The town of Hanson is seeking volunteers who may be interested in volunteering at a COVID-19 vaccination site.

If you are a doctor, nurse or EMT and you are interested, please email the Hanson Board of Health at [email protected] with your name, telephone number and e-mail address. Your name will be added to a list of volunteers. If vaccine becomes available to be distributed to residents you will be contacted to verify licensing and provided additional information.

The School Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 13, heard a lengthy COVID update from Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak, reflecting 41 positive tests among students, seven staff members and two coaches since school resumed after the holiday break.

There have been 35 staff members and 163 students — including both varsity and JV girl’s basketball teams, the girls’ varsity hockey team, the Hanson’s grade seven and eight girls’ travel basketball team and eighth-grade boys’ travel basketball teams — under quarantine.

Four district special education classrooms have also had to be quarantined.

“We are not seeing positive transmission, necessarily, within our student body,” Szymaniak said. “We have occasional cases of kids being exposed and then with close contacts, even through an extracurricular activity [or] an athletic activity, but not necessarily in our classrooms.”

The subseparate special ed classes were the exception. Szymaniak said the high school had been placed on full remote this month because of a shortage of substitutes to cover for teachers who were ill, quarantined, for other medical appointments or on long-term leave.

Sarah Wall, a Whitman resident and mother of 9-year-old twin boys and 7-year-old twin girls who attend Conley School and was hired during the past school year as a substitute teacher, spoke to the committee during the public forum about the lack of substitutes. She had been an elementary-grade teacher in Newton schools for several years.

Wall said she believes that low wages for substitutes is at the root of why there is a shortage. As she spoke, she was receiving a call to sub, she told the committee, noting that higher wages would lead to a larger more qualified pool of substitutes.

Szymaniak said the district’s goal has been to avoid full remote days as much as possible since August.

Students have been voicing concerns about the technical difficulties and distractions of hybrid learning.

“Coming from a student point of view, hybrid learning is very difficult,” student representative Anna Flynn told the Committee. “It is challenging to stay focused and understand material when there is so many distractions.”

Among the distractions students face are WiFi cut-outs, family members also at home, cell phones and electronic devices. She said her peers have told her that fully remote days are less stressful because everyone is online and teachers are focused on everyone at once in front of them on the computer screen.

“The longer lunch on all-remote days helps students stay focused when they go back to academic classes,” she said. “It has been widely known throughout the student body [has given] negative feedback on the topic of going back to school [on a hybrid schedule Jan. 14] many feel we should be fully remote for a longer period of time due to the concerns about the COVID-19 virus.”

Athletic Director Bob Rodgers admitted that the sports program has faced its struggles during the winter season.

“We’ve advocated that the Patriot League allow our teams to practice, but not play games, and move our games to the Feb. 22 Fall II season,” Rodgers said. He had hopes it could be done at least for the girls because there would be no other sports conflict, and argued the abrupt cancellation of games was upsetting to students.

“I’m a big advocate of the Patriot League bubble,” he said. “I don’t anticipate that we’ll play outside the bubble, however there are some teams in our league — because there are so many teams shut down.”

W-H shuts a team down if even one positive case is found and other team members are asked to get tested, Rodgers said, but other schools have other protocols.

Szymaniak said school officials have also been learning about the pool testing being advocated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). His concerns include the number of people needed to administer the program and he is not certain if W-H will use it. Another concern is whether the communities are large enough to make pool testing an accurate tool.

Szymaniak is also concerned with another message sent by pool tests.

“What we don’t want to do is say, ‘There might be a test for you to come to school and test — we have a pool test — go to school if you have symptoms, and they’ll take care of you,’” he said. “Our parents have been doing an awesome job of contacting the school [when their children have symptoms] and it’s worked out relatively well.”

Staffing has been the main issue when asymptomatic students or staff receive positive tests following close contact with people outside school.

Like Whitman, which is buying rapid tests for staff only at this point, through the fire department for town employees, Szymaniak is looking into costs.

“That’s probably what we are going to do,” he said.

Pool tests are intended for both students and staff, which raises a question about manpower for conducting them.

If a person in the pool tests positive, a backup antigen test would be conducted, but if an additional test is needed due to no positive tests in an antigen follow-up to a positive result in a pool test, Szymaniak is not certain who would have to foot that bill.

Committee member Hillary Kniffen said cost considerations are not compatible with equal access issues surrounding public education.

“Testing is important and it shouldn’t be [that if] you can pay for it, you can get it,” she said.

Szymaniak suggested the Committee send a letter to state officials expressing that concern.

Member Dan Cullity asked about the vaccination plan, but Szymaniak said the state has provided no guidance about teachers yet, but unofficially “on the street” he has heard it may be February or March. It appears, however, that school nurses have been moved up into the first responder category.

