteer carpenters and parents loaned and operated tools for the carving and building process of the wooden cars.

BUILT FOR SPEED: Jackson Preskins, top right, holds up the winner of the practice trials during the annual Pinewood Derby Workshop Jan. 9. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos

Going forward, the workshop will be named the Scott Kent Workshop for Pinewood Derby after the longtime scout leader and volunteer. Kent lost his battle with pancreatic cancer just days before Christmas less than six weeks ago.

He was a longtime Whitman resident — a volunteer for many years as well as a cabinet and furniture maker and a union tradesman. He was phenomenal with his hands, said Mike Warner Boy Scoutmaster and longtime leader and friend.

“He always organized the volunteers for the pinewood workshop,” Warner said. “The kids would draw what they wanted and he would work with them on how they could achieve the finished cars.”

Kent was strongly involved while his son was younger and then he often gave his time volunteering for events and racing his own pinewood car in the adult races.

“Something will be in the works to honor Scott we are working on that,” Warner said.   

Kent’s son Hayden, who is in his early 20s completed his rank as Eagle  Scout and is still very involved with the troop as an assistant scout master.

“Scott was one of those people who came to work behind the scenes,” Warner said. “At the pancake breakfast he would cook. He was the guy who would quietly make it happen. He was never concerned over recognition. He was just there for the boys.”

Warner’s own son, now 22, is also still a volunteer for the 11-18 years of age group.

“He was a friend to all,” Warner recalled about Kent.  “He was the first guy to say, ‘What do you need and how can I help?’”

In Saturday’s workshop, which had been started by Kent in the early 2000s and ran for approximately four hours, Cub Scouts applied pictures of how their wooden cars would look in pencil for the  upcoming derby, which is only a few weeks away. They were assisted with light direction but for the most part each Cub Scout finished his own project.

Gabe Newman, 11, of Whitman designed his car to look like an ant. It was black with a white eye on the side. Some scouts chose sports car designs, others the classics. Numerous designs lay to dry at the paint station with unique details such as lightning rods, flames, lucky numbers, as well as stripes and initials.

The Pinewood Derby is a long-standing tradition at the beginning of year for each age group of the scouts.

Building their own wooden car from start to finish and completing the project for the most part on their own is a great self-esteem builder, said volunteer and mom Crissy Pruitt.

She assisted her son in a few of the stations, mostly involving tools, but Tyler, 7, wanted to create everything himself.

“They can see they are a part of something,” said Pruitt who said her older son Jake, 10 won two years.

“It is a great project for them to be involved in,” she said.

Saturday was a day of completion carrying out their vision in a five-ounce piece of wood.

Cubmaster Robb Preskins and other volunteer den leaders and assistants took turns at the official weight center. Some of the boys held their breath as they eagerly watched to see if their car made the weight limit.

Each year the kids enthusiastically await the event, but believe it or not the parents have officially been entered into the “friendly competition”.  It has long been a passion of many den leaders to have their own cars while evoking childhood memories of their own Pinewood Derbies.

Helen O’Reilly said she loves watching the kids make their “cool” cars.  They understand the event is just for fun, but there is a bit of competition that arises, she said.

Growing up with brothers O’Reilly always wanted to be included.  Throwing back to the good ole days she re-created an original 1970 midget car, which she unveiled to her son, Jon, 9, who had no idea his mom would be competing.

“I’m going to beat her,” he said after taking a nanosecond   to gather his thoughts. Suddenly, the pair knew they had their own discreet competition he eyed her like a competitor and ran off to finish painting his car.

The practice track was open to competing siblings and families in the name of amusement.

‘Always a smile’: Nurse mourned after fatal crash

HANSON — Amanda Turner Russell, 32, of Hanover was getting in a training run for the Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car on Winter Street just over the town line in Hanson on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

She died from traumatic injuries to her head and neck on Monday, Dec. 28, according to family spokesman Brian Dever of the Taunton-based Keches Law Group.

Amanda Turner Russell, a labor and delivery nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was taking a training run for her first Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car in Hanson Dec. 23. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Russell was a labor and delivery nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She leaves an 8-year-old son.

At about noon on Dec. 23, Hanson Police received numerous 911 calls reporting a motor vehicle crash with a person ejected from the vehicle in the area of 854 Winter St., according to Chief Michael Miksch.

