WHITMAN — With an infectious smile and determination Kyler Hockney’s played with his Lego toy like any child his age — he is full of spunk. Even his name means warrior, and he is certainly striving for the title.

At the age of 4, Kyler Hockney is battling, and winning, his fight against childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

With mom and dad by his side and new baby brother Max, Kyler was given a check from Cops for Kids with Cancer CFKWC for $5,000 at the Whitman Police station Tuesday, Aug. 8, along with an entertaining bag of treats, a teddy bear and a gift certificate to get ice cream at Peaceful Meadows.

“We can’t thank them enough for the involvement.  The people were phenomenal (CFKWC) we had to take Kyler in for an emergency platelet transfusion and we talked to Helena and she was wonderful helping us reschedule,” said Kyler’s dad Devin Cooney.

In January, with three weeks until her due date with Max, parents Lisa and Devin Cooney were given a diagnosis that Kyler who was then 3 years old, had childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He is also Philadelphia Chromosome Positive. ALL is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes a type of white blood cell.

The family was given direction from both a mutual friend and social services through Massachusetts General Hospital where he is being treated about the CFKWC program.

The Cooneys acknowledged their great support system they have through the challenges of Kyler’s treatments.

Most days he is running around playful, happy full of energy.

“He’s always smiling,” said dad. “We have those days he has been phenomenal you wouldn’t know, (he’s sick) but there are days his counts are off and he won’t eat and… he just wants to be a kid.”

In 2001 the FDA had approved a certain oral chemotherapy that Kyler takes daily. It specifically blocks the chromosome from doing what it wants to do, which is make the leukemia repeat itself. He has a specific treatment plan that he follows.

“Even though he has the chromosome … they know how to treat that,” said mom Lisa.

Deputy Chief of Canton Police Helena Rafferty, who is also President of Cops for Kids with Cancer was the presenter at the gathering at the Whitman Police Department. She started her remarks with wishing that Kyler didn’t have to have cancer in his life and be able to play at the playground being a healthy kid.

“When your child is traveling this journey of being treated for cancer there are so many concerns that families come up against,” said Rafferty. “They should be able to totally concentrate on the child. But there are so many financial issues mortgage, gas and transportation to the hospital.  It is a privilege to be able to help the family.”

In the past families have used monies presented by CFKWC to construct backyard playgrounds, pay mortgages and even take a family vacation.

“[As officers] we have taken the oath to protect and serve — we know what the protect aspect is-the everyday things you connect with policing,” Refferty said. “This is serving our community. The people who truly need it at a desperate time and when your child is sick- there is nothing more desperate than that.”

On behalf of the Whitman police she donated the check to the family to offset their financial burdens with Chief Scott Benton and Whitman officers gathered to welcome the family and offer their encouragement.

Established in 2002 according to the CFKWC website the charity has grown tremendously over the last fifteen years.

“We have a 20-plus person board of directors comprised of active and retired police officers, and friends of law enforcement,” Rafferty said. “All are volunteers, receiving no salaries. We all work very hard to plan events and keep our overhead to a minimum.” Their missions  is Cops for Kids with Cancer is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on raising funds to provide assistance to families of children fighting cancer, to improve their quality of life.

Although life has challenged them this last year the Cooney’s are staying focused on Kyler’s recovery.

“Having a three year old diagnosed with cancer was very hard to hear at first,” Devin Cooney said. “We have such a great support system around us it’s helped tremendously. We can’t thank the people at Mass General enough. They have made this so much easier for us, for him.”

When Kyler’s treatments were decided upon they felt optimistic in the news doctors gave.

“We were told at the beginning that this medicine is a ‘game changer,’” he said. “We were told by his doctors it (ALL) used to be a very bad actor. But with this new medicine prognosis is becoming much better.”

Kyler has had some setbacks delaying treatments due to low platelet counts but they are about five months through his treatments.

“We have amazing medicine now in 2017. We can’t really look too far in the future, it is taking each day as it comes,” said his mom Lisa.

