HANSON —  Selectmen voted Tuesday, July 19 to raise the pay for seasonal Recreation Commission employees at Camp Kiwanee and Cranberry Cove by $1 per hour during a Wage & Personnel Board meeting prior to the board’s meeting.

The raise brings entry-level gate attendants to 50 cents above the state minimum wage of $10 per hour. They had been earning $9.50 per hour.

Camp Kiwanee caretakers earning less than minimum wage were also raised to the $10 minimum rate. Selectmen said the commission should confer with the town administrator regarding future requests for caretaker raises.

Three members of the Recreation Commission — Susan Lonergan, James Hickey and Francis O’Kane — attended the meeting, but Hickey and O’Kane did not take part in the discussion, except to ask a few questions to selectmen through Lonergan, because their daughters work as Cranberry Cove lifeguards.

The raises increase the pay of lifeguards, water safety instructors and beach directors as well as caretakers. The allowable salary range runs from minimum wage to $18 per hour.

Lifeguards were earning between $11 and $13.50 per hour, depending on experience, with WSIs earning $13.50 and the beach director $16. All will receive a $1 an hour raise retroactive to July 1.

Lonergan noted youth employees at Cranberry Cove typically start out as gate attendants and, when they earn certifications as lifeguards, WSIs and, ultimately beach directors, salary rates go up. Hanson residents receive preference in the application process, she said.

“There was some discussion that you would offer them 2 percent and we would like to talk about a $1 an hour raise across the board,” Lonergan said. “I think it’s a way to thank them for coming back and being loyal employees and representing the town of Hanson well.”

Wage & Personnel Chairman Selectman Kenny Mitchell expressed concern that a $1 raise would not be fair as all other town employees received a 2-percent across-the-board increase. A 2-percent raise on an $11 per hour pay rate is just over 18 cents.  The raises will cost $2,400 for the season, with hours reduced after swimming lessons end next month.

“People who are under minimum wage should be brought up to minimum wage, at least,” Mitchell said. “As far as raises, I think we have to be consistent with every other town employee.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue agreed, saying it was not a question of dollars, but of fairness to other town employees.

Selectman Bruce Young pointed out that, as part-time, seasonal employees, the Recreation Commission employees at the beach are not comparable to other town employees.

“I see these as an exceptional type of position,” Young said. “They are strictly seasonal positions. … Their hours are limited, they don’t get any benefits, they make an hourly wage and pay taxes on it. They’re kids trying to earn extra income during the summer, so I don’t equate them with full-time employees who get benefits.”

Town employees receive group insurance and pension benefits as well as salaries, he said.

“These are hard-working kids, dedicated kids who take care of their certifications,” Young said. “I don’t have any problem giving them more than the 2 percent.”

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan agreed as did Selectman Don Howard. In the end, all five approved it.

Lonergan also noted that lifeguards must pay $350 for course work to keep current with certifications out of pocket and that they return to work there year after year. Only gate attendants are new employees.

Selectman Bill Scott had suggested the commission might also consider footing the bill for certification fees, but Lonergan said that was something that has always been required as part of the application process. However, at the suggestion of the Fire Department, the Recreation Commission is paying for waterfront certifications for lifeguards.

“[That] isn’t part of their Red Cross certification anymore, it’s just a pool kind of thing,” she said.

Last year there were 115 beach passes sold. This year there are 117, with lesson signups up 120 percent, according to Lonergan. Seasonal employee salaries are paid through proceeds from passes and lessons, not through town taxes.

Last June, the commission made $8,225 with $12,839 this June — an increase of 56 percent.

At McCue’s urging, selectmen also voted to bring two Council on Aging employees up to minimum wage who are now paid below that level, with Young casting a reluctant vote for it because he was not certain the board was permitted to do so at this time.

Scott advocated paying seniors working through the tax abatement program at minimum wage. McCue said it was possible, but the program caps how much can be paid them so it might affect the total numbers of hours they may work.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen have voted to establish a commercial vehicle exclusion zone on a section of Washington Street between the Route 14/Auburn Street intersection and the intersection with Route 18 toward Abington.

The state prohibits such exclusions on numbered roads, so the section of Washington Street that overlays Route 14 toward East Bridgewater cannot be included. The designation would not prevent large and commercial vehicles from making supply deliveries to businesses in that area.

The town has to submit the exclusion zone designation to the state, which takes four to eight weeks to review documentation and authorize the zone before signs can be posted. In the meantime, the town is considering cautionary signs and is enforcing speed limits.

“My concern is two-fold,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “One is it’s a residential area and two is we just spent money repaving the whole street and traffic like that will destroy it in no time, because those [town] roads aren’t built for that load.”

The move came after resident complaints resurfaced about trucks using Washington Street as a bypass of heavier traffic on Bedford Street (Route 18) as they travel to and from a school construction project in Abington to East Bridgewater.

