Whitman and Hanson town administrators will meet with school district Business Services Director Christine Suckow over the summer to examine the numbers and create a document outlining revenue — and expenses for all departments and capital improvement needs — as they begin work on a comprehensive budget approach for next fiscal year.

Another meeting will be scheduled when that process is concluded, most likely before Sept. 11, as Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam urged a realistic fiscal outlook be ready by September.

Former W-H School Committee Chairman Wilbur Danner of Hanson had suggested appointing subcommittees to examine the “actual cost of the schools or the departments” and bring that information back for discussion.

“We can sit here and talk forever about what we need. We need something tangible … then work together to try and reach that goal,” agreed School Committee member Robert Trotta.

More than two dozen town and school district officials, School Committee members and concerned residents from both communities met Monday, June 12, conducting a wide-ranging discussion to begin the process of determining how to best coordinate town and school budgets to meet ongoing fiscal challenges.

“This is not a School Committee meeting,” said Chairman Bob Hayes, who facilitated the session Monday night. “This is a meeting of people in town and town officials. … [We’re trying] to be objective to try and settle some of this budget stuff, and it’s not just school budgets — the towns are having the same issues.”

The greatest need is one of more revenue to fund all town budgets, officials said.

“We’re trying to figure out how, collectively, how to move forward,” Hayes said. “For years people have urged us to start early to see what we could do. Now we’re off and running.”

He stressed the group is in no way trying to circumvent boards of selectmen, but rather seeks to come up with ideas for addressing financial challenges facing both communities.

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, attended and state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman was represented by staff member David Walsh.

“You’re not alone,” Cutler said. “Every town is facing these kind of challenges. … At the state level, we’re having the same sort of issues with revenue, our revenues are not meeting their benchmarks.”

New state revenue sources are being considered, such as an Airbnb tax or a surtax on the state income tax, as well as the revenue from now-legal recreational marijuana, once governing legislation is complete, he said. Absent major changes such as those, Cutler doesn’t expect to see Chapter 70 increases for the next three years or so.

“I think we should be suing the state,” School Committee member Fred Small said about cuts to such mandated reimbursement programs.

Hanson Selectmen Chairman James McGahan and Whitman Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski also attended along with Whitman Finance Committee member Shawn Kain and Michael Dugan of the Hanson Finance Committee.

“We’re coming down to two basic principals,” Dugan said. “Where’s the revenue coming from and what are the expenses we need to support. … Poor choice of words, but where the biggest fires are going to be.”

Schools represent about 33 percent of Hanson’s budget and 65 percent of Whitman’s. Student population also has an affect on those percentages.

Kain urged a greater level of transparency in the budgeting and financial planning process, with a long-term approach.

“If we’re going to ask people to sacrifice, it’s very important that we demonstrate to people how we’re sacrificing in all departments,” Kain said.

Lynam said gross estimates from the towns and the schools by August or September would help identify what the towns can expect for the next fiscal year’s budgets.

“The bigger picture is our ability to identify our resources, your needs and put them together to figure out how to meet them,” Lynam said. “The elephant in the room is how much of that budget has to be allocated to education. … What I would like to see from the schools is earlier estimates.”

Whitman resident Christopher George asked why firefighters and police personnel did not face the same layoffs as teachers during recent tight budget years.

“The only department that lost employees was the schools,” he said. “Every other town around us has figured out they need more revenue. … In the absence of more revenue, the other departments have, essentially, kept level service and at some point that’s got to give.”

Lynam said finding the revenue was the only viable solution.

“We’re not going to cut fire,” he said. “We’re not going to have people waiting for an ambulance for 13 minutes because only one shift’s on. You’re not going to cut police with everything that’s going on.”

He said there are three departments that deliver a “huge percentage of essential services” — the schools, police and fire department — along with public works.

“The rest of us are overhead,” Lynam said. “But without that overhead, nothing else gets done.”

Practically speaking, George said he is talking about an operational override that could result in cuts across the board to all departments if it failed.

“This group is talking more of getting together to see how we’re going to expand revenue, not how we’re going to kill each other,” Hayes said.

Whitman resident Marshall Ottina also urged that public safety officials be included in the meetings to help ensure the financial plan is comprehensive, representing all town departments.

“Department-wise [approach] tends to pit one against the other, and we don’t want to do that anymore because nobody wins,” agreed Whitman-Hanson Education Association Vice President Beth Stafford. “If we present a united front and present one thing ‘for the town’ … I think that’s really important.”

School Committee member Dan Cullity noted that the overall budget problem started in 2008 when the state reduced its Chapter 70 reimbursement from about 70 percent to about 50 percent. The state has also informed the district that the towns must increase funding closer to the expected target share.

Grants that have been depended on to fill the void and support needed programs are also beginning to run out, which present another budget challenge.

McGahan asked about the possibility of hiring a professional grant-writer, perhaps one paid on the basis of the successful applications they write.

“Grants are called soft money,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner. “They’re going to be here for a period of time and then they’re gone, so in terms of sustainability that’s a concern.”

The district often has to partner with other districts or educational collaboratives that better qualify with demographic profiles in obtaining grants.

School Committee member Alexandra Taylor asked about the likelihood of attracting more commercial development to benefit the tax base.

