Whitman-Hanson Express

You are here: Home / Archives for News

Fatal crash probed

By

WHITMAN — A 29-yea-old Whitman man has died of injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash Monday, Nov. 11.

The man’s name had not been released as of press time — pending notification of the family, according to Whitman Police Chief Timothy Hanlon.

Whitman police and fire responded to a scene of the crash that turned fatal on Monday night. The accident occurred after 9:30 in the area of 360 High Street.

A 29-year-old Whitman man was transported to an area hospital and later succumbed to his injuries.

Any further questions would be handled by Cruz’ office, Hanlon said.

The initial investigation indicates that the motorcycle operator struck two parked cars on High Street. The man was riding a 2012 Yamaha FZ1, according to the press release.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Plymouth County DA Timothy J. Cruz’ office and the State Police Analysis and Reconstruction Section (CARS) and Crime Prevention and Control CPAC units who responded to assist with the investigation.

Tri-Town parade salutes the Flanders poppy symbol

By

WHITMAN — The streets were lined with hundreds of locals from all over the South Shore Monday, Nov. 11 — many whom had relatives marching in the 66th annual Tri-Town Veteran’s Day Parade. This year’s parade hosted by Whitman was dedicated in honor of the 75 Anniversary of the Poppy — made famous by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” about the sacrifices made in the war.

The towns of Whitman, Abington and Rockland joined together to honor those who served and those who were lost.

Multiple generations were represented along the route. Youngsters waved flags and many marched in time as decorated soldiers and military groups passed by the viewing stand.

WWII veterans were mixed among those who served more recently, with each branch of military represented. An oversized flag flew over the start of the parade route by the Whitman Post Office as attendees remembered the fallen.

One family who celebrated their lineage in Whitman had four generations represented at the Veteran’s Parade.

Lillian Morgan, 98, of Whitman a Marine widow was tucked in with a heavy blanket in her wheelchair as she held an American flag. She donned a white ascot belonging to her late husband of 74 years Marine John J. Morgan Jr.  He served on a ship at Guadalcanal, according to his daughter Maggie Adams.

Adams walked a portion of the parade route pushing her mother to allow her a glimpse of her great-grandkids that were in the parade.

Along with Morgan’s granddaughter Julia Nanigian and her great-granddaughter Scarlett, the pair accounted for four generations at the Parade.

They made their way through the Colebrook Cemetery to view a service project by great granddaughter Scarlett’s Brownie troupe but  the terrain proved too bumpy for her chair.

Whitman Brownie Troupe 82685 had taken on a community project to upkeep a grave of a veteran and they were given the site of Medal of Honor recipient Lt. John R. Fox who served in WW II, and was killed in action on Dec., 26, 1944.

Following the parade, two of the families including troupe leader Christine Hadden and her daughter Nora Hadden, 7, stopped to see the shined and weed-free grave at the Colebrook Cemetery.

Michelle Roy and her daughter Clara, 7, pointed out some of the areas that were cleared including the special addition of a headstone that appeared in the last few months for Lt. Fox’s widow Arlene Marrow Fox who died on Dec. 11, 2015. (The group believes that a family member of Fox had the headstone placed over the summer).

Learning history on Fox, the Brownies shared how they felt about volunteering for the  cleanup Clara said she knew Fox was “really special” and explained the reason why the group painted rocks to spell the word hero, which they left over the top of the headstone.

She said they used patriotic colors that were also part of the colors of the American flag.

Both girls knew they were a part of something significant and said they were happy to help paint the rocks found at the graveside.

Nora Roy also wanted residents to know that she thought it was special that we celebrate Veteran’s Day every year.

“We celebrate that the people who served –(fought)  so they could save us from danger, ”she said.

The  group of elementary-age students will be cleaning in the spring and their leaders are hoping to get families involved in the project  with weeding and watering the site. They do not want the engraved memorial to become overgrown with moss again.

Every rock that was dug up from around the site was used in the secondary painting project. The painted rocks were formed into a heart shape with the word “Hero” in the center placed over the two headstones.

The before photos proved that the upkeep was necessary and befitting for a hero, and the group was pleased at their abilities to give back

Involving the youngest citizens and teaching them about the Veterans in our country will set the tone for continued involvement for generations to come.

Also along the parade route were scores of athletes representing all the sports teams at Whitman- Hanson Regional High School.

The groups were involved in a community project doing yard clean up for several veterans who needed assistance.

