WHITMAN — We all see the effects of global inflation stemming from the economic strains of the pandemic — now imagine trying to cope with those increased costs while you have to pay for gas for those extra trips into Boston on top of medical costs, when your child has cancer.

Cops for Kids With Cancer, a 501 (c) 3 organization helping parents in just such circumstances, knows what families are going through and provide financial gifts to families facing the sometimes crippling financial effects of their child’s cancer diagnosis.

Some of the group’s members have been there themselves.

MCPCA Director of Law Enforcement Chief Thomas Grenham is one of them. Serving on the Board of Directors, he is a retired state trooper and the proud father of a now healthy and lovely teenaged daughter, who was diagnosed with leukemia as a small child. 

He brought comfort to a the Eagan family of Whitman last month in the form of a $5,000 check from Cops For Kids With Cancer, and a swag bag of gifts for their son Jared, who was diagnosed on Oct. 26, 2021 with T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia – a very aggressive cancer.

“We’re very early on right now,” mom Charyn Eagan said. “We still have a year and five months of treatment to go.”

It’s a form of cancer that requires a long-term treatment plan, she said, because it’s a blood cancer and it likes to “hide out” in different spots in the body. Early on, the amount of cancer Jared had and missing the threshold for continuing with one course of treatment including an additional round of intense chemotherapy, required him to stay in-patient at Children’s, so he has not been able to be in school since his diagnosis, according to Charyn. 

The extent of his fatigue from the cancer has meant even remote classes to keep up with school were not feasible.

“We pretty much missed this whole year,” Charyn said. “I have to be grateful that we got through this phase, things are looking good [and] he’s responding really well to treatment.”

But, for months they’ve had to contend with the nausea, fatigue, neuropathy, which has left him unable to walk at times.

“Still, you’d never know he was sick, because he’s an outgoing, spunky kid,” she said.

What does the Cops for Kids with Cancer donation mean for the family?

“My, god,” Charyn said. “Relief. I can’t even tell you how much we’ve been suffering – not financially suffering, but it’s been tough.”

Jared, 13, is a fan of fishing who has caught some sizeable bass in Hobart’s Pond, 

“I have a picture [from when] someone caught a 10.5-pound large-mouth bass,” he said, noting that the fisherman let it go so another angler could have a crack at it.

“He has these tackle boxes with all this colorful stuff in there and he knows what they’re all for, what they all are,” his mom said.

His dad Angelo said Walmart in Abington has given Jared fishing equipment, as well.

“It’s really good, because he goes fishing and some kids don’t even have gear, so they’ll use his stuff,” Charyn said.

The community has also been supportive.

“I already knew Whitman was a great place to live,” she said. But I felt that in my heart and soul when this happened to us.”

Charyn and Angelo both grew up in Boston, but have been slowly heading away from the city, where they both still work. Angelo works for the Air Force and Charyn is an engineer. They built a house in Whitman and say it was the best decision they ever made.

The checks, funded largely through the organization’s participation in the Boston Marathon as an annual fundraiser, as well as community fundraisers, police department project and individual website donations, helps families in any way they need it.

“With support from police departments like Whitman and others and we’re able to help families,” said Grenham, who has been on the board of directors for four years. “My daughter had leukemia as a kid and she’s 19 now and in college.”

Those costs could be non-covered treatment or medications, travel and parking for hospital stays, eating away from home, babysitters, possible home alterations — whatever they need — especially when one parent has to quit work to be available for their child at all times.

Every month the charity divides $40,000 between eight families. The $5,000 they each receive comes with no strings attached.

“You do what you want with it, whatever makes your life easier,” Grenham said. “It’s our pleasure to help you.”

“You’ve definitely made an impact on our life and I can’t thank you enough,” MOM said. “It’s awesome, but it’s kind of sad at the same time that you have to do this for families. … The only thing we can do is give back.”

Jared’s sister Gabby, who will be a senior at WHRHS in the fall, isthinking about Bridgewater State for college, but is unsure what she wants to study.

“She doesn’t need to know,” her dad said, adding there’s plenty of time for her to figure that out..

The charity, which started out in 2002 as a golf rivalry between a Boston Police team and one from Ireland’s Garda Siochana, or national police service. They decided the event should raise funds to donate to a local hospital to help children with cancer. It is now run by a 20-plus person volunteer Board of Directors, mostly active and retired police officers and friends of law enforcement.

While the funds initially went entirely to children’s oncology units at MGH and the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, a portion of the funds they raise now goes directly to families.

