HANSON —Selectmen on Tuesday,  Feb. 26 reviewed proposed warrant articles — including one dealing with the banning of plastic grocery bags — for the May 7 annual Town Meeting.

“We really have a little more footwork to do on that before we introduce it,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, said of the ban.

“We’re all looking toward [Selectman] Matt [Dyer],” said Selectman Wes Blauss, who has championed the ban. “I’m going with Matt for a recommendation on this one.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue reminded the board any other proposals for articles must be in to his office for refining language by Friday, March 7.

“I think that people are becoming more aware about the plastic bags and their potential for harm against the environment,” Dyer said. “I think we should go forward with that. My question is would we [also] be in favor of supporting a polystyrene ban at Dunkin’ Donuts.”

Polystyrene is the generic term for the material used in foam beverage cups — Styrofoam is a brand name.

Dyer noted that companies selling to-go coffee in paper cups include MaryLou’s and Starbucks. McDonald’s also sells coffee in paper cups. Dunkin’ Donuts, Honey Dew and convenience stores such as Cumberland Farms still use the foam cups for hot beverages, but also fill re-useable cups — in some cases at a lower price than that of a new foam cup with coffee.

“A lot of towns are doing this, they just didn’t want a joint warrant on polystyrene and plastic bags,” Dyer said. “To be fair, you can’t just say, ‘Overnight you have to do this.’ You have to have a transition period and I also want to hold forums — just to get feedback from townspeople.”

Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell questioned whether it would find support in town, but both Dyer and FitzGerald-Kemmett said they believe support is there.

“People are passionate about this,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

McCue said that since Blauss first brought up the proposed ban months ago they have found several examples of similar bylaws.

“There is a procedure by which, after the bylaw passes, major stores like Shaw’s have six months to implement it, smaller places have longer to implement it because it’s more of a hardship to them,” he said. “We can work through all of that, not only wording, but what other towns have done for implementation.

The board supported the prospective article.

“Go for it,” Mitchell said.

“I think we should go for putting in the placeholder,” FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed. “If you can pull off the forum and we can get the right feedback, then we’ll keep it in place.”

Library foundation vacancy

Volunteers are beginning to come forward to fill both appointed and elected positions in town as two of them vied for a vacancy on the Hanson Public Library Board of Trustees. Selectmen and the Board of Library Trustees voted to support the joint appointment of Pamela Fager, 167 Woodbine Ave., to fill a vacancy until the annual Town Election.

Both Fager and Alexander Stewart, 671 Liberty St., who also applied for the appointment, have pledged to run for the post on the Town Election ballot. Two positions will be listed on the ballot with incumbent Dianna McDevitt also seeking re-election.

“I would like to say it’s been a difficult decision,” said Trustee President Linda Wall. “So, we have to make a choice. They will both have another opportunity to run in the election.”

Wall pointed to Fager’s work on the library’s Expansion Planning Committee as a main reason for selecting her to fill the vacancy.

“I support their decision,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I can see that Pam is excellent and engaged and yet I like the idea of Alex getting out there [and being involved in the community]. I am really encouraging [him], if not this opportunity, seek other opportunities. We see you here every week, we know you’re interested and I want to see you being engaged and find the right opportunity.”

A Hanson native who lived in Whitman for a time before moving back to town, Fager said she has always been involved with the library, serving on the Foundation for more than a year. Both of her children have volunteered at the library and she has worked on the lirary expansion planning committee.

“I want to help the library as much as I can,” she said. “It’s helped me personally, growing up in the town and, when I lived briefly in Whitman and moved back into town, I was able to get more reconnected to it and have brought my kids up with it.”

She said her work with the Foundation and the planning committee has allowed her to see more evidence of how the library brings the community together and has a few ideas for bringing the town’s children into the library more.

Mitchell kicked off the questions by asking if Fager had any overdue library books.

“I brought them back tonight,” she said with a laugh.

Stewart, a lifelong Hanson resident and recent graduate of the Mass. College of Liberal arts, said the library has played a pivotal role in his life.

“It’s given me a lot of helpful resources in schoolwork and extra-curriculars,” he said. “I’ve been thinking of ways I can give back to the community, and I figured why not go to a place that has been a very familiar area for me?”

