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Cannabis meetings continue

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HANSON — Impressed LLC owners Ralph Greenberg and his daughter Alli held another community outreach meeting at the Hanson Library/Multi-Service Senior Center Thursday, June 27.

The cannabis grow facility planned for 15 Commercial Way in the town’s industrial park off Route 27 is co-owned by the Greenbergs and Dover dentist Shahram Moghaddam, who currently owns three practices on the South Shore — and plans to attend a Tuesday, July 2 community outreach session or a Tuesday, July 9 meeting with Selectmen. Both July meetings are planned for the Selectmen’s meeting room in Town Hall — at 6 p.m. July 2 and at 7 p.m., July 9.

The most recent meeting was less contentious than a previous session held on June 13, and this time focused more on resident’s questions about water and power consumption during draughts or heat waves as well as the ability of the HVAC system to prevent odors from escaping the facility, any plans for future expansion and how damaged plants might be disposed of.

Once again, Bob Hayes, who hosts WHCA-TV’s “Bring It On!” show moderated the discussion, this time presenting some questions of his own from research he has done into the issue.

The Greenbergs, originally from Randolph, have moved to Pembroke to be closer to the business location, saying they are happy to be so close to the facility.

“Our goal is to have a discreet, secure clean company and provide a revenue stream to the town,” Ralph Greenberg said. “We only have one investor, it’s not a holding company, it’s not some big corporation coming in.”

He said the three owners hoped to close on the building this week, once septic upgrades are completed and approved.

“We know you sometimes have water issues in the summer,” Ralph Greenberg said, pledging to have tanker trucks deliver water to the facility for the high-demand summer growing season if there are draught conditions. Wastewater discharge would be minimal, he said.

Hayes’ questions included how the town could track revenue owed.

Alli Greenberg said every plant is assigned a barcode and is “completely tracked” until it is sold and the owners have crop insurance based on expectations of how much would be produced in a given crop.

They stressed it is not intended to be a high-volume business, describing it as more akin to a “craft cultivator.”

“We’re only supplying two retail stores with our company,” Alli Greenberg said. They will price their product as a craft brand and retailers will have to be willing to pay it to do business with them.

They hope to be able to start a crop by Thanksgiving.

Hayes also noted some growing businesses expand through the use of pod trailers. But Ralph Greenberg said their growing would be done only in a clean grow-room inside the building and that they have no plans for expansion. A proper reverse-osmosis wastewater system will be used to control contamination of groundwater, they said.

The multi-million dollar renovation of the building includes an investment of about $1 million in lighting.

The Greenbergs also told residents living near the facility that they were welcome to come to them if odor became a problem.

“I would hope that you would come because we’re trying to explain to you that it’s not going to happen,” Alli Greenberg said. “It is the one concern I see in every town [that host grow facilities].”

Ralph Greenberg compared the smell of growing cannabis to a pine tree being run through a wood-chipper “times 80 percent.”

“It’s a fresh smell,” he said. “There is no smoky smell.”

Some residents compared it more to a skunky smell.

Regarding security plans, Alli Greenberg said a letter outlining them has been sent to Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch and they are waiting for his reply, but there is no need for traffic details anticipated.

Employees will be asked to sign non-disclosure agreements because of growing techniques the company wishes to protect. Alli Greenberg said she does not know at this point whether the company can commit to refusing to hire applicants with past minor drug convictions on their record, as is permitted under social equity laws, saying she does believe in second chances.

Plants being disposed of for any reason will be trucked off-site and treated with a chemical that renders them non-consumable before they are incinerated.

Hanson farm’s goat yoga program is a big hit

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HANSON — Early morning the sun shone on 25 yogis of varied skill levels that stretched on their mats Saturday, June 22.

Amid them were three very spunky, friendly goats nicknamed the ‘Golden Girls,’ after the TV comedy — Dorothy and Blanche, both miniature Nubians and Rose a Nigerian dwarf goat.

Red Horse Farm is a serene space set slightly back off 300 High St., in Hanson.

Each weekend they host Goat Yoga —just as it sounds, the yoga class is with goats. If you love getting an intense stretch and possibly a nose kiss from a curious, furry face you may have found your niche.

Nicole Riley owner and trainer of Red Horse Farm works with the goats as local yoga instructor Kristina Northrup teaches the class.

“The interest has been amazing! We thought we’d get a few people who’d want to attend, but we’re packed every weekend! And it’s not just Hanson; we’ve had people drive all the way down from Boston to attend… which blows me away,” said Riley.
The  goats are trained to participate with the group and introduce  slight, weight-bearing additions during several poses. Riley is inside the fenced area and entices the goats with food pellets. 

“Kristina Northrup, our yoga instructor, has done such a great job,” Riley said. “We needed to train the goats prior to launching the class in May and she’s just been game from the very start! She has such a great way about teaching and we’re lucky to have her.”

A mix of genders and ages attended the Goat Yoga class.

Nick Collazo of Taunton who was adept at yoga and fitness was in a full downward facing dog and held his pose as if he barely noticed the two Nigerian dwarf goats that gently danced on his back.  Eventually he lowered himself laughing with the people around him who also took a moment to snap some cell phone pictures.

Quite possibly the goats offer a balanced enlightenment to the perfection some impose on themselves during yoga.  The audible laughter and amusement blended well in the breezy, summer air.

Nicole and her husband Paul also shared their love of the outdoors and a fairytale wedding on the property when they married in 2015.  They purchased the property in 2014 and are close to completing their renovations on the homestead, which was built in the 1800’s.

Their friends who own Hobby Knoll Stables in Duxbury brought their wedding party down High Street in a horse drawn carriage with neighbors looking on in delight.

The bride called her wedding day “magical.”

The farm also hosts a hands-on program called Little Farmers Morning for children. They learn about the goats, chickens, and horses.  It is geared towards children ages 5 to 11, with hands-on learning of horsemanship skills, goat and chicken care, egg collection with an arts and craft project or storybook.

One of her favorite parts is watching the faces of the little ones light up.

“It is the best feeling,” she said.

The RHF is primarily a boarding farm but they wanted to add things that people could enjoy in the outdoor atmosphere.

“I think its fun for those not accustomed to being around horses to hear them neigh during class or see the chickens from the yoga ring’” Riley said. “The goats, ‘The Golden Girls,’ are a riot — each with their own hilarious personality. And there’s as much laughter during class as exercise!”

