WHITMAN – As the town turns attention to the planning process for a proposed new South Shore Technical High School, the Whitman Building Committee’s last meeting on Tuesday, June 11, discussed current vacancies on their own committee.
The committee had authorized its submission of plan documents to the MSBA at it’s previous meeting, a special session held remotely via Zoom, on June 5. Hard copies are at the district office, according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools George Ferro.
Among those leaving the building committee is former W-H School Committee Vice Chair Christopher Scriven, who also submitted his resignation from the WMS Building Committee.
Scriven opted against re-election to the School Committee in the Saturday, June 18 annual Town Election.
“We also are required to have someone from facilities as part of the committee,” said Chair Fred Small, who also serves on the School Committee. “This was a little bit of an omission. … But, as we get moving, we do need a facilities person.”
Assistant Superintendent George Ferro had been assuming that role on a temporary basis.
“That would be Mr. Driscoll,” Small said.
New WHRSD Business Manger Steven Marshall, it turns out is also a Mass. Certified Procurement Official, (NCPPO), which Whitman is required to have on its WMS Building Committee project, so the panel voted to add Marshall and remove former Business Manager John Stanbrook, who had resigned during the spring, effective June 30, as the start of the new fiscal year began July 1.
The committee voted to remove Scriven from the member roster and added Driscoll.
“Mr. Marshall is starting already,” Small said. “I’d like to welcome him to not only the committee, but the district itself.”
Ferro also suggested the committee welcome Marshall as the new NCPPO, which Small said he thought had been done.
“I know you said he had been an NCPPO, maybe he can be NCPPO for this project,” Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said.
Although Marshall has been attending meetings regularly of late, but Small requested that he be brought up to speed on “many meetings,’” of business.
Michael Carroll of Colliers, the firm serving as owner’s project manager, also made a report to the committee.
“When we’re talking about new members, we might just try to continue that trend,” Carroll said, noting that the Colliers’ contract had been extended in November or December, when they presented a work plan that had included a project manager. “We took a little time to find out who we thought is the right person for that job, and she’s sitting right here next to me,” he said, introducing Shirley Ng.
She said she has more than 10 years’ OPM experience, holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in architecture from Wentworth University. The committee unanimously voted to bring her on the team and then introduced themselves.
Techincally, the committee is not required to take a vote, Carroll explained.
“We’ve been doing it through this process,” he said. “We want to support the committee and the committee support Jeff and we thought it was proper to bring it to the committee.”
Carroll also provided a financial updates, but said there was new little to report.
“We’re pretty much just under budget here, we’re still on target,” he said.
Small suggested 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 23 as the date for the next meeting at which time there will be a cost estimate update.
Ferro suggested a virtual or combined virtual-in person meeting through Google’s platform, to accommodate any travel plans committee members might have.
The committee voted to hold that meeting virtually.
There were no schedule updates, other than to note the project is 60 percent through construction documents. Adjustments to the site plan were also discussed, including the location of the sports fields’ concession stand, and interior design concepts were reviewed.

HANOVER – The feasibility phase of the new South Shore Tech building project remains under budget, it was reported during a joint virtual meeting of the SST School Committee and Building Committee on Wednesday, June 26.
“The plans are coming along [with very few changes],” Kevin Sullivan of the LeftField project management team said.
The schematic design, given the green light by the Massachusetts School Building Authority on April 26 is still expected to be complete and submitted to the MSBA by mid-August with a final report due Aug. 29.
“While the School Committee, typically, does not hold meetings in August, and will not have its July meeting until July 24, it is possible that the building committee might schedule a one-off meeting that isn’t a joint meeting,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “It’s quite possible that, to get to that August deadline, the building committee might have to have an extra meeting here or there.”
Engineers for all areas of the building project: mechanical, electrical, site, civil, have been working together in building the package of information that’s going to go through three independent process bidders simultaneously.
But they are working independently at first, so that good checks can be made, Sullivan said.
Both DRA, the architects, and LeftField, the building project managers, each receive one.
The late July meetings of the building committee are important for cost and budget reviews.
