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.

HANOVER —  After a meeting of the regional agreement subcommittee planned for this week, the South Shore Tech Regional School Committee members should be receiving a semi-formal copy of it ahead of a full review.

The work has been under way for several months, according to Chairman Robert Molla of Norwell at the Wednesday, May 17 meeting. Once the committee approves revisions, the revised agreement can be forwarded to the member towns.

Town Meetings would need to vote on whether Hull is admitted to the region. At this point, Hull is not a factor in the revisions to the regional agreement.

“The Hull negotiations right now are on temporary hold until at least May 23 [when] they are meeting to give us their indications as to which way they’re going to go and whether we are going to continue negotiations,” Molla said.

Superintendent-Director Thomas Hickey said, if Hull agreed to join the region by the time the revisions were complete, two votes would be needed at town meetings — on the regional agreement and Hull’s admission.

“If they don’t happen at the same time, amending the regional agreement would take a two-thirds vote of our towns,” Hickey said. “Timing matters. It could be at the same town meeting.”

Hull would only vote on the terms of admission, not the regional agreement revisions.

“At our most aggressive,” Hickey said, and depending on the Department of Education’s response, the regional agreement revisions could be ready to present to the member communities this summer for consideration of special town meetings in the fall.

The committee also held a brief public hearing on the annual school choice vote. The members, as is customary voted against participating in the state school choice program because the school already has “an established process for admitting students who reside outside the school district.”

The committee voted to set the non-resident tuition rate at $16,719 for fiscal 2018.

In other business, the committee honored veteran automotive instructor, Ronald Michaud — who retires this spring, as staff member of the month.

He joined the SSVT teaching team Jan. 2, 1985.

“All you need to do is drive up Route 53 – the new automile — to find Ronnie’s success as an instructor,” said Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey of the student body’s honoree. “At almost every dealership, you’ll find at least one South Shore graduate and, in many, literally a handful can be found working under cars, in front offices or selling vehicles on the showroom floor.”

Students described him as a shop instructor who cares about his students and who makes learning fun day in and day out and who helps students obtain careers in the trade.

Student Body President Jacob Cormier of Hanover, who served as student representative to the committee this year, was honored as student of the month. A computer technology student, Cormier was selected by his instructors on the basis of his grades and in-class leadership and engagement, according to Assistant Principal Sandra Balmer.

Sophomores Cody Campbell — team bronze medal and additive manufacturing — of Rockland, Ashton Gnoza — team bronze medal — of Abington and sophomore Chris Osborne — silver medalist, welding — of Hanson were recognized for their success at the recent SkillsUSA state competition.

Whitman hopefuls meet the press

WHITMAN — Candidates for seats on the Board of Selectmen and W-H School Committee [see related story, page 8] fielded questions Thursday, May 4 — and some in uncontested races made brief presentations — during a forum co-sponsored by the Whitman Democratic and Republican town committees.

Incumbent Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski and challengers Laura Howe, Finance Committee member Randy LaMattina and Nita Sault fielded questions ranging from the town’s financial future to the ongoing opioid crisis and town building needs, among others. Each gave a brief opening statement before the questions began.

All except Sault said they would consider supporting an operational override to fund the municipal budget.

The session, held in the Selectmen’s meeting room of Whitman Town Hall, was broadcast live and will be rebroadcast on WHCA-TV Channel 9 over the next two weeks. This writer, and WHCA-TV Access Operations Coordinator Kevin Tocci presented questions. Republican Committee Chairman Brian Bezanson and Democratic Chairman Larry Roache moderated. WHCA-TV Executive Director Eric Dresser served as timekeeper.

“It is strictly a nonpartisan event,” Roache stressed. “We’re here as citizens of Whitman, and hopefully we’ll get a better understanding at the conclusion of tonight’s forum where we’ll be going forward.”

Whitman ties

All four selectmen candidates stressed their ties to Whitman: born in town, Howe described herself as “the only Whitmanite” in the race; Sault was raised in town until her family moved to California and began the process of moving back about five years ago; LaMattina was also raised in town and Kowalski and his wife moved to town in 1972.

“We have lost our voice in this town,” Howe said of her campaign based on accountability, transparency and approachability. “We did not lose it yesterday, we did not lose it last year, we may not have even lost it 20 years ago.”

