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Whitman skaters bound for Nationals

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WHITMAN — Fifteen members of the All-Star Roller Skating Club will be competing in the U. S. National Championship in Lincoln, Neb., July 21 through Aug. 5 after winning 34 gold, eight silver and two bronze medals in regional competition. All age groups and skills divisions will be competing. The club representing the Carousel Family Fun Center range in age from 7 to adults in their 70s.

Senior Club members competing in Nationals placed as follows in the regionals:

• Leo Brehm — two golds in Bronze Div. 3 Men’s Figures and Solo Dance;

• Lisa Brenn Scarborough — two gold in Gold Div. 1 Team Dance and Bronze Div. 1 Women’s Figures as well as one bronze in Silver Div. 1 Women’s Figures;

• Christine Cizmar — one gold in Gold Div. 1 Women’s Solo Dance and a silver in Silver Div. 1 Team Dance;

• Ella Connell — three golds in Elementary A Solo Dance, Elementary International Solo Dance and Elementary International Solo Free Dance;

• Diane DeSilva —  silver in Bronze Div. 3 Women’s Figures;

• Perry Jones — silver in Silver Div. 1 Team Dance;

• Sharyn Lyons-Morin — silver in Gold Div. 2 Women’s Solo Dance. She also placed fourth in the Silver Div. 2 Women’s Solo Dance;

• Allie Mello — two golds in Senior Small Show Group and Open B Creative Solo Free Dance as well as a silver in Freshman/Sophomore B Solo Dance;

• Bethany Mello — six golds in Freshman/Sophomore B Team Dance, Senior Small Show Group, Freshman A Solo Dance, Youth International Solo Dance, International Solo Free Dance and International Solo Dance/Free Dance;

• Christopher Miller — six gold in Primary Boys’ Figures, Primary Boys’ Loops, Primary Boys’ Figures & Loops Combined, Juvenile Team Dance, Primary A Boys’ Freestyle and Elementary A Creative Solo Free Dance as well as a silver in Primary A Solo Dance and a bronze in Elementary International Solo Dance;

• Laura Miller — six golds in Primary Girls’ Figures, Primary Girlss’ Loops, Primary Girls’ Figures & Loops Combined, Juvenile Team Dance, Primary A Girls’ Freestyle and Primary A Solo Dance as well as two silvers in Elementary A Creative Solo Free Dance and Elementary International Solo Dance;

• Stephen Mills — one gold in Gold Div. 1 Team Dance;

• Elsy Urzua — one gold in Elementary A Creative Solo Free Dance;

• Isaiah Urzua — two golds in Freshman/Sophomore B Men’s Figures and Freshman/Sophomore C Solo Dance and;

• Joshua Urzua, two golds in Freshman/Sophomore B Team Dance and Freshman/Sophomore B Solo Dance.

Coaches for the team are DeeDee Viola, John Viola, Jodee Viola, Christine Cizmar, Ken Kucick and Nancy Doyle.

Sharing their gift of faith

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WHITMAN — Less than a month before his death from cancer on May, 15, 2013, Dr. John F. McEwan was thinking of the pain of others in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, assuring their friends and loved ones that faith would help see them through a dark time.

Such events, much like chronic illness “remind us that life is precious and our lives can suddenly change in a moment … you do have the opportunity to evaluate what is important in your life and how you choose to spend your time,” he and his wife Margaret wrote in an email to family and friends on April 20, 2013 — five days after the attack.

An organ donor, he wanted to share that life with others after he was gone, just as he had in his career in education. At first, the family was told that his cancer made that impossible, but a call from the New England Organ Bank advised them that his corneas could and would be used to help two blind people — who could now see the world through his eyes.

“This was the final gift of John’s legacy,” Margaret P. McEwan wrote in a May 18, 2013 email.

It turned out to be a premature coda to that legacy.

Those emails, written faithfully — in every sense of the word — to help inform and bouy the spirits of others during the illness faced by the retired W-H superintendent of schools, have been used as the framework of a new book by his widow, “Every Day Is a Gift: A Couple’s Cancer Journey,” [201 pages, trade paperback, 2018 SDP Publishing ISB 978-0-9992839-8-1 eBook ISBN 978-0-9992839-9-8], for which she shares author credit with him. The book is locally available at Duval’s Pharmacy as well as online through Amazon Books, Barnes & Noble and SDP Publishing Solutions.

“It all started because he was working at W-H and he has so many people … interested in his progress that I sent out emails the entire time he was being treated,” Margaret said in an interview at her home Thursday, June 21. The emails were frequently passed along to friends the initial recipients thought might be interested in reading them. Several people who read the emails later urged her to consider writing a book.

“People were very interested in knowing how things transpired,” she said.

The title is a nod to an inspirational sign John had received as a gift from his Administrative Assistant Michelle (Kelley) Lindberg while he worked at WHRSD.

“When I was trying to think of a title for the book, I thought, ‘That was always our philosophy,’ because we felt very fortunate in our marital relationship,” Margaret said. “That’s the way he was.”

John was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma in 2008, when he had a spot on his scalp examined. While not a textbook “outdoorsman,” he did like working in his yard and never wore a hat when doing so, Margaret said.