Lynam said the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) conducted a traffic study of Washington Street last year when the town began experiencing heavy traffic — both by volume and weight — finding between 100 and 150 or more large trucks were using the road per day.

Abington has also been asked to review the OCPC findings because of the impact on the intersection with Route 18.

At the time, Lynam spoke with Abington Town Manager Richard Lafond and asked him to speak with the construction project manager “to encourage” them to use Route 18.

State roadways such as Route 18 are designed and constructed to handle a high volume of heavier vehicles. The OCPC report was done in compliance with Department of Transportation regulations pertaining to setting weight limits on roads.

Data collected indicates the percentage of heavy vehicle traffic north of Temple Street on Washington is “quite high,” while the volume to the south is a bit below the 5-percent threshold the state uses before considering a heavy vehicle exclusion, according to the report summary.

“However, in the big picture, it’s clear the trucks are using Washington Street as a travel route and the logical start and end points for a potential heavy vehicle exclusion zone would be from Route 18 in Abington to Route 14 in Whitman,” the report stated.

It also charted Washington Street traffic speed from Route 14 to Route 27 — with the average at 28 mph and 85-percent of motorists driving at 39 mph. North toward Abington 85 percent of traffic was clocked at 31 mph. Heavy vehicles made up 16.2 percent of that traffic volume. From the Park Avenue four-way stop to the Abington line the average speed was 43 mph, “which supports the issue of vehicles picking up speed after they clear the stop sign,” Lynam said. Trucks made up about 11 percent of those vehicles.

“That’s important to know because the 85th percentile is what they generally use to set the speed limit,” Lynam noted.

Residents began complaining about the traffic on Washington Street in December and Lynam asked Police Chief Scott Benton to look into the traffic patterns on the road, which initially led to a reduction in the heavy truck traffic. Residents have let both officials know the problem has returned.

Pamela Kane, a Washington Street resident, has been particularly concerned about the situation, Lynam said.

Benton, who had not yet reviewed the traffic survey, has talked about the traffic problem with Lynam and Kane.

“It’s a quality of life issue,” he said. “I do think this is a good move for the board to make.”

The noise and vibration from compression release engine brakes on the trucks — known as Jacobs engine brakes, or Jake brakes — has also been the subject of resident complaints Lynam and Benton said.

One man said he was having coffee in his kitchen when a truck hit the Jake brake and “he said ‘my whole house shook,’” Benton reported.

The board also voted 4-0 to review and update the job description of the assistant town administrator position and the approach to take in seeking a new person for that job. Selectman Lisa Green recused herself from the discussion because she is interested in applying for the job.

Green cited her experience as an attorney for the Commonwealth working for the Social Security Administration, and her work as a selectman with an interest in the management of the town.

Whitman has been without an assistant town administrator since Greg Enos left in April to take a human resources manager job elsewhere.

Lynam said he has $163,009 in projects pending for the Green Communities grant to deal with, as well as three projects under the Community Compact — $25,000 for a wage and personnel study, $15,000 for solar energy project analysis and some $10,000 for the reuse plan for the old Regal property — in addition to other management duties.

“We are approaching a year with four contracts up for renegotiation,” he added. “I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that the town is best served by maintaining the position of the assistant town administrator and I would like the board to consider moving in that direction.”

Voters at the May Town Meeting approved the line item to continue funding the position’s salary.

“I think we need to look at the description of it,” Selectman Dan Salvucci said of the assistant town administrator post. “We felt as if we needed one before, and it seems we still need one. … Do we want someone that will step into [Lynam’s] shoes eventually, or do we want somebody that just wants to be a good assistant?”

Selectman Chairman Carl Kowalski and Selectman Scott Lambiase volunteered to work with Lynam on reviewing the job description and salary — about $63,000 — offered.

“Clearly, we want to hire someone who’s capable of functioning in my role when I’m not here,” Lynam said. “My biggest concern right now … surrounding towns are compensating people at a much higher level than we are.”

He noted one of the factors in Enos’ decision to leave was the then-$61,000 salary, which is less than some of the department heads with whom he was asked to work in a management or administrative role.

The town is negotiating with the Collins Institute at UMass, Boston to conduct a broad-based wage and personnel survey of Whitman town employees in part because of Lynam’s concern about salary parity with other communities as well as job descriptions and expectations.

“I don’t think this survey will prevent us from making a reasonable analysis here,” he said. “But I think we have to talk about it a little bit and recognize we’re not going to hire somebody at the funding that the line presently has.”

Depending on the hiring cycle, there may be sufficient funds available to offer more money to start, but another Town Meeting vote would have to follow to increase the salary going forward if that is done, according to Lynam.

Selectmen, meeting next on Aug. 30, should have more information from the job description subcommittee’s work, with an eye toward hiring someone by the end of September or early October.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen voted on Tuesday, June 28 to approve a police mutual aid agreement.