RHF also offers riding lessons, and farm fresh eggs.

They are located on three acres of land, which abuts conservation land with riding trails.

There’s just something about this little farm and it’s peaceful feeling …being in the fresh air with animals is good for the soul and we hope people enjoy visiting, she said.

Upcoming events and classes, which run through October along with sign ups, are located on their website.  RedhorseFarmHanson.com.

Budget’s impact on jobs outlined

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Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported which personnel cuts would be made within the fiscal 2020 budget during the Wednesday, June 12 School Committee meeting.

“There’s been some questions about where we ended up in terms of staffing,” Szymaniak said. There were 19 positions cut as well $292,000 cut from budget items such as supplies, legal costs and other areas. Some others were moved to other areas.

The personnel cuts include; a central office accountant, a facilities building use coordinator, the technology director, six paraprofessionals — none involved in one-to-one individual education plans, a high school business teacher, a high school science teacher, a science teacher at Hanson Middle School, a grade teacher at Indian Head, a grade teacher at Duval, two grade teachers at Conley, and a duty aide at each elementary school. A part-time music teacher who did grade five band was also cut.

“We also eliminated foreign language at the middle schools because of equity issues,” Szymaniak said. “We recycled those positions into three elementary adjustment counselors because we had to work in our social-emotional need.”

He explained the district had been inequitable in how it offered middle school foreign language.

“Before the state came at us and said there’s an issue of equity there, we recycled that with the hopes of looking at a better budget in the future — putting together a solid foreign language program, either six through 12 or, in our vision K to 12,” Szymaniak said.

He said class size was not severely impacted, but there will be a student population bubble in the fourth grade at Indian Head and the fifth grade at Conley and Duval.

Szymaniak said he is “cautiously optimistic” about returning some classroom teachers when the state budget is finalized and the fiscal 2019 budget is closed out, but is not looking to resolve any other budget issues.

School committee member Fred Small asked if a budget meeting between the committee, town administrators, selectmen and finance boards had yet been scheduled.

That meeting was slated for 7 p.m., Monday, July 22.

“We’re going to take a look at the whole budget, going a little bit backwards for comparison and see what our increases might be,” Chairman Bob Hayes said. “Maybe get a little bit better forecast for the towns before they get into their town meetings or special town meetings.”

Small said his vision is also to determine what the committee wants to see, in the event there is an override, to restore services and to enhance services the district should be providing.

“I really think we have to address our short-comings and the only way we’re going to do it is to ask the public,” Small said.

School Committee member Christopher Howard suggested a three-year look forward so the towns understand what lies ahead. Szymaniak said union and bus contracts have two more years left, which could help with that process. School Committee member Dan Cullity advocated a five-year approach.

Where money would go from an expected operational override in the fall for Whitman remains a question, Szymaniak said, adding Hanson has said nothing about any plans for an override.

Szymaniak also reported that he has received a letter from the Whitman DPW, which stated the high school’s water and sewer meters have been misread since the school opened — and $307,000 is owed by the district.

“They apologized for the error,” he said. “My problem, outside of the letter I got yesterday, is I have no budget projection on what we use for water in this building now.”

He had not consulted legal counsel yet, but had Business Director Christine Suckow call the district’s insurance company “just because.”

School Committee member Alexandra Taylor said it is her understanding that the problem is town-wide in Whitman due to old meters. Whitman has begun the process of replacing water meters this month.

Small said the sewer portion should not be a problem because of the high school’s graywater system.

The committee heard an overview of what constitutes unfunded and underfunded state mandates from Ben Tafoya, director of the Division of Local Mandates with the State Auditor’s Office.

“The Division of Local Mandates was actually created by the voters when they passed Proposition 2 ½ in 1980,” Tafoya said. “The law also said that the state could not impose unfunded mandates on our cities and towns and created our division to help guide the state auditor in determining what was or what wasn’t an unfunded mandate.”

Several hundred requests for review of potential unfunded mandates have been received since the 1980s, but Tafoya said the number has been decreasing in recent years.

“The good news is since the founding of our office, we have been able to help municipalities claim over $350 million in funding for various activities that were found to be unfunded mandates,” he said.

Cullity asked how the school district could file a request for review of some of the unfunded mandates straining the WHRSD budgets.

Tafoya said a letter should be filed with State Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office at the statehouse, advising that a single letter from the School Committee detailing the issues — or from town administrators, boards of selectmen or the superintendent of schools.

“If it’s from the School Committee it has to be an official act that is documented in the public record,” Tafoya said.

State laws passed after Jan. 1, 1981 must have cost implications for municipalities accepted by the city or town or the commonwealth supplies funding to make compliance possible, according to Tafoya.

“These were things that weren’t optional … and they represented a significant expense,” he said.

In 2017, portions of the early voting law were determined to include an unfunded mandate, necessitating reimbursements to towns for the hours outside normal voting hours for towns. In 2012, portions of the McKinney-Vento homeless transportation requirement were determined to be an unfunded mandate, with the legislature partially reimbursing cities and towns — $9 million for fiscal 2019.

Exceptions over the years have included the imposition of “incidental administrative expense” involved in the municipalities complying with the mandate as a condition of receiving state aid, or when towns have the option of participating in a program or not.

Regional school transportation is not considered an unfunded mandate because it was a requirement imposed on regional school districts prior to 1981, Tafoya said.

“But we all understand that underfunding of that kind of requirement has a substantial impact on the regional school districts in our Commonwealth,” he said.

Small, who had arranged for Tafoya’s visit, questioned special education transportation reimbursements. That expense, Tafoya said is the largest single category of the $785 million spent on school transportation by all state school districts.

School Committee member Dawn Byer also questioned special education reimbursement, particularly whether it met the requirement under Mass. General Law to be considered an unfunded mandate.

“The difficulty with that is that it’s a requirement that pre-dates 1981,” Tafoya said. “That would be its exemption from the local mandate law.”

“Where that is supposed to be funded, I’d like to ask if there’s anything that you can do to help out this region,” said Taylor.

Tafoya said the division has been informing the legislature, regional school district and other stakeholder groups about a report issued in 2017 on the issue, “To try to remind people that these expenses are out there, they’re rising faster than school aid or taxes are coming in and the reimbursement accounts are significantly underfunded.”

He pledged that the division would continue to do that.

155 true individuals

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COHASSET — During a boisterous and joyful ceremony at South Shore Music Circus on Friday, June 7, 155 students from eight communities graduated from South Shore Technical High School as “a class of true individuals.”

