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Arrests made in robbery

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HANSON — Hanson police made two arrests in an afternoon bank robbery on Tuesday after a car was located on route 228 in Norwell matching the alleged get-away vehicle.

At approximately 1:28 p.m., Tuesday, the Hanson Police Department received a report that the Rockland Trust Bank branch, located at 470 Liberty Street had been robbed, according to Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch.

David A. Poulos, 28, and Paige A. Banagis, 24, both Rockland residents were charged in the crime.

Poulos was described as a white male, who did not show a weapon when he gave the teller a note demanding cash in large bills. Banagis was named as the alleged driver in the robbery.

Police broadcasted a description of the suspect alerting other towns to the incident and possible suspect/s. Officers from neighboring communities spotted the suspect vehicle and a stop was made by the Massachusetts State Police in Norwell. During the stop the suspect attempted to dispose of cash in the trash at the gas station.

The undisclosed amount of cash was recovered, said Miksch.

Hanson officers responded to the gas station and were able to make a positive identification of the suspect.   

Hanson Police, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department BCI and K9 Unit, Massachusetts State Police and the FBI Bank Task Force also responded to the scene.

The pair is charged with unarmed robbery and larceny over $250 [an undisclosed total amount].

Banagis is being held on $10,000 bail. Poulos is held on $15,000 bail. They were due to be arraigned in Plymouth District Court on Wednesday.

The Hanson police are currently co-operating with the FBI Bank Task Force and State Police further investigating whether the suspects are responsible for bank robberies in other towns, Miksch stated.

“The Hanson Police Department would like to thank the above mentioned agencies as well as the Rockland, Weymouth, Canton, and Norwell Police Departments,” Miksch said.

Hanson gives a salute for an American Hero

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HANSON — Business owner and decorated World War II Army Air Corps veteran John J. Ferry was saluted for “a life well-lived” during the dedication of a memorial square in his honor Sunday, Sept. 11.

Ferry operated a gas and service station at the corner of Liberty and Winter streets for 50 years before his death on Dec. 20, 2015. John J. Ferry Square is now located at that intersection, next to the business his family continues to operate.

“We honor a common man, a working man, a family man, a man of God, a good neighbor — John Ferry,” said keynote speaker, retired Army Brig. Gen. Emory Maddocks, noting that Ferry had enlisted in the Army in 1942, the same year Aaron Copeland composed “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

Maddocks said he was honored to speak, and happy the occasion was not memorializing a person killed in war at a young age, “But rather to honor a gentleman who lived a full life in service to his country,” he said. “We gather today to honor a life well-lived.”

Ferry’s son Jack thanked the crowd gathered for their tribute to his father.

“If dad was here I think he’d shake his head over the fuss everybody’s making,” Jack Ferry said, noting he was a bit nervous about speaking. “He’d say, ‘It’s just another day, what are you worried about,’”

Jack Ferry also said the family had calculated that his father had driven by the corner somewhere in the neighborhood of 105,000 times in the 50 years he worked at his station, and thanked all those who helped organize the event.

The 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was also on the minds of those in attendance.

“We pray for those who tragically lost their lives and for all those who continue to suffer the loss of their loved ones,” offered the Rev. Michael Hobson, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Church, where Ferry was a communicant. “Today, we are especially mindful of the blessings that you’ve bestowed upon us in our local community of Hanson as we remember John J. Ferry — a man who gave of himself in so many ways in service to country and community.”

Ferry’s friend Jerry Coulstring Jr. of Hanson American Legion Post 226 outlined that service, which included 79 combat missions as a gunner on a B-25 medium bomber in the China-Burma-India theater of operations.

Coulstring recalled Ferry telling him he had to “get over there” and do his duty when war came.

“He just didn’t realize how far ‘over there’ would be,” Coulstring said. “‘Over there’ took him across Europe over to Burma.”

The rotation policy was supposed to send crews home after 25 combat missions — Ferry’s 79 exceeded that by more than three times, averaging three to five hours each in duration.

“He’s always been a hero to me,” Coulstring said.

His efforts —more than 300 hours of combat action — earned Ferry the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.

“I was proud to call him a friend and hold him in the highest esteem as both a hero and a great patriot,” Coulstring said.

Maddocks, too, spoke of Ferry’s military record, enlisting at a time when the Allied victory was far from certain, and recounted the service Ferry dedicated to his community after opening his first service station.

“John provided old-fashioned, Norman Rockwell, small-town service in capital letters,” he said. “This was a family business and his customers were neighbors and friends.”

