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You are here: Home / Archives for Featured Story

School Repairs Eyed

March 10, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — Selectmen have some homework to do as they weigh options for a second statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) by April 8.

The board will vote March 15 on their options, such as whether or not they support expansion at either Indian Head or Hanson Middle School, to replace the crumbling Maquan School. School Committee members will vote March 16.

The first SOI — the district is allowed two — would be a resubmission of the Maquan replacement core project proposal, which was not funded in the last round of MSBA grants. One SOI must be identified as the primary, or priority project and the other as a secondary.

School officials provided selectmen with 10 options to consider. Selectmen seemed to prefer an expansion of the middle school with the intent to weigh the options carefully. Hanson Middle School’s septic system is designed for 700 students, and currently serves 414. Indian Head School will need work in any case.

“This is a great start,” Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young said of the presentation. “This is exactly what we’re looking for. We appreciate all the work you’ve done on this.”                                                                                                                                              Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said that, according to MSBA, Maquan has to be the primary as “it’s the one that needs the most work.” In 2012, a new Maquan was priced at $36.4 million with Hanson’s share put at $17.8 million.

An addition to Indian Head to create a pre-K to grade five school was estimated at $52.7 million in 2012 with Hanson’s share put at $26.3 million. The new pre-K to grade five school building option voted down was estimated at $53 million in 2012.

“Any option is possible,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “You need to let us know which you think is the option that will be best supported by your town, because I don’t think we want to go through what we went through again.”

MSBA does not support renovation of Maquan School, a decision made during the last school building process that voters rejected.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes and W-H Regional School District officials — Gilbert-Whitner, Facilities Director Ernest Sandland, Director of Business Services Christine Suckow and School Committee member Fred Small, who also chairs the board’s facilities subcommittee — met with selectmen on the matter Tuesday, March 8.

“Since we last met with you, we felt it was important that we do some data collection and come back to you with some information that may be helpful in trying to decide how we’re going to move forward,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “The first thing we did is we really looked at the spaces we currently have.”

She noted that some residents had asked if pupils could be moved out of Maquan into one or both of the other schools. A tour of both Indian Head and HMS, as well as conversations with both schools’ principals showed each building could absorb only one grade level.

“We tried to determine, if we did nothing, what would our spaces look like?” she said. “If we had to move students out of [Maquan], what kind of spaces would we need?”

While grade five could move to HMS, allowing grades one and two could be moved to Indian Head, it would still leave 160 kindergarten and integrated preschool pupils to be placed. The 52 Whitman preschoolers, attending the Maquan program either due to special needs or paid tuition, would have to be moved back to a school there. The pre-K program is currently at Maquan for space and cost-saving considerations.

Space leased at Maquan by the Pilgrim and North River special education collaboratives is on a year-to-year basis as space is available.

Any addition at HMS would have to be made on the side near the library. A separate entrance would be designed if an early learning center for kindergarten and preschool classrooms were moved to that building.

Among the 10 options selectmen are considering: build a pre-K/kindergarten school to replace Maquan; build a pre-K to grade five school (the project that failed; move grade five to HMS and build a pre-K to grade four school; renovate or add on to Indian Head as a pre-K to grade five school; renovate or add on to Indian Head as a pre-K to grade four school, which would require a retrofit Indian Head for little kids and some asbestos and lead paint abatement; renovate or add on to HMS; renovate Indian Head for pre-K/kindergarten; or add portable classrooms to Indian Head for pre-K/kindergarten.

“Cross that off,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell about portables. “I was there in the mid-’80s.”

Suckow said portables are better now but more expensive, costing $250,000 for a 10-year solution.

The feasibility study done for the rejected school project gives the town a head start on a feasibility study for any option Hanson chooses this time.

WHITMAN —Approaching annual town meetings, school repairs are very much on the minds of town officials in both Whitman and Hanson, especially roof projects at Whitman’s Duval Elementary School and at Hanson’s Maquan Elementary School.

W-H Regional School District officials — Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner, Director of Business Services Christine Suckow, Facilities Director Ernest Sandland and School Committee member Fred Small, who also chairs the board’s facilities subcommittee — met with building committees in both towns on Thursday, March 3.

They presented Whitman’s Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee with a five-year plan of facilities needs at Whitman and region school buildings listed in order of need. The Duval roof topped that list. High school capital projects are apportioned based on student population.

“I don’t think we can vote on a single thing until we get this huge picture … this is overwhelming this year,” Finance Committee Chairman William Capocci said about a proposal to update Town Hall records storage after the school presentation. He said right now there are almost $900,000 in requests from the schools. The Fire Department has 17 articles totaling more than $800,000, the Police Department has six or eight articles and IT has close to 10 on the warrant, plus there is OPEB to deal with.

“The Duval roof is a serious concern,” Gilbert-Whitner said during the district’s presentation. “To go through something like that again would just be a terrible thing. … I think long-term concerns about Whitman Middle School and how best to spend money now, and then later, are big concerns.”

In Hanson officials are weighing options for the Maquan School and repairing the roof, where leaks have been a long-term problem. Selectmen approved a $7,500 engineering study for the project March 8, which now goes before Town Meeting.

“If you all recall last winter, we had horrendous ice dams and damage of well over $100,000 — which was covered by the insurance company,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the Duval roof at the Whitman meeting. “But the insurance did not cover any kind of a repair to the roof.”

