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Recordsetting DARE camp

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The 23rd annual Plymouth County Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) Summer Program may be a tough one to top. During the week, campers and staff watched an apparently-successful attempt to set a Guinness World Record while learning leadership and good choices, playing and interacting with new friends.

“The police officers and school resource officers would not be here but for the leadership of the Plymouth County police chiefs, many of whom are here today,” said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

This year, about 50 officers in 23 departments participated, a record number, Cruz noted.

Speaking of records, Mark Kenny of Plymouth has long entertained by walking on his hands, but this week he not only brought his talent to DARE Camp on Thursday, July 27 — water day. He achieved what appears to be a new world record.

Inverted sprinting or walking on your hands while pulling a car was the challenge he set out to attain. Now, in coming weeks, officials from the Guinness Book Of Worlds Records will review video and authenticity of his stunt.

With nearly 500 campers and staff present along with an onslaught of police officers and media he will have plenty of documentation.

Kenny’s family was present to witness their dad’s success. His wife Mary, sons Will, 11, and Johnny, 15 and daughter Katie, 13, were among the crowd cheering, “Move That Car!”

The momentum of the crowd helped him get rolling, said Kenny who pulled a Cooper, which weighs approximately 2,800 pounds attached by a tether around his waist five meters while he walked on his hands, pulling it.

“I want to thank Mark for letting you guys be part of this special event,” Cruz said during his remarks at the Friday, July 28 graduation ceremony.

He has been walking on his hands for 20 years, exercises everyday with resistance and pushing weighted sleds and plans to continue using his talents.

Another impressive personal achievement was saluted during Friday’s graduation ceremony, a Duxbury girl was honored for her honesty in turning in a $20 bill she found under the bleachers in the WHRHS gym on the first day of camp.

“We try to teach the kids to make life decisions, to be responsible, be respectful and to be honest,” said Hanson DARE and School Resource Officer William Frazier. Hanson is the event’s host community.

Frazier had told her the $20 was hers if no one claimed it at the end of the day. He never saw her again until he called for her to come claim it at the graduation ceremony.

“That says a lot about her, her family and her community,” Frazier said. “So, where are you? Come up and get your $20.”

Frazier thanked Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch for letting him be part of the DARE program as well as Whitman Chief Scott Benton and his town’s DARE officer Kevin Harrington and WHRSD officials for their efforts in support of the event. Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr. was also lauded for his department’s help in making the camp’s popular water day possible.

More than 20 police departments, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department and the Massasoit Community College Police Department participated in the camp this year.

“These officers come to camp every day and give your child 110 percent,” Frazier told parents attending the graduation ceremony. “This camp does not exist without the extraordinary participation and dedication of each of these officers.”

Leadership service awards were presented to three campers in the name of police officers who have passed after careers dedicated to their communities — Robert Quigley and Helen Gray of Marshfield Police and Gerald Mont of Whitman Police. Camper Ava Dant was also honored for her work during the year to raise funds to make it possible for kids who might not be able to afford it to attend camp.

Cruz gave special thanks to the work of police and sheriff department officials whose work to control drug trafficking, especially of opiates, putting the money seized from drug dealers back to work in the DARE program to fight future drug problems through programs like the annual camp. He also thanked the nearly 20 businesses who donated food for lunches and snacks provided to campers during the week. The event concluded with the introduction of the 24 DARE camper teams, of which the top three winners of the team cheer competition had the opportunity to demonstrate their rhymes.

Hanson’s new Recreation Director settling into the job

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HANSON — In April, Lakeville resident Marybeth MacKay became Hanson’s new Recreation Director. Having worked a similar part-time position in Lakeville, the Abington native also brings an extensive background in the event-planning industry to her new job.

While she originally majored in interior decorating in college, and worked for a Stoughton flooring company for 13 years, after graduating from Abington High School, MacKay said she found the entertainment business when she met her husband Gordon in 1993. He worked as a video promoter for Polygram Records, and groups such as KISS and Bon Jovi during the music video heyday.