Friend in deed

When those neighbors and friends ran into tough times, Ferry helped out.

“He became part of the economic foundation of his country, his commonwealth and our town,” Maddocks said. “John employed people … he paid his taxes, he was active in the community and became part of the fabric of this little town. … John would fix cars, sometimes, for nothing.”

He did a lot of things to help people get to work on time when times were tough.

“He’d give people gas so they could get to work and support their families,” Maddocks said. “To John, there was nothing more noble than somebody who worked for a living and tried to raise their family.”

A dedicated member of St. Joseph the Worker Church, Ferry was known to “bump somebody on the back of the head with a basket” if he thought one of his friends hadn’t dropped enough into the collection, Maddocks said with a laugh.

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, presented Jack Ferry with a citation from the General Court, state Senate and Gov. Charles Baker. Selectmen Don Howard, James, McGahan, Bill Scott and Bruce Young also attended the ceremony, which was presided over by Veterans’ Agent Bob Arsenault.

Arsenault and Jack Ferry then unveiled the square marker. Wyman’s Nursery donated the mulch for the garden area.

Hanson resident and former firefighter Donald Teague played bagpipes prior to the ceremony and performed “Amazing Grace” following Hobson’s closing prayer. Singer Mary Renny performed “God Bless America”  as a plane trailing a banner — reading “A true American Hero John J. Ferry” — circled overhead, before those attending were invited to a collation, catered by A Fork in the Road of Bryantville,  in the Ferry’s Sunoco parking lot.

Representatives from the Hanson American Legion, the Fire, Police and Highway departments assisted with preparations for the ceremony, display of a giant American flag and traffic control.

Traffic change ahead

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WHITMAN — With the completion of the South Avenue paving work comes new parking restrictions and traffic lines along one stretch of that roadway.

Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 13 approved a Department of Public works plan making the changes from Raynor Avenue to Pleasant Street.

“This is the area, when you come down Pleasant Street where the old fire station used to be,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

Traffic along that stretch of Pleasant Street has the option of turning right on South Avenue or going straight onto Franklin Street. Traffic on South Avenue can go straight, turn left onto Pleasant Street or turn right further along to Franklin Street.

The problem area has been the area where traffic merges from South Avenue to Pleasant Street and vice versa.

“That right turn [before the old fire station] is actually a two-way street,” Lynam said. “Part of the problem is that people who are planning to go on Pleasant Street, cross over at least 100 feet before they need to, basically driving in the wrong direction on South Avenue.”

Eliminating parking from the corner of Raynor to the lot where Whitman Ford used to be, and painting new lines to direct traffic flow are being used to eliminate that problem. Stripe lines will later be added to indicate areas that are “no car zone.”

Department of Transportation engineers have worked on the change.

Selectmen also approved an overnight parking ban on all streets from Dec. 1 to April 1, 2017 to ease snow removal efforts during the winter months.

The Selectmen observed a moment of silence in honor of Jenny Kirby, a longtime third-grade teacher and union official in Whitman, who died this week, and Leslie Cohen, who was chairman of Whitman’s former K-8 School Committee. Cohen died in August.

“Leslie Cohen was the reason I got into this at all,” said Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski, who started out on the School Committee. “She was just a chairperson par excellence.”

Kowalski noted it was ironic the two women would die in such close proximity to each other as they were often adversaries in contract negotiations.

“They were on opposite ends of the argument all the time,” he said. “But because of that — I don’t want to call it tension — but that activity, we had a school system you could be proud of in the K-8 days because of both of them.”

In other business, Selectman Dan Salvucci said he has been receiving complaints about people leaving TVs on their front lawns and sidewalks for trash pickup and reminded people the town’s hauling company will no longer pick up the TVs.

Residents have to take the TVs to the DPW for disposal for a fee of between $15 and $25 or the appliances can be dropped off at the Dollars for Scholars Electronics Recycling Day between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17 for a similar fee.

“One way or another, discarded TVs have to come off people’s front lawns,” he said. “They’ll be nothing but a hazard. Kids are walking to school and when it comes snow time and they’re plowing the sidewalks we really don’t want them hitting TVs.”

Selectmen also approved the signing of an agreement allowing the auction of property at 35 East Ave.

Serving up fun

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WHITMAN — For 15 years now a small group of Whitman Woods neighbors have joined Kerri Lane resident Thomas Miller for a Friday game of pickup ball during the spring and summer months.

It’s not baseball or softball and they don’t shoot hoops, although they do play their games under a basketball hoop.