“You have hidden talents that many rarely got to see,” said Principal Mark Aubrey, putting on his trademark cowboy hat to the students’ cheers. “Josia Silva [of Rockland] got the acting bug as a youngster and has been performing ever since, including as an extra on the Netflix show ‘Community’ on a number of occasions … Student body President Cody Campbell [of Rockland] has flown an airplane. … you have grown in so many ways.”

Aubrey pointed to athletic achievements such as the Mayflower League Champion girls’ volleyball team, “a couple” of Eagle Scouts and the growth of “picky eater” Tim Murphy of Whitman into a Culinary Arts graduate moving on to employment in the food industry.

“[His] mom is happy to say he will try almost anything,” Aubrey said.

Others are heading into the military, including Hanson resident Trent Quinn-Percivalle who is joining the Air Force cyber-security team.

Aubrey closed by making a request of them in return for the success SST has helped them accomplish.

“Be ambassadors for our school and the excellent education we provide our students,” he said, urging them to return to speak to shops about life in the trades or in college. “As you step out beyond our doors, please know that we do not want our relationship to end with this evening.”

Student speakers also touched on academic and personal growth during their four years at SST.

Brevity was key for Valedictorian Benjamin Doucette of Abington.

“In this class before you are some of the smartest, bravest and funniest people I have met so far in my life,” he said. “After this ceremony, some of us will stay in touch and some of us won’t. Some of us will use the trade skills we’ve learned, and some of us will go into completely different fields. … We’ve grown a lot, but we still have some growing to do.

Senior Class President Alexis Burke of Hanson also expounded on the themes of personal and academic growth.

“It will be very hard to part ways with a place that has given me so much,” she said. “It was here where I cemented friendships, it was here I got to explore my passions, it was here I learned to be a better person, it was here where I discovered myself.”

Rockland’s Cody Campbell introduced himself to students who may have been “living under a rock for the last four years: I am the student body president for the Class of 2019.”

“Yeah, you are!” a fellow graduate shouted to cheers.

Campbell related how his favorite quote by hockey great Wayne Gretzky — “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

“Speaking from experience, I can say that it is impossible to have a fulfilling life in a shell, afraid to take chances,” he said. “Try something new, make mistakes, fail epically. …I am confident that you will all do amazing things.”
Superintendent-Director Thomas J. Hickey equated the education process as a way of discovering one’s “superpower,” based on the number of popular superhero movies making huge amounts of money — and a teacher’s T-shirt he recently saw which read: “I am a teacher, what’s your superpower?”

Hickey played audio of nearly a dozen seniors discussing what they see as a superpower. Academics, perseverance, art, problem solving, humor, leadership, welding, listening, story-telling and hard work were mentioned.

“You know you have and value and you are confident that you can make an impact on the world around you,” he said. “Continue to discover those super powers, in the workforce, in service to our country, for the love of your family and friends and as a positive influence on your community. The world needs heroes. We need you now more than ever.”

Local SSVT graduates are:

Cameron N. Bagley, Jacob T. Barbato, Erin M. Bizier, Dylan R. Burgio, Alexis J. Burke, Jacqueline E. Clifford, Tucker A. Cobis, Rebecca R. Cooke, Owen M. David, Cameron J. DeStefano, Jeffrey A. Ford, Shane A. Fougere, Jonathan G. Gillan, Josie C. Head, Brendan R. Hogan, John P. Hubbard, Ryan P. Keeley, Liam R. Kernan, Mackenzie E. McGraw, Kyle J. Mishou, Christopher M. Osbourne, Trent Quinn-Percivalle, Noah S. Rodri, Alex J. Spicuzza, Nicole E. Stalker and Samuel L. Stowell of Hanson.

Peter A. Achin, Jacob J. Austin, Justin T. Bennett, Evan J. Cadorette, Kaitlin A. Chatsko, Patrick F. Dolan, Laurel L. Durfee, Maxwell G. Elfman, Casi B. Ezekiel, William F. Keating Glover, Ayla A. Hebert, John B. Jolliemore, Asten N. Knight, Jillian M. Leafer, Cyairra D. Lowe, Kimberly P. McPhee, Nykera N. Mandes, Richard M. Miller, Ashley E. Millett, Kayla E. Mills, Hayley R. Murphy, Timothy M. Murphy, Codey J. Murray, Nicholas D. Podgurski, Kristen E. Saccone, Danielle R. Smith, Aiden M. Toy, Emily L. Vega-Morley, Jade A. Watts, Patrick S. Wilson and Evan M. Young of Whitman.

Whitman preps for special TM

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WHITMAN — The board of Selectmen on Tuesday, May 28 received an update on municipal finances ahead of the Monday, June 17 special Town Meeting.

The town has $971,546 in available free cash after the debt exclusion was approved in the May 18 Town Election, and $154,674 available in the capital stabilization fund.

The town voted to use free cash to pay the debt associated with a bond, but with the approval of the debt exclusion, $532,000 can be transferred from that appropriation because it can’t be replaced into free cash, Lynam explained.

Selectman Randy LaMattina suggested the board vote to recommend placing $150,000 from free cash back into either the stabilization account, which now holds $2.6 million, or into capital stabilization, which now holds $154,600. Lynam advocated placing another $200,000 into capital stabilization. The board voted to place the $150,000 into capital stabilization to build the fund back up, leaving about $824,000 available for appropriation.

“At that point we will be able to make a determination on what articles to act on and to amend the source be capital stabilization because they are all capital articles,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “Certainly, if we spent all the money we had, we could approve all those articles, but I don’t think that would be a prudent thing to do.”

Lynam said he has spoken to WHRSD and Hanson officials to determine what has been voted by Hanson for school capital projects. He will relay that information to Whitman’s Finance Committee.

He said Whitman would be responsible for $17,946 for the W-H gym floor refinishing; $41,874 for a handicapped ramp at the football field (Hanson approved its share of that work in Oct. 2018); $20,973 for thumb-latches in all interior classrooms at the high school; $14,955 for repairs to the existing fire lane; $59,820 for repair of rooftop units over the performing arts center which have failed and a more expensive temporary system is being used for the remainder of the school year. Hanson had passed over the roof-top units at its Town Meeting. There is also a need to replace lighting, before Green Communities reimbursement, at the Conley and Duval.