“We can all help,” the website copsforkidswithcancer.org states. “Our donations have, for example, saved a family from eviction, helped pay down overwhelming bills and paid to repair the only vehicle used to travel back and forth to the hospital. The situations are heartbreaking and all too real.”

Less than a month after her inspirational graduation speech earned her a standing ovation, W-H Class of 2022 Valedictorian April Keyes appeared at the State House for recognition at a formal legislative session of the House and Senate last week.

Keyes, who has a speech impediment, which causes her to stutter, earned a standing ovation at the June 3 commencement ceremony. She is also a talented athlete who was captain of her track and field team and a member of the National Honor Society. 

“After watching her speech, our legislative delegation, including Rep. Alyson Sullivan [R-Abington], Sen. Mike Brady [D-Brockton] and myself, decided we wanted to recognize April for showing such determination and courage,” state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, said. “We invited her and her family to the State House to be recognized at a formal legislative session of the House and the Senate. We were also able to pay a visit to Gov. Baker’s office. 

It was truly a delight to get to know April and be able to thank for being a role model for all of us.” 

As a younger student, she often feared speaking out in class, or even raising her hand on account of her stutter, Keyes had noted in her speech. She joked that had her younger self known she’d be up at the podium giving this big speech, “I would have passed out!” she said.

And yet April overcame her fears to give a remarkable speech, talking openly about overcoming obstacles and being one’s true self. 

“As her principal recounted, April is not afraid to put herself in an uncomfortable place, challenge popular beliefs, make mistakes or miserably fail. She can navigate through those ups and downs with confidence and an understanding that with patience, effort and a positive attitude, anything is possible,” Cutler said.

“Thank you to WHRHS Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak and W-H Principal Dr. Christopher Jones for joining with us and helping to make this wonderful visit possible,” he said. “April will be attending Harvard this fall and no doubt will continue to do remarkable things!”

You may watch her graduation speech here:

Szymaniak had announced the State House visit during a Wednesday, June 22 School Committee meeting.

On the evening when the School Committee was entering into an pre-meeting executive session Wednesday, June 22, Chair Christopher Howard offered residents who attended for a public comment period the opportunity to speak, even though it was not included on the posted agenda.

Stephanie Levesque of 113 Temple St., in Whitman, a former special educator who now works at Lesley University in Cambridge, with children in the school district, requested that a working group be established to consider the high school start time.

“It helps all of us work and serve the adolescents,” she said. “We know so much now, people in the community have already shared some research, some numbers, some data, so I know that’s a continuing conversation.”

While she echoed the data on adolescent brain development at sleep needs, she allowed that it wouldn’t be a simple fix.

“I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor that a working group could do a task analysis and look at carefully and see if we can come to a resolution to help balance what we know is best for children’s development and respond to the needs of the community,” she said.

Jessica Cook of 48 Hogg Memorial Drive spoke on the same topic.

“I also have children in the district, an incoming freshman and a little one over at the Conley,” she said, noting she is also a special educator in another district.

“I’m requesting that the School Committee choose to make this one of the topics they discuss over the summer during and their workshops,” Cook said. “When you look into it, all of the schools – all of the schools in our area – all of them [have later start times].”

She said Duxbury has an 8:20 a.m. Start time, Scituate starts the day at 8:15 and Quincy, the district where she works has a 7:45 a.m. Start time at the high school level. She noted that with the early W-H start time, some student-athletes are putting in 14-hour days before they start their homework.

“If we can buy them an hour, and it’s possible to look into … logistics, and I know that there’’s tons to go along with it, but I would just ask that you consider it.”

Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said the key to changing start times is aligning all the schools.

“It’s not just the high school,” he said during a discussion with school administrators on possibile topics for strategic plan working group discussions. “It’s moving our elementaries to a similar start time – our three elementaries are different. Our middle schools are the same. All the principals agree that should be a focus for us next year.”

The executive session scheduled was to discuss strategy regarding collective bargaining or litigation and an open meeting could be detrimental to the committee’s position, regarding the WHEA Unit A teacher contract.

On returning to open session, the committee voted to ratify the Unit A contract.

WHEA representative Kevin Kafka thanked Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak for the opportunity to have open dialog during the negotiation process.

Howard said the contract will be posted on the district website for public access.

The committee also discussed topics to be included in it’s strategic plan workshops over the summer, including STEM and preparing students for the post-high school world in the 21st century, related arts, early childhood education initiative, diversity, social-emotional learning, substance abuse and student support, school start times, safety and security, professional licensing programs like CNA such as offered at South Shore Tech, early college courses, and combining some of the ideas where possible.  