The price tag on the Duval roof has yet to be determined. A full engineering study will be needed to determine a price tag.

“I think the money has to be set aside for [an] engineer to come in and figure out what the real cost is going to be,” Sandland said. The engineering of the much bigger Indian Head roof project was $90,000, but Sandland suggested a Duval study and design could cost $20,000 to $30,000. At Maquan, the investigation into the extent of the problem cost $7,500 with the engineering study running between $35,000 and $40,000 to design a replacement roof.

Gale Engineering, which worked on the Indian Head School roof, was asked to survey the Duval roof and “found some deficiencies that needed correction,” Sandland said. Gale estimated the full repair could cost between roughly $200,000 to $300,000 — with a required threshold of $200,000 before the district could even apply for accelerated repair funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

“If we’re going to do this, we need to plan it at this town meeting,” said Lynam of an estimated $335,000 to investigate, design and repair the roof.

Suckow said that, for an accelerated green repair, which could bring an estimated 50 to 60 percent reimbursement, the town would have to commit to the full $300,000 for a repair project.

The damaged portion of the Duval roof is on the addition, not the original building once known as the Regal Street School.

“This has been a construction design problem almost since the building opened,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the expanded Duval School. Information was supplied to the MSBA last fall. MSBA succeeded the former School Building Authority when the SBA was revamped around 2005.

An MSBA accelerated repair grant could, if received, reimburse some of the repair costs to the Duval roof. Whitman has approved a statement of interest for an accelerated repair grant and Hanson is moving to make repairs to the Maquan roof until a permanent solution to that school’s problems can be found.

Parameters of the accelerated repair grant require a project involving a building at least 20 years old. The failing portion of Duval’s roof was built in 1999.

“We recognize that this is going to be a significant expense,” said committee chairman, Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “We also, I believe, will be taking the position that if there’s no relief on clawback then we’re going to do, at minimum, the work we have to do to last the 20 years. I don’t see any other way.”

Gilbert-Whitner agreed, noting there was no guarantee of reimbursement.

The district, on advice from MSBA, wrote a cover letter to the statement of interest outlining how the original roof work in question came under SBA oversight.

A search of records on the 1999 project did not yield a lot of detailed information what had been done at that time, according to Sandland.

“That’s why we got to the point where we submitted the information to MSBA, asking them for help in uncovering what could be a very expensive fix,” he said. Contractors involved in the 1999 work have either retired, been unresponsive or gone out of business, he noted.

The Whitman schools projects list also include fire alarm/smoke detector replacement ($50,000 each) at all three, replacing rooftop units ($50,000) at Whitman Middle School, replacing aged kitchen equipment ($53,000) at and carpet replacement ($55,000) in areas of WMS and Conley, Univent replacement ($55,000) at WMS and installation of acoustical tile to soundproof the Conley gym ($20,000).

Sandland said replacing fire alarms/smoke detectors should reduce the number of false alarms, as was discovered when Hanson replaced them in two schools over the summer. Kitchen equipment in need of replacement present health issues if used much longer.

WHRHS projects sought for fiscal 2017 are bleacher chairlift replacement ($26,000 apportioned between the towns) at the turf field, tennis court refinishing and upgrading lights to LED ($165,000) and repairs to the concrete walkways at the entrances ($45,000).

The company that manufactured and installed the chairlift is no longer in business, Sandland said, adding that the state, which now inspects chairlifts every year, has shut the lift down as unsafe. A reinspection is slated for March 31 at which time Sandland aims to get in writing whether the chairlift can be fixed or must be replaced.

The tennis courts were expanded from four to the MIAA-required five by overlaying the surface in 1990. Severe cracks and heaves have now materialized and the playing surface must be ground down and replaced, Sandland said.

Suckow added the that tennis courts have been listed as a hazard by the insurance company for the past two years.

Weather damage has also taken a toll on the entrance sidewalks.

The Whitman building committee, however, wondered if Whitman DPW and Hanson Highway Dept. could work together on the repair to save money.

“We have streets in town that were built by the WPA that are in better shape than what you’ve got going on up there,” Lynam said.

“I’d rather throw the money at our people than give it out to somebody else,” said committee member Selectman Dan Salvucci.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

Sanders is top choice on local Democratic ballots

March 7, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

With nearly half the registered voters in both towns turning out to vote Tuesday, Whitman and Hanson backed the outsiders in both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Massachusetts. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders garnered 1,414 votes to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 970 in Whitman, while he received 997 to Clinton’s 692 in Hanson. Statewide, Clinton carried the day by a slim margin of some 20,000 votes. Businessman Donald Trump received 1,242 votes in Whitman as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio got 292, Ohio Gov. John Kasich had 266, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had 186 and Dr. Ben Carson had 52. Other candidates who have withdrawn from the race split 60 votes in Whitman. Trump sailed to the front of the pack in Hanson with 1,000 votes, compared with 237 for Rubio, 205 for Kasich, 194 for Cruz, 50 for Carson and 46 for withdrawn candidates or no preference.