An appropriation of $125,622 to repave the high school roadway and $134,595 for resurfacing the track at the high school are being sought as Whitman’s share. There are also articles pertaining to town equipment purchases pending.

“My guess is they’re going to have to be prioritized and it’s unlikely that all these articles will be voted,” Lynam said.

Capital plan

The Collins Center at UMass, Boston, which has been working with the town on both a capital plan and budget model, is working to correct “a number of errors” Lynam flagged before returning the draft document for corrections.

Forest Street resident Shawn Kain has asked to see the draft document, asking whether it is considered a public document.

“I’m not comfortable sending it out, because it’s inaccurate,” Lynam said. “My experience with handing things out while they’re under development is that they typically come back to bite you.”

He told Kain he would discuss it with the board, but preferred to hold it until it was “mostly accurate,” perhaps not before the next draft is received in a week or so.

A capital report has not been received as yet.

Kain asked if the Collins Center report was pubic information. Lynam replied that such reports are not generally considered public until official received by the Board of Selectmen. The Board has not yet received the report.

“It’s not public information yet,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

Kain said he would follow up with his concern with the Collins Center, as he argued it should be public.

“This whole process is going to be interactive,” Lynam said. “When they prepare to meet with us on a capital plan, there will be a public meeting, there will be a document presented — presumably, at least to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee — to begin the analysis and say, does this work, where does it work, how does it work?”

He said the report draft contained misidentified departments and organizational charts.

“I don’t want to release a report like that, because it’s defective,” Lynam said.

“Those are valid discussion points, but to have it open, I think will be helpful,” Kain said.

LaMattina, who described himself as a “transparency guy,” pointed to the numerous draft Article 2s was an example of confusion caused by releasing draft documents.

“If it’s actually wrong, that’s what I don’t want put out there,” LaMattina said. He did, however request that some type of timetable be established to ensure accountability.

John Galvin, a High Street resident, asked about when Selectman Brian Bezanson might present an economic development plan, which was one of his campaign issues, to the board.

Bezanson said he has begun working with Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green on the “first leg” of the proposal.

“It’s going to take a while to get all the moving pieces together,” he said. “I have to speak with the assessors and the treasurer and collector … to get their opinion on how things are going to go and then speak to state officials on exactly what’s legal and what’s not legal and how we can go forward with this.”

He said he hopes it can go forward as quickly as possible because, “the town needs that kind of money policy.”

In other business, Bezanson said a bronze plaque that had been stolen from the Civil War monument, and was not discovered until the Memorial Day observances. The plaque has been recovered by DPW workers and they will work to replace it, he said.

Salute to nation’s fallen

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There have been 1.1 million U.S. military personnel killed in all American wars, including the ongoing Global War on Terror. Residents of Whitman and Hanson joined the nation in honoring those who gave that last full measure of devotion during parades and ceremonies Monday, May 27.

Whitman Girl Scouts carried posters bearing photos of that community’s war dead in the parade and, in Hanson, state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, honored one of Hanson’s fallen during post-parade ceremonies at Fern Hill Cemetery.

“I’m standing here in what is known as the Unreturned Lot, which commemorates the lives of the 26 or 27 — we’re not exactly sure — Hanson men who were killed during the Civil War,” Cutler said, noting the 1.1 million who have fallen in all U.S. wars, such a huge number it almost becomes a statistic. “It’s hard to fathom that kind of loss. Memorial Day is an opportunity to narrow the gap between tragedy and statistic.”

Cutler did so by focusing on the loss of Tech. Sgt. Elmer R. Hammond, killed in action at the age of 21, in a B-17 on his 40th mission in the skies over WWII Europe.

He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 after the Navy and Marine Corps had turned him away because he was not an American citizen, Cutler related. Born in Nova Scotia in 1923, Hammond moved to Hanson with his family when he was 6. The Hanson American Legion Post bears his name.

“Tech. Sgt. Hammond was the first WWII soldier casualty from Hanson [and] he was laid to rest right here in Fern Hill Cemetery,” Cutler said. At the time of Elmer Hammond’s death, his younger brothers Sam and Gilbert were 9 and 7 years old.

“Sam later recalled that, ‘Elmer was a great guy who was brave, heroic and a guy I’d like to have as my back-up,’” Cutler said. “Sgt. Hammond is just one of the many heroes our town, our Commonwealth, and our nation have lost in war time. Today, I urge you to keep the memories of these men and women alive.”

Whitman’s Memorial Day Observances kicked off with morning wreath laying ceremonies in celebration of the 151st year honoring those who have honored their country at the cost of their lives.

Selectman Dan Salvucci addressed parade goers, citing one of his favorite local events honoring Memorial Day.

“We remember:  an event at Duval School where the kids commit to memory their relatives who have passed away and have given their all to serve to keep our country safe,” he said.

He thanked all who carried flags to honor those who passed. He shared a small narrative about honoring his late father in- law, a veteran, by carrying a flag in the parade something that he keeps close to his heart.

State Rep. Alyson Sullivan, R-Abington, thanked Pack 22 whose members had placed countless flags in honor of those fallen but not forgotten around multiple locations in Whitman.

She spoke of the sacred motivations behind celebrating Memorial Day and honoring those who have given their lives and also those who have returned as veterans some who suffer in silence with PSTD.

“Each and every war from the birth of our nation to our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has come at great cost,” Sullivan said. “As we do each year on this special day of reflection we gather, we pause we pray, we remember the heroes who served and made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy these treasured gifts. … Today it’s our duty to and the duty of our grateful nation to remember and honor those who served and sacrificed.”

Three of Pack 22 scouts wrapped up the Town Hall services with a reading of prayer, moving on to lay wreaths in the WW I Memorial Arch, Colebrook Cemetery, the Town Park flag pole, Civil War Soldiers Monument and Veterans Monument all Wars -among the early morning honors several other memorials were paid tribute. The warm weather brought crowds in droves as they lined the South Avenue in front of the Town Hall and Post office.

“I really appreciate all the community support,” Hanson Veterans Agent Timothy White said during ceremonies at Indian Head School before the town’s parade stepped off.  “It’s very much appreciated.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes handed a folded American flag to Scouts who raised it on the school’s flagpole to full-staff, before lowering it to half-staff for the observance before Hanson Middle School student Noah Roberts read Gov. Charlie Baker’s Memorial Day Proclamation.

