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Whitman considers electronic voting

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Officials divided as Whitman considers electronic voting

WHITMAN — Town Administrator Frank Lynam will be hosting a meeting within the first two weeks of December “to conduct a preliminary discussion regarding the possibility and practicality of utilizing electronic voting at town meetings.”

But the device, which resembles a miniature TV remote, could be a tough sell in some quarters.

Whitman considers electronic voting

A CHANGE? Whitman officials are discussing use of this palm-sized electronic device for Town Meeting votes. Courtesy photo

Police Chief Scott Benton and Fire Chief Timothy Grenno have voiced objections to it, and DPW Parks and Highways Superintendent Bruce Martin has suggested the money to purchase the devices could probably be better spent elsewhere.

The devices, for which a quote has been received from Turning Technologies of Youngstown, Ohio, are expected to cost $7,050 for 150.  Their product is heavily used in colleges and by the military. Whitman would look to obtain 300, should they be approved, with renting or borrowing more if more are ever needed.

“I’m going to deal with whatever comes out of it, but I think if they want to zero in on an individual … and they want to zing them, it’s a good way to sit there and hide behind a button,” Benton said.

“There’s more than just us that aren’t happy with it,” Grenno said, suggesting it could change the democratic process of town government. “We have a town meeting that works.”

Lynam sees electronic voting as a way to avoid intimidation at town meeting.

“The biggest challenge is making sure that we have a sufficient number of devices,” he said. “The benefits to a push-button device? It takes the intimidation factor out of voting. People can vote their conscience or their wishes without fear of reprisal, intimidation or scorn from their fellow voters.”

Benton took issue with that.

“We, by the nature of our job, [tick] people off,” Benton said. “So is it to be portrayed that the Police Department has always been funded because I intimidate people?”

Lynam had originally posted the meeting for Nov. 24, but Town Moderator Michael Seele was unable to attend on that date. The session, which will also include Town Clerk Dawn Varley, Technology Director Josh MacNeil, Finance Committee Chairman William Capocci and selectmen, has yet to be reposted.

Varley and Lynam said electronic voting would be more accurate and could remove the intimidation factor from votes on controversial warrant articles.

“Nobody has to know how you’re voting,” she said. “We would do it on all articles, not just the sensitive articles. … It’ll be fair. I think it will be much faster.”

She recalled a past town meeting at which she cast a vote for a school budget. Her mother, watching at home gave her what-for after seeing her vote on TV.

Benton, for one, sees real intimidation problems within electronic voting. He argues the process could allow people to “bully silently.”

“We’ve seen how powerful social media is,” Benton said. “I just think our form of government works.”

“There’s a process in place to have a secret ballot,” Grenno said. “There’s not a problem, it’s not broken and I don’t believe that the town is in the fiscal situation to wastefully spend money on electronic voting machines when there are needs for public safety, there are needs for Town Hall, the DPW and there are needs for tax relief in town.”

Varley, however, sees electronic voting as the way things are headed.

“We’re trying to get interest from the voters,” Varley said. “We scrimp and scrape every town meeting to get 150 people here.”

It will also make her job easier, as all votes will be recorded and saved in a file. The warrant could be produced in PowerPoint for on-screen display during town meetings to help voters follow along.

“You can do cumulative [tallies] so they can watch the votes come in, but that’s not what we’ll do,” she said. Whitman would use a time limit for casting votes before the results are displayed.

While devices carry numbers for inventory control, Varley said no one will know which device an individual voter has, but misuse may have to be controlled by peer pressure.

“Other towns have done it and they don’t find any of this stuff to be a problem,” she said, noting Avon and Belmont use them. Belmont tested theirs in a mock town meeting, trying to alter or change votes and were unable to do so.

Lynam said he was inspired to look into electronic voting after seeing an article two years ago in The Advocate, a municipal paper, indicating some towns were considering it and has been informally discussing it with Varley and Capocci on whether it was viable and how to pay for it.

Hanson is also interested in the devices, perhaps sharing with another community, according to Varley.

