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New EMS vehicle at work: Ambulance now online at Whitman Fire

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WHITMAN — The Fire Department’s newest acquisition is a state-of-the-art ambulance that not only improves patient care and data transmission to hospitals, but can also help prevent back injuries for responding firefighter/EMTs.

It also saves money toward eventual replacement, as the “box” containing patient care equipment can be removed and placed on a new chassis, cutting the cost of any new LifeLine vehicle by almost half. It is the third LifeLine ambulance, which are built by Specialty Vehicles.

Chief Timothy Grenno said Monday the ambulance, already in service, replaces a 2000 Wheelcoach vehicle, which will now be auctioned off  — most likely as scrap after a lot of hard miles.

“It was no longer a viable piece of equipment for an ambulance,” he said of the decommissioned vehicle.

The new $265,000 ambulance was paid for from the ambulance reserve account revenue, including $80,000 from an appropriation approved at the 2016 Town Meeting for the deposit on the order.

“That’s the same account we purchase all of our equipment out of, so nothing comes out of tax dollars,” Grenno said. “Although the up-front cost is expensive, the attraction to these ambulances is that Specialty Vehicles has a tremendous remount process.”

The expensive part of any ambulance is the boxy body containing patient care equipment. In 10 years, when the new ambulance is ready to be refurbished, not only will the box be transferred to a new chassis, but the box will also be refurbished and updated.

The first such ambulance bought by the Whitman Fire Department is a 2009 vehicle, up for refurbishment in two to three years.

That process is expected to cost between $150,000 and $180,000.

“You have to put the money out first to get the quality ambulance and, after that, you have the option to ‘refurb,’ as long as the box stays in good shape and it’s not beat up,” Grenno said. “That’s all about demand on the vehicle. As our calls increase, the demand on the ambulance is increased.”

Call volume to the department for medical emergencies has steadily increased since 1965. The new ambulance also addresses the increasing technology demands of patient care, Grenno said.

The state requires a patient care report for all patients carried in ambulances, which must be transmitted to hospitals wirelessly. “It’s everything that we do — it’s an electronic report of how the patient presents, what we do for treatment, medications we give them and everything else,” he said. “It’s made our response more efficient.”

The new vehicle comes with Wi-Fi to make that possible. Air cards used with the older ambulance were unreliable and subject to malfunction or failure.

A bridge program between the computer-aided dispatch system and the AmbuPro patient care reporting system the department uses provides an automatically feeds all the needed information about a call to first responders and saves time — which saves lives.

Gurneys have also changed over the years, from those requiring manual raising and lowering and lifting into the ambulance to a fully automated gurney that eliminates a lot of that lifting and helps prevent back injuries.

Grenno said the loading system on the new ambulance helps prevent that kind of injury, with push-button controls that adjusts gurney height and loading onto the vehicle.

“Everybody that started in EMS prior to battery-operated and non-lifting stretchers has back injuries,” he said. “If you have somebody that has a back injury then the minimum amount of time that they are going to be out if it’s a significant back injury is six months. Generally, it’s close to a year.”

Beyond insurance costs connected to such injuries, it can cost thousands of dollars in overtime to cover that shift.

“We don’t want our guys to get hurt,” Grenno said. “We try to buy equipment that makes their job safer.”

A liquid ride suspension system also provides a smoother, more stable ride than air ride systems that were susceptible to wear and tended to waiver back and forth “like a cruise ship.”

Park access funding sought: State board requirements would require special Town Meeting vote

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WHITMAN — Voters at Town Meeting May 1 will likely be asked to fund additional work at Whitman Park to meet the state’s handicapped accessibility regulations and avoid steep fines against the town.

The Board of Selectmen discussed the request Town Administrator Frank Lynam will likely seek within the special Town Meeting’s warrant before it convened a hearing concerning a dog complaint at the Tuesday, March 7 meeting. Selectman Daniel Salvucci was absent.

Lynam said he and a few other town officials met last week with the Architectural Access Board (AAB) in Boston regarding park accessibility, which has different standards than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“There were some misunderstandings and we have received direction from them and are providing feedback,” Lynam said of the AAB. “Within 30 days, we will provide mapping and and a schedule and will begin the work following appropriations at Town Meeting.”

He noted that the town has an order from the AAB that, if the work is not complete by Aug. 1 or town officials have not provided them with a request for an extension, the town will be subject to fines of $1,000 per day.

“I assured them they had our attention and that we will be taking all appropriate steps,” Lynam said. He plans to seek funding from free cash at the special Town Meeting so work can begin as soon as possible.

One of the AAB’s rules of accessibility is that all playground equipment must be accessible to wheelchairs.  Lynam said the work should cost about $50,000, but if the playground requires a path entirely surrounding it, the cost could go as high as $90,000.

“We’re going to seek direction from the AAB,” he said.

Park pathways were also discussed at the AAB meeting. An AAB member has been to the park to assess the work done on the walkways and has found the pathmix used to be acceptable, Lynam reported. He said the material would, however, require more maintenance by the DPW. One-third of the park pathways still must be resurfaced in that ongoing project.

Dog hearing

After a 40-minute hearing, presided over by Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green — who is an attorney — Selectmen voted 3-0 to accept her recommendation that a Rhodesian Ridgeback/boxer mix dog owned by Erin Curran be registered and licensed in town, but need not be declared a dangerous dog. Animal Control Officer Lisa McKay was not present at the hearing.

“I feel that both parties are at fault here, at some point, for different reasons,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson, who also owns multiple dogs. “We all need to remember that we have to keep our dogs under our control at all times. … I would like this to be a lesson to the rest of the community.”

Curran, of Boston, said her boyfriend Peter Cerino of 5 Oakdale Farm Road has been keeping the dog, named Maddie, since Curran suffered a knee injury last fall. Maddie is a 65-pound, 9-year-old dog. Cerino’s yard is not fenced in, but he said Maddie is always kept on a lead when out in his yard.

