News Archives • Page 175 of 207 • Whitman-Hanson Express

Voter safety plans made

September 1, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

WHITMAN — Expecting a 75-percent turnout for the Tuesday, Nov. 8 presidential election, Town Clerk DawnVarley has asked for, and received, Selectmen’s support for safety procedures she plans to institute at Town Hall on that date.

The measures have been used before in high-turnout elections and center on restricting parking and charitable solicitations.

Varley said she had already discussed the moves with Town Administrator Frank Lynam, Police Chief Scott Benton and Council on Aging Director Barbara Garvey.

The deadline for registering to vote in the presidential election is Wednesday, Oct. 19.

“I urged everyone to register to vote,” Varley said.

With final details concerning use of the Council on Aging bus still to be finalized, Town Hall employees and election workers will be required to park at the police station on Election Day to free up Town Hall parking for voters. Employees and election workers will be shuttled to Town Hall.

Parking along South Avenue from Day Street to the center of town will be limited to a half-hour on a temporary basis.

“We have 10,000 voters now,” Varley said. “The only thing that could cut [traffic] down is something new that’s going on — early voting.”

The 150-foot “no electioneering” rule around Town Hall will be enforced, including fundraising efforts by Dollars for Scholars and other groups.

“I usually let people inside for other elections — like the Mothers Club and things like that — but this time I’m not going to allow any solicitation,” she said. “I think it’s too much traffic.”

She stressed there will also likely be exit pollsters and poll watchers present, over neither of which she has any control.

Benton said he agreed with the parking restrictions and noted he will add a “floating” officer to the detail usually assigned to the polling place on election days.

Early voting is also in place for the first time this year and Varley has asked the Finance Committee for $2,000 to cover those costs, as she is asking some of her election workers to help with that process between Monday, Oct. 24 and Friday, Nov. 4. She said the state has not yet released the needed forms, envelopes or details of what the process will entail as yet.

Early voting will be conducted in the Town Hall Auditorium and Varlet plans to provide locked ballot boxes to keep ballots secure. While the law only requires early voting to be conducted during Town Hall hours, Varley plans to be open Fridays as well as from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The state is providing incentive grants to encourage towns to provide extra early voting hours.

Municipalities with between 5,000 and 10,000 voters can get $500 to be open at least four weekend hours, with a $50 bonus for each additional two-hour increment they stay open during the weekend, according to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office.

Absentee voting will also be conducted as usual.

Varley also reminded residents that 16-year-olds may register to vote, even though they cannot cast a ballot until they turn 18.

“They’re trying to get the voter numbers up, but it just adds pressure to my office because we have to keep track of them for two years,” she said. “Who knows if they’re going to be in the same location in two years?”

Anyone with questions on their registration status, order absentee ballots or other election concerns may visit sec.state.ma.us.ele.

The town has received 34 applications for the assistant town administrator’s position, all based on an online posting before the position is advertised in print.

“We have a lot of interest in it,” said Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski. “We have a lot of qualified people that have showed some interest.”

The application deadline is Sept. 22.

Selectmen opted not to fill Selectman Lisa Green’s open seat based on the time constraints for a special election. The board members felt the could continue with the vacancy, created when Green resigned to apply for the position of assistant town administrator.

Senior centers, they are a-changin’

August 25, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

They’re still trying to bridge the original Generation Gap.

What started as a “Don’t trust anyone over 30” outlook among Baby Boomers in their youth, has turned into a different approach to aging — with senior centers working to provide programs and services to two generations of elders.

“It’s a huge problem,” said Barbara Garvey, Whitman’s Council on Aging Director. “We’re trying to capture the Baby Boomers, the young seniors.”

Both Garvey and Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center Director Mary Collins noted the difference in the way Boomers approach aging — and, according to statistics, 10,000 of them have been turning 65 every day since 2011.

“They’re working, they’re caring for their grandchildren, they’re playing golf,” Garvey said. “It’s a different lifestyle than their parents led.”

She said it appears that Boomers view senior centers as a place “for very old people, and that’s not them.”