“John always said ‘Things don’t happen for a reason — you find a purpose for why things happen.’ I finally thought that maybe I wrote all these emails so that I could compile them and make a book about his journey,” she said. Also included in the book are letters he wrote to W-H staff even before his diagnosis, to illustrate his long-held positive outlook to readers.

“He really believed that you really needed to do what you could in order to bring joy into other people’s lives,” Margaret said.

John McEwan began his career as an English teacher and later as a principal at Silver Lake Regional High School, W-H superintendent from 2001-09 and the first lay president of his high school alma mater Cardinal Spellman.

“It was something he took great pride in being able to do because he was very committed to trying to give back,” she said of the Spellman position.

Initially given a prognosis of six months to a year, John lived for five years in his cancer battle and never stopped working until his health forced him to give up the Spellman presidency in March 2013. They had also done the traveling they had planned for their retirement years — to China, Rome and the Amalfi coast, a Baltic cruise, the Canadian Rockies and Yellowstone — during his illness.

“We attribute that to fortunate proximity to hospitals in Boston where they do clinical trials,” she said of her husband’s long-term battle.

When she got to work on the book, Margaret had one main request to the publisher, referred by her friend, Kathleen Teahan, whose book, “The Cookie Loved ’Round the World,” they published: “Do not edit the emails.” John was an English teacher, she reasoned, and if he dangled a participle — leave it dangling.

She said people who knew John say they hear his voice in his writing. Her accompanying narrative took about a year to write, submitting it on his death anniversary of May 15, 2017 with the goal of publication this May 15 to mark his fifth anniversary year, and was successful in reaching that goal.

“The idea was to provide other people with hope and give purpose to whatever their journey is,” she said. “You hope that in living your life — even if it’s under a cloud — you can find joy every day. … It’s work, but he always said you can choose your attitude.”

The book is also a gift to the couple’s grandchildren, who were very young, the oldest being 8 and 6, when John died so they could get to know their grandfather.

The writing process also helped Margaret grieve and she had Dana-Farber’s Director of Bereavement Services Sue Morris, PsyD, and IMPACT Melanoma Executive Director Deb Girard read advance copies for feedback on the book.

“Margaret captures the essence of living well with cancer,” Morris said. “A must read for families and clinicians.”

“I believe anyone finding themselves on the cancer journey can identify the roads that Margaret and John traveled together and find tidbits of solace, grace and hope to journey down their own roads,” Girard wrote.

W-H named its performing arts center in John’s honor in 2014. Margaret McEwan holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in food and nutrition, was a registered dietitian and first female vice president of Shaw’s Supermarkets, from which she retired as vice president of corporate communications in 2004.

Learning rules of the games

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Eighth-graders planning to participate in sports as freshmen this fall at WHRHS — along with their parents — took part in the annual Athletics First Night program Wednesday, June 13.

It was the second year in which the program was held in the spring instead of the week before school begins in late August when families are trying to “squeeze in an extra week of vacation,” according to Athletic Director Bob Rodgers.

Project Impact concussion baseline exams were administered; school and MIAA rules for eligibility, game-day attendance, chemical health and other issues were reviewed; Athletic Trainer Lexi Watkins went over rules governing post-concussion returns to competition and three team captains spoke before two guest speakers talked about opioid addiction and positive sports psychology.

“It’s important for you to know them,” Rodgers said of the rules. “It solves a lot of problems before they happen.”

Quinn Sweeney, a football team co-captain spoke about the importance of the fitness center in conditioning. Fellow football team co-captain Jacob Nixon advised incoming freshmen to keep in mind what high school sports are all about.

“High school sports are not your job,” he said. “You do not get paid to do this, so make it fun, make it count.”

But he said sports do serve an important social function.

“They bring people together of a variety of races, religions and all different backgrounds,” Nixon said. “In this world today that’s very special because you don’t see a lot of that across the country. … We’re creating peace and we don’t even realize it.”

He also said high school sports bring the two communities together.

Chloe Wilson, a cross-country captain, said a team is a place to feel welcomed with open arms.

“I understood — from the hallways, to the classrooms to the track — it was no longer just me, a little powerless freshman, it was me and my team,” she said. “Open arms — my team took me under their wing [and] I took them into my heart. … Our job is to welcome you with open arms.”

Messages sent

In reviewing the chemical health rules, Rodgers set up his first speaker by cautioning parents that none of the rules would serve to dissuade students from violating them, but stressed there are consequences that will be enforced.

“Parents, we need to work together to make sure we’re sending the same message: It’s not OK for them to drink in the basement as long as you take their keys,” he said. “The addictive part of their brain gets triggered when they start doing these things. The younger they do it, the greater the chance that they’re going to have a problem with addiction as they get older.”

He drove home the point that the reasoning and impulse-control center of the brain is not fully developed until age 25 — and that vaping is addictive and may soon be included as a drug offense at the school.

“I have been to too many funerals of W-H student-athletes who left here, had trouble, overdosed and died,” Rodgers said. “We’ve had a lot of them. … they were the best and the brightest.”

Speaker Kevin Rosario, regional outreach representative for Gosnold Treatment Center, headquartered in Falmouth, outlined the challenges he faced as a teen that, coupled with a family history of addiction led to his abusing alcohol and drugs.

“What I bring to the table is I’m a person in long-term recovery,” said Rosario, a New Bedford native who has been sober since July 2010. “I try to be a decent human today … but that wasn’t always the case.”