Police Chief Michael Miksch explained the approval was necessary to permit Hanson Police Department officers “to act as officers when they witness crime while they’re off duty.”

Without it, case law only provides policing power within the community unless certain conditions are met, he said.

“It spells it out in very specific terms so that it protects us if somebody comes in from another town,” Miksch said. “We already are part of a permanent mutual aid agreement through … an anti-crime task force. This is similar in a lot of ways. It just makes life simpler.”

It also fosters their participation in regional search and rescue, dive team and SWAT programs, such as the South Eastern Mass. Law Enforcment Council (SEMLAC), and the sharing of equipment. Another use has been a motorcycle unit under development for crowd control and escort services.

“For the cost to us it is a great insurance policy,” he said.   

Town Administrator Michael McCue said he has reviewed the agreement with town counsel and there had been no objections raised.

The program was one of the points Miksch made in the first of what will be rotating monthly reports to selectmen by department heads or town boards to provide status updates. He has also asked them to provide him with monthly written reports from which he can update selectmen.

Miksch said the department has handled 8,058 calls, up slightly from the same period last year when between 15,000 and 16,000 total calls were logged all year.

Of the 8,058 calls, 42 have resulted in arrests, 67 resulted in a warrant or summons being requested and 99 motor vehicle accidents.

“These numbers are right on line with what we’ve been doing annually for the past couple of years,” he said. There have been 257 traffic offenses resulting in more than $11,000 in fines. But he cautioned the board against being too excited about the money because most of it goes to the state.

Miksch also reported there have been three overdose deaths last year and was critical of a recent news report placing Hanson as the second-highest number of overdoses per capita in the state.

“Statistics are a really funny thing because you can manipulate them in so many ways,” he said. “That second was six overdoses.”

Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr. and Miksch researched the cases they responded to and could only account for three. Brockton had 47.

The others in Hanson reported by the Department of Public Health went by the residency on death certificates.

“We dealt with three overdoses and can’t find the others,” Miksch said.

He said he thinks the town has been out-front in terms of dealing with opioid abuse. East Bridgewater HOPE’s drop-in center has been a service they have called on.

Last year nasal Narcan was administered 34 times, he said. So far this year, it has been used only four times — two of those for other medical issues. One was an unwitnessed asthma attack and the other a heart ailment.

“We’re starting to see the need for more than one dose on people at times,” he said. “When we see someone, regardless of age, the first thing we eliminate is [the possibility of] an opiate overdose.”

There is also an up-tick in requests for licenses to carry firearms with 105 pending at the moment.

He also said use of force, including Tasers, is investigated after the fact and, in six months, the Tasers have only been used three times, down from last year.

Miksch also offers kudos to the work some of his officers have been doing to help Hanson residents.

He credited Sgt. Peter Daley with the work he did on the Dec. 23 Winter Street crash in which a Hanover nurse out for a Boston Marathon Training run had been killed. That investigation led to a grand jury indictment on two felony charges against the driver.

Miksch also thanked the Hanover Police Department for their work on the case.

He lauded DARE and School Resource Officer William Frazier for his work, which has been commended by the School District, as well as for his community outreach work.

Detective O’Brien executed a search warrant on Spring Street earlier this year, seizing more than four pounds of marijuana, more than $4,000 in cash and 40 pounds of edibles, baked with hashish oil.

“People said it was only marijuana,” Miksch observed. “It’s illegal [and] a lot of home invasions that go on revolve around marijuana because it’s a cash business.”

Because it is still in violation of federal law, even where marijuana is legal under state law, money from the trade can’t be deposited in the bank, Miksch said.

The hashish oil-making process is also a fire hazard.

The department has undergone autism awareness training thanks to the fund-raising efforts of Hanson resident Laurie Hammond and, as a result, officers were able to locate a missing autistic boy in about two hours after he wandered away from home in early June. SEMLAC also helped. Miksch commended officers Peter Calogero and Kevin McCarthy for their work on that search.

The chief also thanked Town Meeting voters for the funds to help address radio problems.

Selectmen also voted to appoint Christopher Dominguez and Brent Peterson as police officers and liquor control agents. They had been extended conditional offers of employment about two months ago, but had to pass a background check and Dominguez had to wait to see if his Florida police certification was accepted in Massachusetts. That was granted a few weeks ago.

The liquor control designation allows the officers to investigate business that sell and/or serve alcohol on behalf of the licensing authority.

Whitman native Maj. Michael J. Donahue’s dedication to community and country were again honored Sunday, June 26 — this time by dedication of the home team baseball and softball field dugouts at the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, from which he graduated in 1990.

“It’s unbelievable what the VFW has done for our community,” said Athletic Director Bob Rodgers. “As they come back to our community, they continue to serve us and teach our young people what it means to give back.”

It seemed as if Maj. Donahue wanted to take part in the ceremony, too, as a breeze lifted away the cloth covering a memorial plaque that was to be unveiled during the ceremony in front of the baseball dugout. One will also be placed at the softball field.

