Early voting is a hit with local residents.

“We’re doing very well and people seem to really appreciate it, that’s the best part,” said Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan. “I would like to see it for all elections. I think it’s great.”

Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley would agree, as 2,210 residents turned out to cast early ballots along with 276 absentees between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2 — and there were two days left in the early voting window, which closes at the end of the business day on Friday, Nov. 4. Hanson’s total as of Nov. 2 was 1,160 with 220 absentee ballots.

“We’re very busy today, very pleasantly busy,” Varley said during the extra Saturday early voting hours Whitman offered Oct. 29. “During the first hour today we had about 100 people.”

Working couples with families and seniors hesitant to stand in long lines seem to appreciate the convenience equally, Sloan said. As she spoke, all five of the voting booths set up in her office and the hallway outside it were busy and more people were arriving to cast ballots.

“They don’t have to make their families drive them, it’s difficult to make arrangements because they’re working,” Hanson resident Leah Guercio said of her fellow seniors as she waited for a friend to finish voting Friday, Oct. 28. Guercio works with the Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center’s supportive day program.

“I love it,” another resident said as she checked in to vote early at the Hanson Town Clerk’s office. “It’s amazing. I don’t know how anybody else feels, but I think it’s wonderful.”

“They love it,” Varley agreed regarding Whitman voters.

Whitman saw more voters cast ballots before the end of its second day, nearly 600, than turned out for the state primary in September, according to Town Administrator Frank Lynam at the Oct. 25 meeting of Whitman Selectmen. Only 375 people voted in that primary in Whitman.

“It’s amazing the traffic that’s coming in [Town Hall] just to early vote,” Lynam said.

By the morning of Oct. 28, Sloan had seen 540 early voters cast ballots and had received another 200 absentee ballots. Whitman also had about 200 absentee ballots before they dropped off during early voting. She said absentees will resume once early voting ends.

“I think there’s a lot of people that just don’t want to wait in line,” said Whitman Selectman Brian Bezanson, who also reminded residents watching the Oct. 25  meeting on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV to vote on Election Day, Nov. 8. “It’s obviously a very important election and we need as many people as possible to chime in on this as we can. There’s many ways to vote, so please do it.”

In addition to early voting — from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4 — and regular voting hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 8, voters unable to go to the polls in some circumstances may cast absentee ballots.

Whitman Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, who voted early, had a concern about the security of the process.

“I’ve had a lot of questions,” Varley said as she checked in voters Saturday. “I’ve had a lot of people questioning how many hands are going to touch these ballots, what happens to these ballots — things like that. My answer to them is, if you want to know what happens to your ballot show up here on Nov. 8 at 8 o’clock at night, and you’ll see.”

Early voters place their ballots in a signed and dated sealed envelope, which poll workers run through voting machines in the appropriate precincts on Election Day.

“They do that at a time when they don’t have heavy voting, because the folded ballots could jam the machine,” Lynam said.

“Whoever opens it, knows how I voted, if he or she decides to glance,” he said. “This is something that struck me.”

Varley said the security of ballots is an issue she takes very seriously.

“It’s a process,” she said. “We have to do the check-in and the check-out for your ballots. This makes more work for the clerks.”

Selectman Daniel Salvucci said he has also spoken with Varley, principally about the time involved in counting the ballots Nov. 8, noting a final tally in Whitman is expected to be available by 11:30 p.m. that night.

“She also said that, if we wanted to, the room will be open [during the count], but lines will be drawn where people can stay there and watch them do what they have to do,” Salvucci said, echoing Varley’s comments. “You have to stay a certain distance away.”

“The final numbers are going to take a while on Election Night,” Kowalski said of the time involved in processing early ballots in the 28 states and the District of Columbia, where early voting is permitted. Another 20 states allow early votes with an excuse. There are 10 states that still prohibit early voting.

HANSON — Candidates for the Plymouth County offices of sheriff and county commissioner fielded questions from voters during a candidates’ forum Sunday, Oct. 16 co-sponsored by the Hanson Democratic and Republican town committees.

Hanson Town Moderator Sean Kealy moderated the event at the Selectmen’s meeting room in Hanson Town Hall.