Collins said her Friends of the Senior Center group is taking a step to help bridge that gap, planning a 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27 “Mocktails and Music” event with Laura James, a former member of The Platters.

“The Friends decided to reach out to the Baby Boomers … those folks who grew up in the ’50s and ’60s,” Collins said. “She performs music from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s with a little bit of disco at the end.”

The performance is also a fundraiser for the Friends with tickets priced at $10.

Garvey sees the need to keep pace with generational change as well.

“We’re trying to change our programming so that it will interest younger people,” Garvey said, noting that a recent evening program on Medicare aimed at people approaching retirement was very well attended, including those who had not been at the center before.

Evening hours?

“We haven’t been open in the evening, but I’m thinking about maybe rearranging hours so that folks that aren’t available during the day would be able to participate and benefit,” Garvey said.

Aside from a social outlet, senior centers connect older adults to services that can help them stay healthy and independent, and according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), more than 60 percent of centers are focal points for services through the Older Americans Act. Those services include health, fitness and wellness programs; public benefits counseling; information and nutrition programs among others.

“We are a referral source for elders in the town, but also for families that are looking for different assistance,” Collins said, noting it may be time to stress the multi-service portion of her facility’s title.

“The age spans a wide variety from those who are able to retire at 65 to those who are continuing to work — whether it be full time or part time — and at some point we have to look at the fact that our programs need to reflect what someone in their late 60s or 70s needs,” she said.

At the same time, the needs of those in their 80s and 90s cannot be ignored. And, in Hanson, the Adult Day Program sees to the needs of those with elders with health problems, including various forms of dementia.

“That’s the line that we walk,” Collins said. “It’s very individualized.”

While the standards by singers such as Tony Bennett are always heard on the center’s stereo, the Boomer favorites featured in the Aug. 27 program are symbolic of “where we’re heading,” Collins noted.

Garvey said events such as paint nights and the possible development of a bocce court are being considered at her center, and Whitman is one of the first towns in the area to offer pickleball, which lost some of its participants when the Abington Senior Center built three new pickleball courts. An Eagle Scout candidate, however, is continuing a project to improve the Whitman pickleball courts adjacent to the Police Station.

I see bingo attendance declining,” she said, but new games being offered have begun to draw interest. “Craft classes are well attended, I’m just trying to hone in on what’s successful and what’s not.”

Suggestions sought

A questionnaire about programs people would like to see is in the works. Every resident 60 and over also receives the Whitman Council on Aging newsletter.

Collins said she is fortunate to have a group, who have either attended programs or volunteer at the center, and are in the beginning of their retirement.

“I spend a lot of time looking for feedback from them as to what their interests might be,” she said.

According to the NCA, 70 percent of senior center participants are women, half of those live alone. They also have higher levels of health, social interaction and life satisfaction, but have lower levels of income. Their average age is 75 and they visit their center one to three times per week for an average of 3.3 hours per visit.

“I have ladies who say, ‘I’m glad to come here, but you’ll never see my husband because he doesn’t consider himself a senior,’” Collins said. “We don’t change that much as we age.”

Hanson has long featured a Cracker Barrel Men’s Club, the members of which gather Thursday mornings to talk about sports or the events of the day, whether or not they go to the center on other days.

“Ultimately, it’s not about them attending programs, it’s about them knowing people are here to help them,” Collins said.

Maquan roof fixed

August 25, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — The initial repair to the Maquan School roof over the gym and cafeteria has been completed — but a few more problems were discovered in the process.

Selectmen approved use of $77,208 in unused funds for the project to address the problems, with the work to be continued by the contractor Gibson Roofs Inc., of Hanover.

“In the process of making this repair, we had Gibson look at the complete roof at Maquan,” said School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “There are other issues on the rest of the roof.”

The School Committee was scheduled to take a vote on those repairs at its Wednesday, Aug. 24 meeting. the quick votes could allow Gibson to complete the work before school starts Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The needed repairs include a new walkway pads, fixing loose flashing, re-flashing vent pipes, re-pointing and replacing bricks and the concrete cap of a chimney, snaking a roof drain, re-caulking among other repairs.