Kowalski agreed that being a Whitmanite is important, but said he has learned to love the town and wants to continue working see it improve. He said he wants to continue working to support the town he has grown to love.

Kowalski, seeking re-election, said, “if anything is going to hurt Whitman, it would be division.” “I don’t think it’s a Whitman problem,” he said. “It’s a statewide problem, it’s a national problem, it’s a global problem.” He lauded Howe’s impulse to bring people together.

LaMattina said he and his wife were dedicated to living in Whitman when they married and the former firefighter stressed he wants to put to work what he has learned on the Finance Committee and “move those ideas up to the Board of Selectmen.” His candidacy is motivated by the “vanilla reason” — care about the quality of life for all town residents.

“You can only do so much work on a recommending board” such as the Finance Committee and that he wants to explore ideas for the town on a policy-setting board. Howe, meanwhile, wants to be a voice of the people and is also running because the town is being lost to division.

Sault, meanwhile, noted she has become active in town activities since returning as a “full-time” resident last year. She said she does not believe it is necessary to continue discussing divisions because she does not believe the problems are insurmountable.

“I want to get on the board so I can help going forward,” she said, noting the other candidates also have a lot to offer. “What’s happened in the past … can only serve as a lesson.”

In view of the upcoming June 12 joint budget meeting between town and school representatives regarding the fiscal 2019 budget, candidates agreed a Proposition 2 ½ override may be necessary, while stressing that a lot of work lies ahead. Howe has proposed the possibility of giving tax breaks to seniors or exempt them from a Prop 2 ½ override as a way to pass an override.

“We have to stop this pitting people against people,” Howe said, denying she is anti-school. “It is not the elderly’s desire to see children fail, it is not young people’s desire to see elderly go without ambulance service. We are a community.”

Kowalski said if an override is a way to get the school district out of the bottom 10 in per-pupil spending “I think we need to take it seriously.”

A former longtime member of the School Committee, Kowalski said he has never felt that the elderly have been dissatisfied with the school, but the education budget has reached the point where it needs more funding.

Sault said Prop 2 ½ has not kept up with needs over many years, comparing it to the Prop 13 measure in California, where she lived for a time that inspired 2 ½.

“Everything seemed great at first,” she said. “Everyone got tax benefits. Then suddenly there was no money, or less money, for the schools, fire, infrastructure.” That led to school bonds, which became a fixture of “every single election.”

LaMattina, meanwhile said Prop 2 ½ is an “excellent firewall between municipal spending and the taxpayer” as well as an extra layer of protection for those on fixed incomes. “I do not know if it will be possible next year to fund the schools without an override, though,” he said about his experience on the Finance Committee.

Opioid addiction, the candidates agreed, is one of the biggest problems facing the community and nation today.

Kowalski, whose wife is the director of the Highpoint Treatment Center in Brockton, is also a member of the grant-funded Whitman-Hanson WILL program.

“We live the opioid crisis all the time,” he said. “It’s not a problem that’s going to be solved overnight at all.” He outlined how the towns’ police and fire departments and schools have been supportive of the effort, adding that parents and friends of addicts must become more involved in combating the problem.

LaMattina said programs require start-up funding through grants or town funding.

“You see how this affects people,” the former firefighter said. “It’s not going away.”

Howe, who worked in high-risk child-care for eight years, said opioid addiction is only one social problem impacting such children.

“The number one solution is building strong families,” she said. “You do not build strong families tearing apart people on social media … by finding issue with each other — commonality and finding ways to work together.”

Sault said people need to realize that relapse is a big part of recovery from any addiction.

Debt structure

The candidates said they were interested in an exploration of whether the balance of police station debt — financed within the levy limit — should be shifted to an override. LaMattina said he has raised the issue with the Finance Committee and Sault said she would want to make sure that move would free up funds for schools and. They agreed the need for a new DPW building and that increasing the tax base will take creative approaches.

“We’re not a town that’s easy to expand,” Kowalski said.

“We have to look into ways of spending money to make money,” Sault said, suggesting solar or geothermal power for town buildings.

LaMattina said the town has already explored solar opportunities, but said new ideas must be explored while reviewing spending in a town with little room for growth.

“We do not have a spending problem in this town,” he cautioned, however. “We have a revenue problem.”

Howe said tighter budgeting is a place to start, noting she had to face such a situation at a time when she was homeless.

