WHITMAN — As part of the Board of Health’s new Sale of Tobacco Products regulations, now in the process of being finalized, Walgreens is being advised they will no longer be permitted to sell tobacco products in Whitman.

The company was advised by letter on Sept. 20 of the regulations’ paragraph N, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products in healthcare institutions.

Some town officials, including a selectman as well as Town Administrator Frank Lynam, have expressed concern over the impact the paragraph might have on the business climate. Section 9 of paragraph N would also limit the number of tobacco product sales permits.

“I would guess that ties in with the number of licenses,” Lynam said. “By eliminating Walgreens as a distributor of tobacco products, they’ve cut down one of the licenses.”

Lynam said that license would likely not be issued to another store.

Health Board Chairman Eric Joubert said that is not the intent, and stressed the board has held hearings at which local store owners have testified about possible impact to their business.

“The letter essentially says if you’re in the health care industry you shouldn’t be selling cigarettes,” Lynam said. “That’s an interesting concept — that it’s up to us to tell people how to run their business. My only concern is we’re here trying to tell business we want them to come to town, we need their ability to create jobs and generate tax revenue and then we turn around and say, ‘but we don’t want you doing things that we might consider offensive’ and how is that being positive to a business environment?”

Joubert disagreed.

“This is not in anyway and attempt to reduce the number of licenses that are out there at the current time,” Joubert said of the regulations set to go into effect Oct. 31, 2016.

According to approved and signed minutes from Aug. 9 and 30, the board has agreed to remove a section restricting the sale and governing the pricing of single cigars was stricken from the regulations.

“The board received concerns from the retailers in the town of Whitman,” Joubert said. “The board allowed the retailers to express their concerns and reevaluated the areas that they felt were unfair or created  an undue burden on their business. … After our meeting with the retailers I think everybody felt comfortable with the outcome and we will all continue to work together to do what’s in the best interest of the town of Whitman and tobacco use reduction.”

According to draft minutes from the board’s Sept. 13 meeting, the board is seeking answers to “more questions for [Mass. Association of Boards of Health] MAHB lawyer Cheryl Sbarra” regarding the entire section pertaining to Section 9 (sale of tobacco products in healthcare institutions) before finalizing it or setting a number to permitted licenses.

“We are trying to do our research to find out what’s going to best fit the town and retailers,” Joubert said. “We promise that no one will lose their license that is currently licensed in the town of Whitman.  Through attrition the removal of licensure will occur in the event that we decide to proceed with this process.”

Joubert said Monday, via email while away on vacation, that he was not aware of any response from Walgreens, but he said the chain has understood that Walgreens has surrendered their license in other towns nationwide where such regulations have been enacted without issue.

“As far as voluntary surrender of licensure, Duvals was the forerunner years ago (2010 or better), making the decision upon their own to eliminate the sale of a harmful product in a health care sales environment, and have felt no ill effects from their decision,” Joubert said, noting that CVS joined them surrendering their license a year or so back voluntarily. “So, as you can see, the trend has been to eliminate tobacco products in a health care sales environment voluntarily, and the board will continue to seek surrender of licensure as needed.”

Whitman’s regulations also define the products and retailers concerned; sets a minimum age of 21 for purchase; governs sales permits and prohibits sale of blunt wraps or out-of-package sales; prohibits vending machines, non-residential roll-your-own machines or self-service displays; prohibits distribution or redemption of coupons and the sale of tobacco products by educational institutions. Fines are based on a scale, with $100 for first  violations, with higher fines and license suspensions for subsequent violations. Four violations — repeated or egregious violations — shall result in a license hearing to determine if a permit will be revoked.

There are 57 municipalities of varying size in Massachusetts now restricting flavored “other tobacco products” and almost as many with minimum pricing for cigars, according to the Mass. Municipal Association.

WHITMAN — A trio of Whitman families with children affected by type 1, or juevenile, diabetes (T1D) are again lacing up their sneakers and leaning on “Panther Power” to raise funds for research in the annual JDRF One Walk on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the DCR Hatch Shell in Boston.

Friends are joining the Drier, Carew and Manning families from Whitman to participate in the walk to raise money that will help create a better future for the millions of people living with type 1 diabetes. Over the past years this group has donated more than $120,000 to help find a cure. The total fundraising goal for the JDRF One Walk Boston this year  is $1,320,323 — and at $404,236.40 it is at 31 percent of that goal as of Monday, Sept. 19.

After the fundraising walk from 2 to 6 p.m., Oct. 1, the Panther Power team is hosting an appreciation fundraiser celebration after the walk at the Whitman VFW on Essex Street, to which the community is invited, featuring food, raffles, entertainment and fun.

Kathy Drier is well-versed in the impact of T1D. Her daughter Megan, 18, (now attending Emerson College) was diagnosed when she was 8 and her son JP, 16, was just diagnosed in May.

“It doesn’t run in our family so it was quite a shock,” Drier said. “We’ve researched, and it looks like only a 1:10 chance of a sibling also getting diabetes.”