While at college, he was secretary and vice president of several on-campus clubs and organizations, where he feels the skills he obtained will help him in the work of supporting the Hanson Public Library.

The Library Trustees’ questions focused on the role of the board, the applicants’ top three skills and how they felt about supporting the library expansion within the community.

Fager said the Trustees are more deeply involved with the community than volunteers because they develop programs, and they look at other libraries’ programs. She said she is connected to the town and hopes to use that to draw more people in. Expansion must be approached carefully, she said, noting the survey feedback made it apparent there is a need to bring the generations together.

Stewart said his top skills are attention to detail, planning events and programs and  organizational skills and networking.

He supports the expansion program and, like Fager, sees it as a tool for bridging generations. He said he believes the Trustees serve a more managerial position than the average volunteer.

HANSON — No injuries were reported Tuesday night as Hanson firefighters and those from three other towns battled stubborn flames in cold sleet and drizzle, making for a long night.

The call for the structure fire was received just after 7:30 p.m. with firefighters encountering heavy fire throughout the structure, according to Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson.

Two occupants and a dog were able to flee the fire at 45 Milford St., according to published reports.

Upon arrival all occupants had exited the house, said Thompson.

The home was listed on several real estate websites Tuesday night as foreclosed, on, but the updated property sites now report the home as off the market. Neighbors who watched the mammoth flames take over the structure at the scene said they did not believe anyone was living in the home.

The jumbled debris on the interior made the conditions for firefighters challenging.

“Excessive clutter in the house made it difficult for firefighters to continue an aggressive interior attack and contributed to a lengthy overhaul process,” said Thompson. the fire is under investigation.

Fire, smoke and water damage was extensive throughout the house, which is uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Hanson Fire Department, Hanson Police Department and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office. The occupants are being assisted by the Red Cross.

Firefighters were assisted at the scene by Halifax, Pembroke and Whitman fire departments. Hanover Fire covered Hanson Headquarters and Pembroke Fire responded with an ambulance to a medical emergency in another part of town during the incident. Also assisting at the scene was Hanson Police, Hanson Highway and Water departments. All crews cleared the scene shortly after midnight.

WHITMAN — Being identical twins often means you have to share a birthday cake.

However, on Saturday, Jan. 12, as twin brothers Kyle and Brandon O’Brien, 18,  of Whitman earned their pins as Eagle Scouts there were two giant cakes – one for each of them.

The notion was a quirky one that twin Brandon laughed at as he mingled with other fellow Eagle Scouts, friends and family, all who attended in support of their greatest achievement.

The teens, who attend Whitman-Hanson and are three-season athletes, maintain good grades and now have earned Scouting’s highest rank of Eagle Scout.

They spend a lot of time together but also are autonomous of one another. They will be sharing the stage once again as they graduate this June from Whitman-Hanson.

A picture is worth a thousand words and the memories came flooding back in a collage of photographs documenting the boys growing up during their scouting years.

“One cool thing — coming here for the court of honor — is seeing a bunch of the pictures of us over the years from (as far back) as Cub Scouts as well,” Brandon said. “It’s nice to see friends who have come back. Our friend Matt O’Brien is here. Seeing the fun stuff we did when we were younger.”

The O’Briens will be leaders in the troop continuing the tradition of giving back, they are planning on mentoring as they age out of the Scouts at age 18.

Whitman Selectman Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci was present for the pinning ceremony, offering compliments to the teens’ success in the irjourney of becoming Eagle Scouts.  He also has an adult set of twins  — one who became an Eagle Scout. He is now a firefighter paramedic in the town of Natick.

“Being an Eagle Scout will set a tone in your life where other people will look at you and they will know that you will follow through on any project that you start. It is very rewarding to be that type of person,” Salvucci said.

Scout Master Jim Dwyer was host of the occasion presenting the boys with honored certificates, reciting their pledge, and stating their attainment as Eagle Scout, which is the highest achievement or rank within Boy Scouts of America.

Kyle called it a great day in regard to the celebration and finalizing of their Eagle Scout honor.