“That’s when you really figure out your budget,” she said. “No one here seems to know what a real tight budget is, because I did not see it on Town Hall floor [at Town Meeting].”

She said there is also a need for more community-based programs, such as farmer’s markets and outreach programs, to support residents in need.

Kowalski summed up the town’s most pressing problems as support for the schools as well as the opioid crisis, but added there are creative ways to look at problems.

“When you have a failure, wipe it off your face as fast as you can,” he said. “Put it behind you, start working on making things better. When you succeed, wear that. … There are a lot of things in this town we do well — wear it.”

Sault said she does not view Whitman as a Dickensian village with dark problems, either.

“There are issues, and they have happened over a long period of time — sidewalks, streets,” Sault said. “ I think those need to be worked on. Infrastructure. Schools. I don’t think they are unresolveable.”

LaMattina said while the town has financial challenges, he does not feel they are insurmountable either, but said the opioid crisis is far more serious because it affects kids.

All four candidates supported new DPW building, with Sault suggesting that alternative energy such as solar power panels could help finance it while LaMattina, Howe and Kowalski favor a debt exclusion for funding, but Kowalski also said he found merit in alternative energy savings. They also agreed on the need to maintain a single tax rate for residents and businesses to attract and keep new business in town.

None see the need for prior municipal experience before running for office.

“These people have obviously made a case that they care about Whitman,” Roache said. “They want to see Whitman continue to improve.”

Bezanson expressed pride in the forum, as well.

“No matter what happens on [May] 20, Whitman’s got a bright future with these kinds of candidates running for these positions,” he said. “Whether you win or you lose, you’re making Whitman a better place.”

Selectmen candidates meet in Hanson forum

HANSON — Economic concerns, town government practices and the future of th town highway barn and Plymouth County Hospital sites as well as Camp Kiwanee were discussed by the four candidates running for two seats on the Hanson Board of Selectmen Sunday, May 7.

Incumbent Selectman Bill Scott, Community Preservation Committee Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, former Recreation Commission Chairman Jim Hickey and former Selectman Jim Egan met in a candidate’s forum co-sponsored by the town’s Democratic and Republican town Committees. The quartet fielded questions from the audience for more than an hour.

One-to-three minute opening and closing remarks were included in the program, moderated by Bob Hayes and broadcast over Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV. Members of the audience were asked to pose questions that all four could answer.

“It’s great that we have four candidates for two seats — there’s been years when there’s been one candidate for one seat or no one wants to run,” Hayes said.

A financial services professional for 30 years and Hanson resident for 20, FitzGerald-Kemmett said she is running because “it’s time to recognize that the same old-same old isn’t going to work anymore,” and pointed to her experience with community programs as qualities that will help her work toward finding common ground. She is a board member of the Hanson Food Pantry, a co-founder of the Hanson Business Network and has been president of the Panther Education Trust.

“We really need people that are going to be on the Board of Selectmen who can work with everybody in the town, who are going to listen to what the voters want and are going to check their egos at the door and be here for the right reason — to be a public servant,” she said.

Hickey said he is running to foster Hanson’s strength — it’s small-town sense of community. He has been a youth softball coach and Camp Kiwanee volunteer.

“There’s a danger in being an elected official,” Hickey said. “The danger is one of attitude sitting on this side of the table — ‘I know what’s best for the town.’ … I will be your best and most attentive listener.”

Egan, who served on the Board of Selectmen for nine years before being unseated in a recall three years ago, is a retired English teacher at Silver Lake Regional School District, where he also served as a union negotiator and on several curriculum and other educational development committees. He has lived in Hanson since 1973.

“I am familiar with working together as a team to get things done,” he said, stressing the town must make maintenance of town-owned properties and funding requirements for future budget needs are key. “I do not have an agenda. I offer only experience and a hard-working ethic to get problems solved.”

A lifelong Hanson resident and a retired police chief, Scott said he is seeking re-election because, while the board members should agree on goals, some disagreement is healthy.

“I vote my conscience and I vote what I think is best for the townspeople,” he said. His police career spanned departments in Hanson, Hanover and Halifax and he is now a cranberry grower.

Highway building

Candidates were asked about the difference in a $1.5 million vote to build a new highway barn at the LiteControl property, which is now quoted at $4.5 million including cleanup at the current highway barn site.

