HANSON — It was a hug in motion for a grieving family in the community on Sunday, July 31 as more than 200 area residents shrugged off oppressive humidity and rain to honor the memory of eighth-grader Samuel Andrews and aid the suicide prevention work of the Samaritans.

“My sister [Stacey] had an idea that we had to do something, and she suggested a walk,” said organizer Meredith Wigmore, a friend of the Andrews family. “She was the mastermind and I just got volunteers.”

That idea became the Do It For Sam 5K.

She said the fundraising goal was $5,000 and was certain it would be exceeded, thanks to the generous donation of gift baskets for raffles, which included a Wahlburger’s basket complete with a signed T-shirt, fitted hat and photo of Paul Wahlberg. One of Wahlburgers’ employees in promotions lives in Hanson and delivered the prize.

Wigmore said Monday that more than $9,000 was raised at the event.

“If we could help just one kid, one family, then we’ve done our job,” Wigmore said. “The town of Hanson has totally stepped up … I had people contacting me [asking], ‘What can I do?’”

One woman alone made up three of the raffle baskets. Hanson Police provided traffic control and the Fire Department had firefighter/EMTs driving the route on an ATV in case of a medical emergency.

Flowers for Sam

Walkers — and a few runners — stepped off a bit after the planned 9 a.m. start time, making their way from Botieri Field up Indian Head Street to School and Maquan streets, and back to Liberty Street, via Andrew Lane and Gorwin Drive, and then up High Street to Fern Hill Cemetery and back to Botieri Field. While at Fern Hill they were given water to beat the heat and humidity, and multi-colored carnations by Sam’s grandparents, Eugene and Phyllis Andrews, to place on his grave. The Abington Stop & Shop donated the flowers.

Members of the Andrews family expressed gratitude, when they could find the words, for their community’s support. Sam’s mother Melissa was unable to say much in the emotion of the day. His dad Phil was also deeply affected.

“It’s wonderful,” Gene said before choking up over the community’s support. “It’s unbelievable. From Day One, it’s just been … you realize we’re still a small town and a small community.”

“The turnout has just been phenomenal,” Phil said of the walk. “I can definitely feel Sam here with everyone and … I’m at a loss for words. I’m so glad we’re supporting a great organization like Samaritans.” He lauded the group’s work and said he hoped the fundraiser could help someone else in crisis.

Before the event started, DJ John Zucco introduced Abington Samaritans 40-year volunteer and board member Tom Burke to speak, followed by a prayer by the Rev. Michael Hobson of St. Joseph the Worker Church and a performance of the national anthem by Hanson resident Mary Drake.

Burke thanked organizers for the invitation and participants for the “wonderful tribute to Sam.”

Samaritans is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to reducing the incidence of suicide by befriending individuals in crisis and educating the public about effective prevention strategies. It also provides support for survivors of suicide attempts.

“The family reached out and got to know us and we got to know them,” Burke said after the walk. “They invited us to come down and we were happy to help.”

The Boston Samaritans chapter offers training workshops, grief support and reach to at-risk groups such as seniors. They also provide programs for schools. Burke said they handle as many as 125,000 calls and texts per year on the organization’s 24/7 phone befriending service: 1877-870-HOPE (4673) or text to Samaritans.

“It’s sad, but it’s needed,” Burke said. “We talk to about 12,000 people a year from schools … to explain the causes, the symptoms, how to cope, how to deal with it and who your resources are.”

All Samaritans services are offered at no cost.

“We also like to talk to police and first responders for two reasons,” he said. “First because they are involved and, second, because they are at risk.”

A great kid

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan, attending the walk, said it was a great example of a small town supporting one of its families at a time of pain.

“Sam was a great kid, I knew him and his dad when I first ran for office,” McGahan said. “They came down and met me down at Sandy’s coffee shop. He was a great boy and [his death] hit hard.”

He said his daughter was good friends with Sam.

“She misses him and couldn’t be here today, so she asked me to stop by,” McGahan said. “I think a lot of people are still kind of hurting from it, but this is a way for us to remember him.”

Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV volunteer Richard Green, who was among those attending the event who lost a loved one to suicide, too. He found the event brought back deep emotion and felt a connection to the Andrews family.

“We came to know him through what you people are doing,” he said of Sam. “It’s a very emotional day. … If you can help one person, that’s all you can do in this big world we live in.”

HANSON — Town Administrator Michael McCue is planting the seeds from which a Tree City USA designation for the town will grow — at least that’s his aim in delivering the seeds.