They balance music, grades, and finishing their six-year journey of Scouting seeing the completion through to top honors.

The management of time had its challenges but the conclusion was well worth it, he added.

They have siblings: a fellow scout and younger brother Aiden, 15, Owen, 20, and youngest sister Katie, 12.

College is the next step, with Brandon looking at a career in electrical technology and Kyle looking at programs in sports medicine. Although neither teen is fully committed to a specific college yet, their future seems bright, indeed.

The final project for attainting Eagle Scout was done at the East Bridgewater Public Library. The O’Briens finished painting the youth room and also made a bench for adults.

The parents have been instrumental as these boys earned their Eagle Scout, Dwyer said.

With great pride mom Carrie O’Brien pinned her sons with their Eagle Badges and received a pin herself. Dad Sean O’Brien also received a pin from each son. They presented their mom with flowers at the culmination of the Scouts meeting.

“The boys also achieved an additional honor for earning badges above and beyond what they needed. They received a bronze palm as well on their pins,” said Dwyer.

The teens also pinned and acknowledged mentors Dave Nawrocki and Jonathan White assistant scout masters as adults who shaped and motivated their journeys as Scouts.

The event was followed by a light meal, refreshments and two cakes meant to be shared with those who have seen the young men through their passage into adulthood and achievement top honor as Eagle Scouts.

Director’s resignation raises Selectmen’s questions

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen and Recreation Commission are working to determine the future direction of the commission going forward with the start of a new year.

Town Administrator Mike McCue, in December, announced to Selectmen that Recreation Director Joshua Wolf has resigned from the post, effective Dec. 31.

“We’re working on a transition,” McCue said. “If there’s a good time for this to happen, this is an optimal time, since it’s a slow time.”

Selectman Matt Dyer will be directly involved in the process, since the Board had voted to place him in the Recreation liaison position. He indicated that the Recreation Commission preferred a town-wide mission.

“We’ll take a look to see do we move forward as things are now or are there things that we want to shift and change?” McCue said.

He also said he was glad to see a willingness to change direction on Recreation as a town-wide mission, instead of solely on Camp Kiwanee as has happened over the last several years.

Selectman Wes Blauss had pointed out — and Administrative Assistant Merry Marini has confirmed —that over the last several years there had been an addition of responsibility to the commission rather than the exclusion of town-wide recreation.

“I have been talking for quite some time about redefining what the Recreation Commission does to handle everything in town,” McCue said. “I think now that we need to brush off what was always there — it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight.”

That authority has always been there, but for a lot of different reasons attention had been drawn more toward Kiwanee, he explained.

“I think [McCue] just called it ‘mission drift,’” Blauss agreed. A Cranberry Cove Management Committee had been formed in the 1940s to oversee the beach area and in 1972 the Recreation Commission was formed to do town-wide recreation. In 1979 the town bought the Camp and the Camp Kiwanee Management Committee was formed with three committees at work on their own projects by that time.

“There came a point when the Camp Kiwanee Committee and the Cranberry Cove Committee were at each others’ throats over drainage and Recreation was sort of withering,” Blauss recalled. “The executive secretary said … we’re going to combine them all into Recreation.”

The only changes since have been the reduction in commission membership from nine to seven.

“Recreation has never been about Camp Kiwanee, but I do think … it’s drifted over the last 10 years and more attention was on the camp … and everything sort of drifted,” he said. “I don’t think the mission needs to change, I just think we need to remember it was a town-wide thing.”

That was good news to the ears of Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and Dyer, who described a meeting a few weeks before where Recreation Commission members had said they were focusing on the Camp because that was what they had been told to do, despite wanting to do town-wide projects.

The position of Town Planner, meanwhile, is being redefined as primarily town planning and support of the Planning Board and ZBA has been supported by the Planning Board, McCue reported.

“But, as I think we’ve seen, subdivisions and things that the Planning Board needs to deal with sometimes peak and valley,” he said, noting he had initially proposed a new position of community development director to support Planning and Appeals. “However, in those slower times, the responsibilities would shift to grant-writing and economic development.”

But creating the new position would have required a Town Meeting vote, meaning a longer process, so McCue argued that rolling the extra development responsibilities into the current job description made more sense. Making the position full time is possible because of extra funds voted at special Town Meeting into the salary line.