Janet Hamilton, a U.S. Sanitary Commission re-enactor with the U.S. 22nd Vols., out of Rockland, was escorted by Selectman Jim Hickey in placing a wreath at the war memorial at the school. Hamilton, of Taunton, was dressed in Civil War-era mourning dress and veil to represent all widows of war dead. She was escorted by Selectmen Kenny Mitchell and Wes Blauss for a wreath laying at the town’s Civil War monument on Town Hall Green and by Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmet and Matt Dyer at the Unreturned Memorial at Fern Hill Cemetery.

The Mass. 22nd Vols. Fired a ceremonial rifle salute at each wreath-laying ceremony and members of the Hanson Middle School band played “Taps.”

“Let peace prevail among all the nations,” the Rev. Peter Smith of Hanson Congregational Church said in his prayer opening the day’s events.

Roberts recited the Gettysburg Address at Fern Hill and the Rev. Michael Hobson of St. Joseph the Worker Church closed with a prayer for blessings on the fallen and for their families’ peace of heart and mind.

WFD’s Feeney set to retire

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WHITMAN — When Deputy Fire Chief Joe Feeney retires from Whitman Fire on July 7, his final shift will mark the end of a 32-year career with the department.

Appointed to the department by former Chief Timothy Travers in June 1987, rising through the ranks to be appointed as deputy chief in 1999, Feeney got his start in firefighting while he was a member of the merchant marine.

“Joe is a great asset to our department and to our operations,” Fire Chief Timothy Grenno told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, May 14. “His retirement is going to leave a large void, which will not only be felt by me, but all the members of our department. Joe has been an outstanding firefighter and deputy fire chief.”

A retirement party is planned for June 22 at the Whitman VFW pavilion, with tickets available at the fire station.

Feeney is a person who tries to avoid that kind of fuss, but he’s going to get one, anyway.

“[After] 32 years in, I think enough’s enough,” he said while sitting in the dispatch room on a recent 24-hour shift, but he always liked the job. “Most days are like the best day on the job. I always like the people I’ve worked with — every guy here is great and it feels like you’re playing for a winning team.”

He said relaxation is not a specific retirement plan.

“This is relaxed right now,” he said of downtime between calls. “I have a couple of things I’m working on.”

If Feeney is reticent about his résumé, his superior officers have been just as effusive.

“It’s going to be hard shoes to fill,” Grenno said of Feeney’s departure. “He’s done some tremendous things and his knowledge, his sense of humor, his wit is going to be sorely missed by all of us.”

Lt. Al Cunningham, who tops the civil service list will succeed Feeney as deputy chief, according to Grenno. Cunningham and Feeney are working together on Tuesday inspection rounds.

“Joe’s had some of the more significant fires that we’ve had in town,” Grenno said. “[He] has seen his share of grief and terror and he has seen his share of happiness around here with births in the field.”

He was the shift officer for the Commercial Street fire last winter, as well as a fire that had broken out a month before the new high school opened as well as “some of the more tragic events in town” including fatal car crashes.

For Grenno, knowing when Feeney is on shift means he can relax when he is off duty.

Feeney did not come from a family of firefighters, and describes his career path as something akin to a beneficial accident.

“In that profession, everyone had to learn firefighting,” Feeney said of his stint as a merchant marine, and he received that training while a cadet at the Mass. Maritime Academy. “I never thought that much about it, although I had been in a couple of ship-board fires and we just did our job like we were trained — it didn’t seem like a big deal.”

He was working in the field for three years after graduating and was looking for a steadier paycheck because the merchant marines offered sporadic employment. Someone suggested he take the fire exam and he thought that sounded like a good idea.

“My ultimate goal, believe it or not, was to get on the Boston [FD] fire boat, which might be one of the most boring jobs in the world, if you ask the guys who work up there,” he recalled. “But it looks cool.”

After taking the fire exam, he was called by Whitman, where he lived at the time. A native of Brockton, Feeney’s parents had moved to Whitman when he was in college.

“Tim Grenno’s father called me in and I signed for him,” Feeney said. The elder Grenno was retiring and he wanted the incoming Chief Travers to meet with Feeney. Travers sent Feeney to the Mass. Fire Academy after hiring him on and, by the time he had a spot at the academy, Feeney had been working for the department for almost a year.

“He was the first firefighter that I hired,” Travers recalled. “Joe was very well educated and [he] came in on the job with a bachelor’s degree and, in those days not too many firefighters had advanced degrees. I was impressed by that.”

Feeney and Robert Holver were the first two Whitman firefighters to go through the Mass. Fire Academy, where local academies had been used before that time.

He topped the lieutenant’s test after about 10 years, went to grad school for a master’s degree in fire science from the University of New Haven — the first Whitman firefighter to hold an advanced degree, Travers said — and attended the National Fire Academy where he was certified as an executive fire officer as well as obtaining local chief officer certification from the state academy. He holds about a dozen other certifications in fire prevention and inspections.

He then topped the deputy chief’s exam, a rank he has held in Whitman for 20 years.

“He’s a no-nonsense type of guy,” Travers said. “He didn’t get wrapped up in the politics in the fire department. Joe stayed on his own, did his own thing, did his job, and did it well.”

Travers said that after his retirement, Feeney probably could have had the fire chief’s job if he wanted it.

“I’m quite sure he didn’t want it,” he said.

Over his career in firefighting, Feeney has seen big changes in emergency medical services (EMS), which comprise two-thirds of emergency calls into the department these days. Different construction types now in use also present challenges as builders use lighter, cheaper materials, he said.

“They seem to behave poorly during a fire,” Feeney said, noting some of the materials also present health concerns for firefighters. “Some of the glues, some of the materials, the furnishings, are giving off bad chemicals that end up on us or in us — even with good equipment on.”

He echoed Grenno’s concern about cancer prevention.

“There’s a lot of cancer awareness in our job, more on restricting where in the station you can go with turnout gear that’s been exposed to smoke and fire,” Feeney said. “We keep it all basically in the apparatus floor or in the wash area.”

Responses to drug overdoses and mental illness issues are also more numerous today.

“I think, when I first started, we went to one heroin overdose a year and now we go to one a week — maybe more,” Feeney said.

“We meet people at their worst, sometimes it’s the worst day of their life,” Feeney said. “So you have to be kind of thick-skinned and don’t take it with you. … When you take the job, you know that’s going to happen and as long as you’re mentally prepared …”

Bottom line on debt exclusion

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WHITMAN — Town Administrator Frank Lynam has announced the funding total involved in the debt exclusion question on the Saturday, May 18 Town Election ballot. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Town Hall for Whitman’s Town Election. Hanson votes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hanson Middle School in its Town Election.