A student who was small for his age and socially insecure, he was bullied and when his heart was broken in sixth grade, he felt the need to “create a new character.”

He became a class clown and “player” who frequently got into fights. He also started smoking weed and drinking in grade seven.

“Self-esteem, insecurity and peer pressure, body image and all those different things play a huge factor in whether somebody will experiment with drugs or alcohol,” he said, noting he also had undiagnosed ADHD. “Before drugs or alcohol I already had an issue.”

Even nicotine can impede the reasoning and impulse-control center of the brain he said.

“If at a young age, you use a chemical to try to deal with feelings, the body naturally builds a tolerance to it … over time, you will find you need stronger chemicals to get the same effect,” Rosario said. Even one small Juul contains the same amount of nicotine as more than two packs of cigarettes.

Eating, exercise, making love — but wait until you’re at least out of high school, he quipped — and laughter release the same dopamine in the brain as the chemicals that addictive drugs release in larger quantities.

“Once you start abusing [drugs, alcohol or nicotine] you’re flooding your body with so much dopamine from an unnatural source, the rest of your life becomes desensitized,” he said. “All those things that used to make you feel good don’t do it anymore because now you’re so used to being over-stimulated.”

Rosario’s first arrest for under-age drinking was at 16, after moving on to marijuana and pain-killers such as percocet and within a year after that he started sniffing heroin — and shooting it six months after that. It was the beginning of nine years of addiction.

“It wasn’t fun anymore,” he said. “I needed it every day to not be sick.”

He has had episodes where he has walked out of the hospital after being saved by Narcan to get high again — and has been arrested “more than a dozen times,” but does not remember exactly how many.

“It was a long, nasty cycle,” he said.

About 63 percent of Americans know a person, or have a family member, struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol.

“You’ve got to know the risk that you’re at,” Rosario said, noting that alcoholism runs on both sides of his family.

Power of happiness

He concluded where speaker Pam Garramone picked up, that finding what makes you happy and confident because “happy, confident people don’t do what other people are doing.”

A positive psychology life coach, Garramone said being happy is a goal parents have for their children and each person would like attain in life — but most people say they know more unhappy people.

While 60 percent of how happy we are is due to genetics or external influences, she said “the good news is, 40 percent … are things you can do everyday to increase your happiness and well-being.”

Social connection, exercise, a healthy and happy committed relationship, all lead to happiness and research shows that happy people are more productive, make more money and have better jobs, are better leaders, are more likely to marry and stay married, have more friends, are healthier and live longer, they give more and are less stressed, anxious and depressed.

“Or brains are hard-wired for negative thoughts,” Garramone cautioned. She recommended journaling the three good things that have happened to you that day. “It proves the power of words.”

She had the audience pair off to discuss three good things that happened to them over the past 24 hours, with a few sharing examples with the audience.

One student-athlete was part of a community service project to clean an elderly man’s home so he could keep his cat. Another said he had played his first Junior Legion game.

Garramone also offered students a chance to thank people who have made a difference to them to demonstrate how gratitude makes both you and the person you thank feel better. Several thanked teachers.

“I want to thank [Hanson Middle School history teacher and Builders Club advisor Joshua] Lopes for not only being an amazing teacher, but for teaching his students to be better people,” one student said.

“I want to thank my mom, Amanda Pearl, for keeping my head up high,” her daughter in the crowd said.

Circumstance amid pomp

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HANOVER — One might say that even the South Shore Vo-Tech National Honor Society members of the Class of 2018 went down in history … the school’s history book, that is.

It represented the largest graduating class in school history with 148 diplomas awarded on Friday, June 8 at Cohasset’s South Shore Music Circus. The venue was nearly filled to capacity with graduates and their proud family members.

More members of the Class of 2018 participated in cooperative education work outside the school than ever before and 14 juniors and seniors, accompanied by four faculty chaperones, exercised the school’s renewed dedication to community service in its first service trip over April vacation.

“They showed us that civic-mindedness means playing a role in our community, even one that is hundreds of miles away, and that is because ‘community’ and the common good are not limited by ZIP Codes,” Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said in his address. “Our students told me that the service trip inspired them to be part of something bigger than themselves, to tackle something they had never done before.”

Valedictorian Rosa Gachia of Whitman has also made her mark in the SSVT history books. Born and raised in Kenya, Gachia told her fellow graduates that she spoke little to no English when she moved to the United States with her family. She also graduated as the school’s Outstanding Allied Health Technician student and a licensed CNA who will attend Bridgwater State University in the fall and hopes to become a surgeon.

She thanked her father for his influence in her life.

“For as long as I can remember you have guided me and influenced me into making the right decisions,” Gachia said. “You helped me with every stage of my life, including the adjustment into a new country, but I don’t think I was quite ready for the changes high school brought.”

She added the same could be said for many of her classmates. But there were plenty of firsts.

“This was the first class to go on a service trip to New Jersey, the first class to have a rocking senior reception, and the first class to ask someone to prom through an email,” she said encouraging her fellow graduates to continue embracing life and taking risks.

Hickey also singled out the seniors who went to trip to Wall Township, N.J., to help in the continuing recovery effort after Hurricane Sandy for thanks: Grace Ciampa, Alixandra Elliot, Outstanding Metal Fab/Welding Student Cole Hoadley, Kelly Pienkos, Jackson Powers, Outstanding Automotive Mechanic and Vocational Student of the Year Mikaela Drake and Gachia.