She said a lot of what the families have learned indicates the environment can trigger a predisposition with which some people are born.

Tobey Carew’s daughter Hazel was 8 when she was diagnosed in January and Cailyn Manning’s 6-year-old daughter Charlotte was diagnosed in December. Charlotte and Hazel are related and live on the same street.

“I think it’s a huge lifestyle change,” said Drier. “What child wants to get a shot every time they eat?”

She noted that in her 12-household neighborhood there are three diabetics with T1D and, throughout Whitman, she has become acquainted with several families that are also affected — a situation that provides its own networking opportunities.

“Some of the children have been living with it for years as others are newly diagnosed and are fortunate to have such a wonderful support system from other families that have been affected with diabetes also in Whitman,” the families have written in a fundraising letter for the Oct. 1 walk and event.

Physiology

With T1D, a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin — a hormone essential to turning food into energy.  If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity.

“You have to keep track of all the carbs that you eat,” she said. “Whatever you eat, you have to counter with insulin.”

Her daughter has had to go on an insulin pump recently, Drier said, noting the pump comes with a device that delivers proper insulin levels based on carbohydrate intake.

Besides tracking food intake, diabetics also have to take care in regulating the amount of insulin they use, Drier said. Insulin levels that are too high are just as dangerous as levels that are too low.

“One of the reasons we’re walking is the improvements they’ve made since my daughter was diagnosed are amazing,” Drier said. “The long-lasting insulin, for one. When Megan was diagnosed, she was on such a regimented schedule as to what she could eat, when she could eat. She had to eat a certain amount of carbs every 2 ½ hours.”

The mothers said birthday parties, sleepovers and cookouts were every mom’s nightmare as they couldn’t always know what their kids were eating.

“It’s a learning curve,” Carew said.

Fighting back

Drier and close friend and neighbor Susan Colclough, whose son was also diagnosed with T1D 10 years ago, formed Panther Power for Dave and Megan to raise research funds. Soon after their first JDRF Walk, they met other families dealing with T1D and changed the name to simply Panther Power.

The team name has become a popular choice in Panther Nation.

“We’ve been one of the top 10 teams,” Drier said of the Boston walk’s 350-team event. “Our team has represented Whitman very well. This has been an amazing community.”

Panther Pride is a 159-member team with team T-shirts that have been popular sellers in town.

Can drives, golf tournaments, yard sales and other events have been used to raise funds in the past, but this year they decided on an appreciation fundraiser.

To donate, visit jdrf.org and search for team Panther Power.

WHITMAN — A big party for good causes is being planned in Whitman Center from 6 to 11:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17 as the Whitman High School/Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Alumni Association raises funds for its scholarships and other programs supporting the school district.

The event, on Legion Parkway at McGuiggan’s Pub is the second Alumni Block Party, although it was not held last year.

Organizer Richard Rosen has obtained permission from town officials to close Legion Parkway for the event, and has obtained a one-day liquor license for the event to allow outdoor beer and wine sales. People can bring food out from McGuiggan’s or other area eateries.

“We think we’re going to have a very large crowd,” he said. More publicity via Facebook and other social media outlets and several classes are using it as a mini reunion.

While it benefits the alumni association, Rosen is encouraging the public to attend — no matter what their school colors were. He’s also hoping the ambiance of white linen-covered tables and the music of DJ Kenny Norris will prove an attraction.

The association has about 35 items donated as raffle prizes, there will be a 50/50 raffle and School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes will conduct a live auction.

“Those funds [raised] will be used for scholarships and whatever other things we can do to make the high school and school system a better place,” Rosen said.

The choice of date was an important decision for the success of the event, he said.

“When we did it the first time [in 2014], we did it in August,” Rosen said. “The turnout was OK.”

The association decided September was a better choice as people are back from summer vacations, but it will not clash with traditional Thanksgiving week plans.

“Thanksgiving is a time where a lot of people that are away at school or other places come home for the local football games,” he said. “We don’t want to compete with anybody and we want to do it outdoors.”

Rosen noted that organized class reunions are slowly fading out of fashion.

“Several years ago the Alumni Association was trying to coordinate reunions with multiple classes,” he said. “Even that’s becoming more difficult. Everybody’s busy.”

Organized in 1998, the Alumni Association has raised more than $100,000 for scholarships, gifts, donation and payments to local merchants for services benefiting WHRHS, according to Rosen.

Among them:

• $18,000 in scholarships (two $500 awards each year to a student from each town);

• $18,000 to install and maintain an Alumni Brick Way;

• $ 3,600 to install an illuminated flag pole at the Brick Way;

• $2,000 to install a sound system at the new athletic field;

• $1,000 toward the digital sign facing Franklin Street and

• $65,000 for the payments to local merchants for services and supplies.

“It was being run through the schools, but we were sanctioned by the School Department,” he said. “We’ve done it through fundraisers in the past, but each year it gets more difficult.”

