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A Super Tuesday for Biden, Sanders

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After their first-choice candidates had withdrawn — and then endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday — supporters of Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke delivered.

On Tuesday, Biden carried Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Massachusetts — where Buttigieg, where the former South Bend, Ind., mayor had a strong grassroots organization; Minnesota, which is represented in the Senate by Klobuchar; and Texas, where O’Rourke had been a congressman — as well as Alabama, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won his home state, Colorado, Utah and California. Maine had not yet been called as of 5:30 a.m., Wednesday.

The delegate count now sits at 399 for Biden, 322 for Sanders, 44 for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and 42 for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — with 536 still to be awarded. Buttigieg had released his 26 delegates to Biden.

Bloomberg suspended his campaign on Wednesday and endorsed Biden. Warren’s campaign told the Boston Globe that they will press on, still seeing a path forward.

In Whitman, Biden garnered 996 votes to Sanders’ 754, Warren’s 350 and Bloomberg’s 288. Buttigieg took 127 — mostly from early voting the week before his withdrawal, with Klobuchar receiving 44.

In Hanson, Biden garnered 676 votes to Sanders’ 508, Warren’s 250 and Bloomberg’s 231. Buttigieg took 68, with Klobuchar receiving 29.

The primary was an educational experience for two WHRHS students volunteering as election observers in the Whitman Town Clerk’s office. Ian Brown and Samantha Thompson are co-presidents of the school’s History National Honor Society.

They hosted a voter registration at W-H for students who will be 18 by the Nov. 3 Election Day and then asked Town Clerk Dawn Varley if they could observe the election “to see how the whole process works,” Thompson said.

Because Hanson Middle School is a polling location, there was no school in the district on Tuesday.

“I’m seeing a lot of people post on their stories to get out and vote,” Brown said of his fellow students sharing of their interest in the election on Snapchat. He plans to study international affairs through an economics/political science major at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. next year.

“It’s nice to see,” said Thompson of the interest. “I’ve always been very interested in politics, and making sure everyone’s rights are respected,” She will be a nursing student at Curry College in the fall.

While sign-holders were unusually scarce at local polling places for a Presidential Primary, Hanson Democratic Town Committee member Kathleen DiPasqua-Egan was volunteering to provide visibility for Warren.

“We want everyone to vote, we’re unified in that,” DiPasqua-Egan said in agreeing to a photo with fellow sign-holder Benjamin Fletcher, a member of the Hanson Republican Town Committee.

“I really am quite a true believer in Warren,” she said. “Her ideals are ones I believe in and I’m hoping that she prevails as far as the convention — and maybe even further. I think she’d make a great president.”

Rather than being concerned about former  Democratic candidates’ endorsements of Biden, DiPasqua-Egan said she supported that development.

“I’m happy that they are coalescing around Biden, because at least they are coalescing around someone who’s a viable candidate to beat Trump. I want Elizabeth Warren to be the one, but if she’s not the one, I’m happy to have it be Biden.”

She disagreed with the perceived need in some quarters of the party that the support of Biden is needed to control Sanders.

“I don’t want to get Bernie under control, I think his ideas are great,” she said. “So I’m happy to have his ideas … which are basically what Elizabeth Warren had, but maybe not everything. … I think any of them would be a huge improvement over our current president.”

DiPasqua-Egan said the country can’t go back in time, it has to move forward.

While Warren, who finished third in her home state of Massachusetts, had a paid full-time staff operating here, supporters of Buttigieg — and to a lesser extent — Klobuchar, throwing their support to Biden were seen as the difference.

Endorsements

Buttigieg did not have an office in the commonwealth, but instead ran a grassroots campaign focused on relational organizing, according to Laura DeVeau of Newton and Marilé Borden of Northborough, grassroots volunteer co-leads for Buttigieg campaign in Massachusetts.

“Pete was the adult in the room, he pulled us all together, he did exactly what he said we needed to do since Day One, which is we need to come together and unite this party to defeat Donald Trump,” DeVeau said. “You know what last night meant to me? It meant we won Massachusetts.”

She said Buttigieg would have surprised people in every state where Biden did well, with the possible exception of North Carolina, on Super Tuesday.

“What this whole experience tells me is that a candidate can light a fire under people and then become an army of happy warriors who want to spread the word about that candidate,” she said.