Of Whitman’s 9,909 registered voters, 4,582 — or 46 percent cast ballots. In Hanson 48 percent of the town’s 7,215 registered voters — 3,475 — cast ballots. “There was a line when polls opened this morning,” said Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley. “People were waiting.” She was hopeful, based on interest, phone calls and the number of people registering, that they might see a 50-percent turnout. In the first hour alone, 300 votes had been cast in Whitman. While voters lined up to vote, sign-holders supporting candidates were an unusually rare sight during the day on Tuesday. Two, supporting Sanders in Whitman and Cruz in Hanson, spoke of their support for their respective candidates. Anastasia Mykoniatos of Whitman, holding signs for Sanders in front of the post office next door to the Town Hall polling place, was counting on a high turnout to help her candidate, who she said needed five states to stay competitive. “I like the fact that he’s paying attention to the lesser-thought of issues such as student debt and the climate change that a lot of the other people aren’t paying attention to or supporting,” she said. “I like the fact that you can trace back his stance on issues for at least two decades.” Mykoniatos noted Sanders has supported LGBT rights since 1992, while Clinton voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Sanders took four states — Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Colorado — on Super Tuesday to Clinton’s  seven. Trump took seven — Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Vermont —with Cruz winning Texas and Oklahoma and Rubio notching  his first primary win in Minnesota. “Trump scares me,” Mykoniatos said.

Leslie J. Molyneaux, also a candidate for GOP state committeeman said he was backing Cruz for similar reasons. “I’m working for Ted Cruz because he’s a constitutionalist,” Molyneaux said outside of Hanson’s Maquan School polling place. “He knows the Constitution front and back and he’s been fighting for it his whole life.” Molyneaux noted that Cruz, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, is also the most experienced candidate in terms of governance. “He successfully argued several cases regarding personal liberty before the Supreme Court,” he said. “Donald Trump, I don’t feel, is a conservative. Donald Trump is a populist and he has reached a nerve with the American people who truly are sick of government.” But, Molyneaux said, what happens down the road has yet to be determined. “Certainly the establishment Republicans are really unhappy because they don’t have a dog in the hunt,” he said. “I think the establishment is putting all their money behind Rubio, and he’s really not one of them, but he’s closer to being one of them than Trump or Cruz is.”One local official that has gone to work for Trump as the state co-chairman of that campaign is state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman.

“He’s clearly going to win, it’s just a question of how big,” Diehl said of Trump’s chances Tuesday morning. “Just like my run in 2010, I think Donald Trump brings that same business background to D.C. with the momentum of supporters who feel like D.C. is no longer listening to them.” Diehl compares Trump’s past business setbacks with the experimental failures Thomas Edison experienced while inventing the light bulb. He also noted that the economic climate of the past few years has made Trump realize that government has done a poor job of allowing businesses to grow. “I’m a  Cruz man, but Geoff is a good man,” Molyneaux said.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

W-H district rolls out budget

February 11, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

Officials unveil level-service plan, make case for ‘Student Success’ budget

As promised, the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District rolled out two budget proposals during the Wednesday, Feb. 3 School Committee public hearing on the fiscal 2017 budget.

A $45,714,344 level-service budget, already reflecting a $1,388,214 deficit due to increases in fixed costs, was outlined by line item, followed by the review of three goals that would be incorporated in a “Student Success” budget that would add $3 million to the bottom line.

WHRSDWhat form the budget will ultimately take will be decided by the School Committee in the coming weeks.

The current fiscal 2016 budget of $45,688,067 had been increased only .01 percent — reflecting an increase in local assessments of 3 percent, or about $500,000.

Several officials from both towns’ select boards and finance committees were joined by the district’s state legislators and dozens of educators and concerned parents at the annual budget presentation.

“I have in front of me a stack of letters from constituents of the School District to all of us,” School Committee Chairman Robert Hayes told his members. “I also had come to the district a stack of letters from a second grade group of students talking about restoring libraries. We’re hearing you. We’re going to be discussing it.”

He implored concerned residents to attend meetings during which the budget is discussed.

“We believe in education, that’s why we’re on this board,” he said.

The budget is available online at whrsd.org along with information on state Chapter 70 aid reviewed by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) representative Melissa King.

Whitman is currently 8.5 percent — or $1,322,998 — short of the target share sought by the state in its Chapter 70 calculations. Hanson is 5.21 percent below target share — $1,170,654.

Two Whitman residents urged adoption of the student success budget.

“I think the students deserve that,” one resident said. “They’ve lost a good amount of things over the years.”

“Our kids deserve every last bit of this,” Marshall Ottina said. “How can we, in any good conscience, not vote for this $3 million?”

“This is the beginning of the budget process for the district,” said Hayes in his introduction to the hearing. “The superintendent meets with the leadership team and they go over and present the budget and formulate what you have in front of you. This is the first night.”

He stressed that the final budget may not end up looking “anywhere near” the presentation as the committee works toward a vote on a spending plan for fiscal year 2017. That vote must come in mid-March, 45 days before the town meetings.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner made the budget presentation, beginning with an overview and historical background. She then discussed grants/other funding sources, revenue and the budget proposals in turn, pausing for questions as they came up.

“This has been a long process, and probably one of the most challenging ones we’ve done,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “It’s going to cost 2.25 percent — or approximately $1.1 million — more just to do the same thing [as in fiscal 2016].”

The average per-pupil spending statewide, according to DESE, is $14,518 (fiscal 2013-14), but W-H spends $11,126 per pupil — 10th from the bottom, she noted.