“The wind didn’t want me to wait any longer — it wanted the people to see it,” said outgoing VFW Men’s Auxiliary President Donnie Westhaver who hosted the event.

The dugouts were built with funds raised by the Whitman VFW Auxiliary along with the W-H baseball and softball teams. Army Maj. Donahue, who was assigned to the Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., was killed in action by a suicide bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sept. 16, 2014. He had also worked as an assistant professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., before being deployed.

Whitman had held a memorial vigil in his memory on Oct. 19, 2014 at Whitman Park. On this Sunday, his sister Joanne Nickerson and her children, veterans, some W-H student athletes, Whitman and Hanson town and school district officials dedicated the dugouts in the hope that generations of young people will think of him when they play there.

“It means a lot to our family, just to keep his memory and honor alive,” Nickerson said after the ceremony. “The towns of Whitman and Hanson have been amazing for us. It is a very touching day.”

Westhaver read from a newspaper account of Maj. Donahue’s death and listed the citations he was awarded during his military career: Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Iraq Campaign medal with one campaign star, the Korean Defense Service Medal, The Combat Action Medal and the Senior Parachute Badge.

“We’re honored and proud to dedicate two plaques to both home field dugouts,” Westhaver said. “The plaques will be presented to the schools this week and they’ll place them on both dugouts.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes accepted the dugout dedication on behalf of the School District saluted Maj. Donahue’s commitment to country.

“There’s always one message that I try to give to the students and that’s commitment,” Hayes said. “I ask everybody, when you drive by this field — when you look at this wonderful facility — to remember Maj. Donahue. Keep him in your thoughts because he made the ultimate sacrifice for the very freedom we stand here and enjoy today.”

School Committee member Fred Small, who worked with Westhaver to organize the event, also spoke to the gathering, thanking WHRHS Facilities Department and central office staff for the work of constructing the dugouts.

“This has a very special meaning,” he said. “I didn’t know Maj. Donahue, [but] as I’ve gotten involved with Donnie a little bit … you realize how precious our freedoms are and how many people, both in our towns and overseas, are really out there for us.”

Also attending the ceremony, but not making formal remarks were Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam and Hanson Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. State representatives Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, and Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, were not able to attend. Donahue’s wife and other family members were also unable to attend.

“It was very nicely presented,” Lynam said of the ceremony. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the schools to develop something they need and recognize a graduate who served his community well.”

McGahan agreed.

“We should be doing more things like this for our veterans,” he said. “What an honor it is to give this kind of recognition.”

HANOVER — Students at South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School are aiming to become more involved citizens next school year.

New Advisory Council representative Jacob Cormier of Hanover outlined the big plans SSVT students have for community service projects next year for School Committee members June 15.

Cormier is a state delegate to the Business Professionals of America, a post he sought and campaigned for on his own, according to Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey.

“We have a few goals for next year, the Student Government wants to increase student involvement in school,” Cormier said. “We also want to add to student involvement in the community.”

They’d like to plan a semi-formal as an additional dance, establish a powder-puff game in response to increasing student interest and a speaker on drug and alcohol abuse.

Community projects sought include: a student trip within the country to showcase student skills and participation; another Haunted Hallway event for local children; a mini-golf fundraiser, Putting for Patients, to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; volunteering for the Prom Angels dance for special needs young adults; creating a unified sports program in which disabled youths may participate; and becoming involved in Special Olympics.

“I think it’s one of the first times we’ve had a list of wants from an incoming member,” School Committee Chairman Robert Molla said. He asked Cormier to make the requests available to the committee in writing for consideration.

In other business, the committee once again gave “exemplary” scores to Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas Hickey on his annual evaluation.

“The superintendent is hard on himself,” one member wrote in his or her evaluation. “His personal standards are very high, and that’s why he is so good at his job.”

“Our school district has never been run as great as it is currently with today’s advanced state standards,” wrote another.

“The superintendent is not afraid to make changes to improve efficiency,” still another stated.

“My self-evaluation had me as ‘proficient’ in the four major categories,” Hickey said. “I appreciate those of you who made those kind comments and hope that I can continue to live up to them.”

The School Committee honored two departing members before its Wednesday, June 15 meeting, presenting governor’s citations, as well as plaques and rocking chairs bearing the SSVT seal.

Abington representative Adele Leonard has served five years on the committee and Rockland representative Gerald Blake has served almost 20 years and is a SSVT graduate.

The committee also saluted its student of the month for June, sophomore automotive student Alexander Gear of Rockland; staff member of the month, science teacher Matthew Fallano and bestowed appreciation on Susan Rossi, administrative assistant to the superintendent-director.

Gear was honored for his hard work outside of school, completing an outdoor classroom for the Memorial Park School in Rockland as his Eagle Scout project.