Scott and Lisa Godbout of 6 Oakdale Farm Road had filed a complaint under MGL Ch. 140 Sec. 157 and Whitman’s Dog Control Regulation XXVII Sec. XI stemming from two incidents in July and November 2016 between Maddie and the Godbout’s Schnauzer/poodle mix Tucker. The Godbout’s 8-year-old dog weighs 16 pounds.

Both parties agreed that Tucker was off-leash in Cerino’s yard during a July incident and that Maddie was off-leash during a November incident, in which the dogs tangled while Godbout was walking Tucker on a leash. Whitman’s regulation requires dogs be under an owner’s control at all times.

Where the two sides disagreed centered on the amount of supervision over the dogs in each incident.

Curran alleged no one was with Tucker when he entered Cerino’s yard in July and got in between Maddie — tied to the deck — and a neighbor’s dog as they were playing. Lisa Godbout insisted she was present when her dog and two others entered Cerino’s yard to play with Maddie, and that Maddie had attacked Tucker without provocation. The Godbouts did not raise an issue with that incident because their dog was off-leash at the time, and Curran had agreed with that decision.

“We really wanted to address this as neighbors and not litigate and I think we have resolved that, mostly,” Scott Godbout said, noting he had hoped to avoid reporting either incident. “This situation has never been a personal matter. We think it is our responsibility, as neighbors, to do our part in maintaining the safety of the neighborhood.”

Scott Godbout said he was walking Tucker on the leash when Maddie came out from between cars and pounced on his dog on Nov. 22. He was bitten trying to separate the dogs, and treated at South Shore Hospital where he received antibiotics, but no stitches.

Curran said Maddie had been frightened by a smoke alarm when food was scorched in the oven and had squeezed out of the house through a sliding glass door, opened slightly to air out the kitchen. Her dog ran toward the Godbout’s house, where Scott had testified Maddie had come out of nowhere before the dogs tangled.

Curran said her dog’s wounds from that incident appeared to be defensive and that Tucker had initiated the fight.

“As a dog owner, I take my responsibilities very seriously,” Curran said. “I’ve invested in Maddie’s training.” That training included Canine Top Performance Canine Camp in Reading.

Curran and Cerino have paid vet bills for Tucker, bought a muzzle for Maddie and a gate for their deck at the ACO’s request and that McKay had opined that her dog is not dangerous. Curran’s presentation included a packet of documentation including 12 affadvits from trainers, public safety officials and other neighbors who maintain Maddie, a therapy dog, is not a dangerous dog. She said prior to July, and since November, Maddie has had no other incidents with other dogs or people.

She also testified the Godouts “knowingly and voluntarily” signed an agreement to waive legal claims against Curran and Cerino following their payment of about $3,000 to pay the Godbout’s expenses.

Sachems end WHSL season: Team finishes best campiagn

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The teams shake hands at game’s end. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake girls’ hockey bowed out of the Div. 2 state tournament with a 2-0 loss to Winchester.

KINGSTON — They say all good things must come to an end. For the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake girls’ hockey team, that proved true Sunday.

The co-op gave it everything they had, but came out on the wrong end of the stick in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Winchester in the first round of the Division 2 state tournament held at The Bog Ice Arena.

Sixth-seeded WHSL (15-4-3), which was in the midst of its best campaign since its inception in 2014, allowed a quick goal 3:05 in, and could never recover, as No. 11-seed Winchester added another tally late in the third to secure its victory. The Sachems silenced a WHSL offense, which found the back of the net 120 times coming in, and had only been shut out once (5-0 against Duxbury Feb. 5) all season.

“They did a good job shadowing Hannah [Tracy] and Mel [McAleer] all game, taking away time and space for them to create offense,” WHSL head coach Kevin Marani said. “They played a strong game.” 

Winchester (14-4-4) will meet No. 14 Canton (12-4-6) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Galo Ice Arena.

At the 11:55 mark of the first period, the Sachems’ Mariah Redler snuck behind the WHSL defense and found herself all alone with netminder Melissa Crone and flung a shot on goal. The senior goaltender looked as if she had made the stop, the referee at the goal line signaled for the save, but the referee at center ice overruled him.

“It absolutely did not go in the net, but sometimes you’ve got to fight through those things,” Marani said. “Melissa was great in goal all game, like she’s done for us all season.”

The Sachems had a few more quality chances on net – including a Redler blast from the face-off circle – but Crone stood strong in goal. WHSL found itself on the power play with 9:14 remaining in the second period, but failed to even record a shot onnet. Late in the second period, Mary Kate Webb ripped a blistering shot on Winchester goalie Baile Lazarus, who turned the senior captain away with a glove save.

With time winding down in the second frame, Tracy found herself in 1-on-1 with Lazarus, who yet again rose to the occasion to preserve the shutout.

2:59 into the third period, Meave Hickey beat Crone on a wrist shot to push the Sachems ahead 2-0, and that is where it would stand.

Over the past three seasons, the Panthers have snatched back-to-back SEMGHL Northeast titles, have not missed the MIAA tournament and have gone 3819-5. 

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Melanie McAleer (Hanson) was a focal point of the Sachems’ defense. / Photo by: Sue Moss

But this go-around had the makings of something special. Not only was it the first year WHSL had made it out of the preliminary round of the tournament, it was the last season on the ice sporting red and black for seniors Tess Corkery, Crone, Sophia Dauksevicz, Katie Johnson, McAleer, Tracy and Webb. 

If there was ever a lining coming from the defeat, it is the mark all seven of them have had on the underclassmen of the team. They helped establish a culture, a tradition, a foundation and most importantly a hockey program.

“They’re a great group of girls,” Marani said. “With them, they brought girls that could have gone to other schools and now that they get the fever of WHSL hockey, I think they’re going to stay.”