Whitman razes blighted house

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Whitman razes blighted house

WHITMAN — A blighted house at 36 East Ave. was torn down Thursday, Nov. 12, to ease the process of auctioning off a vacant house across the street and resolve complaints from neighboring residents of vermin they said were traced to the condemned house.

Whitman razes blighted house

GOING: A worker operates the heavy equipment to tear down a dilapitated house at 36 East Ave., in Whitman last week. Courtesy photo, Frank Lynam.

Selectmen voted on Tuesday, Nov. 10 to authorize Town Administrator Frank Lynam to hire an auctioneer for 35 East Ave.

“This has been something that’s been pending for several months,” Lynam said of the auction. “We have had permission to sell the property for a while, but given the fact that the property across the street is even worse than that and we had voted to take that property down, I wanted to wait until we actually did that before seeking to auction this.”

The presence of 36 East Ave. would have greatly reduced what could be brought in by an auction of 35 East Ave., according to Lynam.

The town received a judicial order to demolish the property.

“Once it’s down and graded I’d like to move forward with the sale of the other property,” Lynam told selectmen.

East Avenue neighbors attended a Board of Health meeting on Sept. 2, 2014 regarding a continuing problem with rats in the East Avenue neighborhood — and the possibility that the two vacant houses on the street were housing the vermin. While there was doubt in some quarters if rats were, indeed, living inside 35 and 36 East Ave., evidence that raccoons nested in one of the houses had been found.

Town officials, meanwhile, saw legal and financial limits to what could be done about the problem posed by the decaying houses.

The town had, by that time, already foreclosed on 35 East Ave., and had to wait until November 2014 [the end of a one-ear waiting period] before anything could be done with it, including trying to sell the property to a developer who would raze the house and build there, according to Lynam.

“We will not move forward without a judicial order, because it puts the town in a liability position,” Lynam said at the 2014 Board of Health meeting. “The biggest question then becomes funding because we have to have funds have to pay someone to take the house down.”

A Town Meeting vote in May of this year provided the funds.

— Tracy F. Seelye

Open House at South Shore Voc Tech

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Middle schoolers tour shops at Open House at South Shore Voc Tech

HANOVER — When all was said and done at the weekend’s open house at South Shore Vo-Tech, an estimated  400 potential students walked through the doors to view and consider the next step of their high school education.

Director of Guidance and Admission Michael Janicki was on hand to welcome students in to the open house, where they were encouraged to sign in and fill out an application of interest.

Open House at South Shore Voc Tech

Olivia Buckley of Whitman, top, works on SSVT T-shirts in the graphic arts design studio. CLICK HERE to see more photos on the Whitman-Hanson Express Facebook Page.  (Photo by by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

“At the open house we have extended an invitation to allow students to narrow down their interests and begin the process of guidance to their future whether it is college, career, or military,” Janicki said. “Right off the bat, by participating in today’s open house, they are getting an opportunity to think of their future goals and aspirations.”

With the culmination of products and ideas many changes are occurring at the school. One of the recent projects is the carpentry canopy, which allows students and staff to learn on each new phase of construction, especially shingling and siding projects, with the true temperature of outside elements gives the students a true-to-life experience on a job site, said Carpentry Department Head Derek Mariani.

With the canopy ideas presented to, and approved by, Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas Hickey and the school committee, support for the nearly completed project has been strong.

The space contains framed windows, joist settings, lighting and outside electrical outlets among other construction projects.

“The mock-up area contains smaller scale concrete foundations with anchor bolts and beam pockets to apply skills, girders, floor joists and decking,” Mariani said. “The waist high roof mock up develops skills with complete hip, valley, and cheeks at a safe height.”

Numerous local businesses and graduates of SSVT assisted and donated time and products to create the canopy for students. The area is large enough to build sheds for the public, lay out rafters, stairs and steel studs — allowing for completion of projects, which cannot be completed inside the shop due to scale limitations.

The Brass Lantern served culinary delights inside the fully operational commercial kitchen with a full strawberry shortcake bar right down to the homemade whipped crème. A Cuban luncheon was also prepared and served by students in the sit-down restaurant, with other students operating the bakery where fresh pastries trays were being loaded into display counters.