It will now pertain to the interim Planner, but the position will also be posted to allow anyone with the needed experience to apply for the post. The Selectmen were asked, in their role as the Personnel Board, to amend the job description last month.

Rec Commission eyes increases for weddings, beach passes

HANSON — The Recreation Commission is again faced with the need to replace a Recreation Director with the resignation last month of Joshua Wolf. The commission, which met in the library of the camp’s Needles Lodge Monday, Jan. 7, also discussed potential increases in lodge rentals and beach passes for the coming year.

Chairman Diane Cohen said she would be meeting with Town Administrator Michael McCue the next day [Tuesday, Jan. 8] to discuss future plans for the director’s position.

Commission members did opt to take no action toward further consideration of a proposal from former member Rachel Gross, who works in the event-planning industry. While some had doubts about Gross’ time commitment, Cohen and Selectmen Matt Dyer, who serves as the board’s liaison to the Recreation Commission, urged that the decision be limited to what McCue and Dyer termed “sketchy optics” of a former Recreation Commission member presenting a proposal that could benefit a company they own.

McCue does not recommend going that route, Dyer said.

“It’s almost like we’re vendoring out the Rec director’s job,” commission member Brian Smith said. “Can we do that?”

Member Brian Fruzetti had questioned Gross’ follow-through and noted that some of her proposals were “similar to other Recreation programs in other local towns” or had previously been discussed by Hanson’s Recreation Commission.

Cohen said Gross, a single parent, had been “very torn” about her decision to leave the Recreation Commission and said that had little to do with her proposal.

“Is this a route we want to go, whether it’s with Rachel or anybody else is really the matter at hand, I’d say,” Cohen argued.

Fruzetti said the proposal was akin to privatizing the recreation programs and had been raised a long time ago.

“It didn’t turn out to be very good,” he said.

Cohen disagreed with that characterization.

“To me, it’s more of a, ‘What can we get going here, who can we make connections with?’ [scenario],” she said. “I view it as someone to get us started and us maintaining once the [three- to six-month] contract is up.”

But Cohen appreciated the other members’ concerns.

“Before you go off and privatize, I would recommend that the commission hold one or two events per month just to hold yourselves over until you get another Recreation Director,” Dyer said.

While the Recreation Commission agreed to hold off on a vote about increasing wedding fees at this time, they did voice support for increasing fees for weddings in the lodge and beach passes for 2020.

Fee action delay

Both were tabled and are planned to be on the agenda for the commission’s next meeting at 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 28 at Needles Lodge.

“I think it’s time to go up on everything,” Fruzetti said. But Dyer urged caution on beach fees.

Smith argued the Recreation Commission is “taking a beating” at the Cove and are not even breaking even.

“The Cove is always going to be in the red because it’s supposed to be offset by things at the lodge,” Dyer said. “That’s how we set up the business plan for the Cove. You guys can change that business plan if you want, but I would highly advise against it because this is a service you provide the public, it is not a revenue center.”

It is also the nature of providing a public service.

“You guys are in the business or providing a service,” Dyer said. “We lose money on the schools, we loose money on the police and we lose money on fire services. You are just as equal as any other government department. We’re here to provide service, we’re not here to make money off residents.”

He said that, while it is OK to charge a fee to keep afloat, the Recreation commission should look to wedding fees to support other programs.

Beach passes

Beach Director Emma Mousette outlined the beach pass proposal.

She and Cohen had discussed creating an individual season pass in addition to family passes because they had been approached by residents requesting single passes. Day passes would stay at $5 per person.

Individual senior passes — senior citizen rates kick in at age 65 — would be $30 per person and $50 for other individuals age 16 and over. Non-resident individual passes would be $60.

In-town family passes would increase in price by $5, bringing them to $85 each. A $5 increase for non-resident passes would move the cost up to $155 for the season.

“That’s basically to cover minimum wage going up,” Mousette said. “We sold a lot of day passes last year — more than we’ve ever sold — and I do not see that happening again if we increase it by $5.”