Saving treasures: Author recounts wartime effort to protect U.S founding documents

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HANSON — For historian Stephen Puleo, the story format is key in relating the events of our past.

“You try to put sources together to build your narrative,” he said after a Hanson resident remarked his books read like novels. “I take that as a compliment. I think that’s how history should be written and taught. The second part of that word, history, is ‘story.’ It’s people we are writing about, and they have fears and they have families.”

His narrative style — honed in his previous five books on the history of Boston, its Italian community and Great Molasses Flood, the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the lead-up to the Civil War and U.S. Navy heroism during the 1940s Battle of the Atlantic — has lately brought to life the work to safeguard America’s founding documents during World War II.

“I want you to learn history despite yourself, because you’re so engrossed in the story,” he said during Sunday, Feb. 19, talk at Hanson Public Library on that new book, “American Treasures: The Secret Effort to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address,” [2016, St. Martin’s Press, hardcover, 400 pages, $28.99].

The talk, sponsored by the Hanson Library Foundation, was originally planned for Feb. 12, but had been postponed due to a snowstorm. A question and answer period and book signing followed Puleo’s talk.

“These documents were not a foregone conclusion,” he said of the “American Treasures.” “They were not predestined, they were not preordained. They were hard to come by.”

The American Revolution was only favored outright by a third of colonists, the Constitution was the product of careful negotiation and compromise, and Lincoln almost passed up the invitation to speak at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg on Nov. 19, 1863.

“They’re certainly artifacts,” he said. “They’re also symbols, very important symbols. … The lights are low [in the National Archives rotunda today]. The guards are there. You can hear footfalls walking around. Even kids recognize the symbolic shrine of this place.”

“American Treasures’” 2016 publication coincided with the 240th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence and this year marks the 230th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, which, as Puleo puts it, is with us every single day.

“When you think about it, the history of these documents is really the history of the United States of America,” he said. “Ours is the first constitutional republic that can trace its founding back to a single document — the Declaration of Independence.”

Puleo’s narrative intertwines the narratives of the largest relocation of historic documents in U.S. history with the origins of the book’s three featured documents.

“To do that right, I needed to go back into time and look at a couple things — one was the creation of these documents and the ideas embodied in them, and two, a couple of the efforts that were made throughout our history to preserve and save these documents,” Puleo said of the reason for safeguarding the documents during WWII.

From December 1941 to about April 1942, federal officials moved 5,000 boxes of precious documents out of Washington, D.C., to secret locations out of concern over possible German bombing or sabotage. The Magna Carta, which had been on display at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, was also stored with the three American Treasures at the Fort Knox, Ky., federal gold depository for the duration of the war at the request of the British government.

The remaining works were identified as irreplaceable and essential to American democracy, triaged into six categories, cataloged, packed up and stored at the Virginia Military Institute; the University of Virginia at Charlottesville; Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., and Dennison University in Granville, Ohio.

“It would be devastating if they were lost,” he said of the founding documents. “We were doing this to preserve our national morale. They started to think about this in the fall of 1940, about a year before Pearl Harbor.”

England had already lost millions of documents to firestorms caused by incendiary bombs dropped by the Germans during the Battle of Britain. German troops also destroyed millions of books and artifacts across Europe.

“We were watching this,” Puleo said.

Germany’s wolf packs of submarines were also patrolling with impunity off the east coast of the United States in the early years of the war.

By 1943, however, things were going well enough to bring the Declaration out of hiding long enough for the dedication of the Jefferson Memorial. But when it was over, back it went.

The current political climate prompted a question after the talk of Puleo’s opinion, as a historian, whether he views the situation with any trepidation regarding the future of the Constitution.

“I’m very much the optimist on this,” he said. “One of the things about studying history is it does give you a little perspective — a way to be at arm’s length sometimes. If you look through American history … it’s often like this and that’s sometimes the way that democracy goes. The things that have held us together, in my view, are those documents. That’s where I take my optimism.”

He said there have been several periods in American history that have been far worse.

A Boston-area resident, Puleo has also been a teacher as well as a newspaper reporter, public speaker and communications professional. He has also taught at Suffolk University. A portion of his book proceeds benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Talking priority school projects

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WHITMAN — Capital school projects and the status of plans for a new DPW building [see related story] were the focus of the first meeting of the town’s Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee since last spring.

WHRSD Business Services Director Christine Suckow, School Committee member Fred Small and Facilities Director Ernest Sandland attended the Feb. 16 meeting to review capital projects priorities for the fiscal 2018 budget cycle. Small is also chairman of the School Committee’s facilities subcommittee.

“The function of this committee is two-fold — to oversee and manage capital projects and to make recommendations about spending,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam, who again chairs the Buildings panel. “The decision to spend that money is made by Town Meeting.”

The Buildings Committee makes recommendations on capital expenditures and the Finance Committee makes recommendations on whether they believe expenditures are appropriate and good for the town. The panel will be meeting again when it receives capital plans for other departments and will also meet with the Finance Committee.

“We will look at what we are willing to commit for funding this year,” Lynam said. “The only way whatever plan we come up with will work is if we have a united plan — we’re all on the same page.”

He does not see the town dipping into stabilization for capital projects this year.

“I’m more concerned with the budget itself,” he said. The per-school breakdown of the school budget for Whitman schools is: $1,631,000 for Whitman Middle School; $654,000 for Conley and $456,000, according to Suckow.

Whitman generates most of its revenue from local taxes, with the reserve for appropriation ambulance account coming in second, according to Lynam.

“When we look at purchases and our ability to fund them, we’re constrained by what we’re able to generate in revenue,” he said.

Lynam again explained that a recent windfall in personal property taxes from National Grid, having made significant improvements to the company’s property in Whitman. As that money is expected to go away within eight years, Lynam has advocated spending the tax receipts on nonrecurring capital expenses.

