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Early voting set to begin

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Election season begins in Massachusetts on Saturday, Oct 17 with early voting hours at state polling places.

This year, voters have more voting options due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can vote early at any early voting location in your community, by mail, or at your polling place on Election Day.

The deadline for mail-in ballots is Oct. 28 — but Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley said there was a delay in receiving them from the state.

“I’ve had about 30 emails asking about them, but I didn’t get them until Oct. 9,” Varley said, noting they are now in the process of being mailed to Whitman voters.

Early voting ends Oct. 30, but absentee voters have until noon, Monday, Nov. 2 to vote.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

When early voting in person at an early voting location for your municipality, the election officials will check you in, similar to the process used on Election Day, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office. After voting, you will enclose your ballot into an envelope to be counted on Election Day.

To vote by mail, download the Early Ballot Application and mail it to your local election official.

In-person early voting hours are held in Whitman Town Hall from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday to Sunday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays until Friday, Oct. 30.

In and Hanson Town Hall, early voting takes place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays; 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays; and 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., on Fridays until Oct. 30.

Voters are asked to follow signs directing them through the buildings and remain socially distant.

Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan said she expects a lot of Hanson voters to take advantage of early voting, for convenience, among other reasons.

“They feel more comfortable as far as social distancing, instead of having the crowds,” Sloan said. “They’re coming in the front door — we’re probably only going to let four people in at a time — and then they’re going out the side door.”

Varley said early voters in Whitman must enter the Town Hall by the handicapped entrance and exit via the side entrances, but there are no limits to the number of people permitted in the building at once so long as social distancing is maintained.

There will be a poll worker serving as a sort of “hall monitor” to ensure that is the case, Varley said.

Early voting ballots are run through tally machines on Election Day, as are mail-in ballots, according to Sloan.

Vote by mail has already started, and voters who wish to vote that way, but have not yet received an application in the mail, can download a link from their town clerk’s page and return it as soon as possible.

More information can also be obtained by visiting sec.state.ma.us/earlyvotingweb or at iwillvote.com.

6th Dist. hopefuls square off

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Public safety reform, economic recovery in the wake of COVID and the accompanying public health concerns surrounding it, as well constituent services were the focus of a recent 6th Plymouth District candidates’ forum at the Plymouth Area Community Television cable access studio.

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Pembroke, and challenger Republican Tatyana Semyrog faced off in the session moderated by PACTV Executive Director Julie Thompson. The broadcast touched on political divisiveness, the immediate pressing issues facing the state – including policing, legislation they would back to benefit constituents, committee preferences and what they have learned about each other.

“This will not be a debate per se, but rather an opportunity for the candidates to let voters know who they are and where they stand on certain issues,” Thompson said.

The candidates were introduced in alphabetical order and had three minutes for an introductory statement before Thompson began her questions on state and local issues.

Formatted in a similar fashion to the presidential debate on Tuesday, Sept. 29, responses to each question were followed by a point-counterpoint opportunity to ask questions of each other. Candidates had three minutes to make closing remarks.

There was no audience or campaign staff present in the studio.

“I really love my job,” said Cutler, who is now serving his fourth term. “I believe in public service. This has been certainly the most challenging, but also the most rewarding term that I’ve served because a lot of people need help.”

Noting his pride in the fact that Massachusetts leads the nation in education, health care, biotech, energy efficiency, marriage equality and veterans’ benefits, Cutler said there is still more work to be done, especially with the public health and economic challenges posed by COVID-19. He serves on the Ways and Means Committee, Telecommunications and Energy Committee and the Higher Education Committee as well as the House Chair of the Coastal Caucus and is leading an initiative on workforce development for persons with disabilities.

An inventor and entrepreneur, Semyrog is also a mother, a widow and cancer survivor.

“All these tragedies that happened to me truly made me a survivor and inspiration to many,” she said of losing her husband in a car crash four years ago as well as her battle against breast cancer. “My family also survived severe persecution in the former Soviet Union for many generations.”