The group collectively agreed  when they finished raking that  participation in the yard work showed appreciation for local veterans.

Athlete Devin Walsh raked out the leaves from Mel Meehan’s yard. He was just one of the nearly 150 students who participated. Noting it was an important way — as a group – that they were giving back in a small way to those veterans who served, Walsh said.

Mel  Meehan  served in the  Army in Germany and has been a resident of Kendrick Street for nearly two decades. He was a recipient of lawn care by the WH athletics community service. He and his wife are caregivers for two grandsons; Logan, 7, who has special needs and Dustin, 5.

Veteran’s Agent Tom McCarthy, who stopped in to talk with families and thank Meehan for his service said he had an unbelievable feeling of gratitude when he heard that the W-H athletes not only supported the veterans at the morning parade but they were creating a community support project to give back, he said.

At the VFW in Whitman he shared the story with other veterans and he said the reaction was the same.

“They left a strong impression… by giving in such a meaningful way and coming up with the project on their own … made it even more special,” said McCarthy.

He was able to find several families in Whitman and Hanson who were in need for the yard clean-up and raking. McCarthy also credited the positive influences of W-H Athletic Director Bob Rodgers, who assisted with organizing where the students would be most needed.

Victoria Carlton a senior at Whitman Hanson said each team got assigned one yard.

‘’We had a huge turnout. We are all grateful that a lot of people attended,” she said on behalf of the yard full of fellow athletes many still catching their breath from raking.

Town officials, including selectmen, police and fire officials and former state Rep. Geoff Diehl also marched in Monday’s parade.

Hanson honors its veterans

By

HANSON —  As the community’s veterans assembled for an annual breakfast in salute to their service Thursday, Nov. 7, one table remained unoccupied.

For the first time, The Empty Table salute to missing in action and POWs, was included in the Veterans Day Breakfast program, catered by the Old Hitching Post, at the Hanson Senior Center.

An empty chair awaiting the return of the lost or fallen at a round table, symbolizing everlasting concern survivors have for the missing, was covered in a white tablecloth for the pure intention of service to country. A single red rose, representing blood shed in war and an inverted glass for the fact that the missing and fallen who cannot partake of the meal were placed on the table.

The plate contained a slice of lemon for the bitter taste of missing loved ones and salt for the tears shed by waiting families. A bible represented faith to sustain the lost.

A special guest, Vietnam veteran William “Bill” Hooker was asked to light the candle by Veterans Agent Timothy White, who placed his Coast Guard dress cap on the table in honor of the recently repatriated remains of a Coast Guardsman who died as a prisoner of the Japanese during WWII.

“The table is reserved to honor our missing comrades and bothers in arms and shipmates … who left behind loved ones — mothers, husbands, wives, children — families who might never know how or where their loved ones made the supreme sacrifice,” White said.

Nearly 87,000 Americans from all branches of the armed services remain unaccounted for during wars over the last 100 years.

Lt. Thomas J. Crotty was repatriated for burial in Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday, Nov. 2. The Coast Guardsman had been an explosives expert send to work in the Philippines to help set up a minefield in Manila Bay before the outbreak of WWII. When U.S. forces surrendered after the Empire of Japan attacked the Philippines and Americans ran out of ammunition. Crotty was the first Coast Guardsman to be taken prisoner of war since the War of 1812, and died of diphtheria in 1942, because there was no medicine with which to treat him. He was buried in a mass grave outside the prison camp along with nearly 3,000 other Americans.

At some point, the Americans’ remains were moved to an American cemetery in Manila.

Lt. Crotty had been awarded the Philippines Medal of Honor and about 10 years ago family members began searching for him with a DNA sample, eventually finding a match.

Those attending the Hanson breakfast observed a moment of silence for Crotty and all other still-missing servicemen.

Hooker is a member and vice president of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which lost seven members in a horrific crash on a New Hampshire highway June 21.

White passed the condolences of Hanson and its veterans to the Marine veteran before Hooker was asked to say a few words and light the candle on the Empty Table.

“I’m really not a public speaker,” Hooker said. “I just really wanted to let you know what we do and what we stand for.”

He said the motorcycle club is a nonprofit that raises funds to support veterans.

“We’re the good guys,” he said, noting the driver charged in the crash has been indicted on more than 23 counts. “It was a horrific day and I escaped … I happened to make it through it for some reason. I don’t know why.”

He said the club has retained lawyers from New York who are working to “make everybody whole.”

The ceremony was a departure from previous years, when certificates of service were handed out to veterans, White said, noting he opted to include veterans in the program instead.