The increases, as well as the unpopular “adult swim” periods are necessary to fund lifeguard minimum wages as well as providing required break times to ensure public safety, according to Mousette.

“The guard needs a break for 15 minutes every hour by law, so they can rest, recharge and rehydrate so they can come back and be attentive to the water,” she said. “The Cove has used adult swim rather than a rotating guard because it saves money since you’re not paying a fourth guard.”

The law requires that at least two guards on duty at one time.

Dyer also said an increase in day pass prices would increase the need to keep cash at the gate for change and would create the need for a secure place to keep that extra cash after the bank closes at 5 p.m.

“When you run out of ones, whose going to bring in ones?” he said. “If you go up to $10 for an entry, it’s way too much.”

Adult swim saves money, Dyer said.

Lockers, also requested by beach-goers last year were not approved because the commission did not want to be responsible for overnight storage or chasing down residents at the end of the season to have them clear out their lockers.

Wedding fees

Wedding fee increases will be steeper, if the commission approves Cohen’s recommendation.

Cohen was seeking a $500 — or 10-percent increase — for weddings. She sited needed repairs in the kitchen and pending minimum wage increases as driving forces behind the suggestion. Utility costs are also increasing.

Dyer said the commission could look at two different business plans for weddings — a higher cost for more luxury weddings apart from the regular prices or set a lower rate to bring in a larger number of weddings. But the camp is already booked from April through to the beginning of November.

Dyer also suggested a peak and off-season price breakdown. Currently the lodge is not booked for winter weddings.

Commission member John Zucco recommended researching similar venues in the region before going ahead with any increases.

“One of the draws to having a wedding at Camp Kiwanee is you get to be outside,” Cohen said.

Members said there are people who plan outdoor weddings in the winter for photos in the snow.

“Another piece to the puzzle in figuring out your rates will be your baseline operating costs,” Dyer said.

Cohen said they would seek McCue’s recommendation, but still preferred a 10-percent fee increase, although she would consider a seasonal price breakdown before voting on the issue.

“Some money is better than none,” she said.

Express staff reports

With the start of a new year, we take a last look back at 2018 with our picks for the top 10 local news stories of the year.

Whitman’s financial concerns took an early place on the front burner, remaining there for the year and into the foreseeable future as town officials seek answers to the problem.

The Whitman Board of Selectmen began 2018 expressing a measure of support for a suggested long-range budget planning strategy to identify municipal priorities and revenue sources on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Former Finance Committee member Shawn Kain presented his proposal for a five-year plan at the meeting, and, as the year progressed a long-range capital needs plan was also begun by that committee.

“It’s not a bad idea to look at things from a different viewpoint and come up with a plan,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said in January 2018. “Before you set up goals and objectives, what you have to have is a consideration of what you value as a town … what kind of town do we want to be?”

Talks on the fiscal 2020 budget began in earnest after the June annual Town Election.

By year’s end a Community Assessment Survey, was being conducted with the assistance of Bridgewater State University in an effort to determine the answer to Kowalski’s question,  was expected to be ready for presentation to Selectmen and the public this month.

The W-H School budget being a big portion of the budget concern, received some long-range aid from Hanson’s decision at a February special Town Meeting to close Maquan School in an effort to save money. In April, Whitman Selectmen met with the Finance Committee to review what Town Administrator Frank Lynam called “what-if” scenarios. Tax receipts, benefitting a bit from a 50-cent per thousand increase solves the part of problem for the current fiscal year, but concerns about the Fiscal 2020 school budget, to be unveiled in February 2018, persist. Lynam said the town will take a “serious look” at the $381,357 cost of non-mandated busing, including trimming the town’s subsidy or instituting a user fee.

Lynam and Selectman Scott Lambiase reported to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday, Nov. 20 on progress with the fiscal 2020 budget. Lynam said he has begun receiving departmental budget proposals including 3-percent and 6-percent budget cuts, to help forecast the effects if such cuts are needed as the town addressed the current levy limit and town financial obligations.

The School Department, too, got down to work on a 2020 budget early, providing an early glimpse of its $53.4 level-service budget in December and outlining costs involved in operating each of the district’s schools. The official rollout, expected to be up $2.9 million for level services, comes next month.