Incumbent Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr., a Republican, and Democratic challenger Scott M. Vecchi squared off in an often-heated exchange in the room filled with McDonald supporters. County Commissioner candidates Lincoln D. Heineman and incumbent Greg Hanley, both Democrats, and Republican incumbent Daniel A. Pallotta answered a few questions in more subdued exchange. Voters select two on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The 6th District incumbent Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury and his Republican challenger Vince Cogliano were joined by state Sen. Mike Brady, B-Brockton, as well as a statement from U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., read by Hanson resident James Egan were also involved in the event. None of Keating’s opponents took part or provided statements.

Right out of the blocks, in his opening statement, Vecchi went on the attack, describing his campaign as a reform effort against “the corrosive impact of employee campaign contributions, nepotism, patronage, and exploitation of our pension system.”

He said he misses the Joe [McDonald] of a 2004 debate.

“That Joe railed against the same things I’m railing against right now,” he said. “That Joe lashed out against hiring friends and family members [and was for] fiscal responsibility.”

Vecchi charged those problems not only still exist, they have multiplied.

“My colleague likes to say a lot of very bad things about individuals at the sheriff’s office, the budgets,” McDonald countered. “I’m never going to overspend. The budget’s been very fiscally responsible. The people that I work with are the best. There is no patronage, there is no nepotism, there is no pension abuse.”

McDonald said there is only one of the candidates poised to double-dip on a pension.

“It’s not me,” he said.

McDonald, who has been sheriff for 12 years, said for his part, that while elections can be won, re-elections must be earned and he strongly asserted he has earned re-election.

“I’m going to share with you the good news about what’s going on at the sheriff’s office,” he said in his opening remarks. “I have the best staff in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and, I dare say, in the United States of America.”

He refuted Vecchi’s claims that budgets are over-spent.

“We’re right on budget,” he said. “In fact, we have the lowest per-inmate cost of any sheriff’s office in Massachusetts, and at the same time we are providing the highest level of community service.”

He pointed to his department’s work with Hanson, state and other local community departments in the response to an investigation of the Sept. 29 armed home invasion in Hanson.

“They came, they helped with the apprehension, they helped in gathering evidence,” he said of his department’s K-9 units. “This was tangible, this was real.”

He also lauded the work done by inmates on work crews for municipal projects.

A Plymouth resident, Vecchi is a member of the Alden and Mayflower Societies and is a sergeant on the Plymouth Police Department and a retired Marine gunnery sergeant — a combat veteran of Iraq. He is also an attorney with 23 years of police and corrections experience.

“When elected sheriff, I’ll be the only sheriff who’s actually been a corrections officer,” he said. As a police officer, he said he has been on the “front line” in the fight against the opioid epidemic, having administered Narcan and other first aid measures to overdose victims. He said the Police Association of Mass., MassCOP, the Professional Firefighters of Mass., and “numerous other unions” have endorsed him.

A Marshfield native, McDonald has a 25-year history in law enforcement, has a law degree from Suffolk University Law School and is a graduate of the National District Attorney’s Association National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C., the National Sheriff’s Institute of Longmont, Colo., the Municipal Police Training Committee Basic Reserve Academy in Plymouth and the FBI Academy’s FBI Leads Academy 59th session in Quantico, Va. He is the immediate past president of the Mass. Sheriff’s Association, and its current vice president, and was a member of the Governor’s Opioid Task Force and council on criminal justice reform.

Commissioners
candidates

Scituate native Heineman congratulated forum organizers for the mostly respectful exchange of views, terming it a “refreshing from what’s happening nationally.” He has worked on municipal budgets in Scituate as well as for the state inspector general’s office and holds an MBA, and he stressed the need for making county government more efficient. He said the commissioners must also do more to combat Lyme disease.

“We have a Lyme disease epidemic going on on the South Shore,” Heineman said. “Approaching it in a regional way is something we must do.”

Hanover resident Pallotta, who is the current chairman of the Plymouth County Commissioners, said that while he and Hanley are “on extreme opposites on the political spectrum,” they have worked together to return a sense of fiscal responsibility to the commission.

“Plymouth County should have been filing for bankruptcy when I took office four years ago,” Pallotta said. “It was selling land, they were selling buildings, they were selling everything they could to balance the budget. They had fraudulent revenue projections and it was just hack-o-rama down there with jobs and everything else.”

He said they worked together to “clean up the mess — and we did it the hard way — we cut people.” Unnecessary programs were eliminated or reduced and, for the first time in a decade, the county will have an audited set of books with a $400,000 surplus for the first time over the same period. He also said the county has already applied for a grant to address the Lyme disease issue and has also filed legislation to eliminate the sheriff’s liability for retirees and to allow the county commissioners to have a savings account.