“Under the Proposition 2 ½ language, a debt exclusion doesn’t contain an amount,” Lynam said. “It only authorizes you to exclude what it takes to make a payment for that year.”

The fiscal 2020 payment on the debt for the police station construction and renovations to Town Hall and the fire station, which is being decided Saturday, is $687,025. A yes vote will authorize the town to raise that amount.

Lynam said the figure represents a tax increase of $129.15 on a median house value of $307,500 — or an average of $10.76 per month.

“It will enable us to address the capital needs we had to leave on the table at our Town Meeting last week,” he said. With the debt exclusion making that debt payment the following funds could be freed up within the levy limit: $329,000 in vehicle purchases; $240,000 in road work; $268,000 in building repairs and $135,800 in security provisions for all of the schools. While that totals more than the $687,025 it provides an opportunity to begin prioritizing the funding of those needs, according to Lynam.

“That money, although on a declining basis, will be available each year, to commit to capital or to reserves as the case may be,” he said. “The override will do much more to correct it, but that’s not what’s happening next week.”

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski also reviewed the Community Assessment Survey process and how a report on the results are being written up in a report the town will use in future budget planning.

“We placed ourselves in a precarious position this year where we would probably need a heavy override this year,” Kowalski said about funding directed to the school budget at last year’s Town Meeting. “What we did to respond to that was that, in the summer months, we received help from Bridgewater State University to compile a community survey … to lay the foundation for a strategic plan.” He added that the strategic plan would only be as useful as the statement of values the town possesses.“The reason for that community survey was not really to determine how we were going to pay for what we would like to be, it was to give a foundation for what we would like to be,” Kowalski said.

The town has also contracted with the Collins Center at UMass, Boston to draft a capital plan, a draft of which as already been received and sent back for additional work.

“Right before Town Meeting we had a decision to make about what to put on the ballot for the May 18 Town Election, whether it would be a debt exclusion that deals with the debt for the police station and the repairs to the Town Hall and the fire station, a sizeable Proposition 2 ½ override, primarily to deal with the increase in the schools needed in order to do level-service, to do one or either or to do both,” Kowalski said.

Kowalski said the debt exclusion, while not what he had envisioned, made sense so that more discussion and explanation of the override — now planned for October — can be held, to involve more people in its construction and explain the need to residents.

“It’s critical that that override be successful,” Kowalski said. “It’s a place that we need to be [in], a place that’s going to mean and awful lot of work over the summer and early fall.”

STREETLIGHT UPDATE

Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green and Lightsmart representative George Woodbury explained a wiring problem discovered in streetlights after they had been purchased from National Grid.

A former DPW Director in Lexington, Woodbury wrote the state law that permits towns to buy streetlights from utilities. Whitman’s annual streetlight bill had been $143,000 to $145,000 per year. Purchasing the lights is expected to save the town about $55,000 a year, increasing to more than $100,000 per year with the change over to LED lights. But the wiring problem — underground-rated wires that do not stand up to UV rays were installed by Eastern Utilities Associates and sold to New England Electric Energy Services in 1999, which were bought by National Grid in 2000. National Grid maintains that the streetlights have been sold to the town “as is” when they were confronted by the now-disintegrating wires.

Woodbury said a case taken to the Public Utility Control Commission would take two years to win; right now the MAPC would help the town pay 30 percent of the replacement cost right now. He “leaned on” National Grid, suggesting a dimmer control for which the company could obtain state funding worth another $8,000. Another $27,000 could be saved based on the timing of the light purchase, according to Woodbury, and a lower installation cost for the wiring has been negotiated. The net result would be that most of the cost to replace the wiring would be covered.

Selectmen supported the move.

W-H’s FY 20 budget finalized

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The School Committee on Wednesday, May 1 fell in line with the Whitman and Hanson boards of selectmen and finance committees in voting to certify an 8.5-percent increase in the school assessment for the towns in fiscal 2020.

Both towns held their annual and special town meetings, Monday, May 6.

The 9-1 vote, with member Alexandria Taylor voting against, set the assessment increase in Whitman at $1,127,966 for a total assessment of $14,398,151. Hanson’s assessment increase at 8.5 percent would be $757,634 for a total assessment of $9,670,975. The assessment to both towns is $24,069,146 for a total certified budget of $52,373,023.

Taylor had vowed at the last School Committee meeting, on April 24, that she would not vote an assessment increase that is lower than 12.5 percent.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reminded committee members there will be “people and positions impacted on anything under 12.5.”

Committee member Fred Small said that, in coming up to 8.5 percent, Whitman Selectmen and Finance Committee members were able to find the revenue to reach that level.

“The 2 percent extra is very much appreciated in my mind,” Small said. “While it doesn’t give us level services, what I think it does is it allows us to make the best we can out of a very bad situation. … I don’t know that we could expect anything better.”

He also stressed the need to get right back to work “almost immediately” after Town Elections to begin work on the fall override. That should be a three-pronged approach, Small said — the schools “need to lead our own charge,” improve on ways to save money, and make the public aware of the need for a good override.

“We focused a lot on Whitman in this budget process,” said Committee member Michael Jones of Hanson. “I think we learned last night [at Hanson’s Selectmen meeting] that we skipped over Hanson.”

Szymaniak reiterated that, at 8.5, there has been $1,740,000 cut from the level-service budget presented by the district this past winter. Of that, $897,000 is people and about $290,000 in “things” including legal costs as well as more than $561,000 transferred from excess and deficiency.

“We’re in the process of restructuring what we do here as well,” Szymaniak said. “There will be an impact to service, there will be an impact to technology, there will be an impact to facilities, there will be an impact to central office.”

The district is eliminating middle school foreign language classes and high school guidance services will also feel cuts, according to Szymaniak. All schools will feel the effect of cuts.

“We are looking at making sure that our students are safe and they are being taken care of through our counseling services moving forward,” he said. “In a global economy, our students need to have foreign language. We do not do that well and part of these cuts will have an impact.”

Whitman School Committee candidate Dawn Byers tearfully spoke of her seventh-grade daughter losing her Spanish class next year.

“I stood up a few years ago and advocated for all students to have [foreign language], and next year, they won’t,” she said. “I’m not going to talk about money or decisions I just want people to know what the kids are doing — taking a step back.”

