Whitman and Hanson food pantries, may be seeing greater demand for their services due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but residents who can have been pitching in to help all summer — and those efforts have been continuing.

Whitman’s Boy Scouts have been the latest to contribute.

Cub Scout Packs 59 and 22, and Boy Scout Troop 22, collected 8,000 pounds of food this month to help the pantry’s need to help fight food insecurity in town, according to Director Bruce Perry.

“This amount raised was the most ever in a Scout Drive and it was a result of all the hard work by the scouts and their families, and also to the generosity of the residents of Whitman,” he said noting it was done almost entirely through social media and word of mouth. “It is truly amazing how the Whitman community comes through when asked.”

Perry said the COVID-safe collection yielded twice as much as last year’s donations. People were asked to drop off donations at the Congregational Church.

“It was fantastic because our resources from St. Vincent DePaul in Stoughton has pretty much [dried up],” Perry said. “We haven’t been able to get anything out of there, because they didn’t do any of the Thanksgiving or Christmas baskets like they usually do.

Whitman’s pantry typically pays $10 per meal with a turkey and all the fruits and vegetables required for a holiday meal.

“They didn’t have the funds, for one thing, I don’t think,” he said this week. “They just said they weren’t going to be able to do it. I think it’s also because of the high demand coming out of Greater Boston Food Bank.”

Perry said that when St. Vincent DePaul couldn’t promise anything to client communities this year, they decided to ask local pantries to try to meet their needs on their own.

“One thing that helped us out was the Wahlberg Fund,” he said. “They helped us out this year with a lot of the things that St. Vincent DePaul usually helps with.”

The Wahlberg Fund supplied 100 turkeys, fruit and vegetables.

“This is the second year they’ve helped us out,” Perry said. “I think a lot of people had planned on another $1,200 [in federal stimulus money] coming to them and, unfortunately, it hasn’t so we have seen a slight increase in the number of people that need help — and not just one-time help, these are folks that have been coming back the last six or eight months since COVID started.”

The pantries in both towns were also faced with the COVID-related cancelation of annual summer fundraising events such as the McGuiggan’s Pub 5K, a Freetown triathlon where pantry volunteers worked in exchange for a donation, a K of C golf tournament and other fundraisers — which meant a loss of between $12,000 to $16,000.

Claire LaMattina’s “Whitman Strong” sign project brought in $15,500 for the pantry. A similar lawn sign project raised about $3,000 for the Hanson Pantry, according to Director Christine Cameron.

“We’re in very good shape,” she said. “Our contributions have been phnomenal, we have huge community support.”

While they are seeing some new people coming in for assistance, Cameron said the client numbers have remained fairly steady.

“Somebody up there is watching over us,” Perry said. “This was the perfect year for her to do something like this, because it made up for the lost revenue that we usually get from all those fundraisers as well as the number of people we help.”

Personal donations of all or part of stimulus checks from other residents has also helped.

The pantry will be giving out 125 holiday meal baskets and has donated close to $5,000 in gift cards to the Whitman Area Toy Drive, who also refer families in need to the pantry.

The pantry usually raises about half its donations over the last three months of the year.

At Thanksgiving, students at Whitman’s Louise A. Conley Elementary School raised $584 for the Whitman Food Pantry and $567.64 for Whitman Animal Control, according to district officials. The funds were matched by the school’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC), meaning each organization received over $1,100.

In addition, one of the school’s longtime friends, Sandy McCarthy, presented the school with yet another matching donation from her company, AEW Capital Management, to add to the gift.

The school’s typical Thanksgiving celebration needed to be cancelled this year, but in its place the school held a special fundraiser, “A Dollar for Dinner, a Penny for Paws,” to raise money for the projects.

“I am so humbled by the generosity of our community, but even more so by the commitment and feeling behind it,” Principal Downey said. “Our students made beautiful cards that were delivered to both the Food Pantry and to the Senior Center. They worked diligently to make something special, something that anyone would be honored to receive. This is what we are all about. Yes, we want our kids to work hard every day, but more importantly we want them to be good neighbors, good friends, and good citizens.”

This month students at Duval Elementary School collected 500 pounds of food to donate to the Whitman Food Pantry for Christmas baskets. Staff from the food pantry picked up the donation at the school Friday, Dec. 11. Several Student Council members assisted Whitman Food Pantry staff with Friday’s pick-up, helping sort and load the shelf-stable food onto a truck. Those members include Joshua Ahola, Jackson Barbosa, Meriem Fleury, Izobel Gilchrist, Alayna Loring, Tristan Lacandula, Isabella Mateus, Sabrina Spadorcia and Maxwell Sarhanis.

The Holiday Food Drive is an annual tradition at the school.

“Seeing as how most of these kids are only in-person two days a week, we were hoping we would still be able to donate a fair amount to the food pantry this year,” said PTO parent Kimberly Sarhanis. “But we should have known that the Duval community would not let this difficult year get in the way, and instead they pulled out an amazing, generous donation of 500 pounds of food.”

Area businesses, such as North Easton Savings Bank, have also supported the pantry.

Distribution is done through consultations over the phone with clients, who then pick up the meals at a proper social distance outside the pantry. No one is allowed inside.