2. Marijuana bylaws

Whitman voters in a special Town Meeting March 12, moved forward a protective zoning bylaw prohibiting all types of non-medical marijuana establishments in town by an 81 percent to 19-percent margin. The issue had to then pass a special Town Election Saturday, March 17 — during which residents voted nearly two-to-one in favor of a protective zoning bylaw banning all forms of recreational marijuana sales in Whitman. The vote was 543 supporting the bylaw and 307 against the ban with 850 registered voters casting ballots.

Hanson also tackled the difficult task of deciding on marijuana control bylaws, with voters grudgingly approving a zoning bylaw governing marijuana sales in town at the May Town Meeting, with an eye toward future amendments and/or a referendum and also approved a 3-percent sales tax on marijuana products. Marijuana establishment bylaws were required after state voters opted to legalize recreational use in 2016, but former Selectman David Soper wanted to know how Hanson failed to be among 189 communities restricting it or the 25 communities that otherwise regulate it.

A Planning Board-supported effort to pass a moratorium on marijuana establishments was defeated at Hanson Town Meeting, and Hanson was among the state communities voting yes to recreational marijuana in 2016, selectmen pointed out.

In June, Hanson Selectmen approved the placement of a local-control retail marijuana bylaw, banning the sale of cannabis, before October’s special Town Meeting as well as a referendum ballot.

Selectmen declined to share their own personal opinions on the issue as irrelevant. Voters at that special Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 1 narrowly approved an article amending the General Bylaws in order to prohibit the retail sale of recreational cannabis products, but failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required by a second article to amend the town’s Zoning Bylaws.

Both would appear on a Nov. 6 town ballot, but the zoning question is effectively moot — leaving the town to depend on a bylaw approved in May restricting retail marijuana businesses to an overlay district with frontage on Route 27/ Main Street and Franklin Street.

On Nov. 6, Hanson narrowly voted to support two town ballot questions — 2,641 Yes to 2,354 No on Question 1 and 2,630 Yes to 2,357 No on Question 2 — that prohibit retail cannabis businesses in town.

3. Diehl challenges Warren

Proclaiming it “our moment” and staking out the theme that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren “has let us down,” state Rep. Geoffrey Diehl greeted supporters at the Whitman VFW Tuesday, Sept. 5 as he basked in his Republican primary win.

His margin of victory was 54.8 percent of the vote compared to 27 percent for John Kingston and 18.1 percent for Beth Lindstrom.

“While Warren has spent the last six years building a national political profile for herself, I’ve been fighting for you, and most importantly, listening to you,” Diehl said.

Meanwhile, the race to fill the state representative seat Diehl is vacating was an all-Abington contest as former Selectman Alex Bezanson staved off a challenge from Whitman union advocate Kevin Higgins to face Plymouth County DA’s office victim advocate Alyson Sullivan for the Nov. 6 general election.

The door to the U.S. Senate may have closed on Diehl in November, but the former state representative says he is now searching for his window to the next opportunity.

Statewide, Warren held a 60-36 margin of victory over Diehl based on unofficial results with Independent Shiva Ayyadurai taking about 3 percent of the votes cast. Locally, the picture was a mirror image for Warren and Diehl, as the Whitman Republican took his hometown of Whitman by a 3,888 to 2,641 margin of 6,776 votes cast. Hanson voters went for Diehl by a larger margin — 3,104 to 1,909 for Warren.

“We left no stone unturned,” Diehl said to supporters Nov. 6. “And I know I gave it my all, but I also know that you gave it your all.” He quoted a 19th-Century philosopher’s dictum that, “If you learn from a loss, you really haven’t lost.” Diehl said he was very glad to have the chance to debate Warren and talk about the issues.

Sullivan was elected to fill Diehl’s seat in November.

4. Rehab release bill

In August, Massachusetts took another “step in the right direction” in the fight against the opioid addiction epidemic with the success of legislation to keep families apprised of early releases from rehab commitments.

Its success is largely due to one family’s resolve to save another family from the pain of losing a loved one to an overdose.

“You have to stay persistent,” former Hanson Selectman David Soper said. “That’s what this story is all about persistence and luck and good people.”