“It’ll take about three weeks to get a draft, and once we see those three numbers, we get together – in this case, it might literally be in the same room – for a process called reconciliation, so that estimators could quiz each other [on project materials needed],” Sullivan said. “They try to go through and make sure they are seeing the same thing in the same place.”
The building committee will then inform the management team whether they are comfortable with the numbers.
“We all have to live with the numbers going forward,” Sullivan said. “For whatever reasons, you make these comparisons to other projects or what the towns can afford, you want us to reduce the price by accepting some of the alternatives, we can consider that at this time, or … keep them in our back pocket and shoot for this budget … and we have some ability to tighten the budget down the road.”
At this point there have not been many changes to the plans.
George Cooney of Cohasset asked how big a priority is the use of materials made in the USA and asked if it is a union job.
“You could buy a light switch for 19 cents or you could buy a real one and it’s 89 cents,” he said.
“To the best of our ability we are to specify American-made products in that regard,” Sullivan said. “There was a time when lot of steel did come from outside the United States … but ore may come from the United States and get processed in Canada, so where does it really come from?”
While there is the provision to use American-made materials where possible, it’s not a restriction, Sullivan said.
“It’s not literally a union job, but all public works jobs in Massachusetts have to pay prevailing wages,” he continued. “Those prevailing wages are set by the state and they’re generally in accordance with union wages.”
Cooney asked if that restricts whether students can be on the job site.
“There are restrictions in general in regard to students, or the school, doing some of the work,” Sullivan replied. “We want students to be able to do things … but whether the students could literally work with Suffolk Construction, that’s generally not allowed.”
If a student were to get hired by the firm to work as a co-op during the summer, it might be possible, according to Sullivan, but during school they can’t provide free labor to the contractor, Suffolk Construction, as students, even if they are qualified. But he suggested some things could be left incomplete while obtaining a certification of occupancy, leaving those items for students to work on, having been left as instructional opportunities.
Hickey suggested that furnishing items such as storage blocks could be left for students to work on, or landscaping projects, as a learning experience.
“They’ll also see what the prevailing wage could do for you,” Cooney said.
Hickey did say that, even with the 99-space parking option with an exit onto Main Street, the project’s site costs will go beyond the amount reimbursable from MSBA.
But an educated decision on it can be made later in the process.
“If it’s not reimbursable, it’s a decision the district can to 10 years from now,” he said, indicating some non-crucial amenities like that could wait.
After the building committee meeting adjourned, the School Committee portion of the session heard the monthly treasurer’s report and the payment of bills and payroll.

Summer came in with a sizzle last week and, while the heat eased a bit by Monday, the humidity held on – and this is not going to be the last time this season we bake under the sun.
According to the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross, the number of people worldwide exposed to extreme heat is growing due to climate change, with heat-related deaths for people over 65 years of age increased by approximately 85 percent over the last 20+ years. And, it is expected that extreme heat and heat waves will happen more frequently due to the climate crisis.
Statistics from the National Weather Service also indicates that extreme heat and humidity is one of the leading weather-related killers in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. In the disastrous heat wave of 1980, more than 1,250 people died. In the heat wave of 1995, more than 700 deaths in the Chicago area were attributed to heat, making this the deadliest weather event in Chicago history. In August 2003, a record heat wave in Europe claimed an estimated 50,000 lives.
But thinking ahead and proper preparation can help prevent such heavy loss of life, and area communities are doing their part.
Hanson officials used the town website to post ways residents could cool off:
Cranberry Cove is open for swimming from 11am – 7pm daily; The Library and Senior Center will be open from 8a.m. To 8 p.m. On heat emergency days. During this past week, the two facilities were open during those hours on, Thursday and Friday, but were closed on Wednesday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth. Public housing facilities also keep their community centers open extended hours during heat waves for the use of residents.
The Library and Senior Center will begin social media posts with updates during heat emergencies and the Fire Department reminds Hanson residents their business line is 781-293-9571 if any residents have questions or concerns, please ask for the officer on duty.
If you have a heat related emergency, please call 911.
Whitman officials opened the Town Hall auditorium as a cooling center last Tuesday and Thursday and will also continue operating cooling centers throughout the summer if it is warranted by weather conditions.