“When we got into office, the cupboard was bare,” agreed Hanley, who is a Pembroke resident. “The previous commissioners wanted to end county government.”

He echoed President Kennedy’s comments on Russian advances during the nuclear era that, “It’s not the Republican answer that we should seek, nor the Democratic answer — it’s the right answer.” Hanley said, of the hundreds of votes he and Pallotta cast as commissioners, they have differed only once, in a philosophical vote on a labor issue.

They partnered with the legislative delegation on both sides of the aisle and, most important among those bills, saved the county communities from having to foot the bill for $32 million in legacy costs for retirement liabilities when the correctional facility was taken over by the state. The debt was forgiven by adding 10 cents to every transaction at the Registry of Deeds, Hanley said.

“We have a function to do and if we don’t do the function it’s going to go to the state,” Pallotta said.

“I give a lot of credit where credit is due to the existing commission for righting the ship,” Heineman said. “What we need to do now, is to take a new [direct] approach to, across the aisle in a bipartisan way, to make sure the commission is not just meeting its obligations, which it is now.”

He said it is largely agreed that more services can be provided in more ways than are currently being delivered.

HANSON — Candidates for state representative in General Court fielded questions, Sunday, Oct. 16, about benefits for illegal immigrants, ballot questions, infrastructure needs and which presidential candidates they support during a candidates’ forum co-sponsored by the Hanson Democratic and Republican town committees.

The 6th District incumbent Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and his Republican challenger Vince Cogliano — a former Pembroke Selectman — were joined by state Sen. Mike Brady, B-Brockton, candidates for Plymouth County Commissioner and Sheriff in fielding questions from voters at the Selectmen’s meeting room in Hanson Town Hall. U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., sent a statement read by Hanson resident James Egan. None of his opponents took part or provided statements.

Hanson Town Moderator Sean Kealy moderated the event.

Cutler and Cogliano were cordial in their exchanges, but firmly made their case for the very different ways in which they approach the issues. Cutler backs Hillary Clinton and Cogliano supports Donald Trump in the race for the White House.

Cogliano, a veteran and lifelong Pembroke resident who attended Silver Lake Regional High School, still runs his family farm, growing pick-your-own strawberries and Christmas trees. Cutler is an attorney and former owner of the Express newspapers, who is now a partner in Hanson’s Coletta Cutler Real Estate.

Both men are former selectmen and Cogliano was a founding member of the committee that helped Pembroke negotiate and form an autonomous school district.

“It was a very good thing for the town in so many ways,” Cogliano said, of that effort. He has been endorsed by Gov. Charlie Baker and state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman.

“We’re all very proud that [the Tank the Gas Tax] measure passed and protected the will of the people, who don’t want taxes raised in the dark with no vote,” Cogliano said in his opening statement, of the ballot initiative Diehl started and for which he collected signatures. Cogliano said that, unless more Republicans are elected to Beacon Hill, Baker’s next two years, as governor will be marked with efforts to block his legislative goals. He argues that taxes should not be raised unless it is made clear “where the money is going, how it is being spent, is it being spent wisely and is it reaching the very people that it’s intended to reach and help.” He advocates a more business-friendly legislature as well.

Cutler, speaking second in his opening, said he is proud of the legislative work being done in Massachusetts, where some significant legislation has been passed in recent years through a bi-partisan effort. Major economic development, veterans’ housing, clean energy were among those efforts.

“We’ve done it on an almost-unanimous basis in many cases, and that’s because we have a reputation for working across the aisle, building consensus and getting things done,” Cutler said.

He noted that he and Diehl put aside their differences to build a coalition of more than 70 legislators, successfully raising the Chapter 70 funding formula to schools from $25 to $55 per pupil. “It directly benefits our communities,” he said.

As a member of the Elder Caucus, Cutler said he has worked to help increase funding for councils on aging. He has also worked to secure funds to help clean up local ponds and Camp Kiwanee improvements as well as to restore commuter rail service.

Cutler said unemployment, currently at 3.9 percent, is the lowest it’s been since the dot-com boom of the late 1990s and the bond rating is at a historic high. State schools rank fourth in reading on a global level, and ninth in math.

“We’ve done much in the commonwealth to be proud of,” he said.

Cogliano said he is running because change is needed and that the state has a spending problem.