“From a practical standpoint, the only way to generate that revenue is to move Whitman and Hanson to a highway,” Lynam said. “We’re too far off the road to attract large businesses.”

While Whitman does well with small business, revenue raising is limited to taxes and fees, he said.

Elimination or charging fees for non-mandated busing of school children was also questioned as a possible revenue source by a parent. But Lynam argued families with two working parents often depend on that transportation for their children.

“That’s a voters’ decision,” he said.

Gilbert-Whitner also noted the district is required by law to provide transportation for any student who lives two miles or more from a school, and is reimbursed for transporting students within a mile and a half.

Whitman resident Cheryl George pointed to surrounding towns’ success in passing operational overrides to support all departments. But others pointed out, Whitman-Hanson’s regional school district, and the commercial tax base of those surrounding towns, makes the process more difficult.

Amid glances back on the past four years and glimpses of future goals, the 272 members of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Class of 2017 graduated Friday, June 2 with tears, cheers and laughter.

“As we leave here today, remember that we have all been blessed with enormous opportunities, and it is our responsibility to take each door that is opened to us and use it to make a contribution,” said Valedictorian Olivia Morse. “With the strife and conflict that is plaguing the world today, our courage, compassion, and determination is needed now more than ever.”

It was a night to celebrate great academic and extra-curricular achievement, but Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak also recognized graduates who had more pressing challenges to overcome on their way to a diploma.

Honor Society graduates, 12 military-bound seniors, band, chorus and show choir members, 81 Adams Scholarship winners, athletics participants and sportsmanship award winners, championship teams, Superfans, academic competition award winners, art students who participated in the Memory Project for orphan paintings and various art competitions, Mock Trial competition participants and seniors who have worked to support fundraisers for several local nonprofits were among the students recognized by Szymaniak for a round of applause from the audience.

“Today is about academic achievement,” Szymaniak said. “However, there’s some of you … that should be commended for actions that aren’t on any traditional awards list.”

He referred to “The Missing Awards List,” which he ran across on a blog that recognized students “brave enough to come to school the day after a bad day.”

“I wish I could give an award for those sitting here who did homework and studied while juggling a job, had to take care of siblings or a sick family member, to help pay the bills,” he quoted. “I wish I could give an award to those of you who cope with surgeries, allergies, medications, conditions, tests, procedures, doctors appointments, measured diets … as part of your normal.”

He also saluted the parents who take care of the students who don’t get the awards, applauding the award-winners while thinking “my kid, too.”

Student speakers also saluted the hard work all their classmates have done toward this day.

“Whether you believe it or not, each and every one of you seniors out there has become more mature and grown tremendously, not just in your education, but as a person over these four short years at Whitman- Hanson,” agreed Class President Lily Spicer in her welcoming remarks. “We’re not freshmen anymore and soon we won’t even be seniors. Together it is time to say goodbye. Enjoy this summer and within the next few months, we will all begin a new and exciting chapter of our lives.”

“Our time here has emphasized that life isn’t meant to be easy, and that the greatest things we could ever hope for arrive only with work and determination,” Salutatorian Emily Cook said. “Dreams and aspirations are what motivate us to act, to pursue success; but never let your dreams remain just that – figments and reminders of what could have been.”

Graduation night awards [below] were presented to: Emily Cook, Zara Rabinovitz, Madison Jolliemore, Emily Gonzalez, Michael Gorman, Jessica Gaudreau, Devyn Smith, Patrick Brown, Owen Lydon, Taylor McVeigh, Luke Tamulevich, Morse, Robert Caliri, Hannah MacDonald, Mikayla White and Spicer.

“Each graduating class is unique in its accomplishments,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “Since their arrival as freshmen in 2013, they have participated in academic and athletic programs in a building that supports 21st-Century teaching and learning. … Now it’s up to the graduates to shape their future and, as you just heard, they have a future and it’s a great one.”

Hayes said the class has the keys to their own future success, but offered some advice.

“Confront challenges,” he said. “Learn to use your time wisely. Put down that cell phone and socialize with your friends and family. Look to the future with hope, embrace the world we live in and leave it better that you found it.”

Both Hayes and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner encouraged the graduates to return often to touch base with the school because they will always be W-H Panthers.

“This is the best day ever,” Gilbert-Whitner said, quoting her grand daughter’s approach to life. “You’re just the best ever and it’s just so exciting to be here and feel the energy here this evening.”

In her prepared remarks, Gilbert-Whitner reflected on the meaning of success.

“Now, at this very moment in time, each one of you is a success, having completed all of the requirements to attain a high school diploma,” she said. “In earning your diploma this evening, you have accomplished a tremendous amount from the beginning of your public school journey in kindergarten to the stage this evening.”

She also quoted the poem “Success,” attributed to both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bessie Anderson Stanley:

“To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Senior Sophie O’Brien, the class speaker, noted the obstacles that had to be overcome on the way to successfully completing high school.

“And along the way, many of us can agree in saying we got lost, or in other words, felt like we got defeated, or that we just wanted to give up,” she said. “But clearly, we got out of bed, and we didn’t let those late nights, bad grades, or tough losses, stop us because look where we are. We have made it to the biggest stage of our lives so far and made the journey worthwhile.”