She said an independent district such as the 6th Plymouth should have all political viewpoints represented in the State House.

On the political polarization in the state as well as the nation, Semyrog said it breaks her heart, but repeatedly characterized a July vote Cutler cast for police reform as defunding the police.

“It is painful to watch us being ripped apart — by the media, truly — that is, dividing us up into classes, labeling us certain names that are unfair and I am here to address that and say, ‘This has to stop,’” she said. Semyrog claimed she has been ostracized and criticized by Cutler’s supporters on social media. “If we’re going to say that everyone’s lives matter, then let’s include everyone, including our police, who are being marginalized right now — attacked, dishonored and mocked. That has to stop.”

Cutler said the situation is a tale of two cities with division in Washington, D.C., specifically the White House, with both parties contributing to it; and Boston, where the legislature is Democratic and Gov. Charlie Baker is Republican.

“And yet, we found a way to work together and to build consensus,” he said. “We don’t always agree on every issue, but we work together to try to solve problems. The nation could learn from what we’re doing in Massachusetts, where we have Democrats and Republicans working together to solve issues.”

On the regional level, Cutler said he has worked with Republican colleagues to provide paratransit ride services for the disabled, North River issues and 40B projects in Hanover, and worked with the Republican leader in the House on the Energy Save Act.

“Fundamentally, I believe, in politics this job should be about addition and not division,” Cutler said.

Semyrog replied that, in knocking on 5,500 doors across the district, she has heard residents say they feel “betrayed” and that his record is “lacking in bringing people together.” She did not offer specific examples, other than claiming his vote to defund police has divided the community.

Cutler countered that the chairman of the W-H School Committee, who is a lifelong Republican, supports him, as do GOP members of the Duxbury Planning Board and that people understand that he works across party aisles.

Asked to list three issues they see as most pressing in the state, Cutler termed his the “Three Es” — education, economic development and energy/climate issues.

“I’ve been fighting for school funding and changes in our school funding formula,” he said.

Special education funding and financial assistance to districts struggling with the challenges surrounding COVID-19 resulted in a pledge by Ways and Means that cities and towns would see no cuts to local aid.

Semyrog said her number one issue is public safety, economic recovery was also mentioned.

“I know my opponent doesn’t like to call it ‘defund the police,’ but really, [a bill passed in July] is a bill that will hurt our police officers by taking away their qualified immunity,” she said.

She said raising the gas tax at this time is also “despicable.”

“She’s certainly entitled to her own opinions on this, but she’s not entitled to her own facts,” Cutler responded. He said he voted for an additional revenue source dedicated to police training as well as other bills funding needs of local departments.

“There’s a broader issue at play here,” he said of national debates surrounding policing. “I would agree in one respect, I think our law enforcement does a fantastic job here. … I think there’s also a need to look at policing reform and accountability.”

He noted that Massachusetts is one of only four states lacking a licensing certification for police officers and the legislation sought to address that. Cutler said he does not favor defunding the police nor ending qualified immunity and is “disappointed that my positions are, frankly, being misconstrued.”

Semyrog said she has been unanimously endorsed by police unions in Pembroke and Hanson, as well as the Mass Cops union and asked if the vote wasn’t for defunding, why do police officers feel that it is.

“I feel this is a very important matter that you need to own,” she said.

On legislative goals to help constituents, Semyrog said the next two years must focus on economic recovery, vowing to introduce bills to help small business and expanding Chapter 70 funds for schools and to help first responders.

Cutler said he would continue to do just those things, as he said he has done since being elected to the seat, as well as fighting for local aid and leading on issues of climate, preventing abuse of the disabled and again stressed he supports the police and also has a string of union endorsements, as well as one representing nurses.

“Everything you’ve accomplished is your job,” Semyrog replied.

Cutler also said continuing to serve on Ways and Means, which works on crafting a state budget, remains his priority. He stressed that the committee, even amid COVID, has committed to hold harmless to any cuts in Chapter 70 and lottery aid, protecting local aid to cities and towns. He also hosted a Ways and Means hearing in the district for the first time.