“He got me into moving more into the entertainment business,” she said during an interview with the Whitman Hanson Express Thursday, July 20. “As the music industry changed, we changed, ourselves, into doing family entertainment, fairs and festivals — which he was already kind of doing with some of those music acts already.”

They have a 14-year-old son who, growing up in the entertainment world, is a bit blasé about the bold-face names he’s encountered during travels with his parents.

“When he was 10, he told us he was sick of the traveling,” she said with a laugh. “When I was a kid, I would have been star-struck by a daredevil or a rock star. It’s very normal for him.”

She mentioned a photo she has of her son and singer Eddie Money surfing their iPhones backstage during an event, looking thoroughly bored.

As we spoke, two kayakers paddled along Maquan Pond as the laughter of kids swimming at Cranberry Cove could be heard from our vantage point on the back porch of Camp Kiwanee’s Needles Lodge.

Q

: What kind of family entertainment did you arrange?

A: “We kind of broadened our horizons from just music to family entertainment such as circus acts and educational animal shows, like we have coming up here at Camp Kiwanee Aug. 1 and 8. We also did marketing and looking at the demographics of the fair and the local area, working within their budget, setting advertising, doing public relations. Most were nonprofit events, anything from Renaissance to county fairs. We also traveled quite a bit to Puerto Rico and Spain [with a U.S. government cultural arts exchange program].”

Q: What brought you back to the South Shore?

A: “About four years ago, when my son got sick of traveling, we looked for something local that was within my expertise. Doing events for a town is a lot like doing it for a fair and some towns, like Spencer [in central Massachusetts], own their own fairgrounds.” She’s also worked with the Topsfield Fair, bringing in acts like a rodeo and the Flying Walendas.

Q: It sounds like the recreation job is a good fit for you.

A: “It really is. It is a lot like what I was doing before, only instead of being concentrated over four days, it’s spread out over the course of a year.”

Q: How did you find out about this opportunity?

A: “I came here from the Lakeville Parks Department. I was working there part time and they were looking to stick with part time to stay within their budgets and I wanted to expand to full time. I saw this opportunity come up, it’s a very similar facility with a wedding hall to help pay for [Lakeville’s] Parks Department … instead of having cabins and camping like we have here, they had a beach with soccer and baseball fields, horseshoe pits and both a youth and adult volleyball program through USA Volleyball.”

Q: Were you familiar with the challenges in the Hanson Recreation Commission when you first came here?

A: “A little bit. I had heard something about it, but I really didn’t get too involved.”

Q: What was the hiring process like?

A: “I applied back in November and I know there had been some delays — I know they changed the job description — and I was interviewed in February. They hired me in March and I started on April 3 after I finished in Lakeville.”

Q: Did that give you time to hit the ground running with programs?

A: “It’s very difficult for the summer. Summer is when everybody wants everything to happen and you’re competing against all those fairs and festivals because those same animal educators — we have Marla Isaac coming up at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 1 with birds of prey — and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, she’s at fairs and festivals. We’re kind of limited as to what we can do this summer, but we’re hoping to hit the ground running, I’ve got a lot of great ideas, for the fall, after-school and half-day programming like Wicked Cool Science.”

Q: Did starting the job in April also put you behind with the beach programs?

A: “With lifeguards, it’s a national shortage. The National Parks and Rec Association for the last three years, has been putting out information in their newsletter on the crisis with lifeguards, which they attribute to a few different things. A lot of parents are having their kids concentrate on their education over the summer. You’re seeing more kids choosing to go to summer school to get more time in. The other factor they attribute it to is the cost of becoming a lifeguard. It can cost an average of about $300 to become a lifeguard and it’s an entry-level position. Towns and recreation departments have budgets to think about. … I think it’s a great opportunity for a kid because there’s nothing better than being outside. Lifeguarding also teaches kids social interaction, leadership and gives them more responsibility than just ringing up at the supermarket. It probably looks really good on a college application.”