“Many of you in this room have had incredible life experiences and are truly heroes, but quietly go about living your life,” White said. “You receive little fanfare. Events in history, which you have lived through and participated in — things that you have experienced, that your family may not even know about — in my role as Veterans Service officer … it is truly eye-opening to know so many incredible people and their personal stories.

“And they live right here in a small town, just going about living their daily life, trying to live the American experience,” White said.

American Legion Historian Larry Mills opened the program by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a prayer offered by Air Force veteran the Rev. Michael Hobson of the St. Joseph the Worker Church.

Navy veteran Ernest Jutras was then asked to read Gov. Charlie Baker’s Veterans Day proclamation. Jutras also accepted a Commonwealth flag on behalf of the Senior Center from state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury.

“Days like this are important to recognize the sacrifices that our veterans have made, but it’s also important to back up those symbols with actual programs and support,” Cutler said stressing that he, state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, and White are there to help.

White read “Old Glory,” a first-person literary “autobiography” of the American flag.

“I have been a silent witness to all of America’s finest hours, but my finest hour comes when I’m torn into strips to be used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the field of battle, when I fly half-staff to honor my soldiers and when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving mother at the gravesite of her fallen son or daughter,” White read.

The Senior Center’s chorus, the Swinging Singers rounded out the program with a performance of patriotic songs.

Having too much fun to retire

By

A lifelong educator passing on his passion to  younger generations, middle school teacher James Spinale spent his entire teaching career in Whitman.

He taught life science for over three decades —34 years to be exact — and he jokes that it was eventually time to retire … except he never did.

Now at age 86, as a volunteer for the last 20 years at The South Shore Natural Science Center located on Jacob’s Lane in Norwell, he continues to educate and give back to eager learners.

Spinale has the world of science at his fingertips, often researching species from the pond, and viewing organisms within the local ecosystem. He is placed wherever they require him as an educator and day-to-day things change for special events, he added.

The center, which is owned by the YMCA Organization, sits on 30 acres surrounded by 200 acres of town conservation/recreation land consisting of meadows, woodland, and a pond. In addition, the Science Center is home to the EcoZone – an interactive museum featuring live native animals, owl exhibits, children’s agricultural garden, and six interpretive trails, according to their website.

He emphasizes that the students and visitors learn what is directly around them in their own backyards that is his desire to teach kids to get out and explore.

As a youngster he knew his calling.

“It is something that I always wanted to do since I was a little kid … science. I had to collect things and it blossomed from there,” he said. “I was always interested in life sciences as opposed to the earth and physical science but I did teach them as well – the volunteer work is now focused on life science.

Spinale and  his wife Jeanette, along with friend Al Benbenick, both also career long teachers in Whitman, traveled extensively and were very  involved at the conferences for the  National Science Teachers Association.

Their travels with the program over several decades brought them through most of the major cities across the country.

“We attended throughout the United States and this year the conference is being held in Boston,” Spinale said.

They have also presented in several countries as part of the Association — with an international branch at the University of Moscow, at a University outside Mexico City and also in Toronto, to name a few.

Other highlights of his occupation include being named to the Massachusetts Science Teacher Hall of Fame by his peers and as a long time member and board of director for the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers.

He also experienced an intense five-week research program at Woods Hole Research Center on a ship in the Gulf Stream with their focus on collection of samples through the water columns. He said they were mainly checking for microscopic beads or tar balls that indicated tanks of oil were being dumped in the waters by ships passing through.

There were other research areas on pollutants, planktons and various organisms, he said.

Spinale recalls the opportunity to return home over 40 years ago to teach — as a gift of sorts — He and his wife were newly married and had prepared to settle down with a house and family in Catskill, N.Y, where he taught for his first three years.

The teaching opportunities opened up in Whitman and after discussing their life plans- the young couple packed up and returned to the south shore- knowing they would be closer to family, which is very important to them both.

The Spinales have grown children and grandchildren and siblings that he meets with monthly for lunch.

The gathering of his siblings he lovingly refers to as “board meetings.”

He has a brother who has lived in Halifax for more than 50 years and sisters who both also reside in Massachusetts.

“We usually meet half way and have lunch. We get together and beat on each other,” he laughed.

Aside of his love for science, family and the environment a key to his enthusiasm, youthfulness and energy is continuously learning; getting outside in nature, and recognizing and appreciating what is right in your backyard.