Semyrog also said she has an eye on the Ways and Means Committee, asserting she would “do more.” She also has an eye on the Public Safety Committee and the Community Development and Small Businesses Committee. Cutler said those were good committees to aspire to and that he has served on the Community Development and Small Businesses Committee and has been endorsed by the chairman of the Public Safety Committee.

Semyrog said she knew nothing about Cutler before running, and her canvassing has led her to feel constituents want new representation.

Cutler said he does not know Semyrog well, but looks forward to get to know her better and was dismayed that she chose to take such a divisive position.

About the candidates

Cuter grew up in Duxbury and now lives in Hanson. The Skidmore College and Suffolk Law School graduate owns a small business in Hanson and is the former owner of Clipper Press, which published the Duxbury Clipper and Whitman-Hanson Express before those newspapers were sold in 2013 before he ran for office. He also earned a master’s degree in environmental policy from UMass, Dartmouth.

His previous governmental experience includes three years as a Selectman in Hull, four years on the Duxbury Planning Board and on that town’s Alternative Energy Committee for 10 years. He currently serves on civic or business associations in all three district communities.

Semyrog’s family emigrated to the United States when she was a little girl in 1988. She has seven siblings settling in Springfield to start a new life. Her family’s Christian faith made them a target for persecution in the USSR, she said, explaining that her grandfather served 28 years in a labor camp and two of his brothers were summarily executed for possessing bibles.

“I was reborn in this country,” she said.

She said she graduated with a degree in political science and has worked for a few members of Congress, including U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.

To watch the complete broadcast visit: https://youtu.be/06kyACQvVcA.

Learning pods help parents

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HANSON — Hybrid learning plans being followed in most area schools have forced parents to make some important decisions for the education and health of their children.

Working parents who can’t — or can no longer — work from home have an added dilemma: how to supervise their children’s remote learning if they can’t be at home, too?

The state’s Department Of Early Education and Care (DEEC) has one answer — remote learning pods.

One of those has been approved and is now operating at the Boss Academy of Performing Arts in Hanson.

Director KathyJo Boss has been approved by the DEEC to run a remote learning & activity pod for public school students with hybrid, remote learning schedules.

“It’s a tough time for people,” Boss said. “It’s inexpensive and it’s providing a service to the community that is desperately needed.”

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett was integral in helping achieve certification for Boss Academy as a learning pod.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the learning pod guidelines caught everyone a bit off-guard when they were introduced three or four weeks ago.

“It was a new concept, but a concept that I definitely thought was important for our community to have,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “If I was a parent with kids in the schools right now, I probably would be having my kid remote and looking for something like this.”

As a small business owner, she also saw it as a “great way to pivot” to a change that could help a business stay in business.

“One of the challenges for small business is trying to figure out how to be resilient during a time when the services you normally provide may not be in demand like they were prior to COVID-19, or there may be additional regulations on it that make it cost-prohibitive,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

On the heels of the Boss Academy learning pod approval, FitzGerald-Kemmett said Hanson has been approached about placing another at Camp Kiwanee by the Old Colony YMCA. That project is now in the approval process.

“We’re going to provide it as long as the community needs it. … This learning pod, for us, is just a temporary situation, it’s just until the schools can take them back full-time,” Boss said, noting that she had to apply for certification and pass inspections by the Board of Health, Building Inspector and Fire Department. “The state was kind of figuring it out, too. … We definitely went through the whole process.”

Parents who can’t be home to assist with online classes can sign their children up at Boss (https://www.bossacademy.net/learning-pod-registration) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., for up to five days a week. The program, which currently serves 10 pupils, has enough room for 10 more, according to Boss.

The cost is $35 per day, and goes down to $30 per day if students attend more than two days per week. She said it is a very flexible program, because in this environment, it has to be.