“I have an affinity for trees,” McCue said. “In my previous positions in other communities, one of my pet projects was to get towns named a Tree City USA.”

McCue reported at the Tuesday, July 19 Board of Selectmen’s meeting that he has arranged for the town to receive seeds from among six Ginko biloba trees that survived the atomic bomb blast at Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945. The seeds will be delivered to Hanson Middle School for grade eight science classes to plant.

That class of students will be asked to nurture the seedlings as they grow, until they graduate Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.

McCue has reached out to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes to help set up the program with science classes.

McCue took possession of the seeds Friday, July 15, after they were quarantined, and they’ve been in his home refrigerator since.

“They can grow these seeds and add something of significance to the community,” McCue said. The trees are meant to be a legacy gift to plant on the WHRHS grounds.

The seeds are from trees known in Japan as the Hibakujumoku — or survivor trees.

McCue came across the Ginko as a good candidate species when he worked in Avon, because the trees are extremely hardy, as evidenced by surviving Hiroshima.

He looked into the U.N.-sponsored program, Green Legacy Hiroshima, which annually collects seeds from the Hibakujumoku.

“I was able to obtain 12 saplings when I was still in Avon … and have maintained a relationship with this organization,” he said. “Unfortunately, the saplings I have control over and are still being cared for at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston — I’ve committed all of those.”

That’s where the seed program comes into play.

Six months ago, after learning the import restrictions had been tightened, he was able to obtain a shipment of the seeds.

In addition to the Ginko seeds, he will be getting seeds from the hackberry, jujube, a holly and camphor.

Besides the Ginko, species of the approximately 170 Hibakujumoku traceable to Hiroshima before the bombing by UNITAR’s database also include weeping willow, black locust, Chinaberry, fig, bamboo, azalea, hemp palm, oleander, Japanese spindle, Kurogane holly, Japanese aralia, nettle tree, camphor tree, silverthorn, Japanese persimmon, eucalypt, giant pussy willow, southern catalpa, sago palm, tree peony, Shirodamo, cherry, crape myrtle, oriental pine, Chinese parasol tree, Japanese black pine, Muku tree, Japanese hackberry, jujube, Japanese flowering apricot, Amanatsu, Tabunoki, Bohdi tree, Japanese camellia, Japanese quince, Chinese juniper and crinum lily.

UNITAR is the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Boston Post Cane

McCue is also working to revive the tradition of the Boston Post Cane, awarded to a community’s oldest resident. He has presided over such programs in Mansfield and Avon — where he had to work with North Easton Savings Bank, which had started a program to replace missing Boston Post canes as a public service.

“Their [Avon] cane over the course of several decades went missing,” he said.

Hanson’s cane was also missing, but the bank has replaced it and the town clerk has determined the identity of the oldest resident. Replica canes also feature the engraving from the originals. Hanson’s is now being engraved.

The cane program was founded by the defunct Boston Post newspaper in 1909 as a promotional project. Canes were made of ebony with gold grip and tip, for 700 towns in New England, including Maine, Massachusetts New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

No cities were included in the program, according to the Maynard town website, but some present day cities were still towns in 1909.

So long as that person agrees to participate in a ceremony, McCue said the board will be advised at a later date when it would take place.

“Some people aren’t interested in the attention,” he said.

McCue is looking to affiliate with the Small Town Administrators’ Group open to communities of 11,000 residents or fewer and is hoping to arrange one of the organization’s annual meetings in town.

HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, July 12, clarified its June 28 appointments to the Conservation Commission.

At the June 28 meeting, there were four applications for two positions up for a vote, but selectmen had received the resignation of another Conservation Commission member at the same meeting.

Selectmen voted against re-appointing Conservation Commission Chairman John Kemmett and Vice Chairman Frank Schellenger. The appointments replacing incumbent members had an effective date of June 30, 2016. Conservation Commission Clerk Brad Kirlin’s resignation left a vacant seat that expires in 2017, noted Selectmen Chairman James McGahan.

“Based on that, I believe the appointments were for [William] Woodward and [Sharon] LePorte … and that stays, however there is an open position at the Conservation Commission,” McGahan said.

Applications are being accepted toward filling the vacancy on Tuesday, July 26.

In other business, Town Administrator Michael McCue advised selectmen and the public about a recent incorrect press report, based on an erroneous decision by the state Attorney General’s office, concerning an open law violation by the Capital Improvement Committee. The decision wrongly faulted Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan for allegedly destroying minutes from meetings in 2013.