“If I build a budget on money that isn’t going to be there next year, were [in trouble],” he said. “We’re behind the eight-ball.”

School department capital requests, most of which have been on the list from previous years, include:

• An engineering study for the Duval School roof;

• Fire alarm and smoke detector replacement at all three of the town’s schools, $50,000 each;

• Repairing and relining the middle school gym, $25,000;

• Installation of a gym curtain at WMS, $14,000;

• A Green Communities program at all three schools, $335,000;

• Replacement of WMS rooftop units, $50,000;

• Installing and cleaning ceiling fans at all three schools, $25,000;

• Replacement of exterior doors with a card-reading system for added security, $16,000;

• Loop driveway at the rear of WMS, $16,000;

• Crack, seal and reline playgrounds, $13,000;

• Replacement of Conley and WMS kitchen equipment, $53,000;

• Uninvent replacement in five rooms at WMS, $35,000; and

• Sidewalk replacement at Duval, $20,000.

Other repairs have been prioritized for later years.

Lynam said one of the difficulties in funding repairs to facilities involves the fact that assessments for the regional schools are apportioned based on population. Whitman currently has 59.5 percent of the region’s school population.

“That number has been moving for at least the last eight years,” he said. “We are creating more of the expense and we are paying for more expense of operating the region.”

Savings from energy-saving updates would help, he said.

Sandland said that, with such programs, energy costs would be reduced and budgets will be more manageable.

“When you look at these repairs, you’ve got to keep in mind these buildings are not a lot different from what we do at home,” Lynam said. “What we’re looking at now are the things that need to be done.”

The door lock project, on the other hand, is part of the district’s program to improve school security as well as making any needed repairs, Small said.

Playground and sidewalk repairs are aimed at addressing trip hazards, which cause spikes in insurance premiums. Repairs needed to the roofs at Conley and Duval are to newer sections.

“We’ve complained to the state that [at Duval] here we are, we spend $80,000 on repairs to a roof that you guys funded,” Sandland said, noting a similar problem was encountered at Hanson Middle School. “They didn’t care.”

Salvucci asked that if the total of repairs prioritized for this year — estimated at about $500,000 — could be done, how much time could that buy the town before more work is needed.

Light units and rooftop units have to go out to bid before those details are known, Sandland said.

Whitman’s share ($451,389) of $758,000 repairs to the high school prioritized for the year include (cost estimates below are totals):

• Turf field at the high school, estimated at between $425,000 and $500,000;

• Roadway repairs, $210,000;

•  Industrial ceiling fans for heat distribution, $12,000;

• Traffic lighting for safety, $20,000;

• Exterior envelope repairs to composite wall system $25,000;

• Hot water heater replacement, $35,000 as well as

• Replacement of rooftop units, $100,000;

• Window glass replacement, $15,000;

• Energy upgrade, $111,000 for LED lighting in classrooms, $65,000 for LED lighting in computer labs, cafeteria, music suite and gym; and

• Second floor carpet replacement, $45,000.

In other business, the Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee reorganized, renaming Lynam as chairman. Lynam had stepped aside last year after his workload increased after his former assistant Greg Enos had resigned to take a position in Ashland, and a new Finance Committee required his assistance. Wayne Carroll, a DPW Commissioner who had been asked to chair the committee recently announced his decision to step down.

With the hiring of new Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green, that situation has changed, Lynam said.

“You now have an assistant, that takes a lot of the pressure off your back, and you have the time,” Salvucci said in nominating Lynam for the chairmanship.

Committee member Patrick Fatyol was voted as vice chairman and Salvucci was elected clerk.

Plowing through truck costs

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WHITMAN — Final costs, and the timing of bills, for a new DPW plow truck raised some concerns during the Feb. 28 Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

The town of Whitman recently acquired a truck for snow and ice removal, for which the $136,000 price tag has been accounted, but Selectmen expressed concern this week over an additional $25,000 for the plow mechanism that had not been accounted for after the initial purchase.

“The superintendent believed the plow would come in while there was still funds in the account, as a result of timing the bills came in after we entered into deficit spending,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

“I was concerned this purchase was being made out of a budget appropriation rather than a capital article,” Lynam said. “Any purchase of that nature should be treated as a capital purchase and should be funded outside of the normal budget process.”

Selectman Daniel Salvucci argued that the town bears some responsibility for the discrepancy.

“This is an item that is not the vendor’s fault — it’s our responsibility — for the vendor to suffer the loss of the sale because someone jumped the gun is wrong,” he said.

Selectmen suggested the situation was likely an oversight by the superintendent and that there was no malice in the deficit spending.

“They were probably looking to purchase a truck at no cost to the taxpayers, out of Chapter 90 money, and the plow at minimal cost because it’s out of the snow and ice that was appropriated at the town meeting, but that’s just a backdoor way of spending,” Salvucci said.

Salvucci said he believed that this should be something that is discussed at town meeting and to allow taxpayers to vote.

The board seemed unsettled by the way the money was being spent, but concluded they did not have much of an option when it came to passing this issue due to the purchase having already taken place.

Paul Street

The citizens of Paul Street, located off of South Avenue, have presented a petition to the town to officially consider the street a public way.

“There is a citizen’s petition to accept Paul Street as a public way and to expend the funds necessary to bring the street up to road acceptance standards,” Lynam said.

Paul Street was initially a private road for a single home, and was approved to be developed as a private way that was not to be built to town standards, according to Lynam.

“I’m waiting for actual estimates for that work, but we anticipate that it’s going to be in the $300,000 to $350,000 range,” Lynam said. “If we vote for this, there will be no Chapter 90 work done in the town of Whitman next year.”

Since the initial planning of the street, multiple new homes have been built there. The original owner of the property is also no longer located there, leaving the new residents on a road in “really bad condition.”