“Hanson Police officers working a paid detail in the area arrived to find a motor vehicle had struck a pedestrian and a utility pole,” Miksch stated.

Hanson Fire and Hanover Fire also responded to the scene.

The pedestrian, later identified as Russell, was transported to Brockton Hospital for treatment. She was flown by Med Flight to Boston for further treatment. The operator of the vehicle, a female Hanson resident, was transported to South Shore Hospital for treatment.

Miksch said the driver’s name won’t be released unless charges are filed, but Dever indicated civil action is likely regardless of whether the driver faces charges.

The vehicle involved in the crash is a 2004 Nissan Altima, according to Miksch. The Altima was travelling south on Winter Street when it crossed the roadway and struck Russell. The vehicle then struck a pole, snapping it in half before coming to rest in the center of the roadway.   

National Grid crews responded and shut off power to the area while pole repairs were made — a job that took about an hour. Approximately 480 customers lost power in Hanson and Hanover.

The road remained closed as members of the Hanson Police, Massachusetts State Police, and Plymouth County BCI investigated. The roadway remained closed for the afternoon as crews worked to restore power to the area.  Hanson Police were also assisted by the Hanover Police Department.  The office of Plymouth County DA Timothy Cruz is also investigating, a process that is still ongoing, according to spokesman Beth Stone.

A family steps in

Russell’s son is being looked after by her family members, including her ex-husband and the boy’s grandparents, according to Dever.

“The family is a strong and supportive one,” he said. “There’s an actively involved father. There are grandparents that are actively involved. There are wonderful aunts and an uncle. … Everyone is really trying to do what’s best for Amanda’s 8-year-old son.”

Dever said the family is in the process of setting up a fund for the boy’s education.

“It’s a tragic situation,” he said.

Russell’s colleagues at BIDMC are also mourning her death.

“I had intended no more blog posts for this year, but then Amanda died, and she merits recognition,” former Beth Israel CEO Paul Levy wrote on his “Not Running a Hospital” blog. “She was a loyal friend. Working in the most optimistic part of our hospital, she saw and delivered joy.”

‘shining light’

Levy called her “a shining light in so many ways.”

As Russell was fond of posting sunrise photos on social media (#bidmcsunrise), dozens of her friends are honoring her life on Facebook with #sunrisesforamanda posts of their own sunrise photos, according to Levy.

As of Tuesday, Russell’s Crowdrise page for Team BIDMC had raised $19,073 — 254 percent over her original goal of $7,500 for what would have been her first Boston Marathon run. Her fellow labor and delivery nurse Nancy Eaton told Runner’s World magazine she now plans to run the marathon in Russell’s place — to earn the finishing medal Russell wanted so much.

A GoFundMe page  has been created by Beth Sinibaldi of Marshfield to benefit Russell’s family, raising $26,721 of a  $30,000 goal from donations by 440 people in six days.

“Amanda succumbed to her injuries earlier this week and gave the ultimate gift in her passing, the gift of life,” Sinibaldi wrote Dec. 30. “Amanda was always the first person to help out someone in need, she would always go that extra mile for anyone, and always with a smile on her face.”

Hanson business owner John Ferry Sr, decorated WWII vet

HANSON – John J. Ferry, Sr., 92, the proprietor of Ferry’s Automotive, Inc. of Hanson, and a decorated veteran of World War II, died peacefully on a beautiful Sunday morning at home surrounded by his family.

Mr. Ferry was a B-25 flight engineer-gunner in the China-Burma-India theater of the war, flying 75 missions during that time and achieving the rank of staff sergeant. He served with the 83^rd Bomb Squadron, 12^th Bomb Group of the 10^th Air Force. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, seven Bronze Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal.

John J. Ferry, Sr.

Mr. Ferry was born on Sept. 30, 1923, in Halifax, where he loved to spend time on the Twin Lakes when he wasn’t bothering his four beloved sisters. He graduated from Whitman High School before joining the armed services in 1942.