DeVeau said she could not count the number of people called her or sent her direct messages on social media Tuesday for advice on for whom they should vote.

“These were not volunteers,” she said, but knew of her support for Buttigieg. She did not advise them as to for whom they should vote.

“No one could have anticipated a win by Joe Biden in Elizabeth Warren’s home state,” Borden said Wednesday morning. “But, then again, no one knew the weight that Pete Buttigieg carried in Massachusetts.”

Borden and DeVeau pointed to the grassroots nature of the organization that had been building through volunteer efforts for the past 10 months.

“When our candidate dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden, mountains were moved,” she said. “I have no doubt that we impacted the outcome of the race in our state, and across the nation.”

GOP primary

Benjamin Fletcher, a member of the Hanson Republican Town Committee was among GOP members in both towns out holding signs for state committee candidates Geoff Diehl and KathyJo Boss, while reminding voters that President Trump was also on the ballot.

In Hanson, Diehl won with 723 votes for committeeman to 129 for Gordon Andrews and 21 for Lawrence Novak. Boss won for committee woman with 596 votes to 237 for Jeanie Falcone. In Whitman, Diehl won with 992 votes for committeeman to 89 for Gordon Andrews and 21 for Lawrence Novak. Boss won for committee woman with 774 votes to 273 for Jeanie Falcone

Trump received 805 votes in Hanson to 61 for former Mass. Gov. Bill Weld, 12 for Roque De La Fuents, and 7 for Joe Walsh. In Whitman, Trump garnered 1,012 votes in Hanson to 69 for former Mass. Gov. Bill Weld, 3 for Roque De La Fuents, and 9 for Joe Walsh

“I’m giving some support to Geoff Diehl and KathyJo Boss for the Mass. GOP and also to give President Trump some support,” he said of his reason for sign-holding. “I like his agenda, I like what he’s doing for our country. I like the fact that the economy’s doing well with jobs for people.”

Asked for his reaction to several Democratic candidates’ assertions that the economy still requires many people to hold down more than one job, Fletcher said he agrees.

“I don’t think you’re going to get an argument out of me with that one, because I tend to agree with that logic,” he said as a disabled American. “I do know that President Trump has stated that people with disabilities have — their job number have gone up, too. I personally, living in Massachusetts, have not seen that, so I won’t argue with that point.”

‘Every kid gets an imagination’

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HANSON — He used to hang sheet rock, working alone, and did roofing in the midst of winter, but while author Andre Dubus III, a native of Haverhill, was grateful for the work and income, it left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Every kid gets an imagination,” he said during a Sunday, Feb. 23  visit to the Hanson Public Library to discuss his latest book, “Gone So Long.”

Dubus, author of the New York Times No. 1 best seller and National Book Award finalist, “The House of Sand of Fog,” as well as “Townie,” which won and Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, “Dirty Love” and “The Garden of Last Days,” spoke of imagination, the writing process and story editing.

“For me, it’s character, character, character, and then story, story, story, and last is plot,” he said of his process. “[Once] you’ve written a story, you get smarter about what it’s about.”

He described his program as an opportunity to talk a little bit, read from his book much less, and have a conversation about the human imagination.

“There are four institutions, without which democracy will die. One: A free press. Two: Public Schools. Three: An independently-owned bookstore — don’t buy my book on Amazon — and four: the public library,” Dubus said.

One of four kids growing up in Haverhill, imagination was an outlet for Dubus. His brother taught himself guitar by listening to the recordings of Spanish classical virtuoso Andrés Segovia, and by drawing and painting.

“I remember having the sentence in my head, ‘Oh, he has an imagination, we’re just normal,’” Dubus said. “Every child gets an imagination.”

From his experience as a professor at UMass, Lowell, however, he has come to believe no one person’s imagination is any better than anybody else’s. The difference for creative people is the tools they use to bring out their imagination.

Truth has to be present in the art, but he argued it is possible for an artist to portray someone else’s truth.

“The deeper you go into your imagination … there is no ‘other,’” Dubus said. “We are one.”

Noting that as a white male he is a member of the most privileged group of people on the planet, but he argued that does not mean his imagination is only white and male.

As Faulkner once put it, Dubus said, curiosity is key to developing character and story.