Dances and athletic banner auctions have been featured in past fundraisers.

Hall of Fame

The Alumni Association is also soliciting nominations for the WHRHS Hall of Fame. Induction coincides with the National Honor Society’s induction ceremonies.

Graduates are eligible for nomination 10 years after graduation through letters submitted to Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak stating the reasons for a nomination. Only one person may be nominated per letter, but graduates may be re-nominated and letters are kept on file for two years.

The principal sends letters of acknowledgement to all letter writers.

A minimum of one, but not more than two nominees are selected each year by a screening committee of Alumni Association members, and voted by all members at a general meeting.

Relatives of the person making a nomination may not participate in the Alumni Association meeting at which the selection is made.

To make a nomination, send letters to: Whitman High School/ Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Alumni Association, P.O. Box 128, Whitman, MA 02382.

Among past inductees are Sha-Na-Na saxophonist Lenny Baker, Journey musician Stephen Smith, sportswriter Nick Cafardo, Olympic figure skater Tiffany Scott, who competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and late W-H football coach Dennis M. O’Brien.

WHITMAN — For 15 years now a small group of Whitman Woods neighbors have joined Kerri Lane resident Thomas Miller for a Friday game of pickup ball during the spring and summer months.

It’s not baseball or softball and they don’t shoot hoops, although they do play their games under a basketball hoop.

Their game is Ping-Pong, but serious players prefer the term table tennis, thank you.

“We were looking for something to do and we decided, ‘Let’s play Ping-Pong,’” Miller said before the last game of the regular season on Sept. 2. In past years they have been known to play into mid-October and finished off the last table with a New Year’s Day game last year.

“The table before this was not meant for outdoors, it was particleboard,” Miller said. Like the commercial says, the table was turning into “fall-apart-ical board.”

“It started to get a little bit yucky and we decided the last time we played in October last year it was good enough for probably one more game so we’d do a Winter Classic,” he said. “So we played on Jan. 1 and then we destroyed it.”

Luckily the weather that day was clear and in the high 40s, so it wasn’t like going swimming with the L Street Brownies.

The invitation-only games generally get going at 7 p.m. and don’t wind down until after 10. If they do disturb the neighbors on the cul-de-sac, Miller’s wife Lisa usually gets a call and relays the message via Text to quiet things down.

The whole thing started when he bought a Ping-Pong table without telling his wife, stashing it in the shed. After he told her about it, Lisa said she didn’t want it in the house.

Lisa found out when they were talking with a neighbor who asked when Ping-Pong started and she asked what he was talking about, Miller recalled with a laugh.

The newest table is owned by six of the players, having pooled their money for an all-weather model.

“The reason we did that is, if I’m not able to play every week and it’s in my shed, they should have access to it,” Miller said, adding that they use heavier outdoor Ping-Pong balls that are more wind-resistant.

Thus the curbside cul-de-sac “league” began. Miller’s son Riley, 14, runs the “junior league” of the Whitman Woods Ping-Pong Club. At the moment, it’s more of an honorary title — he is the only member. He also gives the adult players their nicknames, often with explanations known only to him.

As Miller spoke, Riley and Miller’s fellow Rockland-Hanson Rotary Club member Joe Pelligra volleyed a bit at the table and other neighbors out for an evening walk stopped to say hello. Miller and Pelligra are also both natives of upstate New York.

“I got pulled in when Tommy told me at Rotary he played Ping-Pong on Friday nights and said, ‘Why don’t you come over?’” said Pelligra, the only non-resident in the group. “I’ve known Tom for a long time. … He kept calling me and asking me to come, but I only started playing recently.”

The core membership in the “league” is six to 10. They play doubles, rotating players from the right.

Recently, the guys pooled their handyman skills to craft a light fixture atop a length of PVC pipe bent at a right angle.

“Now we can play for four hours,” Pelligra said.

“My wife just shook her head when she saw that,” Miller said. He pitched it to her that they could be hanging out at one of the local watering holes until 10 p.m.

Pelligra offered that it also hones hand-eye coordination and is good exercise.

“I love it,” Miller said. “I’ve been playing it since I was 12.”

When it gets chilly, the chiminea is brought out to keep things toasty.

“In the early days, when our kids were young — and we had two tables — we had a junior league,” Miller said. “Now they’re too cool to come down to play.”

HANSON — They say if you love what you do, you’ll never “work” a day in your life. For Whitman native KathyJo Boss, that is true — to a point.

She’ll also tell you it takes work and dedication to make dreams in the performing arts come true, especially when one of those dreams is helping the next generation of dreamers achieve success in dance, voice and acting.

“I love doing what I do,” she said. “I love inspiring people. This is what’s most important. I want to leave a positive impact on as many people as I can.”

This year marks Boss Academy of Performing Arts’ 15th anniversary, and third year at its current location of 782 Main St. in Hanson. Founding a studio has always been her “end goal.”