“That was actually due to an error on the part of [the committee’s] clerk, not the town clerk,” McCue said. “I think it’s important for the townspeople to be aware of the fact that the town clerk has been fulfilling her role very dutifully.”

The author of the Attorney General’s office decision has apologized for the error. A corrected decision will be issued that will not cast any aspersions on the town clerk’s conduct.

“The AG’s office had received a number of calls stating that people could not believe, and would not believe, that our town clerk would have done something incorrect like that,” McCue said.

Selectman Bruce Young noted that minutes are intended to be a permanent record.

“I know that the town clerk, and the former town clerk, know that records of minutes filed with the town clerk are a permanent record that can’t be destroyed or discarded,” he said. “That gives credence that that part of the Attorney General’s determination was totally bogus.”

McGahan noted that, by law, the missing minutes will have to be recreated.

McCue also reported that state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, had reported to him about budget vetoes by Gov. Charlie Baker regarding $20,000 that had been earmarked for water quality testing of Wampatuck Pond and $30,000 for improvements at Camp Kiwanee.

McCue said the vetoes are not unusual and that Cutler had indicated that both vetoes will be considered for potential override votes in the next couple of weeks.

“I don’t mean this in an incorrect way, but basically, the governor went through and slashed everything he could do without hitting essential services,” McCue said, noting the state budget still has a shortfall of nearly $1 billion.

HANSON — Saturday, July 9 marked their fifth wedding anniversary, and despite the broken bones and bruises from a recent motorcycle crash, they were celebrating the gift of life.

Dave and Heather Hanlon of Hanson face a long road of recovery following a motorcycle crash six weeks ago.

Friends of the couple are planning a benefit from 1-6 p.m., Sunday, July 31 at the Hanson Athletic Association pavilion, 171 Reed St., Hanson to aid in financial burdens as they recoup. The event will be held rain or shine.

Their lives were turned upside down while they were stopped in traffic waiting for a left turn on South Meadow Road in Plymouth May 28. They were hit from behind by a car reportedly traveling  40 m.p.h. The driver never hit the brakes before pushing the couple into the car in front of them.   

The experienced riders often took an open air spin on a pleasant day — a passion and hobby, which they now have had taken away, said Hanlon.

The Harley Davidson Heritage soft tail they were riding was turned into a heap of metal at the crash scene.

“Heather saw the car coming behind us in the side mirror and said, ‘Oh (expletive)”, said Hanlon.

Moments later Dave was lying on the opposite side of the road in the lane of oncoming traffic. He was bleeding heavily from his head, ejected off the bike and landing 35 feet from Heather who had stayed on the bike. She fractured her pelvis in three places, among numerous other injuries.

Hanlon has lived in town for 46 years and has worked for the Hanson Highway Department for the past 19 years and is also currently the Hanson Tree Warden for the next three years. He is also a former call firefighter.

Heather is originally from Freetown and has called Hanson home for approximately 10 years. The couple has five children between them, two are in their 20s.

Hanlon’s eldest daughter Stephanie, 24, is a nurse and lives in Hanson. Courtney, 20, is stationed in Hawaii in the Army. Her planned leave to come home was the day of their bike accident.

“My first visit with her was at the hospital. She came up to see us there,” said Hanlon, his voice reflected disappointment that her holiday was marred by negative circumstances.

Things have been in disarray but the pair is making the best of their circumstances. He will be seeing an orthopedist for his healing broken elbow. For now he is caring for his wife. She has a visiting nurse, occupational and physical therapist making visits to the house.

A difficult part of Heather’s healing is the immobility. Her reconstruction included screws, wires and plates to rebuild her pelvis. She is now in a wheelchair restricted to sitting or lying in bed non-weight bearing position for the next three months. However, the once active bowler and avid rider were not promised a full recovery.

Taking the healing one step at a time Heather is hopeful she will not have further complications. They look forward to their walks again in the Burrage Wildlife area behind their home.

With caring friends and fellow American Legion riders they are also members at the Hanson Athletic Association. Hanlon who has 30 years’ experience riding expressed appreciation of all who have reached out to assist them in the last weeks.

The accident, by chance, happened in front of a house where there were fellow motorcycle riders. After hearing the crash they raced to assist until first responders arrived.

“The people were great. They held Heather’s head in place to keep her still … a man gave me a T-shirt and held it to my head, “said Hanlon.

The upcoming benefit, which Hanlon said he is humbled by, was a gesture by local friends, members at the Hanson AA and fellow riders who have helped the couple stay positive and optimistic.