Scott said the buildings left behind when LiteControl relocated were offered to the town, which was the reason the Highway Building Committee was founded once Town Meeting accepted the gift. The parent company spent $4 to $5 million on cleanup at that site, he said.

“We are moving forward, and the environmental concerns are all being addressed by DEP, Army Corps of Engineers — it’s not just a he said-she said type of thing,” Scott said. “Cleanup up at the old facility, we’re told by the engineers they can clean that facility and cap it, and it will be safe for young people, but all sorts of studies will be done to assure that that is a safe site.”

Egan said the appropriate research has not yet been done at the old site to determine what needs to be done to make it useable for any other purpose and noted the price tag has gone up “significantly” since the Town Meeting vote on accepting the land. Hickey said the site cleanup could easily increase to $6 million, and without an engineering study the financial risk is too great for the town to bear. FitzGerald-Kemmett also expressed concern about the higher price tag and the need for transparency, but that the issue is ultimately up to the voters.

Town contracts

Selectmen Bruce Young asked about how a $1 million indemnification clause in former Town Administrator Ron San Angelo’s contract could have been allowed and prevented in the future.

“Thanks for that question,” Hickey said sarcastically, as the query was aimed at Egan, who had served on the board that hired San Angelo. Hickey said he would not let that happen in a contract.

FitzGerald-Kemmett, who negotiates contracts in her professional life, suggested a “punch list” of provisions that must be either included or barred from contracts. “We’re in this role to protect the town,” she said.

Scott said he would defer to town by-laws as indemnification is common to municipal contracts, but said it appeared that the contract in question “far extended that.”

Egan said the board at the time sought town counsel input on the contract, which counsel approved.

“It was on his recommendation that we signed that contract,” Egan said.

Business
development

The candidates were also asked about attracting and retaining businesses to support the tax base.

FitzGerald-Kemmett, a small business owner, pointed to her work with the Hanson Business network, but added Main Street is the “elephant in the room.” She also advocated a Community Development Committee to help write grants to help with the issue. Hickey agreed Main Street is a problem, but pointed to Hanson’s access limitations compared to Whitman’s access to Route 18 as well as Hanson’s need for a business strategy.

Egan noted that the Main Street property in question is privately owned and limited by its proximity to wetlands. He said the town could — and should — work to streamline the permitting process for all individuals. Scott agreed that the private property in question presents an issue and that the town has a history of not being business-friendly. He also supported the town’s tradition of a single tax rate.

Town priorities

Egan said the town still has to resolve its student location plans, as in closing the Maquan School; work would still need to be done to prepare Indian Head and Whitman Middle schools for additional children.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also pointed to Maquan, as well as to the persistent budget gap with the schools, noting the need to “have conversations early” and to be in tune with one another to be more efficient as a school district and town.

Scott said the schools were an area on which all four could find agreement — at least as an area of concern.

“The funding aspects that come up every year are unsustainable,” he said. “We cannot continue to reach to the taxpayers to fund this.” He also said the failed new school project three years ago created a lack of trust among Hanson residents, which he volunteered to help bridge.

Hickey said education has to be the most important issue.

The candidates pledged to work to move the town past recent divisions.

Passive recreation proposals were preferred as future Plymouth County Hospital site uses by Egan, but Hickey and Scott said some development should be considered and the public should have input, Hickey said. Scott said the DEP has previously ruled a septic system is not viable due to the nature of the soil, but added that the hospital had operated with a sewage treatment plant, and suggested that might be an option. FitzGerald-Kemmett said she would like to see the PCH committee’s recommendations placed before voters, but wants to see some form of park and doubts much development is possible there. She suggested, however, that a solar farm might be possible.

At Camp Kiwanee, the candidates envision a range of uses. FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested four to five communitywide events could be held there, Scott said the new recreation director should be able to help with that. Egan, meanwhile, said a performance pavilion at the PCH site could be run in conjunction with Kiwanee.

“That might be a way to make Camp Kiwanee a little bit more accessible to the types of events most townspeople seem to be interested in,” Egan said.

Hickey said his involvement at Kiwanee was the first town activities he became involved in 20 years ago.

Scott and Egan, who also has served on the Board of Selectmen, said they are aware and committed to devoting the hours needed to do the job. FitzGerald-Kemmett said she is aware of the time commitment required, has considered it at length, and is fully prepared to do what is needed to get the job done.