“We do have Boss Academy students, but we also have students that are … from all over the place,” Boss said, noting she has students from school districts all across the county, who come in for as many days as their schools’ plan and parents’ work schedules require. “We literally do their online learning with them, in terms of whether they have meetings with their teachers, if they have schoolwork that has to be done — that’s the first priority.”

She noted that, while her youngest daughter is busy with classwork online all day through WHRHS on virtual days, for middle school students that kind of remote work varies by school district and, sometimes, from teacher to teacher.

“They need supervision and they need guidance as to how to do it,” Boss said. “It’s challenging for the teachers, too. … We don’t profess to be a teacher, but we are definitely working with them to understand it.”

She said most of that work falls to her, with her husband Geoff Diehl providing IT support. That’s why she keeps the number of children enrolled to 10 now and a maximum of 20.

“We had the internet anyway, but we increased the bandwidth,” she said.

Health precautions are strictly enforced, with parents not permitted beyond the lobby.

“When kids come in the front door, they have their temperature taken and then their hands and their feet sanitized,” Boss said. “We’re using one room for the school room, and another for the activity room and the upstairs for a lunchroom, so it’s also a change of environment.”

Everything is spaced six feet apart in learning, activity and lunch areas.

She said activities and crafts, acting exercises, outside play and other activity in a different room from their remote, online lessons provides children with a break while surfaces are cleaned.

“I’ve been lucky,” Boss said of her business. “When the pandemic happened for everybody in March, we shut down for a week, like everybody, to figure out what was going on — and quickly went remote.”

All her remaining class schedules were conducted via Zoom, and only the big end of the year show has been disrupted. There are still plans to stage it in December. The school only lost 10 of a total enrollment of 300 during the pandemic.

Hanson lowers quorum for TM

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen, on Tuesday, Sept. 15 voted to lower the quorum required for the 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 3 rain-or-shine date for the fall special Town Meeting at the high school football field.

Selectmen voted to reduce the quorum required under a state act regarding municipal governance during the COVID-19 emergency from 100 to 50. Selectmen voted to schedule the special Town Meeting and then voted not to hold an annual Town Meeting as required by town bylaw.

“We’re not talking about an override,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said about the quorum, noting she expected to hear complaints from people about a small number of people making decisions for the whole town. “Most of these articles are primarily housekeeping.”

“We’ll take as many people as want to go,” Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said, noting he’d like to see as many as 300 to 400 people attend.

Town counsel Kate Feodoroff said the special act had been required because of the June 30 deadline for annual town meetings planned for the purpose of setting an annual budget. Otherwise, under Ch. 3 Sec. 9, communities are free to schedule town meetings as they wish.

“The further trick in Hanson is you have a bylaw which annually sets the special town meeting,” she said. “We call that the fall special town meeting, but because its set by bylaw, it’s actually an annual town meeting.”

By specifically setting the session as a special Town Meeting, it can he held any time. However, the annual Town Meeting designation usually applies when bylaw articles are up for discussion. This fall, the articles are exclusively financial, which are permitted at a special Town Meeting.

Feodoroff, therefore, recommended not holding an annual fall Town Meeting — instead, to schedule a special Town Meeting in October.

“If we put this off, we’re just going to have so much work to do in the spring,” said Mitchell. “I really hate this COVID kind of dictating what we’re doing, and I truly believe that, in the spring, we’re still going to have to social distance and we’re still going to have to adhere to a lot of the stuff that we have to today.”

Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan said her office would work with the Selectmen on whatever day they select for the October special Town Meeting.

“I’m just worried, if you have it on the Saturday, if it is pouring — I know you said rain or shine — how is that going to work?” she asked.

Mitchell explained that the board was going to look into leasing a tent in the event of rain, but argued that advising residents to bring rain gear as well as masks would help. He also pointed to the short warrant of only 18 or 19 articles as conducive to a shorter meeting. As of right now, no rain date is planned.