Soper is the uncle of over-dose victim Stephen Berry, who became addicted to opioids after oxycontin was prescribed for him to deal with pain following a dirt bike accident.

An amendment to the state’s Section 35 involuntary commitment law — requiring that a family member/petitioner is notified of any early release from the program sponsored by Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and state Sen. Viriato DeMacedo, R-Plymouth, has been included in the opioid bill that Gov. Charlie Baker later signed.

For Soper, the news came as a bittersweet victory after months of work toward saving another family from his own anguish.

“As you can imagine David was very passionate about making sure that this doesn’t happen to another family like happened to them,” DeMacedo said Monday, Aug. 6. “I’m honored to have participated in a small way in getting this amendment passed so this won’t happen to another family.”

Soper credited DeMacedo, Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Cruz for their work in support of the change, particularly DeMacedo after the bill had previously died in House Committee.

5. JJ’s Pub fire

A three-alarm fire at the vacant JJ’s Pub on Thursday, July 5 was deemed suspicious by state and local public safety officials. Firefighters from several area communities assisted Hanson Fire Department in battling a three-alarm fire in a vacant building. No injuries were reported, but two firefighters were transported to the hospital for treatment of heat-related illness.

National Grid shut off power to the area to permit firefighters to safely work. Nearly 200 customers were affected by the shut-off.

Alfred Russo, 75, was arrested in late August on arson charges in the burning of the abandoned J.J’s Pub, 16 Liberty Street, in Hanson, and later indicted along with two new co-conspirators, Patricia Harrison, 59, and Wayne Cummings, 49, all of Buzzards Bay.

According to a statement by District Attorney Timothy Cruz, Russo was indicted on one count of burning of a dwelling and two counts of arson causing injuries to a firefighter. Harrison and Cummings were each indicted on one count of burning of a building.

The Plymouth County Grand Jury returned the indictments on Friday, Sept. 28. By November, Hanson officials were losing patience with the continuing presence of the pile of debris left from the fire.

6. Cable Access/FCC

Proposed FCC rule changes to preempt local government from regulating or imposing fees related to noncable services provided by cable companies, among other provisions, have raised alarm among both local access providers and town officials.

The changes would allow cable operators to treat funding for cable-related costs as “in-kind” donations, allowing them to deduct an undefined amount from monies that traditionally have gone to community media. This rule change would eliminate a major source of funding from WHCA and could result in community media centers closing their doors in every community across the country.

“I think it’s very shortsighted,” said Whitman Hanson Community Access TV Executive Director Eric Dresser.

“What we do here — and what access centers across the state do — is hyper-local, and it’s essential,” WHCATV Access Operations Coordinator Kevin Tocci says. “It is your source if you want to know what’s going on with local government … we provide video on demand on YouTube.”

Local public, educational and government (PEG) access programming is funded by franchising through the local community’s issuing authority — generally the board of selectmen — with a rate paid to cover the “burden of taking up space on [utility] poles” via the cable portion of the cable company’s income.

Both select boards and town administrators in Whitman and Hanson have filed letters with the FCC against the proposal. Both trade organizations to which WHCA-TV belongs — MassAccess, and the Alliance for Community Media on the federal level have also filed lengthy comments against the proposal, citing several legal precedents.

The deadline for that filing was midnight, Thursday, Nov. 15. The deadline for reply comments was midnight, Friday, Dec. 14.

Those comments would likely be limited to responses  to previously filed comments.

7. March storms

The month really did roar in like a lion in 2018 with three major winter storms in 10 days. Historic winter storm Riley battered the region for 72 hours beginning March 2, and brought a new word — bombogenisis, a meteorological term for intense strengthening — into daily conversation. Winds were recorded as high as 70 mph, and higher closer to the shoreline. Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno had cautioned ahead of the storm that damaged and unhealthy trees could fall during the storm.

Hanson police and fire responded to an urgent tree-down call with three cars trapped with their occupants still inside at 680 Liberty St., just before 7 p.m. Friday near Gorwin Drive.

Whitman was dispatched to 130 calls Friday, March 2 through Tuesday night, 90 percent of them storm-related, said Grenno, who estimated the Police Department responded to between 150 and 160 calls in that period. Trees had fallen on several homes in Whitman.