Q: You mentioned some programs you are planning, what other potential is there for increased community use of Camp Kiwanee?

A: “I think the rentals are going really well, and that’s a good thing, because the rentals help pay for the programs and salaries of the staff. … It would be nice to maybe expand some things down at the beach, because we get such a great response from the swimming lessons. It would also be nice to have some kind of a summer program here with the camps … to give kids a few days so they don’t have to travel to some of the Y camps.”

She said the narrow access road and limited parking creates a problem with planning larger festival-type programs at Kiwanee.

Q: What do you like most about the job so far?

A: “I like working with people, I really do. I find that everybody has an interesting story. I enjoy meeting people — you never know who you’re going to meet and what they’ve done.”

Q: What are some of the bigger challenges?

A: “Just getting used to a new culture. It’s very different here from Lakevillle, where they were more sports-oriented [at the Parks Department]. Here they are more arts-oriented. But I also have that experience with fairs and festivals.

“Growing up, I knew about it and had a friend who worked for the Lakeville School Department who was actually the beach director here and had done all the jobs growing up.

“We’re surrounded here by beautiful nature and I think that’s the programming that’s probably really a best fit. … People can learn about why [animals]  are here.”

Hull weighing link with SSVT

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HANOVER — Representatives from the town of Hull attended a portion of the South Shore Vo-Tech’s Thursday, July 19 meeting to ask questions about the ongoing discussions centering on the town’s possibly joining the SSVT region.

“I’m going to try to answer some of the questions I picked off when I visited them last month,” said SSVT Committee Chairman Robert Molla during the meeting broadcast by Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV. “One of them was how did the new towns we brought in in 1992 affect it and how did the populace accept joining our club?”

Hull Board of Selectmen representative Jennifer Constable updated the SSVT board on her committee’s work on the issue to date.

Hull voters, in 2016, voted favorably on a Town Meeting article forming the South Shore Vo-Tech Exploratory Committee, which has been “learning as much as we can about voke-tech,” and discussing the issue with its own school district, she said.

“We have decided on two tracks of assessment in terms of how we will get to whether or not we make the recommendation,” Constable said.

That decision is slated to come before the town’s 2018 Town Meeting.

She said one track involves the level of interest among Hull residents. The other involves the feasibility of the financial assessment for which the town would be responsible. The Hull officials invited SSVT representatives to attend an informational session in September and noted that Hull officials and interested residents could attend the SSVT open house on Saturday, Oct. 14.

Hull is also hiring a consultant to assess the financial impact on the town.

“We will take that information into consideration when we decide whether or not we do or do not recommend the feasibility for the town to join the district,” she said.

Whitman SSVT representative Daniel Salvucci talked about the process that town went through in joining the district in 1982-83. One of his sons attended SSVT, studying drafting, as did his son’s wife — who is now an engineer.

“There was really no vocational education [in Whitman] for children,” he said. “When [W-H] regionalized fully, K-12, there were children who were seeking a vocational education and we couldn’t offer it. So we had to look to the closest school system that offered vocational education, and that happened to be South Shore Vo-Tech.”

As the district was a regional one both Whitman and Hanson joined SSVT together.

“It’s been great,” he said. “We have had no bad feelings or [thoughts we were] doing the wrong thing for our children.”

While Whitman voters have, from time to time, asked why the SSVT assessment — which is based on the number of students from each town — has been so high, they have never questioned the quality of education.

“If a child wants a vocational education, who are we to say no?” Salvucci said he argued to Whitman voters at the time. He also noted there are no user fees for sports at SSVT. “It’s all there.”

Constable said she wanted to make it clear that no one in Hull was advocating saying no to any child wishing to pursue a vocational education.

“It’s just there is that sticking point — to determine if we can afford that buy-in cost,” she said.

Molla reviewed the SSVT student populations, and average per-pupil cost, per town’s local educational budget. With SSVT picking up transportation costs to SSVT, he argued Hull would pay lower per-pupil costs than the current cost of about $20,000. He added the board is open to negotiation on the buy-in cost, so it could be considerably less.