WHITMAN — An occasional chilly sprinkle from leaden skies couldn’t put a damper on the town’s Memorial Day parade and traditional observances on Monday, May 29.

After last year’s parade was rained out, organizers vowed this year’s parade would go on as rain was forecast to hold off until the afternoon.

As the parade formed at Court Street ahead of the 9:30 a.m. step-off, residents began to line the South Avenue route in front of Town Hall and Cub Scout leaders organized a group photo on the steps to occupy their energetic scouts.

Town Hall was the first stop along the parade route for a prayer by American Legion member Richard Cameron and remarks by state Rep. Geoff Diehl.

“On this Memorial Day, help us to remember with deepest gratitude and awe the extraordinary men and women who, out of love, gave their lives to protect our beloved country and preserved our liberty,” Cameron prayed. “Help us to be ever-mindful, also, of the wounded heroes in our midst who, with valorous hearts, risked their lives that we might prosper and that our children’s future would be secure.”

Diehl also honored the sacrifice of those lost in defense of country, noting that international peace has been the goal of U.S. military deployments in both world wars as well as current missions in the Middle East.

“Americans are fortunate to have not fought a foreign army on our own soil in preservation of our liberty since the War of 1812,” Diehl said. “But we have had to remain vigilant after attacks on Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Centers, where justice for the innocent and the unarmed has cost us the lives of too many brave young men and women of our armed forces.”

Diehl said Memorial Day observances help keep those fallen warriors alive in our memories.

“It is our duty to answer their sacrifice by immortalizing them … so as not to ever to allow the life they gave, along with many of their brothers and sisters in arms, to be diminished,” he said. “They say that a person dies twice — the time when they take their last breath and the time when their name is last spoken.”

Memorial Day “provides the living legacy that keeps them from ever dying in vain,” Diehl said.

A ceremonia volley from a VFW firing squad and the playing of “Taps,” and “Echo,” by W-H students Sam Andruk and Matt Gallagher, were followed by the parade’s reforming and proceeding to the fire station on Temple Street for another wreath ceremony before concluding the route of march at Colebrook Cemetry where Boy Scout Nathan Morse read the “Gettysburg Address” during wreath ceremonies at the Civil War Unreturned and American Legion memorials.

Parade participants also gathered at the Whitman Park flag pole for the national anthem and pledge of allegiance and at the Civil War Soldiers Monument for Morse’s reading of Gen. Logan’s Order establishing the first Memorial Day in 1868 and finally to the Veterans of All Wars monument for a prayer and wreath ceremony.

Participating in Whitman’s parade were Grand Marshall Paul Riccilli of VFW Post 697, co-Marshall George Lopes of American Legion Post 22; Diehl, Town Administrator Frank Lynam Selectman Dan Salvucci; the Whitman Police and Fire departments, VFW Post 697, American Legion Post 22 and auxiliary; Sons of the American Legion Squad 22; Post 22 Legion Riders, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 119; Knights of Columbus Council 347; W-H band and majorettes, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of Troop and Pack 22 as well as Troop and Pack 59; and Girl Scouts, Brownie and Daisy Scouts.

Hanson opts for Hickey, Kemmett and change

HANSON — Hanson voters looked to voices of change as former Recreation Commission Chairman Jim Hickey garnered 579 votes as the top finisher in a four-person race. Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett was also elected as a Selectman with 543 votes. Incumbent Selectman Bill Scott fell short with 422 votes and former Selectman Jim Egan received 348.

The turnout in Hanson was 14 percent of the town’s registered voters.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Hickey as he stopped by Whitman Town Hall for post-election interview with Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV. “I really think the people wanted a change.”

The former baseball and softball coach, stressed he is not a politician, but that his recent work as chairman of the Recreation Commission gave him a glimpse of how things worked — and he didn’t like it.

“Somebody had to step up and I was the one always complaining, so I stepped up,” he said. “I’m so glad that it’s Laura and I, to be honest, because I think we will work well together.”

He said he thinks they will learn and listen to the town. Hickey, who has used a Facebook page to offer Hanson residents a voice on the issues, pledged to keep that going now that he has been elected. He stressed his telephone number is also listed in the book.

“If anybody wants to talk to me, I’ll be more than happy to listen,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she wants to support people who seek positive change in town.

“I’d like to bring the community together, and I guess that must have resonated with enough people that I got the votes that I got,” she told WHCA. “But the hard work begins now.”

After that interview, FitzGerald-Kemmett told the Express that she had been nervous, but Selectman Kenny Mitchell said he had predicted before 3 p.m. Saturday that Hickey and FitzGerald-Kemmett would be the winners.

“I’m in a state of shock,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said of her win. “I was really hopeful, but it’s just so unpredictable. … You hope you’ve connected with them somehow, but you just can’t be certain. To me the message that came across loud and clear is we’re sick of this divide, divide, divide.”

She points to the closure of Maquan School and the district school budget as pressing issues. She also indicated she may volunteer for the Highway Building Subcommittee to ensure transparency for the taxpayers on that issue.

Contacted by phone at his home, Scott declined to comment on the election results. FitzGerald-Kemmett offered a salute to the work Scott and Selectman Bruce Young had done on the board and thanked Egan for the race he ran.

Egan, for his part, said he “anticipated that I would not be elected” but was surprised he did not do better.

