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Whitman real estate and personal property bills

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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

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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.

Final TA list near

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HANSON  — Interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini announced to Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 22 that MRI, the consulting group conducting the search for a new town administrator, has received 39 applications.

Fourteen essay assignments were sent out to various candidates and MRI is currently scoring those returned essays. Following that phase, MRI will be conducting telephone interviews with candidates and expect to have a list of final candidates to the board by Oct. 31 or Nov. 1 and have asked how many candidates Selectmen want to see.

With three finalists, the interviews may be completed in a single night, but a list of five or more would likely require two.

“The recommendation was, once you have the interviews, you should make a decision quickly because these are good candidates and they are likely to be valued applicants in another community,” Marini said.

Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said she would prefer a list of five names as three seemed insufficient from such a large pool.

“We’re not talking about 39, 14 made the cut,” said Selectman Wes Blauss, noting only 14 were sent essay requests.

Selectman Matt Dyer asked how many essays were returned.

Marini said 13 seemed still in play, with 11 already returned and MRI saying they were waiting for two more.

“I really don’t want to put a number on it,” said Selectman Jim Hickey said. “If they have three applicants that they feel we should interview and get it done in one night, then OK, but if they have seven people — which is probably too high of a number — but if they have seven people that they think we should talk to, then it’s seven.”

Selectman Kenny Mitchell agreed.

“I like where you guys are going with this unless they say, ‘We have 14 great candidates,’ then we’re going to have a problem,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

The interviews will be conducted in a public meeting. MRI said they would be willing to work on consecutive days, including a Saturday, if the board wanted to interview more than three or bring two finalists back for a second interview before making a decision.

“I don’t have a problem being here three nights in a row, on television, because this is one of the most important decisions we’ll make as a group,” Hickey said.

MRI has offered to supply questions for the board to ask and will provide a list of questions they can’t ask.

Selectmen also voted to send a letter to Tetra Tech, the licensed site professionals working on cleanup of the National Fireworks site and collecting public comment, requesting that a complete cleanup be done to background at no cost to local or state taxpayers because they are currently in negotiations with the responsible parties.

A home for Whitman’s past

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WHITMAN — After nearly two years of work, Whitman now has a home for its memories.

The new Whitman Historical Museum officially re-opened Saturday, Oct. 19, as several of the historical society members who have worked tirelessly on re-establishing the space to house the memorabilia were present. They held a private opening Thursday, Oct. 3, and then again Saturday at the public opening.

John Campbell, 77, president of the Whitman Historical Society, Natalie Powell a longtime Whitman resident and Eunice McSweeney were just some of the members who worked on the exhibits for immeasurable amounts of time to document, label and organize the displays of hundreds of items.

Campbell was mid-sentence during a guided tour when longtime resident Ara Manoogian, who moved to Whitman in 1949, handed him photos of a former dairy barn.

The presentation was exciting and spurred immediate conversation in the room regarding the content and the details in the image. It was a photo circa 1920 of the Pleasant View Dairy, with its original milk room and barn intact, located on Plymouth Street near Pleasant Street. There were several dairy farms in town over the years. Peaceful Meadows, an ice cream shop that entices visitors from all over the South Shore is one of the businesses highlighted on the “now and then” timeline.

Receiving memorabilia is the norm for Campbell and members. There is not always a high monetary value to an article, he said, but added that they always carry a priceless memory. They intend to display and protect each item.

Their cumulative goal is to create a place which educates others by cradling the memories, keepsakes and treasures.

The project of getting the museum ready and re-established for Campbell, who once owned the Bostonian Shoe Museum in early 2000, was both a passion and a necessity. He knew that there was a need to share Whitman’s history.

“There is more to Whitman than just its shoe history,” he said.

Campbell stopped and reminisced with friends and residents, some who have since moved, but grew up in town.  There were discussions at each corner of the building. Guests stopped to read various framed accounts on each walls in the entry to the building. A factory-style hallway was adorned with details on Whitman’s Town Hall, the facts on the largest fires, and in another room the old wooden sign from the Dyer School is hung from a beam.