HANSON — In April, Lakeville resident Marybeth MacKay became Hanson’s new Recreation Director. Having worked a similar part-time position in Lakeville, the Abington native also brings an extensive background in the event-planning industry to her new job.

While she originally majored in interior decorating in college, and worked for a Stoughton flooring company for 13 years, after graduating from Abington High School, MacKay said she found the entertainment business when she met her husband Gordon in 1993. He worked as a video promoter for Polygram Records, and groups such as KISS and Bon Jovi during the music video heyday.

“He got me into moving more into the entertainment business,” she said during an interview with the Whitman Hanson Express Thursday, July 20. “As the music industry changed, we changed, ourselves, into doing family entertainment, fairs and festivals — which he was already kind of doing with some of those music acts already.”

They have a 14-year-old son who, growing up in the entertainment world, is a bit blasé about the bold-face names he’s encountered during travels with his parents.

“When he was 10, he told us he was sick of the traveling,” she said with a laugh. “When I was a kid, I would have been star-struck by a daredevil or a rock star. It’s very normal for him.”

She mentioned a photo she has of her son and singer Eddie Money surfing their iPhones backstage during an event, looking thoroughly bored.

As we spoke, two kayakers paddled along Maquan Pond as the laughter of kids swimming at Cranberry Cove could be heard from our vantage point on the back porch of Camp Kiwanee’s Needles Lodge.

Q

: What kind of family entertainment did you arrange?

A: “We kind of broadened our horizons from just music to family entertainment such as circus acts and educational animal shows, like we have coming up here at Camp Kiwanee Aug. 1 and 8. We also did marketing and looking at the demographics of the fair and the local area, working within their budget, setting advertising, doing public relations. Most were nonprofit events, anything from Renaissance to county fairs. We also traveled quite a bit to Puerto Rico and Spain [with a U.S. government cultural arts exchange program].”

Q: What brought you back to the South Shore?

A: “About four years ago, when my son got sick of traveling, we looked for something local that was within my expertise. Doing events for a town is a lot like doing it for a fair and some towns, like Spencer [in central Massachusetts], own their own fairgrounds.” She’s also worked with the Topsfield Fair, bringing in acts like a rodeo and the Flying Walendas.

Q: It sounds like the recreation job is a good fit for you.

A: “It really is. It is a lot like what I was doing before, only instead of being concentrated over four days, it’s spread out over the course of a year.”

Q: How did you find out about this opportunity?

A: “I came here from the Lakeville Parks Department. I was working there part time and they were looking to stick with part time to stay within their budgets and I wanted to expand to full time. I saw this opportunity come up, it’s a very similar facility with a wedding hall to help pay for [Lakeville’s] Parks Department … instead of having cabins and camping like we have here, they had a beach with soccer and baseball fields, horseshoe pits and both a youth and adult volleyball program through USA Volleyball.”

Q: Were you familiar with the challenges in the Hanson Recreation Commission when you first came here?

A: “A little bit. I had heard something about it, but I really didn’t get too involved.”

Q: What was the hiring process like?

A: “I applied back in November and I know there had been some delays — I know they changed the job description — and I was interviewed in February. They hired me in March and I started on April 3 after I finished in Lakeville.”

Q: Did that give you time to hit the ground running with programs?

A: “It’s very difficult for the summer. Summer is when everybody wants everything to happen and you’re competing against all those fairs and festivals because those same animal educators — we have Marla Isaac coming up at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 1 with birds of prey — and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, she’s at fairs and festivals. We’re kind of limited as to what we can do this summer, but we’re hoping to hit the ground running, I’ve got a lot of great ideas, for the fall, after-school and half-day programming like Wicked Cool Science.”

Q: Did starting the job in April also put you behind with the beach programs?