Culinary seniors Mariah Mazzilli and Mary Louise Jepsen were hand-piping cupcakes to fill the pastry case, which held a variety of sweets from giant chocolate chip cookies to holiday-inspired desserts.

Robotics projects demonstrations in the electronics shop was a popular spot all morning as teachers and students talked about upcoming grant money opening up additional projects for their program. The grant will also allow the department to advance its space in the workshop area and allowing them greater technology in building and competitions.

Matthew Cahill of Abington, a recent graduate, returned to visit his teachers during open house and expressed his enjoyment and success at Wentworth Institute of Technology where he has maintained a 100-percent grade average on his lab segment in electronics and robotic.

Both drafting and graphic design majors were also on hand to explain and demonstrate their projects as potential students and parents asked questions and looked on.   

Hanson resident Harry Gauthier, a graphic design student, recently completed posters with public service announcements against drinking and driving as well as upcoming event posters for Halloween and the Brass Lantern. He is aspiring to go on to a design school as his future plan.  Olivia Buckley of Whitman was screen printing T-shirts for SSVT apparel as part of the graphic design and communication program.

The hallways were filled with club representatives and students willing to share their success stories from their high school, which is preparing them for their futures as soon as they walk in the door.

For more information on South Shore Vo-Tech visit their website at ssvotech.org.

 

Whitman Area Toy Drive cheers children

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Whitman Area Toy Drive cheers children in need

WHITMAN — Within an hour on Sunday morning, a small army of volunteers had transformed the VFW Post 697 pavilion at 95 Essex St., into something like an annex of the North Pole.

Members of the VFW Men’s Auxiliary and the Whitman Mother’s Club were joined by the WHRHS Drama Club and many more residents responding to a Facebook appeal for assistance, participated in the Whitman Area Toy Drive kickoff day on Nov. 8. In previous years, the kickoff was in early December.

Drama Club Vice President Samantha Healy said the group’s members volunteered because they know volunteer Jane Plasse.

“I mentioned to her that we wanted to do something to give back,” Healy said.

School Committee member Fred Small, a longtime volunteer with the Whitman Area Toy Drive, thanked the Drama Club for its participation.

“It’s really appreciated,” Small told the students. “Don’t ever stop getting involved. Don’t ever stop giving back.”

Volunteers Dan, Amy and Logan Desmond received a Facebook message from toy drive founder Donnie Westhaver and decided to come and help, too.

This is the toy drive’s 14th year and, for the past couple of years, a nonprofit partner of the VFW Men’s Auxiliary, according to Westhaver. That helped streamline the to drive’s nonprofit status while helping bring in some corporate donations, he said.

A first this year will be a visit by Santa Claus for photos with children from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 6. There is no charge for the photos, but toy donations would be welcomed.

“We are here for the needy,” Westhaver said. “We always have been.”

The Whitman Area Toy Drive was started as a Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots collection, but the toys collected that year didn’t stay in the area because there is no reserve unit on the South Shore to oversee it.

“In order to pick up the slack for the community we decided to start Whitman Area Toy Drive, which goes to local families,” Westhaver told the volunteers. “It’s kind of a ‘one-stop shopping thing.’”

Westhaver also works to cooperate with toy drives in neighboring communities.

“A lot of the surrounding towns — Abington, Hanson, Rockland — have toy drives,” he said. “I told them if they run out of toys by the middle of December, call me up.”

But he encourages residents of those towns to go through their community program first.

Client families come to the pavilion close to Christmas to select toys for their children — often three to five toys per child s well as clothing items — and are provided with gift wrap supplies they need and even Christmas trees, complete with lights and ornaments.

The Men’s Auxiliary presented Westhaver, it’s president as well as the toy drive organizer, with a $3,000 donation Sunday morning and the Whitman Mother’s Club presented $5,000 as its annual donation. The auxiliary’s donation was one of many it was able to make from the $17,000 raised at its annual golf tournament in August. The Mother’s Club’s donation is also a regular part of the group’s community support fundraising.