Their game is Ping-Pong, but serious players prefer the term table tennis, thank you.

“We were looking for something to do and we decided, ‘Let’s play Ping-Pong,’” Miller said before the last game of the regular season on Sept. 2. In past years they have been known to play into mid-October and finished off the last table with a New Year’s Day game last year.

“The table before this was not meant for outdoors, it was particleboard,” Miller said. Like the commercial says, the table was turning into “fall-apart-ical board.”

“It started to get a little bit yucky and we decided the last time we played in October last year it was good enough for probably one more game so we’d do a Winter Classic,” he said. “So we played on Jan. 1 and then we destroyed it.”

Luckily the weather that day was clear and in the high 40s, so it wasn’t like going swimming with the L Street Brownies.

The invitation-only games generally get going at 7 p.m. and don’t wind down until after 10. If they do disturb the neighbors on the cul-de-sac, Miller’s wife Lisa usually gets a call and relays the message via Text to quiet things down.

The whole thing started when he bought a Ping-Pong table without telling his wife, stashing it in the shed. After he told her about it, Lisa said she didn’t want it in the house.

Lisa found out when they were talking with a neighbor who asked when Ping-Pong started and she asked what he was talking about, Miller recalled with a laugh.

The newest table is owned by six of the players, having pooled their money for an all-weather model.

“The reason we did that is, if I’m not able to play every week and it’s in my shed, they should have access to it,” Miller said, adding that they use heavier outdoor Ping-Pong balls that are more wind-resistant.

Thus the curbside cul-de-sac “league” began. Miller’s son Riley, 14, runs the “junior league” of the Whitman Woods Ping-Pong Club. At the moment, it’s more of an honorary title — he is the only member. He also gives the adult players their nicknames, often with explanations known only to him.

As Miller spoke, Riley and Miller’s fellow Rockland-Hanson Rotary Club member Joe Pelligra volleyed a bit at the table and other neighbors out for an evening walk stopped to say hello. Miller and Pelligra are also both natives of upstate New York.

“I got pulled in when Tommy told me at Rotary he played Ping-Pong on Friday nights and said, ‘Why don’t you come over?’” said Pelligra, the only non-resident in the group. “I’ve known Tom for a long time. … He kept calling me and asking me to come, but I only started playing recently.”

The core membership in the “league” is six to 10. They play doubles, rotating players from the right.

Recently, the guys pooled their handyman skills to craft a light fixture atop a length of PVC pipe bent at a right angle.

“Now we can play for four hours,” Pelligra said.

“My wife just shook her head when she saw that,” Miller said. He pitched it to her that they could be hanging out at one of the local watering holes until 10 p.m.

Pelligra offered that it also hones hand-eye coordination and is good exercise.

“I love it,” Miller said. “I’ve been playing it since I was 12.”

When it gets chilly, the chiminea is brought out to keep things toasty.

“In the early days, when our kids were young — and we had two tables — we had a junior league,” Miller said. “Now they’re too cool to come down to play.”

Teaching the great outdoors: Conley PAC donation creates outside classroom

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WHITMAN — Going outside will no longer be reserved for recess alone at Conley Elementary School.

Thanks to $20,000 raised by the school’s Parent Advisory Council at an annual basket raffle fundraiser, a school courtyard has been transformed into an outdoor classroom.

“This we see as making science come alive for kids,” said Principal Karen Downey as she hosted a reception Monday, Aug. 29 for PAC members, school officials and representatives from businesses who worked on the project. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the Board of Selectmen voted to officially approve the renovation project.

“Principal Downey is thrilled with the design and is looking forward to putting it in place before weather prevents the kids from using it,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam told selectmen. “They do plan to use it all year long. They will also use it in winter. It looks like a pretty interesting way to present some information to classes in kind of a fun way.”

Lynam thanked the Conley PAC parents for taking the step toward developing the space.

An easel inside the doorway to the enclosed courtyard displayed photos outlining the project’s success — and work yet to be done on it — during the reception.

“We can bring a class out [and] have quiet reading or writing. We can have snack over there,” Downey said, gesturing to picnic tables in a corner covered with shading material, as guests arrived.

Raised planters are also included along one wall for science projects, with a table in one corner for students to use in writing their observations. Another area offers space for quiet reflection in an alcove where a water feature is still to be added. It has already been recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

“It’s such a joy to be able to do something really special for the kids,” she said.

Carin Gosselin, a Landscape Architect from Norwell, donated her time and services to design and create a space where students can learn and explore, according to Downey.