He admits as time has gone by he may need a reminder of a name when he runs in to former students.

He may need a hint on the class year but he maintains he always has a soft spot for his students and is thrilled to see them bringing their families to the science center.

He would encourage visitors to experience the center and its offerings. Their website southshorenaturalsciencecenter.org is updated with programs and special events.

Whitman calls special Town Meeting

By

WHITMAN — On Monday, Dec. 2, five days after consuming that Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings, Whitman voters will be asked to attend a brief special Town Meeting seen as vital to the town. The Town Meeting would start at 7:30 p.m., in Town Hall Auditorium.

Among the items on the four-article warrant is funding toward repairs to the town’s wastewater system — and a quorum of 150 registered voters is vital for that business to be addressed, according to Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

The Board of Selectmen, in an unusual afternoon meeting followed by an equally unusual Tuesday meeting of the School Committee [see related story], voted 4-0 to approve date and warrant for the Town Meeting. Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski was not present.

“The DPW is in need of an appropriation to begin the work to replace the sewer force main,” Lynam said. “I know it’s difficult, sometimes, to have special Town Meetings at this time of year and I’ve asked that we do this early in order to have the maximum amount of time to promote this meeting because our ability to continue to use our sanitary system, is dependent on that force main — and it is failing. We’re at a critical point, now.”

That work is being addressed under article four on the warrant — which seeks $900,000, of which $121,676.23 is to pay for a retro-assessment for sewer service in 2016. Another $88,083.70 is for fiscal 2017. Both are due to Whitman’s negotiation of a successor contract with Brockton since July 1, 2015.

“We have finally reached a point where we believe we are in agreement,” Lynam said. “We won’t know that until we see final document language.”

Whitman has not been billed for fiscal 2018 yet.

“Those items, along with the cost of designing and building a force main will be somewhere near $900,000,” Lynam said. By appropriating that amount, he said the town should have sufficient funds to do the work and any left-over funds will be returned to the sewer enterprise account.

The first article is to transfer $4,500 from Norfolk County Aggie to pay a prior year bill to Collins Engineering, who helped the town with the repair evaluation of Hobart’s Dam.

Article two would transfer $37,918 from both Norfolk County and the law account “because we would really like to pay the [police] chief we just hired for the whole year,” Lynam said.

Article three is a transfer up to $7,209 — perhaps less would be needed, but that is not clear at this point — to cover for the Animal Control Officer, who has been out on workmen’s compensation.

“Even though there are only four articles, those four articles are very important,” said Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci.

Selectman Justin Evans said he had an issue with taking funds from the law account for part of article two.

Lynam said those were the funds most likely to be available, as the town does not have additional levy space. Any resulting shortfall in the law account would have to be addressed in the May special Town Meeting, he noted.

“Frankly, I didn’t want to use free cash,” he said.

Lynam said he has been meeting with the assessor and they have determined that this year’s excess levy has “dropped dramatically.”

It is now $3,982.

He said the information would likely give the town an appropriation levy of $27,241,000 and a tax rate of $15.86, figures to be clarified at the tax classification hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Finding new roads towards healing

By

HALIFAX — Local writer and holistic healer Isabella Rose has a lot on her plate these days, as she works to help people gain connections to the region’s past as well as with healing in the midst of the opioid crisis.

The inspirational book contributor is not only continuing her education in holistic healing, she is also serving as an ambassador for the Plymouth 400 celebration next year.

“They’re such a wonderful organization,” she said of the Plymouth 400 organization. The ambassador program involves a course at Curry College to help visitors gain the best possible experience from the year-long celebration.

She has also become an advocate for overdose awareness since her partner’s death, joining the Moms and Dads of Team Sharing, a support group for parents who have lost children to overdoses, Plymouth County Outreach and East Bridgewater Hope — and she continues writing, with two new books coming out this year that feature her work.

“It’s unfortunate that his relapse cost him his life and his future,” Rose said of her loss. “But I firmly believe there’s a blessing in everything. Sometimes we have to look a little harder for it.”

She had not known her late partner during his addiction to heroin, and did not realize, at the time, how much a part of his recovery she had been before his relapse following a serious car accident.

The MDTS has supported Mass. Attorney General Maura Healy in her case against Perdue Pharma and the Sackler family.

“There is hope,” she said of the work the three groups are doing to combat opioid abuse. “I want to help everybody heal and live life to their fullest potential.”

Rose has since earned a bachelor’s degree in holistic health science and is pursuing a master’s degree in natural medicine with an eye toward pursuing a doctorate in opioid recovery.