“When do you rent and when do you buy, and in order to determine that, you’ve got to figure out how deep the interest is,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said. “Information is good and we stand ready to help in as many forums or opportunities as we can. … You’re here to figure out and ultimately make a recommendation. ”

Molla had also suggested that an informational program on WHCA-TV could be helpful.

“I think the third-party analysis will yield a lot of good information,” Hickey said. “Now there’s another year’s worth of data available.”

One Hull committee member asked about where SSVT graduates head after commencement, to work or higher education?

“Every one of our students has a job,” Molla said. “Most of the students — electrical is one shop — probably have their career jobs by their junior year, because we have an excellent co-op program. Automotive is another.”

Hickey said the numbers change year-to-year, but noted that every student has a career plan by graduation.

“If it’s a direct-to-work field, there is a place for them,” he said. “Where they’re headed next might include some post-secondary education [65-percent of 2017 grads planned to do so]. … There are a lot of success stories out there.”

SSVT has also begun tracking graduates up to five years after commencement for even more accurate numbers.

Five years ago, SSVT changed admission policy to accept nonresident students — when places are available — but all resident students scoring between 60-100 points are admitted before nonresident students and finally residents with scores below 50 are accepted.

In other business, Hickey said work on revisions to the regional agreement is essentially complete, but will not likely be ready for presentation to town meetings this fall.

Freshmen will be invited in for “Freshmen Fiesta” on Aug. 15 to familiarize themselves with the building and a cookout lunch.

2 charged in WEB drug bust

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WHITMAN — A drug arrest was made in Whitman July 20 in conjunction with the WEB Task Force after a month-long investigation.

The WEB Task Force combines the investigation efforts of officers from West Bridgewater, Whitman, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater and Bridgewater State University.

Samuel Rutledge, 28, of 50 Center St., Brockton, was identified by West Bridgewater Officer Sean Devilly,  and Whitman officers Paul Young and Peter Aitken as the Fentanyl supplier to various customers in this region.

Rutledge was an alleged dealer utilizing various female drivers to transport and deliver the narcotics.

On Thursday, July 20, investigators assigned to the task force observed Rutledge engage in what was believed to be a narcotics transaction in Whitman. Detectives then stopped Rutledge and the female who was driving Rutledge to the narcotics transaction, according to a police statement. He had possession of what was suspected to be Fentanyl and crack cocaine, which was packaged for resale, according to a prepared press release from the WEB Task Force. The estimated street value of the seized drugs was approximately $3,000.

“The pairing of crack cocaine and Fentanyl is problematic for investigators and health care workers as there has been a noticeable increase in overdoses due to the coupling of these two narcotics,” police stated. “Investigators and Health Care experts have noticed that traditional cocaine users are overdosing on what they believe to be Fentanyl instead of cocaine.”

Rutledge was charged with trafficking a class B substance, distribution of a class B substance three counts, possession with intent to distribute a class B Substance – Fentanyl and one count of trafficking more than ten grams of Fentanyl. He was arraigned on July 20. The Commonwealth requested $50,000 bail. Judge Bernard set bail at $25,000 along with the requirement to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet. A probable cause hearing is set for Aug. 18.

The driver Christina Justiniano, 31,who gave her address as Weymouth during booking — but was identified as from 126 Nicholson Drive, Brockton in the WEB relase —was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the drug law. She was also arraigned on July 20 and is due back to court Sept. 7. She was given a bail warning.

W-H WILL looking ahead

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Members of Whitman-Hanson WILL, an anti-opiod abuse community group, met at the WHRHS library on Wednesday, July 19 to review past programs, a 2016 youth survey and current opioid overdose data.

The group will hold another meeting at the school’s library at 1:45 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 21 before planning a community-wide session at the Hanson Public Library on a date to be determined in October.