“Carin met with me and Steve Mucci several times to hear our vision for the space and see or ideas,” Downey said. “She then drew up professional plans and enlisted the help of Curtis Farm Landscaping.”

John and Jared Curtis led their team to transform the space in three days following Carin’s plans, according to Downey. Jeff Palaza from Palaza and McDonough Tree Service donated 25 tree stumps to be used as student seating in the story circle. Marc Frisoli of Frisoli Electric donated  spools that will be used for work tables.  Mucci, and parent Matt Carew, “spent hours on a very hot, very humid Saturday afternoon building raised beds for planting and a bridge for our reflective garden path,” she said. “Steve Mucci also designed and created a teacher chair that is absolutely a piece of art for our story circle.”

She stressed that none of the work would be possible without the help of the Conley School community, led by the PAC.

“Our annual basket auction, chaired by Lynne Walton and Pam Codero, brought in $20,000 which was used to create this space for our students,” Downey said. Teachers and staff members made baskets and volunteered the night of the auction, kids and families donated items, services and baskets, and families took time to attend.

“For every raffle ticket purchased and every auction bid, families contributed to our new Outdoor Classroom,” she said. “This was truly a labor of love.”

Kiwanee article changed: Hanson board amends article on Rec Director

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HANSON — Selectmen have voted 5-0 to amend language in a warrant article on the Oct. 3 special Town Meeting warrant to fund a recreation director position for January through June 2017.

Selectman Bruce Young said a professional recreation director should be hired, as Town Meeting voted to do in 2015, under the Recreation Commission as it stands.

The original wording of the article sought to authorize selectmen to issue a request for proposals for Camp Kiwanee management.

“This other Recreation Commission is down the line if it happens, that’s a whole other ball game,” he said. “Don’t get confused by the words ‘goals and objectives.’ … We agreed to consider it. We never agreed to adopt it.”

Young said that was the cause of his reaction to seeing the article in the warrant at the Aug. 23 meeting, and he apologized for his behavior when he walked out of that meeting.

“The timing of that article could not have been worse,” Young said. “We’re addressing that concern right now.”

Young’s amendment changed the article to request that Town Meeting transfer $35,000 from Recreation retained earnings to fund the recreation director position for the remainder of fiscal 2017 under the control of the Recreation Commission.

Town Administrator Michael McCue noted the change only provides funding unless or until Selectmen or a reconstituted Recreation Commission chooses to go forward. McCue would interview applicants, forwarding a list of recommendations to a Recreation Commission for a vote on hiring.

“It puts it on the table,” said Wes Blauss, noting Kiwanee is already fully booked for weddings in 2017. “We could at least start looking to 2018, restoring some balance.”

The Tuesday, Sept. 6 vote, greeted with loud applause, was among a handful of adjustments to the warrant — including the incorporation of two groups of articles and the deletion of two school repair projects — that Selectmen Chairman James McGahan stressed is normal practice for the warrant review process.

“I get a sense that most people think these articles, as they are written, are what they are,” McGahan said. “That’s not the case. The language of these articles changes … what they are, are place-holders that hold a spot so we can modify the language as we get closer to Town Meeting.”

The Selectmen’s vote on the recreation director position followed McGahan’s PowerPoint presentation on what the Open Space and Recreation Plan’s goals might accomplish. After his presentation, questions and comments from the overflow crowd in the Selectmen’s meeting room were then taken.

“There has been much said about this and it’s taken on a life of its own,” McGahan said. “There might be some confusion toward this article with the ongoing investigation that’s going on at Camp Kiwanee. Essentially, I’ve been told that the timing is bad. That’s on me.”

McGahan initially suggested the article should be pulled. But he later agreed with Young’s suggested language change.

A former Recreation Commission member, Kevin Cameron, expressed concern that, even as a half-year salary, $35,000 might be too low.

“I come from the hospitality industry, so I know of what I speak,” he said.

During his presentation, McGahan stressed that he was assigned to work with the Open Space Committee on a plan for the town, which would allow Hanson officials to apply for grants, once that plan is filed with the state. Meetings on the goal to review the current recreational and parks committees set by a previous Board of Selectmen in 2008 were held, including public visioning sessions on June 22 and Aug. 1.

“We had a goal here and the goal has been lingering for seven years,” McGahan said. “It made sense to me.”

Beach Director Margaret Hickey said she did not understand the consideration of the new goals, as the Recreation Commission has been doing its job.