“It’s all within the scope of the roof project, the way it was voted,” Hayes said. “Some of the savings by going with Gibson — they did a fabulous job — can be put toward this.”

The votes come under the inter-municipal agreement, which Hayes said has worked very well on the recent Hanson school repair projects.

Setting the scene for movie thrills: ‘Altar Rock’ action shot in Hanson

August 25, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — A multi-use building at 1000 Main St., which houses offices, retail, manufacturing and warehouse businesses — as well as the Express offices — was also being used as a movie set Sunday, Aug. 21.

Filming at the Hanson was for a scene in, “Altar Rock,” an indie-film project described in media reports as a thriller inspired by the Boston Marathon bombing, but executive producer Kristin Kuhns Alexandre said this week that is not the case.

“The Boston event is not connected to ‘Altar Rock’ at all, except that there are brothers in the story,” Alexandre said Sunday. “I wanted to do a story about a young man torn between love of family and love of a young woman and America.”

The fictional story is said to revolve around Nantucket teenager Tillie Gardner, who is mourning her parents’ deaths in an airplane crash when she meets a young Albanian cab driver named Niko. She later learns Niko and his troubled older brother may have been involved in her parents’ plane crash, and are planning to blow up a beach full of people on the Fourth of July.

Amazon.com has indicated that Alexandre, of Delray Beach, Fla., planned to release the story as a novel after the film is completed, but she said there is no book planned right now. She is also a novelist (“Gem City Gypsy”) and author of how-to books (“Find a Great Guy: Now and Forever”).

“We’ll see,” she said. “Screenwriting is a whole different world of story arcs and scenes, and that’s why I worked closely with a veteran screenwriter — my writing partner A. Wayne Carter.”

Beach scenes for the movie were recently filmed in Duxbury.

“It worked out really well, because Altar Rock on Nantucket is, honestly, not as beautiful as Bay Farm [Beach in Duxbury],” Alexandre’s daughter Cynthia said Friday that the Duxbury beach has an “absolutely gorgeous overview of the beautiful Duxbury oceanfront.”

Cynthia Alexandre is working as an assistant to director of photography Vern Nobles on the project. She said when filming wrapped there they moved to the Hanson location.

“Our locations department found an easily accessible space to build a movie set in at a great budget while taking into consideration how far base camp can be from the actual set, as well as town rules and regulations,” Cynthia Alexandre said.

Duxbury, Plymouth and surrounding South Shore communities were scouted for film locations, Kristin Alexandre said, noting that obtaining permits during summer months was challenging.

“We shot a very important beach scene in Duxbury, important body shots in Plymouth Harbor and other important shots all over the area,” she said.

Building owners at 1000 Main St., as well as Hanson town officials were pleased to have the cinematic attention.

“We’re really exited about the opportunity to have a movie filmed in our building,” said building co-owner Kelly Ryan Holmes. “But not just for us, it’s also exciting for the town of Hanson … to promote the town.”

She said location scouts loved the space being used in the building — a loft-style office area and adjacent warehouse space — and how it looks in relation to other nearby buildings. The area is being meant to represent a warehouse area of Brooklyn she said producers told her.

Town Administrator Michael McCue said he’d like to see more projects film in town, even if this week’s footage should end up on the cutting room floor.

“Hanson as a setting for this upcoming movie, whether identified in the script or not, is a fun and boastful thing for the town,” McCue said. “I have in other communities spoken to the Massachusetts State Film Office about the availability for similar projects and will look to do the same in Hanson as appropriate.”

A Hanson firefighter on set to ensure safety while the film crew had the fire alarm system turned off during filming, said the scenes shot Sunday morning were rather exciting.

“They were ‘fighting’ and then ‘shot’ someone,” he said of the morning scenes.

Tenants of the commercial building had been group-texted Friday by the building owners about the scenes so no one would be alarmed if they heard shots fired.

Moody Independent is a film company headquartered in Boston and has produced many small and medium-sized movies, Alexandre said.

