From the start, commencement exercises at WHRHS on Friday, May 30 were a bit different – and not because of the brisk wind that threatened to send mortarboards airborne before the graduating class sat down.
Easily noticeable on the crimson graduation stoles worn by the seniors were bright green mental health awareness ribbons, and the first speaker on the program – Class President Francesca Ruffini helped explain why in her speech, a welcome on behalf of the graduating class.
“This class has been through so much together, and I hope we all learned something from each other,” Ruffini said.
As she concluded her speech, Ruffini addressed the presence of and “empty chair.”
“Scanning our crowd today, we are missing one of the brightest lights of people, and that is Ava Patete,” she said. “She was a light that lit up our graduating class – we all knew her, we all loved her and we will all miss her forever. Let us remember her today, especially on her anniversary and for many years to come.”
Ruffini personally asked the class to live like Ava: spontaneously, kindly and compassionately, She then asked the graduates and families to observe a moment of silence for her late friend.
“Let’s carry her light forward in everything we do,” she said.
It was a message of hope in community, echoed by a school official who spoke with humor about his anxiety, a valedictorian who had worked to overcome insecurity and a principal whose words had to be spoken by someone else, as he recovered at home from hip surgery.
Kindness, resiliency and hope were themes repeated by the speakers as they sent the Class of 2025 out into the world to forge their futures.
Focusing on the adversity the class has seen, and will no doubt encounter in their future lives, Ruffini also spoke of a book her mother gave her that helped her work through some of the toughest times she has so far faced in life.
“The book involves the theory called, the ‘let them’ theory,” she said. “’the let them’ theory reveals who people really are, and when you see them, show their true colors is when you choose what to do next.”
The upshot is to learn how to stop trying to get other people to meet your expectations – how someone treats you is how important you are to them.
“Instead of trying to change yourself, or even that other person, let them be who they are and let yourself be who you are,” she said. “Life is about finding people who value you for your true self.”
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak kept to the message on the importance of mental health as he opened his remarks by repeating an anecdote from a previous graduation speech concerning the anxiety he feels, which is more intense before giving speeches and his wife’s reassurance.
He spoke about “The Power of You,” which means “showing up, even when it’s hard.”
“It means trying again, even when you didn’t get it right the first time, – or the fifth time,” he said. “It means being a Panther, not just wearing the red and back, but representing the strength, the pride and the heart of this school. … You’ve been building something powerful – not just knowledge, but character, not just skills, but purpose and not just memories, but mementoes – the power of you is not just in what you’ve learned, but how you’ve learned, how you faced adversity and kept going, how you’ve lifted others when they needed a hand and how you’ve asked bold questions or dared to be different.”
Valedictorian Patrick Hurley spoke on “Who We Are” and how one of the most important gifts the class had received from W-H has been a sense of community, which provide a foundation for who we want to be and how to get there.
“While that may seem like a given, for someone like me it took a bit longer than usual to really come to engage with that part of life,” he said. “I entered high school a far more reserved and insecure person than I am standing here, someone who perceived themselves as more awkward than anything else, and who felt stunted in their social life. While I doubt that that aspect of myself is completely gone, I’m overjoyed to be in a place where, looking out at you all, I see friends—people I’m fond of, whose aspirations to become teachers, doctors, engineers, artists, businesspeople, tradespeople, and so much more — I’ve come to know and understand.”
The health of a community, he noted, requires individual responsibility to make it the best that it can be, Hurley noted.
“As we set out into the world, there are going to be challenges far greater than anything high school had to offer. As you rise to face the difficulties of an increasingly complex and hostile world, I encourage my classmates to ask themselves who their community is,” he said. “Who do you trust and support, and how can you show that? What can you do to make your world a kinder place?”
Salutatorian Nolan Keyes, meanwhile, reflected on the meaning of success.