Mitchell also offered a tip of his cap to Scott during a WHCA-TV interview with Kevin Tocci and Bob Hayes.

“I’m disappointed that Bill Scott didn’t get in,” Mitchell said. “Bill and I have done a lot on the board over the past [few] years. But it’s always nice to see two new faces, too. … I can work with anyone, so I’m looking forward to working with both of them.”

Mitchell, like FitzGerald-Kemmett, cited the highway barn, the future of the Plymouth County Hospital site and the Maquan School closure as important issues facing the town.

Whitman returns Kowalski, picks LaMattina for Board of Selectmen

WHITMAN — Receiving 680 votes in a four-person race, Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski was re-elected on Saturday, May 20. Finance Committee member Randy LaMattina was also elected to the Board of Selectmen with 626 votes. Newcomers Laura Howe, with 389 votes and Nita Sault, with 188 votes rounded out the field.

Whitman voters also passed a $310,000 Proposition 2 ½ override question to add three more firefighters to Whitman Fire-Rescue beginning July 1 by a margin of 591 for the override and 409 against.

Ten percent of the town’s 10,34 registered voters — 1,126 — cast ballots.

LaMattina said he was grateful for the result and credited his opponents for their well-run campaigns.

“I’m kind of shocked that I came so close to an incumbent like that,” he said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. … I think [the campaign] exemplified everything that is right with politics today.”

Kowalski, for his part, confessed after the result was announced, that he had been nervous during the day.

“I like the people I was running against and I know they did a good job and I felt they were getting out the vote for them,” he said. “It was kind of nice to hear the results come in, and I’m just glad it’s over. I’m looking forward to the next three years.”

He said he feels for Howe and Sault for all the work they put into campaigning, adding he hopes they continue to stay involved in the town. Both Howe and Sault were gracious in defeat as all four candidates present at Town Hall for voting results offered comments. Selectmen and School Committee winners were sworn in by Town Clerk Dawn Varley following the result announcements.

“I wished we got more voters out,” said Howe who added the rainy weather over the previous several days had made campaigning difficult. “I only came here to make a stand because my voice wasn’t heard, and the fact I came in third and did well, I’m very happy.”

Sault said her campaign was one of the best things she has ever done in her life.

“One-fifth of the vote for someone who’s only been back in town for a year and fighting cancer at the same time,” Sault said was an encouraging result. “I’m ready to serve the town in any capacity, it doesn’t matter, and I’m very happy that Carl was re-elected. He’s done a lot for the town, so I’m very happy.”

Sault said she valued the experience of participating in candidate forums helped her learn to think on her feet.

“It was nothing but a win-win situation for me, anyway,” she said. “I have wonderful friends in town so I feel very, very blessed.”

LaMattina said old-school campaigning “outside of the Facebook world” — although he did use social media — made the difference for him.

Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, meanwhile, leaned heavily on social media to inform voters of his department’s personnel needs.

“Once the taxpayers saw the facts and were educated on the issue, they supported it,” Grenno said. “I did a total social media campaign this time. We had some good discussions and I think it was a great way to educate the people and I thank them whole-heartedly for coming out and supporting us. It helps us help them.”

He said he put the information out there and let the taxpayers vote.

“I’m very excited,” Grenno said. “I had faith in the Whitman taxpayers. I knew that they wouldn’t let us down. I know that they support public safety, they always have and I think they always will.”

In a three-person race for School Committee in Whitman, incumbents Steven Bois (693 votes) and Alexandra Taylor (549 votes) edged challenger Marshall Ottina (459 votes).

“It wasn’t a popularity contest, it was more than that,” Bois said. “It was about students. It’s not about me serving.”

Bois said that, if anyone else had won, the important people to keep in mind are the district’s students.

“We carve ourselves in a way to make sure the students have 21st century technology, 21st century materials — the best of the best when it comes to our teachers, which we’ve always seen,” he said.

Taylor said that while Ottina was close to her in a couple of precincts, she wasn’t really worried about the outcome.

“I just leave it up to the powers that be and I know it will all work out in the end,” she said. “I think my experience on the School Committee, knowing how it works, knowing how things need to be done, I think that helped.”

Graduating seniors will receive four tickets to graduation per family under a trial program approved 8-1 — with Chairman Bob Hayes dissenting — by the School Committee on Wednesday, May 10. The policy will be revisited each year.

Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak recommended the change after he received complaints from some parents about the general admission system used in the past.

The use of tickets will require using the main office door at about 4:45 p.m., for ticket-holder admission before the gym doors open to general admission at 5:30 p.m. All unoccupied seats would be up for grabs at 5:30 p.m.

The tickets would be handed out to seniors on the first day of commencement rehearsal, with the instruction to return any unneeded tickets to the office the next day “so that they don’t go up on eBay,” Szymaniak said. “I’ve seen it — it happens in Pembroke.”

Hayes, who noted he has had to “make peace” between bickering families at some graduations, stressed the need to provide clearly worded instruction letters to parents that students make sure their parents get. Lost tickets also create a problem, he said.

“You’re going to need more people to be out in the trenches figuring out the saving [of seats], because it’s going to happen,” he said.

Szymaniak said he is trusting the people of Whitman and Hanson to behave honorably and make good choices.