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro stressed that the School District was asked to begin the budget process two months earlier and complied with that request.

“We presented the exact same budget that you see in front of you,” Ferro said, “We didn’t change, we didn’t deviate, we presented the exact same thing. … We presented what we felt was reasonable, was best and was responsible.”

Szymaniak said he is ready to start work immediately after town meetings to put a plan together to satisfy the needs of the school district as well as the towns in a full team approach.

“I’m calling them out and saying, ‘We’ve talked about this for years and, through this whole budget process, we’ve talked about a fall override,’” he said. “It needs to happen and the school needs to be a part of it.”

Data outlining the effect of budget cuts over the past 10 years, which some School Committee members have requested, can help develop a presentation for the community on the need for an override, Szymaniak said.

Small said he is sure the towns’ police and fire departments will be doing the same thing.

“We would all stand together,” Small said. “Our medical calls are up, we’ve got fires that have been devastating over the past few months — so there’s need all around. … We all work together with it, but we need to drive our own bus.”

Whitman Fire Union, whose members had advocated a 6.5-percent assessment to avoid firefighter layoffs in a May 2 ad in the Express, released a statement Thursday in the wake of the School Committee’s vote.

“Whitman Firefighters Local 1769 would like to recognize the Whitman­Hanson School Committee on their vote for an 8.5-percent  assessment for FY20 at last night’s school committee meeting,” the statement read. “We  understand that a lot of work was put into this process and many difficult decisions were made. We  are very passionate about keeping our community safe and a 12.5-percent  assessment would have decimated our department’s staff by 50 percent. … We look forward to working with the Town of Whitman, its residents and the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District over the coming months on a plan to make our community sustainable for ALL departments for many years to come.”                                                                                                                                          

School Committee member Robert O’Brien Jr., said his 15-year-old son is among a growing number of high school students who want a say in the budget process and how it affects them.

“Nobody likes it,” O’Brien said. “Unfortunately, there is not a lot of money to go around. … Starting Tuesday, we have to start pushing on it. … There is an incredible amount of teamwork that goes on behind the scenes that most people don’t see, but now we need to take that and — I guess — politic it, for lack of a better word.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said a Hanson Selectman told him at that meeting on Tuesday, April 30 that a budget “post-mortem” was needed. He suggested a monthly budget committee meeting be held between the School Committee, department heads, finance committees — in addition to the regular monthly School Committee meetings.

In other business, the School Committee also voted to advise the boards of selectmen and finance committees of the formation of a Budget Committee, which is designed to include representatives of the boards as well as department heads in both towns. The aim is to get to work after the May 6 town meetings on the override project.

The School District also reported receiving a letter from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) declining a request to waive the 180-day school requirement at Conley School where a norovirus affecting large numbers of students and staff forced the closing of that school on March 15.

The last day of school for Conley will be a half-day on June 14, at a cost to the district of $1,820 for bus transportation.

Small requested that the district post the DESE letter on the school website for parents to read.

“There’s a phone number on there, if parents wanted to call,” he said.

The School Committee also appointed Business Services Director Christine Suckow and committee members Taylor, Small, Dan Cullity and Christopher Scriven to an Insurance Committee to review all district insurance policies with an eye to reduce costs in the future.

Visions for Whitman’s future

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Incumbent selectmen Brian Bezanson, from left, and Scott Lambiase and challengers Christopher DiOrio and Justin Evans, who are currently members of the Whitman Finance Committee, met in a candidates’ forum on Tuesday, April 23. (Photo by Tracy Seelye)

WHITMAN — The four candidates vying for two seats on the board of Selectmen in the Saturday, May 18 Town Election fielded questions from the Express and Kevin Tocci, access operations coordinator of Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV, in a forum at the Selectmen’s meeting room in Town Hall on Tuesday, April 23. Tocci moderated the forum.

Following opening statements, questions ranged from the state of the town budget to the divided state of politics, and other issues facing the town.

Challenger Christopher DiOrio, a practicing trial attorney and law professor, launched the opening remarks by outlining his 30 years of professional experience solving problems for clients with NGOs and nonprofits, he is hoping to bring a common-sense compassionate brand of leadership to serve Whitman.

“I know full well that I’m not from here,” he said. “I didn’t grow up in Whitman so I may not have the deep, generational roots that some people may think is important, but I chose to live in this community. I want to be here.”

DiOrio said he is interested in making the town stronger for his children.

“Their future is our future,” he said in his opening statement. “Whitman has finally started to answer an important question: What kind of town do we want to live in? … We cannot be afraid to take the steps necessary to sustain our future with a solid financial and capital plan — not just for next year, but for the next five years or 10 years to prepare for our future needs.”

A resident for nearly 60 years, incumbent Brian Bezanson said he was first elected Selectmen in 2004 after running on the idea that he could make a difference in his community.

“That’s exactly how I ran every year — and how I did business every year — it’s all about making the lives of the citizens, taxpayers, seniors, veterans and families the best it can be in Whitman,” he said in his opening statement, noting Whitman is not alone in Massachusetts in dealing with financial hardship. He pointed to Franklin, where a $2.5 million cut has been made in that town’s school budget.

“It’s happening everywhere,” he said. “I do not bring politics into this building. This is about the citizens and the community and what’s best for everyone — and that’s exactly how I will continue to operate.”

Incumbent Scott Lambiase, who has lived in Whitman for about 20 years, has worked as Duxbury’s director of municipal services for about 15 years where he conducts all the procurement in town and oversees all special projects, as well as serving as the liaison for the town manager to most committees — I oversee all the licensing, permitting, inspections and the Affordable Housing Trust. He has also served as a Whitman Auxiliary Police officer.

“I’ve been a member of the Board of Selectmen for the last seven years and I feel very privileged to have been allowed to be on this board and a steward on this committee. We have done some good work over the years,” Lambiase said in his opening remarks. “We do apply the best financial management tools and practices [in Duxbury] and I hope to apply them here and I hope you’ll remember that on Election Day.”

Finance Committee member Justin Evans, who works as a natural gas pipeline safety engineer for the state, rounds out the field of candidates. Evans, who grew up in town, thanked his fellow candidates for their service to the town of Whitman. He and his wife decided to stay in Whitman to raise their future family and feels the town has much to offer.