“We want to include the community in some of our discussions, because we have been primarily focused at the school and with law enforcement throughout Whitman and Hanson,” said Amanda Sandoval of the Brockton Area Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative. “We really want to have the voice of the community  involved.”

Attending the July 19 meeting were police chiefs Scott Benton of Whitman and Michale Miksch of Hanson; police officers Daniel Connolly of Whitman, and Elisha Sullivan of Hanson and Hanson DARE School Resource Officer William Frazier; W-H Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak, Adjustment Counselor Erin Monroe and Athletic Director Bob Rodgers as well as Ed Jacobs, the director of grants and sponsored projects from the Plymouth County DA’s office; Sandoval and Anna Dowd of the Brockton Area Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative — as well as a few community members. Member Maureen Leonard of WHRHS was unable to attend, so Symaniak provided an overview of past programs through the school.

Szymaniak echoed Sandoval’s message that the group wants to branch out into the community  in its efforts to being the message of making good choices regarding drugs and alcohol that are already being addressed at the school level.

“We really hit the ground running in 2014 and I think we’ve managed to do a lot in a small amount of time,” he said. “This is an important group.”

Past programs have included the drug-free community survey Rodgers reviewed, the PhotoVoice program depicting students’ artistic representations of their substance abuse concerns, guest speakers for students and the community as well as the Hidden in Plain site mock-up of a teen bedroom and how drugs can be hidden from parents.

Szymaniak noted how he has had to attend the funerals of too many former students, including three recently in Scituate, where he used to teach.

Sandoval suggested the meetings could alternate between school and community-based meetings such as the one they are planning for the Hanson Library in October.

One parent at the meeting asked for a parents’ program on cell phone applications teens use to communicate about things they want to hide from parents.

“Rather than meeting parents when they’re in this desperation phase where they don’t know where to go, they don’t know where to turn, I think it’s important to be proactive,” she said.

Benton and Miksch reported that overdoses are statistically holding steady — from nine fatalities among 49 overdoses in Whitman in 2015 to three fatalities among 41 overdoses in 2016 and — so far this year — three fatalities among 19 overdoses.

“Before you are going to see a significant drop from 49 to, say, 25 or 30 it’s going to be three to five years,” Benton said. “This has been going on for several years. … Those are sobering numbers when you consider we’re a 14,000-15,000 community.”

Death certificates are not always clear as to whether opioid overdoses are a main cause of death, he noted.

“When you can go in and say of these 38 cases, all of them were overdoses, not some are pending, you can go to the governor and keep saying, ‘We need money,’” Benton said.

Sandoval said all 27 police departments in Plymouth County are on board, sharing their data for realtime reporting of overdoses. It has revealed that almost half of all overdoses are not happening in the towns where victims reside, a statistic that is helping get them the help they need via programs such as Project Outreach.

Miksch noted that the high mark for deaths for Hanson residents was 20 in 2015 — and it shocked him because only half those fatalities occurred in Hanson.

Both he and Benton also said overdose deaths ranged in age from teens to adults in their 60s.

Combined with East Bridgewater HOPE, offering informational meetings in Plymouth and East Bridgewater as well as Project Outreach’s goal to have an officer, counselor or both visit the home of overdoses within 24 hours with information on rehab services.

“There’s no judgment,” Miksch said of the program.

Jacobs said the national statistic for overdose deaths is 16 per 100,000. There were 41 among Plymouth County’s approximately 500,000 residents in 2013 and 80 in 2014.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid frequently originating in China and Mexico, is the game-changer police said because it is more powerful and takes more Narcan to counteract. Drug-sniffing dogs can’t smell fentanyl and it presents a danger to police as it can be absorbed through the skin.

Sandoval said there have been three overdoses at Brockton Hospital where fentanyl had been added to marijuana the victims were smoking.

Bottle/Can Drive supports W-H boys’ soccer

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The W-H boys’ soccer team is holding a bottle/can drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, July 22 to raise funds in support of the soccer program. Please help by bringing your empty bottles and cans to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School (front entrance on Franklin Street).