“One of the jobs of a vocational school is not only to give them trade skills, but to make them good citizens,” Aubrey said. “When his teachers were told about it, they were kind of taken aback by the [award], because in class Alex is the quiet one who goes about his business, does his job and doesn’t do it with a lot of fanfare.”

Fallano was really surprised by his award, as he was at the meeting, as he was there primarily to support Cormier as the student representative.

He was selected as staff member of the month for his teamwork as a mentor team member to new teachers, School Council member and as Student Council and National Honor Society adviser as well as an effective teacher.

Rossi was honored by the school committee for her “tremendous support in preparation for meetings every month.”

HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday night approved a request by the Final Plymouth County Hospital Reuse Committee to apply for a site visit by the nonprofit Urban Land Institute (ULI) as a way of nailing down a viable plan for the site of the crumbling ruin.

The investigation carries a $5,000 price tag, but committee member Marianne DiMascio said ULI helps applicants find grants to cover the cost and, if no grant is available, the town may withdraw its application without obligation.

The five-member committee has been meeting for five months and also includes Selectman Don Howard, Planning Board member Don Ellis, Conservation Commission member Phil Clemons and Robin Sparda-Curran.

“I think the committee is going in a great direction,” Ellis said. “I think we’ve got time to research other avenues, look at different things, we all seem to be coordinating together and going in a positive direction.”

Selectman Bill Scott cautioned that, as DiMascio said during her update on the committee’s work, nearly a half-dozen studies have already been conducted on the site over the past 16 years. The town bought the property in 1999. Demolition costs have been estimate of $1.5 million, but could go a bit higher.

“I’m just wondering if we’re not repeating ourselves,” Scott said of the ULI study. “It ends up being a history lesson every time.”

He noted the town just had the Old Colony Planning Council prove a comprehensive report on use of the site.

“The committee’s going to have to come up with some decisions and I don’t know if we need another outside source to tell us what we already know,” he said.

Clemons replied that ULI will be able to help with some of the more difficult questions remaining.

“What we would have would be a customized team more specifically put together for this project,” Clemons said. “There could be new information for zero or very close to zero dollars.

Requests for proposal may be written to find a developer interested in incorporating demolition costs into a given project, or to demolish the hospital in exchange for the eight acres of land. A combination of Community Preservation funds, grants and/or taxes is possible financing avenues, although officials are not enthusiastic about depending on taxes.

Selectmen, by consensus, endorsed the RFP avenue concurrently with the committee’s consultation with ULI.

Ellis said the committee may invite those submitting RFPs to come in and discuss their plans with the town administrator, within the zoning restrictions on the property. Scott agreed, noting it could result in plan mitigations that could benefit the town.

The focus of Tuesday’s discussion involved the parcel containing the former tuberculosis hospital. The two other parcels are a long strip of land and meadows and the land encompassing the food pantry and water tower, including a U-shaped section around the hospital site.

The meadow, according to almost every previous study, would be best used as open space for recreation and the committee has focused on the parcel containing the decaying, fire-damaged hospital building and eight acres of surrounding grounds.

“It’s just a dangerous building that needs to come down from everything we’ve read and heard about,” DiMascio said.

The committee had discussed the issue with lawyer and Hanson Housing Authority Chairman Teresa Santalucia regarding housing development possibilities on the site and with state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, on grant availability, as well as Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett on potential use of Community Preservation funds.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said there is $750,000 available and CPC funds can be bonded against future Community Preservation Act revenue.

“Obviously we don’t want to be using all the CPC money because then we wouldn’t be able to acquire any open space, restore any [properties],” she said. “But, as a committee, we’ve talked about it exhaustively and — to a person — we’re quite in favor of trying to use this money to try and do something positive up at Plymouth County Hospital.”

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said he does not advocate using all the CPA funds either, and said the ULI study may provide the town more time to figure out how to fund the demolition.

CPA funding would also carry deed restrictions requiring it to be used for open space, historic preservation or passive recreation unless the town reimburses the CPA for use of its funds.

“I don’t want to start getting into taxes, that has to be a last resort,” McGahan said.

Funding for over-55 housing has been drying up in recent years, but is more likely for multi-generational housing or a project linked to proximity to the commuter rail, DiMascio said the committee has found. An abutter suggested looking into bringing a Recovery Centers of America treatment facility to the site, but she cautioned that — while it would have minimal traffic impact — a drug treatment facility may have more negatives for the town than benefits.

“We’re just putting up here what we’ve found, we’re not promoting anything at this moment,” she said.

In other business, Selectmen authorized Town Administrator Michael McCue to work with the town’s labor lawyer Leo Peloquin on the inquiry into Camp Kiwanee operations, and to require Recreation Commission members and camp employees to fully cooperate, including their providing all requested documents and participation in interviews with Peloquin and McCue.

Selectmen declined an amendment, suggested by Selectman Bruce Young, to the original motion to limit the inquiry to 30 days. The amendment did not receive a second, and was not accepted.

“It’s been going on for too long, I want it to get resolved,” Young said.