“You can’t plow and them you can’t fix them because they are not municipal roads,” Lynam said. “It is illegal to use town funds to maintain a private road.”

Since this is a citizens’ petition, it must be submitted to town meeting next year.

“The voters at the town meeting will have to decide if they want the town to spend a large amount of money to accept this street,” Lynam said.

Electronic Voting

Electronic Voting Committee Chairman Mike Seele provided a report on his panel’s research into to possibly  using the devices for town meetings. He gathered information from various local towns to determine whether or not this would be useful for Whitman.

The technology would be a remote with a few buttons signaling “Yes” or “No” so that attendees could have their voices heard during meetings when questions or issues arose. It is similar to a technology used in colleges to ask large classes questions and immediately discuss the responses.

“We found that, for the most part, representative town meetings were using this technology as a way to enhance accountability to the representatives” Seele said. “A handful of towns using open town meetings format that we have, they have a history of consistently contentious town meetings that went on for a while.”

A few towns in this area rejected this issue due to cost.

“The cost is 15,000 to 16,000 for 300 handsets,” Seele said. “It’s impossible to determine how many of these you need in advance.”

Seele also added that renting is an option but this would cost $1,700 per meeting for 300 handsets.

“One central fundamental issue that we thought was important was privacy versus accountability; people know where their neighbors stand on any given issue,” Seele said. “We also heard account that people have felt intimidated at town meetings, this was really impossible to find out if this was a real problem.”

This technology allows people to remain anonymous rather than continuing the traditional standing vote.

One initial thought on this issue was that voter attendance would increase if this technology was implemented. However, some towns did not see a notable change since adding the electronic voting. Attendance did not increase and voting projections were not different than expected.

Young opts not to run again

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HANSON — After holding public office in one capacity or another since 1977, Selectman Bruce Young has decided to retire — opting not to seek re-election this May.

He provided the Whitman-Hanson Express with a statement about his decision before the board’s Tuesday, Feb. 28 meeting, but made no public comment on it in the session during which much of the discussion centered on the schools and municipal budget outlook.

“I will be ending my service to the Town of Hanson in May, but will still actively participate as all good citizens should, staying informed and attending town meetings, and will be happy to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who may have a question,” Young stated.

Besides the Board of Selectmen, he has served on the town’s Finance Committee, Historical Commission and Board of Water Commissioners. [See Letters to Editor, page 12].

“I understand and respect his decision,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said Wednesday morning, lauding Young’s status as an invaluable member of the board. “His knowledge is exceptional on government policy and procedures.”

McGahan said he hopes Young will, indeed, remain active in town affairs as a private citizen.

“He will be missed,” McGahan said.

Young’s retirement reduces the field of candidates having taken out nomination papers to four — incumbent Selectman William Scott, former Selectman James Egan, CPC Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and former Recreation Commission Chairman James Hickey. None have yet returned nomination papers ahead of the April 4 deadline, according to Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan.

Young indicated Wednesday morning he wanted to make his decision known in time to give other interested candidates enough notice to allow them to take out nomination papers ahead of the March 30 deadline.

Among the career highlights he outlined in his announcement, Young stated he has played a role in guiding Hanson through the first two years of Proposition 2 ½ without major financial or town service problems; he also

• Established the first combined position of Treasurer Collector;

• Established the Priority Repair Committee following the defeat of a proposed new school project in 2014;

• Established the first recall law and the town administrator position (then known as the executive secretary to the Board of Selectmen);

• Established the first Water Department Master Plan and

• Established the first certified historical survey of town properties.

He has also worked on efforts to preserve the 111-acre Smith-Nawazelski Conservation Area and the placement of the Camp Kiwanee historic District and District School House No. 7 on the National Register of Historic Places.

School budget

In business before the board Tuesday night, Selectmen heard an update on the WHRSD fiscal 2018 budget from School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes and Business Services Director Christine Suckow. School Committee members Christopher Howard, Michael Jones, Fred Small and Dan Cullity also attended the meeting.

Following the transfer of $750,000 from excess and deficiency as well as $13,000 in interest-rate income from district bank accounts and $50,000 from the self-funded school lunch program toward utility costs, the shortfall for a level-service school budget is now $1,914,754. Projected revenue is expected to be short by $869,767.

“It’s not unique to Whitman-Hanson,” Hayes said. “This budget shortfall is pretty much the norm in the school districts around the state — some are worse, some are in better shape.”

At this point, Whitman-Hanson would require a 10.5-percent assessment increase — $1,167,502 from Whitman and $793,039 from Hanson —to fully fund a level-service budget, Hayes noted. Assessments are set based on student population as of Oct. 1 each year.

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, are co-sponsoring a bill to again raise the state’s per-pupil increase in Chapter 70 aid from $20 to $50 — and are working to change wording in the state law to make $50 the required minimum annual increase. Last year Cutler and Diehl’s efforts yielded a $55 per-pupil increase, which brought the district an added $137,000.

“A level-service budget means bringing back exactly what we have today, not adding anything,” Hayes said. The proposed budget as unveiled Feb. 1 is up by $1,857,987 — a 3.95-percent increase over the current operating budget. Final figures for state aid are not available until the state budget is finalized in June. Town Meeting is Monday, May 1.

The School Committee will be continuing work on the budget during meetings at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 15 in the WHRHS library. Hayes urged the public as well as interested town officials to attend any School Committee meeting, all of which are open to the public.

“We don’t have hard firm numbers, there’s no way to nail it down,” Hayes said. “This is a work in progress.”

Cuts being considered include a possible closing of Maquan School by fall 2018, which could save about $800,000 in fiscal 2019, split sessions or cutting the athletics programs, which could save about $200,000 for a program that costs $400,000, but brings in $200,000 between fees and gate receipts.

“It’s a balancing act, because we don’t want to put in more money to fix the school if this is going to be the ultimate choice,” McGahan said.