The format of rooms included amazingly minute details covering the walls to the quite obvious concrete piece — a now retired, paint peeled fire-breathing dragon from King’s Castle Land. Numerous items evoked childhood memories such as the King’s Castle replica and the shops that families frequented to purchase their necessities, clothing, or even penny candy.  There are countless items in the front reading room overflowing with books containing newspaper clippings and images as well as  rows of decades-old school yearbooks uniforms, brochures, menus, old baskets from the Cavicchi’s market just to name a few.

  One family from Hanson brought their visiting son and daughter in-law to see the museum. The couple, who now resides in Philadelphia, were included in conversation which multiplied from wall to wall as other visitors shared their own memories with the ‘sight-seers’.

Bob Milk formerly of Auburn Street saw the event on Facebook and allowed for his scheduled visit from Arizona to include the museum. The former Spellman student said his sister graduated from Whitman-Hanson in the 1970s.  His father Robert Milk was on the school board in the late 1960s.

He was happy that he could take in the opening on his trip to Whitman, he said.

The museum is housed adjacent to Harding Print at 15 Colebrook Blvd.  It is open to the public and organizations wishing to have group tours.

Inquiries can be made by contacting Harding Print  at 781-447-3941.

In their recent invitation which was shared regarding the open house event the Whitman Historical Society provided a statement of intent for generations to come.

The Whitman Historical Society is a not-for–profit educational institute. Its mission shall be to preserve the past, present and future history of the town of Whitman, and its residents through acquisition and preservation. A great emphasis will be placed on education to acquaint present and future generations with those who have passed.

Sewer study funds eyed

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WHITMAN — Residents will soon be asked to attend a special Town Meeting to fund an engineering study centering on the replacement of a sewer force main which has already required two expensive repairs.

The DPW Commissioners are seeking a $500,000 transfer from sewer and water retained earnings to fund the study. Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the projected cost of a new pipe is in excess of $8 million. The projected cost of a dual system is about $15 million.

“Good ideas come with cost,” Lynam said.

Both Lynam and Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci suggested a contingency estimate of about $900,000, putting any unused portion toward two bills due to the city of Brockton once a sewer contract is completed. Lynam said retained earnings is intended to address situations like this.

“I’m not shopping for other articles right now,” Lynam said, noting the sewer project and perhaps unpaid bills will be the only items on the warrant.

Actual construction work on the sewer line would have to go out to bond.

A date has not been determined yet, but a best date — possibly Dec. 2 or 9 — will be voted on at the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

“I think it won’t be a surprise to many people,” Lynam said of the request. “We’ve had two significant failures in the force main as it travels from Whitman to Brockton across Alger Street and into the woods there.”

The DPW procured funding and performed an assessment of the line, finding that there is “significant potential for failure” along it, according to Lynam. The DPW Commissioners met in a joint session with Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 22 to discuss needed actions to ensure the town maintains a functioning sanitary system.

“I know Environmental Partners have done some significant work on this, but there’s a lot more to be done,” Lynam said.

The twin force main, which starts at the Auburn Street pump house, is the main sewer outflow to the Brockton pump station, according to DPW Commission member Kevin Cleary.

It was installed in 1984.

“We had two significant breaks over the last couple of years that were well over $1 million,” Cleary said. “We were lucky where they were — they were accessible.”

Since then the DPW obtained funding appropriations and did some land clearing and followed it up with soil borings and analysis.

“They’ve determined that we’ve run a life span,” Cleary said. “The breaks that we had were from the outside [of the pipes] in — they weren’t [from] the inside out.”

The combination of soil, water and acidity rotted the pipes. Soil borings showed more potential problems from similar soil and water conditions in the area.

DPW Commission member Wayne Carroll said the pipe is rated for 30 years, and was installed 35 years ago.