She has contributed to another in the “365” book series — similar in format to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series — which includes the work of devotional writers. Her latest participation is in “365 Soulful Messages,” as well as with the upcoming “Calling Earth Angels and Healers.”

“Soulful Messages” is the fifth, and final, volume in the best-selling “365” inspirational series. A reader of that series, who had attended one of Rose’s workshops recommended her to “Earth Angels” co-author Geri Magee, Ph.D., who invited her to “write about my journey as an earth angel and healer.”

She said she was aware of her gift as a child, but as she grew older she “started to forget who I was” through life experiences.

“I’m just rediscovering who I am, and I share [in the book] about the car accident and the divine intervention,” she said.

Rose’s car accident in December 2017, which caused a collapsed aorta that was not immediately diagnosed, was one of the transformative events in her life, which have helped her follow her urge to write.

Her partner had saved her life in the crash, Rose said.

“It’s by the grace of God and the bravery of my late significant other, who physically saved me from the car that day, that I’m here,” she said. Two months later, he had died from an unrelated incident and her world “Completely came crashing down around me.”

She wrote about him in one of her essays.

“There is not a day that goes by that I don’t thank him for loving me and loving me enough to want to risk his life to get me out of that vehicle,” she says now. “He’ll always be a part of me and my story.”

Her work has been featured in three devotional books from Goodness Abounds, an independent publishing house based in Oregon publishes collaborative books focused on the soul and life-changing moments.  She also writes with the Women Unleashed program online and teaches warrior goddess training workshops geared toward women’s empowerment, although some men attend, and focuses on self-care.

Rose is holding a book signing from noon to 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 15 at Storybook Cove’s new location, behind Delaney’s Columbia Car Care Center on Washington Street in Hanover as the Hanover Mall closes it’s current facility. And another with two other “Soulful Moments” contributors at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough Dec. 8.

She also will cohost on the Angelic Realms Radio Show [mariagmaas.com/angelicrealmsradio] and the podcast series How to Connect with Angels [theglitchmovie.com/about-our-podcast].

School funding eyed

By

While there is still contention between some town officials in Whitman and Hanson over the school assessment funding formula, a meeting with representatives of the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was held this week to explain the history of the issue, differences in funding formulas and the worst-case scenario if the divide is not bridged.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes stressed the unusual 5:30 p.m., Tuesday meeting time was designed to accommodate DESE representatives Christine Lynch and Michelle Griffin of DESE’s Office of Regional Governance, but that it was also intended to refute social media rumors about the issue, the only one on the agenda.

Members of both towns’ boards of selectmen, town administrators and finance committees attended the meeting, as well.

“There’s been some social media myths traveling around to do with the assessment that the town of Whitman is trying to balance their budget through the town of Hanson,” Hayes said. “That is totally, 100-percent untrue.”

He said Whitman is trying to develop a long-range plan for financial sustainability.

“This assessment issue came up through some other meetings, and it is coincidental,” Hayes said. “It is not one town pitting against the other. I want to make that very clear. … It is two towns — we are a regional school district. This committee’s charge is to advocate for children and get them the best education that we possibly can.”

Whitman Selectman Randy LaMattina said he wanted to head off any social media claims that his town was trying to force Hanson into something.

“I think, now that everyone is on the same playing field, we know what is going to transpire,” LaMattina said. “Now we know where to go.”

“We’ve been two great towns,” Hayes agreed. “Our kids are Whitman-Hanson. Our element is Whitman-Hanson. We’re red and black — we both bleed it, and we want to come to some agreement as a committee, as both boards of selectmen, as residents, as finance committees — we want to come to this agreement.”

Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett thanked the School Committee for arranging for Lynch and Griffin to meet with the town officials.

“The Hanson Board of Selectmen stands ready to respond to whatever decision it is that you guys make,” she said. “I really hate to see it get to a point where we’re going to have to see the state take over.”

School Committee member Christopher Howard asked if the panel submitted language in the assessment provisions for a phased-in approach, would that work?

Lynch said it could be looked at, but was noncommittal at this point beyond saying it would be reviewed.

“What I see is the need to come together and to work toward a solution to get this done,” said School Committee member Christopher Scriven.

While Whitman Finance Chairman Richard Anderson and Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci reminded the School Committee later in the meeting that their respective boards had unanimously voted to recognizes the statutory formula as the only acceptable budget method for Whitman.