“It’s very rewarding and we have a great time doing it,” said auxiliary member Matt Olson. “It’s too much for one guy, so all of us do whatever we can. [Westhaver is] very dedicated to it and doesn’t want all of this to fall away.”

Last year the drive received $9,000 in cash donations and $50,000 worth of donated toys and clothes.

“There’s some great people here,” Westhaver said. “This is overwhelming.”

The volunteers assembled briefly to receive instructions and to hear more about the toy drive’s roots and mission before sorting the toys donated since last Christmas, which have been in storage. Two long rows of tables, covered with red or green plastic tablecloths, were labeled with signs indicating how to lay out the toys by gender and age group.

On Friday, Nov. 20, a performance by an Elvis/Johnny Cash impersonator is planned at the VFW to support Whitman Area Toy Drive and Men’s Auxiliary programs. Call 781-447-6883 for tickets and more information. A meat raffle is planned for Saturday, Nov. 28 at the VFW to support the Men’s Auxiliary.

Hanson honors vets at Tri-Town Parade

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Despite the wet weather, Hanson honors vets at Tri-Town Parade

On the 240th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps and the day before 97th anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, Hanson held its annual Veterans Day Breakfast at the town’s Multi-Service Senior Center on Tuesday, Nov.10.

The center, like town offices, other government buildings, libraries and schools were closed Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The Tri-Town Veterans Day Parade — Whitman, Abington and Rockland — slated to step off at 8:45 a.m., Wednesday stepped off on schedule in spite of high wind and rain, even as parades in Brockton and Weymouth were cancelled due to the inclement weather.

In Hanson, Veterans’ Agent Bob Arsenault welcomed veterans, their spouses and invited guests, selectmen Don Howard and Bill Scott, Sons of the American Legion Commander — and past Post Commander — Sam Hammond as well as past selectman and retired Army Brig. Gen. August Silva during his remarks following a hearty breakfast prepared by Marine veteran Arthur Leonas, his wife Joan assisted by Assessor Lee Gamarche.

“I’d like to recognize the spouses that are here,” Arsenault said. “Many times during war time, when the forces are deployed, it’s the spouses that are home taking care of the kids, taking care of the bills, making sure things run smoothly.”

One of those spouses, Norma Billings, brought a photo (circa 1944) of her late Navy veteran husband Dana to the breakfast, propping the picture before her place at the table. She also wore a sailor’s “Dixie cup” hat while dining before performing with the Swinging Singers chorus.

Arsenault read a Veterans Day Proclamation from Gov. Charlie Baker, presented new American and POW/MIA flags to Senior Center Director Mary Collins and presented certificates of appreciation to each veteran attending. Those veterans were:

Air Force — Donald F. Howard, Joseph Marsden, Bill O’Brien, Carl Patterelli, Sylvia Salas, Peter Travelini and Bill Ward.

Army — Lee Baker, Johnny Barboza, Sam Hammond, Dave King, Paul Leta, Charles Marsh, Hugh Monahan, Jim Pearson, August Silva, Al Supple, Robert White, Dody Whooten and John Woefel. Coast Guard — Charles Conant and Joe Norton.

Marine Corps — Arthur Leonas.

National Guard — Frank Turner.

Navy — George  Copeland and Anthony Eosue.

The Swinging Singers performed a medley of patriotic songs including the five service anthems and closing with “God Bless America,” which chorus member and National Guard veteran Frank Turner called one of the three “most meaningful songs we have glorifying this country.” The other two are the national anthem and “Let There be Peace on Earth.”

The chorus performed “God Bless America” following a moment of silence in memory of all veterans and loved ones who have died this year.

“This song, to me exemplifies the true meaning of America,” Turner said, noting its composer Irving Berlin was a Jewish immigrant who came to the United States seeking a better life. “This states what the true meaning of America is and how blessed and thankful we are to live in this country.”

Water main break in Hanson causes delays

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Photo courtesy of the Hanson Water Department.

Photo courtesy of the Hanson Water Department.

Today  the Hanson Highway Department reported that a water main broke on Holmes Street. Traffic was delayed and some residents experienced interruption in their water supply. There are some reports that water has been returned to the residents local to Holmes Street.