Perceptions

“I think we do a great job in this district in terms of getting a lot out of a dollar,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the student success budget proposal. “But there’s a lot we’re not doing. For many years we’ve been told W-H cries wolf because we’re getting good results and, darn it, look what they can do. But this year we couldn’t fix it.”

The “three pillars” of the proposal — healthy bodies/healthy minds, a cohesive prekindergarten to grade 12 system and safe/secure schools — include budgeting $500,000 toward reducing elementary class size, $400,000 to implement free all-day kindergarten, $320,000 to restore the library program, $240,000 to replace the grant funding the elementary science curriculum, $70,000 for middle school foreign language programs and about $170,000 for music and art, among other line items.

Professional development expenditures have declined to $35.17 per pupil, vs. a state average of $217.34. Enrollment had also been declining in recent years, but has begun to stabilize. One lower-than-average expenditure Gilbert-Whitner highlighted was administrative costs — 2.77 percent of the budget. The state average is $500.15 per pupil, while W-H spends $314.81.

“We often hear in the district that people think we are administration-heavy,” she said. “We put our money into classroom and specialist teachers.”  [W-H is at $4,437.61 per pupil with the state average $5,441.36.]

Grants augment revenue in several key programs, but some the district receives are expiring and competition for some others is becoming more keen.

“There aren’t nearly as many grant opportunities available, but we certainly need them,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We are funding 81 positions outside of the LEA budget.”

School Choice, accepted for high school students only and bringing in $5,000 per student from sending districts, funds programs for that school only. WHRHS is using the funds to hire the teachers needed to help implement a schedule and program of studies change next year.

Hayes vehemently denied rumors that the high school recruits school choice students. It is also against MIAA rules.

The bulk of revenue, however, comes from Chapter 70 and local aid funds.

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, as well as state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, have signed onto a letter to the House and Senate Ways & Means committees seeking an increase in the Chapter 70 funding formula. The increase would change the minimum aid increment from $20 to $50 per pupil. It was $25 per pupil last year.

“It’s a protection,” Diehl said. “Chapter 70 is a formula because it protects those funds from being politicized.”

That said, he noted legislators on both sides of the aisle recognize more funds are needed. Diehl also credited Cutler for his networking on behalf of regional schools on Beacon Hill.

“We try to bump up the numbers wherever we have the ability to do so,” Cutler said about the minimum aid. “It is something we are all in unison on.”

Brady said the school budget funding formula is reviewed every year.

“But at the end of the day, we have to balance the budget,” he said. “In the meantime, we can try to file any amendments you’d like to try to adjust the budget.
Projected revenue for the WHRSD level service budget now stands at $45,326,130 with no assessment increases from the towns other than to account for population shifts.

Debt payments for the high school are about $100,000 lower for the towns after a refinance in June.

Non-mandated transportation assessments in the FY 2017 budget are $351,012 for Whitman and $96,280 for Hanson — also calculated by enrollment, a figure that also drives local assessment calculations.

Organized by school, the FY 2017 level service budget line items show, for example, that elementary principals’ travel and supplies funds were eliminated and teacher salary changes reflect contract or status changes and any use of revolving funds. District expenses also reflect changes in debt service and reductions in legal fees not needed after teacher contract negotiations concluded.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

Whitman looking to grants

January 21, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

Whitman looking to grants: Funds could back dog park, trail improvements

WHITMAN — Grants are enabling the town to save money on energy costs and may help plan for a dog park and continue improvements to walking paths in Whitman Park.

Selectmen supported an application to the Stanton Foundation, an organization that helps finance dog parks through grants and which has expressed interest in assisting Whitman. Grants would cover 100 percent of design costs and 90 percent of construction costs.

“We would have to come up with a committee to review where we want it, make sure that it’s on town land and provide water and a maintenance plan,” said Assistant Town Administrator Gregory Enos.

Officials in West Bridgewater and Holbrook are also pursuing the non-competitive Stanton grants for dog parks.

The grants range from $100,000 to $250,000. Town Administrator Frank Lynam said his talks with foundation officials indicated Whitman could receive $120,000 and the town would have to fund $12,000.

Whitman officials are currently looking at the parcel between Memorial Field and the DPW facility of Essex Street as the location.

“We’re looking for a way to move dogs out of the park and off of the streets to an area where it would be more natural to take them,” Lynam said. “We will have an article on this year’s Town Meeting for it.”

Patrons would be assuming any risk in using the park, as would be outlined by signs at the entrance.

“We will be insured in the event a claim is filed against the town,” Lynam said. “It’s really not very different from recreational use [of town property].”

Funds received from a Green Communities Grant in the amount of $166,215 are planned for interior sand exterior lighting changes at municipal buildings and switching to variable speed motors at the town pumping station. The lights in Town Hall Auditorium —priced at $4,200 to replace 85 light bulbs — have been postponed for now. Future grants through the Green Communities program will likely focus on mechanicals and HVAC controls.

“Right now this gives us more bang for our buck,” Enos said of this year’s plan. “It will save the town $50,000 a year on energy costs alone.”

A $50,000 Trail Program Grant is being applied for in an effort to continue funding Whitman Park walking paths, Enos said. Selectmen voted to support the application due in February and sign a support letter.