“Deep down, I truly do believe that each individual here has what it takes to succeed,” he said. “Success is not determined by others, but by yourself, and the different goals, aspirations, and plans for the future that you create. While I do believe it is important to dream big, I believe it is far more important to dream for yourself. Chase your own goals, find your own personalized passions, and make your own impact on the world.”
Selected from among her fellow seniors for the opportunity to speak for the Class of 2025, Karyn Stone spoke about “Your Moment” by enumerating the ways in which graduation is not one’s “moment,” the defining moment of one’s life.
“Because those things, as amazing as they were, don’t define you,” she said, explaining that high school and the accomplishments made there are just a chapter of a bigger story. “They are a part of your story, sure, but not your whole story. … Graduation is an incredible accomplishment, and we should all be proud. We made it through the early mornings, long nights, big tests, and even bigger doubts. We supported each other. We laughed, we learned, and sometimes we crashed and burned. But we kept going. So yes, celebrate this moment. Hold it close. But don’t let it be the finish line.”
School Committee Chair Beth Stafford injected some humor into the program as she spoke about memories, by putting on a fabric Pharoh’s crown as she addressed members of the graduating class she taught as sixth-graders at Whitman Middle School in 2019 – her last students before retiring.
“To bring back some happy, funny memories, I thought I would add this to my outfit today,” she said. “I would start each unit in costume and this, of course is Egypt. I hope that when you look back at your years at school … that you have a lot of memories. … I would ask you to use these memories to help shape your future dreams. Even unhappy memories can affect how you go on about achieving your dreams.”
Reading Principal Dr. Christopher Jones’ speech – as he was home recovering from surgery — Assistant Principal David Floeck related Jones’ comments on dealing with anxiety and fear.
“Let’s be honest, success isn’t about living without anxiety, it’s about walking through it,” Jones wrote. “It’s about learning to pause. Breathe in. Breathe out, and take the next step anyway.”
Discomfort, Jones says, is not the enemy, it may be one’s greatest teacher.
“Growth doesn’t live inside your comfort zone,” he stated. “Dreams don’t chase you down, they wait in places that stretch you, scare you and require you to show up differently.”
Floeck, offered thanks to Class Advisors Daniel Moriarty and John Rosen for the hours they have dedicated to the senior class, Administrative Assistan Siobhan Horton and Megan McDonald for the herculean task of planning and overseeing the setup of the graduation ceremony and Chris Googins for his assistance in that work, Courtney Selig and the school’s counseling department for their unrelenting support for W-H students and Marcus Casey and Jason Cook for the audio and visual equipment setup.
He also recognized retiring teachers: Michelle Gentile, who taught history at the high school for 18 years and Rosen, who retires as a science teacher after 31 years.
The ceremony was broadcast live on Whitman-Hanson Community access TV, where it will be rebroadcast and on their YouTube channel at Whitman-Hanson Educational Channel – YouTube.

WHITMAN – Under a bright sunny sky, Monday, May 19, with a wind blowing silt from where the actual construction of the new Whitman Middle School had already begun, W-H district officials, School Committee members, and elected and appointed town leaders gathered in one of the parking lots in front of the building to officially break ground for the new school building.
“Whitman Middle School will be more that just a building,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak. “It will be a place where young minds in grades five through eight will grow, explore and prepare for their future. This school will be the hub of learning, creativity and community engagement – especially [by] using the new auditorium. It will be a place where students are encouraged to dream big, challenge themselves and discover their apassions.”
This was a day a a long time coming – somewhere in the neighborhood of seven year, since then-WMS principal George Ferro wrote up the statement of interest to the Massachusetts Building Committee. Ferro is now assistant superintendent.
Seven years later, Szymaniak, wearing sunglasses against the glare of the morning’s bright sunlight, strolled to a podium situated between two excavators – which suspended an American flag between the bucket loaders – to welcomed the small crowd of dignitaries.
“This event isn’t just the beginning of a building project, it’s the start of a new chapter in the educational journey of our students and a symbol of our collective commitment to shaping a bright future,” Szymaniak said.