“Your story will walk away, I have found over the years, if I’m not curious about it,” he said, describing his work on a novel about a conman who kills lonely women, only to follow his curiosity about a woman he had seen in Miami some 30 years before. She had been waiting in her car at a bank drive-through window, “a large, pretty, very solitary-looking” young woman.

She became the muse for the conman’s first victim, and beside her the conman character seemed false. He ended up with a 50-page story about a woman looking for love.

“There’s a difference between making it up and imagining,” he said. “We’re either drawn to something or not. … I think it’s almost a sacred trust, that whatever visits your psyche — you’re supposed to write about it. You’re not always ready to, that’s a whole different thing.”

He said “Gone So Long” is material he had resisted the most, including a character based on a former prison inmate he found a likeable person he was interviewing for a screenplay, only to find out that the man had been convicted of killing his wife.

“I detest violence against women,” he said. “I hate injustice. I hate cruelty.”

Because of those feelings, he wanted to get away from the man as fast as he could. Yet Dubus could not deny he still liked him and could not erase the fact that he had enjoyed talking with the man. On the way out of the restaurant where they talked, Dubus asked if the man had any kids.

“He said, ‘Oh, yeah, but they don’t want to see me,’” Dubus recalled. “And that is the sentence that stayed in my head for, like, three year.”

He kept seeing him in his imagination before he finally included the character suggested by the man in his book.

No Prop 2 1/2 panel for now

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HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 25 reiterated that it is too early to set up any Override Committee.

“Formation of an Override Committee is not a foregone conclusion that we are going to do an override,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “It is simply, should we get some folks together to study whether this is something we want to do.”

She said she had no problem kicking the can down the road or not doing it at all.

“We can certainly wait to see what the School Committee has got to say,” she said.

“I think it’s way too early to form an Override Committee,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell. “I think, if we do have to go that route, we’re not going to have time anyway.”

Selectman Jim Hickey agreed.

“I just don’t think six or seven people on a committee can represent the whole town,” Hickey said.

Selectman Matt Dyer, however, said setting up a committee might not be a bad idea.

“We all know how long we’ve been reading the [lists of] vacancies on these committees,” Dyer said of the agenda feature read at the beginning of each meeting. “It might not be a bad idea to start advertising it [and] have names on file.”

Whether or not there is time for a committee to do any good, at least the board would know who might serve on one.

Resident Bruce Young argued that the town has to keep in mind that even a level-funded assessment would, under a statutory method, Hanson’s assessment would go up $1,150,000 and the assessment for Whitman would go down by that same amount.

“Unless Whitman changes its attitude, and plays ball with Hanson and finds some kind of really neat compromise between the statutory method and the percentage of pupils method … just keep that in mind,” he said, arguing that not talking about or planning an Override Committee is “more than wishful thinking.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that, while there have been some people in town that have expressed interest in serving on an Override Committee.

Selectman Wes Blauss asked what an Override Committee’s mission would be.

Young described a committee whose work echoes that done by Whitman’s Budget and Override Evaluation Committee.

She stressed that a place-holder warrant article for an override is just that, a place holder, and that there are no override plans at this point.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also expressed concern about reports of a citizen’s petition favoring deregionalization being circulated for inclusion on the Town Meeting warrant.

“Although I support citizen’s petitions, I think it’s one of the truest forms of democracy, what typically happens is they may be inartfully worded,” she said. “I get concerned that, if we have an inartfully worded citizen’s petition about deregionalization, that we could be asked to do something that we can’t do.”

She said that, while no one has pulled petition papers, FitzGerald-Kemmett described the reports as “stronger than a rumor.”

In other business, Marianne DiMascio of Green Hanson outlined a community choice aggregation plan for purchasing lower-cost electricity for the town.

She noted that residents often receive mailings claiming such a purchase on an individual basis is easy.

“It’s hard to figure out the research, is it real, is it not?” she said. “There’s a solution.”

She reviewed the aggregation plan through a PowerPoint presentation from the Mass. Climate Action Network.

“Think of it like a buyer’s club,” DiMascio said of the MCAN’s 160 member towns. “Right now, we’re all individual buyers buying energy from National Grid. But, if we got together as a town, and decided to buy our energy together, then we get a better deal.”

She also said renewable energy sources were also possible through  such a program, and that the state requires 14 percent of energy comes from renewable sources.