“Why add another couple of groups to the mix? I just think it would make it more complicated,” she said.

McGahan said a new director would still be hired because Town Meeting voted for it last year.

Each “town department and stakeholder organization” was invited to the visioning sessions, he said, but the Recreation Commission members said they never received that invitation. McGahan noted that the June and August visioning sessions were also advertised to the public in the Express.

Communication
error

Former Recreation Chairman James Hickey said he never received an invitation despite holding regular meetings with McCue.

McGahan said the invitation had gone to previous Recreation Chairman, David Blauss, adding that the Recreation Commission was responsible, as all town boards are, to inform all other departments of changes in their officer organization.

“When you went to the June meeting and didn’t see Dave Blauss or any other member of the Recreation Commission members, a simple text — you knew I would be there,” Hickey said of the selectmen and McCue he has been in contact with by phone.

Former Recreation Commission member Susan Longergan also noted that in 416 meetings she attended, Selectmen never attended one until December 2015.

“You couldn’t pick me out of a crowd and I’ve been on the board for 16 years,” she said. “I’ve never seen this plan. … We have never written a letter [about reorganizations], we have never known to write a letter, so maybe this board could have come to one of our meetings and said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for a letter from you, where is it?’”

Many residents speaking at the meeting expressed concern over the suggestion that a vendor be hired — as one of three possibilities, including a town hire or a contractor — to manage Camp Kiwanee.

“I think that is what makes it a scare — that it would lose its identity,” Diane Cohen of Pleasant Street said of an outside vendor’s ability to hire its own staff.

“I don’t think the people who volunteer their time are as concerned with the risk as they are with the reward,” another resident said. “You give it to an outside person, they have no connection to it. … It becomes a money-making venture no one has any ties to and then all it is, is functions.”

Questions were also asked about how a recreation director would be overseen.

“Who would do the hiring of this person and how would we be sure it would be someone who would advocate for recreation?” a resident asked.

McGahan said the Recreation Commission would do that, saying at that point he supported withdrawing the article.

“I think the timing is bad, and I didn’t see that coming,” he said.

McGahan assured residents the current Recreation Commission would be invited to be part of the new panel, but that the commission’s mass resignation of the current commission is a problem.

“We’re not talking about doing away with the Recreation Commission,” McGahan   said. “We’re basically better managing cabins, functions, weddings, security and business. It changes the way we do things, but still puts control with the Recreation Commission.”

The Board of Selectmen would appoint the new commission, as in the past.

The board also approved Young’s request to change the Memorial Field Commission article to request a change, by the legislature, from elected to appointed membership in order to preserve that board instead of incorporating it into any expanded Recreation Commission.

“The Veterans’ Agent assures me that, if it moves in this direction, that there will be people willing to step forward to be appointed by the Board of Selectmen to oversee this,” McCue said. “It’s probably the best solution for this issue.”

Selectmen’s Administrative Assistant Meredith Marini explained the other article changes came at the suggestion of the town accountant in an effort to streamline the Town Meeting process. School repair articles formerly numbered 20-28 were merged into a matrix under Article 18 and two articles regarding the Middle School univents and a rooftop unit at Indian Head School were deleted until May, as they were not yet on the district’s capital improvement plan. Funding sources were also changed for articles regarding the Water Department and a septic project at Camp Kiwanee.

State Primary’s on Thursday

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While there’s been plenty of news about the Nov. 8 presidential election, there’s a warm-up vote taking place here in Massachusetts exactly two months ahead of it — a state primary election on Thursday, Sept. 8 to be precise — that has quietly approached.

Since Monday was Labor Day, a Tuesday election would have required overtime and opening schools, where some polling places are located, on a holiday to set up, Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan said.

Polls are open in both Whitman and Hanson from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sept. 8, customary hours for a state or federal election.

Maquan School, where Hanson’s polling place is located, is open on Sept. 8, so voters in that community are urged to take extra precautions during hours when school buses and parent vehicles are dropping off and picking up pupils.

Whitman votes at the Town Hall Auditorium for all precincts.

While there is little in the way of contested races on the state primary ballot, town clerks remind voters this is a good opportunity to verify one’s registration status — or to register to vote — before the presidential election.

Sloan said Hanson residents may report to the Maquan School polling place or the town clerk’s office in Town Hall, where registrars will be available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., during polling hours to assist voters. The town clerk’s office will be closed to other business.

Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley said her office will be open to assist voters with registration or questions about their voting status.