The organizers of the benefit hope to offset medical expenses for the pair following stays at the trauma center at the South Shore Hospital where he stayed for two nights. Heather was transported to Boston to Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she had surgery on June 1, remaining there until June 8 when she was moved to Braintree Rehabilitation.   After rehabbing she arrived home on June 16.

Seeing her in pain has not been easy, he said.

“We can’t enjoy our walks, we can no longer enjoy the motorcycle.  That has been taken away from us. She says she will never get on another motorcycle because of the accident,” he said.

The couple has laid tracks all over the New England states and most of Cape Cod. Two of their favorite places are Laconia, N.H and Newport, R.I.

Riding in the car provokes anxiety because the last thing she saw was the bike coming up behind them, he said.

HANSON — Look up the phrase “marketing quotes” on the Internet and what you get is a lot of droll observations on the cynicism of selling product.

That’s not what Tim Johnson is all about, but he is using the skills he learned as a marketing major, combined with his own experiences in the Peace Corps to bring young people into church — specifically, the First Congregational Church in Hanson.

“The way somebody put it recently was ‘Pastors are Jesus’ marketers,’” Johnson said.

He has been hired by the Rev. Peter Smith as the church’s youth and families ministries coordinator. A graduate of Stonehill College, Johnson, 24, is now organizing youth events and other church programs while preparing to study at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Mass. It is the same seminary from which Smith graduated.

While Johnson grew up in Thomaston, Conn., and knew Smith from his time as pastor in that town, Johnson has earned this job while on the job, as a counselor at summer camp.

“I had seen Tim work with youth at a summer camp and knew that he had a genuine interest in connecting young people with the God who made them and loves them,” Smith said. He added that Johnson’s “experience in persevering in ventures where he was on his own in unfamiliar circumstances” in both the Peace Corps and on a 1,400- mile solo bicycle trip from Connecticut to Florida also recommended him highly for the job.

“I do a good amount of marketing for the church and the things I’m trying to put on with the church,” Johnson said on a recent afternoon in the church library. “I put on events pretty much every month and market them online, but a lot of [it] is just calling people and asking if they’d like to come.”

While that kind of marketing is not precisely what his job description entails, it has been a natural avenue for him as he works to connect with the congregation’s youth as part of his outreach mission to youth and families.

He uses the Internet to advertise programs such as a July 14 yard games tournament on the parsonage lawn and a recent excursion to Scituate for a beach cookout.

He also facilitates a Bible study group, which has been reading “The Case for Faith,” by Lee Strobel, an agnostic investigative journalist for The Chicago Tribune who found faith while trying to debunk it.

“He’s a cool example of how a very critical, skeptical view of Christianity can actually turn around when you look at it,” Johnson said. “You don’t have to come into the church and abandon all logic. That’s the most important thing I want to get across to people  — that was my biggest worry about going into ministry.”

While he’s still trying to figure out a definitive career path, which he calls one of the blessings of being a millennial, it definitely includes the ministry.

“A lot of us will have three or four different careers,” he said. “Mine might be ministry and marketing and economics.” But right now he’s leaning toward marketing as he tries out church work such as and gets to know a new community.

He’s used to being new in town.

“I feel very new — just in how much I know and my personal relationships with people here,” he said. “But I feel very comfortable. People here are so welcoming.”

Johnson said he has already been invited to Sunday lunches by several church members, an extension of welcome to a new neighbor.

“In that sense I feel like I’ve been here a long time,” he said. “But I want to serve this church well and in order to do that I need to have a more comprehensive knowledge of the whole town.”

He has yet to find his way to the Commuter Rail station on the first try.

Johnson has done one presentation to introduce himself to the church, but much of that centered on Senegal — and he said he’d like to do a more formalized program on his Peace Corps work.

For 18 months he lived and worked for the Peace Corps in Mboro, Senegal on a two-year mission to help with small business consulting in an economic climate not conducive to such theories.

“In order to be effectively work there you had to, more or less, forget what you were taught in business school,” he said. “Business in Senegal is more of a social endeavor. It’s more about just having enough money to get by and, if you are doing all those American business things, you are essentially stealing from your neighbor.”

But he fell in love with the people.

“I had always wanted to join the Peace Corps,” he said. “That was a life-long goal since I was in about middle school.”

A smattering of French under his belt and an affinity for West Africa in his heart helped land him in Senegal, which is both of those things, as he puts it.

“The friendships were more valuable than anything,” he said of the Peace Corps experience. Some of his new Senagalese friends now connect with him on Facebook. An ocean is not insurmountable in a digital age.