“For four years we have told you that the workforce needs your skills and talents,” Hickey said. “Beyond that, the world needs you to share your time and talents with others. Invitations for service are all around you.”

He stressed that means more then building houses for the poor or dispossessed. It includes serving as youth sports coaches, Scout leaders, volunteers in local government and voting in elections or attending town meetings.

Service to country is also important and nine members of the Class of 2018 have enlisted to serve in the armed forces. Students going on to higher education from SSVT have been accepted to more than 50 colleges and universities.

Senior Class President Taylor McKinnon of Abington also spoke of the value in SSVT’s cooperative education program as part of the added responsibilities they found being seniors meant.

“We now had freshmen to watch over,” said McKinnon, who was also the Outstanding Culinary Artist for the Class of 2018. “We earned more and more trust as some of us went out on coop and got real-world experience, while some of us stayed to learn more from our shop teachers.”

She noted the bittersweet nature of graduation, but added SSVT seniors gradate “with two educations that have the power to change our futures.”

But McKinnon also basked in the goofy memories — the time she set off a fire alarm at a SkillsUSA competition or a classmate starting a minor fire in shop freshman year.

“It’s a mistake not to dedicate yourself to the things you are great at,” she concluded. “So, whether it be your trade, art, music or even basket weaving, dedicate yourself to it because your talents are like no other.”

A lot to cheer about

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On the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1968, the news has been ticking off that milestone in national and world events — the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, student strikes in Paris and Prague, assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy during his presidential campaign and the riots at the Chicago Democratic National Convention.

But for many young people who graduated high school in that tumultuous year, it was the beginning of a life dedicated to improving the lives of others.

The 275 members of the Class of 2018 have that in common with their predecessors.

It is a class that has been — and plans to continue to be — dedicated to public service as 15 members will join the military after high school or college, several have charted majors geared toward education, medicine or other related pursuits and at least one plans to join the Peace Corps.

“We have such an awesome class, one comprised of driven athletes, talented musicians and performers, brilliant artists, leaders, and humanitarians,” said Salutatorian Cameron Rogers in his address. “Thank you for being such a great group of friends to go to school with every day.”

He noted that the people they were as freshmen may have been far different than the seniors they have become — or the adults they can be.

“If you wished your journey through high school went differently, I encourage you to be active and involved wherever the next step in your life takes you,” he challenged. “That is the best way to discover yourself and what you love to do. Once you realize what you love to do, take it and run with it.”

One student, Hanson’s Aubrie Galinis will be studying bioinformatics aiming to get her bachelor’s degree and pursue a career in medical research. Galinis, who uses a wheelchair, said she was looking forward to graduating prior to the Friday, June 1 ceremony to “move on to the next chapter” of her life. The national Honor Society member and recipient of the Class of 1968 Scholarship will attend Wheaton College in Norton this fall.

Principal Jeffrey Szymniak reviewed some of the class’ accomplishments in service to others during his remarks during Friday’s ceremony before awarding 50th anniversary diplomas to members of the Class of 1968 present — and of an honorary 50th anniversary diploma from WHRHS to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner. She was traveling the next morning to celebrate her 50th reunion with classmates in Mercersburg, Pa.

She advised the graduates to recognize now, what she learned long after her own high school graduation — “As I sat through speeches like this one, it is now evident that I didn’t even know what I didn’t know,” she said. That included not knowing, as she began her college years majoring in biology, that she would retire 50 years later as a school superintendent or that a woman could ever hold that position.

By using their head to ask questions, think things through and keep learning; their heart to show empathy and seek understanding; their heads to do the hard work required and their gut to trust their instincts and believe in themselves.

“Whether you are graduating from high school today or walked across the stage 50 years ago, a balance of head, heart, hands, and gut will ensure that as the world changes, you will also grow, prosper, and change with it,” she said.

In addition to those planning to serve in uniform, Szymaniak lauded the 81 John and Abigail Adams Scholars in the class; 53 who participated in the Experiential Learning & Leadership internship program; honor society members who worked on projects to support food pantries, Habitat for Humanity, cancer fundraisers, the Brockton VA Hospital, hurricane relief in Puerto Rico and Texas and area homeless shelters as well as the school’s SADD chapter, which worked on the biannual pre-prom mock car crash.

Student speakers also alluded to the past dedication and future aims of their classmates.

“I am excited for everything that the future holds for every one of us,” said class President Kristina Woodward. “We all have the ability to change the world in our own way, despite time continuously working against us, and I am eager to see where everyone’s hands end up.

“Maybe I’ll run into Lexi Grazioso at 5 o’clock on some remote island in the tropics nursing a sea turtle back to health, or I’ll call up David Murphy around 3 p.m. to have him help me with my finances, or I’ll hear someone singing on the radio on my way to work at 6 and immediately know that its Grayce Brown’s new single …” Woodward said, comparing their school lives and future to a clock.

Valedictorian Kaitlyn Morrison said that, while educational lessons, friendships and athletic achievements of the class are memorable; the Class of 2018 has done much to improve their world already.