Town budget

Hanson’s Town Accountant Todd Hassett also reviewed the town’s budget outlook, as the fiscal 2018 budget is currently looking at a 5.49-percent increase, or $24,727,978. The current town budget is $23,441,725.

“As Mr. Hayes told you, this is a work in progress much like the school budget,” Hassett said. “We still have article requests that have not been submitted — the deadline is … March 10.”

He also noted the Capital Committee has just begun reviewing capital requests.

The bottom line for net sources available for appropriation is currently at $23,047,573 with expenditures projected at $23,047,573 — leaving $1,004 unspent.

The levy limit is now projected at $18,390,443 with the 2 ½ percent increase of $459,761, but new growth revenue is down $298,037 to $175,000 as estimated from the trend in new building permits. Total stabilization funds are projected at $670,869 and state aid, or cherry sheet receipts is expected to increase by about $806,000 with local receipts going up by $77,500 to $1,727,750.

Hassett has placed $250,000 in the free cash capital/other account, the minimum baseline, which brings available funds to $1.2 million.

“We’re not really in a position where we can put a lot of recurring revenue toward our capital needs yet,” Hassett said.

General government spending is being cut by 3.51 percent, as was done for the current budget.

Hassett has projected an increase of 3.91 percent for all school spending, including W-H, SSVT and Norfolk Aggie assessments. Public safety is up by 1.01 percent, not including contact negotiations, and public works up 6.19 percent — largely due to shoring up expenses to repairs and maintenance.

“They’ve historically been under-budgeted for a lot of their operating expenses and have really been handcuffed as to what they’ve been able to do for the town,” Hassett said of the Highway Department increase.

“You’ve spent the money anyway, historically,” Town Administrator Michael McCue said of supplementary spending at fall town meetings to cover shortfalls.

The Water Department has proposed to add another position and the financial effect of water main and water tank improvements have also begun to show up in the budget, but Hassett does not foresee an effect on water rates.

Recreation budget is up 8.21percent as the full year of salary and benefits of a new director is reflected in that budget. McCue, Scott and Recreation Chairman Rachel Gross are interviewing candidates this week.

Anticipated health insurance increases are also a concern, Hassett said.

Trio Café marks 10 years

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WHITMAN — It’s a family business where customers have become a part of the family.

Trio Café owners Ilian and Elena Tchourilkov are celebrating their business’10th anniversary year — since opening in November 2006. Many of their customers have ordered Trio catering services for everything from baby showers to funerals, corporate events to staff lunches.

“I know that 10 years is not that long to be in business,” Ilian said. “On the other hand, for one particular family we did a christening for their daughter, graduation parties [from both high school and college] and then we did a baby shower.”

Tears still come to Elena’s eyes as she thinks of customer-friends who have passed away years ago.

Family sticks with you.

“We become attached to them,” she said. “That’s life, it’s part of everything.”

The couple, who also owns a Trio Café in Boston, emigrated from Bulgaria 20 years ago, and moved to Whitman 12 years ago when their daughter was 2 — drawn to the community and schools.

Now she, like a handful of other WHRHS students, works in her parents’ café where the Tchourilkovs employ a staff of six plus some part-time staff. Ilian said the shop’s unusual family-oriented hours have made Trio’s a good place for students to work. Their Boston shop is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the Whitman shop closes at 4 p.m.

The small business is also a big hit with some very big companies, incluing Google, Microsoft, GoDaddy and Mass. General, as well as local businesses such as Mutual Bank, Tama  Dojo and Bike Barn.

Catering is their main focus right now, and accounts for its interesting customer base.

“For some reason, we have different types of customers,” Ilian said. “Monday through Friday, we have the big corporations, we get the offices and Saturday and Sunday its birthdays, christenings and family parties.”

The two locations work closely together, as do the Tchourilkovs. Ilian is in the Boston store on weekdays, starting as early as 4:30 a.m.

“We could extend hours, but family is family, so you don’t want to overdo it,” he said. “Up until we get 24 hours busy, there is always room to grow. We try to keep it manageable.”

That was part of the reason for a shift of focus to the catering end of things, with only Whitman offering room for a small dine-in area — Boston offers only take-out and catering services.

They also continue to do the baking for tea cart services at a few Boston hotels.

“When we started the main idea was the bakery,” Elena said five years ago. “Then we started serving sandwiches and the menu is now a lot bigger. Slowly we added the catering service.”

The catering menu was increased in 2012 to offer a lot more choices, both in dishes and how — and how big — they could be prepared.

Organization is a vital skill in the business, and there are some plans for changing a few things. Ilian’s Christmas present figures in to that — new top of the line coffee machines and grinders.

“I want to sell Starbucks coffee,” he said, aiming to become a destination for fine coffee. Trio used to sell Lavazza coffees, but the importing system from Italy was cumbersome. If there is a problem for them to overcome, its that the business is growing but the building is not.

The main goal for the future, however, is to keep up the good work with good food — no additives are used.

“We try to be more efficient — to be faster and more accurate,” he said. The pastry shelves were relocated twice before being removed and ice cream is no longer offered.

Unlike  a lot of area eateries, Trio does not go in for constant coupon deals.

“There is no hidden cost,” he said. “We think it’s fair pricing and there’s no reason for games.”

“If people come back, that means we’re doing a good job,” Elena said, adding it is not usual to see catering clients order small portions as new customers, then placing big orders after they’ve tried it.

Community participation is also important, Ilian said.

Trio continues to donate food and/or cater for events such as the Friends of Whitman Park wine tasting, the DFS A Taste of Whitman & Hanson, events for veterans groups, the Knights of Columbus and other events.

“I don’t remember saying no,” he said. “It’s a nice community, it’s a small town.”

Tough budget decisions loom

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School panel looks ahead to assessments

The School Committee is taking a close look at the assessment increase they are seeking from Whitman and Hanson to help close the fiscal 2018 budget gap.