The New York University graduate has more than 40 years of experience on Broadway, in national touring theater, television and film. When her eldest daughter Kaylee was born Boss and her husband, now-state Rep. Geoff Diehl decided to move back to her hometown.

“We felt Hanson was a great town in which to open up a business,” she said of the studio, which used to be in a storefront at the 1280 Main St. plaza in Hanson. “My landlord was awesome, but we just outgrew our space.”

Still, she said it doesn’t seem possible that those 15 years have come and gone.

“When you’re in business for 15 years — and I’m sure it will only get greater — you go through great times,” Boss said. “It is truly a family here.”

Like any parent, she has watched her students grow and move on after graduation — whether or not they seek a performing career.

“I see a lot of awesome memories with kids that started when they were little [and] I just went to one of their weddings,” she said. “Both my  children were in the wedding.”

A lot of her students who want to pursue a stage or film career are doing that, holding Actors’ Equity and/or SAG-AFTRA cards. Others have celebrated marriage and family or are dealing with the loss of a parent.

“To me, the biggest thing is making the connection with the kids and seeing them grow into young people doing great things,” she said. “Whether that’s in the performing arts, which a lot of them are doing, or just in other things. … The common thing is that they take the structure and the discipline — just to have the courage to get up and speak in front of someone — and use them.”

Some of her students have gone on to do well in the military, and another is going for her doctorate. Hanson students Melissa Ford and Darren Bunch are among her alumni now working in film and theater in New York. Former student Hillary Keefe is now working in production.

The accomplishments of her students are her proudest achievements, but when her students cheer on not only each other, but other participants at competitions, she really enjoys seeing the growth in which she’s had a hand.

“To see my alumni come to my shows is the greatest gift for me that day,” she said. “I’m proud of the family that has been created here.”

Boss herself has come a long way from the shy 2 1/2-year-old whose mother brought her to dance class to help bring her out of her shell. Her teacher didn’t think KathyJo would want to go on stage for the year-end recital.

“I did go on stage and, obviously, I never came off,” she said.

She was later selected as a company member of the Boston Ballet. After graduating from NYU, she has continued to stay in contact with several of her teachers. She has performed on Broadway in a revival of “Cabaret” and as Lambchop in “Shari Lewis’ Lambchop.” Some TV and film work as well as commercials that have aired in Japan, eventually moving to California where she ended up doing production work, including live shows — and met Diehl who was then a writer.

Diehl still writes productions for Boss Academy, and her mom, who is a professional artist, does the scenery.

“I can give [students] the real story,” she said. “I can let them try it all … it only gives them more opportunity when they go to New York or LA.”

While there are several dance studios in the area, Boss said there is room for all of them in a state known for dance — it all depends on the kind of instruction a student is seeking.

She also sees a lot of change in the arts over the past 15 years. Dance, for example, involves more gymnastic moves than before, leading to the studio’s offering tumbling for the past four or five years. But there is always a need for the basics.

“I truly believe in the roots of the discipline,” she said. “With voice, they need to train in a classical way in terms of the technique.”

When students come in demanding to sing like the hottest pop artist on the radio, however, instructors have to help them take a realistic assessment of their vocal chords. Are they strong enough to sing a song like the over-produced recorded performances they hear?

Hip-hop has also made a difference in what students want to learn, affected by the success of the Broadway smash “Hamilton” and the reality show “So, You Think You Can Dance?” Boss pointed out.

“It does go with the trends,” she said. “It used to be the boy band style and then that swung around to what we see now. You stay on top of the trends, but you also stay true to the training.”

That is her aim for the future. She is also planning to give back to the community in a big way this year, the details of which she is not yet ready to disclose.

They’re still trying to bridge the original Generation Gap.

What started as a “Don’t trust anyone over 30” outlook among Baby Boomers in their youth, has turned into a different approach to aging — with senior centers working to provide programs and services to two generations of elders.

“It’s a huge problem,” said Barbara Garvey, Whitman’s Council on Aging Director. “We’re trying to capture the Baby Boomers, the young seniors.”

Both Garvey and Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center Director Mary Collins noted the difference in the way Boomers approach aging — and, according to statistics, 10,000 of them have been turning 65 every day since 2011.

“They’re working, they’re caring for their grandchildren, they’re playing golf,” Garvey said. “It’s a different lifestyle than their parents led.”

She said it appears that Boomers view senior centers as a place “for very old people, and that’s not them.”

Collins said her Friends of the Senior Center group is taking a step to help bridge that gap, planning a 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27 “Mocktails and Music” event with Laura James, a former member of The Platters.

“The Friends decided to reach out to the Baby Boomers … those folks who grew up in the ’50s and ’60s,” Collins said. “She performs music from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s with a little bit of disco at the end.”

The performance is also a fundraiser for the Friends with tickets priced at $10.

Garvey sees the need to keep pace with generational change as well.

“We’re trying to change our programming so that it will interest younger people,” Garvey said, noting that a recent evening program on Medicare aimed at people approaching retirement was very well attended, including  those who had not been at the center before.

Evening hours?