The grant provides 80-percent funding for such projects and requires a 20-percent match of funds or in-kind gifts. Enos estimated the grant, if obtained at the end of a nine-month application review period, could finance another 2,000 feet of curbing and path work at the park in spring 2017.

Friends of Whitman Park and DPW may be approached for funds or in-kind services.

In other business, Selectmen agreed to a two-week extension for David Federico, the owner of Diesel Trucks, 575 Bedford St., to complete the cleanup of the premises ordered by the board on Jan. 5. The extension was recommended by Building Inspector Robert Curran.

“There’s been some changes, but not nearly enough as far as I’m concerned,” Curran said. Still, he suggested an extension until Feb. 9. “I will attend whatever meetings on-site that he needs for me to guide him on what I think is best for the town.”

Federico has reduced the number of vehicles from 65 down to between 48 and 50, and has created a handicapped parking space, but more issues — such as a car parked in the loading area — remain.

“I did see some effort there,” said Selectman Dan Salvucci. “But if you look at his lot and the lot next to it, it was night and day. One lot looked like it was open for business and the other one looked like it was there for salvage.”

Salvucci said he supported an extension, but would advocate further action if Curran was not satisfied by Feb. 9.

The board also voted to adopt the one-day suspension of O’Toole’s Pub’s All-Alcohol License as recommended by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. The board had initially sought a five-day suspension last year after infractions at the pub were reported by Whitman Police. Selectmen selected Saturday, March 19 as the suspension date to give the pub owners time to inform patrons of the date it will not be open.

Selectmen also offered “friendly advice” to the Police Department to determine the suspension is heeded.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

Merlin moves to Music City

January 14, 2016 By Stephanie Spyropoulos, Express Correspondent

Still keeping her Hanson hometown near to her heart, Kristen Merlin will be home in just a few days to perform after her recent move.  She is settled in Nashville, after relocating this fall, where she said she is deeply immersed in writing and defining her musical profession.

Photo courtesy www.kristenmerlin.com

Kristen Merlin has moved to Nashville, to further her music career. Photo courtesy www.kristenmerlin.com

“As much as I love the adventure of playing original music, I truly miss my hometown fans and their energy,” she said. “I’m looking   forward to experiencing that again at the ‘Country Voices Collide’ concert on Jan. 23 at Plymouth’s Memorial Hall.”

Merlin who will perform at the all-ages show with a full band plans to entertain with her originals from her CD, “Boomerang,” as well as all the fan favorites.

She is anticipating playing her new originals and giving fans a taste of what she has been accomplishing in Nashville.

She regularly participates in writers’ rounds, usually attending two writes a day for several hours with other artists and writers.

“It is a great night of networking and a new sense of adventure for me,” she said.

Merlin has always wanted to take her talents to the next level with her original music.

In an interview with the Express less than two years ago Merlin said becoming known for her own music was her ultimate dream.

“On a national scale I hope for my own words and music to be impressing to others,” she said in 2015.

Merlin has proved time and again that she can belt out all genres of music and has demonstrated her vocal strength in her cover shows developing a fan following on the east coast.

Discovering new stomping grounds, she has been performing before live audiences at some recognizable pubs in Nashville — The Listening room, The Dawghouse Saloon, Tin Roof Bar, known for its laid back style and live music sets, and the Pour House to name a few.

“It’s nice to have fans come to listen to your original material,” she said. “The Listening room has certain nights dedicated for musicians to showcase their talents. I have been performing and writing. It’s been busy.”

The move to Nashville was a worthy choice as she was continuously traveling back and forth.

“I can be a lot more productive while I am here. It felt like the right time to make that next step to be full-time in Nashville,” she said.

She was exhilarated to recently co–write with Lance Carpenter, a well-known songwriter who penned “Love Me Like You Mean It,” performed by rising pop-country singer Kelsea Ballerini.

Over the Christmas holiday Merlin performed with “Country Girls in the City” at Loretta’s Last Call in Boston.  The group was combined with regulars who perform in the group: New England to Nashville.

“We played to a packed house,” she said.

Merlin’s last all ages show, which was jammed with hometown fans and friends was at the annual Marshfield Fair last summer.

She recently became part of the McPherson guitars family last year and is endorsed by Kevin Michael carbon fiber guitars. The guitar is made of carbon fiber and is unlike any wood guitar.

“The McPherson guitars caught my attention with the Kevin Michael line. It has become one of my new favorite toys.  The sounds that I can get out of this guitar are beautiful,” she said.

The process of writing sometimes is built on a single word or hook.  With her ear trained on sounds, for Merlin, writing rounds are often inspired by simple conversation.

“Something usually jumps out. Listening and working with different writers has brought diverse experiences in each session and each level is a step towards creating a song,” she said.

Honed in on her writing she is motivated to challenge herself and steadily evolve musically.

Merlin recently sat and wrote with Jake Worthington runner up on NBC’s “The Voice: Season Six.”      

“He’s a friend first, and fellow musician. I enjoy trading stories . . . checking in and seeing his path musically,” she said.  “Each one of us is still taking the journey she said of her fellow Voice competitors. Merlin progressed to the top five on Team Shakira on NBC’s Season Six in 2014.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

MSBA denies Hanson Maquan funds

January 7, 2016 By Michael Melanson, Express Correspondent

MSBA denies Hanson Maquan funds

HANSON — The question of what to do with Hanson and Whitman school facilities is taking on a new urgency now that the Massachusetts School Building Authority has declined Hanson’s most recent application for financial and technical assistance for a Maquan School redevelopment project.

downloadThe School Committee plans to meet on Wednesday, Jan. 13 to identify priorities and plans for school buildings and programs, and consider drafting a new statement of interest seeking state assistance.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School library. State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, as well as state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, will attend. The meeting will focus on state education funding, said Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee Robert Hayes.