“The next step is we would like to have a Town Meeting to appropriate funds for engineering, permitting, design and getting bid documents together,” Cleary said. “We can’t wait until the spring to start that and then go into typical bid and construction and all that.”

They are looking to doing that work over the winter to present a much better scope of the value of the project and to allow the commission to come before the spring Town Meeting with better information about options and costs.

Both bypassing and sleeving the old main have been discussed as potential emergency remedies, Carroll said.

Cleary said it costs at least $500,000 to repair emergency breaks to the pipe.

In other business, Selectmen voted to appoint officer Peter Aiken as the new sergeant on the Whitman Police Department. Aiken was the top person on the sergeant’s list, as well as the recommendation of Lynam and Police Chief Timothy Hanlon.

Aiken will be sworn in privately, Lynam said.

Selectman Randy LaMattina, who chairs the Budget Override Evaluation Committee, said that panel has met again after delays surrounding a health issue the financial consultant had been dealing with.

The most recent meeting focused on five-year trends and forecast for 2020 new growth — slightly over $1 million — and noted a downturn in excise revenue, whether an economic trend or a billing issue, and that the state is not providing much help in the form of state aid — up only 1.5 percent over five years with school aid up only .59 percent over that time.

“Our budget trends over the last five years are basically proving not to be sustainable,” LaMattina said. “As we go ahead, that’s going to be diagnosed.”

The consultant will be meeting one-on-one with department heads to discuss where they plan to be in the next five years and whether some of their costs are controllable.

“In terms of progress, we are far and away, ahead of where we were last year,” said LaMattina, noting that department heads are coming together and getting information in earlier this year.

Selectmen also approved a request for SDIP, when space is available, to hold automotive insurance surcharge hearings in Whitman Town Hall for the convenience of both the public and hearings officers.

Fireworks site cleanup work outlined

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HANSON — While most of the work is taking place over the town line in Hanover, Hanson residents had the chance to voice their concerns with state officials last week.

Mass DEP representatives Deborah Marshall-Hewitt and Gerard Martin provided an overview of the work done on the former National Fireworks Site — and a look ahead to the next phase of the work— during a Wednesday, Oct. 16 meeting at Hanson Middle School. Town Moderator Sean Kealy presided over the session attended by Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, Matt Dyer and Wes Blauss.

“The board thought that it was important to ask these folks from MassDEP to be here tonight to answer questions that might be unique to Hanson citizens,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett who chairs the Board of Selectmen.

Most of the questions at the Hanson forum focused on water contamination and blasting at the site.

Marshall-Hewitt, a 26-year veteran of MassDEP, is the Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup Audit section chief and project manager for the Fireworks site cleanup. Martin is deputy regional director for the Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup in the Southeast region.

She described the cleanup process contaminated waste goes through, location of munitions on the site and contact information for MassDEP and the state attorney general’s office. Video of the meeting can be viewed on the Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV website.

“No public or private water supply wells have been impacted by the contaminants released at the site,” Marshall-Hewitt said. “That’s a really important piece. I think a few residents in Hanover didn’t quite understand [that], but we have tested groundwater — a lot of the wells in the area receive drinking water from municipal water supply wells. Those municipal water supply wells are tested separately from what we are doing at the fireworks site.”

She said the results have been fine.

Martin added that municipal wells are also required to tap into Zone 2 acquifers, a zone of groundwater no where near the fireworks site.

Right now access to the fireworks factory site is restricted and patrolled by Hanover Police, who have made a number of arrests and stopped several others from entering the site, according to Marshall-Hewitt. People who fish in affected water will not be harmed by handling the fish, but are advised not to eat the fish.

“There has been a fish advisory out for a long time,” she said of mercury contamination. Phase three will focus on dredging sediment to remove heavy contaminants such as mercury, as well as an Immediate Response Action for any more munitions found on the site. The estimated cost, to be shouldered by the parties responsible for contamination is $92 million, including dredging and disposal of dredged sediment.