HANSON — Expansion may not be good for one’s waistline, but for business it’s an indication of a healthy bottom line. When an expansion offers additional services that complements the main business, so much the better.

Personal Trainer and Nutritionist Phil Johnson, owner of Just For You Personal Training, 1000 Main St., Hanson has undertaken just such an expansion.

Last month, he and his wife LaToya opened the doors of the Just For You Nutrition Store in a space once occupied by Attic Fanatic’s display studio in the same building.

Just For You Personal Training has been in business since December 2013, also intended to help expand the business Johnson began in 2010 in Hanover and then Halifax, and it seemed to create a need for the nutrition store almost immediately.

“I just decided to do it because there was nothing like this in the area,” Phil said. “My clients kept asking what they should have, what they should eat. They’d always have to go other places at long distances, so I thought, ‘Let’s go for it.’”

Clients can frequently be overheard comparing notes on items they’ve tried from the nutrition store as they go through pre-workout warm ups in the gym.

LaToya helped her husband put the store together as a kind of convenience store for the health-conscious — and they’ve benefited from strong word-of-mouth and Facebook recommendations.

“It seems every week, more and more people find out about us and come,” she said.

As if on cue, a woman who lives in Avon came into the store looking for Halo Top low-calorie/high protein ice cream.

“It seems like everyone wants that,” LaToya said.

“They’re talking about it a lot at Weight Watchers,” the woman said, noting a serving is only four points on the diet program’s scale based on the nutrient content of foods.

The Johnsons’ market research took them to other health food stores in the area and through countless Internet sites as well as customer requests.

“Phil knew more than me with the nutrition end, because he took classes on nutrition,” LaToya said. “I knew some, but doing the store, I’ve learned a lot more.”

Halo Top was one of the brand names and general food categories customers have been requesting, LaToya said. The dairy-based ice cream is low-fat — only 240 calories per pint — with 24 grams of protein and is organic. It contains no artificial softeners to make it seem creamier (it doesn’t need them), and as a result melts slower.

They also carry non-dairy ice cream such as Coconut Bliss, made with coconut milk, and Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy, made with almond milk.

There are several brands that shoppers at grocery and specialty food stores will recognize, too: Anna’s Swedish Thins cookies, Stacy’s pita chips, Weetabix cereal, Kind health bars, Envirokids cereals, Hodgson’s Mill, Bob’s Red Mill, Simply Asia and Thai Kitchen prepared foods. Nut-free, organic, Indian vegetarian and gluten-free foods are also available.

“There’s a lot of stuff here that they can just grab and warm it up in the microwave or something,” LaToya said. “Some of the stuff you can find in the other stores but a lot of it, you can’t.”

The idea is a convenient way of finding a healthy item you want without having to search through a large grocery store for it.

“You can just come in and you know whatever you’re getting is going to be good for you,” she said.

The aim of the store has always been to carry all different kinds of nutritional supplements and healthy foods.

“We started with the proteins and we did a range of them, and then added the foods,” she said. “We even ended up getting spices.”

WHITMAN — As snow piled up during the first months of 2015, Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, director of the Whitman Emergency Management Agency said he had little difficulty in borrowing several front-end loaders and dump trucks to help clear streets.

The state, through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), however, has advised that the town enter into a public works mutual aid program to prepare for future emergencies.

Selectmen approved the proposal, 4-0, on Tuesday, June 21. Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski was absent.

“This is a necessity for us if we wish to avail ourselves of assistance from the state and other local, regional and statewide agencies in the event we have an incident or occurrence that requires additional aid,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam. He said the town has done so in the past without a specific agreement, but that the state is now requesting mutual aid agreements.

“It’s typically not what you’re going to see with police and fire, where every time they get a run they have to reach out to nearby communities,” Lynam added. “This would be extraordinary circumstances, where either we need help or some other community needs help and we’re able to provide it.”

The DPW will be acting on the request on Tuesday, June 28.

“This was brought to my attention from MEMA,” Grenno said. “They didn’t have on file a signed agreement for the DPW. This just allows us to legally bring, if we have [for example] six water main breaks in town and the DPW needed assistance.”

Pouring permit

Selectmen also approved the town’s first Farmer Series Pouring Permit since adopting the program two weeks ago. Old Colony Brewing Inc., was awarded a permit for its new location at 605 Bedford St.

The permits are designed to promote local agriculture by allowing shop owners to offer what they produce as well as package goods. The fee is $350. Selectmen’s approval is subject to the approval of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) and receipt of mailing, advertising and permit fees.