Hanson selectmen plan to attend. Selectman Kenneth Mitchell suggested a joint meeting for the school and select boards, and said Hanson Selectmen could vote at the Jan. 13 meeting to submit whatever statement of interest results from the meeting.

Hayes, who attended the Tuesday, Jan. 5 Hanson selectmen meeting, said there has been some discussion of shelving plans for the Maquan School and instead seeking assistance for putting an addition onto the Indian Head School, although nothing is etched in stone. The last project that failed was to combine the Indian Head and Maquan schools.

“You have to submit a statement of interest. It’s a very lengthy process,” he said. “There are definitely no guarantees.”

Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young said nothing has changed with the Maquan School building except that problems there are now a couple of years older.

Young said the statement of interest starts the process of getting assistance, but nothing is guaranteed.

“This is the foot in the door,” he said.

In a Dec. 18 letter to school Superintendent Ruth Gilbert-Whitner, the school building thanked the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District for their interest in the state’s 2015 statement of interest (SOI) grant program for school building construction, renovation and repair.

The MSBA fielded 97 statements of interest from 67 school districts last year for consideration.

“In reviewing SOIs, the MSBA identifies the school facilities that have the greatest and most urgent need based on an assessment of the entire cohort of SOIs that are received for consideration each year,” reads the letter, signed by MSBA Chief Executive Officer Maureen G. Valente and Executive Director/Deputy CEO John K. McCarthy.

“Through the MSBA’s due diligence process and review of the 97 SOIs that we received for consideration in 2015, the MSBA has determined that the Maquan Elementary School SOI will not be invited into the MSBA’s Eligibility Period at this time,” the letter states.

Selectman James McGahan said he wanted a more specific reason in the letter for why the regional school district did not get MSBA approval for the Maquan School project.

Three or four years ago, the town applied to the MSBA for the project and got approval, yet the town did not get approval for it this time, McGahan said.

Hayes said the MSBA letter indicated that the regional school district, if they would like for the Maquan School to be considered for future collaboration with the MSBA, should file a new statement of interest for 2016. The MSBA was scheduled to start accepting SOIs on Jan. 8.

“The letter is somewhat vanilla, but they say they are still interested,” Hayes said. “There’s only so much money to go around.”

Hanson resident John Barata asked if the state’s denial of Maquan School application in 2015 had to do with the town voting down funding for the school project.

Hayes said the MSBA is not supposed to look at past projects and is supposed to look at each project as it comes.

“They have to go on need,” he said.

Young said the MSBA would not hold a grudge against Hanson.

Not all of the school building news Tuesday was bad.

Hayes told selectmen that final costs connected to the Indian Head School came in under contractors’ estimates. As a result, a $645,290 contract will be decreased by $4,510.

Hanson will see an additional savings of $3,500 for seeding and loaming in connection with the roof project, Hayes said.

Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera said the school department has submitted a $5million capital request for next year, which, he added, realistically is impossible to fund.

LaCamera said Town Meeting is going to come very quickly, and the capital improvement and finance committees as well as his office need more information on what should be done, and how town capital funding next year would be affected by an MSBA grant application.

“What are we supposed to be doing?” he said.

Hayes said the school district still has the responsibility to address and fund capital needs, regardless of MSBA approval, and that Whitman-Hanson maintains a matrix or list of capital needs.

LaCamera said this year’s school capital request lists a number of items with notes that architects and engineers would need to do studies to estimate project costs, itself an expense.

Hayes said the School Committee planned to discuss and prioritize capital needs items at the next meeting.

Hanson resident Leigh-Ann Silva asked how the credit from the Indian Head project would be re-allocated, and suggested that voters at Town Meeting draw from it for architectural and engineering studies to estimate at least some of the school capital need costs for next year.

Hayes said the credit would be returned to the town, and LaCamera said money for one project cannot be reallocated to another unless Town Meeting approves.

Hanson resident Kimberly King praised school and town officers for working well together to accomplish the Indian Head school building project. King said this time, Hanson should think about not just an addition to the Indian Head School, but maybe looking into an addition at the middle school.

McGahan said there is an idea being floated, though generally not well received, for a regional middle school.

“All of these options will be vetted out,” he said.

In other business, Selectmen tabled and took under advisement a request by Green Harbor Dispensary for a letter of approval or non-opposition and, ultimately, a special permit from Hanson to open a medical marijuana dispensary and/or cultivation site in Hanson, perhaps on Winter Street near the Hanover line.

In a Dec. 23 letter to board Chairman Young, Robert Schnibbe, chief executive officer of the Green Harbor Dispensary, said the dispensary hopes to be invited to have an opportunity to present their program to town administration and selectmen, as the special permitting process moves forward.

“The Green Harbor Dispensary has an impressive management team, a comprehensive security solution and well thought out vision for our dispensary. Our team is composed of business professionals that live and work in the immediate area and are committed to being responsible corporate citizens and good neighbors,” states the letter, signed by Schnibbe.