“My understanding in discussions with counsel is that the cooperation has been not up to par,” McGahan said in speaking against a time limit. He suggested giving McCue until the June 28 meeting to determine how the process is going. The inquiry had already been voted, Tuesday’s vote only allows McCue to help.

New Recreation Commission Chairman James Hickey said employees are feeling uneasy about the lingering inquiry and also advocated a time limit.

Selectman Don Howard recused himself, as he had in the past because of a relative who abuts Kiwanee. While that is no longer the case, McCue said Howard was permitted to recuse himself for any reason without explanation and he preferred to do so.

For the 30 graduates of the W-H Community Evening School, the commencement ceremonies Thursday, June 2 were akin to a victory lap after a marathon.

A large audience of family, friends and fellow CES students filled the Dr. John F. McEwan Performing Arts Center to help celebrate that victory.

Co-Director of the program William V. Glynn, in his welcoming speech, congratulated the 27 graduates who were able to attend the ceremony for the hard work they put in to succeed. He also took the opportunity to offer some final words of advice.

“And you are forced to listen to me — one last time,” he said irreverently before concluding that the graduates are assuming an important place in society.

“I need you out there,” Glynn said. “The money-lenders, the authoritarians, the know-nothings — they’re out there and they’re in it to win it. I need you out there and the community needs you out there, the nation needs you out there and, I’m not afraid to say it, this planet needs you out there. Get out there.”

Before Co-Director Dianne Nicol announced guests graduates had asked to award their diplomas, Glynn advised the Class of 2016 to not freak out as they face the future, to have faith in themselves, to listen, abide, not to “talk smack” about others on social media and give into hate, to keep reading and continue working hard to achieve their dreams.

“Believe in yourself — you can do it,” he said. “You made it here today after any number of ridiculous or dreadfully serious roadblocks, mistakes, issues, failings, but you made it.”

He said their success shows a willingness to take responsibility for themselves.

Calm, cool responses in difficult circumstances can positively infect those around you and that  “amazingly beautiful, amazingly good, amazingly true things tend to happen when people don’t give in to losing their heads,” Glynn said.

He also advised the graduates to take chances and travel to far away lands — “and I’m not talking about the Cape or Rhode Island when I say that,” he stressed  — eat freaky foods, make friends with different kinds of people and avoid being overly impressed with wealth, power or celebrity.

“Be the same you when speaking with Barack from D.C. as you would with Chip, the pizza dude, from Tri-Town,” Glynn said.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner noted Glynn was a hard act to follow, but offered their own advice to the graduates.

“Everything [Glynn] just said to you, I know came from his heart,” Hayes said. “The path you took to get here tonight had a few bumps in the road … but you made it, that’s the whole thing.”

Hayes urged the graduates to continue the commitment to graduate as they face the future outside of school.

“That’s the key to success as long as you never, ever give up,” he said. “Keep searching for the answers to problems.”

Gilbert-Whitner spoke about decisions, noting a recent study calculated that adults make about 35,000 decisions a day — 226.7 daily decisions about food alone.

“Some decisions seem to have little impact on us, while others may change the course of our lives,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “The decision you made to enroll in W-H Community Evening School was one of those life-changing decisions.”

She said that thoughtful and deliberate choice will serve the graduates well throughout their entire lives and urged them to keep making those good decisions.

Graduates are: Madison M. Beguerie, Robert E. Cavicchi, Kimberly J. Chalmers, Dominic A. Colarusso, Nicholas L. Consalvi, James W. Cullity, Nicholas J. Dearden, Michael W. Eaves, Jaime Escalera Torres, Robert P. Fader, Brandon A. Jenness, Jacob M. Joyce, Ryan J. Kelly, Jesse S. Knight, Allison M. Leitch, Matthew C. Linn, Kyle J. Lydon, Charlie J. McAdam, Joseph M. McDonald, Jared A. Moussalli, Nicholas D. Murphy, Joshua C. O’Brien, Brandon A. Paulo, Marita J. Roblee, Nicole D. Sanchez and Stephanie A. Scammell.

Not present, but having earned diplomas were: Edward J. George, Tadg F. Jenness and Breanna V. Trabulsie.

HANSON — Jennifer-Lyn Keniston has completed a 10-year labor of love in the publication of her first novel “Afta-U,” a title inspired by her grandfather’s sailboat.

She will hold a book signing, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 4 at the Café Deli, 1280 Main St., Hanson. The restaurant is a favorite of her mother, and Keniston wanted to do a signing in her hometown.

“This will be a meet-and-greet, signing books,” Keniston said. “Talking to people, talking about the book.” There will also be a raffle for Café Deli gift certificates, copies of the book [210 pages, Tate Publishing, $16.99 softcover] and more.

“I hope people enjoy reading it,” she said.

In fact, the fictional town of Graytown, Mass., in her book takes inspiration from some of the locales and people Keniston remembers from her childhood.