He thanked state legislators, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), Whitman Select Board, the W-H Regional School Committee the WMS Building Committee, many parents, students and especially Whitman taxpayers, who supported the project both at Town Meeting and at the voting booth in 2023.
“I’d also like to give a shout-out to our former Facilities Director Ernie Sandland, Science Teacher Crystal Regan and … Ferro, for starting this project in 2018, writing a statement of interest (SOI) and submitting it to the MSBA for a new middle school for the students of Whitman,” Szymaniak said. “Together our vision, hard work and support has turned a dream in reality,”
Symaniak also recognized architect AI3, owner’s project manager Colliers, MSBA representative James McConnell and building contractor Fontaine Bros., who have worked on school construction across the state, according to McConnell.
He also said the new school is a testament to the strength of the Whitman community, representing the shared values of a commitment to education, equity and ensuring that every child has the resources they need to succeed.
“In the years to come, this school will grow to be more than a place of education,” Szymaniak said. “It will be a space that fosters collaboration, creativity and connection. … We envision a school that is not only academic, but rich in extracurricular activities, sports and the arts, offering out students a well-rounded experience.”
State Rep. Alyson Sullivan-Almeida, R-Abington, and a representative from state Sen. Mike Brady’s office brought certificates from both wings of the Great and General Court to present to citations of congratulations on the occasion from the state House and Senate, presenting them to Szymaniak and Whitman Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter.
Noting that, having been elected in 2018, Sullivan-Ameida said the WMS project has been at the forefront of legislative work for her for much of that time. She also honored the late School Committee member Fred Small.
“He was a strong advocate [for] the school district when it came to reaching out to my office and advocating for the town of Whitman and W-H Regional School District,” she said.
Building Committee Vice Chair Kathleen Ottina thanked the taxpayers who approved the school project as well as the members of the school building committee.
Ferro the offered brief remarks before guiding participants of the groundbreaking to their places.
“We’ve thanked all the adults,” Ferro said. “But we also remember that, because of the actions of the adults, students will get a brand-new education. … When we talk about a building, we talk about the life blood of that building, and that is the students and the staff that are in it.”

HANSON – Hanson Town meeting voters are giving the town’s voters another chance to be heard on the proposed operational override to fund town departments and the schools.
Meeting at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School to accommodate a larger crowd, the Town Meeting voters agreed, by a vote of 230-118 to place the override on the town’s annual Town Election ballot for a Saturday, May 17 vote.
A brief informational slide presentation on the basics of overrides and town revenue sources, preceded Article 5 and Article 6, which encompass the fiscal 2026 town budget.
“Usually, we just vote on one budget, but because we have a Proposition 2.5 override on the ballot coming up May 17 … whatever we do tonight, that question will be on the ballot that day, and whatever the vote comes out will be what is done – whether we have an override or we reject it, Moderator Sean Kealy said.
The meeting then addressed Article 5 – without the override – and if the override passes, as it did, the Article 6 budget will be used. If the override is defeated at the ballot box, Article 6 will have no legal effect.
“[The budget] is entirely contingent on how the town votes,” he said.
Hanson Finance Chair Kevin Sullivan spoke frankly about the “serious budget challenges” Hanson faces, and why after an extensive review, the $3 million operational override has been recommended by his committee to maintain the services Hanson residents rely on every day.
Hanson receives 85 percent of its revenue from property taxes
“Under the limits of Proposition 2.5 our allowable revenue growth simply isn’t keeping pace with the rising costs of operating the town, especially in the face of inflation, contractual obligations and the increasing demands on our services,” Sullivan said. “This isn’t about funding new programs, this is about preserving the level of service that we have come to expect:”

• Police and fire departments, already operating with lean staffing and increasing call volumes;
• Town Hall, library, recreation and outdoor spaces, which provide vital functions for residents and businesses alike;
• School, essential not only for the education of children, but also for the town’s strength and stability.