A: “With lifeguards, it’s a national shortage. The National Parks and Rec Association for the last three years, has been putting out information in their newsletter on the crisis with lifeguards, which they attribute to a few different things. A lot of parents are having their kids concentrate on their education over the summer. You’re seeing more kids choosing to go to summer school to get more time in. The other factor they attribute it to is the cost of becoming a lifeguard. It can cost an average of about $300 to become a lifeguard and it’s an entry-level position. Towns and recreation departments have budgets to think about. … I think it’s a great opportunity for a kid because there’s nothing better than being outside. Lifeguarding also teaches kids social interaction, leadership and gives them more responsibility than just ringing up at the supermarket. It probably looks really good on a college application.”

Q: You mentioned some programs you are planning, what other potential is there for increased community use of Camp Kiwanee?

A: “I think the rentals are going really well, and that’s a good thing, because the rentals help pay for the programs and salaries of the staff. … It would be nice to maybe expand some things down at the beach, because we get such a great response from the swimming lessons. It would also be nice to have some kind of a summer program here with the camps … to give kids a few days so they don’t have to travel to some of the Y camps.”

She said the narrow access road and limited parking creates a problem with planning larger festival-type programs at Kiwanee.

Q: What do you like most about the job so far?

A: “I like working with people, I really do. I find that everybody has an interesting story. I enjoy meeting people — you never know who you’re going to meet and what they’ve done.”

Q: What are some of the bigger challenges?

A: “Just getting used to a new culture. It’s very different here from Lakevillle, where they were more sports-oriented [at the Parks Department]. Here they are more arts-oriented. But I also have that experience with fairs and festivals.

“Growing up, I knew about it and had a friend who worked for the Lakeville School Department who was actually the beach director here and had done all the jobs growing up.

“We’re surrounded here by beautiful nature and I think that’s the programming that’s probably really a best fit. … People can learn about why [animals]  are here.”

HANSON — Owners of the Meadow Brook Restaurant, 1486 Main St., have received approval for their request for an extension of the facility’s liquor license as they alter the premises to include a deck for outdoor dining.

Sunday hours for the serving of alcoholic beverages will now be changed to 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. to attract brunch business. Those hours had been noon to 12:45 p.m. The deck area is expected to seat about 30 people.

The business owners have pledged to do what they can to mitigate noise concerns raised by abutters.

“It’s something we wanted to offer our patrons in Hanson instead of driving to the Cape,” co-owner Lynae Connelly said.

A handful of neighbors on both sides of the business attended the Tuesday, June 27 Board of Selectmen’s meeting to voice concerns about existing and perceived future noise problems. Selectmen, however noted that the Meadow Brook — and previous businesses at the site — have operated a restaurant business there for many years and urged the Meadow Brook owners to work with neighbors to provide noise and sightline barriers as a good faith gesture.

“They bought a building that had been vacant for awhile,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “They’ve resuscitated it, brought jobs back, they are huge community partners. They put a lot of money into that building. I think that they’ve indicated they are willing to be good neighbors.”

The selectmen also noted that the restaurant was there before the abutters moved in and a compromise is in order.

“Whoever the developer was that built those condos should have made a better buffer between the restaurant and the condos,” Selectman Jim Hickey said, noting that a fence that had fallen down had been installed by the neighbor on the opposite side, Michael Lewis. “I think, as a board, we’re trying to get a happy medium. … You already knew the noise was there to begin with.”

Lewis of 1488 Main St., noted that Wilbur Danner had promised to put up a stockade fence when his family bought the restaurant, but it has not been installed yet.

Danner said the expense of bringing the facility, which had stood empty for some time, had cost more than was anticipated. He and son in-law John Connelly pledged to do what they could to install tree barriers on one side, and a plastic noise-reduction sheet on the side where the deck will be built.

Danner, his wife Barbara and his daughters Lynae Connelly and Deborah Scrivens are co-owners of the restaurant.

“The building had been shut down for at least eight years before we took it over,” Wilbur Danner said. “I put a lot of money into that building, primarily with a septic tank, which cost me $168,000, and bringing the building up to code. … We try to do as much as we can as we can afford it.”