“Whatever it takes,” said Hickey, who said his commitment to the job would follow that for his family and job.

HANSON — Serenaded by a 1933 recording of Joyce Kilmer’s 1913 poem “Trees” — set to Oscar Rasbach’s music and sung by Donald Novis — Hanson officials, senior center and library staff as well as  members of Green Hanson shoveled soil at the base of a Kousa dogwood tree planted at the Senior Center on Friday, April 28.

The planting celebrated Arbor Day and was the final step the town needed to take to be declared a “Tree City, USA.” The original Florida dogwood, planted some 25 years ago by nursery owner Les Wyman had succumbed to damage or blight a few years ago. The more hardy Japanese dogwood, with white-to-pink blossoms, was donated to the town by National Grid through Community Relations spokesman Joe Cardle and Arborist Luke Fiske, according to Town Administrator Michael McCue who has orchestrated the town’s quest to be named a Tree City, by the national Arbor Day Association.

A certain amount in annual municipal budgets, a yearly ceremony and bylaws governing care of trees in town are required for the designation. McCue said he plans to keep up with the tradition.

Wyman was introduced by Senior Center Director Mary Collins, who had asked him about what he knew about the old tree.

“He quietly listened to my whole story and the gave me that little twinkle in his eye and said, ‘I should know the type of tree it is, because I’m the one that planted it,’” Collins said.

He recalled promising that the original tree would last forever.

“Hopefully this tree will outlast all of us, because it should,” he said of the new tree, and pledged to water the tree if he finds it dry during the first year, when it requires a bucket of water once a week to establish itself and thrive.

“Plant trees,” he said. “It’s a great hobby and it’s something to enjoy for many, many years.”

The Hanson Highway Department cleared out the old stump and planted the new tree, reserving some soil for the ceremony.

“Welcome to the first of what I hope is many, many Arbor Day celebrations here in the town of Hanson,” McCue said as birds sang on a warm day from other trees. Behind him were Selectmen Chairman James McGahan, Selectmen Bruce Young and Bill Scott and state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury — who had also attended events at senior centers in Duxbury and Pembroke throughout the day.

Cutler quoted an Asian proverb, “The best day to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best day is today,” as he spoke briefly. “As we stand here in front of the senior center/library, an inter-generational home, it’s a very appropriate place and setting to have this tree that will provide shade for our future generations,” he added.

Cutler also presented a state flag that had been flown at the State House to commemorate the day.

Scott presented a proclamation from the Board of Selectmen, which noted Arbor Day’s beginnings in 1872 by the Nebraska Board of Agriculture.

“Trees can help prevent erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs, moderate the temperature, clean the air, produce life-giving oxygen and provide habitat for wildlife,” Scott read. “Trees in our town increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of the business areas and beautify our community.”

The proclamation urges residents to work toward protecting trees and woodlands and to plant trees to “gladden the heart, and promote the wellbeing of future generations.”

The Toll House cookie is now the subject of a children’s book currently in preorder status and due for publication in June.

“We’re getting excited because [publication] is getting close,” Whitman native and author Kathy Teahan said Monday. “It’s just such a huge part of the history of Whitman and Ruth Wakefield is such an amazing woman for fulfilling her dreams.”

Based on the true story of how Wakefield created the now-famous cookie at the Toll House Restaurant, “The Cookie Loved ’Round the World” relates “how … a cookie took hold of the people of Whitman, the state of Massachusetts, and the rest of the country,” according to the presale page of East Bridgewater-based SDP Publishing Solutions (sdppublishingsolutions.com/bookstore).

A portion of the sales will be donated to groups dedicated to fighting world hunger, but Teahan has not yet decided which ones.

“We are blessed to have so much food, for the most part, in this country, but there are still a lot of people struggling both here and all over the world,” she said, adding her book touches on the issue in places. “I’m hoping to educate kids and have some of the money from the profits go toward helping that issue.”

Teahan said she wrote the book to inspire young people to follow their dreams.

“The story about Ruth Wakefield and her cookie expresses how hard work and perseverance can make good things happen,” she said.

Teahan said the way the cookie, included in packages from home to overseas troops during WW II, was inspiring in the way it became an international hit.