“I’m really getting a whole visual here on people with umbrellas trying to be recognized,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, noting that cooler temperatures would also have to be contended with during an outdoor meeting on an October morning. “Microphones, electronics, the seats getting wet, elderly people and access — I mean, it just sounds like a nightmare.”

Mitchell said he didn’t favor delaying the Town Meeting, suggesting it could be moved inside in the event of rain.

Both FitzGerald-Kemmett and Sloan favored that option, but Sloan noted it would have to be set up with the school.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said using the gym would provide more flexibility in keeping to the Oct. 3 date, while maintaining social distancing.

Back to school amid anxiety

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With the first day of school during a pandemic ahead of them on Tuesday, Sept. 15, school officials recognized there is still “tremendous anxiety” among students, parents, administrators and staff about what it’s going to look like.

An average classroom will have between 11 and 15 desks with creative signs posted to “help kids along the way to acclimate them to what our new normal is right now,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak to School Committee members during the Wednesday, Sept. 9 meeting.

“We set out to do something we thought was impossible, and we’re pretty damn close to being there,” Szymaniak said. “We have a good game plan. Principals and teachers are implementing that game plan.”

He said teachers were excited to be coming back to the classroom and hopes students share that excitement. Szymaniak also held a parent-school nurses Zoom call on Thursday, Sept. 10 to answer parents’ health-related questions. Class lists were released Sept. 9.

There will be 386 students on a fully remote learning plan and home-schooling requests went up to nearly 90 students from the 17 learning that way last school year.

Szymaniak said most of the home school requests came with the caveat that it was not a commentary on the school district, but a reflection of things going on at home with child care requirements and those parents can’t wait to send their children back to school the following year.

While transportation has been a challenge with only 23 students on a bus, Szymaniak said they were ready to go.

“We did the best we could with the challenges we had,” he said, noting there have been several cohort and resulting transportation changes to meet parent requests, but not all were possible because of social distancing requirements in classrooms and on buses.

WHEA President Kevin Kavka thanked the committee for approving the district’s memorandum of understanding with the teachers’ union regarding the hybrid learning plans to keep staff and students safe for the coming school year.

Parents can find more information on hybrid and remote instruction on the school district website or by calling school principals.

Szymaniak has asked for information from local boards of health if employers in either town see positive COVID cases among their employees in an effort to obtain guidance on what schools should do.

“I will over-step to make sure kids are safe rather than under-step,” Szymaniak said.

Based on a survey of 95 district teachers who live outside of Whitman and Hanson, he also asked the committee to open school buildings to the children of teachers who work in the district, hiring paraprofessionals to supervise them.

“I call it remote care, not actual instruction,” Szymaniak said, noting the paraprofessionals would have to be hired.

for public use.

“It would be nice to be able to do it,” said School Committee member Christopher Howard. “From what you’ve described, I certainly have some concerns that are not financial.”

Howard said having an extra child in a classroom, just looking at a computer screen all day — apart from what other pupils are doing — would be a distraction. Szymaniak explained the additional students would be located in the library and will continue to investigate the data and report back to the committee at its next meeting.

School Committee member echoed Howard concerns as well as what would be done with students in that population should they contract COVID-19.

Hanson sets its fall TM date

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen has set a tentative date of 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 3 for the special Town Meeting — at the W-H football field bleachers, so long as it could be arranged with the school district.

Selectman Matt Dyer has suggested moving the Town Meeting to a Saturday, according to Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell who said it was a good idea since the fall session’s warrant is usually shorter and that location is also a concern.

He said Hanson Middle School is not an ideal option and that they should explore options of having it outside or on a Saturday.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff and Town Moderator Sean Kealy said logistics for that session will involve weather and lighting conditions and quorum size.

“I’ve been apprised that there are one or two items that are really essential to get done,” Kealy said. “If it’s the opinion of Selectmen that we really need to have a meeting in October, then we should go forward with it.”

He urged that the warrant be kept very manageable, if not kind of short to move people in and out, Kealy said his preference would be to hold Town Meeting outside.