Old Colony Brewing President Dennis Nash explained the application.

“This is for a business that has been operating and is now relocating to what perhaps would be a better location,” Lynam said.

Nash echoed that thought.

“We opened about two years ago on Temple Street and we decided to start a small business to see if this would work,” Nash said of the microbrewery he and his two partners began. “Whitman has been great. We were packed every time we were open and ran out of a lot of beer, which is good.”

He said the combination of the permit and new location would help expand the business’ services.

“This permit will allow us to give samples, to have the community come in and talk to us more,” he said. “It will help us grow the business and have more people come in and get the beer. … We lost some business, where people didn’t want to buy the beer because they couldn’t try it.”

Nash said the business also purchases local ingredients and sees a lot of customers coming from other parts of the state.

Store expands

The board also approved an application by DJ’s Country Store (Deborah Johnson) for a common victualler’s license at the convenience store at 535-2 Plymouth St. The request, explained by General Manager Joel Richmond will permit the store to expand the ability to serve customers who wish to consume to-go foods ad beverages while playing Keno or shopping.

Approval is subject to receipt of license fee and a final inspection and approval by the Board of Health.

The store already operates a self-serve coffee bar, according to Richmond, who said the store plans to add self-serve fountain drinks and packaged snack foods either purchased from vendors or made in the restaurant the company owns next door.  No food preparation will be done in the store, which would be limited by available space to 8 to 10 seats.

ABCC penalties

In other business, Lynam updated the board on penalties handed down after a compliance audit performed in town by the ABCC. Two were issued suspensions, which were in turn suspended and one was given a warning — all conditional on no further violations. O’Toole’s Pub was issued a four-day license suspension, with two of those days suspended, for serving alcohol to minors. The pub will have to close for the remaining two days, which will be done on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and Thursday, Aug. 4. O’Toole’s is permitted to seek an alteration of the punishment through an appeal to the ABCC.

Selectman Dan Salvucci urged residents to attend a public hearing at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 28 at Whitman Town Hall to discuss intersection changes at routes 18 and 14 and routes 18 and 27.

“We’re trying to make those two intersections safe,” he said.

HANSON — It started as a Christmas gift for Les and Marian Wyman from their daughter, Joanne Gauley, but the self-published volume of gardening columns the couple wrote for the Brockton Enterprise in the 1970s and ’80s has become available to the public.

“The Grass Roots,” which was also the name of the column, was the topic of a reading and question-and-answer session at the Hanson Public Library on Sunday, June 12. Questions from the audience of gardening enthusiasts ranged from how to grow blue hydrangeas like they do on the Cape and Nantucket — he advised moving to Nantucket, with a chuckle — to when to move or prune trees, how to spread foxgloves, and encourage growth of rhubarb plants.

“Many, many different varieties of hydrangea have come along — blue ones, pink ones — but I like the white,” he said.

He also took the opportunity to dispel some gardening myths such as the one about ants being necessary to spur bloom in peonies, as well as some regarding other insects and spiders.

“I’ve heard a radio talk show host repeat this,” he said of the peony myth. “The ants are only looking for the waxy substance on the peony bud, which they feed on. It has nothing to do with the peony flowers opening. … But it’s been repeated so many times people are beginning to believe it.”

Wyman also said it was an old wive’s tale that the drops of water left on leaves will burn plant foliage, but cautioned against over-watering vegetable gardens, instead advocating a good soaking once a week when watering restrictions are lifted to keep soil well oxygenated.

Where water restrictions pose problems, as is currently the situation in Hanson, mulch or well-water use are the only methods to help soil retain water, according to Wyman.

Imparting her father’s expertise to new generations as well as a walk down a garden path of memories for those who remember her dad’s column, were Gauley’s aims.

“She had fun doing it and I had fun reading it,” Les Wyman said of the volume his daughter compiled and edited from a box of 732 column clippings saved by his friend Sam Hammond. “She showed up last Christmas with two shopping bags full of books. I knew she was thinking of doing it, but I didn’t realize she was going to go through with it and finish the job.”

That comprised the book’s first printing, so they contacted the publisher in southern Maine to order more, which are on sale at Wyman’s Nursery.

He outlined how the column began, his days doing a gardening show on WATD radio and gave some insight into how he came to write many of the columns included in the book.

“I found two-and-a-half pages [hand-written] on a legal pad was just about long enough for a column,” he said, noting his wife would then type up for submission to the paper in those days before computers. Marian often wrote as “Mrs. Garden Writer” at the end of the columns, too.