“One of the reasons that we have such a high bond rating?” he said. “Bonds are set by the ability to pay back and when you have the ability, because you’re controlled by a one-party system to arrange taxes to pay for the bond, bond-rating agencies love you.”

Brady gave a brief statement, as he has no opponent for the state Senate in November. He has served more than seven years as a state representative as well as many years on Brockton City Council.

“We have worked very diligently on bipartisan legislation to address the opioid addiction crisis,” he said, echoing Keating’s statement, which led off the evening. “It’s affecting too many communities. … We still have to work harder.”

He pointed out that insurance companies restrict rehab coverage to 14 days, “Which is ridiculous,” he said, noting many times first responders are administering Narcan to the same patients multiple times a day. “There’s a revolving door.”

He has also worked toward the increase in per-pupil school funds, as well as funds for Camp Kiwanee and the Monponsett watershed.

“It is vital that we support the education and training of our next generation’s workforce,” Egan read from Keating’s statement. “To this end, I have secured over $10 million in federal funding in the last two years alone for vocational training, apprenticeship, Head Start and youth-building funding.”

Keating said he has supported cranberry exports within the new global market, and worked to limit “misguided regulations” on small cranberry growers as well as supporting the fishing industry.

He credited Cutler and Brady for their work against the opioid epidemic and has worked on bipartisan legislation in the house. Keating also serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and as the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism.

“My work to highlight airport security weaknesses led to a first-of-its-kind, top-to-bottom review of all U.S. airports with TSA presence and passage of my legislation to seal gaps in perimeter and access-control security,” Egan read from Keating’s statement.

WHITMAN — A blighted house at 35 East Ave., vacant for about a decade, now has a new owner and will soon be renovated — and returned to the tax rolls.

The boarded up house, across the street from the rodent-infested house torn down at 36 East Ave., on Nov. 12, 2015, was purchased by James Bowen of Middleborough during a street-side auction on Friday, Oct. 7.

The houses date to about the 1870s.

Minimum bid for the auctioned house was $85,000. Bowen bought it for $103,000 after a short bidding war with another interested party after the price had climbed to $100,000.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam reported to Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 11 that the cost of sale — for the auctioneer and advertising — was $4,500. The town nets more than $99,000 and, even after the $86,897 in total carrying costs for the property while it stood vacant, the town “comes out on this property as whole as we would have” if it had never been vacant.

Bowen operates rental properties, mostly in Brockton and Lakeville, Middleborough and Avon. This is the first of some 40 projects he’s done that will be in Whitman. He used to work for Shadley Brothers on Day Street, however, so he knows something about the town.

He plans to put on a new roof to weatherproof it within the next few weeks.

“I like old houses,” he said of his plans to renovate instead of tearing it down. “I just did one over from the 1880s so I know the old houses and it seemed like a good investment.”

Auctioneer Samantha Saperstein of the Paul Saperstein Co. of Holbrook began the bidding at 11 a.m., asking if all qualified bidders had registered and if there were any questions. As a town sale, and not a foreclosure, she was not required to read a legal notice before opening the bidding.

One person asked if any taxes were due on the property.

“We’re not seeking taxes, we just want to sell it,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “You start getting taxed the day you own the property.”

He and Building Inspector Bob Curran represented the town at the auction.

“This is a big step,” Curran said, noting the rest of East Avenue is a beautiful neighborhood. “This was the worst part of it.”

“Whatever you bid here today is what you close at closing,” Saperstein said. “A few of you have asked about two-family housing … If you go to just rehab it, as it is, you can do what you want with it — if you have the proper permits. If you tear it down, I believe you’ll have to go in front of the zoning board [ZBA] and get the proper permits to do a two-family home.”

The property had not been a legal multi-family home in the past.

“[Paul] Saperstein is a preeminent auction house,” Lynam said.

A neighborhood resident, who has lived on the street for 71 years said it was good to see something done with the problem properties.

“It was sad to see that one go,” she said gesturing to the vacant lot where the 36 East Ave. house stood. “This one — I don’t know how old it is, but it was certainly here when I moved on the street.”

With the presidential election a little more than a month away, voters are reminded of some important dates.

The deadline for registering to vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 8 election is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Early voting begins on Monday, Oct. 24, concluding on Friday, Nov. 4.

“Registered voters do not need an excuse or reason to vote early,” said Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan. “The first step is making sure you are registered.”