Salvucci said that, no matter what formula is used, the schools will get their money, but town departments will pay the price.

“We are at our max,” he said. “We are $3,000 over the levy limit, we found that out today.”

Howard replied that Lynch had said at least five times that it is important for both towns to work together and that to come to an immediate conclusion without doing so would be premature.

“The bottom line for the Whitman Finance Committee may not be the same as for the Hanson Finance Committee or School Committee or the Whitman or Hanson boards of selectmen,” Anderson said. “Our responsibility is to recommend to Whitman Town Meeting what is in the best interests of the taxpayers of the community.”

He said the Education Reform Act’s intent was to recommend an assessment formula based on an aggregate, wealth-based methodology. While his board recognizes the challenges facing taxpayers in both towns and the importance of meeting all the stakeholders each year.

“We’re hoping the input [tonight] might sit for a while and maybe your recommendation might change,” Hayes said.  He added that it was important to look at it from the perspective of the future of the school district, as the financial pendulum has swung back and forth to the benefit or detriment of both towns in the past.

Hayes, a Hanson resident, said Whitman did not vote on the agreement, opting to pass over it at Town Meeting, but not because of the assessment issue.

“They had an issue with language in pulling out of the district,” he said. “It had nothing to do with one town paying more than the other, because that was also another myth that was all over the internet.”

Lynch advised the district to look closely at the two assessment methods, and how they impact both towns, to try to come to some agreement.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said the meeting resulted from a request for more information on the assessment portion of the regional agreement at the School Committee’s September meeting.

“What’s in play is the agreement [or alternative] method we’ve been following as a district since 1991 and a statutory method,” he said. “Both are legal methods of assessing.”

The agreement [or alternative] method is based on student population between the two towns and the statutory method uses the towns’ minimum local contributions as a starting point.

Lynch said the statutory method derived as part of the Education Reform Act in 1993, which required towns to reach a minimum local contribution as part of Chapter 70 funding requirements.

“Unfortunately, there was very little consideration for towns that were part of regional school districts,” she said. Most regions were formed in the 1950s with a per-pupil funding formula. An amendment to the Ed Reform Act later permitted regions to revert to using the agreement method.

“But, they set a higher bar,” Lynch said. “Instead of the two-thirds [of member towns] approval of the budget, which is your typical way to approve a regional school committee budget, the requirement then became that you have to approve it unanimously to use the agreement method.”

There are about 30 two-town regional school districts in Massachusetts.

“You are not unique,” she said. “Many of these districts have gone through this over past years.”

She added that many towns, over time, have come to some agreement, involving some compromise, to move forward and get their budget passed each year without a lot of discussion.

When a budget impasse does occur the Education Commissioner is authorized to set a 1/12th budget for the district under the statutory method until a workable local budget is approved, according to Lynch.

“Should there be no local budget by Dec. 1, the statute also requires the Commissioner to take over fiscal control of the district,” she said. “Under that scenario, the assessments must be calculated under the statutory methodology.”

Hanson Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff asked if the state took over, what does that look like, because she found the state funding source hard to identify in that scenario.

“That final budget [the commissioner] sets for the year, may be more than was set as the 1/12 budget, could be less than, could be the same,” Lynch said. Letters would be sent out to school and town officials asking why they want the money they are asking for in their budget.

“Ultimately, the commissioner will set it,” she said. The statutory method would be used to calculate the budget, using current state aid figures. The commissioner, however takes over fiscal control, approving all line items, collective bargaining agreements, new contracts over $25,000, new hires — basically any financial decision made at the district level.

While Lynch encouraged the School Committee to work with the towns to come up with an assessment method, the committee has the right to propose that method.

The Education Reform Act itself was the result of a lawsuit in which the state was accused of not devoting enough money to education.

School Committee member Fred Small said Whitman’s minimum local contribution was $10,631,538 last year while the assessment was $14,398,151. In Hanson, the required contribution was $8,892,401 and the assessment was $9,670,975.

“There’s a vast disparity in what was spent more than the required dollars,” he said.

Small noted that the committee owes the town a direction as finance committees begin preparing budgets.

WHRHS fields curfew is lifted

By

HANSON  — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 22, voted to reopen athletic fields at the high school for high school-age students only.

Use of the fields was restricted in late August due to positive tests for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in mosquito test samples within Whitman. Fields were closed for use from dusk to dawn.

W-H Athletic Director Bob Rodgers recently requested that the board revisit the issue.

Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett noted the request would ordinarily go before the School Committee first, but noted they have not met recently “for a variety of reasons.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett also said there were reports of EEE-positive mosquitos in Hanson and some residents had expressed concerns. Dias said the DPH would have reported it to her if the risk was high.

Rodgers said he was aware people were not happy with the Selectmen’s vote to close the fields, but he supported it at the time.

“This board was making a decision based on a lot of cases of EEE across the state,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she heard from Selectmen Kenny Mitchell that people weren’t happy, as well, but she has heard different reactions.

“I have had an overwhelming number of mothers coming up to me, saying ‘Thank God you did this,’ and I think it may be the age differences,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “For younger children, parents were very happy not to be the bad guy.”

Rodgers said people 12 and over and age 50 and over are most susceptible to EEE, so he understood the vote. But he said mosquito physiology makes them less likely to fly and to seek out sugars instead of blood when temperatures go below 50 degrees.

FitzGerald-Kemmett met with Interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini, Health Board Chairman Arlene Dias and School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes on Friday, Oct. 18 to discuss a path toward permitting unrestricted use of the fields with both the Health Board and Selectmen.

“[Mass. Department of Public Health’s] rule is still the same, which is what my recommendation was — not closing the fields,” Dias said of her most recent discussions with the MassDPH. “Because Hanson is moderate risk, people should only do personal protection, long sleeves, long pants and repellent.”

She said the mosquito population is slowed down when the temperature dips below 50 degrees, but a hard frost of two hours of 28 degrees or lower, is required to kill them off.

Dias said the DPH did not require the curtailing of outdoor activities.

“If we have 60-degree days and won’t have a hard frost until November, the concern is still there, for me at least,” Selectman Matt Dyer said. He said he would feel horrible if someone became infected with EEE or West Nile after the board voted to lift the ban at the high school.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here, advocating for this, if I thought I was putting our students at risk,” Rodgers said. He said not one high school parent called him to demand the fields be closed.

In other business, Community Preservation Commission Chairman Thomas Hickey said they have had some interest from sports in town about potentially applying for some CPC funds for field renovation.

“A lot of attention has been given to the middle school field and we’ve welcomed the opportunity to learn a lot from these leagues,” Thomas Hickey said, noting that much of that conversation has centered on the fact that the soccer league can’t use it. They have deemed the field unsuitable for play.

Thomas Hickey said any CPC funding would likely require a conversation about an overall plan for how the town will maintain its fields would be necessary if a funding application came before selectmen and Town Meeting.

“I think it would be helpful to get a perspective on how everybody views the roles and responsibilities with respect to that piece of property,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Where do the soccer parents begin and the schools end and who is responsible for what? I really am asking.”

Selectman Kenny Mitchell, who also serves on the Parks and Fields Commission said that body has never been responsible for school fields. Jurisdiction over the middle school fields has always been a question, he said, with Parks and Fields viewing it as a responsibility of the School District.

Hayes said it is a school field, but the district has no responsibility for scheduling use.

“We have no idea who uses it when or whose responsible for cleanup or any of the above,” Hayes said. “It’s been a problem since that school was built.”

The district’s Facilities Department mows the field, but that is all.

Hayes said the field was also done improperly.

“Nobody’s blaming anyone,” Hayes said. “Those fields have been a problem with drainage, with water, with everything.”

He said broken glass has been working its way to the surface of what should have been “virgin loam” since the fields were built.

Thomas Hickey said the CPC is using some administrative funds to have a firm look at a couple options — restore it to the original condition or possible redesign and construction based on current needs. The plans may become “dead on arrival” if the maintenance plan question is not answered, however, he said.

Selectmen agreed that issues of field ownership and responsibility needs to be determined.

Hayes indicated he and Rodgers would love to see an artificial field constructed at the middle school, with CPC funds paying for the foundation materials and funds for the playing surface would have to be raised.

Rodgers said the high school is working on a long-term plan to convert baseball and softball fields to artificial turf multi-use fields so community groups can use them, without damaging the surface, when high school teams are not.

In other business, Selectmen held the annual tax classification hearing, with Assessor Lee Gamache introduced new Board of Assessors member Emer McDonough before giving the tax rate presentation.

The tax rate is estimated at $15.27 per $1,000 valuation for fiscal 2020 as a single rate, down 27 cents from fiscal 2019.

Hanson has historically used a uniform tax rate between residential and commercial properties because it is primarily a residential community.