Gauley also included a note in the book’s introduction that some of the treatments for pests and plant conditions noted in the columns are no longer used or advised, but were accepted horticultural practices at the time they were written.

One column related how former Indian Head School Principal had his students plant a Dawn Redwood tree at Wyman’s suggestion as an Arbor Day project. The tree, which has been found in fossils all over the northern hemisphere, were rediscovered still growing by a Chinese botanist several decades ago.

“The seed was distributed to plant-growers all over the northern hemisphere so that Dawn Redwood is now growing again where it existed millions of years ago,” he said.

As to spreading foxglove from one year to the next, Wyman said the easiest way is to go to a nursery and buy another plant.

“Foxglove, or digitalis … is a biennial,” he said. “They grow seed, the seedlings winter over and flower the next year. The seed is scattered by wind. It’s just a freak of nature, you can’t depend on it.”

One can gather the dust-like seed and scatter it where it is wanted.

Where transplanting trees to another location is concerned, he said to wait until the tree is dormant after leaves fall or early spring before new leaves appear, but one can root-prune — cutting down through roots about 2 ½ feet around the trunk — sizable trees during the season before to encourage a more compact root system.

“There will be less shock when transplanting,” he said.

Wyman also discouraged fertilizing shrubs growing near foundations and to avoid placing plants too close to walnut trees, due to a chemical the tree emits that retards plant growth. If one smokes, always wash your hands before gardening to avoid spreading tobacco mosaic virus and always rotate garden crops to prevent disease.

For one gardner’s under-sized rhubarb conundrum, he had two words of advice: mulch and manure [or other organic fertilizer].

WHITMAN — There has been a slight decrease in the number of overdoses in town so far this year, but there is still work to be done, Whitman police and fire chiefs reported to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday, June 7.

Police Chief Scott Benton and Fire Chief Timothy Grenno provided a statistical snapshot of their departments during their monthly reports to selectmen.

Benton said there have been 5,656 log calls between Jan. 1, and May 6, compared to 4,782 during the same period last year and noted there have been 14 overdoses, two fatal, as of May 31, compared to 19 overdoses with one fatality during the same period last year. As of May 31, the department has recorded 181 arrests, criminal complaints and protective custodies.

Grenno reported 199 emergency responses in May, with Mondays being the busiest day and 59.8 percent of the calls being for rescue or EMS services and 10 percent of transports being for behavioral emergencies. The department also dealt with three DOAs in May, two directly related to opioid overdoses. Of sick patients the department helps, 4 percent have been Priority 1 patients requiring three firefighters to help them.

“The opioid crisis continues to be at the forefront,” Benton said, crediting legislation and the efforts of schools and community groups to aid police in combating the problem. “People are working tirelessly, I know. … This is not something that we’re just going to fix overnight, unfortunately.”

He said it will take a while before effect of a new state  law limiting the length of new prescriptions for opioid pain killers is known.

Selectman Brian Bezanson asked Benton about the approach one Massachusetts police chief is taking — agreeing to help get addicts into rehab instead of charging them if they voluntarily surrender drugs and paraphernalia to police. Bezanson noted that district attorneys have problems with that approach.

“I’m for anything that is going to help people,” Benton said. “I think probably the concern is police departments can’t grant amnesty to people, that’s the district attorney.”

Benton said police are concerned with probable cause before charging people, but indicated he is willing to try to help people who ask for it.

“I think anything that works, that helps people with this epidemic … it’s a public health and a public safety issue,” Benton said. “We have to deal with it. I’m proud of the way this town is dealing with it.”

The issue of probable cause also cropped up regarding the death of a dog last week at a local grooming business, as Benton also replied to Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski’s inquiry about that case.

“A lot of negative energy has been spent on that,” Kowalski said. “I love dogs. Dogs are good. It’s a sad thing, but that explosion on social media about that event [was] way over-blown.”

Benton agreed that pets are important to people and he does not take such incidents lightly, but the department is charged with investigating criminal activity. Animal Control Officer Lisa McKay, who is an ACO in several communities and has earned a solid reputation for her work, he said.

“She wouldn’t sweep something under the rug, even if you wanted her to,” Benton said.

The chief said they reviewed the groomer’s surveillance video, which showed six other dogs on premises at the time that were not harmed. There had never been a complaint filed against the business owners and no veterinary reports indicating involvement in the dog’s demise. A necropsy was not performed because the family was advised that the dog’s fever would have negated any results, according to Benton.