“We haven’t been open in the evening, but I’m thinking about maybe rearranging hours so that folks that aren’t available during the day would be able to participate and benefit,” Garvey said.

Aside from a social outlet, senior centers connect older adults to services that can help them stay healthy and independent, and according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), more than 60 percent of centers are focal points for services through the Older Americans Act. Those services include health, fitness and wellness programs; public benefits counseling; information and nutrition programs among others.

“We are a referral source for elders in the town, but also for families that are looking for different assistance,” Collins said, noting it may be time to stress the multi-service portion of her facility’s title.

“The age spans a wide variety from those who are able to retire at 65 to those who are continuing to work — whether it be full time or part time — and at some point we have to look at the fact that our programs need to reflect what someone in their late 60s or 70s needs,” she said.

At the same time, the needs of those in their 80s and 90s cannot be ignored. And, in Hanson, the Adult Day Program sees to the needs of those with elders with health problems, including various forms of dementia.

“That’s the line that we walk,” Collins said. “It’s very individualized.”

While the standards by singers such as Tony Bennett are always heard on the center’s stereo, the Boomer favorites featured in the Aug. 27 program are symbolic of “where we’re heading,” Collins noted.

Garvey said events such as paint nights and the possible development of a bocce court are being considered at her center, and Whitman is one of the first towns in the area to offer pickleball, which lost some of its participants when the Abington Senior Center built three new pickleball courts. An Eagle Scout candidate, however, is continuing a project to improve the Whitman pickleball courts adjacent to the Police Station.

I see bingo attendance declining,” she said, but new games being offered have begun to draw interest. “Craft classes are well attended, I’m just trying to hone in on what’s successful and what’s not.”

Suggestions sought

A questionnaire about programs people would like to see is in the works. Every resident 60 and over also receives the Whitman Council on Aging newsletter.

Collins said she is fortunate to have a group, who have either attended programs or volunteer at the center, and are in the beginning of their retirement.

“I spend a lot of time looking for feedback from them as to what their interests might be,” she said.

According to the NCA, 70 percent of senior center participants are women, half of those live alone. They also have higher levels of health, social interaction and life satisfaction, but have lower levels of income. Their average age is 75 and they visit their center one to three times per week for an average of 3.3 hours per visit.

“I have ladies who say, ‘I’m glad to come here, but you’ll never see my husband because he doesn’t consider himself a senior,’” Collins said. “We don’t change that much as we age.”

Hanson has long featured a Cracker Barrel Men’s Club, the members of which gather Thursday mornings to talk about sports or the events of the day, whether or not they go to the center on other days.

“Ultimately, it’s not about them attending programs, it’s about them knowing people are here to help them,” Collins said.

HANSON — What controls weeds, invasive plants and poison ivy while fertilizing the landscape and reducing use of harmful herbicides?

Goats — more precisely their use in the work of goatscaping — and they’re cute, too. But don’t touch or feed them. The extra food would only interfere with the work at hand and the plant oils from poison ivy can linger on their faces.

Hanson’s Conservation Commission has employed four of the “staff members” at The Goatscaping Company of Plympton for a project on town conservation land. The four Alpine goats have been hard at work chewing their way through the underbrush in the Poor Meadow Brook Conservation Area off West Washington Street since Wednesday, Aug. 3.

By Thursday, Aug. 11 it was time to move the fenced-in area to a new portion of the property.

“It just seems that they never stop eating,” said Rebecca Nehiley, administrative assistant to Hanson’s conservation agent.

Co-founders of Colchester Neighborhood Farm Elaine Philbrick and James Cormier started the goatscaping business five years ago after reading a newspaper account about how golf courses were using goats to control the weeds.

Before long, a job at the Cohasset Golf Course had expanded to other assignments at other courses, the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, town parks and cemeteries, abandoned buildings and private homes from Gloucester to Wellfleet, according to the company’s website gogreengoat.com.

“Elaine started it because she believed in an economically and ecologically sound way of doing landscaping and land clearing,” said company account manager Susan Schortmann, noting that Philbrook, is a mother interested in limiting chemical herbicides. “Back in the day that’s how land was cleared, using goats and other types of animals.”

Labor of love

Conservation Commission member Philip Clemons estimated the goats have a few more weeks of work ahead of them in Hanson.

The goats don’t seem to mind.

The commission has also recruited a team of about 10 people to look in on the animals twice a day to “monitor the goats’ safety and success and to provide water.” The company also placed a corrugated metal hut inside the enclosure for the oats to sleep in and to provide shelter from the rain.

A 600-foot, solar-powered electric fence, clearly marked as such, delivers a mild shock akin to that of a nine-volt battery to keep the goats in and predators out.

Goatscaping puts a modern twist on an old practice.

“We heard about, then saw with our own eyes, the whole goatscaping concept — it’s not new,” Clemons said of the decision to use the animals. “A few of us grew up with grazing animals and we know how that can work.”