A retired teacher and state legislator, Teahan worked as a salad girl at the Toll House Restaurant after the Wakefields sold the restaurant — one of her summer jobs to pay for college. Two of her aunts had also worked there and Teahan uses one of them as the book’s narrator.

She has always been interested in writing, having her eighth-grade classes write picture books for third-graders during her teaching days at the Gordon Mitchell Middle School in East Bridgewater. Teahan also taught English at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.

Teahan began work on the book by “jotting down things that I knew” and doing online research. John Campbell and the Whitman Historical Society and former Toll House waitresses were also key resources.

Drawing conclusions

The book is illustrated by former Express graphic designer Larisa Hart of Duxbury. It is Hart’s first outing as a book illustrator but says it won’t be her last.

Brimming with ideas for her own book eventually, Hart says she’d take on more projects like this one “in a heartbeat” and related how the opportunity came about.

“Kathy came into the office one day,” Hart recalled. “I’m not sure how she met [Express Newspapers owner-publisher] Deb [Anderson], but she knew Deb and she was saying she needed an illustrator for the book.”

The plan was that Teahan’s son, Bob, would illustrate. When his work schedule interfered, she needed a new illustrator and mentioned it to Anderson while the two were discussing plans for their 50th high school reunion. Teahan and Anderson graduated W-H together in 1965.

“I mentioned that my son wasn’t going to finish the illustrating process because he didn’t have time,” Tehan said.

Anderson knew that Hart was also an artist and suggested her to Teahan, a suggestion Hart says changed her life. After Hart sent some samples of her work to be reviewed by Teahan and the book editor, she started a new artistic adventure in which she had to translate the story to full-color drawings.

“I really loved her work,” Teahan said of sample sketches Hart provided for her to review. “She’s such a good person and her pictures are wonderful.”

Hart said the author and editors provided direction, which she let “steep” to help her  figure out how to incorporate the directives into a picture.

“Each illustration goes through almost seven phases starting from a thumbnail sketch and different sketches to line art and to colored art,” she said of the 16 illustrations she did. “It was pretty intensive.”

While illustrating the book, she was also starting a very technically exacting new job.

“It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it,” Hart said. “I got better and was more confident as I went along on each of the pictures, so it’s been amazing.”

It has also translated into a new skill for its illustrator.

The Wacom tablet on which she is working, allows Hart to paint in images with a pressure-sensitive stylus for a watercolor effect.

“I’m able to make a realistic-looking watercolor painting using layers and layers of color in the illustration,” she said. “I’ve [also] worked with editors before, but not as critiquing my art — they’re lovely to work with and Kathy has been so gracious, so supportive.”

Teahan is self-publishing through SDP Publishing Solutions because she had doubts about the potential popularity of the book, but added the initial feedback she’s been getting is encouraging.

“I feel like it was meant to be,” Teahan said. “Our history for such a long time didn’t include the women who made such a huge impact and did so many outstanding things.”

Teahan, who now lives in Harwichport, is also planning a memoir of her term as a state legislator and other children’s books as future projects.

HANSON — “It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents …” is the famously bad opening phrase of English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 melodrama “Paul Clifford.”

The evening of Thursday, April 6 was just that, however  — and the perfect setting for a tale of a true-life 1874 triple murder in Halifax, and the Hanson man hanged for that crime.

Retired Boston Police Chief of Detectives John F. Gallagher spoke to members and guests of the Hanson Historical Society on his new book, “A Monument to Her Grief: the Sturtevant Murders of Halifax, Massachusetts.”  A smoky fire from the historic Schoolhouse No. 4 woodstove and a heavy thunderstorm punctuated Gallagher’s tale of the deaths of brothers Thomas and Simeon Sturtevant and their unmarried cousin and housekeeper Mary Buckley on Feb. 15, 1874.

“This is a perfect night to talk about murder, there’s lightning, it’s gray and gloomy, said Gallagher, who served the Boston Police Department for 30 years.

“It was an interesting career. I loved it — [but] I don’t miss it,” he said.

A Hanover resident, he began researching murders or suspected murders in the area as a retirement project, which eventually led him to the conclusion that there were books to be written on the subject. His first two books were: “Murder on Broadway: A History of Homicide in Hanover” and “Arsenic in Assinippi: The Trial of Jennie May Eaton for the Murder of her Husband Rear Adm. Joseph Eaton.”