The Board of Appeals has already approved the deck area, which the owners had sought in response to customer requests in an effort to increase business.

“I don’t know if we’re in a position to know what was agreed upon between the restaurant and this gentleman when it opened up,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We’re not legal counsel … but you’re now going to have people outside on a deck. If there were any issues, it might get worse.”

She stressed, however, that she favored “anything that’s going to help a small business increase their business and bring more business into town,”

Great Cedar Condominium resident Donna Frehill and two of her neighbors had complained about the potential for noise from the deck service. The outdoor dining area will be on that side of the Meadow Brook building.

Frehill said she and her neighbors have been bothered by noise from a fan and, while the Meadow Brook has been a good neighbor and has allowed them to hold condo association meetings in the function room at no cost, they remain concerned about the potential for increased noise from the outdoor dining area.

“Our concerns are how late people are going to be out there … and that noise level during weeknights and weekends,” she said. “Our concern is what kind of noise level will be there, will there be some controls over that?”

Scrivens said there would be no live bands playing outdoors.

John Connelly said the business could look into a plastic noise control curtain to help mitigate noise as well as looking into options regarding a tree barrier or fencing.

“Right now, there is no buffer between us,” Lewis said of his property on the other side of the building. “So, if you want to add this deck, what’s going to stop the noise?”

He said his family already deals with car headlights shining into their house “all hours of the night.”

Lewis had installed the old stockade fence that had fallen into disrepair before he approached Danner about installing a new fence. Trees that had also helped serve as a buffer had also been cut down, he said.

“We close at 10 p.m., we don’t hold late functions,” Lynae Connelly said. “The fence was in disarray when we bought it.”

Lewis said he didn’t care whose property the fence is built on, but since his property is for sale, Selectmen Kenny Mitchell said a fence could present a problem for the next owners.

Lewis said he has already had two people looking at his house comment on the lack of a buffer.

“You can’t put up a fence on somebody else’s property because that becomes a problem,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said, agreeing with Mitchell. The previous restaurant owner’s cooperation in installing a fence with Lewis had disregarded which property the fence was on.

Lewis said he has since had the property line surveyed to ensure the property line is now clear.

Mitchell said that, while the selectmen do not have the authority to force the business owners to install a fence, he urged them to work with neighbors to reach a solution to the problem.

“To make good neighbors, it would make sense,” he said.

McGahan suggested that fast-growing hemlock trees could be a solution.

HANSON — As Hanson works to fill vacant posts on 31 town committees, it named two people on Tuesday, June 13 to new or revitalized committees.

Michelle Mills of Capt. Nathaniel Drive, a retired teacher and librarian who has had cerebral palsy and right hemiplegia since birth, was appointed to head up the Hanson Disability Commission. Holmes Street resident Gary Banuk, a retired teacher and industry researcher with budgetary experience, was appointed to the town’s dormant Education Fund Committee.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said discussion of the general state of committee vacancies should be delayed to June 27, due to the evening’s full agenda. The board concurred.

“I think it would be helpful to get descriptions of what each one of the committees does and how many people we’re down,” she said. “Then we could have a more robust discussion.”

Selectmen’s Administrative Assistant Meredith Marini has already done some of that work.

“Some of them are standing committees,, so we can skip over a bunch of them,” Marini said. “I’ll go through and pare it down and [leave] the ones that you are probably going to have questions on.”

Mills has a bachelor’s degree in special needs with a minor in psychology and is a pastoral minister to the disabled as well as chairman of the Cohasset Commission for the Disabled. She holds a certificate in pastoral care.

“I started the Commission on Disabilities in Cohasset,” Mills said of the group she chaired for seven years. “We want a van for the town for the seniors and we would be up for information.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said the Disability Commission, just created at the October 2016 Town Meeting, would oversee efforts to make facilities accessible according to state and federal guidelines, assisting with decisions about sidewalks and crossings.

