By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to the Express 
 HANSON — When I was in the fourth grade at Indian Head School in Hanson, I joined the school band. I played the clarinet and kept on with it through junior high.
Every Memorial Day our band marched into the Fern Hill Cemetery in Hanson. We all wore royal blue capes with satin gold colored lining and hats to match, with black patent leather visors.
Growing up with parents who had served our country, including some of our mothers, we had heard many stories and were very proud to be part of the Memorial Day ceremony, which we took very seriously. Every year there were three boys chosen to play “Taps” on their trumpets, each one placed on a specific hill to be the echo for one another. In spite of the large crowd, it was always a solemn occasion. Our music teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt, were always there to lead us in. “Abide With Me” was one of the songs we played. It took on a whole new meaning when we played it on Memorial Day and I thought about so many people who had lost their lives in the war.
The very first time I was in the band and part of the ceremonies, when those three young boys played “Taps” and it echoed through the cemetery on that beautiful day in May, it struck me that there were young men not much older than some of us who never got to live out their lives. Some years later, I thought about some of my own classmates who never made it home from Vietnam. 
In later years as an adult, every parade I went to that Vietnam vets were in, I applauded and even stepped forward one time to shake the hand of one in the parade who was in a wheel chair. His grasp and the look in his eyes as he thanked me, I will never forget. Even though Vietnam has been labeled as an unpopular War, it’s not the fault of those who served and it angers me that they are not applauded in some of the parades. I was also told by a school mate who had served in Vietnam and still attended Memorial Day ceremonies at Fern Hill, that the gun salute brings back a variety of emotional responses, depending on their experiences.
We truly owe so much to so many who fought and sacrificed so much for our country and our Freedom. It should never be taken for granted. To all who served who are still here, my deepest thanks and gratitude for your service.
When I was in school and we started learning about the Presidents, I was taken with Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and learned all I could about him and that war. One early spring day in 1983 I was looking out my window. March had given way to April and the crocuses were pushing up through the ground in my backyard. I found myself thinking about The Civil War and that it may have started on a spring day like this.
A free verse poem came to me so quickly that I picked up my pen, writing fast to keep up with the words and visions I saw. Several years later I found out my grandfather’s grandfather, Corporal Edwin W. Pratt had volunteered for the 18th Mass. Infantry in August 1861. He was one of only seven members to re-enlist and was moved to the 32nd Infantry and went home to Hanson when the war ended at Appomattox Court House, Va., in 1865. There is a famous copyrighted painting that has been licensed as print by the artist Mort Kunstler (who recently passed away) that is shown on his site called, “The Salute of Honor.” It shows the Blue and the Grey lined up facing each other the day the War ended; one of the most important moments in American History. 

WHITMAN – Along with a review of the first public forum on Whitman’s combined Proposition 2.5 override to address town and school district deficits; the Select Board on April 22 discussed a proposal to amend a previous Town Meeting vote regarding the senior citizen tax work-off program.
The Board also, returning from four consecutive executive sessions, voted to ratify memoranda of agreement with the Whitman Public Library Employees Union, SEIU Local 888; and the Whitman DPW Union, AFSCME Council 93 Local 17.
During the tax work-off discussion, Select Board member Justin Evans repeated an earlier recommendation that, rather than adjust the Town Meeting vote, which has set the hours, they could adjust the Select Board’s vote, which set the wage.
“I think what the seniors were looking for was not necessarily more hours to hit the cap, but to be able to hit the cap,” he said. “We can adjust the wage up, from $15 an hour to $16, keep the same 125 hours and … [they’d] hit the $2,000 cap.”
The board approved the wage change, 3-0.
Council on Aging Director Mary Holland asked if the adjustment on either hours or wages might be made again, or would seniors be able to work longer hours to meet the cap if they wished.
Evans said the wage would be increased to $16 per hour next year and, if they work the 125 hours they are set to work, they would exactly meet the cap.
“That way, if the state adjusts the cap in the future, we can adjust the wage by a vote of this board, rather than a Town Meeting vote adjusting the hours,” he said. “This happens more frequently.”

On Sunday, May 4 at 9 am, Whitman Democrats will convene at  Whitman’s Town Hall to elect 7 delegates and 4 alternates to represent Whitman at the 2025 State Democratic Convention. The doors will be open at 8:30 am. 
Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Whitman 16 years old by Saturday, March 29 may vote and be elected as delegates or alternates during the caucus. Youth (age 16 to 35), people with disabilities, people of color, veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ community not elected as delegates or alternates are encouraged to apply to be add-on delegates at the caucus or by visiting massdems.org/massdems-convention. The 2025 Convention will be in person at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA on September 13th.
Those interested in more information can email the committee at  [email protected]. 