Sloan is ready for early voting, having set up four voting booths — two handicapped accessible — behind the counter in her office. In Whitman, the early voting booths are now on display in the corridor outside the Town Clerk’s office, but will be moved into the auditorium by Oct. 24.

Absentee voting will also be conducted as usual for the Nov. 8 Election Day.

“Anyone who is 18 on or before Nov. 8 can vote, but must register by Oct. 19,” Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley said. “A lot of the young kids think they can’t vote because the deadline is Oct. 19.”

Whitman early voting hours [Oct. 24 to Nov. 4] are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and special hours on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The application deadline for early voting by mail is noon on Friday, Nov. 4. The Whitman Town Clerk’s office will be closed to all non-election business on Nov. 8.

In Hanson, early voting is available during business hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon.  Registered voters also have the option to request an early voting ballot through the mail. Simply fill out an application and mail it to Town Clerk, 542 Liberty Street Hanson, MA 02341.

Former Gov. Deval Patrick signed the election reform law on May 22, 2014 to allow early voting in state biennial elections, starting 11 business days before an election and ending two business days before Election Day.

The election reform law also permits early registration for 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, although they would not be permitted to cast ballots until age 18. For more information on registering to vote or to obtain an early voting by mail application, visit the Secretary of State’s website at sec.state.ma.us.

The law also requires the state to audit 3 percent of precincts during presidential election years to make sure voting machines are working correctly. It establishes a task force to pin down the cost and administrative requirements of the early voting provision and examine other voting issues such as same-day voter registration.

A Republican-backed provision for voter ID cards was rejected by lawmakers.

Making plans

Expecting a 75-percent turnout for the presidential election, Varley has asked for, and received, Whitman Selectmen’s support for safety procedures she plans to institute at Town Hall on that date. The measures have been used before in high-turnout elections and center on restricting parking and charitable solicitations.

Town Hall employees and election workers will be required to park at the police station on Election Day to free up Town Hall parking for voters. Employees and election workers will be shuttled to Town Hall. Parking along South Avenue from Day Street to the center of town will be limited to a half-hour on a temporary basis.

The 150-foot “no electioneering” rule around Town Hall will be enforced, including fundraising efforts by Dollars for Scholars and other groups.

Voters have also been receiving the “Massachusetts Information for Voters” booklet on the 2016 Ballot Questions from the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin.

Voters’ guide

The 29-page, newsprint booklet provides the text and summaries of the four questions, an explanation of what yes and no votes will do, a statement of fiscal consequences, and arguments from representatives on both sides of each issue.

A clip-out voter checklist is printed on the back cover for voters to use to note how they intend to vote as a pocket reference to take with them to the polls.

Question 1 refers to expanded slot-machine gaming; Question 2 asks whether charter schools should be expanded in the state; Question 3 refers to the conditions in which farm animals are raised and Question 4 involves whether marijuana should be legalized, regulated and taxed.

The booklet is mailed to residential addresses of registered voters, group quarters and convenient public locations throughout the state. To obtain a copy, call Galvin’s Elections Division at 617-727-2828 or 1-800-VOTE (8683) or the Citizen Information Service at 617-727-7030.

HANOVER — South Shore Vocational Technical High School wants to get more students out to work — whether through co-operative employment, after-school jobs or unpaid internships.

“It almost seems like it’s unnecessary to say that,” Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey told the SSVT Regional School Committee Wednesday, Sept. 21 about his opening-day talks with faculty, staff and junior and senior students. “But, what I was specifically referring to in terms of staff was … the importance of talking up to students the ability to spend some part of their experience here outside this building.”

One of Hickey’s evaluation goals for the year is to increase such work projects by 10 percent. He also asked School Committee members to formulate a plan for some form of graduation requirement eventually mandating “some sliver of their time” in an external work environment.

“If they don’t have a car, we can help them,” he said of school day co-op positions. “If they need help with job placement, we can help them, and we’re sending the same message to students.”

Other goals Hickey outlined for the year are: professional learning communities to support teachers with weekly meetings on educational issues; action plans to reach state accountability goals for student achievement; that 100 percent of eligible students pass a third-party industry, OSHA or shop-specific test; and proper administration of the educator evaluation framework.

Whitman School Committee member Daniel Salvucci suggested an informational cable TV program on the work students can do — and have done  — in work environments and in-school municipal projects. The shows could be made available for broadcast in all member towns.