“We always have plans for both cooling and warming centers,” Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said. “The cooling plan has two aspects – the first one is we use town buildings such as the Town Hall, Library, and Senior Center during normal business hours. In the event of off business hours, we plan on using the town hall auditorium and staff it with CERT team members. The cooling centers are always dependent on power outages and duration and severity of the heat wave.”
The state is also providing respite from the heat this summer.
“With several straight days of hot and humid weather expected this week, it’s essential that Massachusetts residents make a plan to stay safe – including keeping hydrated, limiting strenuous activity and checking in on one another,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “We encourage people to cool off at DCR’s waterfronts, beaches and splash decks, or check out the cooling centers in your town.”
According to Recreation Director Kathleen Woodward, the Town Pool’s regular hours for public swim are from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m., on weekends.
“If a heat wave arises the Recreation Department is happy to try and extend the evening pool hours if staff is available to cover the additional hours,” she said.
The governor’s office also reminded people of the basic heat precautions:

• Minimize time spent outdoors, especially during the hottest parts of the day 
• Stay hydrated by drinking lots of cool water every 15-20 minutes and avoiding alcoholic or caffeinated beverages. 
• Seek out air-conditioned buildings like libraries and community centers to spend time in; Call 2-1-1 to find locations of cooling centers or shelters near you. 
• Never leave children or pets in the car alone – the temperatures will rise to unhealthy levels within minutes. 
• Check in on neighbors who may need assistance making a plan, including the homebound, elderly, or disabled.   
• Dress for the heat by wearing a hat, light-colored, loose fitting, and breathable clothing.
  MEMA’s regional offices have made outreach to local emergency management officials to determine communities that will be opening cooling centers and identify health and personal safety concerns related to upcoming Juneteenth holiday celebrations and large events.
  “Extreme heat can pose health challenges, particularly for our more vulnerable populations such as older adults, children and those with chronic health conditions.” said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Director Dawn Brantley. “We encourage everyone to plan ahead and take precautions, especially with many outdoor events taking place across the state this week.”
  Residents can cool off at the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) 81 waterfronts and spray decks. Certain DCR spray decks are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., during heat waves and lifeguards will be on duty seven days a week at 32 designated swimming areas across the state from approximately 10:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. For a list or DCR’s saltwater ocean beaches visit mass.gov/saltwater-ocean-beaches; for the freshwater inland beaches visit mass.gov/freshwater-inland-beaches and for a list of beaches that are accessible to people of all abilities visit mass.gov/info-details/accessible-beaches. Check DCR’s mass.gov/info-details/dcr-park-alerts for any closures of swimming areas due to bacteria and the most up-to-date park hours.
  In preparation for the summer season, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has completed a comprehensive inspection and servicing program for its entire fleet of vehicles, helping to ensure riders have a reliable experience during the hottest months of the year. This includes servicing the onboard heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to keep the temperature inside vehicles well-regulated. For any concerns, contact their customer support line at 617-222-3200. MBTA riders should consult mbta.com/guides/weather-guide#heat subscribe to T-Alerts and follow @MBTA and @MBTA_CR on social media for updates on weather-related service impacts and call the customer support line at 617-222-3200 with any concerns.
  The Red Cross is experiencing a shortfall in blood donations, collecting 20,000+ fewer blood donations in May than needed to support patients. This shortall and the extreme heat impacting most of the country this week leaves people battling sickle cell disease vulnerable to a pain crisis. According to health experts, high temperatures can exacerbate sickle cell disease symptoms increasing the frequency and severity of crises.
  The Red Cross also urges people to learn the signs of heat-related illness and what to do:
• Heat cramps are an early sign of trouble and include heavy sweating with muscle pains or spasms. To help, move the person to a cooler place and encourage them to drink water. Get medical help if symptoms last longer than an hour or if the person has heart problems.
• Heat exhaustion is a more severe condition signaled by cool, pale and clammy skin; a fast or weak pulse; nausea or vomiting; tiredness or weakness; or a headache, dizziness or passing out. To help, move the person to a cooler place, loosen tight clothing, encourage them to sip water slowly. Use wet cloths, misting or fanning to help cool them off. Get medical help right away if symptoms get worse or last longer than an hour, or if the person begins vomiting or acting confused.