“A big question is what does it cost?” DiMascio said. She pays for 100-percent renewable energy for her home from National Grid, admitting it is expensive. “With the power of the buying as a community, you can get some of the prices down.”

Rockland, Scituate and Halifax have already entered such cost-savings programs, which would have to be approved at Town Meeting. The town would then get a broker, at no cost, to lead it through the project.

Residents not wishing to participate must opt out.

Electricity would still be delivered through National Grid and the rate would be guaranteed for the length of any contract to which the town agrees.

Highway Director Kevin Cahill updated the board on the complete streets program, announcing that his department is prepared to move forward with it. If there are scheduling problems because of the location — at County and Liberty/High streets — added contract language would permit them to request work be done at night at no additional cost.

“The idea is to make it a safer route for the children who are coming out of the middle school in the afternoons, on half-days, on Fridays,” Cahill said. “We found that they populate that area of town heavily.”

Parkinson’s symposium planned

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DORCHESTER — The second annual Parkinson’s Disease Symposium for Veterans, First Responders, and Caregivers will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, March 20 at Florian Hall in Dorchester, hosted by 110 Fitness in collaboration with St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center’s Department of Neurology. This event is free and open to the public — all are welcome, but seating is limited. Please RSVP by visiting semc-parkinsonsevent.eventbrite.com or by calling Keith J. Ciccone, BS, LPN, Nurse Specialist, Department of Neurology, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center at 617 789 3320.

The symposium will focus on the connection between Parkinson’s Disease, military service, first responders, and the frequency in which we see veterans and first responders diagnosed with PD. Attendees will be provided with an abundance of information as well as resources available to help them live their best lives with Parkinson’s Disease.

The symposium will feature presentations by prominent members in the Parkinson’s healthcare community as well as noteworthy members of the military. Attendees will hear from: Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Francisco Urena, a Marine Corps veteran; Dr. Okeanis, director, Movement Disorders and DBS, Steward Medical Group/St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center; Brett Miller, Physical Therapist, Owner,  110 Fitness, a retired U.S. Army Combat Medic; Dr. Anna DePold Hohler, MD, FAAN, a movement disorder specialist, Chair, Steward Medical Group, St. Elizabeth;s Medical Center, a former major at Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash.; Irene Piryatinsky, Ph.D. Clinical Neuropsychologist, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center Affiliated Neuropsychological Assessment Clinic; Chip Maury, a retired U.S. Navy diver and parachutist.

The national anthem and a presentation of the colors by a color guard will open the program, which follows a complimentary breakfast. Participants will have a chance to visit vendor tables to learn about important resources available to them.

The second annual Parkinson’s Disease Symposium for Veterans, First Responders, and Caregivers is currently sponsored by Strongbridge Biopharma and Medtronic.

Miller understands the importance of hosting a symposium specifically addressing the needs of veterans and first responders with Parkinson’s Disease.

“We have seen the research and data that shows these populations are at an increased risk of Parkinson’s Disease,” he said. “We also see it every day at 110 Fitness as many of our members with Parkinson’s are veterans or worked as first responders for many years. We work closely with the Neurology department at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center to ensure veterans, first responders, and their caregivers are equipped with the knowledge and tools to fight back against Parkinson’s Disease.”

Dr. Hohler, chairman of the Neurology Department at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, and a former Army Neurologist, provides care to numerous veterans and first responders with Parkinson’s Disease.

“Understanding the risk that these vets and first responders face from environmental toxins and trauma is crucial in mitigating their factors,” she said. “We approach each patient in an individualized way to provide them with holistic care for their motor and non-motor symptoms.”

110 Fitness is an inclusive fitness and wellness center for all people. Easily accessible, located on Weymouth Street in Rockland off exit 14, 110 Fitness offers wellness programs for people with Parkinson’s Disease, boxing and cardio fitness programs for adults and children, adaptive boxing programs for children with disabilities, as well as yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, massage, art programs, and craft workshops, all for adults and children, including personal training and conditioning.

Patient-centered care is a primary focus at St. Elizabeth’s Neurology department. Physicians use the latest clinical examination skills, lab work, and imaging studies to diagnose neurological conditions. Once diagnosed, our patients are provided with advanced medications, surgical procedures, and holistic care to treat their neurological conditions

The neurology department also provides world class care in movement disorders, stroke, headache, neuromuscular conditions, and epilepsy.