Hanson swim team hosts meet vs. Pembroke

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Hanson swimmer Mary Lebarre raises her arm in the backstroke between two Pembroke swimmers during a meet at Hanson’s Cranberry Cove Tuesday, July 11.

Hanson swimmer Mary Lebarre raises her arm in the backstroke between two Pembroke swimmers during a meet at Hanson’s Cranberry Cove Tuesday, July 11.

Maquan transition panel taking shape

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen is seeking three Hanson residents to serve as at-large members of the Maquan School Transition Committee. Those interested in helping determine the future of the elementary school building, being closed as a school and returned to the town at the end of the 2017-18 school year should apply to the Selectmen’s office as soon as possible.

Town Administrator Michael McCue told the board on July 11 he has been in contact with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner as well as School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes to appoint a Hanson representative to the committee.

While the School Committee is not scheduled to meet in July, Hayes said he will reach out to Hanson members to determine who is willing to serve on the panel.

“They’ve also indicated that members of staff, as needed, will be made available to us as we go forward,” McCue said.

Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who has been selected to represent the Hanson Board of Selectmen on the Maquan Committee, also noted that a “litany” of other residents have also been mentioned as possibly being asked to serve the committee in an advisory capacity.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she wants to see the committee in place and ready to go to work by late August or early September at the latest.

“I don’t want to get dramatic about this, but it is a rather large-scale project and it’s a lot to look at in a fairly condensed timeline,” she said. “The number of people impacted [is large and there is] the anxiety level around it for a lot of people with little people that want to know what’s going on — the schools will obviously handle a lot of communication with folks around the physical transition of their little guys. But I would like to get our conversations going just about as soon as we hear from the school Committee on who they’ve got.”

McCue said he shared that concern and noted that the only difficulty would be in attracting the at-large members from town.

McCue is also aiming to convene a workshop meeting of some of the members of the Memorial Field Trustees, the Thomas Mill Committee, the Parks and Fields Committee and the Recreation Commission regarding committee consolidation as soon as he can arrange a date that works for all parties, preferably in early August.

“What we’re trying to do is look at efficient use of limited resources and take a fresh look at whether [some of] these committees are needed or whether they’re a little redundant and maybe another committee can pick up a few tasks without being unduly burdened,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Selectmen also devoted more discussion to their goals for the year as Selectman James Hickey noted his wish to stress conclusion of the situation at the former Plymouth County Hospital site, perhaps citing a solar panel installation either there or at the transfer station as well as finding a location for a cell tower in town.

“Cell phone reception in Hanson is the worst,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett and McGahan have already submitted lists to McCue.

“I want to make sure each member of the Board of Selectmen knows that I certainly want to welcome any items — any other input,” McCue said. “My hope is that, at the next meeting, I would have a formalized list I could present to the selectmen and we could all come to an agreement that this is what the board as a whole wishes to move forward on.”

McCue also noted that the state has given little guidance on the subject of marijuana bylaws, adding “we need to get in line so that we have some sort of bylaws on the books in October [when the special Town Meeting is the town’s next bite at the apple] in terms of regulating retail marijuana.”

He has already begun discussing the issue with the town planner and health agent, but noted Selectmen should also be involved and added that the current recommendation include with the present overlay district for medical marijuana — in a section of the industrial park toward East Bridgewater — a location for any retail establishment.

He cautioned, however, against bylaw that would contradict the state “once they get their act together.”

O’Toole’s hearing postponed

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WHITMAN — A public hearing on the status of the alcoholic beverage license issued to O’Toole’s pub, already delayed by legal negotiations, has been again rescheduled — this time, officials say, for the final time. The matter will be on the agenda for the Tuesday, Aug. 15 selectmen’s meeting.