• Heat stroke is a deadly condition that requires immediate medical help. Symptoms include a high body temperature; hot, red, dry or damp skin; a fast or strong pulse; a headache or dizziness; or nausea, confusion and passing out. Call 911 right away if you think someone may have heat stroke. Then move the person to a cool place, and use wet cloths, misting or fanning to help cool them off. Do not give the person anything to drink.

HANOVER – South Shore Tech School Committee, meeting with the Building Committee has hired a construction management firm, Suffolk Construction of Boston, and met some of the firm’s principals at its Wednesday, May 22 meeting.
Kevin Sullivan also joined the project management team from LeftField while Jen Carlson is out on maternity leave. Sullivan updated the two committees – which overlap in membership – on CMS work, the availability of feasibility funds and plan updates.
Suffolk Construction was selected from five firms interviewing on May 9 for the contract, which was recommended by the Building Subcommittee, May 10. based on scoring made based on the five firms’ proposals, the interview and price proposals: Consigli Construction, Gilbane, Turner and Lee Kennedy construction firms were also interviewed.
“There were some very talented firms showing interest in our school project and it was a very deliberate process,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey who served on the subcommittee panel conducting the interviews as well as members Robert Mallo and Robert Mahoney, along with representatives from leftfield and architectural firm DRA. “I’m happy right at this point to move this process forward.”
The Building Committee voted in favor of the construction management contract award to Suffolk Construction on Wednesday, May 22, making it official with an 11-0 vote. The contract carries $50,000 for schematic design from feasibility study funds and $268,826 for pre-construction costs from general conditions fees.
Hickey said contract negotiations may include minor changes the committee will plan in deference to any changes deemed necessary the school district’s legal counsel to review the state’s contract template.
The School Committee later voted to finalize the Jan. 26 election date in member towns on the MSBA school project, before shifting back into the Building Committee session.
Sullivan then reviewed the funds paid out on the project so far and updated the committee on the budget as members approved of $67,540 for a contract amendment within the budget regarding work being done in the schematic design phase of the feasibility study, including a traffic analysis and geotechnical services regarding soil samples where the new school would go. He noted that 79 percent of the feasibility studies budget has been committed and 52 percent of those funds expended so far, expecting to stay within the feasibility budget and have $210,228 left over when the work in this phase is complete.
“We’re confident that we’ve stayed within budget and will continue to do so,” he said.
The MSBA schedule will require the schematic design report to be submitted there by Aug. 29 and a budget turned in by mid-August. MSBA will review the information at its October board meeting.
“This project will be complying with the new, very strict energy code, sort of going above and beyond, too,” Sullivan said of plans surrounding the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. “Not only will it produce an energy-efficient building with low operating costs going forward for the district, which is great, but also initially it will allow the district to receive 4 percent more in reimbursement from MSBA.”
To provide an illustration of how important that is, Sullivan used the example of a $20 million project, which would increase the MSBA reimbursement by $8 million. The project would also be in line for receiving significant utility company rebates as part of state and federal incentive programs.
“That’s not factored into the equation yet,” he said, noting that they are communicating with the state program and National Grid to ensure that the company will comply.
The all-electric powered building will mean it would produce little fossil fuel impact to the environment while being more efficient. Solar panels on the roof could be a part of that.
“We’re certainly making the entire building solar-ready,” he said.
Shop design will include lockers for all students, a work area where instructors can effectively supervise students while having space to do their work and – in high-ceiling shop bays, a mezzanine with dedicated HVAC equipment for ventilation. Vestibules between shop work areas and the hallways will help control noise.
Leaving the district administration offices in the renovated former house next door, where they have been working for about a year, will allow a smaller school building and using space more efficiently in the school will make it 2-percent smaller, which will also help with the budget bottom line, as well as re-use of recently purchased equipment, Sullivan said. The site plan is also being developed, but he said there have not been any significant changes there as yet.