  “Without an override, we will be forced to make extremely difficult decisions, including depleting free cash reserves, which are largely meant for capital expenditures, or making deep cuts across every department,” Sullivan said. “The Finance Committee has scrutinized this budget. We worked with every department head. We’ve reviewed every line item. We have prioritized needs, not wants, but the numbers don’t lie, the gap is real and we can no longer stretch our limited resources without damaging the core of what makes Hanson work.”
  He emphasized that the picture he painted was not intended to be a scare tactic, but is a fiscal reality.
  The lower school budget number in Article 5 than was approved by the School Committee would have been a rejection of the school budget if approved, which only the School Committee has the authority to reduce and send back to the town.
  Richard Road resident and former School Committee member Jim Armstrong said the state supplied 74 percent of the school budget until it convinced Hanson and Whitman to regionalize.
  “Every so often we have to go back and remember we used to get spoiled,” he said. “We’re not anymore and we have to start paying our way, and that’s really what it comes down to, because the state’s not supporting us like they used to so over the years we’ve had to figure out how to get there and once in a while we have to do an override to get there.”
  Another resident asked why the departments were linked together in the budget.
  Sullivan replied that they were not, but to fairly budget, all departments were asked to cut their budgets by 5 percent.
  “But if you say yes to the override, you’re saying yes to everyone equally,” she countered.
  “The override is just a method for overcoming a monetary threshold,” Sullivan said. “It has nothing to do with the town departments.”
  “I think what you’re asking is, ‘Why not separate [them]?’” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Because we have gotten some feedback on that and we did look at that as a board in terms of how to present it.”
  She noted that the town conducted an override just for the schools last year.
  “That did not go well because … at Town Meeting, people got up and ended up eviscerating the Town Hall budget in order to fund the educational budget,” she said. As a result, small cuts had to be made affecting individual services like transfer station hours.
  “This year, we had more than one department that really made a compelling argument, so it made sense to bundle it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
  “This is sort of resetting the baseline,” Sullivan, noting that $3 million is the largest override they’ve recommended. “For too many years we were too far behind.” The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education switched the funding formula and that left Hanson in a pretty significant hole, as well, which served to set the town even farther behind, he explained.
  “This is resetting the number to get all the town departments the correct personnel that they want for the needs that we have and continue us on a path where, hopefully, we won’t need another override three to five years from now,” Sullivan said.
  School Committee member Kara Moser, while stressing that the school budget is level-serviced, sought to explain why that department’s expenses keep increasing. For example, regional school districts are responsible for paying employee benefits, just as a municipality would and W-H employs 600 people who are eligible for benefits. Then there are the state and federal mandates for services the school district is legally required to provide – such as special education – and not all are funded – such as out of district transportation for homeless students. Students going to charter or some vocational schools are also not always funded.
  Two residents asked about the procedure if the override were to fail Town Meeting, but pass at the ballot box.
  “We would go again,” Sullivan said. “We have another option to hold another Town Meeting and revote the override again.”
  “It seems like it’s pointless to vote no on the override thing tonight,” one resident said. “Even if you are very, very against the override, you still should vote yes on six because the actual vote that kills the override is at the ballot – not tonight.”
  FitzGerald-Kemmett said that may be, but it wouldn’t alter the town’s dilemma of having a school budget left unfunded.
  “Ultimately that sends it back to the School Committee about whether they’re going to lower the budget or seek the same assessment,” she said.
  Resident Mike DiCarlo of Indian Head Street made a motion to separate the school and public safety budgets into to override questions instead of one.
  Kealy said the motion would be more properly made during discussion of Article 6, and that the ballots are already printed and cannot be changed.

WHITMAN — For firefighters, there are really no “days off.”
Chief Timothy Clancy proudly reported Monday, April 14 that an off-duty firefighter from the Whitman Fire Department jumped into action to help save a woman from a burning vehicle after spotting the aftermath of a crash on the opposite side of the highway in Raynham the day before.