Every day is a good day to register,” Varley said, adding that voters can also check registration status, register to vote, apply for absentee ballots and receive other voting information at sec.state.ma.us/ele.

Appearing on the party ballots for the state primary in Hanson are:

  • For representative in Congress — incumbent U.S. Rep. William R. Keating (Democratic ballot); Mark C. Alliegro of Falmouth or Thomas J. O’Malley Jr., of Marshfield (Republican ballot).
  • For governor’s council — incumbent Christopher A. Iannella Jr., of Boston or Steven F. Flynn of Hull (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
  • For state senator — incumbent state Sen. Michael D. Brady (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
  • For state representative — incumbent state Rep. Josh S. Cutler (Democratic ballot); Vince Cogliano of Pembroke (Republican ballot).
  • For sheriff — Scott M. Vecchi of Plymouth (Democratic ballot); incumbent Joseph D. McDonald Jr., (Republican ballot).
  • For county commissioner (vote for two) — Greg Hanley of Pembroke and Lincoln D. Heineman of Scituate (Democratic ballot); incumbent Daniel A. Pallotta and Anthony T. O’Brien Sr., of Pembroke (Republican ballot).

Appearing on the party ballots for the state primary in Whitman are:

  • For representative in Congress — incumbent U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
  • For governor’s council — incumbent Christopher A. Iannella Jr., of Boston or Steven F. Flynn of Hull (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
  • For state senator — incumbent state Sen. Michael D. Brady (Democratic ballot); no candidates listed on the Republican ballot.
  • For state representative — no candidates listed on the Democratic ballot; incumbent state Rep. Geoff Diehl (Republican ballot).
  • For sheriff — Scott M. Vecchi of Plymouth (Democratic ballot); incumbent Joseph D. McDonald Jr., (Republican ballot).
  • For county commissioner (vote for two) — Greg Hanley of Pembroke and Lincoln D. Heineman of Scituate (Democratic ballot); incumbent Daniel A. Pallotta and Anthony T. O’Brien Sr., of Pembroke (Republican ballot).

There are no candidates listed on ballots in either town for the Green-Rainbow or United Independent parties.

A rolling rally for gun owners’ rights

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 Sunday morning a rolling rally organized by the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) traveled to Hanson Rod and Gun Club to raise awareness on recent attempted changes to gun laws in Massachusetts.

A member of GOAL’s Board of Directors, Jim Finnerty helped organize the rally on behalf of responsible gun owners who want to protest the changes.

“We follow the rules to the letter,” Finnerty said. “For the last 22 years (we) have been very careful — if we weren’t, we would not be here today.”

“The fact that the Attorney Maura General Healey continues to interpret the Second Amendment and most recently the definitions of copycat weapons, is why we are here today,” he added.

Finnerty said about 150 vehicles were part of the rolling rally, which began in Billerica, with each participant given a handout packet regarding participant radio communications, appropriate signage  and the general rules of being courteous on the road. Finnerty expressed that their group was strictly standing up for their rights and protesting peacefully in a correct manner on public streets — to say they oppose the attorney general’s recent practice.

“We were not trying to occupy — we don’t like it ( what is happening) but we are not going to misbehave,” he said.

Peter Boncek grew up in Halifax and now resides in Kingston. As a member of the Hanson Rod and Gun Club he supported the rally by placing signs along his South Shore roadway but did not ride in the rally.

He has carried a gun license for more than 37 years and is a lifetime member of the NRA.  He supported the event on Sunday because he said he firmly believes in the Second Amendment.

“What Maura Healey has done, or tried to do — and we are going to get it back — is totally illegal, and wrong.  She doesn’t have the right. She is there to enforce the laws not make the laws,” said Boncek. “This is why we are here. You get a lot more people when you start messing with the Second Amendment. As you see people here and at the State House just three weeks ago approximately 5,000 people were there on a two days’ notice ( to promote the rally).”

  Approximately 300 people participated in the rolling rally Sunday and Boncek said he extended his invitation to 7th Plymouth District state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, who did attend the event.

Diehl who has a Class A LTC said he disagrees with Healey’s recent attempted changes to the commonwealth’s gun laws.

“First of all, I am against what Maura Healey did with the ban on the guns that she has now determined illegal,” Diehl said. “There is a lawsuit involved with that. Mike Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney is counsel on that. The legislature, unfortunately, she only did the [ban] with three days to go so we were unable to do anything to reverse the decision.” Although, over 100 legislators did sign a letter asking her not to [make the change]. Diehl pointed out the local gun clubs and gun owners rare allying to get people actively involved in protecting the Second Amendment.