While the Hanson native uses the boat as a touchstone in the mystery novel, it is more of a metaphor that hope floats. In fact Hope is also the name of a main character not really there — the childhood best friend of the narrator Jean Cartwright Rhodes, who is literally haunted by Hope years after her friend’s tragic death at age 11.

A dark, complex mystery, “Afta-U” is less a whodunnit that a why they did it as Jean reflects on her faith and past to reveal long-buried truths about the tragedy she had hidden away in her psyche. Much of the incident is also unknown to her husband and teenage daughter, making for some strain in he family — all witnessed by the silent spectre of Hope.

“Afta-U” has been a labor of love and the expression of a lifelong dream,” said the Plymouth State (N.H.) and Bridgewater State graduate who now works as a project manager for a Cloud software products company.

Her master’s degree in English and minor concentration in philosophy are felt in her approach to her subject matter, as is her faith.  “Afta-U” is rich in Christian messages and each chapter ends with a poem reflective of a theme touched on in the chapter.

The Express spoke with Keniston on her book and approach to writing last week.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

A: “I did. Ever since I was a little girl, my dream has been to write a book.”

Q: How did you find a publisher? That can prove difficult for new writers.

A: “It was quite an ordeal, initially. But it was an exciting time.  I submitted a bunch of query letters looking to get an agent and, in the end; Tate [Publishing] works with the author. They’re more of a hybrid publisher, as I refer to it, they’re not self-publishing … they work directly with an author and not an agent.”

Q: Your book had something of a gothic feel to it, was that the genre you aimed for?

A: “It’s not a gothic book at all. It does have the apparition, ghost, about it. It’s a darker novel but it’s got a lot more Christian themes throughout it. The main character Jean grapples with a lot of those, like ‘Let go, let God.’ It’s more of a mystery/suspense novel, I call it.”

Q: Your reasons for including Christian themes?

A: “I feel it’s things I have probably grappled with, too. Even though it’s a completely fictional story, obviously some of the characteristics and traits of Jean are drawn from myself and people that I know, along with some of the other characters. Even though the town is fictitious, it’s from my hometown, which is Hanson.”

Q:  Are you worried people might recognize themselves in the book?

A: “Maybe. [laughs] Some people do recognize themselves in the book, yes. I get more people who say Jean reminds them of me or my voice coming through, which is kind of funny. People who grew up in my neighborhood, I think they find some enjoyment [with locales].”

Q: There are a lot of literary references, especially Shakespeare, in your book. Does that reflect your interests as well?

A: “Yes. ‘The Great Gatsby,’ also referred to throughout the book, is actually my favorite story. It even has the nine chapters in Roman numerals to match ‘The Great Gatsby.’ I wanted it to be a story that people could read for the story and there’s a bunch of other stuff intertwined throughout the story.”

Q: What is your writing process?

A: “This one took me about 10 years to complete. I don’t expect the next one to do that. Basically, I write everything out of order. I’ve done that throughout college and high school working on research papers, too. I do an outline last. I really kind of write all over the place and then pull it all together.

I brought up a screen one day, typed what is now a couple pages in [the book] and titled it ‘Afta-U,’ which is my grandfather’s boat. … I had no idea who the characters were, no idea what the story was, so it’s kind of exciting to write it like that because characters just kind of talk to me and come to life throughout the pages. And I put it down for months and years at a time.”

Q: Aside from Jean, who is based a bit on yourself, is there a character you would consider a favorite?

A: “I loved writing Michael, which surprised me because it was a dark novel. I had to step away from it to get into those inherently evil characters. They’re actually a lot of fun when you allow yourself to do that, but in the beginning I was kind of taken aback at trying to make them that way. He’s a mixed bag of a character. At different points some people are angry with him, or hate him, and then perhaps that all changes as the story unfolds.”

Q: This is going to be a series?

A: “It is. I see it being a trilogy. In the second book, the characters carry over but it’s really more of a mystery unfolding where everyone’s trying to solve it, including Jean. But it really stands alone.”

Mock crash illustrates consequences of OUI

The W-H Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter held its biannual mock car crash May 20 — a strong, emotion-laden performance to, it is hoped, drive home a point for W-H juniors and seniors.

As this week brings the senior prom, educators said they hope to have reached students with a life lesson. With help from law enforcement from both towns as well as EMS the group responded to a crash in which students had reportedly left a party after drinking. In an assembly beforehand students watched their fellow classmates in a play depicting, drinking games, chugging beers and then discussing who was OK to drive.   

A short movie was then played of the group who chose to drive, with realistic blurring, swerving and sounds of glass as the students are involved in the car “crash.”  The student body then headed outside to view the aftermath in a realistic scene of mangled metal, blood, and glass in the W-H parking lot. The wrecked vehicles were provided by McQuarrie Auto Engineering of Hanson.