“We have a loving, caring community. We have one of the nicest town centers on the South Shore and what I would call the nicest park on the South Shore,” he said in his opening statement. “I’m tired of hearing, ‘We’re too far from the highway,’ as an excuse not to take chances to develop for the future. I don’t like hearing that we don’t have enough revenue to justify a long-term financial plan. I’m sick of excuses not to adapt. We need to embrace what we have to offer and develop a future of Whitman around that.”

Politics of division

Asked how they would help heal the social, political and cultural rifts facing the nation and community, the candidates agreed the problem is real and aggravated by social media, but argued a change in policy for the board was preferable to a bylaw change to address town officials’ use of social media.

“Whitman has all the pieces that we need to try and close that gap, but I think one of the things that drives it further is the way people act on social media,” said Evans, who has been on Facebook since he was 15 and was on MySpace before that. “We need to focus on just how to treat people in person and online and I think Whitman would be a good place to start — get to know your neighbors and don’t belittle people when you don’t see them.”

DiOrio agreed in part.

“There is a great deal of strength that comes from anonymity or the ability to speak from behind a screen,” he said. “One of the biggest problems that we have is that we hear, but we don’t listen.”

He said that sitting down and listening to each other would reveal that “different paths don’t mean the destination is wrong.”

Bezanson said the problem trickles down from Washington to local communities like Whitman.

“We need to put our partisan and religious and social issues aside and come together for common-sense solutions for the citizens of the community which you are working for,” he said. “All that is just distractions.”

Lambiase agreed more dialogue is needed.

“There’s always going to be extremists on either side,” he said. “But I think we will find that the majority of us have more in common than we don’t and — obviously — what’s best for the town lies somewhere in the middle.”

Source of the town’s budget problem

Bezanson said the legislature is the root of the problem.

“They’re not fulfilling their obligations they’ve set forth over the years on what they would pay for, how they would pay it and when they would pay it,” he said. “At this level, we have to find a way to increase revenues, cut costs, while maintaining services.”

Lambiase agreed there is shared responsibility on the state and local levels, noting that land leases such as cell tower and solar panel deals have proven effective in Duxbury.

Evans also pointed to both parties, especially in view of the incentive promised for school regionalization.

“In 2010 they changed the rules and we haven’t responded in kind to the dwindling state money coming our way,” he said. “There’s still the unfunded mandates from the state and, ultimately, I think that will have to be the solution, but the town last year chose to pull money out of savings, rather than fix the problem and this year we’re looking at laying off some school employees instead of trying to find new revenue.”

DiOrio also responded that “the local and state [governments] have their hands in it,” pointing, in part to unfunded education mandates.

“We can’t continue as a town and as a local board to leave money on the table,” he said. “We’re not necessarily doing all that we can to maintain the tax base … and we’re not doing enough to bring revenue in.”

Operational or school override?

DiOrio said it is imprudent to “turn up your nose at any possible solution to the problem.”

He said an operational override needs to be investigated and should have been looked into before now to be included in the May Town Meeting and Town Election.

Bezanson, however, is not in favor of an override in May because the plan to go with a debt exclusion can “get us to a place that’s as painless as possible” while looking at a comprehensive plan for the fall.

“In the short-term, it’s going to be painful,” he said. “But in the long-term it could help us get out of a situation and move on [to] where we can have some sustainability for the next five years.”

Lambiase said he was not opposed to an override, but said the town is not ready for it.

“In order to do it, we need to do a long-term analysis,” Lambiase said. “We need to adopt a lot of policies [and say] if we’re going to do this, we won’t have to do it again in two years.”

Evans said he would be in favor of a fall operational budget to help develop a sustainable budget, noting this would be the third debt exclusion or override placed before the voters in the past four years.

“We can’t continue doing that over and over,” he said. “We need to get all our ducks in a row and fix the problem once.”

Selling it to voters

Evans said officials have to do their homework and show what an override would fund and why it can’t be done right now within the confines of Proposition 2 ½.

DiOrio agreed that education is vital.

“Part of that education also has to be letting them know that, here in this community, we are surrounded by other communities that are having their own problems, but they are still taxed at a higher rate than we are,” he said.

Bezanson also said education was the key, citing information gleaned from the Community Assessment Survey, which noted that residents oppose overrides 2-to-1.

Lambiase said education must be paired with evidence that town officials have a level of confidence in what they are doing.

A difficult vote you have taken

Lambiase said he did not recall an example.

“A lot of the votes are difficult votes, especially when it comes down to the budget,” he said. But he pointed to a businessman who wanted to put the number of liquor licenses available in town before Town Meeting. While some members of the Board of Selectmen agreed, Lambiase said he did not because, as elected officials, they should uphold the state requirement.

Evans said as Finance Committee put forth a balanced budget last year, he voted in favor of taking $800,000 from capital stabilization in order to do that.

“We knew fiscal 2020 would be hurt by doing that in 2019,” he said. “It was a difficult vote but I still believed I did the right thing.”

DiOrio cited the same vote.

“Having to come to that decision was extremely difficult,” he said. “It’s why long-term planning is important.”

Bezanson also pointed to that budget issue.

“As painful as it was going to be, it was the right thing to do because the schools needed the money.”

Other major issues in town

Bezanson said roads are in tough shape and that there has to be some way to add funds to Chapter 90 to repair them. Lambiase said the town needs a long-term capital plan that addresses the needs of the DPW building. Evans, meanwhile said the opioid problem, and the number of improperly discarded needles that are found around town, points to a need to maintain funding for Whitman-Hanson WILL and the Whitman Counseling Center. DiOrio said the schools should be the top priority as a way to tackle the problems of crime and drug abuse.

Single or split tax rate?

DiOrio said a split tax rate is something that needs to be investigated, but hard numbers are needed to make a decision. Bezanson said he doesn’t favor it, because there are not enough businesses in town to support it. Lambiase agreed that businesses don’t make up a large enough portion of the town and the best way to attract more business is to keep tax rates favorable. Evans, too, was opposed to a split tax rate.

The candidates were also asked about whether they favored a new DPW building, the value of the Community Assessment Survey, what assets they bring to the office, and how to prevent inter-departmental fighting over budget cuts.

A lightning round of questions ranged from the candidates’ favorite restaurant in town to whether they would consider revisiting the retail marijuana sales ban — DiOrio “absolutely” supported reconsideration and Evans supported it, while Bezanson said he was against it, Lambiase said it could be reconsidered if there was interest. The forum can be seen on WHCA-TV and its YouTube site.