“Very specific people need to be on that — someone who is disabled, a family member of someone who is disabled — it’s rather succinct,”  McCue said. “As soon as we wanted to start to get rolling, I reached out to Mrs. Mills.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said Hanson is fortunate to have someone with Mills’ experience step forward to take the post.

“We need someone designated to run the group and at least four Hanson citizens,” Banuk said. “I think people from Hanson would like to see the money distributed to Hanson people.”

He also said he would like to see the tax bill check-off changed.

“It starts at $1 to $10, which is nothing nowadays,” he said. “I think this is a way for people to put a few dollars into this, because I hear people talking about it … and maybe we can do something for the schools.”

Banuk had also served as a member of the former Indian Head and Maquan Schools Priority Repair Committee.

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked what the Education Fund Committee’s charter and purpose are. The committee, according to Selectmen’s Administrative Assistant Meredith Marini, was formed by Town Meeting in 1993 to form a committee consisting of the superintendent of schools or their designee, and four Hanson residents serving three-year terms to provide scholarships funded by a check-off box on town tax bills.

“The committee has been inactive for years,” Marini said. “The last time somebody was appointed to it was in 2008. Mr. Banuk has inquired about it and we’d like to get it up and running again.”

McCue said the fund currently contains about $7,500.

Selectmen also filled a vacancy — through June 30, 2018 — on the Recreation Commission, after some discussion about possibly tabling the decision in order to attract more applicants.

Selectman James Hickey suggested a month’s delay to bring in “new blood, perhaps someone who has not been in there before.” He also said he had been told a third application was coming in, but it had not been filed.

“I would like to see us be a lot more active in reaching out and soliciting more volunteers,” FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed. “This isn’t a reflection on anybody in the past, I’m just talking about going forward, this is what I’d like to see us do.”

The motion was withdrawn, however, at the request of Recreation Commission Chairman AnneMarie Bouzan, who urged action as the new commission is trying to get things moving again.

Health Board Administrative Assistant Theresa Cocio of 1211 Whitman St., was ultimately chosen on the stipulation that she step down from her post as union steward, but may remain on the negotiating committee. Cocio said she had indicated that willingness to Marini when she filed her application.

Bouzan noted that Cocio, who had applied for appointment when the new commission was appointed, had never volunteered for other boards.

Former Camp Kiwanee Caretaker and volunteer James Flanagan of 43 Baker St. had also applied.

“I knew you guys weren’t going to vote for me, so if you want to appoint her you can,” Flanagan said, withdrawing from consideration. “I was just throwing my hat in to volunteer. … I know that they can use a lending hand.”

McGahan said he appreciated the gesture.

“I’ll talk about the elephant in the room,” he said, referring to labor counsel Leo Peloquin’s report, which mentioned Flanagan in several areas. “I know that you objected to it, and I heard what you had said, but that is definitely something that struck me. … We’ve still got to heal and move forward. More time is needed.”

In other appointments, Health Agent Matt Tanis was named records access officer for the Board of Health, Senior Center Director Mary Collins was reappointed as a member of the Old Colony Elder Services Board of Directors and FitzGerald-Kemmett was appointed as the Board of Seletmen’s representative to the Hanson 200th Anniversary Committee.

“I have weaned down many of the other things that I was part of in order to give this job its due respect,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said of her new position of Selectman.

“You’ve got more energy than anyone can deal with, so absolutely,” McGahan said of his vote in support of her appointment.

With the change of Memorial Field Trustees from an elected to an appointed board, Selectmen voted to appoint Michael Josselyn of 33 Litchfield Lane, whose elected term would have expired in May 2018 and Robert O’Brien Jr., 1003 Monponsett St., who received the most votes for a two-year term ending in 2019. Mark Gomes, 113 Andrew Lane, who received the most votes for a three-year term, ending in 2020. Both Josselyn and O’Brien already serve on parks and fields and have said they would be willing to serve on the Memorial Field Trustees. Selectmen said Gomes had made no such commitment, and may withdraw if he wishes.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, June 13 voted to appoint Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett as the board’s liaison to work with the town administrator in formulating a proposal for a committee to explore transition options for the Maquan School building.