“Why did the dog die? I don’t know,” Benton said. “Our sole responsibility was looking at did Canine Groomers, in any way, negligently or recklessly — through a criminal act — facilitate that dog’s injury or death? The answer is no.”

Benton said once the incident was posted on Facebook, before the investigation took place, accusations of the police covering up for a business in town began.

“Do you know how many people we lock up? We lock up Whitman residents,” Benton retorted. “We don’t care. It is what it is.”

Benton said the business owners have since received threats to kill them or burn their house down.

“There was nothing, based on the evidence, that we were able to [determine] from the information we had,” he said. “The threshold is probable cause. We don’t worry about innocence or guilt, that’s up to the jury. Probable cause is not there.”

Bezanson agreed there are no winners in a case such as this one and commended Benton for his investigation.

Grenno also reported that a 21-year-old ambulance is being replaced, but the department may be running with a single ambulance in July. A new pumping engine, approved about two years ago, will be in service in about two weeks, with all necessary equipment to respond to both fires and motor vehicle accidents.

The LUCAS devices, which supply automatic chest compressions for CPR, have helped save more lives, including one cardiac patient who was taken directly to a cardiac catheterization procedure with the LUCAS device still in place during surgery.

“The important factor is to show what we’ve spent Town Meeting funds on for equipment for the ambulances,” Grenno said. “Last year we bought two LUCAS devices … We’ve had more patients delivered to the Brockton Hospital with pulses since we put those in service than we have in the past 20 years.”

The Fire Department observed Firefighters’ Memorial Sunday on June 5, bestowing service awards to 11 department members for service milestones ranging from 20 to 30 years.

In other business, a resident, frustrated by the failure of the school budget override, asked Selectmen Tuesday night if there was an alternative to the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday polling hours for Town Elections.

“I had no idea you had a vote on Saturday, 9 to 5,” said New York native Mary Fox of Washington Street, who has grandchildren in the W-H school system. “I think that’s a little restrictive. People have 12-hour shifts, they work. I would prefer, if at all possible that another date be selected and a bigger window … such as 12 hours to vote.”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam replied that town bylaws dictate a third Saturday in May election.

“We have actually tried to reschedule both Town Meeting and election in the past and we failed miserably in each case,” he said.

Lynam added that absentee ballots are available to those who can’t vote in person due to absence from the town during poll hours or are prevented from voting in person due to physical disability or religious belief.

“Our intent is to invite, not disenfranchise voting,” he said.

WHITMAN — Students of Duval Elementary School offered thanks to those in military and public service — often at full volume — during the school’s annual We Remember ceremonies Friday, May 27.

The school hosted town officials, veterans and members of the Duval family for the program, which included recitation of student writing and quotes from historic documents as well as music.

Guests were invited to speak and retired Navy SEAL, Lt. Cmdr Anthony T. O’Brien led a group of students, clad in some of his old camouflage fatigue blouses, in saluting the five military branches as classmates yelled out, “Thank you for your service!”

“Serving is not just about those who serve in the military,” OBrien said, noting members of the police and fire departments also serve their community. “You know who else serves? Teachers. You’ve got a lot of really great talent among your teachers. They could be doing other things, but they’re here serving.”

He encouraged the children to thank teachers and public service officers, too.

After the program introduction by Duval Principal Julie McKillop, the program was turned over to students. It culminated in members of the faculty and student body honoring family members who have served with the placement of tiny American flags on a wreath, which was displayed in the school lobby for the rest of the day.

“This weekend is huge as far as remembering all of the military who have lost their lives by protecting our freedom and our rights,” said Thomas McCarthy of the Whitman Veterans’ Services office. “Please remember them. That’s why we’re still here and still free. … This weekend is not just about hot dogs and hamburgers.”

O’Brien echoed McCarthy’s message.

“Be by the pool, have a hot dog, enjoy — I’m gonna, too,” he said. “But for some of us, it’s a much more solemn time, too, because we lost some friends.”

Whitman Selectman Daniel Salvucci, whose father in-law served in WWII also spoke to the assembly about respecting those who serve their country.

“We are here today because of them,” Salvucci said. “If you know someone who served, just say ‘thank you,’ because they have done the most amazing thing — protecting us.”

The program was also a chance for the students to say goodbye to Assistant Principal Dr. Elizabeth Wilcox, who takes over as principal of Hanson’s Maquan Elementary School on July 1.

“Dr. Wilcox puts lots of time and energy into this program,” said McKillop. “[She] gets to go to a new school next year, so I think we should take a minute to thank her for all the work she does.”

The audience gave Wilcox a warm and sustained round of applause.