Szymaniak said the district is working on the plan for the eventual return to school this academic year if it is safe as well as the plan for returning to school in September.

“April 1 is not a date that is set in stone,” he said. “There’s a lot of what-ifs in there, a lot could change.”

The Town of Hanson and the Accu Reference Medical lab will host a COVID-19 drive-through testing clinic on Saturday, Dec. 19 and Sunday, Dec. 20 at the Hanson Middle School, 111 Liberty Street from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Everyone (non-Hanson residents, also) are welcome to participate whether they have health insurance or not. All participants must be at least 1 year old.

There is no cost for those participants who are uninsured. The contractor is receiving money from the federal government to cover the costs of participants who are uninsured.

Please bring your health insurance card (if applicable) and a government picture identification card such as a driver’s license along with a completed registration form under the Board of Health tab at hanson-ma.gov. If you could make a copy of your license and health insurance card and bring it with the completed registration form it would expedite the process.

You do not need to have your physician sign the form.

All participants must remain in their vehicles at all times (this testing is available for drive-ups only; no walk-ins). All participants should leave adequate time to wait in line for testing and the length of the wait time depends on the number of participants. No appointments will be made.

The test will be the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)/Molecular test (the nasal swab test). Results will be available within 48-72 hours. Results will be obtained by accessing Accu Reference Medical Lab patient portal at https://results.accureference.com/patientportal/index.html – If you do not have access to the web site, you can call 877-733-4522.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will be notified about all positive and negative test results. The Town will receive information about positive test results for residents of Hanson through the State’s MAVEN system.

HANSON — The Hanson Police Department and the Hanson Police Relief Association hosted its first ever ‘Stuff-A-Cruiser’ toy drive to benefit Toys for Tots Dec. 6 and will continue to house a Toys for Tots donation bin until Dec. 13 for those who could not make the stuff-a-cruiser event.

Bring new, unwrapped toys to the Hanson Police Headquarters, 775 Main St.

“We are excited to be able to host this toy drive in support of the Marine Toys for Tots mission of helping each and every child have a toy for the holidays,” Chief Miksch said. “With the ongoing pandemic, it is more important than ever to help out those less fortunate and in need. We encourage anyone who is able to help to attend the event on Dec. 6 or stop by the station and drop off their present in person.”

Whitman & Hanson Dollars for Scholars will be processing orders for gift cards this holiday season as part of its fall fundraising drive. Interested individuals will be able to order gift cards from over 300 nationwide merchants. DFS will receive a commission for selling the cards while the recipient will receive the full face value of the gift card.

Due to COVID-19, DFS will not be holding an “in person” drop off or pickup location. If you would like to place an order, please call Mike at 781-252-9683 or visit the DFS website for an order form and a list of participating merchants. Order packets will be dropped off at interested individuals’ homes. Completed orders will also be picked up or may be dropped off in the locked box outside Whitman Town Hall.

Orders should be submitted on or before Tuesday, Dec. 8. All gift cards ordered are expected to be delivered by Dec. 12. Payments should be in the form of a check or cash.

Currently, DFS places gift card orders every other month for its board members. Members use the gift cards as gifts for family or friends or toward everyday purchases such as groceries, gas, prescriptions, and restaurants.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit graduating high school seniors in the form of scholarships at the end of the school year. For more information on the gift card ordering program, please contact Mike Ganshirt at 781-252-9683 or visit WhitmanAndHanson.DollarsforScholars.org.

The School Committee voted 5 to 4 — members Fred Small, Dan Cullity, Mike Jones and Chairman Bob Hayes — with member Christopher Howard abstaining, to support a Massachusetts Association of School Committee resolution on inclusion and diversity in school curriculum.

Those opposed expressed concern over what was described as the “narrow language” of the resolution.

The committee also voted 8-2 against supporting a resolution permitting 16-year olds to vote in municipal elections. Members Dawn Byers and David Forth voted to support it.

Byers, who was to be the W-H delegate to the MASC meeting held via Zoom Saturday, Nov. 7, was urged to speak to the concerns of the committee members who opposed or abstained on the matter. Amendments are possible from the floor during the meeting.

Committee member David Forth said the window for amending resolutions has closed. Small expressed concern that doing so could be in violation of the open meeting law.

“I just think it’s unfortunate that this congregation of people — it’ll be on record that W-H School Committee did not support this initiative,” Vice Chairman Christopher Scriven said of the inclusion and diversity resolution. “I think that speaks to something.”

“My fear is, you support something like this and you have people that are forgotten in the wind,” Small argued. “There should be no place for racism in our society today. Period. We should do everything we can to give a diverse, proper education to every student.”

Byers asked those voting against or abstaining to forward her a summation of their objections and she would present them.

A paragraph urging a curriculum teaching the history of racial oppression and works by Black authors and works from diverse perspectives, drew the most criticism from opponents.