Whitman Selectmen were scheduled to conduct a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, July 18 about the license at the 24 Raynor Ave. business following police investigations of disturbances at the pub, but Town Administrator Frank Lynam noted that he communicated with town counsel last week to confirm the plan to move forward. On Monday afternoon, however, after an email had been forwarded to O’Toole’s lawyer to confirm that all legal hurdles were cleared, that attorney requested additional information from the town.

“We responded and are providing them with copies of a recording and other items that are being requested,” Lynam said. “That will go out [Wednesday, July 19]. The hearing will be scheduled for Aug. 15 and it will occur.”

He said it was the third postponement of the hearing.

Energy grant

Lynam also noted that — after Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green had announced last month that the town had received a $197,000 green communities grant for boiler replacement at the Fire Department and Library as well as an energy management system for the Library — the approved grant amounts were reduced by the calculation of expected energy savings from the new boilers.

That means funds will have to be used from the Fire Department revenue account for that boiler. At the Library, a $17,050 request to make up the difference in the $80,000 worth of improvements to the Library ran into a snag. Director Andrea Rounds has told Lynam she does not want to use available trust fund money for the work.

“Frankly, we don’t have the money available to make up the difference right now,” he said. “I guess we’ll be having a discussion in August and either the additional money will be available or we’re going to have to pass on that opportunity for the boiler and energy system.”

“That’s a lot of capital to pass over,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

Lynam also noted the town, via the Library, had received $300,000 in a bequest from a patron for things other than library operating expenses.

The current boiler is original to the 1988 construction of the Library building.

“So, we’ll have a boiler that’s worth about $30,000 or $40,000 that we only have to pay $17,000 for — why wouldn’t we do that?” Selectman Dan Salvucci said.

“That’s a question we’ll have to ask,” Lynam said.

Salvucci also reminded motorists using side streets as detours during a DPW paving project on School Street to drive slowly.

“If you’re detoured on a secondary street, watch your speed, there’s lots of kids playing,” he said.

In other business, the board voted 3-0 to appoint Laura L. Howe to the post of primary animal control officer — on an on-call basis from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. — and Mary A. Drake as secondary animal control officer, pending both women’s completion of mandatory hiring processes. Selectmen Randy LaMattina and Scott Lambiase were absent.

“Laura has expressed great interest in serving the community in this capacity,” Lynam said.

Nita Sault was appointed to a vacancy on the Whitman Cultural Council. Both Howe and Sault had run for seats on the board of Selectmen in the May annual Town Elections and had expressed interest in further involvement in town activities after their campaigns fell short.

Selectmen approved a resolution to authorize the signing of a lease-purchase agreement for a sidewalk plow as supported by voters at the May 1 Town Meeting.

Lynam explained that, in order to complete the lease-purchase agreement, there are documents to be signed on behalf of the board.

Selectmen also approved a Class II auto dealer’s license for Ricardo Miranda Filho for his business RT Auto Sales & Repair at 288 Essex St.

The building inspector had no concerns about the application, provided the business removes all inoperable vehicles from the premises and that cars are displayed according to the site plan.

“I will try to make the place better,” Filho said  in brief remarks to the board after their vote. “We’ll put nice signs there, better cars there, and keep it clean.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson lauded the Recreation Commission for the annual Fourth of July Family Field Day program.

“They do a great job and they’re giving up their holiday to do it,” he said. “I want to thank all the volunteers.”

SSVT eyes its growth options

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HANOVER — Faced with the need for expansion to accommodate new educational standards and increasing enrollment — and having been passed over twice in recent years for MSBA funding — South Shore Regional Vocational Educational Technical High School is preparing to make the argument to go ahead with the work on its own.

“We want to serve the communities and the taxpayers who are sending their students here, certainly, but the status quo isn’t good enough anymore,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “Knowing what we want and asking once is important.”

That means preparing information to present to member communities illustrating the need for expansion, as well as how it can be done, with or without borrowing funds, to accomplish all the goals.

On Thursday, July 13 members of the SSVT Regional School Committee’s Capital Projects Subcommittee met to discuss that work, with the issue slated to go before the full committee on Wednesday, July 19.