“I’m not putting students in the position to take tickets, I’m not putting students in position to make judgments for adults,” Szymaniak said, noting staff members or other adult volunteers would be asked to fill that role. “That’s not comfortable for me, that’s not comfortable for kids. … “Maybe next year this doesn’t work and we go back to something.”

He told the parents who made the request for a change that he would look into the situation, meeting with Assistant Principal David Floeck and Administrative Assistant Siobhan Horton, who coordinate the ceremony, and Facilities Director Ernest Sandland about the number of chairs fire codes permit on the gym floor. Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., advised Sandland that 1,700 chairs are permitted on the floor, along with room for another 500-600 to stand on the floor.

“I was quite honest with them — I don’t know how it flows,” Szymaniak said of the current system, explaining he is with seniors inside the school for the hours before the graduation ceremony. “Once 4:30 p.m. hits, I’m with kids. … It’s really the best hour and a half I spend with seniors because everybody’s excited.”

Parents are known to begin standing in line at the gym entrance as soon as the school day ends at about 1:40 p.m. until the doors open at 5 p.m.

There is also overflow seating in the second-floor lecture hall and the air-conditioned performing arts center — as well as standing room for nearly 900 on the walking track overlooking the gym floor.

“I also asked my South Shore Principal group what they do for graduation, and I looked at schools that are about the same size as us,” Szymaniak said.

He found a variety of ways to approach graduation ceremony admission.

Pembroke, like W-H, does indoor ceremonies only. Many other schools plan for outdoor ceremonies, with the option to move indoors in case of rain with admission by ticket only.

Duxbury (250-300 seniors), Scituate, Hingham and Silver Lake all provide three tickets per family. Pembroke makes three to five tickets available; Abington provides six (125 seniors); Hanover (175 kids) does four; and Weymouth (400) and Brockton (150) both provide two tickets. Foxboro has no limits on attendance.

“The parents have a valid issue,” Szymaniak said. “Can we make it better?”

He calculated how many tickets the school could make available, based on the size of the gym and spillover areas and came up with two scenarios to discuss before making his recommendation for the graduating class of about 280 — stay the same or offer either two tickets per senior or four. He also had to calculate in the 30 people on stage, including administrators, School Committee members and class officers; 60 faculty members, about 75 band and chorus members as well as 50 to 60 50-year graduates.

Students with blended families would have to choose between parents and step-parents with the two-ticket option.

“We would still have lines, but I can guarantee a seat — maybe not together — but I can guarantee a seat for four people in a family,” he said of the four-ticket option, making that recommendation. “My issue would be around reserved seating.”

The open admission policy has allowed members of the community to attend, as well.

School Committee member Christopher Howard suggested a small post-event committee could be appointed to review the use of tickets and whether it should be retained for next year.

Szymaniak also reminded the senior class that the “Senior Assassin” water pistol game is not sanctioned by the school and therefore not permitted on school grounds or at on-campus events during or after the school day.

WHITMAN — She was only a week early, but newborn Rebecca Bennett certainly has made a grand entrance, arriving in the family car on the side of Route 27 in Whitman Tuesday morning.

In labor but not expecting such a quick delivery, her parents were driving to the hospital — as they have with their four other children, who happen to be all boys.

“We thought we could make it to the hospital but she had other plans,” said local mom Sara Bennett, in a phone interview from Signature Health Care Brockton Hospital on Wednesday morning.

They finally got their girl, who has also given them lots to talk about.

Sara told her husband to pull over as the baby was already there.

Although the delivery was “easier” for the experienced mom of five the roadside delivery was not something she would want to do again by herself, she said

“Whitman Fire/ EMS arrived and asked what we needed and I said, ‘nothing … she is already here,” Bennett recalled Wednesday morning.

Mom, dad and baby are all healthy, she added. The pink bundle of joy weighs 7 pounds 8 ounces and is 19 ½ inches long.

Calling 911, little Rebecca’s dad pulled to the side of the road so paramedics from Whitman Fire could secure the baby’s airway and cut the umbilical cord, then wrapped and transported mom and baby in the ambulance.

Bennett said the guys (Whitman firefighters) “were wonderful and so nice.”

She even found some time to post a note to the department on their public Facebook page it read:

“A special thank you to Whitman Fire/Rescue for the transport to the hospital after having my baby on the side of Route 27 in our car…they were professional and so caring!”

Chief Timothy Grenno replied on Facebook extending congratulations to the family and acknowledged the recognition of gratitude for his department members.

“With all the tragedy we and (my guys) see on a daily basis it’s nice to see a positive and heartwarming incident that really shows the qualifications and skills of our paramedics and firefighters,” said Grenno.

WHITMAN — Voters at Monday’s annual Town Meeting supported Fire Chief Timothy Grenno’s Article 23 proposal to raise and appropriate $310,000 outside the levy limit to fund the salary cost of hiring three new firefighter/paramedics for Whitman Fire-Rescue.

The article, on which the Finance Committee was divided, also transferred $20,000 from the reserve from appropriation ambulance account to equip the new personnel. Voters at the May 20 annual Town Election will have the final say. Two years ago, Grenno had asked for eight additional firefighters, but the department did not receive the grant funding sought to pay a portion of that effort.