The work is estimated to take three to four years, Marshall-Hewitt said, but Martin expects it to take longer.

“I think this could be optimistic,” he said. “This is a very involved project. They’re not even sure how they are going to do the dredging yet.”

The process has already taken 10 years, a resident said.

“There are a lot more than we anticipated that are being removed,” she said.

The site involves 240 acres bounded by Winter and King streets in Hanover and Hanson and had been used for the manufacture, testing and storage of fireworks and military ordnance from 1907 to the 1970s.

A Mass. Contingency Plan for the remediation of various chemical contaminants — primarily mercury and lead — is entering a third phase three, for which the public comment period closes Friday, Oct. 25.

“We will not comment on the phase three report until we get all the comments from the public,” Martin said. “We want to consider what your concerns are when we’re looking at this report and figuring out how to move forward.”

Phase three will include the evaluation and selection of cleanup alternatives, a draft of which was submitted to the MassDEP in July.

The Hanson town website (hanson-ma.gov) has links posted for information about what the project has accomplished and what is ahead.

Questions posed from a handful of Hanson residents Oct. 16 focused on the health impacts of lead and mercury contaminants, found in sediment of Factory Pond and Indian Head River.

Mercury was detected in sediment, soil, groundwater and fatty tissues of fish — as well as lead and volatile organic compounds — during phase two. Additional work included indoor air and irrigation well sampling, both of which were concerns expressed by Hanson residents.

State Street resident Peggy Westfield asked about cancers possibly related to the contamination from a personal vantage point. In 1988, her son Matthew died from leukemia at age 7.

“Does the DPH have all that information?” she asked about a Hanover brain cancer case being checked for a connection to the contamination. “Should I give them the information? If you look at people around this room … there are other kinds of cancer that I believe to be caused by this site.”

She pointed to the Indian Head River as a potential site. Martin said she should contact the DPH, which has two people investigating the connection with contamination.

Another asked about irrigation well contamination and explosions — the latter of which have caused cracked foundations not covered by homeowners’ insurance, and stress to pets that has led to destructive behavior.

“Everybody tells me it’s not their responsibility,” said one resident who noted only interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini has tried to help.

FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested the funds from responsible parties funding the site cleanup, should also be tapped to help homeowners.

Paul Nichol, a Winter Street resident, said his dog has suffered a great deal from the blasting.

“We’ve had thousands of dollars of damage caused by my dog,” he said. “The dog hears the siren and knows the explosion is coming, so he starts running through the house, throws himself through a glass door, tried to actually eat his way out of the house through a door.”

He has had to put the dog in day care.

“It’s too bad when these things follow you home,” said Conservation Commission member Phil Clemons, who has worked for 35 years in the environmental health and safety management in the corporate world. “This is the kind of project where you have a lot of overlap between environmental issues, wildlife issues, human health and human safety issues.”

As a youth, he said he used to fish in Factory Pond, expressing interest in the fish studies, as well as those into human health.

“A very high interest will continue to be sampling or removing sediment from the pond or from the streams,” he said. “Lots of things go on with sediment we don’t usually pay attention to or see, but, by golly, this calls for attention.”

A Sept. 24 public hearing in Hanover, described by most who attended both sessions as contentious, also featured representatives of the Mass. Department of Public Health, as well as staff members of U.S. Rep. Bill Keating and U.S. senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren — who were not present in Hanson.

Marshall-Hewitt said the MassDPH is now conducting a cancer study among people who live in proximity to the fireworks site, and provided general information at the Sept. 24 meeting.

Another meeting is planned for 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14 at Hanover Town Hall, 550 Hanover St., to discuss an upcoming grant opportunity and planning process to identify and implement restoration projects that will restore fisheries, rivers, and wetlands in the North, Indian Head, and Drinkwater Rivers as well as Factory Pond. We recommend potential applicants attend to discuss project ideas before the North River Watershed Restoration Grant Announcement and Application (GAA) is issued in Fall/Winter 2019.