At approximately 11:43 a.m., Sunday, Whitman Fire Lt. Brian Trefry was off duty driving on Route 24 southbound with his wife in Raynham, on the way to pick up his children from his mother-in-law’s home, when he saw smoke in the distance on the other side of the highway. When he got closer, Trefry saw a heavily damaged SUV that had caught fire, before pulling over and then carefully crossing both sides of the highway to make it to the vehicle.
Trefry then realized that a woman was trapped inside the vehicle, which was stuck in a ravine on the side of the road following a rollover crash, with a fire starting to spread from the engine compartment of the SUV into the surrounding vegetation in the area.
On his way over to the vehicle, Trefry looked around for something to bust open the window to free the woman, finding a boot on the ground and then trying to break the glass, causing a “spider crack.” Then a woman on the scene offered a window punch, which also failed to break the glass. Finally, Trefry was able to pry open the unlocked door, despite the dirt from the ravine that was blocking it.
“I had to move some dirt around, but was able to get the door open a bit, enough to grab her,” Trefry said. “At first it was a struggle. Luckily, I pulled her out. She was conscious, but I noticed a little blood. Me and another gentleman moved her about 30 feet away to get her away from the fire, so when it took off it wouldn’t affect her. I checked the back seat to make sure there was no one else inside the vehicle. Then there were a couple of nurses who showed up, along with State Police, and they started rendering aid to her.”
Trefry is used to helping people escape from the wreckage of car crashes while at work, but this was the first time he did so while off-duty.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this,” he said. “It definitely wasn’t on my Sunday morning bingo card. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Trefry was able to carefully cross all lanes of the highway to get to the woman but had to signal to drivers to brake for him.
“It was definitely crowded. People were slowing down for the accident and looking.” he said. “I put my hand up to get people to stop, and I was able to slowly make my way over. I climbed over the guardrail and did the same thing on the northbound side.”
Any one of his colleagues from the Whitman Fire Department or their fellow firefighters from around the state would have done the same, Lt. Trefry said.
“It’s what anyone in the fire service in Massachusetts would have done,” said Trefry, who became a full-time firefighter in 2012. “I’d like to think we all would have done the same thing.”
The Raynham Fire Department also responded to the crash and quicky extinguished the fire. The Raynham Fire Department stated that the vehicle rolled over, before catching fire amid the vegetation on the side of the highway.
The vehicle operator was then transported by a Raynham Fire Department ambulance to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton in stable condition.
“I’m hoping she’s alright,” Lt. Trefry said.
Without realizing a fellow firefighter was involved, the Raynham Fire Department thanked the good Samaritans who helped the woman escape from the burning SUV.
“Their actions certainly made a difference and may very well have saved the driver’s life,” said Raynham Fire Chief Bryan LaCivita.
After the rescue, Massachusetts State Police stopped traffic to allow Lt. Trefry to return to his vehicle on the other side of the highway.
Whitman’s Chief Clancy said the episode is an example of how the members his department are dedicated to aiding the public at any time – on duty or off.
“I’m very proud of Lt. Trefry, as I am of all our firefighters,” Clancy said.

WHITMAN – As the lights of the out-sized Toll House Cookie – crafted by South Shore Tech students in 2013 – sparkled on the stage of the Spellman Center on Saturday, April 5, Whitman 150th Chair Richard Rosen welcomed those attending the kickoff diner to the first of the events celebrating the town’s sesquicentennial.
The cookie, created to top off the 75th anniversary of the Toll House cookie by Whitman’s Ruth Wakefield, when the town held a First Night celebration ending the year and welcoming 2014 with a “Cookie Drop” in the frigid night of Whitman Center [See end for trivia].
The Toll House was among the many past and present business Rosen featured in his keynote address.
Noting that, at the 125th celebration in 2000 a guest speaker rose to give a speech, apparently covering Whitman’s history from the “Ice Age to the Present,” and it caused a bit of discomfort.