Darcie MacDonald, actress and real life mom to Brody MacDonald, 11, of Hanson, hysterically reacted to her son nearly being killed in the car as they awaited medical help. Her emotions were so real several students could be seen wiping their tears and clutching their arms together as she cried out she needed to be with her son. He lay unconscious in the car as police escorted her away and she collapsed in the officers’ arms.

She appeared helpless a victim of someone else’s poor choices, which W-H SADD volunteers later said “felt terribly real.”

Seniors Rachel Sword, Matt Evans, and Marena DeMinico were just three students playing parts, but after the mock crash while students returned inside the building they still had adrenalin coursing through their veins.

Covered in fake blood the three compared notes on how the crowd perceived the performance.

“I forgot I was acting at one point,” said Sword as she described her character trying to take and then fail sobriety tests.

No one was talking as they watched the crowd watching them Sword and Evans agreed they got their point across to the crowd of their peers.

Nick Smith who played the fatality was brought away in a hearse at the end of the crash leaving students dumbfounded. His real mother Rene’ Smith arrived at the end as she was told they “lost him.” Watching a mother get the news of losing her son although fabricated for the performance appeared to affect many who stood in stunned silence.

Matt Evans called Smith, also known as “Turbo” because of his running speed a “great kid an all-around respected three sport captain. Even though this was not real — it could have happened,” he said.

“Teens shouldn’t feel invincible,” said DeMinico.  “This is reality.  It’s hard but we are glad we did it. People think it won’t happen to them but we just watched it happen.”

HANOVER — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and state Secretary of Education James Peyser toured electrical and machine engineering shops at South Shore Vo-Tech Thursday, May 12 to get a first-hand look at how state vocational grants are being used.

The school was one of 35 districts to receive a combined $9.2 million in Mass. Skills Capital Grants in February. SSVT received $231,419 of the grant money.

Polito and Peyser chatted with students working on final projects in an engineering class, as well as those at work on precision manufacturing machines and 3-D printers.

Alex McPherson of Hanson, for example, was working to create injection molds for the electronics department designed by the drafting shop. Dylan Key, also of Hanson, explained 3-D printing in the electrical engineering shop.

“It prints in polymer, so you can print in multiple types of materials,” Key said, passing around examples. “This shows how precise that can be.”

Polito and Peyser were impressed with what they saw.

“For an employer that has machines like this in their industry, having people with the skills he just described is very valuable,” Polito said after McPherson’s demonstration.

“There are employers that are working directly with the school and the students through co-ops and through shared work spaces — and making sure they have jobs available to these students when they graduate,” she said after the tour. “This is truly a workforce development intiative. It’s something that’s working.”

Joined by several state representatives from SSVT’s eight sending towns — including state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, whose district includes Hanson — as well as municipal officials, Polito and Peyser were guided by SSVT officials.

“I was very impressed with the level of skill and the equipment that they used, and how many high-performance tasks they can do with them,” said Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “It’s really an impressive place.”

Officials had the chance to speak with students in the three shops before taking part in a round table discussion in the school’s Brass Lantern Restaurant.

“They know that we’ve been the recipient of several competitive grants for engineering and manufacturing programs,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas Hickey about the visit Polito and Peyser requested. “The purpose of today’s visit is to give them a chance to see where engineering and manufacturing are thriving in the school.”

The programs toured have benefited from both state grants as well as Mass. Life Sciences grants.

“There’s no replacement for seeing first-hand how the kids are using the equipment to advance their skills,” Polito said, noting the grants also help students seeking to advance to college engineering programs.

“There are thousands of young people who are on waiting lists to get into programs like this one,” Peyser agreed. “By investing in the equipment that is necessary to run these programs, we’re not only improving the quality of the programs themselves, bringing them into line with current industry standards, but we’re also increasingly providing access to more and more students.”

After the tour, Polito noted that she and Gov. Charlie Baker have placed a high value on vocational education, terming it a “real gem” within the K-12 public school system. Business leaders also stress to them the importance of trained employees, she said.

“We have a skills gap here in Massachusetts and in order to close that skills gap we need to ramp up the vo-tech experience for more kids,” Polito said. “One of the ways we’re doing that is through the vo-tech equipment grants.”

Hickey has said SSVT’s grant is being used to purchase Cyber Security training equipment for computer information technology, a new surface grinder for precision machine technology and much more.

An Economic Development Bill also aims to provide $75 million more toward equipment purchases by the state’s vocational schools, according to Polito. Hickey, meanwhile, is also hoping the state’s commitment extends to building funds as another way to bring in the students on the waiting lists Peyser mention.

“[The tour] also gives me the opportunity to dialog on what some of the needs are for vocational education at  South Shore,” Hickey said, gesturing toward 15-year-old modular classrooms visible through the window of the school library. “I’m thrilled that the Baker administration is going to support vocational tools in the area of equipment, but the time will come where we’re going to need support for building and infrastructure.”

The original portion of the SSVT building was constructed in 1962.