“I think it is too narrow of a picture,” Small said. “I think it, while definitively there is no place for racism in our schools or in our lives, I feel it’s very narrow and doesn’t address the racism that many different classes face and I can’t support a resolution that would be so narrow in scope.”

Small instead argued that races to be included in instruction be specified.

He cited the Japanese internment camps during WWII, and anti-semitism, among other issues that are not addressed.

“All we’re trying to do is support this effort,” Scriven said, noting he has no problem with the resolution and believes the schools should do everything in their power to hear all voices.

“If this is the start of what you’re looking for, Mr. Small, to include more voices, then I feel we should absolutely support it,” Scriven said.

Member Hillary Kniffen said language of inclusion and diversity within the resolution addresses the populations Small spoke about.

“I don’t see this as being singular, I see this as equity, diversity,” she said agreeing.

Byers read part of the resolution — which concludes with “all lives cannot matter until Black lives matter” — into the record.

Small said that language should be changed to reflect that all lives matter.

Howard said there would likely be broadly supported, but said there is some “challenging language” within it. He noted that he found difficulty with the term “systemic.”

Cullity agreed.

“When you start specifying one race over all other races, that’s racism in itself,” Cullity said.

“Say we all had a word that we didn’t like … do we get the spirit of this?” Scriven asked. “Is this even binding or is this just to show that we’re conscious of these particular issues?”

Scriven said that, as far as he could tell it is a non-binding document.

“Are we going to nit-pick it or are we going to say this is a pretty good idea?” he said.

Howard noted that abstention was always an option.

“Someone took the time to write these words, and these words do matter to me,” he said, noting the MASC will use the resolutions to lobby on Beacon Hill.

“If we vote in the negative, or abstain, I feel as though we miss an opportunity for the bigger issue at hand,” Scriven argued. “I think it’s incumbent upon us to support any efforts toward diversity and equality.”

He said that, while it’s not necessarily going to be perfect, the district would be on the right side of the issue.

Kniffen said the purpose of public schools is inclusion and that should be focused on.

Voting age

Forth supported the 16-year-old vote resolution, saying the youth vote in the 2020 election was at record numbers, according to Harvard Institute of Politics exit polling.

“It seems to be a growing trend and more people are being invested in civics education, they’re trying to understand what’s going on politically,” he said, noting he registered to vote at 16. “I do feel there would be more engagement, especially at the local level.”

Forth argued the measure, if successful, could inspire more young people to become invested in local government.

Kniffen said it would align with the civics course work that students in would have to take in 2022, but as someone who interacts with 16-year-olds on a daily basis, she said she has a lot of concerns.

“There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with placing a vote and I just don’t know if a 16-year-old has that maturity,” she said, stressing that she was not making a blanket statement.

Small said that, since people cannot enter into a binding contract at 16, or buy a vehicle or obtain a credit card.

“There are many things you are not allowed to do as a 16-year-old,” he said. “There are federal rules and regulations that are imposed on [them], and I just don’t know if it will be the wisest thing. A vote is a privilege, a vote is a precious thing.”

The U.S. Constitution, however, describes “the right to vote” in Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, and imposes a penalty on states that abridge or deny “the right to vote.” Exceptions outlined in the document pertain to questions of citizenship or criminal conviction, which some states have challenged recently.

Small also questioned the capacity of people that young to take voting seriously or fully understand all the ramifications of it. He also said schools need to do a better job of teaching civics.

Resolutions opposing MCAS and high-stakes testing; supporting state funding for COVID-19; supporting federal stimulus spending for K-12 education; retention of Medicaid revenue; limiting U.S. funding for private schools during COVID; membership of a school committee member on the DESE board; providing equity for LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff where gender identity is not listed as a protected class in federal laws; and monitoring of student attendance during the pandemic were supported unanimously.

HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 27, voted once again to adopt a uniform residential/commercial-industrial tax rate for fiscal 2021 during the annual tax classification public hearing. Assessor Lee Gamache said her board had recommended such a move again this year.

“We have so little commercial property, that we don’t want to put the extra burden on them,” she said, noting property values continue to rise. “Everything is certified by the Department of Revenue.”

Gamache said residential property values increased by 4 percent for the average single family home, while condominiums were up about 4.3 percent and commercial-industrial properties were up about 3.2 percent.

The annual tax on an average one-family home — valued at $368,000 — would be $5,556.80 at a rate of $15.10 per $1,000 in valuation. The annual tax on the average commercial property — valued at $513,000 — would be $7,746.30 at the same rate.

Selectmen also voted, as they do every year, against invoke residential tax exemptions, usually used by communities with high numbers of residential rental properties.

The board also voted against small commercial exemptions, which are not guaranteed to go to small businesses, but rather go to the property owner. Home businesses do not qualify for the exemption. Assessors recommended against each of the exemptions.