3 Reasons To Advertise in the Express Holiday Gift Guide

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Just in case you need reasons to advertise in the Express Holiday Gift guide, I will give you some. Believe it or not, the holidays are right around the corner, and we all know how hectic that season gets. A 2008 holiday stress poll by the APA showed that more than eight out of 10 Americans anticipate stress during the holiday season.

3 Reasons To Advertise in the Express Holiday Gift Guide

The Express Holiday Gift Guide will appear in print December 3rd and 4th, and online December 5, 2015.

3 Reasons To Advertise in the Express Holiday Gift GuideIt is my job as the Express Media Editor to help you local business do what you do best – sell your wares. That’s is why we have developed a way to put you in front of local customers in a way that won’t break the bank.

3 Reasons to Advertise in the the Express Holiday Gift Guide

  1. Affordability. For only $35*, you get to showcase one of your best products. It can be an item, a craft, a gift certificate – any offer that you are proud of and want to sell. Talk about a  compelling reasons to bring customers into your store!
  2. Exposure. I almost listed this as the first reason to advertise in the gift guide, but I changed my mind. I thought you needed  to now about the affordability factor. But this is actually my favorite reason why you should advertise in the Express Holiday Gift Guide. We have almost doubled our Facebook fanbase in the last six months.  Our posts receive an average of 1,000 views. We also have a print audience of approximately 3,000 readers. Plus our websites are visited an average of 79 times per day. This brings you to your potential customers in a multi-platform approach.
  3. Value-Packed! This gift guide is beautiful. It prints in color, we feature one of your items in the center spread, the digital, online version will link to your website or email, you pick the item that you want to showcase.
3 Reasons To Advertise in the Express Holiday Gift Guide

This is an example of how the listing will appear in print and online. The online version can link to your store’s web site.

I am so proud to be able to offer you this cost-efficient, effective vehicle of bringing you sales this holiday season! It’s sure to be a feature we will repeat for years to come.

Our Express Holiday Gift Guide prints December 3rd and 4th in both the Whitman-Hanson Express and the Plympton-Halifax Express, debuts online December 5th. *Book your space today! After November 15th, the price jumps to $45.

Questions? Call Larisa at 781-293-0420 or email me at graphics@whitmanhansonexpress.com.

Read more about dealing with holiday stress here at the American Psychological Association.

Baker charter cap raise costly for WHRSD

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Baker charter cap raise costly for WHRSD, Whitman-Hanson School Committee says

The School Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 14 approved a change to National Honor Society eligibility as well as hearing concerns by school officials concerning Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to raise the cap on the number of charter schools in the state.

Baker charter cap raise costly for WHRSD

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker looks to increase Charter School cap in the state.

The committee also heard an update on the high school’s advanced placement (AP) program.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner testified at a Statehouse public hearing on Gov. Baker’s charter school legislation Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Begun in 1993, charter schools were originally capped at 25 innovative schools.

“Clearly, that’s not what has happened over time,” Gilbert-Whitner said in her report to the School Committee. “Yesterday the testimony I read really focused on the impact to W-H.”

The district is charged based on the per-pupil cost multiplied by the number of students attending charter schools. With 30 students from Whitman and Hanson attending South Shore Charter and Rennaissance Carter School in Boston, the loss to the district’s state aid — after about $26,000 charter school reimbursement — is about $309,000 Gilbert-Whitner said.

“Interestingly, [$309,000] is the same cost that we had to cut from our library program,” she said.

She also noted that, of the 30 local charter school students, only one has ever been enrolled in W-H schools.

“They never even come to see what we’re about,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “Clearly the choice to go to a charter school probably doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the quality of education.”

South Shore Charter is a Level 2 school. Gilbert-Whitner reminded the committee that W-H is a Level 2 district with three Level 1 schools.

Charter school faculties are not required to have union representation or to provide services for all special education students, and not all teachers working for charter schools are certified.

“Each and every student in the Commonwealth deserves a high-quality education, not a dual system of publicly funded education that charges traditional districts for circumstances beyond their control and requires them to operate school systems under a vastly different set of regulations,” Gilbert-Whitner testified in Boston.