“I feel a sense of urgency on this because we don’t have much time, and I know government has a tendency to kind of work slow,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said. “There’s got to be a timeline on this. If we don’t act on this timeline, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) stuff can’t be transitioned and the building formally closes, then there’s really nothing you can do with it. We have to have a plan.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett will meet with Town Administrator Michael McCue as a point person, over the next two weeks, in formulating an ad hoc committee for the board to vote on at the June 27 meeting.

“One of the main topics at the next meeting is going to be boards and committees, so this should fit in nicely with that, as opposed to just doing it on the fly right now,” McCue said.

The School Committee officially informed Selectmen by letter May 22 of its April 12 vote to return the school building to the town due to declining enrollment. The district has also updated parents and guardians of administrative changes for the school’s final year — the 2017-18 school year.

The committee will be charged with recommending what the town should do with the building, including whether to sell or lease it — or to tear it down, McGahan said.

With the upcoming retirement of Indian Head School Principal Elaine White, effective June 30, Maquan Principal Dr. Elizabeth Wilcox will serve as principal of both schools next year. John Riley will continue as Indian Head School’s assistant principal and Director of Science Mark Stephansky, a licensed principal/assistant principal, will be based at Maquan where he will also serve as assistant principal.

Maquan Administrative Assistant Susan Andrews will remain in place next year and will move to Indian Head for the 2018-19 school year. Indian Head Administrative Assistant Joan Maloney is retiring, effective June 30, and a temporary assistant will be hired for next year. Maquan’s Early Childhood Coordinator Patricia Collins and School Psychologist Joan Joyce will continue to assist with administrative responsibilities.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell said he wanted to see a feasibility report, but McGahan said the report made during the former School Building Committee’s work is still available.

“If we don’t act soon enough, we could miss a window,” McGahan said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she understood Mitchell’s concern, but noted the committee would not make a final decision, it would “simply ferret out all the information that this board would need to make the decision about what they would propose to Town Meeting.”

She said residents must be informed of the pros and cons of the available choices — including whether to lease, sell or raze it.

“There’s only so many options,” she said.

“If we were going to sell it, I think we would need a commercial realtor to come in and put a value on it to see what it’s worth,” Mitchell said. “Is that something the community would do?”

FitzGerald-Kemmett also said the building’s proximity to the Indian Head School should also be taken into account in what the building might be used for if it is sold.

McGahan said the town should also take into account the need for playing space for indoor youth sports teams such as cheerleaders and basketball.

“My biggest concern is the pitfalls to be unwary of [include] when does that ADA get triggered and when do all the required code upgrades get triggered,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Is it if we sell it, is it if it starts being used at all, if it’s leased does that grandfather us in? We really need some help maneuvering through all those kinds of decisions.”

In other business, the board began hearing suggestions from members for its goals for the coming year. FitzGerald-Kemmett outlined her concerns about some ongoing projects as well issues she would like to see the board take on. McGahan also listed some issues of concern, with other Selectmen due to submit their lists in the coming days.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she wanted to see updates on the sale of town-owned properties and planning for the Plymouth County Hospital site as well as a cost estimate on razing and site cleanup of the existing highway barn as part of the project to place a new facility at the former Lite Control site.

New goals she listed included: exploring the use of the former Plymouth County 4-H building at the food pantry site for a potential use as a senior center; work with the Capital Improvement Committee and department heads to get a clear picture of the status of town buildings; Main Street development; better public outreach to inform residents of programs, town needs and upcoming meetings and elections; and formulating a performance measurement format for McCue.

McGahan asked for formulation of a sidewalk plan, aiming at 1,000 feet per year over the next 10 years, to protect pedestrian safety as well as exploring the potential for placing solar panels at the food pantry to help defray utility costs.