The committee will discuss the list further at it’s July 6 meeting and welcomes public feedback.

HANSON – There may not be a lot of Americans hoping they will be sent to Ukraine anytime soon, but that’s just what the Rev. Dr. Peter Smith of the First Congregational Church in Hanson is hoping will happen for him.

“Whether I get to go there or not, we’re trying to support this need because it’s a long-term need, and the people it serves are very often moms and children, the elderly,” Smith said, noting that when the invasion happened he couldn’t help thinking about friends he had in Ukraine. Then a notice about the Samaritan’s Purse mission popped up in his Facebook feed. 

Smith has been hired by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian Relief agency, to serve as a part of their Disaster Assistance Relief Team, which works in partnership with the United Nations High Council on Refugees (UNHCR) to coordinate the work of the several relief agencies responding to international crises.

If Smith is sent, he envisions a three-to-four week deployment with the deacons taking over Sunday services while he is gone, treating it as a kind of sabbatical.

To fund his trip and the greater mission of Samaritan’s Purse, the church is hosting a chicken dinner fundraiser on Saturday, June 25. While the dinner is sold out, a multi-media presentation will also be held so those interested in making tax-deductible donations in support of Ukraine relief work may learn more – and enjoy dessert. More information is also available on the church’s website fcchanson.org/donate-2/. It will also help what Smith terms “donor fatigue” from a long-term crisis where donations are needed.

He said he knows from his own experience that the Ukrainian people are incredibly stalwart.

“They have a very extensive security system as far as creating a network of safety around us,” Smith said, noting that volunteers must also pass a security check, including a CORI check, a number of references and drug testing.

A number of specialty occupations from medical personnel to construction, meals and security specialists.

In Ukraine, Samaritan’s purse is operating an Emergency Medical Field Hospital, several mobile medical units, and an extensive distribution chain for both food and non-food items. Transitional Housing as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities wherever necessary will be provided by the organization. While about 5 million people have left the country, about 6 million are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine.

“That’s the main thing,” Smith said. “If they’re not in their home, and may not be in their home city, how do you take care of them, how do you help them get back?”

He said the call had gone out for people with skills or adaptable skills and, while he’s been a pastor for 37 years, he has managed programs and projects all through that time.

“They wanted people who have international travel experience and are comfortable traveling on their own,” he said, noting that as a backpacker for 30 years, he is also accustomed to living rough. They are also sending people who are comfortable sharing their faith.

While Ukraine is one of the locations currently being staffed, Smith acknowledges he could be sent anywhere, but he is hoping he would be sent to Ukraine. 

“I still have names and addresses of the teachers I worked with while I was there,” he said recently. “The Trustees and Deacons of the church were very open to my using scheduled sabbatical time to be part of a response to the greatest refugee crisis since World War II.”

Still, he said his job with Samaritan’s purse is to be a “good soldier” and go where he is sent. He’ll know where that is soon — and when the word of his posting comes, he’ll have less than 48 hours to be on his way.

Other possible locations for a deployment in charity are to the Caribbean, as hurricane season has begun; Mosul in the wake of the Isis insurgency; or Nepal, which is still recovering from a recent earthquake. He has already done work with Samaritan’s purse with a half-dozen countries in the past, including Tanzania in 2006 and a previous mission in Ukraine.

“They look at the skills [of a volunteer] and see what they need,” Smith said. “This is long-term,” he said of the Samaritan’s Purse Ukraine mission, which also demands flexibility. “We don’t know how long it’s going to be, but the crisis really is continuing to happen. … What you may think you’re going for you’ve got to be able to change to what the real needs are.”

Smith said volunteering for the mission was not easy, but he has been on Samaritan’s Purse assignments before and said the work is worth the screening and training. Those applying who are approved for training are briefed on all the organization’s projects, of which the most well-known is Operation Christmas Child, in which churches taking part pack shoe boxes of gifts for children in need around the world. Smith said the charity does 10.5 million of them each year.

“But that also provides an infrastructure,” he said. “Part of the training we had was how to get materials at the right price, at the right place, at the right time and how to distribute them in an orderly fashion, without mob mentality and being vulnerable to thievery.”

Heavy tarps for temporary shelters, blankets, jerry cans (used to transport water or gasoline) and personal hygiene kits are being supplied.

“When they go to Ukraine, the internally displaced persons are often sleeping on church floors,” he said, noting Samaritan’s Purse also provides meals, either using church kitchens or other facilities. “[They] send over a DC-8 every week filled with supplies.”