“By the time he got to the part where the ice was melting, I saw that people began to fidget,” Rosen said in the speech recorded for rebroadcast and streaming on WHCA-TV and on the cable access YouTube Channel. “After about 45 minutes, people were sticking forks in their eyes. I do not want to see anybody lifting a fork while I’m speaking tonight.”
He did speak about history – but from a different chapter: the flourishing business community Whitman once enjoyed as the “backbone of our town.”
While there are businesses in town that trace their own histories to the 1800s and 1900s, Rosen’s focus was on “history that many of you remember.”
“I want to talk about the history that’s fading – and I want to make sure its preserved,” he said.
While reciting a long list of businesses that included every manner of commerce except used car dealers – “because we have to be out of here by morning.” – Rosen started with the oldest business in town, D.B. Gurney.
“David Gurney is here representing the eighth generation of Gurneys” in a business started in 1825,” Rosen said. “Harding Print, that’s still in operation, goes back to 1891.”
Beginning with shoe manufacturers, to tool and dye companies, news stores, bakeries, emporiums supplying kids with penny candy … “We had a bunch of funeral homes,” he said, Rosen’s list was an oral timeline of changing business climates and fortunes in Whitman and the national and global marketplace.
“We had lumberyards, believe it or not.” he said. “A lot of these things, people don’t remember, didn’t know about and don’t exist anymore – and that’s what I felt [was] important to bring up.”
At one time there were five new car dealerships in town. McLaughlin Chevrolet, established in 1922, is still one of the country’s oldest Chevrolet dealerships still run by the same family.
He listed cleaners, tax preparers, a “slew of attorneys,” King’s Castle, several businesses on Bedford Street, real estate businesses, pharmacies, jewelry stores, a draft board, farms, furniture storms, doctors’ and dentist’s offices, insurance companies, hardware and clothing stores, electrical businesses, builders, beauty parlors, florists, plumbers, oil firms, mechanics and auto parts stores, a “ton of grocery stores” and several miscellaneous businesses.
“Of course, we had the world-famous Toll House on Route 18,” Rosen said to applause.
He had opened his remarks by thanking his committee.
“I’ve been involved in many committees over the last 40 years,” he said. “This one is probably the best one I’ve been involved with.”
He also gestured to an empty table that, he said, would be full in a couple minutes.
“That’s the Fire Department table and, unfortunately, prior to our sitting down to dinner, the Fire Department had to go fight a house fire,” Rosen said. “But they’ll be here shortly.”
In fact, the firefighters arrived while Chair Mary Joyce of the Historical Commission was beginning her remarks, and she lead the applause to welcome them.
During her remarks, Joyce provided an update on project being done around town with grant funding that the Commission had been acquiring for the town, including funding obtained, in collaboration with the Fire Department and the Whitman American Legion, to renovate the WWI memorial arch at the fire station on Temple Street.
Thar work is expected to be completed by June 8 – when the Whitman 150th Road Race is slated to begin by passing through the arch.
Joyce said the commission is also working with high school students conducting interviews with a number of town seniors for an oral history to be broadcast on radio and WHCA-TV through April 2026, releasing an interview a month.
A grant from the Mass. Historical Commission, with matching funds from the Community Preservation Committee, is also funding an inventory of historic homes in Whitman. An early September ceremony is planned for presentation of a full documentation of their property, as well as plaques for the homeowners to hang on the street-facing side of their homes.
“All of these projects will provide a visual and audio record of what was before for generations to come,” she said.
Rosen presented to Select Board Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski a certificate of special Congressional recognition of the town’s anniversary from U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, Kowalski also accepted proclamations or citations on behalf of the town from state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton and from state Rep. Alyson Sullivan-Almeda’s office and from Register of Deeds John Buckley.
All were dated March 13, 2025 – Whitman’s official anniversary date.
Plymouth County Sheriff John McDonald, DA Timothy Cruz and Clerk of Courts Robert Creedon also offered brief remarks.

Toll House Trivia – How many years has Whitman celebrated First Night and the cookie drop?