Andrzej Bartkowiak, cinematographer on “Speed” and director on “Romeo Must Die,” is directing “Altar Rock.” Bartkowiak’s cinematography credits include “The Verdict,” “Prizzi’s Honor” and “Terms of Endearment.” He also directed “Exit Wounds” and was the director of photography on “Grey Lady,” starring Eric Dane and Natalie Zea, which was also filmed on Nantucket and partially financed by Alexandre, according to Variety.

Recreation panel in limbo: Resignations not accepted or rescinded, leaving confusion

August 25, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — No one seemed to walk away satisfied with the outcome of the Board of Selectmen’s Tuesday, Aug. 23 discussions on the Recreation Commission’s recent mass resignation and conveyance of Camp Kiwanee oversight to Town Administrator Michael McCue.

Selectmen did not vote on accepting the resignations and, while at least three members indicated a willingness to wait for Labor Counsel Leo Peloquin to complete his investigation, or audit review, none offered to rescind their resignations.

“You can accept my resignation or not accept it, but I will not serve on the Recreation Commission any longer,” said former Recreation Chairman James Hickey.

Selectman Bruce Young angrily walked out of the meeting about an hour later — before business had been concluded.

His action came during a discussion before the special Town Meeting warrant was closed, changing his vote on placing an article seeking a request for proposals (RFP) on management of Camp Kiwanee.

“I don’t like what’s going on here,” Young said before he walked out. [See related story, opposite page]

The evening started with a large group of former Recreation Commission members, ex-caretakers and their supporters — holding signs and small red Solo cups — seeking public support outside Town Hall. The cups were in reference to the heated exchange in April between Young and then-interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera over alleged improper drinking going on at the camp. LaCamera walked out of that meeting, leaving his resignation on his desk.

Signs for support

The sign-holders filled the Selectmen’s Meeting Room for the vote on the Recreation Commission’s resignations, asking questions about the process, status of the review and how McCue would oversee the camp.

“Typically, we don’t speak about resignations, we have not in the past,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. Resignations are usually voted on with no comment other than an occasional expression of regret.

When the vote to accept resignations came up, there was no second made to the motion, so no vote was taken.

“I want to make it clear that, consistent with this board’s prior position, the board is not going to entertain discussion about the substance of the ongoing investigation into Camp Kiwanee,” McGahan said. “It’s not posted on the agenda. I can’t talk about that because we’d be in open meeting violation.”

He noted some town departments have run into problems doing that in the past, and pledged to hold an open meeting to fully discuss Peloquin’s report when it is complete. McGahan said he wanted to see that review completed by the end of September.

“I have asked Leo to make damn sure its done by the end of September,” he said.

The report will also be made public as is required by state law, according to Young, including all minutes of executive session discussions.

“The goal of the board and the town has been and continues to be to ensure that Camp Kiwanee is operated appropriately,” McGahan said. “Notwithstanding the recent developments, we intend to see to it that the scheduled events and programs take place.”

He said the town would appreciate the help of staff and volunteers in meeting that goal.

McGahan cautioned the audience would be gaveled down if “things got out of hand,” and did so on a few occasions, including prior to Young’s later walkout.

One resident asked if the resignations were accepted before the investigation concluded, it wouldn’t be doing a disservice to “our good citizens” on the Recreation Commission. Another wondered how McCue would run Camp Kiwanee. It was also asked if a vote on the resignations could be postponed.

McGahan countered that the board should move ahead with a vote and, when the positions came open again, members who resigned could reapply. He also declined to comment on what would be done if the investigation bore out a single person’s improper actions.

The lack of a vote left that situation a bit confused.

“How can we expect people to fill these positions if we allow the current Commission to resign?” asked Whitman resident Lillian Dignan, a former longtime Hanson resident.

“I don’t know,” McGahan said. “To me, that’s not germane to accepting the resignations.”

Young added that Selectmen are obligated by town bylaws to appoint a Recreation Commission, noting that the town administrator would step in to manage Camp Kiwanee on a temporary basis.