The potentially responsible parties from whom $68 million has been placed in an expendable trust for reimbursement or payment of response action costs are: National Coating Company, MIT, the bankrupt Susquehanna Corp., and Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. (Tronox-bankrupt), which make up the Fireworks Site Joint Defense Group and the Defense Department.

SST reviews MCAS results

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HANOVER — With MCAS test results out, South Shore Tech students scored 10th in the state on student growth in English language arts — at an average of 65.5 percent.

Students who passed the ELA MCAS, but fell short of the score required for an Adams scholarship have the right to retake it, and nine SST juniors have opted to do that, according to Principal Mark Aubrey.

In math, SST was sixth out of 35 vocational school districts in student growth with 56.9 percent improvement and five students will be required to retake the math exam in November.

Attendance is also improved by 23 percent so far this school year.

Aubrey also introduced the school’s resource officer, Adam Hill of the Hanover Police Department. Hill serves at the school 16 hours per week, which usually boils down to two eight-hour shifts per week.

Hill also works during special events such as the Homecoming dance.

“He’s in the classrooms, he’s in the shops, he’s communicating with the kids,” Aubrey said. “He eats lunch with the kids, he sits at their tables. He’s doing a fabulous job and we are appreciative of every moment that he can give us.”

For his part, officer Hill said everyone at the school has been very welcoming.

“I had no idea [of] the capabilities of this facility, I’m truly impressed with it,” he said. “The kids are unbelievable.” He said the students are capable of confidently teaching an adult about their shops.

“You should be proud of the work that goes on here,” he said. “I’m very impressed.”

Hill’s comments came on the heels of Whitman resident Paul Varley’s continued charges of bullying and abuse at the school, to which he said his brother has been subjected. Varley addressed the committee during the public comment period, as his state Rep. Allyson Sullivan, R-Abington, “directed me to come to this committee for your help to take care of all my issues.”

He had appeared before the committee in recent months to address a bullying complaint.

“Now, either Allyson Sullivan or this very committee has no idea what it’s function is, as this committee sent a very brief summation, in a letter stating nothing will be done on the committee’s end, then pretty much dismissing my very lengthy email — time-lining everything,” Varley read from a prepared statement.

He said the committee had suggested he talk to Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey, about the matter, which Varley said he has tried to do.

“The district takes all concerns very seriously and reviews such matters thoroughly; it goes without saying that student safety and student success are critically important priorities,” Hickey said in a statement Tuesday, Oct. 22. “While we cannot comment publicly on specific student matters, the school administration will always seek dialogue in the appropriate venue with any parties who have concerns and questions.”

The public comment is designed to give people a chance to address an issue not on the agenda, and no one on the committee commented during the meeting for that reason.

“My hope here is trying to use this public forum to find someone who cares and can help,” he said. “As I’ve heard from current and former students over the last few years, these are the things going on that the school is also aware of.”

He listed allegations of threats to kill or harm others or blow up the school, sexual assaults and destruction of a motor vehicle as examples.

“This school is, by definition, the model school for a bullying culture,” Varley stated. He described the video-recording and editing of fights for entertainment purposes as well as taking inappropriate photos of each other, and charged that teachers and staff join in on bullying, lying and stealing from students while he accused the administration of not caring.

“I’ve given the school far too many chances to do something tangible, and I live by the motto ‘see something, say something,’ so here I am,” he said. “Here’s your wake-up call South Shore, before catastrophe is at our doorstep.”

Whitman sacres up fun at classic car show

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Hailey Thomas, 9, of Brockton, Lucas Marotte, 4, and Alissandra Marcotte, 8, of Whitman were in full costume when they saved the day from this sinister clown at the 2nd annual Great Pumpkin Classic Car Show at Whitman Middle School Sunday as the event was graced with spectacular weather and two full lots of cars. The money raised was to benefit the Whitman recreational programs, and the WH Dollars for Scholars. See more photos, page 11.

Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos

Gret Lozeau honored at Town meeting

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HANSON — The family of Mary Margaret “Gret” Lozeau, who died Dec. 20, 2018, leaving a legacy of community service, accepted honors in her memory during the special Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 7.

Gret’s husband Gerry Lozeau and her daughter, Teresa Santalucia, were presented with a state flag — flown over the State House in her honor — as well as citations from the Board of Selectmen and the General Court.

“The Hanson Board of Selectmen takes this means to express its most sincere appreciation to Mary “Gret” Lozeau in official recognition of one who is gone too soon, but has left the town of Hanson and the world a better place,” Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett read from the board’s citation.

Gret Lozeau was honored as an educator, both in the classroom and her church, and for her support of numerous civic organizations and as a library trustee.

“Her love of people, family and community was ever-present and lived on today,” FitzGerald-Kemmett read from the citation. “The board also thanks the Lozeau family for selflessly sharing such a remarkable woman who has given so much of herself to others.”

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and state Sen, Mike Brady, D-Brockton, made the presentation on behalf of the General Court.

“I had the distinct pleasure of knowing Gret Lozeau,” Cutler said. “She was very kind to me, personally, in fact one of my first introductions to the town of Hanson was the [annual carol sing at] Red Acres Farm.”

He said her passing was a great loss to the town as well as her family.

Born in 1945, she moved to Hanson with her family in 1950, attended Sacred Heart Elementary-High School in Kingston and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and a master’s in education from the State College of Boston.

“Gret was a dedicated life-long teacher on many levels and a variety of settings,” Cutler said. She was a member of the Kiwanis Club and a sponsor of the Hanson Middle School Builders Club. She was also an active sports enthusiast, in racketball, skiing and tennis.

A life-long member of St. Joseph the Worker Church, she served as a sodality board member and religious education teacher.

“I think her service, certainly, will not be forgotten,” Cutler said.

“If Rep. Cutler and myself did half the things Gret did, we’d have a place reserved in heaven where we know she is right now,” Brady said. “We’re grateful for all she’s given to this community.”

A moment of silence was also held at the beginning of the Town Meeting in memory of Highway Surveyor Robert Brown, Laura Haas, Ronald H. Oullette, Mary Lyon, Patricia Strait and Sheila Ward, who passed away in recent months, in honor of their contributions to the town.

The Town Meeting also honored the membory of an 8-year-old girl who recently died.

Police, transfer station funding passed

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HANSON — Voters at special Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 7, approved funding to support salaries for added police officers — to prevent the need for dark station hours — as the town moves toward a regional dispatch center, as well as to keep the transfer station open five days a week.

“This may be bigger [turnout] than some May Town Meetings,” Moderator Sean Kealy said of the 165 voters signed in by the 7:30 p.m. start of the meeting. “It’s a terrific number for an October Town Meeting.”

The funds available for town business were:  $1,664,097 in free cash; $1,256,343 in the stabilization fund; $135,992 in the school stabilization fund; $885,493 in Water Surplus; $65,205 in Recreation Retained Earnings; and $74,323 in Solid Waste Retained Earnings.

During discussion of a requested adjustment of $60,000 in Police Department salaries under Article 2 — an appropriation to supplement various town departments — Kathleen Marini of Union Street and Richard Edgehille of South Street, both asked why the Finance Committee voted not to recommend the expense.

Both questioned item as well as Article 2 as a whole were approved.

“The Finance Committee voted not to recommend, based on the article as a whole,” Chairman Kevin Sullivan said, noting the vote was due to the police salaries and a $7,000 adjustment for paying off a septic system at Camp Kiwanee.

“This is a little vague,” Edgehille said. “You don’t recommend it, how about an explanation for this audience?”

Selectman Kenny Mitchell said the reason was that, with the move to a regional dispatch center, the town is going to be supplementing the dispatchers with police officers.

“We’re not adding Saturday salaries, we’re just exchanging positions,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been talking about this internally over the past year and a half with the new regional dispatch coming up and we challenged the police chief — he came to us and said he needed this.”