“We have participated in multiple Shanty Town fundraisers for Habitat for Humanity,” she said. “We have been a part of and organized a school walkout for the victims of the Parkland school shooting. These are just some of the incredible accomplishments and memories we have made here at Whitman-Hanson. Whitman-Hanson’s Class of 2018 has become a family whose home is this school.”

She also urged classmates to cherish the memories they have made.

“Maybe this was the place that you fell in love. Maybe this is where you lost someone. Maybe this was the place you met your best friend. Maybe it was a place where you went through hardship. Or maybe it was the place where you discovered your true self,” Morrison said. “Whatever your experience maybe, cherish these years. Don’t look back with despair or regret of the things that you didn’t do. Look back at the accomplishments you’ve made.”

Speaking for the Class of 2018, senior Riley MacDonald reminded her classmates that they were much more than their grade point average.

“I have a challenge for you,” she said. “I challenge you to strive for greatness and achieve all of your goals. For a chapter of our lives is coming to an end today but another one is waiting to be started.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes suggested a good place to start is to take it easy on social media and strive to interact more with people face-to-face.

“Cell phones are great but they do have a place and it’s not at the dinner table,” he said to cheers and applause from parents in the audience. “Our future is together.”

(Stephanie Spyropoulos contributed to this report.)

Constable process reviewed

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WHITMAN – The process governing how constables are appointed is being reviewed by town officials. At issue is the discrepancy between state requirements under MGL Chapter 41 and a relatively informal process that is currently being followed. The Board is expected to revisit the process at a meeting in June.

Whitman resident James Fallon, who has already served as a town constable for six years, appeared before Selectmen prior to the May 7 Town meeting to request his re-appointment to another three-year term.

“I haven’t had any complaints or violations or anything against me,” Fallon told the board, adding he has also gone through the reserve officers academy, in-service requirements and obtained certifications and additional training.
Town Administrator Frank Lynam told the board at the time that Police Chief Scott Benton and Deputy Chief Timothy Hanlon had recommended against Fallon’s reappointment when he submitted his initial request. Neither of them were able to attend the May 7 selectmen’s meeting, held before Town Meeting.

Lynam also researched the process under which constables are appointed.
“There is a significant process involved in the application for constable,” Lynam said of state law governing the office. “The paperwork I have is simply a letter requesting your appointment in the past along with a notice that you have completed the reserve officer academy.”
The statute requires a written application to the appointing authority – in this case the Board of Selectmen – stating reasons desiring the appointment and such information as may be reasonably required by the authority regarding fitness for office.

Benton also pointed out that the Selectmen are the appointing authority.

“We have nothing to do with the process except to provide any professional interactions that we may have had with the applicant any that would be appropriate for the Board to consider in whether or not to appoint or reappoint,” Benton stated Tuesday, May 29.

An application must also include a statement about the moral character of the applicant signed by at least five reputable
citizens of the city or town of residence, at least one of which must be an attorney.

“We have never done that here,” Lynam said.
There are about a half-dozen constables serving the town of Whitman, which should be retaining 25 percent of what constable-generated revenue, Fallon added, saying he wants to pay that to the town.

Lynam told Selectmen there was a representation of a “questionable action” on Fallon’s part in displaying his badge and requiring a person to stay on the scene of a civil incident that “exceeded any authority [he] may hold as a constable.”
That incident – in August 2013 – involved a question about two women involved in a vehicle incident as well as an earlier incident involving a complaint from February at Diamond Fuels in which Fallon allegedly pulled up to a gas pump in the wrong direction. The station manager on duty shut the pump off for that reason and Fallon was said to have pulled out his badge and stated he wanted to refuel.
“That’s something that can be troubling,” Lynam said.

Fallon countered he had been out serving papers on the day of the February incident, and said he wears his badge on a lanyard around his neck on those occasions. The badge was mentioned by the manager of the station and he simply asked if the pump could be turned back on since there were no other customers at the time. He said when another person drove up, he just left.

“At no point did I whip out [the badge] and say, ‘Turn it on, I’m a
constable,’” Fallon said.

Lynam said the investigating officer noted at the time that the clerk had a video of the incident on a cell phone and he observed it noting Fallon “could be clearly seen taking the badge and showing it to her.” There are also incidents that may or may not be involved with Fallon’s actions at Marble Street, including his demand that the manager there give him an unlisted number for a person he wanted to contact, Lynam reported.

“Those things raise a concern,” he said.
Fallon said the Marble Street issue went to court when a harassment complaint was filed against him but argued the complaint stemmed from a single interaction in which he is alleged to have yelled at the person. A harassment complaint must involve three separate interactions, he said, noting a judge did not allow it to go further.

“I don’t even know who this person is,” Fallon told Selectmen he said to the investigating officer. “I’ve never seen this person, I have no knowledge of what she looks like. I could be standing right next to her and not even know it.”

The day the incident allegedly occurred, Fallon said, he and his son were at the White House for an event.

Fallon said the objections centering on incident in 2013 was not brought up when he was last re-appointed in 2015.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said that didn’t make sense.

“I think we need to clean up this arrangement,” Kowalski said. “I’m not comfortable voting one way or the other in the form the information is in.”

“That’s the reason I did the research on the constable appointment process, because it appears that we’ve taken a very informal approach,” Lynam said.

“It’s part of the weakness in the system, which prompted me to look at the appointment process.”