When the commission was in the process of working with the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts in Duxbury to acquire the land, trust officials raised the goatscaping idea after walking the property.

“Since the property was successfully purchased by the town, we want to do the things we said we would do … have a few nice trails accessing the view, but we’re confronted with poison ivy that’s taller than your knees,” he said.

Ivy eaters

Goatscaping Company employee Zach Brown, 17, said the poison ivy doesn’t bother the goats.

“They love poison ivy,” Brown said. “That’s what most of the jobs come from, because people hear that goats eat poison ivy and nobody wants to go near it.”

While neither he nor fellow goat crew member Justin Dudley, 17, plan to pursue agricultural careers, they find the job interesting and rewarding. Brown plans to pursue art or engineering and Dudley aims to become a mechanic.

“Nobody I know works with farm animals, especially for this purpose,” Brown said. “I guess what’s nice, too, is explaining to people exactly what I do and the purpose of having the goats. I always get a lot of questions.”

The goats, at $600 per week for a team of four goats, has proved to be an economical way of reducing the poison ivy. Volunteers can then go in and trim out sapling twigs the goats have stripped of leaves, and remove the trash their grazing has uncovered, while starting to manage the property.

“It’s going to take a number of steps and a lot of volunteer work,” said Clemons, noting there are likely several projects within the property that could keep an Eagle Scout candidate busy.

“It needs to be inviting,” Clemons said. “Why would you go to it if you didn’t know it’s there? … We’d like to have a little trail that goes from the parking lot over to the edge of the river.”

Goatscaping also helps eliminate invasive plant species such as the fast-growing (and now unlawful to sell) burning bush or the glossy buckthorn, which has shiny green leaves that look nice but chokes out native plants like wild blueberry.

The goats may not totally denude the property of such pests, but will chew them down to where it is possible to stay ahead of them.

“If you have a plant and you mow it down year after year, eventually the roots will die,” Clemons said. “When the goats leave, we’ll see what we’re up against.”

While they’ve no doubt been  noticed by bemused motorists, the goats seem to be settling in well.

“The goats seem unperturbed by the traffic going by,” Clemons said. “But they jump if they hear a branch snap.”

While poison ivy doesn’t bother the goats, there are plants that are poisonous to goats, such as milkweed and Lily of the Valley. The animals generally avoid them, but The Goatscaping Company asks that customers alert them to the presence of toxic plants, which are listed on its website.

“We also advise [potential clients] to be prepared for an influx of neighbors,” Schortmann said. “Many neighbors enjoy having the goats around almost as much as they do.”

WHITMAN — Being home alone isn’t as easy as it used to be for kids — the days of heading outside for a day of unsupervised play and adventure “until the streetlights come on” seem to be over as parents worry more about their children’s safety.

That’s where Safety Savvy Kids & Grown-Ups comes in.

On Thursday, Aug. 4, 10 boys and girls in the grade six-to-eight age group, learned the safest practices for being at home when their parents or other adult family members are out. The first two days covered adult and pediatric CPR and first aid.

“I sat down and looked at all the different things that possibly could go wrong, or that kids in this age group needed to be trained on for safety,” said Safety Savvy Kids & Grown-Ups developer Windy Winters-Harrington of Whitman. “I just think that I am aware of the world today and that more kids are staying home alone.”

She researched and developed her idea for the business over the course of 14 months with her husband police officer Kevin Harrington, who aided with the Home Alone component, on the philosophy that knowledge is power. Winters-Harrington is a former administrator in pediatrics at Floating Hospital and in the W-H School District behavior department, as well as a certified CPR/AED (automated external defibrillator) instructor. Officer Harrington is experienced in school safety and is a national crime prevention specialist.

“It’s a different world,” Winters-Harrington told participants at Whitman Public Library last week. “There’s more pressure on your age group. I think it’s tough for you because you’ve got to manage a lot of different things … there’s not always a lot of kindness going on.”

To teach, not scare

That said, the object here is to arm kids with information, not the stuff of nightmares.

“We wanted to make sure we got the information out there that you understood and that made an impact so, in case these situations ever happen, you’re prepared,” Winters-Harrington told the children. “I’m not trying to scare you, I’m not trying to make you feel anxious or worried … but I want you to be prepared and aware.”

Winters-Harrington facilitated two free summer camps at Whitman Public Library from July 26-28 and Aug. 2-4.

“We had a wait list for both classes,” said Library Director Andrea Rounds. “It was one of the most well-received programs we’ve ever hosted at the library.”

Campers received two-year certifications in CPR/AED and first aid from the American Red Cross and a Safety Savvy Kids Home Alone Certificate.

“We have had baby-sitting courses in the past, and they teach certain important life skills, but this program incorporates a whole lot of other really important skills like how to safely answer the door,” Rounds said. “So often children do stay home alone and feel unprepared. We’ve had a lot of demand for courses such as these for children, specifically.”

The Thursday, Aug. 4 class on being home alone started off with a review of the Heimlich Maneuver and other first aid skills learned on the first two days before Winters-Harrington launched into the day’s topic.