Revenue will be short by $869,767, with expenses at $1,857,987.

The $750,000 transferred from the excess and deficiency account at the Wednesday, Feb. 15 meeting narrows that gap a bit — from $2,727,754 to $1,997,754.

“I do anticipate being able to put money back into E&D, but at this time of year, it’s very difficult to figure out how much that will actually be,” said Business Services Director Christine Sukow. “We don’t know what the next few months will be with utilities and snow, and we have so much personnel movement that that’s a real volatile area, as well.”

Excess and deficiency is depended on to fund financial emergencies during the fiscal year and is replenished from unspent funds calculated into utilities and maintenance on a worst-case scenario basis. Town free cash accounts work in a similar way, Sukow said.

The assessments to each town was tabled to another meeting to give the district time to see what cuts can be made, giving the committee a better idea where they stand. They must set an assessment by March 15 — 45 days before town meetings.

“There are certainly adjustments we can make, but we need to get a sense of where you all think you’re going to set the assessment,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said.

Every percentage point in the assessments add $186,782 to the budget. Completely closing the gap by operating assessment increases would require an increase of about 10.5 percent ($1,960,541 — $1,167,502 from Whitman and $793,039 from Hanson). The towns are assessed based on population, with Whitman paying 59.55 percent and Hanson paying 40.45 percent.

“I don’t want to make an assessment and then whittle it down,” School Committee member Robert Trotta said. “We just can’t do it anymore. Whatever assessment we make, we’ve got to stick with. What that is, I’m not sure myself, but there’s no way we can settle for 3 percent like we have in the past.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said he did not think setting the assessment now is wise without more work on the budget being done.

School Committee member Fred Small, who chairs the facilities subcommittee, suggested separating out capital items.

“I can see [Gilbert-Whitner’s] concern that it would be a tremendous risk that, if we took a curriculum item and separated it out and it didn’t pass — what do you do?” Small said. “But at the same time, what do we do with a $1.9 million deficit?”

Suckow said she and Science Curriculum Director Mark Stephansky have met with the materials publisher to determine if it can be financed over three or four years to help save money. She has also called them back to ask about four or five-year financing.

“I’d be very hesitant with curriculum,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “I’d be much more in favor of reducing the cost impact to this budget by spreading it out over time.”

“We’re struggling just to have just to have the same services as we have this year,” Small said, noting that the two towns are not near the target share the state wants to see for local school spending. “We’re not moving forward. … We’re fighting just for level services.”

He advocated formulating an option through which the towns can decide whether they want to back educational progress.

“Give us level services at Town Meeting and then decide how far forward you’d like us to go,” he said. “I think we need to step forward.”

Hayes indicated it would require a 10.5-percent assessment increase to fund a level-service budget.

“At this particular point, we’re not even talking about level services, we’re talking about cuts,” Hayes said.

Hayes estimated it would mean cutting about 33 positions.

“It’s going to be staff cuts,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We have met on this over and over again. If you look at the increases, it’s staffing and health insurance — it’s people.”

She argued that, for a district 10th or 11th from the bottom in per-pupil spending statewide, it is not an outrageous budget, and noted that finance committees have asked if the schools are looking for an override.

“I think we have to say to the citizens, ‘Are you looking to an override?’ because I don’t think we can go through this year what we went through last year,” she said. “We were hammered in Hanson.” In 2016, Whitman narrowly defeated an override and Hanson rejected it by a 2:1 margin.

Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Human Resources, Safety and Security Patrick Dillon said a review of the average teacher salaries in surrounding communities shows in the 2014-15 school year — the latest for which state numbers are available — W-H is at $78,000 and the state average if $76,000. The local average in the region is $77,700 in a range of from $72,000 to $83,400.

“We’re right in the middle of the pack,” he said.

The level-service budget includes a $778,065 increase for contractually obligated faculty salaries: an added ESL teacher ($66,552) due to an increase in the district’s ESL population; three teachers added from last year’s transfer from excess and deficiency ($170,223) to address class size and $58,195 to cover decreased funding of a 21st Century grant that funds an at-risk student program at the high school, — totaling $1,073,035 — according to Suckow. Retirement assessments are increasing by $227,129. Health insurance is expected to rise by at least 10 percent, with more information available in March.

“We’ll be lucky if it’s 10,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Contracted services are also going up in price. Utility costs are up $3,560 and transportation is up by 4 percent or $57,563. Curriculum costs are up $220,000 and a free pilot program at the middle schools expires in June. Elementary-level costs for supplies, based on enrollment, is up $769 for replacement materials.

On the plus side, the recent refinance of the high school building reduced payments by just over $22,000. School choice costs for students going to other districts is down by just over $50,000 as only eight students are going to other schools — down from 16 last year.

Committee discusses the effects of possible cuts

The School Committee discussed on Wednesday, Feb. 15 the ramifications of possible cuts to services and facilities use the W-H Regional School District is considering in the effort to close a $2.8 million shortfall in a level-service budget for fiscal 2018.

“There’s a lot of discussion that, when I mentioned Maquan closings, double sessions, eliminating the sports program or staff reductions, that that was threatening,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “That’s this committee’s charge. This committee is here to come up with a budget. There is no threat. It’s something we have to look at.”

Before the end of the meeting, the committee voted to transfer $750,000 from the excess and deficiency account to help close the gap, but more difficult decisions remain.

At the Feb. 1 budget roll-out, Hayes said the panel will have to “take a serious look” at how the district operates and may have to consider eliminating high school athletics, closing the Maquan School and consolidating those students into Hanson’s Indian Head School, staff layoffs and double sessions to save money.

“All of those things are on the table,” Hayes said Feb. 1. “This is not ‘we keep coming to you and crying wolf,’ this is serious. Every year it gets worse and worse and worse.”