“A key thing for making this work is to have employer partners,” Hickey agreed. “We’re open to any relationship at all they want to have. They may not have a job for a student, but they may come in to give a presentation.”

Municipal projects

Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey said students have also been working on projects involving the rewiring of the Stetson House next to Hanover Town Hall, repairing an ice machine for the Scituate Knights of Columbus, printing projects for Rockland town officials and Veterans’ Council, and will be refurbishing a bike rack for the Scituate Library and metal display platforms for the Whitman Public Library.

At the end of the 2015-16 school year, the metal fabrication shop  designed and built a smoker for two Hanover police officers, who went on to win first prize at a regional contest between police and fire personnel.

“It has our name on it [so] we got a lot of good publicity out of it,” Aubrey said, noting contest participants were impressed with the smoker’s design and workmanship.

Hickey added that Hanson Veteran’s Agent Bob Arsenault has also asked that the school’s auto body shop help with the sand-blasting and re-painting of markers for the town’s memorial squares.

“I recently sent a letter to all of our town administrators, acting as a refresher, reminding them that we value municipal work and collaboration on projects,” he said. “The real-world curriculum serves our towns — everybody wins.”

Community goals

Students are already moving ahead with their own goal to become more involved with the community, even as School Committee Chairman Robert Molla reminded Student Advisory Council representative Jacob Cormier of Hanover that the committee wanted to see a detailed list of projects.

Nine members of the Student Advisory Council have already volunteered at the Special Olympics in Randolph, they are working on the annual Haunted Hallway project planned for Oct. 29 in the school cafeteria (476 Webster St., Hanover), a powder-puff football game and a possible future service trip to help repair homes destroyed in natural disasters in Louisiana.

The Haunted Hallway project will feature activities geared toward elementary school-aged children and is always popular.

Molla also asked the council to take on a “face lift” for the 50-year-old Viking mascot or T-shirts to promote the school.

WHITMAN — Two years after his “Rock & Comedy for a Cause,” show in Brockton raised close to $15,000 for the Jett Foundation which funds Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy medical research, Whitman native Mark Chauppetta is planning an even bigger event at Plymouth Memorial Hall.

“Komedy for a Kause,” will feature a stellar lineup of Bay State comic talent with Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Jackie the Joke Man Martling, Johnny Pizzi, Jerry Thornton, Christine Hurley and Richie Minervini taking the stage at the 1,300-seat hall, 83 Court St. Plymouth on Friday, Oct. 14.

The fundraising goal this time out is $40,000 or more. Doors open at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $39.99 with $60 VIP tickets including a before the show meet-and-greet with the comics and appetizers available. A 50/50 raffle will also be conducted and a sports paraphernalia company will be on site, operating on consignment.

“The first show was such a success — it was a sell-out — that I needed a bigger venue,” said Chauppetta, a 1987 W-H graduate whose 21-year-old twin sons have Duchenne. “This is probably the biggest show, aside from Dennis Leary’s Comedy Comes Home every November at TD Bank Garden.”

Boston legends Clarke and Sweeney, who headline the show, are known for their support of charitable causes throughout Massachusetts.

“Lenny Clarke is one of the nicest, most charitable guys you will ever meet,” Chauppetta said.

Thornton is a “local guy turned sports radio personality” at WEEI and a former Hingham court officer, Chauppetta said. Martling is featured on the Howard Stern radio show and Hurley, from Plymouth, riffs on the “bad mom” ethos.

“She is becoming, bar none, the best female comic in the industry right now,” he said of Hurley, who is a sweet-natured mother of five off stage. “All Christine Hurley does is [dump] on her husband Jimmy Hurley. She’s so funny and a little blue.”

Minervini is a friend and frequent costar of “Mall Cop” actor Kevin James. Pizzi, who was on the last show lineup returns for another outing.

“He was so impressed with the last show he asked to be on my board for the next one,” Chauppetta said, and helped book the acts, all of whom are appearing for a reduced fee.

Chauppetta said he is now working fully with the Jett Foundation, which exclusively works toward supporting research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The erstwhile Jerry Lewis Telethons, in comparison, raised hundreds of millions of dollars, but the funds were divided amid work on behalf of all the neuromuscular diseases — numbering more than 20.

His sons, now 21, are still doing well and drive an adaptive vehicle.

“They live life, they love life and they don’t let life get them down,” Chauppetta said. “I instill a lot of that in them.”