“Obviously, there are weather issues that we didn’t face in July,” he said. The ability to attract a quorum is probably a bigger concern, according to Kealy.

He noted the state is allowing towns to go below their quorum requirement — Hanson’s is 100 and can go as low as 20-25 under special legislation passed to address the coronavirus pandemic. Kealy suggested 50.

“A lot of people might appreciate a Saturday,” Kealy said.

Town athletic fields are also closed to activity until after a killing frost from dusk to dawn due to the elevated risk of EEE and West Nile Virus in the area.

Feodoroff said the emergency public gathering guidelines exempt Town Meetings as a town’s legislative body for indoor meetings, but if the town preferred an outdoor meeting, a Saturday is permissible.

Mitchell advocated meeting outside on a Saturday. With Oct. 10 being a likely date.

Selectman Jim Hickey suggested using high school fields would permit use of the field stands so chairs would not be needed. A consent agenda of grouped, non-controversial items — as had been done in July — was suggested.

Dyer agreed, based on the high school facilities and the mosquito concerns an outdoor meeting on a Saturday was preferable.

Lt. Hover hangs up his gear

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WHITMAN —With 34 years, and a career full of milestones, under his belt Whitman Fire Lt. Bob Hover spent his last official day at a four-alarm fire in Brockton on a mutual aid call for a building fire.

It was typical of Hover to stay to the end- his greatest responsibilities were to bring his crew home safe to their families after each shift.

He thanked all who attended his retirement open house on Monday afternoon, which culminated with a traditional ride home in the Whitman engine.

Hover, with great wit and intelligence, seemed to recall dates and memories with each friend, family and resident who greeted, wished him well and thanked him.

With department members all over the South Shore stopping in to “wish him a happy retirement” the afternoon was filled with smiles, tears and elbow bumps.

Hover’s family was in attendance his immediate family wife Karen, daughter Nicole and two sons Chris and Allen as well as a large extended family of great nieces and nephews.

Hover received commendations from the State of Massachusetts including:  State Rep. Alyson Sullivan, R-Abington; state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton; U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.; and various representatives for the Town of Whitman; many also knowing Hover personally for most of his three and a half  decades  in town.

His commands included countless fire calls, including a fatal house fire, hazardous materials; assisting with two baby deliveries and helping citizens throughout Whitman to name a few.

In a prepared statement through Chief Timothy Grenno of Whitman Fire- Hover’s career was highlighted: He began his career as a call firefighter on April 1, 1986. Two years later, he was appointed a full-time firefighter on Aug. 30, 1988, and then promoted to lieutenant on Jan. 24, 1999.

Chief Timothy Grenno thanked Hover at the retirement event and emphasizing his level of commitment to all those in attendance. Grenno  recounted the afternoon (Monday)  that kept him working right up until he sent a direct order that “he leave the building fire in Brockton  because it was time to retire.” Maybe a first under his command to tell someone to return to retire, which was lighthearted but purely engrained in Hover’s commitment of character.

“Lt. Hover gave 100% every day and was a dedicated and professional member of this department,” Grenno said.

“Bob made a tremendous difference to this department with his strong work ethic and knowledge that you can’t replace. He was the epitome of a good firefighter and fire officer, and we will miss him greatly.”

On the horizon Bob requested a “man-cave” from his wife Karen.  His new found time will be spent with family- the couple is looking forward to milestones with their three, young- adult children, camping and experiencing time on the open road with his motorcycle.

Bob a self proclaimed non- lover of snow will now be home to shovel and clear the driveway all winter long.

Karen said “having Bob home for snow storms and holidays will be different but a much welcomed change at their home.”

He also received various gifts, a hand carved shield from his duty crew, a flag that flew over the state house, and countless cards with well wishes.

SST outlines school year

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HANOVER — South Shore Tech will be returning to the 2020-21 school year under a hybrid instruction model on Monday, Sept 14, according to Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey, who reviewed the plan during a Thursday Aug. 13 meeting of the SST School Committee.