Gamache also reported that the excess levy capacity for fiscal 2021 was at $88,310.60.

Town Accountant Todd Hassett provided his quarterly update to the board for the first quarter of the fiscal year.

“We have had some pretty strong permit activity this year with the Building Department, so that may be a nice sign for not only permit revenue going forward, but also new growth, new tax revenues a year or so out from now,” he said. Car sales indicators, expected in February, will provide a better picture of fiscal 2022.

The Recreation Enterprise fund, meanwhile, where several programs had to be deferred or canceled at Camp Kiwanee and some reimbursements made or income pushed off to a future date due to the pandemic, estimated revenues have been reduced from $219,000 to $142,000 this year.

“This is probably the area of most concern from a financial standpoint,” Hassett said.

HANOVER — South Shore Tech Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey told his School Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 21 that, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 safety guidelines, having students in their school community really matters.

There have been some positive tests among the school population, but Hickey said he is pleased with parent cooperation. They are letting the school know if their children are showing symptoms after possibly contracting COVID outside of school.

Like W-H Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak, Hickey said he is looking for more guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on how any decisions on possible future lockdowns might be handled.

“We all know about the COVID map that gets published, usually Wednesday nights or overnight into Thursday, and we know about the red, yellow and green coding of towns,” he said. “Last week, a lot of towns in the Route 3 corridor moved to red.”

He said the state wants schools to think in terms of three-week trends.

“There is no immediate trigger such as, if red, something — like close or go all remote,” Hickey said. “We need to look at the data for at least two more Wednesdays and see what those numbers look like.”

The state would then provide guidance on what might have triggered a red designation within a community.

Senior horticulture student Faith Ryan of Scituate was introduced as the student council representative and also gave an idea of how COVID is affecting the school.

“I think you’re going to hear a different kind of report tonight from her,” Principal Mark Aubrey said. “I think she’s going to speak honestly to you folks about what she’s exploring and what the kids are feeling with the hybrid model.”

Her report was a frank look at the challenges vocational education faces in an online setting.

“I feel like a lot of kids are struggling, because it’s hard to learn online for a lot of kids here,” Ryan said. “As you know, this is a vocational school. Most of us are hands-on learners.”

She said she has spoken to several seniors who are struggling with their grades as a result of not having the access to extra help they would receive at the school.

“It’s preventing a lot of kids from going out on co-op because they’re not getting the proper grades they need because they’re not getting the help they need,” Ryan said. She is not currently on a cooperative education assignment.

Most of the hands-on shops such as HVAC and carpentry are in school all five days each week, but shops such as graphics and allied health are only in the school two days.

“We are educating students on how they get their extra help,” Aubrey said. Teachers are available before and after school, but he said it has to be scheduled, a process that is being worked out.

Clubs and activities are also meeting online, as are regional SkillsUSA competitions.

WHITMAN — Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 20 approved a Dollars For Scholars request to hold a new kind of holiday fundraiser — Decorate For Dollars — a holiday tree-lighting in Whitman Park.

“We’re trying to make something exciting for the town to look forward to,” said DFS volunteer Michelle LaMattina. “Nice, a little bit competitive, but also socially distanced. … We’re looking for it to be a nice event to brighten everybody’s holidays a little.”

The hope is that the project can be continued year-to-year.

LaMattina has already presented her idea to Bruce Martin of the DPW, who supports it, she said. No details on participation have been released to the public, yet until DFS receives the permission and support of town officials.

“I can’t wait to see what the park looks like with a lot of decorated trees on it,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said, noting Whitman has not had that kind of spirit in the town for a while since WinterFest was discontinued.

“Every year we raise a lot of money for the seniors in Whitman and Hanson through fundraising and door-to-door,” LaMattina said. “Obviously, this year it’s going to be very tough to fundraise because of COVID, so we’ve been trying to come up with some new ideas.”

LaMattina said COVID restrictions have meant it will be a tough year to raise funds for scholarships as many fundraiser events had to be cancelled.

Decorate For Dollars will allow individuals, families, neighborhoods, clubs, organizations or companies to sponsor a tree for $100. DFS will provide the trees and lights, setting them up right after Thanksgiving. Sign-up times will be allotted to tree sponsors to come and decorate the tree to their liking, LaMattina said.

To make it interesting, DFS will be making the display competitive, with the committee voting on which trees display the best holiday spirit. The winners will be able to award a scholarship in their name to a graduating senior at the May awards night ceremonies.

DFS would limit decorating crews to four people within each group, which will be timed, required to wear masks and observe social distancing guidelines.

Over the first two weekends in December, from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday to Sunday, the trees will be illuminated for the public to view.

“Whether you want to drive around, if you want to get out of your car — but we will have DFS volunteers making sure there aren’t groups of people congregating,” she said.