Gallagher has also done some post-9/11 security consulting and private investigative work and genealogy since retiring.

“I love local history,” he said, noting a picture in the Arcadia local history book series on Hanover with the notation “three Irishmen shot here by Seth Perry in 1845” captured his interest and launched his writing career.

“All of this [writing] work is so interesting to me because it’s like detective work,” he said. “You have to uncover all the facts, and I do my very best to make sure that I have a very true, factual story.”

He lists his source material at the end of each book.

Besides Internet research, Gallagher used newspapers, libraries, historical societies, genealogy, and original investigative materials for which the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department granted him access. His research also included the police investigative skills and court processes of the 1870s.

“They opened up all their old records,” he said of the Sheriff’s Dept. “They actually had the booking sheets of [William] Sturtevant when he was arrested.”

His book also includes crime scene photographs.

Nearly everyone in the room was familiar — and fascinated — by the story of the Sturtevant murders. At a Halifax book-signing when the new book was published, 15 descendants of the Sturtevant family attended.

The crime

William Sturtevant, a reform school inmate as a youth and Navy deserter during the Civil War, was married with one child and another on the way at the time of his crime. The family lived at 0 High St., Hanson.

“I was trying to find out who lived at 0 High St. tonight and invite them,” said Historical Society Co-president John Norton, but that information was not available in the town Street List.

At about 7:30 p.m., on the cold Sunday night of Feb. 15, 1874, William walked four and a half miles from his home via Elm Street, through a wooded path to the rear of his grand uncles’ home in Halifax. Along the way, he had removed a loose wooden stake from a hay cart.

“People, in those days, used to walk everywhere,” Gallagher said. “He used to walk to work in South Abington and that’s a four-mile walk.”

The job at a shoe factory was not enough to pay William Sturtevant’s debts and he knew his well-off grand uncles did not trust banks and kept a lot of money in their Halifax house. Newspaper accounts at the time indicated there was friction between William Sturtevant and the uncles, but it is thought that William had sought to borrow money from the old men and was turned down.

Gallagher believes William Sturtevant knew his relatives went to a barn every day at 9 p.m. to feed the cows and he encountered his uncle Thomas, who was on his way to do that — William hit him over the back of the head with the wooden stake. Simeon, who was in bed as he is thought to have had an illness similar to Alzheimer’s, was hit eight or nine times with the club.

“As soon as I saw that, I said this is not a crime about robbery, there’s more to this than meets the eye,” Gallagher said.

William Sturtevant then rifled through a nearby sitting room and stole some money, including uncirculated Civil War scrip from 1863. Mary was killed on his way out of the house.

The house, built in 1715, still stands and has been restored by a Bridgewater State University art professor and his wife, who welcomed Gallagher into their home to look around.

William Sturtevant spent some of that 1863 scrip at a store near his home in Hanson and he had dropped some along the path in the woods, Gallagher said, noting the circumstantial evidence was strong enough for a conviction.

“It’s dark history, but it’s history nonetheless, and I think it shapes our communities,” Gallagher said.  “The more we know about our community and where we came from, I think, the better it is.”

“If your nephew asks you for money, let him have it,” one woman quipped.

The uncles, buried in Thompson Cemetery, Halifax lie beneath headstones reading “Murdered” with their killer buried in an unmarked plot next to them after his execution, to which tickets had to be issued due to the demand to witness the event.

“Now that I’ve told you the whole story, you don’t have to buy the book,” Gallagher joked. He signed books for those who purchased copies.

Whitman native and Marine Corps 1st Lt. Daniel J. Rogers, now serving a deployment in Okinawa, Japan since Feb. 12, gave a brief interview to the Whitman-Hanson Express Friday, March 24 on his experiences in the Corps through the offices of Defense Media Activity (DMA).

A Department of Defense agency, DMA is a direct line of communication for news and information to U.S. forces deployed worldwide, on land, sea and air. It presents news, information and entertainment through media outlets, including radio, TV, Internet, print media and emerging media technologies. DMA broadcasts radio and television to forces in 177 countries and 279 Navy ships at sea with Department-specific news and information programming.

Lt. Rogers spoke via telephone-Skype connection arranged by the DMA at 8 p.m. Okinawa time (7 a.m. locally) after a long day of work.