15 years of ‘triple threats’: Boss Academy celebrates its crystal anniversary

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HANSON — They say if you love what you do, you’ll never “work” a day in your life. For Whitman native KathyJo Boss, that is true — to a point.

She’ll also tell you it takes work and dedication to make dreams in the performing arts come true, especially when one of those dreams is helping the next generation of dreamers achieve success in dance, voice and acting.

“I love doing what I do,” she said. “I love inspiring people. This is what’s most important. I want to leave a positive impact on as many people as I can.”

This year marks Boss Academy of Performing Arts’ 15th anniversary, and third year at its current location of 782 Main St. in Hanson. Founding a studio has always been her “end goal.”

The New York University graduate has more than 40 years of experience on Broadway, in national touring theater, television and film. When her eldest daughter Kaylee was born Boss and her husband, now-state Rep. Geoff Diehl decided to move back to her hometown.

“We felt Hanson was a great town in which to open up a business,” she said of the studio, which used to be in a storefront at the 1280 Main St. plaza in Hanson. “My landlord was awesome, but we just outgrew our space.”

Still, she said it doesn’t seem possible that those 15 years have come and gone.

“When you’re in business for 15 years — and I’m sure it will only get greater — you go through great times,” Boss said. “It is truly a family here.”

Like any parent, she has watched her students grow and move on after graduation — whether or not they seek a performing career.

“I see a lot of awesome memories with kids that started when they were little [and] I just went to one of their weddings,” she said. “Both my  children were in the wedding.”

A lot of her students who want to pursue a stage or film career are doing that, holding Actors’ Equity and/or SAG-AFTRA cards. Others have celebrated marriage and family or are dealing with the loss of a parent.

“To me, the biggest thing is making the connection with the kids and seeing them grow into young people doing great things,” she said. “Whether that’s in the performing arts, which a lot of them are doing, or just in other things. … The common thing is that they take the structure and the discipline — just to have the courage to get up and speak in front of someone — and use them.”

Some of her students have gone on to do well in the military, and another is going for her doctorate. Hanson students Melissa Ford and Darren Bunch are among her alumni now working in film and theater in New York. Former student Hillary Keefe is now working in production.

The accomplishments of her students are her proudest achievements, but when her students cheer on not only each other, but other participants at competitions, she really enjoys seeing the growth in which she’s had a hand.

“To see my alumni come to my shows is the greatest gift for me that day,” she said. “I’m proud of the family that has been created here.”

Boss herself has come a long way from the shy 2 1/2-year-old whose mother brought her to dance class to help bring her out of her shell. Her teacher didn’t think KathyJo would want to go on stage for the year-end recital.

“I did go on stage and, obviously, I never came off,” she said.

She was later selected as a company member of the Boston Ballet. After graduating from NYU, she has continued to stay in contact with several of her teachers. She has performed on Broadway in a revival of “Cabaret” and as Lambchop in “Shari Lewis’ Lambchop.” Some TV and film work as well as commercials that have aired in Japan, eventually moving to California where she ended up doing production work, including live shows — and met Diehl who was then a writer.

Diehl still writes productions for Boss Academy, and her mom, who is a professional artist, does the scenery.

“I can give [students] the real story,” she said. “I can let them try it all … it only gives them more opportunity when they go to New York or LA.”

While there are several dance studios in the area, Boss said there is room for all of them in a state known for dance — it all depends on the kind of instruction a student is seeking.

She also sees a lot of change in the arts over the past 15 years. Dance, for example, involves more gymnastic moves than before, leading to the studio’s offering tumbling for the past four or five years. But there is always a need for the basics.

“I truly believe in the roots of the discipline,” she said. “With voice, they need to train in a classical way in terms of the technique.”

When students come in demanding to sing like the hottest pop artist on the radio, however, instructors have to help them take a realistic assessment of their vocal chords. Are they strong enough to sing a song like the over-produced recorded performances they hear?

Hip-hop has also made a difference in what students want to learn, affected by the success of the Broadway smash “Hamilton” and the reality show “So, You Think You Can Dance?” Boss pointed out.

“It does go with the trends,” she said. “It used to be the boy band style and then that swung around to what we see now. You stay on top of the trends, but you also stay true to the training.”

That is her aim for the future. She is also planning to give back to the community in a big way this year, the details of which she is not yet ready to disclose.

Heading back to class: Sixth, ninth graders attend orientations

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Buses officially rolled for the first day of school Wednesday, but about 340 sixth-graders in the Class of 2023 and some 270 high school freshmen in the Class of 2020, have already had one foot in the schoolhouse door for the past week.