“I don’t think we want to give any disincentive to any businesses locating here,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Selectmen voted to adopt a uniform tax rate for fiscal 2020. They agreed with the Board of Assessors’ recommendation not to adopt a residential tax exemption and small commercial exemption.

Whitman real estate and personal property bills

By

In an effort to reduce postage costs in fiscal year 2020 Whitman began mailing real estate and personal property bills twice a year instead of four times a year. In July taxpayers were mailed a double coupon “preliminary” tax bill which included a remittance slip for the quarterly bills due both on Aug. 1 and a Nov. 1. The “actual” tax billing in December will also include two remittance slips for the Feb. 1 and May 1 due dates. Please retain the second slip for the next due date.

Please refer to the “preliminary” real estate and personal property double coupon bill mailed in July for the second quarter remittance slip which is due on Nov. 1.

 If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Collector’s Office at 781-618-9721.

Hanson’s newest Eagle takes flight

By

HANSON — Like many Eagle Scouts, Michael Curran, 17, was honored to receive congratulatory letters from President Trump, former presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter; U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren; and Gov. Charlie Baker. Curran also received a congratulatory letter from a Vatican representative of Pope Francis.

But how many Scouts receive a letter from their favorite football coach, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichik — as well as an autographed photo from wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — congratulating him on his new rank of Eagle Scout?

“Any Super Bowl tickets go with that?” an audience member asked about the Belichik letter.

Those presentations by Troop 68 Scoutmaster Kevin Keane concluded the Court of Honor ceremony Sunday, Oct, 27 at Lakeside Villa, Halifax, before the Patriots game was turned on in the adjacent buffet room during refreshments.

A perfect conclusion to an event honoring a Scout who ended his own speech with, “Go, Pats!”

Curran is among four Troop 68 Scout to achieve his Eagle Badge this year, following two other Scouts — Alec Fraser and Jacob Barbato who completed that work last year. Liam Keane will have his Court of Honor on Nov. 22 and Michael Doucette’s will be held on Dec. 8, both at Camp Kiwanee. Zev Andruk earned his Eagle Award Oct. 22, and will have his Court of Honor at a later date.

Curran’s mom Maura had the honor of pinning on his new Eagle Badge, while his dad Jim bestowed a new Eagle neckerchief on him during the ceremony, which started with the presentation of the Colors, recitation of the Scout Oath and Law, a prayer by the Rev. Kwang Lee and a candle ceremony signifying the qualities in the oath, the spirit of Scouting and the path to an Eagle Award.

“This is an occasion for pride and joy as well as a time for serious reflection,” said Mark Derocher, assistant Scoutmaster. “The Eagle Award is the highest rank of recognition that Scouting offers to a Boy Scout. It is earned through the advancement program and only a small percentage of boys who begin with Scouting are recognized with this honor.”

Curran has earned 34 merit badges, 13 more than required for Eagle rank.

Selectman Jim Hickey, state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, also attended the ceremony to present citations in honor of the event from the Hanson Board of Selectmen and the Mass. General Court.

Curran’s project was placing handicapped-accessible picnic tables at the snack area at Hanson’s Botieri Field, LZ Thomas and Robinson ball fields. “I was a part of youth sports for over 20 years in town,” Hickey said. “I told [Michael] how much I appreciated him doing [the project] over at the field.”

“This is quite an achievement,” said Cutler, who lamented not sticking with Scouting himself as a youth. “It’s important to acknowledge both his achievement, but also as a community, I see how many folks are getting their Eagle Scout here in Hanson. This is unusual — the number of Eagle Scouts that we have — and that’s because of the great program you have.”

Brady read the resolution and offered a comment about his own Scouting experience.

“I was lucky I was a tenderfoot,” Brady said. “I want to thank all the Scout leaders out there because, without your support these Eagle achievements would not become possible.”

Assistant Scoutmaster, and Deputy Fire Chief Rob O’Brien presented congratulatory certificates from himself and Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., and Police Chief Michael Miksch sent congratulations on Curran’s Eagle Award.

Curran thanked his fellow Troop members for their support of his project and the fundraising for it, as well as his parents and family. He also thanked master woodworker Charlie Garcia for his help.

“He took the time to help create a detailed material list and helped me make plans, so I could make these picnic tabled handicapped accessible,” Curran said. “He also welcomed us into his home for several weekends and helped us create quality picnic tables. Without his help, this project would not be possible.”

He presented mentor pins to his cousin Conor Keane and Troop Treasurer Kris Fraser.