An avid mechanic, he worked for Bryantville Olds after the war, and then Lloyd’s Garage in Hanson. In 1954, he married Dorothea “Dot” Girouard, and built their home on Winter Street in Hanson. In 1965, he opened John’s Jenney in Hanson, which became John’s Citgo in 1968. In 1975, he opened Ferry’s Automotive Inc. – better known as “Ferry’s Sunoco” – on Liberty Street in Hanson. This year, Ferry’s Sunoco celebrated its 50^th year of operation. The business was his great passion, and he loved to spend nearly all of his time at “the station,” where he worked alongside his son, daughter, grandchildren, and many beloved friends. When his health began to prevent him from working long hours on his feet, Mr. Ferry still spent every afternoon at the station, visiting with his many customers and friends.

He is predeceased by his son James “Jimmy” Ferry, and leaves his wife of 61 years, Dorothea M. Ferry, his son John J. Ferry, Jr. and his wife Kathleen of Hanson, his daughters Victoria Miller and her fiancé Beau Dyer of Plympton, Vivienne Gilbert and her husband Andrew of Hanson, and Vanessa Ferry of Hanson. He also leaves his six grandchildren: Erik Miller, Sara and Taylor Ferry, and Cassandra, Cory, and Kelsey Gilbert.

His services will be held at 8 a.m., Monday, Dec. 28 from the Blanchard Funeral Chapel, Plymouth Street (Route 58 at the rotary) Whitman, followed by a funeral Mass at 9 a.m. in St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hanson. Burial will follow in Central Cemetery, Halifax. Visiting hours will be held from 2 to 6 p.m., Sunday Dec. 27.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Whitman-Hanson Dollars for Scholars, P. O. Box 26, Whitman, MA, 02382.

For online condolences and directions visit blanchardfc.com

Hanson family displaced by fire

At eight o’clock Friday night the Alexopoulos family was home decorating for the holidays. Just five hours later they were fleeing a raging fire, barefoot, screaming for one another to get outside as flames tore through their home on Stringer Lane.

The family was awakened by smoke detectors at about 1 a.m.,   Saturday, Dec. 5, and had safely evacuated the home by the time firefighters arrived, said Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson in a press release.

TOTAL LOSS: Following a house fire that destroyed a Hanson house Dec. 5, the blackened interior can be seen while Christmas decorations on the front lawn remain undamaged. No one was hurt in the two-alarm blaze. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos

The family is being assisted by the Red Cross and there were no injuries reported.

John Alexopoulos and his wife Wendy, married for 20 years, have lived in their home at 40 Stringer Lane for the last 15 years, raising their two children Drew, 18, and Carly, 15, there.

Still shaken and distraught with the flames gone, but the smell of charred wood still permeating the air, John and his son salvaged baseball memorabilia from his son’s high school career.

The family is well known in town and league baseball, and dozens of neighbors and supporters offered comfort and a shoulder to lean on throughout the morning, as they stopped by with clothing and food to assist the family who had a long, sleepless night.

With appreciation to those who extended their sympathy and friendship the Alexopoulos family said they were all safe and that was what mattered.

Wendy recounted seeing the flames grow with in seconds of their smoke detectors sounding.

“I was screaming ‘Get out! Get out!’ but I don’t know if they even heard me, the whole thing is a blur,” she said, still stunned and weeping. “I saw about a foot of flames, near the couch. I ran and grabbed pants and ran out without shoes.  We just had to get out.”

Son Drew, who was home from school for the weekend said his room was at the back of the house and was hopeful he could salvage some items.

He heard the smoke detectors and went downstairs.

“I saw flames near the ceiling,” he said.

He described the area as the front of the house, a family room, where he saw the flames. He ran out a side door that they normally use and in relief saw his family had gotten out and were safe.

Carly, 15, a junior at Whitman-Hanson had a friend sleeping over. The girls were also were unharmed. The family dog was rescued safely, too.

Upon arriving at the call for a structure fire a crew of four Hanson firefighters encountered heavy fire conditions. After sounding a second alarm the towns of Whitman, Pembroke, Halifax and East Bridgewater assisted at the scene while Hanover Fire covered Hanson headquarters.

The flames were knocked down within an hour, however crews remained on scene for several hours due to extensive overhaul, said Chief Thompson.

The family was planning on staying with relatives.

“We just finished decorating the house for the holidays.  It was beautiful,” said  John Alexopoulos in disbelief. Staring at the outside of his home where Christmas decorations remained untouched but the inside of the home completely destroyed. Fire, smoke and water damage was extensive throughout the house, which is uninhabitable, said Thompson.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Hanson Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office but is not suspicious in nature.