Closing the Maquan Elementary School in Hanson could save an estimated $800,000, but even if that option is accepted, school officials said special needs programs would need until September 2018 to make that kind of move. Maintenance costs associated with Maquan since 2012 have amounted to more than $600,000.

The savings could break down to about $135,000 in academic staff salaries — one teacher and three paraprofessionals through retirement and attrition — and $245,000 annually in the reduced number of administrators and nurses required. A nominal savings of $3,000 to $4,000 could be seen in technology needs. The bigger savings is seen in the $141,000 from SJ Services — as there would be one less building to clean — as well as $152,000 in facilities maintenance costs and $50,000 annually in insurance, according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Human Resources, Safety and Security Patrick Dillon. He looked at existing capacity and declining enrollment in his study.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said there are 130 students in the fifth grade at Indian Head right now, with only about 110 in grade four and about the same in lower grades in Hanson.

No appreciable savings would be realized from special education changes or transportation costs and some $45,000 annually would be lost from space now rented at Maquan to North River Collaborative and a one-time cost of $15,000 would be involved in moving classroom equipment.

“It looked as if trying to close it for this upcoming fall of 2017 could create more disorder and chaos than we would be able to manage,” said Gilbert-Whitner. “If the building were to go back to the town, they could possibly rent it to North River Collaborative, which would be a revenue source, but clearly up to the town.”

Special Education Coordinator John Quealy said moving programs to other schools in the district would take some time and must adhere to laws governing age disparity of students in the same building. Changes must also take into consideration the effect on the special needs children and their families, both Gilbert-Whitner and Quealy said.

The district’s pre-school program could be housed at the Duval Elementary School, according to Dillon.

Hanson Middle has 25 classrooms with 500 students, Indian Head has 27 classrooms with 540 students. Duval has seen a “significant decline” in enrollment, according to Gilbert-Whitner, from 645 school-wide about four years ago to 493 today.

Split sessions

School officials do not anticipate a bump in enrollment for the foreseeable future, but Hayes indicated split sessions or portable classrooms could be a short-term solution to any unexpected spike.

Moving to a kindergarten through grade four school at Indian Head would be possible, Dillon said, echoing Quealy’s concern about integrating Maquan programs into other schools.

Gilbert-Whitner noted that repairs have been made to both Maquan and Indian Head Elementary following the unsuccessful plan for a new preK-grade five school in Hanson a few years ago.

The district and Hanson officials are looking for an engineering study to determine needed work to the HVAC system at Maquan and the cost of doing that work and other repairs are estimated to exceed $5 million.

“They were not particularly encouraging that that kind of money was available to make those kinds of repairs, and in addition to that, just concerns that maybe nothing would be done until something drastic happened at that school,” Gilbert-Whitner said of a recent meeting with the Hanson Capital Improvement Committee. “That was frightening to me as a superintendent.”

Hayes agreed, saying that North River Collaborative is looking for “a tremendous amount of space” and may want to lease the entire Maquan building.

Over the last two weeks, school officials have been looking closely at enrollment trends, available space and time frames.

Closing Maquan would also mean the district would not need to do a statement of interest with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for Maquan and Whitman Middle is still within the 20-year cost clawback regulations regarding needed roof repairs.

Gilbert-Whitner said a Maquan closing would trigger gradual downsizing with maintenance focused on needed repairs for equipment that breaks, but no major repair projects undertaken.

“I don’t think, personally, the town is going to save a ton of money … but even if they close it, the town’s not getting off scot-free,” said Hanson School Committee member Robert O’Brien Jr., noting the length of time the former Plymouth County Hospital building stood empty. He suggested Hanson officials hold public meetings on the issue.

Sports programs

Business Services Director Christine Suckow has been researching the implications of eliminating the athletics program at W-H as a cost-saving possibility.

The current proposed athletics program is just under $400,000 — most of which goes to salaries, insurance and the cost of reconditioning equipment, mandated by the state law. The athletics revolving account, which is outside the budget and is funded by user fees and gate receipts, is about $200,000 and pays for referees, bus transportation to games and supplies not covered in the operating budget.

Eliminating the sports program would also eliminate the revolving account without sports for which to sell tickets.

Staff reductions

The district has already sent out, through the WHEA teachers’ union, advising that the July 1 notification rules would be waived for any staff considering retirement in the near future. The district could then hire replacements at a lower salary or leave posts vacant.

Gilbert-Whitner said there has already been some interest expressed in that option.

Food Services may also be asked to pay $50,000 for a part of utility bills, as is permitted by the federally-funded program independent of the operating budget.

Busing cuts

If the district stopped non-mandated busing, the towns would not have to pay that cost, Suckow said. For Hanson, that cost is $102,026 and in Whitman it is $365,362.

“The towns could charge for non-mandated busing,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Animal perishes in Hanson barn blaze

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HANSON — A farm animal perished during a barn fire at 96 Main St. on Thursday, Feb., 16 at approximately 7:30 p.m. There were no injuries to people, however, as Hanson firefighters responded to multiple 911 calls, Chief Jerome Thompson stated in a press release.

A 30-by-20-foot building was fully involved when the first arriving firefighters reached the property.

Due to the large amount of contents in the structure, extensive overhaul was required, said Thompson.

Hanson Fire Department was assisted at the scene by Pembroke Fire Department and Hanover Fire Department provided station coverage. Fire damage was limited to the building of origin.

Early estimate on damages for the building and contents is approximately $25,000. The fire does not appear suspicious however it is currently under investigation by the Hanson fire department.

There were no injuries to citizens or firefighters during this incident, but unfortunately one confirmed livestock perished as a result of the blaze.

The property is owned by John Ripley. He was currently unavailable for comment.

On a local Facebook page called Hanson Ma, Connect several members reported the Ripley family was thankful for the offers of assistances from others in the farming community, however they had extra housing for their animals and were OK.