Remembering lost friends

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WHITMAN — A vigil was held on the soccer fields at Whitman Middle School on Friday, Feb. 21 in honor of four members of the Smith family who perished in a car crash while on vacation in Orlando, Fla., last week.

Organizers included Whitman Youth Soccer President Helen Iannone, Vice President Stephanie Blackman, Boys’ Director Jamie Sousa as well as several other community sports leaders and volunteers. The memorial included impactful statements and memories from Jamie Sousa who coached Jaxon. She was connected to the family and shared love of the sport with him.  She offered heartfelt memories of her time cut short with the young athlete.

Jaxon Smith was only 11, a middle school student in Hanson. He was killed in the crash as well as his younger sister, preschooler Scarlett, 5, his mom Julie, and grandmother Josephine Fay of Weymouth.

Will Litchfield, a soccer teammate of Jaxon’s was given a new pair of footwear by the family. The package had arrived for him when they arrived home from Disney after the tragedy.

He clutched the package that was given to him by Erin Condon, Jaxon’s cousin.

“I feel proud,” said Litchfield as he walked off with his friends, candles in hand.

A statement was released by the family, thanking the town as well as numerous others in their support after the fatal accident.

‘’The Fay/Smith families greatly appreciate the outpouring of support and prayers as we process the events of this horrific tragedy,” it read. “We are truly heartbroken. Among the many individuals, groups and organizations that have assisted during this difficult time we wanted to highlight the efforts of the first responders in Orlando, the medical staff at the Orlando Regional Medical Center and the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital Disney, Jetblue, TSA and The Massachusetts State Police. We also want to thank the Hartman family who assisted in Orlando. We continue to grieve for the loss of our loved ones.  Thank you for your outpouring of kindness.”

On Friday night, the soccer field was packed with sports teams, including several boys soccer teams in which he played over the years along with fellow students, teachers, neighbors and friends of the family; as well as those offering support to the grieving community at the Whitman Middle School soccer field.

Eric Frank a resident of Whitman for 40 years, a father of three, and a soccer league volunteer and coach for 10 years said it was devastating to learn of the tragedy. His son played with Jaxon on fall of 2018.

Parents were seen embracing and consoling their children and their friends who held lights in memory of the Smiths.

Corinna Mac Donald a 3rd grader and her little sister Layla  a first-grader were visibly saddened at the event. They knew the family and her friend through cheerleading and she wanted to tell her friend Shalie that she hopes “she isn’t sad.”  She tried to write a message of hope on the memorial boards that the family would receive from the organizers in the days following the event. They were pinned to the soccer board so everyone could sign them.

The Smiths were remembered by other moms as a small town family who were hands-on, raising polite, respectful kids.

In statements earlier in the week released by the Whitman Hanson Regional School District Superintendent Jeff Szymaniak  schools would have counseling services for students and staff in the weeks to come.

3 killed in Florida highway crash

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WHITMAN — The town of Whitman awakened with heavy hearts Wednesday as they learned that a local family has been involved in a fatal crash in Florida, claiming the lives of three family members.

Julie Smith, 41, and her mother — grandmother Josephine Fay of South Weymouth were both killed along with daughter Scarlett Smith, 5, of Whitman. All three were pronounced dead at the crash scene, according to reports.

The family was on February vacation in Orlando.

The fatal crash occurred Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. in Osceola County, Fla. The crash is actively under investigation, according to Florida Highway Patrol Public Affairs Officer Lt. Kim Montes, in a prepared statement.

The multiple vehicle collision occurred on the southbound side of Route 429. The van the family was in rolled over after it was struck from behind.

Shane Smith, 43, of Whitman along with the children’s maternal grandfather William Fay, 76, of South Weymouth were released from the hospital on Tuesday night.

Two other daughters, Shalie, 10,  and Scarlett’s twin sister Skylar, 5, were also released from the hospital.

Jaxon Smith, who is 11, remained in critical condition on life support Wednesday morning as of press time.

Additional support of state troopers and a victim advocate were assigned to the family, according to Montes.

More information, including comments from the Whitman Hanson School District and services for the community, were expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon.

Man sentenced in Whitman rape case

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BROCKTON — A 36-year-old Lowell man was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in a Whitman rape case stemming from October 2016.