Hanson Fire/Rescue responded to 162 storm-related calls from 7 p.m., Friday through 7 p.m. Monday. They were also involved in assisting with 20 medical calls, offered EMS support two times and received EMS support on mutual aid for three calls.

8. Fire promotions

In May, Hanson Fire Deputy Chief Robert O’Brien Jr., was officially sworn in at the Tuesday, May 1 meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., noted that former Chief Peter Huska, who gave both he and O’Brien their start on the department, was in attendance. The deputy chief position had been vacant for several years, Thompson said, adding that call volume has increased in recent years. O’Brien has been working as deputy chief since March 5.

Before a hall filled with family, friends, Whitman officials and dozens of fellow fire chiefs, Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno was sworn in as president of the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts (FCAM) during ceremonies at Bridgewater State Univerity on Tuesday, May 15.

Grenno pledged to work closely with the firefighters’ union as well as state officials to ensure firefighters’ safety and well-being.

After taking his oath, administered by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Grenno noted the date coincided with Peace Officer

“At the end of the day, we are all the fire service,” he said. “We may disagree at times on the fundamentals of some things, but in the end our mission creed is the same: To see that everybody goes home at the end of their shifts.”

He also pledged to work to restore funding for training, mental health services for stress-related issues such as PTSD, fire safety programs to educate the public and for legislation to provide protection from and treatment for work-related cancers.

The Hanson Board of Selectmen welcomed the town’s first female fire officer Tuesday, June 19 with the official swearing-in of Lt. Sherilyn Mullin, who has been working in that capacity since May 8. Lt. Mullin fills the vacancy created when Deputy Chief O’Brien was promoted to that rank.

9. Szymaniak takes the helm at W-H

Former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner announced her planned retirement early enough to give the School Committee time to find the right successor. The committee’s interviews with the three superintendent finalists, selected by a screening subcommittee, were held Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 in open session at the W-H library. A search panel had been formed in January, consisting of about a dozen people, including School Committee members, school council members, principals and parents.

The finalists were: Sharon Schools Assistant Superintendent for Information Systems and Administration John M. Marcus, a North Easton resident; Lincoln (R.I.) High School Principal Kevin J. McNamara of Greenville, R.I.; and WHRHS Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak of Pembroke.

Szymaniak was the School Committee’s unanimous choice to become the school district’s new superintendent after final interviews were conducted in a special meeting Thursday, Feb. 15.

“The search committee put a tremendous amount of time into winnowing down what started out as a 19-candidate pool of people,” said by School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes in thanking them for their work to kick-off the interviews. “We had a great mix of teachers, union people, principals, a student, School Committee members, parents at-large and they put a lot of time in.”

With the retirement of former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner at the end of June, the selection of then-WHRHS Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak to succeed her, the hiring of then-Whitman Middle School Principal George Ferro to fill the vacant Assistant Superintendent position and the departure of two elementary school principals for new jobs, meant three new principals, and new assistant principals at WMS and Hanson’s Indian Head School. Former Assistant Principal Michael Grable was appointed principal of the school in June.

At South Shore Tech, retiring principal Margaret Dutch was succeeded by Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey.

10. Hanson’s 200th party plans

Next year, the South Shore will have a lot to celebrate.

Plymouth will be observing 400 years since the arrival of the Pilgrims in the New World. Closer to home, Hanson will also be celebrating anniversary in 2020 — the bicentennial of the town’s founding — and plans are already under way.

Joshua Singer, of Edward Jones Investments, who chairs the Hanson Business Network and is a member of the Hanson 200 Committee, recently updated the Board of Selectmen on the committee’s work and offered a glimpse of the coming celebration. He said they will keep the board, and town, updated as definitive dates and plans are set.

“We are currently very much in the planning stage,” Singer told Selectmen on Tuesday, April 3. “We are starting our actual calendar of events for the 200th anniversary. We’re focusing on three key areas right now.”

Those areas of focus are fundraising for events; promotion and planning. A logo design contest will be used as a way to include Hanson student artists in the planning at both the middle school and high school.