“That’s a stopgap measure,” Young cautioned. He did not second the motion to accept the resignations, and said he would not vote for it in hopes that the members — other than Hickey — would withdraw their resignations. The statement was met with loud applause.

At least four of the seven-member commission would have to return to resume oversight of the camp functions.

“I think this an unfortunate hot mess,” said Hanson resident Kimberly King, who has experience serving with an appointed authority, the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Board. “I think both sides have legitimate concerns, but I find it extremely upsetting that the Recreation Commission would just throw in their resignations before asking to go on the agenda in a public meeting to have this discussed. … Good people make mistakes and I think that’s where a lot of this comes from.”

Former commission member Susan Lonergan said that couldn’t be done because Selectmen are not part of the investigation and they were instructed by an attorney not to talk about it with them.

McCue’s role

For his part, McCue was not particularly eager to oversee Camp Kiwanee, but said remaining staff members had indicated they will stay on and he would only be signing contracts or invoices and dealing with any personnel issues that might arise.

Teresa Santalucia asked if McCue would consult with the Recreation Commission on any problems that might crop up.

“We’ve run into a kind of gray area,” McCue said. “The board still has a letter of resignation from all these people in front of them. Until a majority of those people — if they so choose — rescind those resignations, I don’t have a board with whom to speak. … If there was a board to speak with, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

That prompted School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes, attending the meeting on another matter, to suggest asking if any Recreation Commission members wished to stay on until a report comes back.

“You’re putting them on the spot right now,” Hickey said.

McGahan said that was not the intention of asking who might wish to stay on.

“It’s your choice,” he said.

After a brief recess of discussion among the commission, three — Lonergan, Janet Agius and Sheila Morse — said they would wait until the investigation was completed before going ahead with their resignations.

“We have to work together on this,” Lonergan said. “We have to be heard and we haven’t been heard.”

Resident, and former Recreation Commission member, chairman and longtime Camp Kiwanee volunteer Joseph Baker asked how McCue would be able to manage the facility.

“Do you know how to pump the toilets? … How are you possibly going to manage the camp?” Baker asked. “This is a great asset to the town and now what we’re doing is causing this big [crap] storm. … How is this guy going to run the camp? He doesn’t know a thing about the camp.”

“We’re going to do the best we can on this,” McGahan said.

“What is the alternative?” Young said. “We don’t have four members who are willing to rescind their resignations.” Selectmen voted 5-0 to convey the oversight of operations to McCue.

The weeds got your goat?: Hanson tries goatscaping

August 18, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — What controls weeds, invasive plants and poison ivy while fertilizing the landscape and reducing use of harmful herbicides?

Goats — more precisely their use in the work of goatscaping — and they’re cute, too. But don’t touch or feed them. The extra food would only interfere with the work at hand and the plant oils from poison ivy can linger on their faces.

Hanson’s Conservation Commission has employed four of the “staff members” at The Goatscaping Company of Plympton for a project on town conservation land. The four Alpine goats have been hard at work chewing their way through the underbrush in the Poor Meadow Brook Conservation Area off West Washington Street since Wednesday, Aug. 3.

By Thursday, Aug. 11 it was time to move the fenced-in area to a new portion of the property.

“It just seems that they never stop eating,” said Rebecca Nehiley, administrative assistant to Hanson’s conservation agent.

Co-founders of Colchester Neighborhood Farm Elaine Philbrick and James Cormier started the goatscaping business five years ago after reading a newspaper account about how golf courses were using goats to control the weeds.

Before long, a job at the Cohasset Golf Course had expanded to other assignments at other courses, the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, town parks and cemeteries, abandoned buildings and private homes from Gloucester to Wellfleet, according to the company’s website gogreengoat.com.

“Elaine started it because she believed in an economically and ecologically sound way of doing landscaping and land clearing,” said company account manager Susan Schortmann, noting that Philbrook, is a mother interested in limiting chemical herbicides. “Back in the day that’s how land was cleared, using goats and other types of animals.”

Labor of love

Conservation Commission member Philip Clemons estimated the goats have a few more weeks of work ahead of them in Hanson.