Charles P. Lovejoy was sentenced in Brockton Superior Court by Judge Brian Davis who handed down a 15-year to 15 years and one day incarceration in state prison, according to a prepared statement from Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz’s Office.

Lovejoy pleaded guilty to two counts each of aggravated rape of a child,  and one count each of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, subsequent offense and enticement of a child for sex under the age of 16.

Whitman Police were performing routine patrols in town at approximately 1:30 p.m., Oct. 17, 2016 when they arrived at the St. James Cemetery. An officer noticed a car with its headlights on leaving the cemetery and performed a traffic stop. After running Lovejoy’s license plate, the Whitman officer identified Lovejoy as a registered sex offender with a Level 3 status on active probation, according to the statement.

Whitman Police determined during their investigation that Lovejoy met his female victim online through the app, Kik.  He drove to the victim’s home in a neighboring town to pick her up. Lovejoy then drove to the Whitman cemetery where he sexually assaulted the victim.

Lovejoy did not have any weapons in his possession but he was wearing a GPS monitoring device on his ankle at the time of his arrest. Whitman Police seized two cell phones that belonged to him.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Amanda Fowle and was investigated by Whitman Police, according to the statement.

Towns’ budget talks continue

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WHITMAN — Selectman Randy LaMattina reported to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 11 that he continues to have conversations with Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett about the school assessment issue. LaMattina said they spoke on the phone following the Wednesday, Feb. 4 School Committee budget presentation.

“Negotiations will pick back up now that we’ve got some numbers, and [we’ll] talk with them and see if there’s any progress,” LaMattina said, indicating the sessions would likely continue this week.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said he also spoke with FitzGerald-Kemmett, on Friday, Feb 14.

“It is what it is — it’s not going to be easy, but I don’t think it’s going to be any more divisive than it is,” Kowalski said. “Her motives are to keep things peaceful, calm and [to] move forward in whichever way we can.”

Kowalski said FitzGerald-Kemmett “understands the limitations that we’re all under.”

“She understands out position and I am very cognizant of her position and what she needs to do for her community,” LaMattina said. “At the end of the day, this committee has voted, and the Finance Committee has voted, and the Whitman School Committee members have voted, and we’re doing what we feel is the right thing for our town.”

In other business, Town Administrator Frank Lynam noted that the town had received formal notification of a $331,000 grant for the complete streets program. He also met Feb. 11 with state Rep. Alyson Sullivan and a representative of state Rep. Mike Brady’s office about assistance from the state regarding the extended claw-back period for the Duval School roof, noting he did not see any relief coming regarding the Chapter 70 hold-harmless clause.

Sullivan also asked for a list of three items that could potentially be funded by the state on a one-time basis, inviting Selectmen to email him with suggested projects.

“It’s an earmark,” he said. “It may or may not come. Two years ago we got an approved earmark for $1 million for the ponds, but we never saw it. We’ll keep some hope there and hope it’s not a Charlie Brown football.”

Hanson expects big TM crowd

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HANSON — Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett is anticipating a record turnout at the annual Town Meeting due to the school assessment issue, and has asked Town Administrator John Stanbrook to discuss overflow accommodations with Town Moderator Sean Kealy.

She suggested the Hanson Middle School gym, located next to the auditorium, where town meetings are held, could be the best location for an overflow room.

“We’ll be having conversations with FinCom,” she said. “They’re already percolating — talking about what projects may or may not be able to go forward, and suggesting measures of austerity that we probably need to implement.”

The possibility of an override may also need to be assessed, but FitzGerald-Kemmett said she did not want to put together an override committee just yet. She is waiting for a “little more sharpening of the pencils” before that decision is made.

“I know people are very anxious about this and all I can really say is we’re telling everybody what we can tell them, at the time that we can tell them, about what we’re doing,” she said. “Just because we’re not talking a lot about what is being done doesn’t mean we aren’t doing anything.”

She stressed that the entire board is actively working with people in Whitman and Hanson finance officials and town counsel to look at a “multifaceted approach” to cover all the town’s bases.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she is planning a presentation to feature Town Counsel Jay Talerman, members of the Select Board, School and Finance committees and Town Accountant Todd Hassett to answer residents’ questions about the school budget.

“I think it’s premature to have that now, because … we don’t have even a nearly final number,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot more whittling down before its anything we can respond to.”