“You can do these classes separately because they are so different,” Winters-Harrington said, noting that one girl attending the class had not been present at the first aid classes.

Common sense

Winters-Harrington emphasized to the class the importance of calling 911 in an emergency and before contacting their parents.

“A lot of this is common sense,” she said, offering an illustration to consider — if your mom is in Braintree, who would be able to get there first in an emergency? Mom or the police?

She said two considerations families must weigh are whether a youngster wants to stay home alone and if they are mature enough to handle the responsibility. About half the class had been at home alone, but only a couple raised their hands when Winters-Harrington asked if they liked doing so.

In Massachusetts, there is no minimum age at which a child may lawfully be left home alone, but the national Safe Kids Campaign recommends that no child under age 12 should be left alone.

Winters-Harrington led a PowerPoint program punctuated by online videos, which raised discussion points.

The discussions centered on best practices should they be followed home: a stranger comes to the front door, they are approached online or via their cell phone by a stranger and what to share and not share on social media.

Hands shot up as the children asked questions or offered opinions during the discussions.

Should they find themselves being followed out along a road, with no access to a cell phone, Winters-Harrington told them to draw attention by screaming and making a scene.

“Are all people bad?” she asked. “No. There are good people who will help you.”

Scheduled check-in times with parents or a guardian and a family code word were advised, as well as learning from mom and dad how to operate household alarms and establish fire escape routes.

The “nevers” include opening the door to strangers.

An assertive attitude when the doorbell or telephone rings is a must, said Winters-Harrington, and if a stranger won’t leave the property, or tries contacting you via phone or social media, the solution is the same. Call 911.

After a break for a snack, topics included outdoor safety such as street smarts, what to do if one finds an improperly disposed of hypodermic needle, shopping mall and movie theater safety as well as water and ice safety.

Library gift

“We are so grateful to the program sponsor, Mutual Bank of Whitman, which provided $2,400,” Rounds said. “There was absolutely no cost to any of the children who took the class, the first or second session. … They have been huge community supporters of this library.”

Rounds stressed that extra educational and entertainment programs are funded exclusively through donations, not taxpayer dollars. Either the Friends of the Whitman Public Library, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and donors such as Mutual Bank make such programs possible.

“If we could secure funding we would absolutely offer another program like this,” she said.

Winters-Harrington also thanked Mutual Bank for its financial support as well as the library for use of the Community Room.

Future programs are planned in partnership with the Massasoit Community College’s Community Education programs for Brockton, Canton, Middleborough and Plymouth. For more information, look for the Safety Savvy Kids & Grown-Ups page on Facebook.

WHITMAN — With a necropsy scheduled next week, state and local officials are investigating the death of a German shepherd dog boarded over a weekend at Annie’s Clean Critters.

Animal Control, Whitman Police and the Animal Rescue League are investigating the death of the dog, named Maximus, owned by Abington resident Robert Foley.

The Board of Health is not involved in the investigation at this time, according to staff members there.

Foley stated in a memorial Facebook post about his dog that he was told by Annie’s Clean Critters owner Annie Brown Monday evening that the dog died of stomach bloat — after he had spent an entire day trying to contact someone at the business to pick up the dog after a weekend away with his family.

An official cause of death will be determined by the planned necropsy.

Foley wrote that he had gone to pick up Maximus at 10 a.m. Monday, but “there was not one person in the shop and they never returned voicemails, emails, or Facebook messages, only a sign on the empty store saying ‘will be back at 4.’” By 5:30 p.m., there was still no one there.

Foley said when he contacted an employee, they had Brown contact him and he was then told the dog had died between 3 and 5 p.m. He lamented that, in the time it took him to find someone at the shop, he could have taken Maximus to a vet where the dog could have had a “40- to 50-percent chance of survival.”

Foley also alleged that the business refused to show him a surveillance video of his dog’s stay. He said he had boarded his dog at Annie’s Clean Critters before and that “things seemed to go well,” which is why he tried them again.

Contacted by the Express Tuesday, Brown said she was “devastated for the family, but we have no comment at this time.”

Whitman Police Chief Scott Benton said he could not comment on an ongoing investigation, but confirmed humane authorities are investigating and had “taken action.”

According to published reports, Lt. Alan Borgal of the Animal Rescue League has inspected the business and found unsanitary conditions and a lack of shade at the Annie’s Clean Critters outdoor kennel.

Lt. Borgal did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Brown, whose business has operated for 14 years in Whitman has also been the East Bridgewater animal control officer for some 30 years.

“We have been made aware of an ongoing investigation in the neighboring town of Whitman involving a contractor of the town of East Bridgewater who provides animal control services,” East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “It is the procedure of our Police Department that we will not utilize these services pending the outcome of the investigation. The East Bridgewater Police Department is in contact with neighboring communities and law-enforcement agencies to provide animal control resources on a mutual aid basis in the interim.”