A portion of the salaries will be funded by a state 911 grant.

“When we looked at this and considered the savings that we were going to [see] over the regionalization process, we looked at the potential budge cycle for next year,” Sullivan said. “Over the past few years, we looked as a committee to only add positions when we believed there was a long-term success. We were hesitant to add positions going into what could be one of the most difficult budget cycles that Hanson is going to face next fiscal year and have to cut money out of that salary.”

He stressed that, once that money is approved they don’t want to face the need of removing a police officer if budget cuts are needed.

Police Chief Michael Miksch said the department would be moving toward regional dispatch in July 2020, he was faced with going to a dark station when local dispatchers are no longer needed or staff the station with police officers. He is looking to add four officers between now and the next fiscal year.

“If I don’t have people to staff the station July 1, 2020, I have to fill it either with overtime or take officers off the road, neither of which is acceptable,” he said, noting the time it takes to train officers. Overtime alone would run $32,000 a month if he fills every shift that way.

“That’s all I wanted was an explanation,” Edgehill said. “Public safety first.”

Sullivan said the Kiwanee septic payment had not been recommended because Camp Kiwanee is intended to operate independently.

Recreation Commission member Joan Fruzzetii countered that taxation can, and has, been used to fill the gap if the Enterprise Fund fails to do so, and that funds had been put aside twice for the septic system.

“What happened in the past, happened in the past,” Sullivan said. “I can only deal with what we’re dealt with right now. I’m not going to debate it, I’m just giving you what our decision was.”

The Town Meeting amended an article seeking to increase funds for salaries and expenses the Transfer Station Enterprise Fund at the May 2019 annual Town Meeting by $55,000 – to $100,000 for salaries and $208,000 for expenses. The amendment was unanimously recommended by both the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee, but the change was sought from the floor by Indian Head Street resident Bruce Young, to increase the Salary line in the Article by $21,473, that amount coming from Free Cash.

Young’s amendment brought the salaries back to their original Requested amount, originally proposed by the Board of Health in May of 2019, which was $121,473 and was approved by an overwhelming voice vote of the Town Meeting

Board of Health Chairman Arlene Dias had described Article 4 on the Monday, Oct. 7 warrant as a housekeeping measure.

Young noted that the May Town Meeting was provided a Health Board proposal to fund salaries at the transfer station for $121,473, but voters had to accept this Finance Committee recommendation of $60,000 because the town had insufficient funds to permit the Town Meeting to amend it to fund salaries for the whole fiscal year.

“If we should support the article …what would happen is, and [the Board of Health] has already voted on this … we would be, for the first time in the history of the transfer station, closing it Monday and Tuesday and [it] would only be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Young said. “I want to remind everybody that we had new permits to get in the transfer station this year [that cost] $30 per vehicle and everybody went down and bought them on the assumption that the transfer station would be open five days a week.”

He equated the article to a bait and switch.

Sullivan said the article as originally written was supported by the Finance Committee on the Board of Health’s determination of what was needed to run the transfer station for the remainder of the year.

Resident Joe Peligra said that, while he understands transfer stations are not required by the state, Hanson’s facility is operated as a service to the town and there is a growing number or people using the transfer station.

“We were told that the transfer station should be self-sustaining,” Dias said. “The only way for us to do that was to cut the budget and the only way to do that was to cut two days a week.”

Edgehille said that the wording of the article did not make the closing on those two days clear.

“Your not being honest with the public,” he said.

Sullivan said the reduction of service was intended to keep the service, which was losing money, as a resource to the town.

“The number of people who jumped off when private hauling was offered — I don’t have the exact figure, but I believe it’s around 40 percent of the town uses the transfer station — the number needs to be higher for it to be a self-sustaining enterprise,” Sullivan said.

There are two employees at the transfer station and the facility has to be closed at lunch hours because one person cannot work alone for safety reasons, Dias said.