“There should be choice,” she told the committee, “ but clearly, there should not be a different set of rules for everyone.”

W-H accepts school choice students and currently enrolls 28, ranging from freshmen to seniors as well as night school students, but sending districts are charged less under that program.

“Choice money has been extremely beneficial,” Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak said, noting it has allowed the hiring of some long-term substitutes for teachers out due to long-term illness.

Szymaniak also argued successfully for a change in National Honor Society (NHS) eligibility to bring W-H onto the same level as other schools in the state. The committee voted 9-0 to approve the change. Member Fred Small was absent.

NHS guidelines had required an unweighted 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.3 on a weighted 5.0 scale for AP courses. Students taking AP classes, but not earning an A or B despite doing well overall academically might be penalized if they fall below a 3.5 GPA, Szymaniak said. The rare occurrence affected four seniors in the Class of 2015.

“The national standard for the NHS is a 3.0,” he said. “I did some digging, called my peers on the South Shore and the average unweighted GPA for the National Honor Society at our local schools is a 3.3 or a 3.4, so we kind of picked the middle ground.”

He advocated a change to 3.35 for W-H requirements.

“This will put us on an equitable playing surface,” Szymaniak said. “It’s not dumbing-down the rigor, it’s not dumbing-down anything.”

The change goes into effect immediately and induction has been moved to November so this year’s seniors can apply.

Guidance Counselor Ruth Carrigan and AP students Erika Badger and Joshua Spicer joined Szymaniak in outlining the success of the W-H AP program.

Prior to the district’s participation in the Mass. Insight to Edcuation grant program in 2012, AP participation was often open to only top-scoring academic students, according to GilbertWhitner. The grant has since expired.

“With the grant program, we were able to expand and it’s just gotten better and better,” she said.

Szymaniak started by reading an email by an alumnus, now studying at Suffolk University, to his W-H science teachers.

“I’m sitting in my environmental science lecture and not paying attention because I don’t have to,” the student wrote to teacher Brian Dukeman. “Your AP course completely prepared me for this class. … I already know every single thing my professor is talking about because of your awesome teaching.”

The student was able to skip all the required freshman science courses because he passed the AP biology exam “with flying colors” and is the only freshman in the class he is now taking, required of environmental science majors.

“That’s just a piece of what AP brings,” Szymaniak said. “AP at Whitman-Hanson gives all students an opportunity to not only take a college class, but to potentially earn college credit.”

He credited the training and commitment of W-H teachers, as well as dedication of students for the success of the AP program in which the school is on track to administer 648 AP exams to 392 students — a quarter of all high school students.

“I congratulate our students for taking on the challenge,” Carrigan said. She reported that alumnus Nate Almeida, who spoke at the recent AP kickoff breakfast, told current students that the 19 college credits he earned in AP courses have saved him $25,000 in college costs.

This year, Badger and Spicer are both taking four AP courses for a total of eight each during high school — Spicer in literature, calculus, computer science and physics and Badger in calculus, environmental science, biology and literature.

Both lauded their teachers as well as peers for inspiring them and pushing them to succeed in the AP classes.

“Although you have to be at a certain level, there’s so much help here at W-H that — whether it’s your teachers or your peers or your guidance counselors — it’s almost as if anyone can come into it and succeed.”

Szymaniak said the goal is for every W-H graduate taking at least one AP course, “or at least attempting the class,” so they are truly college and career ready.

Updates to WHRSD gift policy

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The School Committee in Whitman-Hanson made updates to WHRSD gift policy, and to the guidelines on building use

The School Committee has approved changes to building use and donations policies in order to provide more uniformity and fairness.

Updates to WHRSD gift policyBuilding use changes include a requirement that adults sign voluntary school release forms, as well as an annual statement from group representatives that the forms are signed and that outside groups may not use or place an “undue burden” on facilities support staff.

Regulations have also been updated, including cancellation fees and limitations to availability of facilities when events would interfere with school functions.

“With this particular packet, you are going to have the do’s and the don’ts, what’s expected from you and what you can expect from the district,” said Chairman Bob Hayes.