Freshmen attended an orientation session at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School on Wednesday, Aug. 24, with about 200 grade six students learning their way around Whitman Middle School and another 140 or so attending orientation at Hanson Middle School on Aug. 25.

High school athletes attended an information night Sunday, Aug. 22.

Orientations at the middle schools and WHRHS featured upperclassmen on hand to give school tours, demonstrate lockers, answer questions and otherwise ease the transition for incoming students. Parents’ questions were answered by administrators as their children learned about their new schools.

W-H Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak introduced faculty and administration members attending the high school session before explaining the purpose of the evening, organized by English teacher and student mentor coordinator Ellen Galambos.

The 80-plus student mentors had to apply for the position, Assistant Principal David Floeck said.

“They had to put down reasons why they wanted to be a mentor and, pretty much to a person, they talked about understanding how important it is to get off to a good start, remembering how it was to be a freshman coming into the high school,” Floeck said. “A lot of them wrote, ‘I remember how important my mentor was to me when I started … They helped me navigate to a good start and I want to give back.’”

Szymaniak also praised the mentors, while explaining the change to a semester-based schedule at the high school this year.

“These student leaders are from all over the walks of W-H halls,” Szymaniak said. “You have athletes, people that perform in drama, you have musicians, you have artists, you have scholars … you have the students who started the Harry Potter Society here … they all sat in your seats as freshmen.”

He said opening the door and stepping into an opportunity is sometimes the hardest thing to do, but stressed the students in school activities want freshmen to join them. Every student is welcome to attend Student Council, a non-elected body, for exaample.

“The more you get involved as a student, the more you can balance your academic, social life and extra-curricular life, the better off you are — the more successful you are,” he said.

Szymaniak cautioned, however, that academics will always come first as students build a high school transcript that will determine a lot about the direction they take in the future. He also urged students to communicate with teachers when they need extra help.

“It counts,” he said. “What people look for after you graduate is your record. Your record here is your transcript — your grades and your attendance.”

The balance of academic excellence and extra-curricular activities were also stressed at the middle schools.

At WMS, eighth-grade student leaders, wearing long-sleeve gray T-shirts with the school’s motto for the year — “Work Hard and Be Kind” — were on hand to assist new sixth-graders with the transition to what principal George Ferro termed 580 days of personal and educational growth before high school.

“This is going to be the quickest three years of schooling that you will have,” Ferro told students and parents, noting only law schools are also based on a three-year program. “If we can achieve students who know how to study, if we can achieve students who know how to communicate effectively with their peers and adults, if we can achieve students who can think for themselves, if we can achieve students who respect themselves … [who] can respect others, then we’ve given them as many skills as they need to be successful in life.”

At the same time he said students will be expected to Work Hard and Be Kind every day they come to school.

“It’s not a joke,” he said. “If you work hard and be kind you’ll be successful, your parents will be successful, your community will be sucessful.”

School rules were also reviewed.

There will be no gum-chewing. Cell phones are not allowed in classrooms at WMS, sixth-grade social studies teacher and event coordinator Beth Stafford told the students. They are to be turned off and left in lockers or placed in classroom bins. Boys are expected to remove their hats in school and girls’ tank top straps are to be at least an inch wide.

“Remember this is not the beach — this is school,” Stafford said.

Students should walk to the right in halls and use the center stairs for “up” and the side stairs for “down.”

Students also must bring a silent reading book to peruse on occasions when they finish a classroom assignment early. Some teachers give pop quizzes to check for them, she cautioned.

Rewards were also featured to add to the fun.

At WMS, it was a grab-bag of school supplies for the first team of 10 students to finish a get-to-know-your-school scavenger hunt — without losing anyone. Stafford donated the prizes. At the high school, student mentors held raffles throughout the evening.

“This group of people dedicated time this summer to go through mentor training and they also donated some of their very hard-earned cash … to put together some raffle prizes,” said Floeck, noting about $300 in gift cards and other raffle prizes were drawn during the evening.

At HMS, Principal William Tranter said his incoming sixth-graders were divided into groups for tours of the building, meeting their teachers, activities such as tug-of-   war, in which he participated and basketball — followed by ice cream.

Both middle schools will hold an open house in which parents can follow their children’s class schedules and meet teachers at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 8.

Elementary Schools held open house at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30. Families of students at all schools have been urged to follow the schools through Twitter for news and updates.