While Grenno expressed optimism on the chances it would pass, he said he is prepared to work hard to convince voters of the need.

“The Town Meeting voters have always supported the public safety departments in Whitman, hands-down,” Grenno said after the meeting adjourned. “The ballot box is a different question. It’s a tough budget time, on family budgets as well. … But I’m going to get out there and educate the people.”

He plans on using every communication avenue open to him, from social media and cable access TV to meetings with different groups in town to “get the facts out there.”

“I think, when I present the facts and show the taxpayers what goes on within the four walls of Whitman Fire-Rescue, and how it’s almost impossible to cover the emergency call volume that we have, I think that they’ll be sympathetic to us and understand that this is a real need and that we’re not crying wolf.”

Police Chief Scott Benton pledged to add his support.

“From a public safety standpoint I obviously support it,” Benton said. “I thought he did a great job. It was a great presentation — he definitely made his case.”

Benton added he not only respects Grenno as a fire chief, and considers him a friend, he said Grenno does an outstanding job in advocating for his men and the people of Whitman.

“I absolutely support what he is doing,” Benton said. “I hope the townspeople will fund it.”

Grenno provided the same PowerPoint presentation to Town Meeting voters that he gave before the Board of Selectmen a few weeks ago. The Whitman Fire Department became a full-time service in 1965 with five members per shift. In 1973, with an ambulance service added to the department, staffing levels remained at five per shift, where they remain today. The goal is to add one firefighter per shift, Grenno said.

“We need six people per shift,” he said.

In 1965 call volume for both fire and medical emergencies was 496 runs during the year. Last year, call volume was up to 2,664 runs. Medical emergencies make up 64 percent of all responses.

When calls come in, priority EMS calls — chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures and overdoses, for example — all five firefighters on a shift respond. For non-priority first calls — such as orthopedic cases — three firefighters respond, leaving two and possibly a shift commander to respond to subsequent calls, Grenno explained.

Based on a one-room fire, a three-person engine response has a 38-percent effectiveness rating. That increases to 65 percent for a four-person company and 100 percent for five responding firefighters or more.

Last year, the fire station was empty 18 percent of the time due to call volume, with subsequent calls dependent on mutual aid, which helps but takes from 20 minutes to an hour to get to a call.

Grenno received backing at Town Meeting from Finance Committee Vice Chairman Randy LaMattina, residents Tom Evans, Richard MacKinnon and Neil Gorman as well as state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, spoke in favor of the article. Finance Committee Chairman Michael Minchello, meanwhile, said he was not against the need for more staffing, but sought an alternative view on how to tighten the budget, arguing the presentation does not reduce overtime costs.

“You can arrive at a fire scene in the newest fire truck, the shiniest fire truck, but it’s when you get off  … the manpower at that scene is what matters,” said LaMattina.

“Every citizen is going to benefit by this,” Evans said. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

MacKinnon, president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, also endorsed the override.

“We’re grossly understaffed in Whitman,” the Washington Street resident and Whitman firefighter said. “I urge the town members here to at least put it to an override.”

Court Street resident Gorman, told of a brother in “a different town” who died from smoke inhalation in a four-alarm fire a year ago.

“This is people’s lives,” he said, noting that he later discovered that an engine could not respond to the fire at his brother’s house because of staffing issues in that town’s fire department.

“I agree this needs to go to the town for a vote,” Diehl said, noting federal and state changes to the amount of revenue an ambulance department can generate as well as how certain medical cases are transported.

WHITMAN — Faced with notification that the Mass. Interlocal Insurance Association (MIAA) is no longer interested in insuring unoccupied buildings — and a tight budget scenario for the next two years — Selectmen voted Tuesday, April 25 to “roll the dice” against authorizing a private insurance policy on the vacant Park Avenue School.

Such a policy could cost between $14,000 and $16,000 per year that is not in the budget, according to Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

The brick, wood-frame school building is vacant and boarded up on a parcel of land deeded to a trust to the town by the Clark family in 1947 “for school purposes only.”

“The difficulty for us is those last four words, said Lynam, who plans to petition the Attorney General’s office for permission to change the use of the building. He said the town’s argument would be that no one could have foreseen that the town would someday no longer need the school when the property was placed in trust to the town. The school was built in 1951.

“We would not be insured for replacement value in any event,” Lynam said. “The only insurance we would have, as we sit today, is coverage for maintenance if there was minor damage to the frame or removal if it was damaged to the point where it had to be torn down.”

Razing the building would cost between $100,000 and $150,000 he estimated, but Lynam stressed nothing could be done until the town receives a release from the Attorney General’s office. A sticking point in past plans to seek such a ruling had been hampered in the past by a transfer of a small portion of the property, to square off a neighboring property line in 1977, that could be considered a violation of the trust, Lynam said. Town Meeting had approved that transfer.

“I’m at a point where this building is simply an albatross to us right now,” he said. “We’re not spending money to maintain it, but I’m concerned about having a vacant building sitting there year after year.”

Lynam noted that, should funds be available, there are municipal needs that could be met by renovating the building, but that nothing can be done until the Attorney General’s office determines whether the town is bound by the trust. If it is, he will seek a court order to return the gift to the Clark family’s heirs. Renovation could cost the town $4 to $5 million.

“We are moving forward,” Lynam said.