Donations policy involves an avenue through which funds can be earmarked for use by a specific school.

“It became very clear that some of our policies contradicted each other,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner.

Donors are advised that, as public education is the taxpayer’s responsibility, gifts must be for supplemental materials and programs, not supplanting the regular curriculum or faculty salaries. Gifts also become property of the district, even if they are directed at an individual school.

Each school has a revolving account managed by the Business Office.

“They should not come with strings attached, unless they are presented that way to [the School Committee] that they need to come and be used only for a specific program or a specific school,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Several such donations were accepted by the committee Wednesday, Oct. 14:

  • Donations in memory of Patricia Duval requested to be directed to the school by the Duval family — once all donations have been received the school’s officials will update the committee of the total amount and use of the funds;
  • $400 from Shaw’s Supermarket Charitable Foundation for the Indian Head School to purchase technology items;
  • $400 from Shaw’s Supermarket Charitable Foundation for the Maquan School to purchase technology items;
  • $4,087.20 from One Zero Financial Systems to purchase 15 ChromeBooks and their management licenses for the Indian Head School. The gift has been vetted by the Technology Department.
  • $1,265 from the Monday-Tuesday Night Volleyball Group in lieu of gym fees for the girls’ volleyball team to fund registration fees for students unable to afford them.

Donations, if any are received, of $35,000 or more that could be intended for a capital expense — and that could involve bidding laws or legislation — must also be addressed and analyzed to determine how it would involve those regulation, the superintendent explained.

“I’m kind of hoping that somebody watching tonight donates $100,000 to each one of the schools,” Hayes quipped.

Grants sought for the district must also be approved by the district before applications are filed.

“We are trying to be very strict about any technology that people are trying to get for the district, whether it’s through fund-raising or grants really needs to go through the Tech Department,” she said. “We want to make sure we can support it and that it’s in compliance with other things that we have.”

In-kind donations must also fit into the curriculum. Donations of time, however, do not need School Committee approval.

Whitman Fire and Rescue hosts open house

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Whitman Fire/Rescue hosts 2015 open house

WHITMAN — Families spent a bright and sunny Columbus Day  exploring fire equipment, target practicing with a brush fire hose and learning how to safely exit a house in case of fire as Whitman Fire and Rescue hosts open house.

Whitman Fire and Rescue hosts open house

Nikki McCormack helps son, Cody McCormack-Sullivan, 2, with a drink of water while her eldest, Dillon, 4, enjoys his pizza as they picnic in the Whitman Fire/Rescue parking lot during Monday’s open house. CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS. Photo by Tracy Seelye.

Informational brochures were available in the fire station, as well as red oven mitts in keeping with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) theme of “Prevent Kitchen Fires.”

Face-painting and free pizza from Papa Gino’s were also featured.

But the main message of the day was the importance of placing smoke detectors in every bedroom of the home.

“This is the ‘Hear the beep where you sleep,’ message,” said Whitman Fire/Rescue SAFE Officer Thomas Ford. “[NFPA] is trying to get people to put smoke detectors inside the bedrooms nowadays.”

Past guidelines called for the alarms in hallways outside of bedrooms, Deputy Chief Joseph Feeney said.

The department will take the Safety Awareness and Fire Education (SAFE) trailer around to Conley and Duval schools for an offical fire safety presentation, but on Monday the kids were laughing and running into the trailer over and over to experience the “smoke” and climb down the escape ladder.

Volunteers with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) were also on hand to guide visitors through their vehicle and explain their role.

Joseph Bauer of Whitman and his children chatted with CERT members Cathy Costello and Paul Moss.

Michael Bauer, 11, asked about the kinds of fires for which the CERT team offers support to firefighters. Costello said it could be anything from large brush fires to house fires. They also aid in large incident response, such as train accidents.

“We do first aid and give them food and keep them hydrated,” she said of the team’s role at emergency scenes. “We’re always prepared.”

Members’ availability is scheduled around work schedules, although some, like Moss, are retired.

“We also do sheltering, so if you guys lose your power, we come in and set up a shelter to keep people warm,” Costello said.