This is the second canine fatality at a Whitman pet care business this year. In May, a Bermese Mountain Dog named Bailey died after suffering seizures during a grooming visit at a Bedford Street business.

After the owners of that business had received threats, Whitman Police issued a press release on its determination that there had been no indication of abuse or neglect by that business.

“The rush to judgment and attacks directed at [the business] through social media as well as phone calls to the business is very disturbing,” the department stated at the time.

WHITMAN — They found little cause for elation in some of the dishes in “From Junk Food to Joy Food,” but are attracted to the possibilities ahead in “The Smitten Kitchen.”

Foodies and home cooks in the Whitman Public Library’s new Cookbook Club read, experiment with and prepare a recipe from a selected book to share and discuss at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.

It’s already a big hit.

“I was talking with two of our patrons who love to cook, because we love to read cookbooks, and we all said, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great to have a cookbook club?’” said Library Technician Ellen Donaghey, who facilitates the group along with Library Director Andrea Rounds, who launched it. “We’ve had a good response from the beginning. You come when you want to, but everybody who comes usually signs up for the next month.”

So far there are three men who attend along with the growing number of female members.

The club has tried Food Network star Ree Drummond’s “Pioneer Woman” recipes and “Good Cheap Eats,” by Jessica Fisher.

“Drummond’s book was a really good one,” Donaghey said. “Everything was step-by-step.”

At each meeting, members vote from about five cookbooks for the next month’s selection. Place cards are made for the food table with the name of the dish and its cook. Door prizes of donated kitchen utensils are awarded each month.

“We have been very fortunate to have everything from soup to nuts,” Donaghey said. “It’s a banquet — so much fun.”

As July’s featured cook book was “From Junk Food to Joy Food: All the Foods You Love to Eat, Only Better,” by nutritionist Joy Bauer, the buffet table groaned under more than 20 dishes — from appetizers to desserts — designed as lower-calorie versions of popular recipes.

Healthier versions of deviled eggs — “Angel Eggs” using hummus instead of egg yolks and mayonnaise — potato salad bites and cole slaw started off, followed by cold sesame noodles, zucchini linguine with pesto, chicken cacciatore and classic chili and topped off with desserts such as Boston cream pie parfait, no-bake key lime pie, chocolate crunch bars and mini chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing.

“This cookbook has taught me that you don’t ‘healthify’ baked goods,” a home cook named Rachel, who loves baking, said. “If you’re going to have a cupcake, you might as well just have a cupcake and have a salad tomorrow.”

Another cook, named Hannah, agreed.

“I have a fundamental philosophical difference with this cookbook,” Hannah said. “I think that healthy ingredients can be good, but not when they are pretending to be not-healthy ingredients.”

She made avocado toast because she felt it was the only recipe that stood on its own and not, “Let’s take a recipe you love and take out everything you love about it.”

Rachel made both the “Joy” cupcake recipe and a regular one, because both she and her family were put off by the use of black beans in the cake and avocado in the icing. She found it tasted “OK,” but found the batter hard to work with and the icing …

“When you look at [the “Joy recipe] you’re going to say, ‘That’s vanilla icing?’ Because it’s kind of a funky color,” Rachel said. “It’s green because it’s avocado.”

Another cook put of by her recipe was Library Trustee Roberts Ellis Drews who said the Eggs Benedict was more difficult than it should have been. Others had better luck, or liked their recipe’s healthier ingredients, and club members shared their opinions and experiences as they sampled the dishes.

“I’m writing a book about everything that can go wrong with me testing these recipes,” Ellis Drews said with a laugh as she related the challenge in finding thick enough Canadian bacon and broiling without it and the tomatoes burning after the directed four minutes. She also found the yellow bell pepper, called for in the Hollandaise, sauce did not microwave or blend well.

“I blended the heck out of the thing,” she said. “After I was done, I had to put it through the strainer, because it wouldn’t mush and you’re supposed to liquefy it. Well, it wouldn’t liquefy, let me tell you.”

She did find the finished recipe delicious, though.

Donaghey, who made yummy chicken enchiladas, was less enthralled with the “super-sweet” chocolate peanut butter cups in which all one could taste was the ripe banana called for in the recipe. She did save the components of that recipe, however, as she felt the chocolate part made a good fudge sauce and the nut butter-banana combination might be good on toast.

The two cooks who prepared the cold sesame noodles had no complaints and said they might prepare it again. The Boston cream parfait, chili and chicken cacciatore were also big hits.

A member named Julie liked the chocolate crunch bark, but used Rice Krispies instead of puffed rice, which she had trouble finding in smaller packages.

Each participant received copies of all the recipes prepared for the session so they could try dishes they liked at home.

Next month they try and discuss recipes from Deb Perelman’s “The Smitten Kitchen: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook.” Billed as “fearless cooking from a tiny NYC kitchen,” the book by home cook, photographer and food blogger Perelman, “is all about approachable, uncompromised home cooking.”

Register for participation at the circulation desk, or call 781-447-7613.