Whitman and Hanson students active in the WHRHS Key Club hosting a Food Drive after Thanksgiving to support the Hanson and Whitman Food Pantries.

The Key Club is partnering with the National Honor Society, Food for Thought Club, and the nonprofit organization Project 351. Their goal is to stock the pantries before the December holidays, so people/families will have access to the food they need to enjoy these times. Food items may be dropped off until Dec. 18 to the Student Dining area, the gym and the main office. Cash or gift cards to local businesses should be put in an envelope and brought to either Mrs. Edkin’s or Mr. Szkutak’s rooms.

The School Committee heard an update on the investigation underway by the Inspector General and Attorney General’s offices at the Wednesday, Nov. 18 meeting, but questions remain.

Szymaniak said he emailed Committee member David Forth after the last meeting to request documentation he supplied the state as well as any contact information he had pertaining to the state’s investigation about the committee and towns. Forth returned the contact information he had, according to Szymaniak.

Committee member Christopher Howard asked for an update on what else Forth can supply. Forth replied he has contacted the state to determine if the Inspector General or Attorney General has any issues with his providing the information and would do so if they replied he could.

He added that any time the Inspector General’s office has called him, they have not identified themselves by any particular name.

Small said he has called the IG and Department of Revenue and had no problem receiving permission to release contact identification.

Howard asked that the school district’s legal counsel be asked to remotely attend the December meeting to discuss legal options for obtaining the information. Szymaniak said both towns have also put their respective town counsels on notice about the issue as well, reminding the committee that all those calls come with associated costs.

He also cautioned the committee that the district will be looking at some administrators where interims are now serving and business office turnover where the town’s interim business manager will be leaving at the end of the year.

“The first thing [people do] is Google the district and they see the W-H Regional School District in the Express [about a] state investigation under finances,” Szymaniak said. “It’s going to be hard for me to get a quality person if this resonates into next spring, when we’re in hiring. We have to put this to rest some way or another.”

He also expressed concern that other administrators or teachers might leave.

“People don’t want to be involved in controversy,” he said. “This district is an excellent district and I don’t want anybody to be turned off by a headline.”

Committee member Dawn Byers reminded the panel that a Whitman selectman had also advocated an investigation back in July.

“This is not one person’s doing on this committee,” she said, noting she does not want to see the headlines, either. “There was a long period of time when certain statutory laws were not followed by this district, and a long period of time when funding was at seventh from the bottom out of all the towns in Massachusetts, so I agree answers need to come, but there are a lot of questions still to be answered.”

Small asked what other questions Byers had in mind, explaining when she appeared to take it as a cross-examination, that he was curious about whether her questions pertained to issues that had not occurred to him.

She then replied her questions centered on the district’s past financial policies that did not center on the state’s statutory formula.

“It’s not the fact that an investigation is going on, it’s the fact that we’re being told there’s an investigation [and] when you try to find what the status is, who’s handling it … it needs to be done as expediently as possible without the mystery of what was sent, [and] who was spoken to, if possible,” Small said. “That’s the frustration point I know I’m feeling and, I’m sure, others are feeling because things are so wide open and up in the air.”

HANSON — A milestone birthday didn’t get overlooked for a nurse who has given most of her 39th year to fighting a pandemic.

Carolynn Alexander of Hanson celebrated her 40th birthday this month. The busy mom, wife, and nurse of 15 years at a Boston hospital found out just how much affection and appreciation her friends and family have for her even in a time when they couldn’t be together.

Celebrating with friends was not an option so Carolynn’s husband Charlie Alexander along with her girlfriends  Erin Petersen, Tanya Frazier and Andrea Cranshaw, all of Hanson, masterminded the “11 days of Carolynn” to honor and celebrate the selfless woman who they described as full of positive energy.

Charlie was in charge of setting up a giant photo each day of Carolynn’s head (at places around town that she frequents) ranging from  Marylou’s in Whitman,   Modern Barbershop in Hanson,  to local schools with connections to her children and family as well as   Damien’s in Hanson and Ferry’s Sunoco. These places, which according to her friends are spots that have a connection or meaning to her — was a perfect way to nestle her face into a birthday “party” that expanded throughout Whitman and Hanson.

The group had a private page to post daily pictures along with uniquely, amusing hash tags from Nov. 1- 10 until her Nov. 11 birthday.

Similar to a scavenger hunt — her friends and family would pose and take a photo of them with “Carolynn”

Extra silliness of hats and wigs to add to the laughs involved the gang who clearly enjoyed themselves as they made memories for Alexander. Even the Hanson Warriors youth football team took a photo with her head at the WH sports field.

On Nov. 11 for her 40th birthday the giant signs of Carolynn’s face were brought back to her home to line her driveway along with lawn signs.

The posted cutouts were etched with her favorite quotes, rainbows and unicorns (that accompany her positivity) Carolynn’s reaction was of complete joy and thrill, according to friends.

The birthday merriment for someone who has had little time to celebrate during a pandemic was sweetened with a little creative force and lots of love from all who surround her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What’s going on, man?” Jones asked.

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

Hayes also reminded members to address each other through him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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