Whitman will receive a $65,842 for a cybersecurity infrastructure initiative, one of 72 Massachusetts municipalities receiving part of the $4.95 million I grants the Healey-Driscoll administration is awarding over $4.95 million in grants for information and technology projects, including 13 first-time recipients, through the Community Compact program. By investing in technology, these grants will drive innovation, support efficiency of local operations, save taxpayer money, and make it easier for residents to interact with their local government. 
Among the initiatives funded through this year’s grants are implementation of new budgeting software and e-permitting systems, website enhancements to improve accessibility, and support for records management system upgrades.
“Our administration is committed to partnering with municipal leaders to ensure that Massachusetts cities and towns have the innovative technology they need to serve their communities,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These grants enable our municipalities to be more cybersecure and safe, efficient, and responsive to residents’ needs.”
The Community Compact IT grant program supports the implementation of projects by funding capital needs such as technology infrastructure or software. Eligible costs include incidental or one-time expenses related to capital planning, design, installation, implementation, and initial training. Since Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16), the program has provided 549 grants, supporting over 300 municipalities/school districts projects and totaling $34.1 million.  
driving innovation
“The initiatives that won funding through our IT grant program this cycle will drive innovation and enable critical security improvements in communities from Cape Cod to the Berkshires,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Congratulations to the recipients and I look forward to seeing these important projects come to fruition.”
“Massachusetts’s financial health depends on our municipalities being equipped with the tools they need to operate safely and efficiently in the modern era,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz. “Our FY25 IT awards close funding gaps for key technology initiatives that will make our cities and towns more productive and prepared for the future.”  
 “The Community Compact IT Grant Program has significantly improved our communities by advancing state and local IT goals across Massachusetts,” said Technology Services and Security Secretary Jason Snyder. “Over the past year, I have seen firsthand how these grants enhance municipal government functions, security, and service delivery. Our strong state-municipal partnership continues to deliver value for municipal governments throughout Massachusetts.”
   

HANSON – Town officials want to take Town Meeting back to school – the regional high school, that is.
The Select Board discussed the possible need to switch the location of the annual and special Town Meetings to Whitman-Hanson Regional High School during its Tuesday, April 8 meeting.
“[Town Administrator Lisa] Green contacted me last week to ask, ‘Do you think we’d need, out of an abundance of caution, to have the annual and special Town Meetings at the high school,’ rather than planning overflow and all the other stuff that we deal with, which doesn’t tend to go super-well or super-smooth?” Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said in bringing up the topic.
Board member Ed Heal asked if the School District was open to it.
“I have spoken with the high school, yes,” Green said. She said the auditorium is an 845 individual capacity, the gymnasium is larger. Both are available that night and the high school has penciled us in.”
Green said they just have to fill in a form to relocate the meeting to the high school, and which area we’d like.
Board member Joe Weeks asked if the call for changing locations wasn’t a decision the town moderator has to file a motion with the courts to make the change in location, because the high school is listed as partially located in Whitman.
She said the paperwork is really a measure to protect the town.
“You don’t want the entire Town Meeting to be invalidated,” said Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff. “It’s just a smart move to do, and that’s what we’ve done in the past.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said that, ultimately be the moderator’s decision, but she made a motion that the board support the move and that Green work with the town moderator and Feodoroff work together to make it happen, which the board supported.
Library committee
The Hanson Public Library has been given the green light to add an article to the May 5 Town Meeting warrant to appoint a standing Building Committee to pursue that goal.
The Select Board had opened the Town Meeting warrant to address the issue, during the April 8 meeting. They also voted to add a bill for $1,250 received that day pertaining to the last fiscal year. The bill had been erroneously sent to the School District, where it “languished” around the district’s offices for about a year before being redirected to Hanson’s Highway Department, where it belonged, Green said
FitzGerald-Kemmett said she had spoken with Library Trustees Teresa Santalucia and Corinne Cafardo and Library Director Karen Stolfer regarding the “proposed, potential library project,” they are advocating.
Part of that effort needs to adress some “late-breaking moving parts that need to be addressed sooner rather than later,” FitzGerald-Kemmett informed the board, one of which is the creation of a short-term design and planning committee.
That short-term committee is aimed at assisting the library through the request for quotes (RFQ) process and down-selecting the people who will be working with them to develop plans for a site.
A standing committee would also be created via the Town Meeting warrant.
The Select Board is also being asked to support allocating some land for the purpose of enabling the future library project.
“Not all of [that] needs to be in the warrant, but the Library Building Committee does,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “The warrant is open for the purposes of voting that, and then I will close the warrant.
“Although we’ve added the standing committee to the upcoming Town Meeting warrant, they need a short-term committee to be created by us, and it will be the Library Design and Planning Committee,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. She noted that, at a recent Select Board meeting, it was discussed that a number of people were interested in serving on such a committee, and were appointeed.
Select Board member David George, who was named to the Building and Design Committee, asked if three acres of land adjacent to the building was going to the library.
“It’s not going to the library,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, She said the intent was to be able to demonstrate to an architect that the Select Board was OK with the land being considered as they work on their design.
“We won’t know [if it will be needed),” she said. “If it gets to the point where they really do need [any of] the three acres, then that will go to Town Meeting and it will be on the Town Meeting warrant, and everybody will vote on whether they want to give that land to the library. This is just a vote of support.”