Selectman Brian Bezanson agreed with Lynam’s recommendation against seeking private insurance.

“I would suggest, in light of our budgetary concerns, that maybe we should just roll the dice for the time being and hope we can push the Attorney General’s office,” he said.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, running the meeting in the absence of Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, said it made little sense to insure the building without complete control of ownership.

“Something happens to the building, we’re on the hook to put a big fence around it until we can appropriate the money to clean it up,” Selectman Scott Lambiase agreed, noting that a private insurance policy would only provide general liability protection.

Lynam said the decision not to insure could also spur quick resolution on the building’s future.

In other business, Selectmen voted to approve the application of RPM Motorsports LLC under the ownership of Richard P. McCabe, for a Class II Auto Dealer’s License at 40R Warren Ave.

General Manager Paul Kearns explained the business, which restores high-end cars such as Corvettes for sales by appointment only. The cars would be stored indoors and only six would be on site at any one time, Kearns said.

Selectmen also approved the application of Keith A. Gutierrez DBA Ace Transporter, which had been delayed when Lynam’s office had difficulty reaching him by mail at his 146 South Ave. #19 address. Gutierrez said he had inquired with the Post Office less than a week ago about the whereabouts of a certified letter sent in March and returned to Town Hall on Monday, April 24.

“They said they had nothing for me there,” Gutierrez said. “I suppose whoever I spoke with didn’t know it got sent back already. I was waiting for some notification in the mail.” He did receive a more recent letter.

He receives customer calls on his cell phone, and a few via Google, Yelp or Facebook for his one-vehicle business.

There will be no Proposition 2½ override sought to fund the school budget this year, but town and school officials alike warn that voters will likely face one next May for the fiscal 2019 budget.

In fact, a committee will begin the work of making that case during a Monday, June 12 meeting.

School Committee members unanimously voted on Wednesday, April 12 for the 8.5-percent assessment increase both towns indicated can be funded for fiscal 2018 to provide level services to school children.

In dollars, the assessment would be $1,107,435 for Whitman and $479,670 in Hanson — including the shift in student population. The committee had voted an 11.5-percent assessment increase last month.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said the district was able to put forth a level-service budget with an 8.5-percent increase  only after some cost cutting including:

• Spreading payments for McGraw-Hill curriculum materials over two years to save $100,000 this year;

• Waiving the July 1 advisory date for teachers wishing to take early retirement this year — with retirements so far saving about $200,000;

• Moving some costs to revolving funds, including athletic coaches’ salaries for a $30,000 savings;

• Elimination of the position of assistant superintendent for teaching and learning and one teaching position, which was due to declining enrollment; and

• The likelihood of an increase in regional transportation reimbursement from the state. The independent food services department was also asked to contribute a greater amount toward its energy use in providing school meals.

Full-day kindergarten, estimated to cost about $400,000 was never included in the fiscal 2018 level-service budget. The appointment April 12 of Kyle Riley to replace departing Special Education Administrator Dr. John Quealy also has no effect on the budget.

“As superintendent, I’m very concerned about the success of an override, particularly after the fairly resounding defeat last year,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We were able to make some reductions that would not require losing staff down to a 9-percent [assessment] increase. It would be a minimal loss of positions at 8.5 percent.”

The overall budget is up by about 4 percent due mainly to additional funds voted at the end of the last school year to address class size as well as library staff at the elementary and middle schools and increased insurance costs.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the problem for his town came down to simple math, beginning with last year’s levy limit of  $23,125,376 plus 2 ½ percent ($578134) and $275,000 in new growth and personal property taxes. This year, $853,134 was added to available cash. The town began the budget process with $1.3 million in capital articles, many of which were requested by the schools. The requests by WHRSD this year increased by $1,441,007.

Lynam said the Finance Committee voted April 11 an assessment increase that brought Whitman’s share of the school budget to $12,064,000 — an 8.5-percent increase.

“We have virtually eliminated the capital articles from within the town because the money just isn’t there,” Lynam said, noting there are significant equipment needs such as a 19-year-old DPW truck and an unreliable sidewalk plow. “When I say to you we are at our limit — we are. We’re not only at it, we’re beyond it.”

Whitman voters are also being asked to support an override to fund three additional firefighters.

“We would have to do a heck of a lot of education and information” to make an override for the schools successful next year, Lynam said.

Lynam had asked the Whitman Board of Selectmen to meet at 10 a.m., Friday, April 14 in case an override vote was necessary to avoid the need to call for a June special election for a school override in Whitman. That meeting was cancelled after the School Committee voted to back an 8.5-percent assessment increase.

An override this year would, “waste a shot at presenting an override that is comprehensive,” Lynam said.

“I want to put together a comprehensive analysis that says ‘here’s why we need it, here’s how we’ll do it and here’s what it’s going to take,’” he said.

Hanson Selectmen Chairman James McGahan agreed there is a need to “let people know what is at stake here.”

“If we pass the budget we’re asking you to pass today, we’ll squeak through this year,” Lynam said. “Next year, if we don’t do something to increase our revenue, we many not even be in a position to offer a level-funded budget. Our growth is not going to change much.”