He also credits Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen with success in setting up an organization based on a great idea without  lot or bureaucracy to fulfill it’s mission of feeding people in disaster areas. World Central Kitchen is also in Ukraine.

“Those are probably the two fastest places to get meals into people — Samaritan’s Purse and World Central Kitchen,” Smith said. “They’ve got a very good reputation.”

Smith said the briefings provided during the training session from which he has just returned indicated Ukraine is much more intact than a Westerner might get the impression of.

“While we certainly are serving in Jesus’ name and make no bones about it, we are obligated to — and are happy to — serve impartially,” he said of the situation, which also demands political neutrality. 

While it is not the main focus of the effort in Ukraine right now, Smith said that, in the wake of alleged war crimes on the part of Russian soldiers — including murder and rapes — spiritual comfort may also be provided.

“That’s particularly happening at the hospitals,” he said, noting that emergency field hospitals are faced with the need to treat Russian soldiers when they come in.

“They [Samaritan’s Purse workers] are very much ‘How are you doing, beyond your body, how are you doing? Have you had much loss and where are you finding strength through this time?’ If somebody has faith, as many of them do, they are encouraged to offer a prayer.”

Samaritan’s Purse also provides post-deployment counselors for their people to help process the trauma they may have witnessed, much as the American Red Cross now does for its disaster volunteers. Samaritan’s Purse also follows up with people six months later to ensure they are readjusting to their regular life.

WHITMAN —Police Chief Timothy Hanlon and Whitman-Hanson Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported Monday, June 6, that police had responded to an elementary school in town today after a student found a bullet casing on school grounds.

The item, found in the grass of the recess yard, was determined to be a small, rusted, broken piece of a .32 caliber bullet casing. The casing appeared to be old.

“I’m not sure how long it had been there,” Hanlon said Tuesday, based on the condition of the fragment. He added that .32 caliber weapons are not common these days.

Whitman Police and Whitman-Hanson administrators consulted and decided that there was no need to disrupt the school day as a result, however Whitman Police continue to investigate. Police spoke to the student who found the casing, as well as the student’s parent, as part of their investigation.

“I commend the student for doing the right thing by bringing the casing to an adult immediately and administrators and officers for efficiently working together to determine that there was no threat present as a result,” Hanlon said.

On Monday, June 6, at approximately 1:40 p.m., Whitman-Hanson School Resource Officer Kevin Harrington received a call from Duval Assistant Principal Dan Mulhall, who informed him that a student at the John H. Duval Elementary School had found a bullet casing on the playground moments earlier.

“We have extra resources on hand in addition to officer Harrington regularly during arrivals and dismissals,” Hanlon noted.

The student who found the casing showed it to Assistant Principal Mulhall, who immediately notified Principal Darlene Foley and contacted SRO Harrington. Whitman Police quickly arrived on scene, as did members of Whitman-Hanson administration.

Residents posted comments on the department’s Facebook page commending it for response to the incident.

“See something, say something really works,” one resident wrote in offering kudos for a “great job by all involved.”

“Thanks for your good judgment here,” another resident posted. “Though it’s never good to find one near a school, it wasn’t recent. Hope they have cameras on the perimeters to keep an eye on things.

Others thanked the department and Duval staff for the quick response and for handling the situation appropriately.

By Beth Stafford

Harvard Street, Whitman

My name is Beth Stafford. I was appointed to school committee last summer to fill a seat after a resignation. Now I am running for a full term on the committee.

Education is very important to me. I taught at Maquan Elementary School 1973-1977, School Committee 1993-1995 and a full time teacher at Whitman Middle School, retiring in 2019.  I was also on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Teachers Association for eight years.

There are always new advancements in education and we will need to keep up with them to insure that all our students have the best education.  We finally were able to pass full day kindergarten in the district, so now we need to look at other deficiencies in the system such as middle school foreign language, improvements and expansion of the arts, expanded pre-school among others. We need to start finding ways to accomplish these while being fiscally responsible.

As a former selectman, I know how important it is to work with the town on all budgetary concerns to do what is best for all involved. Cooperation and transparency are extremely essential to keep education moving forward.

My husband and I are graduates of Whitman-Hanson as are our three sons.  We now have three grandchildren in the district, a Senior, a seventh grader with special needs and a first grader.

I will work with administration to continue to make sure that all students become independent thinkers and to prepare them for life after their school years.

Please vote for me at the town election on May 21.  Thank you.