 

Mitchell tabbed as Hanson Select Board chair

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HANSON  — Selectmen welcomed two new members and discussed ways to attract more residents to the ranks of public service at the board’s annual reorganizational meeting on Tuesday, May 22.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell was also elected the board’s new chairman, joined by new Vice Chairman Jim Hickey and Matt Dyer as clerk. Dyer, Selectman Wes Blauss, Cemetery Commissioner Jim Flanagan — who had accepted his four-write-in-vote win — Health Board member Arlene Dias and Housing Authority member Benjamin Fletcher were sworn in by Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan to start the meeting.

W-H senior Marc Benjamino was among more than two dozen people receiving one write-in vote for cemetery commissioner, with another nine people attracting two or three votes each.

Mitchell offered thanks to former Selectmen Chairman James McGahan and former member Don Howard for their service.

“Don Howard is a breath of fresh air,” Mitchell said. “He loves the town of Hanson. … Don’s blood type is 02341.”

Mitchell also noted that Howard, who served on more than a half-dozen committees might be interested in, and would certainly be welcome to, continue serving on some of those. Not all the appointments need to be selectmen.

Mitchell asked Blauss and Dyer to look over the committee assignments filled by Howard and McGahan to determine which ones they would be interested in serving.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested that social media platforms such as Facebook could be used to outline the skill sets needed and time demands required of boards and commissions.

“Trust me, I understand the words I’m saying out loud in this town — Facebook and Hanson, not a great mix,” she said. “But I do think for some people, that’s the level, that’s where they’re engaged and there are ways to prevent people from abusing that and using it just for information.”

She has been doing some of that outreach on her own already.

“We need some fresh faces,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

“One of the problems I see with maintaining a Facebook page is maintaining a Facebook page,” said Town Administrator Michael McCue, noting that a planned IT hire cold be tasked with doing that, among other responsibilities. “One of the things we would expect of an IT director is [his or her] currency with new technologies and any new methods for getting information out.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett also reiterated the need for more transparency in the process for filling appointed committee vacancies, urging they be posted with more regularity to help attract new people with the right skill sets and reassure the public.

“We want to open it up, welcome everybody and be really transparent,” she said. “They’re being appointed by us.”

Selectmen also reviewed their goals for the year, many of which are still in the works — such as reuse of the Maquan School building, new cell towers, Plymouth County Hospital reuse, potential new highway building among them — while goals of hiring a new police lieutenant and a part-time facilities manager have been completed.

“These things are being accomplished with the invaluable assistance of … department heads … and staff members,” McCue said. “When I read a list of things and say, ‘We’ve done this and we’ve done that,’ these are really staff accomplishments.”

Grenno leads fire chiefs’ association

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BRIDGEWATER — 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 on Tuesday, May 15.

After taking his oath, administered by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Grenno noted the date coincided with Peace Officer Memorial Day, first designated by President Kennedy in 1962, and thanked police, particularly the Whitman Police Department, for their service.

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

“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.

Grenno offered a special tip of his hat to his mother Marylyn, who he was not sure would be able to make it due to recent health issues. A new rehabilitation facility, however, has recently helped improved her health and she was able to attend.

“She’s always been the strongest person I know,” he said, adding thanks and “saving the best for last,” to his wife Maureen.

“I love you and thank you for your continued support, even if it appears I love my phone more than you sometimes, I really don’t.”

Family and community was the unofficial theme of the event.

“This is a time to celebrate, to highlight, to spotlight public service — and in particular, the fire service,” Polito said. “I hope that you know when come to these gatherings, that no one goes this way alone, that you have a strong and reliable partner in state government.”

She noted that the men and women who devote their lives to public service are not always forefront in the public’s mind so long as streets are plowed, the lights come on and the cable TV connection works.

“I value public service, as you do, and without you we would not be the great state that we are on many levels,” she said. “We have that because of you, and I cannot state that strongly emphatically enough — how grateful we are for your choice of careers — hometown careers in municipal service that have made your communities better and our commonwealth better.”

Grenno was accompanied in the procession opening the ceremony by retired Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Travers, a past president of the FCAM. Whitman Fire Department Chaplain the Rev. Alan Butler offered the invocation.

Before leading the prayer, Butler recalled the little red fire chief cars kids used to dream of getting for a toy — and how times have changed.

“Today, if Timmy is called to a scene in Whitman he shows up in a black Chevy Tahoe,” he said. “The windows couldn’t be any darker. All the lights are camouflaged and you don’t know whether it’s the fire chief or Secret Service agents — and Timmy pops out.”

He spoke of the level of stress among today’s first responder as “beyond telling.” Equipment is taken good care of, but the personnel need support as well, asking for grace upon those gathered, especially among the fire service for work that is hard — if not impossible to talk about.

Guest speakers at the ceremony included Bridgewater State President Frederick Clark, State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey, Travers and Polito before Grenno’s swearing-in and address.

Travers recalled that Grenno’s father was a charter member of IAFF Local 1769, his sister Missy and her husband Richard also served as firefighters.

The need to prevent job-related cancers and increase aid to cities and towns for public safety was also stressed by Travers in his remarks.

Ostroskey said the FCAM is extremely valuable to its members and agreed that cancer prevention, as well as active shooter and hostile event response are key issues today.

Family ties also figured prominently in Clark’s address.