Whitman School Committee member Robert Trotta said he has heard that call before, but little had come of it in the past. Lynam agreed that has happened, but said the situation has now reached critical mass. Hanson School Committee member Robert O’Brien agreed, but said Lynam’s suggestion of a committee of school, town officials, finance committee members and selectmen makes sense.

“We had a lot of [state] help from 1992 to around 2007,” he said. “Now it’s reality — it’s not going up anymore.”

He said his seven grandchildren mean he has a vested interest in seeing to it that their generation have the educational opportunities other children have had.

Hanson Finance Committee Chairman Michael Dugan said information on the budget situation’s impact of graduation rates would help make the argument that more funds were needed. But school officials said that information may not be known for years.

“The problem is the wheels of the bus are falling off,” said School Committee member Fred Small. “They’re falling off for the kids that are in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade — you’re not going to see the impact on graduation rates [until] six, seven, eight years from now.”

He said the schools don’t need what has been asked for — they need much more to do the job properly.

“We’re talking about replacing textbooks that have countries in them that don’t exist any more, that have planets in them that aren’t planets anymore,” Small said. “Basics. That’s what we’re talking about with this budget.”

Gilbert-Whitner said the district has depended on grants that are in danger of elimination under the Trump administration.

WHITMAN — With about $56,000 now separating what the town can commit to the school district, and what W-H is seeking within the fiscal 2018 budget, Selectmen have voted to issue the special and annual Town Meeting warrants.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said $12,064,195 has been voted for schools  by the Finance Committee — a budget increase of $1,444,007. He said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner told him that, without $12,119,787 — which represents a 9-percent assessment increase — “they’re going to need to seek funding through an override.”

“I’ve been working on these right up until this afternoon,” Lynam said of the warrants on which the Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday, April 11. “This whole budget has been a moving, living item.” There will be 10 articles on the special Town Meeting warrant, which is prepared for publication, and about 65 on the annual warrant.

The Fire Department will be seeking a $310,000 override for increased staffing on this year’s Town Meeting warrant and Town Election. Selectmen also voted Tuesday to place the Fire Department override request on the annual Town Election ballot.

Fire Chief Timothy Grenno expressed confidence after the meeting that residents would see the need for that request.

“I think the taxpayers support the Fire Department and, with the presentation that we’re going to put on to show them the needs and the staffing levels that we currently run at, the demand for service that we’re currently confronted with, I think that they’ll understand it’s not a wish list, that it’s a need assessment for us,” Grenno said.

The Selectmen would have had to vote April 11 to call for a school override on the annual Town Election ballot, and are required to have a specific amount before taking such a vote.

Should the schools decide at a later date — inlcuding the School Committee’s scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 12 — to seek an override, a special election would be required. Such a move would cost the town $6,000 to hold that election.

“I talked to the chairman of the FinCom [Michael Minchello] and he said that they’re done with Article 2 and, depending on the items that are in the annual Town warrant, that they’re able to give a pretty good-sized percentage for the operating budget for Whitman-Hanson,” Selectman Dan Salvucci said.

Salvucci said that the possible removal of a capital project at Town Meeting, could help avoid a special election to fund the shortfall.

“I recognize that the School Department is making an effort to find a way to make this work,” Lynam said. “The superintendent feels that, if we can come up with that additional $56,000 she will be able to recongifure things in such a way that this year they will not have to lay anyone off.”

“They’re not crying wolf, there’s some real issues,” Lynam said. “But, at the same time, we have issues in some of the other departments, as well.”

Police and Fire chiefs have already withdrawn some requests, he noted. Lynam said he discussed the budget with Gilbert-Whitner Tuesday morning.

“We talked about what we had pegged for an apropriation,” he said of his talk with Gilbert-Whitner.

Lynam said he has asked the schools to work with town officials to come up with a minimally acceptable figure to avoid putting the town in override position for the schools because he thinks next year’s budget will be tougher.

“There’s going to have to be a lot of analysis and education directed toward next year’s budget,” he said. “I think going for an override of $400,000 this year is not going to solve the problem.”

Salvucci said he feels if the schools do not accept the Finance Committee’s recommedation, and Town Meeting supports a school override on the election, the town will be looking at the need for budget cuts.

The Finance Committee was meeting with school officials Tuesday night to discuss some of the articles Lynam is not recommending due to a lack of funding.

Selectmen voted to issue the special Town Meeting warrant and to authorize the annual Town Meeting warrant “with the understanding that some articles will be removed prior to publication,” according to Lynam.

In other business, Selectmen granted a request from the Recreation Commission for an expenditure of $4,500 from the World War II Memorial Field Fund to replace the fence around the basketball and street hockey court behind the police station. The fund, in existence since the field was designated, has been used very conservatively as it holds a small amount of cash — about $18,000 — and when no other funding is available, Lynam explained.

Selectmen also accepted of the gift of a 1910-15 Henry Miller mahogany baby grand piano with ivory keys from Fred Gilmetti on behalf of the Eileen Regan family.

“The piano is showing it’s age although it is quite beautiful,”said Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green. “I would like to look into foundations and maybe seek a grant to help us restore the piano.”

Green also outlined plans to seek a grant from the Mass DEP Recovery Program to finance recycling programs in order to reduce town waste.

Selectmen scheduled hearing date for O’Toole’s Pub for Tuesday, May 9. The hearing will be the only item on that agenda.