She is thinking it may be late in March before that session can be scheduled, most likely at Hanson Middle School.

cell tower

FitzGerald-Kemmett also questioned an amended cell tower agreement at Hanson Middle School, presented to the board as ready to be signed.

Stressing she did not wish to overstate the issue, FitzGerald-Kemmett said she was hearing from a few parents with “potential health concerns” about the tower’s location near the school.

Stanbrook, who said he had not attended a recent ZBA meeting at which a hearing was held, suggested there was likely a 21-day comment period for residents to express concerns.

“I do not want to stand in the way of a cell phone tower, but I want to make sure that we’re being responsive,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “How, as a board, do we know how those things have been addressed so, in full faith and confidence, we can sign on this thing and say that we know that our appointed board has done what they are supposed to do and has been responsive to people expressing concerns?”

Stanbrook agreed to research the question and bring the contract back for a vote at the Tuesday, Feb. 25 meeting. Selectman Jim Hickey suggested asking the ZBA to at least send a representative to that meeting to answer the questions.

“This has been going on for two or three years,” Selectman Kenny Mitchell said. “Cell phone coverage is a public safety issue.”

He agreed that the ZBA should come in, but noted that a lease agreement has been signed and the tower has already been moved to address other concerns.

“For us to hold it back, based on one or two opinions …” he said.

surplus auctions

In other business, a 1986 fire engine declared surplus by the board, gave rise to a discussion on how the town disposes of surplus equipment.

“There were a couple of companies that specialized in taking things that towns would declare surplus, and shopping it around,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said of information she and Selectman Matt Dyer learned at a January conference of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. “I was very impressed with this process and I thought we need to get on board with this, or at least think about getting on board with it,” she said.

Munici-Bid is one such company.

Both Stanbrook and Administrative Assistant Greer Getzen, who have both worked with Munici-Bid before, said such services are sensible.

“It costs us nothing, and they do all the work,” Getzen said. “They take the photos, they post it, they do everything.”

“They do a great job,” Stanbrook concurred, referring to his tenure in Mansfield, which used the company. “We moved all the surplus inventory like that.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she talked to a couple people representing such firms, reporting that all costs are passed on to the buyers.

Stanbrook said that equipment is declared surplus and available for disposition, the town would contact the company, and information would be posted online and set up the online auction. Bidders must sign in and demonstrate that the money to pay for the item is available.

A bidding window is established and the high bidder gets the item.

The board declared the fire engine surplus and Stanbrook said he would take the necessary steps to get it sold on Munici-Bid.

Dyer advocated keeping a photographic record for the town as well to keep track of what is being sold.

Budget work begins

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W-H school officials outlined two possible budget packages — a required spending plan of $55,017,938 to provide level services and a $57,492,938 recommended plan that seeks to restore or add programs and teachers either cut or not included in fiscal 2020.

“Gone are the days of the worksheet with ‘this is the increase we want … and this is a 1 percent increase, this is a 2 percent increase on that sheet,’” said Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak. “We don’t do that sheet anymore with the statutory formula.”

Last year, cuts made to balance the budget put it below level service in terms of programs.

The budget presentation and hearing was held Wednesday, Feb. 5.

“There’s been quite a bit of conversation, dialog, emotion about the school budget and the method of assessment,” Szymaniak said about the process that began in August 2019. “Many people worked both publicly and behind the scenes to put together this presentation here, using the statutory method.”

He noted that officials in both towns’ administrative offices, select boards and finance committees have been meeting and discussing ways to make the fiscal 2021 budget work for the students of Whitman and Hanson.

“This isn’t the only piece of information that will be available to the community and the School Committee,” Szymaniak said of the PowerPoint printout and budget worksheets made available to the committee and audience members at the meeting.

“We are currently working on feedback we received last year concerning a history of our line items,” Szymaniak said. “That document will be available and I ask people to be patient.”

The required budget would represent an overall increase of 4.94 percent, or $2,592,200. The recommended budget would increase the bottom line by another 4.72 percent, or $2,475,000 — a total increase of 9.66 percent, or $5,067,200.

Local assessments for the required budget would mean $11,903,983 for Hanson, with $200,345 in non-mandated busing; $141,080 in capital/technology for Hanson school buildings and $292,252 for high school debt service. Whitman’s assessment would be $14,974,512, with $300,016 in non-mandated busing and $427,648 for high school debt service.