“You’re really part of the family,” Clark said of Grenno, whose wife Maureen has worked for the university for 18 years. “We know your jobs get more and more complicated based on the challenge that comes before you. … Right now we’re challenged by the opioid crisis, which affects us all. But you all manage through those challenges beautifully, you adapt wonderfully and professionally as well.”

He then joked he was presenting Grenno the virtual key to the campus but noted all the doors are locked for the summer.

Sparks fly over recall bylaw in Hanson

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HANSON — Proposed bylaw changes governing recall elections sparked more heated debate during Hanson’s annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 7 — while bulk soil removal and storage as well as marijuana business placement also spurred discussion.

“It’s amazing we have 124 people who don’t give a damn about the Celtics,” Moderator Sean Kealy said in announcing that a quorum had been achieved to permit the session to begin. There were 177 total voters signed in for the meeting.

After more than two hours of civil discourse on financial and bylaw articles, debate boiled over when the recall amendment came up for discussion. The amendment was passed, 80-50.

While Kealy managed to keep his humor for most of the meeting, the recall debate tested his patience as a resident repeatedly ignored his admonition to confine debate to the current issue and not dwell on past recalls.

The recall revision article changes the time window for recall votes and provide seven specific reasons for recall elections:

• Conviction of a felony or misdemeanors [domestic violence, DUI, illegal manufacturing, distribution or dispersing of controlled substances, assault or criminal harassment — while presently in office;

• Admission to facts, while presently in office, sufficient to be convicted of a felony or the above misdemeanors;

• Was found in violation of the conflict of interest law while presently in office as determined by the state Ethics Commission or the Attorney General;

• Attended less than 50 percent of the posted public meetings of the board of office of which the official was an elected member or to which he or she has been elected or appointed as part of his or her elected position during the previous 12 months;

• Lack of fitness and sobriety while performing official functions, involuntary commitment to a mental health facility, being placed under guardianship or conservatorship by a probate court;

• Corruption, conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude, conviction of bribery or extortion; or

• Violation of law, regulation, bylaw or other abdication of the applicable requirements for the elected position.

Former Selectman Bruce Young, who wrote the current bylaw, reiterated his objection to changes, citing the fact that it is similar to the bylaw used in many other towns. He added that it would be difficult to recall an official elected without voter knowledge of a conviction in another state. He “totally agreed” with Kealy’s admonition not to rehash prior recall debate.

“We tried to use some elements of the existing bylaw for recall,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. “This change proposed is to make this bylaw more fair, responsible and reasonable.”

But resident Mark Vess, wielding a sheaf of recall petitions from a 2014 recall election, raised the temperature of the debate. Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett made repeated point-of-order objections as Kealy worked to rein in Vess’ comments.

“Do not restrict my speech,” Vess said raising his voice. “Hold it right here.” He charged Kealy could not dictate what goes on at Town Meeting, to which Kealy responded was, indeed, his function as moderator.

“I know you’ve got the Enterpriseon speed-dial, but I can decide what is within the scope of this argument,” Kealy said.

Vess then challenged Kealy to have him ejected from the meeting by police, which Kealy said he preferred not to do. Vess then continued to refer to the 2014 recall.

“There are no names mentioned in what I’m presenting here tonight,” Vess said.

“It’s a small town,” Kealy responded.

Vess continued to read from the 2014 recall petition.

“There’s no need to reread what was put forward as the recall several years ago,” Kealy said. “Is this a wise change to the bylaws or not?”

Vess said it is not a wise change because recalls are intended to remove officials voters do not feel are doing their job.

Holmes Street resident Adam Valachovic noted only half the towns in Massachusetts have recall bylaws.

“The fact that we have one is actually somewhat amazing,” he said in support of the article. “If we’re going to have a bylaw, let’s have it as transparent as possible.”

Another resident said it appears to insulate officials a bit, asking what prompted the drafting of the article.

McGahan reiterated his position that misuse of a bylaw to control a selectman is wrong, but it included valid reasons to remove an official not doing their job.

“In most towns and communities, people are removed from office by recall for malfeasance, misfeasance or non-feasance,” said West Washington Street resident Joe O’Sullivan in support of the article. “The toxic political environment in this community causes good people not to run for those seats up there [on the town officials’ dais].”

MARIJUANA BYLAW

Voters grudgingly voted to approve a zoning bylaw governing marijuana sales in town, 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.

“The best we can do to mitigate any potential impact … would be to follow the lead of the Planning Board, which is to zone where these folks can set up,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett. “At least we can control that piece.”

Planning Board member Joseph Weeks said because the moratorium was defeated, Hanson no longer has the luxury of time.

“If we don’t zone it and/or if we zone it and make it too restrictive … there is a possibility in which litigation can come against the town and then we find ourselves really opening up anywhere within the confines of the law and it may go somewhere we just don’t want it to go,” Weeks said. “There is nothing to say you can’t do a referendum after the fact.”

Young asked what the true consequences of voting down the bylaw.

“I’ve been informed by town counsel that the licenses will begin issuing June 1,” Kealy said. “We won’t have another town meeting before then.”

BULK STORAGE BYLAW

The bulk soil storage bylaw revisions were opposed by former Selectman Bill Scott, as a change that would affect “every homeowner in town that decides to put an addition on their home.”

