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.

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.