Local assessments for the recommended budget would mean $12,894,973 and $16,458,522.

“The recommended number includes everything that we are looking for as a regional school district now and in the next five years,” Szymaniak said.

Required expenses include salaries (52 percent or $29,693,543), pension costs, regular day transportation, custodial services, utilities, health insurance, trash, special education transportation and tuition, facilities and curriculum costs. Non-salary expenses, which make up 48 percent of the budget total $27,799,395. Of that figure, $5 million represents under-funded or unfunded mandates.

Per pupil costs of $12,740 put the district at 19th from the bottom in the state, compared to Abington at $13,461; Rockland at $15,567 and a state average of $15,952. The district has been as low as fifth from the bottom in past years.

Revenue sources, meanwhile, are $28,249,836 (51.03 percent) from assessments, $25,200,534 (45.52 percent) from net state aid, $1,313,976 (2.37 percent) from grants, $450,000 (.81 percent) in Circuit Breaker funds and $150,000 (.27 percent) from local receipts.

Programs included in the recommended budget are returning four teachers cut last year and an additional 10 teachers to return foreign language and reading services at the middle schools. It also includes new programs — a robotics program the BRYT medical transition program for students returning from mental or physical health hospitalization at the middle schools, expansion of special ed programs, as well as full-day kindergarten and adjustment of the school start time.

Szymaniak said some items on the recommended list, such as all-day kindergarten and a change in start times are not things he is looking to incorporate into the budget this year, but he also wants to outline programs and materials the district needs.

The high school also faces and issue about capital items reaching end of life, such as phone wiring, which has not been addressed once the school was built.

“When I say we are going on Amazon to fix things, we are,” Szymaniak said. “We’re at end of life for support.”

The governor’s budget came out two weeks ago, and District Business Manager John Tuffy is part time, which limits the time he could spend on those figures.

Tuffy explained how the state calculates the district’s foundation budget of $40,719,547 and required district contribution of $20,274,291.

He also went through the state-required steps toward calculating the statutory assessments. The budget figure, less reimbursement, aid and tuitions determine the net budget — $26,452,087 or a $52,357,657 budget and subtracts the required minimum local contribution — $9,328,114 for Hanson and $11,117,142 for Whitman — to determine the total to be assessed, $6,006,831. Divided by the towns’ enrollment percentages, Hanson’s assessment is $2,405,135.13 and Whitman’s is $3,601,831 plus non-mandated transportation costs, additional operations and debt service costs for totals of $12,104,327.84 for Hanson and $15,274,529.16 for Whitman.

“The hope was to show you the method that we have, give you the chance to think about it — certainly the finance committees and the town administrators — and the, perhaps, respond to questions from the towns or the school committee,” Tuffy said.

Szymaniak said all the budget information will be posted on the district’s website.

“What we really wanted to present was the here and now, what we’re looking for and [where] we’re looking to go in the next few years,” Szymaniak said.

Enrollments, meanwhile are decreasing — down from 4,104 in 2015 to a projected enrollment of 3,755 in 2021.

“Decreased enrollment means a decrease, potentially, in state aid,” Szymaniak said. “We’re fighting that battle of losing kids.”

He pointed to vocational schools for those programs as well as charter schools and school choice because of full-day kindergarten. Smaller families are also a factor, Szymaniak said.

Staff reductions in fiscal 2020 included 9.2 teaching positions, six paraprofessionals, one special ed out of district coordinator, three duty aides, a central office staff member and one person from facilities. Three elementary counselors were added, bringing the net staff reductions to 19.2.

Additionally, $590,000 was taken from excess and deficiency and $290,000 was cut from supplies to help balance the budget.

“I also want to be careful talking about the two towns and what they can afford,” said School Committee member Dawn Beyers. “It also comes down to what they can afford.”

She said that 96 percent of the state’s kindergarten pupils attend full-day kindergarten, in Whitman 60 percent of kindergarten pupils attend a full-day program.

“We’re losing kids because of all-day kindergarten, and we lose them for the duration,” said School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes.

State grants offered to set up such programs ended in 2016.

“You have teachers in this district who are working hard day and night, weekend and night, because we don’t provide them as a school district with what they need, research-based in 2020 in order to teach students effectively, in my mind, as the assistant superintendent,” George Ferro said.