Even the installation of a 40-foot swimming pool would produce 350 yards of material that would have to be moved and stored, Scott said. He also argued it would impact the Highway Department and “anyone trying to run a business” in town while Cranberry growers, of which he is one in Wareham, would be hit hard because of the amount of sand needed in their growing operations.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction to something that has to be decided on its merits, not by putting this garbage in the warrant,” Scott said.

Another cranberry grower, who lives in East Bridgewater but pays taxes in Hanson, said there are already a lot of difficult regulations governing the business.

He doubted the town had standing to supercede state and federal regulations, but pledged to try to work around them if that was the town’s wish.

“I’m not so sure we have the right to tell them how to run their business,” Vess agreed.

Rosewood Drive resident Danielle Sheehan, said she and her neighbors began the bylaw revision effort because of problems with wind-blown sand in a nearby bog. She has lived on the street for 20 years with no problem until recently, saying they had been working with the town for almost a year trying to deal with it.

“We’re not asking them to not do bogs,” she said. “We understand the importance of it. My husband and I are in landscaping and trucking and dealing with sand as well all day long, but there’s a 4,000-yard pile of and out there that, when the wind blows it’s blowing in our faces, our kids can’t play outside. Our outdoor hockey rinks in the wintertime can’t go up because the sand is melting the ice — we have it in our window sills, we have it in our doors, we have it in our cars.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board supports the cranberry business and that the bylaw only requires an annual permit.

Bog owners said that, with dropping water tables and uncertainty over which bogs would be threatened, the permit creates a hardship and that agriculture should be exempted.

McGahan said he has seen the size of the pile in question and noted the severe windstorms this year have exacerbated the problem.

“We didn’t want to do this, but we had to put some kind of control in place so that if it comes down to it, the Board of Selectmen can take action,” he said.

The bylaw change was narrowly defeated 73-67.

“I knew we were going to have a discussion about plants going in, but I didn’t expect it to be about cranberries,” Kealy said at one point during the evening.

BUDGET ISSUES

Only two budget lines were questioned, one by Planning Board member Don Ellis seeking an additional $5,000 for the town planner’s salary, but that is not permitted via amendment from the floor.

The other, regarding Park and Fields expenses was raised by Soper, who questioned the $25,000 budgeted for an expense that he had understood has been covered by user fees in the past.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell said the funds were intended to maintain seven fields used by various sports leagues. He said sports groups do not support that effort financially. Fertilizer alone costs $9,000 each year, Mitchell said.

Sports groups have provided funding for upkeep of fences, one league representative said, but McGahan, who is active in youth sports, said most user fees go toward uniforms and equipment.

Both Hanson and Whitman town meetings were carried live and recorded for rebroadcast by Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV.

Whitman OKs region revision: Agreement change to go before May 7 Town Meeting

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 on Tuesday, April 24 to accept and recommend to Town Meeting the revised regional agreement for the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District.

Selectmen Randy LaMattina and Scott Lambiase voted against the revision because of concerns over the requirement that dissolving the region be a unanimous one on the part of both towns.

“A lot of language has been cleaned up with regard to assessment and capital costs,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said of the revision. “In 1992 when we regionalized, we were a 9-12 region and added the K-8.”

That agreement provided that either town could opt to withdraw from the region for kindergarten through eight-grade schools, Lynam noted.

“We’re basically being asked to OK an amended agreement that takes away Whitman’s ability to withdraw from the region without Hanson’s permission,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

“And vice-versa. Yes,” Lynam said.

“Thanks for the vice-versa,” Kowalski said. “I don’t care whether or not Hanson gets permission from us.”

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who served on the regional agreement revision committee, said there is good reason for the provision.

“You’re regionalizing both towns, not just half … and the fact that if you wanted to de-regionalize, the cost would be unbelievable,” Salvucci said.

School Committee member Fred Small, attending the meeting for the budget discussion also said the language was written with flexibility to allow an additional town to join the region, should that ever be a consideration. That flexibility was a reason for South Shore Vo-Tech’s recent revision of its regional agreement, approved by Whitman voters at a special Town Meeting in December.

Kowalski said he shared some of LaMattina’s concerns.

Small said the DESE and the school district’s counsel had both approved the revised agreement and the School Committee unanimously voted for it.

“As Whitman is forecast to pick up more and more of that [per-pupil] swing as the Hanson population declines” it presented additional financial worry for LaMattina on behalf of Whitman.

Salvucci said LaMattina’s concerns were the reason he called for an additional discussion of the revision by the School Committee.

“If the population imbalance keeps going the way it’s going, you could see a time when 30 percent of the students in the school system are from Hanson and 70 percent of the students are from Whitman, and Whitman will have to pay 70 percent of the cost,” Kowalski said.

“But we’ll get 70 percent of the School Committee members,” Salvucci said. Small added that it would give Whitman control of the School Committee and its direction.

Hanson might seek an exit if the Whitman edge reached the 80-20 split, Small said.

“It’s not going to be any easy way to divorce the two towns,” Kowalski said.

Small said that was exactly the term used by the Mass. Association of Regional Schools’ consultants.

“That’s what happens — you get divorced,” Small said. “You both have to sign off on the divorce.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson said he does not foresee such a regional divorce occurring.

“I look at it this way — this is a partnership. If we become in a situation where it’s 70/30 or 80/20, we’re in control and we have a silent partner,” he said. “Why would we want to be paying 100 percent?”