Suffolk will set up on site in June 2026 in an area at the back of the property to keep impact on neighbors to a minimum as well as being adjacent to where the new building is actually constructed. They foresee being able to raze the current school building by May 2028. Athletic fields, to be situated where the school now stands will be ready by 2029.
In other business before the School Committee, members held the annual public hearing for participation in school choice. As has been traditional for SST, the committee unanimously voted not to participate in school choice for the 2024-25 school year because the district has an established process for admitting students from outside the school district.
Principal Sandra Baldner reported that, while the official report has not yet been released, the school has received a generally positive preliminary report following a recent two-day NEASC reaccreditation site visit, which had only a couple suggestions for improvement.
She also reviewed the goals of the 2024-25 school improvement plan. Those goals include: extension education; professional development; making sure short-term and long-term budget funding supports the population on campus, starting next year; as well as teaching learning and foundational element of professional practice as the School Council wants the school to focus on artificial intelligence – or AI.
“What does that mean for teachers and students – the good, the bad and the indifferent and how do we manage that and move forward as educators and learners,” Baldner said.
Cultural proficiency is another area on which the school will continue to focus, as the school has done for the past two years, but it will be more site-based than bringing in outside experts. Student mental health and the educational resources around mental health will also continue to be stressed as well as the mental health of educators.
The final details will be presented to the School Committee and posted on the school website this summer.
“We have a small School Council, but our stakeholders that we engaged in the process of identifying our needs was vast, through surveys and virtual opportunities to connect with us,” she said, thanking the council and stakeholders for their work.

Whitman-Hanon Regional High School’s organization, Active Minds, presented an update about their group to the School Committee during the Wednesday, May 8 meeting.
The group advocates for mental health among fellow students through their Read a Secret – Leave a Secret boxes at the school. Some of the messages – concerning everything from challenges of anxiety to coping with the loss of friends or family members – left were incorporated in a video presentation.
The students in the group said the messages show that mental health is a concern for everyone and that there is a real need for counselors at school, especially for students whose families might not otherwise be able to access or afford counseling.
“‘Out of the mouths of babes,’ is the expression, and what you just said, you don’t know how important that was, because we have people in the towns who think that we don’t need counselors [students] can go get their own,” Committee Chair Beth Stafford said. “They don’t understand that some people can’t just do that. They don’t have the insurance to cover [it], they don’t have the payments covered, plus you are in school all day.”
She said it was a message that was important to be said by someone other than the School Committee.
The students said they had the idea for the group after talking among themselves after the death of a friend. They made a presentation to the nonprofit group Kyle Cares for funding.
DiGravio applauded the group’s efforts to erase some of the stigma of seeking mental health services.
“The hardest part about getting help is asking for it,” he said. “Once you do ask for it, there’s this huge relief that comes over you, but taking that first step is so hard.”
Szymaniak stressed that Active Minds also runs a grief group.
“It’s really outstanding to have an organization where students feel free to share their thoughts with others who feel the same way, in a safe environment with professionals,” he said. “This will sustain and keep going.”

In the end, while Whitman residents were voting to confirm the potential of offering more affordable housing in the future through the state’s MBTA Communities bylaw amendment, the majority of Hanson residents attending Town Meeting Monday, May 6 made quite another thing clear.
They were there to say no – loudly and emphatically. Hanson’s vote, in fact could put a $300,000 state grant for the Senior Center through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs at risk of clawback of a state grant already awarded.
The grant is specifically to reinstate a supportive day program that was unfortunately unable to restart after Covid-19.
Director of Elder Affairs Mary Collins wrote it to allow a small addition of roughly 800-square feet in which the center could bring the supportive day program back five days per week. It will pay for the first-year salary of a supervisor of the program and if the past is any indication, can be self-sufficient after that year.
“We did it for over 26 years successfully prior to Covid – a one-of-a-kind program not widely available in the area,” Collins said Tuesday, May 7. “They are programs specifically designed to meet the needs of mentally frailer seniors as well as those experiencing social isolation.”
It is just one example of state grants tied to participation in the program.