Selectmen also voted to empower Selectmen Don Howard to vote for the Plymouth County Commissioner’s budget, except for the line item that would increase commissioners’ salaries by $13,000 per year. The board is asking for that increase — which returns the three commissioners’ pay to the $28,000 that was paid the position before 2008 — be phased in over three years.

The pay had been cut under pervious commissioners, when a previous administrator was displeased with their job performance. Plymouth Selectmen has already unanimously voted not to support the increase.

WHITMAN — A mushroom-like plume of brown debris was seen drifting over homes on Hogg Memorial Drive in Whitman around 8:20 a.m. on Thursday, June 1 after workers in the street hit a gas main while replacing water pipes — an ongoing project in the neighborhood, according to Fire Chief Timothy Grenno.

A Whitman officer on a detail at the scene reported the initial gas break alerting officials to the incident. The area was shut down to traffic and residents in approximately 15 homes on the street, out of an abundance of caution, were evacuated. There were six people combined and the Whitman Middle School on Corthell Avenue was used as a brief place of shelter for those closest to the accident zone, Grenno stated in a press release.

National Grid was on scene later around 9:30 a.m. and began to repair the pipe. Later in the day a Clean Harbor crew was preparing to sanitize the area after 5 p.m. A worker said he was unable to comment on what was being cleaned or tested and referred the Express reporter to National Grid for comments.

The initial incident was startling to neighbors who said they did not hear anything just voices and shouting following the incident as the crew realized they hit the gas main.

Jennifer Grady, who lives at 201 Hogg Memorial Drive where the digging was occurring and quickly realized there was something serious as she saw brown smoke covering her windows. She exited her home and later was directed to leave the area for safety reasons.

Two homes closest to the scene were covered in brown and reddish dirt and rust. There were no reported injuries.  Residents were able to return home at about 10:20 a.m. according to Grenno.

“When you have a leak of that size, it clears all the rust and dirt out of the line, because of this, a brown gas cloud covered the south and west end of town and began blowing into the center of town,” Grenno said.

Whitman is at the end of the National Grid line in a highly pressurized area.  Firefighters secured the scene and set up hoses to protect nearby structures, anticipating possible ignition of the gas, he said.

EMS was also on scene to assist a male resident on the street who was unable to exit his home due to his medical status and sheltered in place at his residence.

Whitman Police assisted on scene and were instrumental in evacuating homes. The East Bridgewater Fire Department provided station coverage for Whitman and responded to several emergencies in town.

Whitman Fire Rescue cleared the scene around 11:30 a.m. National Grid was on-site completing repairs, and Hogg Memorial Drive was closed until all crews cleared.

“We’re thankful that no one was hurt and we appreciate residents’ cooperation and patience during this incident,” said Chief Grenno  “At no time was anyone in serious danger.”

HANSON — Residents turned out, despite a light rain, to watch ceremonies featuring selectmen and other town officials gathered at the town’s Civil War memorial on the Town Green after marching down Liberty Street Monday, May 29.

Keynote speaker, retired Army Col. Robert Huke of Hanson spoke to residents who displayed their support and commitment to the town’s observances despite the wet weather.

Wrapped in blankets, sharing colorful umbrellas and lining the street to show solidarity and respect countless residents remained present to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to country.

Huke touched on the meaning and history of Civil War General John A. Logan, who was a leader of that war’s Union veteran’s group, the Grand Army of the Republic. Logan was a driving force behind the observances we now celebrate as part of Memorial Day, Huke reminded the crowd.

“Enjoy your day, enjoy extra time with family and friends but I ask you this, please don’t forget why we celebrate. This is why the many gather here to honor our veterans the few who were so willing to give of themselves to defend their brothers and sisters and their country,” he said. “There is a difference about today Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans it’s about honoring those who lost their life.”

Other traditional portions of Hanson’s observances included a reading of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by Bruce Young and a ceremonial rifle salute by the 22nd Mass. Vol. Infantry re-enactment group.