He proudly notes that his sons are two of the best wheelchair soccer players in the world, playing on a team that won the national championship in Indiana this summer.

“They’re no different than any ambulatory, normal person,” he said. “Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy attacks their muscles, it doesn’t attack their cognitive ability.”

Duchenne is almost genetic-specific to boys, although there are a few rare cases of females with the disease.

Chauppetta has taken an extremely active role in fundraising for research and patient care — including mixed martial arts bouts each year.

“I’ve been raising money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy since they were diagnosed,” he said. “I’ve done everything from cage fighting to wrestling events. I’m a hands-on fundraiser. Now that I’m 47, I figure it’s time to shift toward less violence and more laughter.”

Chauppetta said downtown Plymouth, aside from featuring a large performance hall for the event, is a revitalized town center with several excellent restaurants. With tourism season ended, parking should be easier to find.

Once again, Yale Appliance and Lighting of Dorchester has again contributed a large sum to help defray expenses for the event.

Chauppetta, who grew up on Warren Avenue in Whitman, now lives in Carver and works in Brockton but is one of the coaches for the Hanson Warriors Youth Football program in which his 10-year-old son plays. He is also a W-H youth wrestling coach.

WHITMAN — With the completion of the South Avenue paving work comes new parking restrictions and traffic lines along one stretch of that roadway.

Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 13 approved a Department of Public works plan making the changes from Raynor Avenue to Pleasant Street.

“This is the area, when you come down Pleasant Street where the old fire station used to be,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

Traffic along that stretch of Pleasant Street has the option of turning right on South Avenue or going straight onto Franklin Street. Traffic on South Avenue can go straight, turn left onto Pleasant Street or turn right further along to Franklin Street.

The problem area has been the area where traffic merges from South Avenue to Pleasant Street and vice versa.

“That right turn [before the old fire station] is actually a two-way street,” Lynam said. “Part of the problem is that people who are planning to go on Pleasant Street, cross over at least 100 feet before they need to, basically driving in the wrong direction on South Avenue.”

Eliminating parking from the corner of Raynor to the lot where Whitman Ford used to be, and painting new lines to direct traffic flow are being used to eliminate that problem. Stripe lines will later be added to indicate areas that are “no car zone.”

Department of Transportation engineers have worked on the change.

Selectmen also approved an overnight parking ban on all streets from Dec. 1 to April 1, 2017 to ease snow removal efforts during the winter months.

The Selectmen observed a moment of silence in honor of Jenny Kirby, a longtime third-grade teacher and union official in Whitman, who died this week, and Leslie Cohen, who was chairman of Whitman’s former K-8 School Committee. Cohen died in August.

“Leslie Cohen was the reason I got into this at all,” said Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski, who started out on the School Committee. “She was just a chairperson par excellence.”

Kowalski noted it was ironic the two women would die in such close proximity to each other as they were often adversaries in contract negotiations.

“They were on opposite ends of the argument all the time,” he said. “But because of that — I don’t want to call it tension — but that activity, we had a school system you could be proud of in the K-8 days because of both of them.”

In other business, Selectman Dan Salvucci said he has been receiving complaints about people leaving TVs on their front lawns and sidewalks for trash pickup and reminded people the town’s hauling company will no longer pick up the TVs.

Residents have to take the TVs to the DPW for disposal for a fee of between $15 and $25 or the appliances can be dropped off at the Dollars for Scholars Electronics Recycling Day between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17 for a similar fee.

“One way or another, discarded TVs have to come off people’s front lawns,” he said. “They’ll be nothing but a hazard. Kids are walking to school and when it comes snow time and they’re plowing the sidewalks we really don’t want them hitting TVs.”

Selectmen also approved the signing of an agreement allowing the auction of property at 35 East Ave.

WHITMAN — Going outside will no longer be reserved for recess alone at Conley Elementary School.

Thanks to $20,000 raised by the school’s Parent Advisory Council at an annual basket raffle fundraiser, a school courtyard has been transformed into an outdoor classroom.

“This we see as making science come alive for kids,” said Principal Karen Downey as she hosted a reception Monday, Aug. 29 for PAC members, school officials and representatives from businesses who worked on the project. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the Board of Selectmen voted to officially approve the renovation project.

“Principal Downey is thrilled with the design and is looking forward to putting it in place before weather prevents the kids from using it,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam told selectmen. “They do plan to use it all year long. They will also use it in winter. It looks like a pretty interesting way to present some information to classes in kind of a fun way.”