Planning Board Chair Joseph Campbell introduced the amended article by proposing an amendment requesting a letter of action be sent to Hanson’s legislative delegation on Beacon Hill to immediately take action toward repealing the Baker-Polito administration’s proposed amendment of MGL Sec 3A C40A-Zoning. Multifamily zoning as of right – the MBTA Communities Act. In addition, his amendment would have referred the matter to an MBTA Communities Act Committee to be appointed by the town moderator to study and provide a comprehensive report at the October special Town Meeting on all “aspects, impacts, and assessments regarding a recommended action on the adoption or denial of MBTA Communities law” and zoning amendments.
A member of each of the Planning Board, ZBA, Select Board, two residents of Precinct 3 (which stands to be most impacted by the change), one from Precinct 2 and one member from Precinct 1 would serve on the committee and would meet no fewer than two times a month, submitting a preliminary report to the moderator, town Planner and Town Administrator no later than July 31.
While the law only requires towns to establish a district defined as “a zone of reasonable size in which an allowance for as of right multi-family housing is permitted” within a half-mile of public transportation, must comply with all Hanson building codes or be denied, and has been discussed at multiple public hearings by the Planning Board and the Select Board, which were sparsely attended and “when asked for input, the Planning Board received input from one office,” according to Campbell.
Although applicable to the Affordable Housing Act, and not the federal Section 8 program – housing is considered affordable in Hanson if one makes $92,000 a year.
“Indeed, as already seen it is having an effect on Mass. State grants applications, seen by our town of Hanson grant writers,” Campbell said. “The Planning Board has heard on numerous occasions, and agrees, this was legislation rushed through the state government machine in an attempt of quick resolution to a larger issue without thinking it through or respecting all the commonwealth’s citizens’ rights protected by our constitution.”
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said that board, meeting just before Town Meeting, unanimously voted to support Campbell’s amendment. By October, she said it would be more apparent which other towns had voted no and what kind of repercussions have they seen from the state.
Bob Windell of High Street said the amendment sounded like town officials thought they were going to be voted down.
“I say, let’s knock this thing out of the park and get rid of it now,” he said to applause.
“I believe the intention put before you was deceptive,” said Daniel Strautman of Monponsett Street, who agreed with Windell.
Moderator Sean Kealy would not permit questions of people’s motivations. Strautman countered that they push back and vote it down now.
“The Town Meeting will ultimately have to decide, maybe not even at one meeting, but at several meetings, whether the grant money is worth changing the zoning, or if we’re going to hold fast,” Kealy said.
Campbell said that his amendment would enable Hanson to push back on legislation as no other town in the state had been able to do.
“It also sends a very strong message to the government that we’re going to hold our legislators accountable,” he said, while cautioning that, saying no to the State House is no small matter. “We will warn everybody that we don’t know the ramifications to their full extent for the towns that have said no.” There have been four, so far, only one of which is an MBTA community.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said the Attorney General has required towns to comply with the law or risk lawsuits and classification as ineligible for forms of state funding, including grants.
“We don’t even have an estimate of what it would cost to fight this,” she said. “They are very serious with this. We’re trying to preserve the grants we’ve received in the last couple of years totaling $2 million.”
Selectman Joe Weeks also urged approval of the amendment.
But that was not enough to satisfy the most vocal opponents of the MBTA law, who voted it down 196 to 155.
Debate then continued on the original article, which was also rejected by a voice vote.
“We’re not done,” Kealy said as residents attending because of the MBTA law begain to leave. “We have stuff to do here. Oh, come on, you can look up the score of the Bruins game on your phone. Good, lord!”
They left anyway.
Whitman, meanwhile, approved the zoning bylaw change by a simple voice vote.
Whitman Select Board member Justin Evans noted the state mandate for the zone reqiring multi-family housing by right. Not having a town planner, Whitman sought and received to grants totaling $40,000 to hire a planning group and “turned this requirement into an opportunity for Whitman.”
“We put this zone in underutilized industrial land within walking distance of the Commuter Rail – a number of old shoe factories that had seen better days, a property that had received an EPA grant to cleanup and existing multifamily housing,” Evans said.