The committee approved the proposed plan.

All students will be supplied with either a ChromeBook or a laptop to start the year, with the laptops switched out for ChromeBooks when a new shipment arrives later in the school year. A tech help desk will also be established.

Instruction will begin on Sept. 16 after two days of student orientation. The calendar reflecting the new start date was also approved.

Frequent hand-washing requirements and building cleaning, mandatory mask regulations and bathroom monitors to keep students from hanging out in lavatories are being set up. A separate COVID nurse’s room is being designated and LPN hired to assist the school nurse. Ventillation systems are also being monitored.

“The key element of a hybrid model is that it’s going to allow us [the] flexibility to respond to circumstances, should they change,” Hickey said. “This is something to start with and, as things evolve in one way or another, we will adapt.”

Right now, students will be in academic settings for two days out of five in all grades and learning remotely the other three days, Hickey said. The two days will vary for freshmen and sophomores, depending on students’ assigned cohort. Remote learning days will be more accountable than it was in the spring. It will be in real time with a set schedule and attendance will be taken.

Remote strategies are also being designed in case the need arises to quarantine a group of students if one is exposed to COVID-19 or if the state requires another shutdown.

“All of the protocols and structures that we would employ in a face-to-face regular school year, we’ll employ here in the hopes of providing some structure for students,” he said.

For most students, the shop weeks will be a full week of in-person instruction, recognizing that while student safety in important, there must be a hands-on component, which is not easily replicated remotely.

Freshmen and sophomores will be in the school building all week for shop instruction, while juniors and seniors — except for allied health, computer tech, graphics and MET II — will go to school on an alternating day method, half being in the building and half being on remote learning at anyone time.

“We looked at our pressure points,” Hickey said about how the plan was developed. “We all know the building is too small and you layer in a public heath crisis like this and it really exacerbates some of the issues with size.”

Transportation was also examined on the state guidelines of 25 students on a bus.

The school day will be slightly shorter with morning and afternoon bus runs. Freshmen and sophomores will be on the same schedule each week with a 9:05 a.m. start time and 2:25 p.m. dismissal.

“If you’re a junior or a senior, your world is going to be split a little bit,” Hickey said, with instruction beginning at 7:40 a.m. and dismissed on shop weeks and at 1 p.m. The school day, shortened by 75 minutes to allow for the second run of buses, with buses cleaned between runs.

Hickey said it also provides better control of the flow of students into the building and on shop day.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has permitted the timing modification to allow the safe transportation of students.

With a three-foot spacing between students, PPE will be depended on to ensure safety, while for lunches 70 desks have been placed six feet apart in the gym and another 35 in the cafeteria during five lunch periods.

Hickey said if a minimum of six feet distancing were used for classroom instruction, SST would have been going to a completely remote learning model, Hickey said.

Each cohort of about 60 students will be located in classrooms grouped together with students staying in assigned rooms and teachers will switch rooms.

Shop teachers are being asked to separate students as well.

Seniors will be able to continue with coop jobs with the expectation that employers will continue to comply with OSHA guidelines.

Old Cottage Farm keeps Hanson couple busy

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Old Cottage Farm in Hanson is hidden away behind wooden, gray fence panels with lush, flowering vines. Commuters on the busy Route 14 through town have perhaps driven past the property un-noticed.

Ruth Sylvester and her husband Dean have raised four children and have been at the homestead for nearly 52 years. They have developed the land into a fruitful farmland with goats across the street on their second piece of property- a total of eight acres.

Undeterred by a hard day’s work   Sylvester says she allows herself to sleep in but not past six o’clock, a luxury compared to 3:30 a.m. in years past.

“Life is not a free trip; what you put in you get out of it,” said Ruth.

The couple in their mid 70’s finds the energy to keep up with the daily tasks of a farm which takes…

“All day long”, they both replied with a laugh.

“You have to keep moving”, she said.