Young said Green Harbor would be a first in Hanson and that selectmen act as the licensing authority for licensing medical marijuana facilities.

LaCamera said the town would need to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, as Green Harbor is a non-profit organization and non-taxable.

The dispensary must still apply for a special permit and go through the zoning Board of Appeals, he said.

 

 

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

Hanover Fire Deputy Chief Stone concludes long career

December 22, 2015 By Stephanie Spyropoulos, Express Correspondent

Hanover Fire Deputy Chief Stone concludes long career

HANOVER —  Deputy Fire Chief Barbara Stone, a Hanson native, retired last week after an astounding 33 years in the fire service. Her journey into retirement and new zest for adventures has already begun — she certainly is not sitting down.

Following her Dec. 10 official sendoff and retirement from the town of Hanover, Stone was heading to Arlington National Cemetery to volunteer for a holiday tradition Wreaths Across America in which volunteers lay holiday wreaths over the graves of those who have lost their lives in their service to our country.

A 1974 Whitman-Hanson graduate, Stone (neé MacDonald) grew up in Hanson on Monroe Street.   She described herself as a well-known jock, always busy with clubs and the school band. She intended to be a gym teacher but found that career opportunities were not thriving.

“I worked with Whitman recreation and was talking with some of the Whitman firefighters. Tim Travers (retired Whitman chief) was a friend and classmate.  The guys encouraged me to go for EMS training,” she said.

Her journey began in both her career and continuing education.

Stone was nominated for the Whitman-Hanson Wall of Fame by her parents approximately a decade later. She received a place on the Wall, where alumni who have achieved distinct and unique milestones following their education at W-H are honored.

“I was excited to be recognized for those accomplishments [in the fire service] and to join a very elite group of alumni,” said Stone.

Her natural teaching skills aided in her advancement in civil service where she became the first fire prevention officer for Hanover Fire Department, and received the Massachusetts Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year award in 2004.

Stone was aware of the equality issue between men and women firefighters in a predominately male career but she never felt it was an obstacle.

“There may have been challenges early on but as far as acceptance, I always fit right in,” she said.

As a woman in the fire services as well as prevention officer Stone has been a strong presence in the schools. She does believe she has been a positive role model for girls.

“Work hard and be whatever you want to be,” she advises. “My daughter and her friends always knew I was a firefighter. Over the years the number has grown with females in the fire services. I am a woman and a firefighter. I do my job. There was never an issue for me whether being a firefighter was a male or female occupation.”

As a mentor and a support system her first captain, Tom O’Toole, always treated her with evenhandedness, which she also felt made an impact on the females who started when she did.

“I have been lucky to have worked with [retired Chief] Ken Blanchard and current Chief Jeff Blanchard,” Stone said. “They have supported my strength, and allowed me to grow.”

She also worked for a time under the late Chief Bud Blanchard and retired Chief Steve Tucker.

Behind the scenes Stone has organized dozens of conferences and open houses related to public safety and education.

One anecdote she shared from her early career was returning to an out-of town firehouse following a structure fire.

“Everyone took off their sooty turnout gear, and we were going to eat Chinese food for dinner,” she said. “Someone said ‘Oh my God. It’s a girl.’”

She still laughs when she tells the story.

“I would like to think because I worked just as hard as any other firefighter, not only did I fit in, but truly was welcomed,” Stone says.” When it came to the job being done- that was what the bottom line was.  Do your job. I did my job.”

Over her 33 years Stone has responded to countless calls, including a major fire on Christmas Eve in 1986 when the St. Andrew’s church burned down.

“It affected many people,” she said.

She more happily recalls the achievements of Young Heroes — a program that recognizes children who used their 911 fire prevention knowledge to make a difference some even saving the lives of family members.

“Those are the things that stand out in my mind in my career,” she said.  “I was effective in educating children who were able to perform a positive action.”

Retirement for Stone holds animated adventures.

“I am a fanatic of all things Disney. I will really be looking forward to going to Disneyworld,” she said.

Married to her husband Henry Stone for 30 years they have two adult children, a son and daughter.

With family in numerous states they are planning on visiting many. Her elderly parents reside in Florida. They need some assistance and she is also looking forward to spending time with them.

“I am into photos and scrapbooking. I enjoy it and will have time to do the things I want.  I am looking forward to not wearing a uniform.  I am a jeans, T-shirt and sneakers girl.  I will be happy to wear something other than boots,” she said smiling.

Filed Under: Featured Story

Hanson author writes about Boston El trains

December 17, 2015 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

Hanson author writes about Boston El trains

HANSON — For Hanson resident Lawrence D. Mills, retirement has literally opened a new chapter in his life — several of them in fact — as he recently completed work on a book saluting Boston’s erstwhile elevated train system.

The book [“Main Line Elevated,” Xlibris, 83 pages, hardcover $61.99/large format paperback, $51.99/E-book, $24.99] is not a history, but rather a photo essay of the last years of Boston’s Main Line elevated train.

Hanson author writes about Boston El trains“It describes what it was like to see and use this transportation on one of the heaviest transit lines in the city of Boston,” Mills states in his promotional materials.

The elevated trains also afforded the chance for Mills and his sister to spend hours of locomotive and people watching at Dudley Station from a display window in Roxbury’s Ferdinand’s Furniture Store where his parents met on the job and his father worked again after WWII.