When Whitman fell briefly out of compliance in 2022, the state threatened to take away 10 percent of the town Housing Authority’s capital funding. Evans worked with former interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam to get the town back in compliance, and he cautioned the town has applied for $600,000 in grants that could go away if it happens again.
Planning Board Chair John Goldrosen also spoke in favor of the law, noting it protected the single-family housing areas near the zone.
“This is an opportunity for the town,” he said, echoing Evans’ remarks. “This is an area where, if it grows, will help revitalize that section of town. … Voting against this will not take out the risk of multi-family housing in town because there is always 40B.”
He also noted that most people attending Town Meeting probably know someone who moved out of state because of the cost of housing.

 By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to the Express
I was in my bedroom dusting and vacuuming recently and happened to look up over the closets where there’s a shelf holding several items. Among them a wooden plaque caught my eye. It’s a decoupaged picture of a little dog wearing a puffy bonnet with a little blue bird nestled into it and a thin blue ribbon tied in a bow around the brim. It brought back a Mother’s Day memory of when my son Brian was eight and my daughter Heidi was five.  
 After my marriage broke up I was lonely at times and had concerns about raising two children by myself. I was taking college classes at night and was exhausted, worried about finances and many other things. I got a job cleaning houses during the week while the kids were at school so I could pay the bills and put food on the table. When the kids were small I had gotten piggy banks for them to teach them the value of saving money when they received it. Brian being the oldest I was also pleased he hadn’t asked to take any out. It saved us from going hungry one night before I was receiving child support and had used the last of my money for the mortgage payment. There was no food, no money and I didn’t want to ask my parents, who had already helped me with getting a car when mine was no longer drivable. When Brian asked what was for supper that night I told him we’d have to have cereal. A few minutes later he came out to the kitchen carrying his bank with Heidi in tow carrying hers. I had forgotten all about the banks and was so relieved. When we opened them there was enough money to get food with some left over until I got paid at my house cleaning job. From the time they were little, I noticed how caring and generous they were; that’s never changed.  
 When Mother’s Day came around that year I was especially distracted about money I needed for a bill and also had to study for finals as the semester was ending. I often got very little sleep but that Sunday morning I slept late and was so surprised when I got up that the kids hadn’t woke me. I went out to the kitchen and they were nowhere to be found. There was a note on the table in my son’s handwriting that read, Mom we will be back. I was relieved after reading the note and thought they must be next door but why didn’t the note say that. I got dressed and was about to walk around the neighborhood to find them when they burst through the door with expectant smiles lighting up their little faces. They were carrying a paper bag and Brian asked me to sit down because they had a mother’s day present for me. I was so surprised and doubly so as I had forgotten it was Mother’s Day. They handed me the bag and Brian asked me to be careful opening it. My mind was going a mile a minute wondering how they got these things and where, as I took the bag. Brian had to ask me again to open the bag. I reached in and pulled out the wooden plaque thinking the dog was so cute with her big eyes and hat. “Keep going”, Brian said. I pulled out littlecheetah cats made out of china, some small plastic deers, a pretty candle and some candy. I looked up at them and was both speechless and torn because I was a little upset they spent money we might need again and torn because I was touched beyond words they did such a loving and unselfish thing. I wrapped my arms around them, squeezing them tight with lots of kisses. When the hugging was over I asked, “Where did you get these things and how did you get them without money?” Without hesitation and in a very confident way, Brian said, “The Runkles were having a yard sale so we took some money out of our banks to get you a present.”I started to say, “but we need to save.” That’s as far as I got. Brian came back with, “Mom, you deserve a Mother’s Day present, some things are more important than money.” This, from an eight year old. I looked at Heidi, her hearing aid was on and she was also reading our lips. She looked back nodding yes with a smile.  
In that moment everything changed. I realized how consumed I’d been by worry and my own problems to the point I’d forgotten all about Mother’s Day. I also realized in spite of my worries my kids and I were okay and would remain so. I felt bad forgetting about my own mother and how awful it would have been for her and what regret I would’ve been left with. I looked at my kids realizing the real gift they had just given me. I said to them, “Why don’t we go pick out a card and a gift for Gramma and go see her today?” They got all excited as we left to spend a wonderful day together.