“The Capital Projects Subcommittee is a logical place to start in terms of determining what steps we might take,” Hickey said. “A well-documented plan is expected to address that across the board.”

The aim is development of a master facilities plan encompassing the relative health of the building, such as Tri-County Vocational in Wakefield produced last year. Hickey supplied copies to the subcommittee for reference.

“We all know the motivation for the discussion — increased enrollment, increased demand — the building is not getting any younger,” Hickey said. “We know we need more space, what’s inside the space we have needs to be modernized, and there’s no guarantee that we’re going to get any support from the [Mass. School Building Authority] MSBA.”

The state funding agency has limited funds and an increasing number of applicants, some with more acute need. SSVT’s stabilization fund allows the school to plan and present an adequate argument to the member towns.

Possible out-buildings in which to place shops to free up space for other purposed in the main building are an option. Such self-contained buildings that are affordable within a budget year, are about 6,000 square feet are the type of project that the school can fund on its own in a single budget year. That size is considered helpful, but is not likely to be a lot in “the world of vocational shop space,” Hickey said.

The school, surrounded by wetlands does not have a lot of buildable space available and it uses a septic system because sewerage is not available.

Larger projects, perhaps a larger one that can be funded through borrowing or through a “deeper part of the stabilization fund, something that we could not have our kids in their shops do” are also possible.

“There’s not a whole lot that our kids can’t do,” said committee member Robert Mahoney of Rockland. He noted that the panel is not looking for the funding for a $100,000 feasibility study or a $6 million building. “We’re coming [to towns] for X-amount of dollars to buy eight out-buildings that’s going to be very minimal to bring us up to where we need to be.”   

Septic capacity should also be included in any feasibility study in case an expansion project triggers the need for adding a wastewater treatment facility for the school, Hickey advised. Septic capacity hinges on the demand and number of fixtures in the building.

When the new wing was completed in 1993 there were 460 students at SSVT with 650 expected as of the 2017-18 school year.

Hickey said that, while enrollment in sending towns is trending down, SSVT’s enrollment for those towns is holding steady — with out-of-disctrict enrollments increasing.

“We’ve got to stop what we’re doing,” Cohasset member Kenneth Thayer said “We’ve got to expand the building, get the building up to snuff. Students should be able to come in and go to school here. We want to add to it.”

He forecast that the new horticulture/landscaping and plumbing programs will be very popular, necessitating new space. He advocated that, if five out-buildings can be constructed, it may be cheaper to do now than “down the road.”

Hickey said, given present space constraints, the horticulture program may have to limit its first class to about 12 students. Building toward 50 by the time those freshmen graduate.

“Other then metal fabrication-welding, every shop has a footprint that is smaller than the Department of Education’s recommended square footage,” he said. Metal fabrication used to share space with industrial technology, which was discontinued 15 years ago.

The autobody shop is also being required to expand with another, enclosed, bay for welding aluminum. Certification for the program will hinge on that.

“It’s not a crisis right now, but NATEF [National Automotive Technician’s Education Foundation] has told us that, when we come back in 2020 or 2021, we won’t be able to certify the program if the existing footprint does not contain a segregated area for aluminum work,” Hickey said. “It’s that the industry is doing more aluminum work, and if you do regular collision repair work, and aluminum work, it could contaminate equipment.”

There was some good news on the feasibility study front, however.

Hickey said the school has an advantage in that it has local people who know construction and know the building well. Engineering firms would spend time obtaining that information.

“If you ask me what programs are most limiting with their space, I’m going to tell you it’s the ones that are over-subscribed and it is not safe to have the ratios,” he said. “We’re going to talk about the heavy-equipment programs.”

Mahoney wants to see out-buildings used to accommodate present students, rather than using them to attract more at this point.  Weight, ceiling height requirements and MSBA time limitations following previous roof projects limit options for adding another floor to the school.

“The good news is we have the capacity to look into this,” Hickey said.