The Charlestown elevated route ended in 1975, followed by the one in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain in 1987, and “there are adults today that never saw it” he said of his reason for doing the book.

“It’s a way to see what life was like in those days because you see everything — the cars, the way people dressed, the ads — the whole business,” he said. “My view has always been that these pictures don’t do any good sitting in a closet. They should be where people can see them.”

While he never worked for a railroad or the MBTA, Mills continued his lifelong interest in railroads and transit systems during his military service, which included postings in Germany, and during a career with the Federal Protective Service, which protects federal buildings, for more than 35 years. His FPS service was largely in Boston and other New England sites.

“I’ve had this as a hobby all my life,” he said of his collection of El photographs. A book he bought about the Third Avenue Line in New York City provided the spur to create his own book.

Most of the photos are his from a personal collection dating back to 1964, except for a half dozen from Rockland resident George Jason, a few from a retired Boston Fire Lt. Jim Teed and some black white photos from Mills’ father Thomas.

“This was something I have been thinking about for years and when I retired, we sat down and [decided to] do it,” he said. His wife Michele, a former librarian, used her expertise and connections to find Xlibris, a self-publishing firm in Bloomington, Ind.

“The quality of the book turned out well,” he said. “I was impressed with that.”

Mills had done all the scanning and layout of photos on his home computer.

“That’s one of the good things about his pictures, he has all the old cars, the old buildings, the old signs,” Michele said. “They’re historic.”

Mills plans to make appearances at train and hobby shows — such as one held in Springfield next month — as his primary merchandising avenue, but the book is also available online via Barnes & Noble and Amazon and at rail museums.

Michele noted that the book will also be in The Library Journal so town libraries and special libraries may purchase it if they wish.

The book provided Mills with a project during last winter’s worst weather. He is now looking toward the next project while he continues interest in trains.

Even his move from Brookline to Hanson hinged on the Commuter Rail service, as his job did not initially include a “take home” vehicle.

“It was a convenient commute and they were building the area up,” he said.

“We worked together on the house,” Michele said. “Larry told me what he wanted and I worked with Jack Conway himself [to design it].”

Conway had been a friend of her family in Cohasset for years.

 

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

Dance show aids Whitman food pantry

December 17, 2015 By Stephanie Spyropoulos, Express Correspondent

Dance show aids Whitman food pantry

The Dance Dimension School of Dance and Theatre of Whitman held its annual winter showcase at Whitman Hanson High School on Saturday evening.

Dance show aids Whitman food pantry

HOLIDAY DREAMS: Students from Whitman’s Dance Dimension School of Dance and Theatre perform a number costumed in holiday PJs during the annual winter showcase Dec. 12. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos.

Collectively they raised $1,300, which was presented in a check by Owner and Director Laurie Healey to Bruce Perry for the Whitman food pantry at the start of the event and more than 100 pounds of food were donated for the pantry during the event.

There were 25 to 30 toys donated to the Whitman area toy drive through the efforts of the Whitman Hanson drama club. Along with the dance teams several vocal soloists from WH drama club, and chorus performed an array of holiday musical arrangements.

Mrs. Claus was portrayed by a local woman who volunteered her time for the event after overhearing the director talking about it.

“Our hope is to continue to grow this (event) into other performance groups and people in our community. It is such a great town we live in,” said Laurie Healey’s husband and school co-owner Mike Healey.

— Stephanie Spyropoulos

Filed Under: Featured Story, News

Whitman teen struck crossing street to bus

December 17, 2015 By Stephanie Spyropoulos, Express Correspondent

Whitman teen struck crossing street to bus, received non life-threatening injuries

WHITMAN – A female high school student was transported to the South Shore Hospital for non-life threatening injuries after being struck by a car in Whitman near 309 Washington Street at about 7 a.m., Thursday while getting on the school bus.

The initial investigation by Whitman police was that the teen was struck by the side mirror of a car as an elderly woman went past the stopped school bus, according to Police Chief Scott Benton.

Whitman teen struck crossing street to bus

caption: The initial investigation by Whitman police stated that a teen was struck by the side mirror of a car as an elderly woman went past a stopped school bus. The teen was treated non-life threatening injuries.

The bus driver, whose name has not been released, works for First Student Bus Company. She initially reported to police her red flasher lights were on for the students to safely cross the street. However, after a statement and corrected report by the bus driver to Whitman police she informed the officer her yellow lights were on not her red lights, which would have activated the cross board on the front of the bus to signal that all traffic must stop.

“The bus driver made the determination to allow two more cars to pass before activating her red lights. The student, anticipating the red lights, then stepped into traffic and was struck by the car. She was not hit by the bus,” Benton said clarifying incorrect information that was possibly started on social media.

The women driver of the grey sedan was shaken and did stop at the scene. A male who identified himself as the son of the driver said his mother “is elderly and very upset.” He did not want to speak further.

He was driving her home following the accident.

Two women who reside across from the bus stop said approximately five students wait at the bus stop daily.

Tina Burnell, whose daughter is a high school student, said her daughter was right behind the girl who was struck and that she had been upset by the incident.

Benton said the investigation is ongoing, however he does not believe the driver of the car will face charges and there were no charges filed as of Thursday Dec. 17.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Featured Story, News

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