He is a 2010 graduate of WHRHS and went on to study Finance at Norwich University in Vermont. His two brothers — Mark, a 2013 W-H grad, and Luke, a 2016 graduate — are also serving in the Marine Corps, as did Lt. Rogers’ father and “a few uncles and cousins” have also served their country as Marines.

“I guess it does kind of seem like a trend at this point,” he said.

Q: How long have you been in the Corps?

A: “I have been in for almost three years, now.”

Q: Why did you decide to join?

A: “Growing up, I would see a lot of pictures of my family members that were in the Marine Corps before me, and I always knew it was something that I wanted to do for a multitude of different reasons. When I became closer to graduating high school, I was looking into my options there and my parents encouraged me to apply for an NROTC scholarship to be an officer.

“I applied for an NROTC scholarship and got it, so I went to school for four years and I commissioned as a second lieutenant in May of 2014. … I went to [Officer Candidate School] the summer between my junior and senior year [at Norwich].”

Q: How does your finance major enter into the MOS (military occupational specialty) in which you now work?

A: “It definitely doesn’t directly relate — I’m an infantry officer [platoon leader] right now, but believe it or not there are times when I do use some of the things that I learned at Norwich.”

Q: How so?

A: “Being a platoon commander, you’re definitely in charge, or responsible I should say, for all aspects of your Marines’ lives — whether it be training them to be ready for combat or making sure that they’re set to make responsible decisions in their personal lives. Those are all things I have to worry about, so when the time does come, and it is time for us to do our job, they are ready — full mind, body, training — ready to go. Finance doesn’t really sound like it relates, but being able to talk to my Marines about things like where they stand financially, how they’re doing and some good decisions that they could be making.

“Like anything, if you’re having problems back home, it will affect you at work, so that’s one more thing I can help them with so we can all be ready.”

Q: What are some of the current projects you can speak to?

A: “We’re forward deployed here. Big-picture, it’s to maintain security across the Pacific. We’re a force in readiness out here in case some type of conflict or crisis does arise. We’re also strengthening our relationship with our allies out here, training with them and enhancing our capabilities to work together.

Q: What is Okinawa like and have you had much interaction with its people?

A: “It’s a beautiful island, the beaches are unbelievable when we do get to go. It’s a very small island — it’s only 60-something miles long and 17 miles at its widest point. So the dominating things are the Marine and Air Force bases here.

“It does have a very rich culture, an offshoot of Japanese culture, so there’s a lot to explore if you have the time to do so. Right now, we’re working six days a week, but on the seventh we do get the opportunity to go out in town and kind of explore and have some time to try the local food, meet the local people and see the sights.”

Q: Other places you’ve been able to experience?

A: “This past spring we were in BALTOPS, which stands for Baltic Operations, and we did something similar to this where we went out and trained with a lot of our partner nations in Sweden, Finland and Poland. We also got to get off the ship and explore in Estonia, the Netherlands, Norway and Iceland. I got to see a lot of countries and meet a lot of people that I never would have been able to experience outside of the Marine Corps.”

Q: Are you planning on making military service your career?

A: “It’s too early to tell right now, but I’m definitely enjoying it now.”

Q: Any advice to youth considering military service?

A: “I definitely encourage it and would tell them to keep working hard where they’re at and, once they do make a decision to do whatever they do, give it everything they have. Go in with an open mind and soak in everything that you can, learn as much as you can and do the best that you can.”

Q: Any foreign language you’d recommend studying?

A: “Now that I’ve been through seven countries in Europe and we’re going to be passing around Southeast Asia, too, it seems almost any language will be able to help you out. You never know where you’re going to go. The Marine Corps is ready to go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice, so any language or experience you can bring to the table, there will definitely be a time and place where we could use it.”

Q: What do you miss most about Whitman?

A: “It’s actually in Hanson — I’d have to say Damien’s pizza on Route 58. You’ve got to love the local watering hole. I still argue  with people that that’s the best pizza in the world, right there.”

Q: How can people best support deployed troops? Care packages you’d like to receive?

A: “Everyone likes different things. I guess it kind of depends on what that person misses from home. We have a lot of access to any resources we might need, so for those who get homesick, if their families send them small momentos … You’ve got to keep them grounded to back home, but also keep their head focused over here, as well.”