The rain is here and it did delay some athletic action at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.
Here are the results from what was played in Week 2:
Girls’ lacrosse defeated Patriot League opponent, North Quincy, 17-11 on Thursday, April 3. The Panthers got out to an early lead 5-3 at the end of the first quarter and extended that lead to 13-4 at half.  It was 15-6 at the end of the third and the final was 17-11.
The defensive unit, anchored by Andrea Mulligan, who had multiple takeaways and also scored 1G in transition was stout. Camryn MacCallum, Madison Corrado, Kaori Peterson, Calleigh Mahoney and Maren Bowman all contributed.  Lily Roback had eight saves in goal. On the offensive end, Leah Cranshaw led the team in goals with five and Eva Nunes had another solid day with three goals and three assists. Other scorers were Lily O’Donnell (three goals), Lillie MacKinnon (two goals, two assists), Aoife Flynn (two goals), Maeve Gavin (goal) and Abby Nash (two assists). 
Boys’ lacrosse fell to Quincy/North Quincy, 14-9, on Wednesday, April 2. Jackson Alexander, Quinn Frazier, Finn Olszewski and Dominic Visocchi all had two goals in the loss. 
Baseball defeated Bridgewater-Raynham, 5-2, on Tuesday, April 1, to open the season. Tommy Crowley got the win going 6.0 innings giving up just two runs while striking out eight. The offense was lead by two hits from sophomore Caine Allen, who had a key two-out RBI double in the sixth inning to seal the victory for the Panthers. 
Whitman-Hanson Varsity Softball fell 10-5 to Duxbury on Monday, April 7 at Duxbury High School. Duxbury took the lead in the second with a sacrifice fly, and Whitman-Hanson briefly led 3-2 after a third-inning error and Hagerty’s single.
Duxbury exploded for six runs in the fourth, including a three-run home run by Grimaldi, to take an 8-3 lead. Duxbury held on for the win. Elizabeth McNaught took the loss for Whitman-Hanson. Hagerty went 3-for-4 and drove in one run, while Duxbury’s Grimaldi led with four RBIs and three hits.

HANSON – The Select Board, on Tuesday, March 25 conducted a brief review the annual Town Meeting warrant, with more detailed run-through to come in April.
“Warrant is always a work in progress,” said Town Administrator Lisa Green.
Article 38, stricken by a vote of the board, was an example or that, she explained. The article would have permitted a resident who owns number of parcels of property on Pine Street to purchase another parcel from the town.
Green had consulted Town Counsel regarding a small parcel, identified as Parcel A66, that he would like to purchase from the town.
“According to the assessor, the parcel is valued at $4,500, she said. “It’s a very small piece of property.”
Green consulted town counsel, who indicated “all that is needed is for Town Meeting approval to allow the board to sell that piece of property to the gentleman, who already owns pretty much all the parcels that surround that property,” Green said.
Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said she wanted to be clear on what Green was saying.
“If I want to offer to buy some random parcel of land from the town, I can just make an offer to the town and, if we put it on the Town Meeting warrant, you will let me buy that piece of property?” she asked.
Green said the property’s value needs to be assessed first. Property valued at $35,000 or more must go through a bidding process. Property valued at less than $35,000 can be placed on a Town Meeting warrant to allow the Select Board to sell it, and could negotiate with a potential buyer.
“Because of the location of this parcel of land – because it’s located within the parcels that the gentleman already owns – and the value is very low … it just makes sense to put it in the Town Meeting warrant to allow the Select Board to enter into a sale of the property with that gentleman,” Green said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett also asked Green whether she had checked with the town planner about whether such a sale “would allow this person to do something with that property that they’re not allowed to do now?”
Green said if he does plan to to anything with the property, he would still have to follow zoning regulations.
“So, how do we know it would be worth only $4,500?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked. “If it makes his other pieces of property more valuable, then why would we settle at $4,500? … Our job is to do what’s in the best interests of our town of Hanson – not this gentleman on Pine Street, so I want to make sure that we’re doing that.”
Board member Joe Weeks asked how the value of the land is determined.
Green said town counsel advised that the value of a property is determined by the town’s assessor.
“But we know that the assessor valuation is always lower than what it actually brings at the market,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I have to be honest with you, my spider senses are tingling. I don’t even know who this is, I don’t know where the property is, I have no sense whatsoever of any of this. Why are we choosing to sell it?”
Basically, he had been at the assessor’s office to determine the parcel’s value, according to Green, and stopped in at the Select Board’s office to inquire about buying it.
FitzGerald-Kemmett advocated holding off until the matter could be investigated further.
Board memer Ed Heal agreed.
“I don’t think this is something that I think needs to be added to the Town Meeting warrant, and I don’t think we need to be deciding this in May,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I would like a lot more conversation about this.”
She said if the town sells the property, it should be done the way they’ve done every other poperty sale – at auction.
Weeks argued that such a break with past practice would end up circumventing an entire established processs.
“It’s not the dollars, it’s procedure,” he said.