Accompanied by the playful Casey a four-year-old English Springer Spaniel, the Sylvesters wandered their enclosed gardens as four hundred chickens at the far end of the property socialized outside their coop.

“You take a seed that is tiny…  you cannot see it and it produces this, “ said Ruth proudly gesturing her crops with open arms.

  A sweet smell of peaches ripening in the trees lingered in the air with more than 870 plants: 20 varieties of tomatoes, dozens of varieties of squash, lettuce and cucumbers to name a few.  She said there are days when she calls it work depending on the weather and heat but she is devoted to the land and has no foreseeable motivation to discontinue doing what she loves.

Specializing in honey production Dean keeps 30 bee hives strategically placed along the wood line of their property. They will produce upwards of 800 pounds by the season’s end.

Although she is modest and humbled by the flattering remarks it’s Ruth, according to Dean, who begins the entire garden every season starting with seedlings in a greenhouse, planting every last one.

Dean is the resident mechanic on property and there is no shortage of jobs to complete.  Although the couple spends plenty of time ‘together’, working side by side with their spouse has a different meaning. They each plan their daily to-do list simultaneously achieving the same goals needed for the farm, however, quite independently. They both agreed. There is plenty of space for that.

For years they have placed a wooden, French style produce cart in their front yard and using the ‘honor system‘ as payment in their metal box,  locals frequent the farm stand to purchase their produce. Farm fresh eggs along with their jars of honey are also for sale on their indoor screened porch.

Ruth just retired less than a year ago from her full time job at age 76 from Traveler’s insurance as an account manager. She attributes her green thumb to her childhood.  Her dad was Canadian and got killed in the war. Her mother brought her to see her grandparents in Six Mile Brook near Pictou County, Nova Scotia for two months a year. The 400 acre farm had no telephone, no electricity and no running water, she said.

After all is done for the day with the water well on their property and a stretched hose they are fortunate, thankful, and sometimes tired.

The farm stand is located at 744 West Washington Street in Hanson.

W-H honors state champions

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As Division 2 state champions the Whitman Hanson boys’ basketball team was honored on Monday night at the Dennis M. O’Brien field. Their showcase of talents at the TD Garden played out in March when they clinched the victory but fell short when the season was shortened in June due to Covid.

In June when preparations for the  final game were being made  and immediately following the cancelled game against Taconic Coach Bob Rodgers talked with The Express Sports Reporter Nate Rollins.

“One thing I told the kids is to look up at the banners in the gym on that boys’ basketball league championship banner, there’s a co-champion in there,” said Rodgers, who wrapped up his 20th year on the Panthers’ bench. “Nobody knows what year it is. It’s such a great accomplishment for the kids to win our first-ever state championship. It’s not going to say co-champions; it’s going to say state champions. That’s what they are.”

The team was honored in Monday’s short ceremony as parents and their varsity athletes viewed several clips of their season with memories highlighting the final year for seniors playing at Whitman Hanson.

Pete Smith representative of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association MIAA also presented the team with medals on behalf of the organization.  The champs received personalized jackets and championship rings as well.

Cancellation of the June title game Rodgers addressed the loss of playing time and the many changes experienced since the spring due to the pandemic.

“For the one last moment to be together as a team and I knew that it would be tremendously disappointing but when you think of what the whole world, the kids that play in the spring and families that have lost loved ones (pause) it really pales in comparison,” said Rodgers, who has officially served his 20th season with the Panthers.

During the ceremony he recalled the contributions, and efforts of players calling their team work ‘unselfish play, with everybody contributing’ to the state championships at the Garden.

He acknowledged several families as well as players who had tough roads and challenges; applauding their countless contributions of time, selflessness and volunteer efforts through the four years in the Whitman Hanson basketball and sports programs.

Sue Moss, retired wellness teacher and sports photographer at Whitman Hanson who is lovingly known as “Boss Moss,” was given a jacket and a hearty thank you for all her time and volunteer work she devotes to the sports department and families.

(Express sports correspondent Nathan Rollins contributed to this report.)