Lynam thanked the Conley PAC parents for taking the step toward developing the space.

An easel inside the doorway to the enclosed courtyard displayed photos outlining the project’s success — and work yet to be done on it — during the reception.

“We can bring a class out [and] have quiet reading or writing. We can have snack over there,” Downey said, gesturing to picnic tables in a corner covered with shading material, as guests arrived.

Raised planters are also included along one wall for science projects, with a table in one corner for students to use in writing their observations. Another area offers space for quiet reflection in an alcove where a water feature is still to be added. It has already been recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

“It’s such a joy to be able to do something really special for the kids,” she said.

Carin Gosselin, a Landscape Architect from Norwell, donated her time and services to design and create a space where students can learn and explore, according to Downey.

“Carin met with me and Steve Mucci several times to hear our vision for the space and see or ideas,” Downey said. “She then drew up professional plans and enlisted the help of Curtis Farm Landscaping.”

John and Jared Curtis led their team to transform the space in three days following Carin’s plans, according to Downey. Jeff Palaza from Palaza and McDonough Tree Service donated 25 tree stumps to be used as student seating in the story circle. Marc Frisoli of Frisoli Electric donated  spools that will be used for work tables.  Mucci, and parent Matt Carew, “spent hours on a very hot, very humid Saturday afternoon building raised beds for planting and a bridge for our reflective garden path,” she said. “Steve Mucci also designed and created a teacher chair that is absolutely a piece of art for our story circle.”

She stressed that none of the work would be possible without the help of the Conley School community, led by the PAC.

“Our annual basket auction, chaired by Lynne Walton and Pam Codero, brought in $20,000 which was used to create this space for our students,” Downey said. Teachers and staff members made baskets and volunteered the night of the auction, kids and families donated items, services and baskets, and families took time to attend.

“For every raffle ticket purchased and every auction bid, families contributed to our new Outdoor Classroom,” she said. “This was truly a labor of love.”

 Sunday morning a rolling rally organized by the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) traveled to Hanson Rod and Gun Club to raise awareness on recent attempted changes to gun laws in Massachusetts.

A member of GOAL’s Board of Directors, Jim Finnerty helped organize the rally on behalf of responsible gun owners who want to protest the changes.

“We follow the rules to the letter,” Finnerty said. “For the last 22 years (we) have been very careful — if we weren’t, we would not be here today.”

“The fact that the Attorney Maura General Healey continues to interpret the Second Amendment and most recently the definitions of copycat weapons, is why we are here today,” he added.

Finnerty said about 150 vehicles were part of the rolling rally, which began in Billerica, with each participant given a handout packet regarding participant radio communications, appropriate signage  and the general rules of being courteous on the road. Finnerty expressed that their group was strictly standing up for their rights and protesting peacefully in a correct manner on public streets — to say they oppose the attorney general’s recent practice.

“We were not trying to occupy — we don’t like it ( what is happening) but we are not going to misbehave,” he said.

Peter Boncek grew up in Halifax and now resides in Kingston. As a member of the Hanson Rod and Gun Club he supported the rally by placing signs along his South Shore roadway but did not ride in the rally.

He has carried a gun license for more than 37 years and is a lifetime member of the NRA.  He supported the event on Sunday because he said he firmly believes in the Second Amendment.

“What Maura Healey has done, or tried to do — and we are going to get it back — is totally illegal, and wrong.  She doesn’t have the right. She is there to enforce the laws not make the laws,” said Boncek. “This is why we are here. You get a lot more people when you start messing with the Second Amendment. As you see people here and at the State House just three weeks ago approximately 5,000 people were there on a two days’ notice ( to promote the rally).”

  Approximately 300 people participated in the rolling rally Sunday and Boncek said he extended his invitation to 7th Plymouth District state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, who did attend the event.

Diehl who has a Class A LTC said he disagrees with Healey’s recent attempted changes to the commonwealth’s gun laws.

“First of all, I am against what Maura Healey did with the ban on the guns that she has now determined illegal,” Diehl said. “There is a lawsuit involved with that. Mike Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney is counsel on that. The legislature, unfortunately, she only did the [ban] with three days to go so we were unable to do anything to reverse the decision.” Although, over 100 legislators did sign a letter asking her not to [make the change]. Diehl pointed out the local gun clubs and gun owners rare allying to get people actively involved in protecting the Second Amendment.