The goats don’t seem to mind.

The commission has also recruited a team of about 10 people to look in on the animals twice a day to “monitor the goats’ safety and success and to provide water.” The company also placed a corrugated metal hut inside the enclosure for the oats to sleep in and to provide shelter from the rain.

A 600-foot, solar-powered electric fence, clearly marked as such, delivers a mild shock akin to that of a nine-volt battery to keep the goats in and predators out.

Goatscaping puts a modern twist on an old practice.

“We heard about, then saw with our own eyes, the whole goatscaping concept — it’s not new,” Clemons said of the decision to use the animals. “A few of us grew up with grazing animals and we know how that can work.”

When the commission was in the process of working with the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts in Duxbury to acquire the land, trust officials raised the goatscaping idea after walking the property.

“Since the property was successfully purchased by the town, we want to do the things we said we would do … have a few nice trails accessing the view, but we’re confronted with poison ivy that’s taller than your knees,” he said.

Ivy eaters

Goatscaping Company employee Zach Brown, 17, said the poison ivy doesn’t bother the goats.

“They love poison ivy,” Brown said. “That’s what most of the jobs come from, because people hear that goats eat poison ivy and nobody wants to go near it.”

While neither he nor fellow goat crew member Justin Dudley, 17, plan to pursue agricultural careers, they find the job interesting and rewarding. Brown plans to pursue art or engineering and Dudley aims to become a mechanic.

“Nobody I know works with farm animals, especially for this purpose,” Brown said. “I guess what’s nice, too, is explaining to people exactly what I do and the purpose of having the goats. I always get a lot of questions.”

The goats, at $600 per week for a team of four goats, has proved to be an economical way of reducing the poison ivy. Volunteers can then go in and trim out sapling twigs the goats have stripped of leaves, and remove the trash their grazing has uncovered, while starting to manage the property.

“It’s going to take a number of steps and a lot of volunteer work,” said Clemons, noting there are likely several projects within the property that could keep an Eagle Scout candidate busy.

“It needs to be inviting,” Clemons said. “Why would you go to it if you didn’t know it’s there? … We’d like to have a little trail that goes from the parking lot over to the edge of the river.”

Goatscaping also helps eliminate invasive plant species such as the fast-growing (and now unlawful to sell) burning bush or the glossy buckthorn, which has shiny green leaves that look nice but chokes out native plants like wild blueberry.

The goats may not totally denude the property of such pests, but will chew them down to where it is possible to stay ahead of them.

“If you have a plant and you mow it down year after year, eventually the roots will die,” Clemons said. “When the goats leave, we’ll see what we’re up against.”

While they’ve no doubt been noticed by bemused motorists, the goats seem to be settling in well.

“The goats seem unperturbed by the traffic going by,” Clemons said. “But they jump if they hear a branch snap.”

While poison ivy doesn’t bother the goats, there are plants that are poisonous to goats, such as milkweed and Lily of the Valley. The animals generally avoid them, but The Goatscaping Company asks that customers alert them to the presence of toxic plants, which are listed on its website.

“We also advise [potential clients] to be prepared for an influx of neighbors,” Schortmann said. “Many neighbors enjoy having the goats around almost as much as they do.”

Hanson Rec panel resigns

August 18, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — And then there were none.

As of 8:15 a.m., Monday, Aug. 15, the entire seven-member Hanson Recreation Commission had resigned, stating their ability to function effectively has been “severely compromised” by the prolonged investigation of Camp Kiwanee operations.

Chairman James Hickey had resigned during the Recreation Commission’s Thursday, Aug. 11 meeting.

Camp Kiwanee’s operations, including Cranberry Cove, are not affected by the resignation, officials say.

The resignation letter, signed by six of the commission members [see page 12] described a “shroud of secrecy and impending doom outside of our control” which they had been instructed not to speak about as the investigation continued.

“This brings the total number of volunteers and caretaking staff who have been hounded and harassed by the Town Administrator [former interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera and current Town Administrator Michael McCue] and labor counsel to 17,” according to a former staff member.

McCue and the Board of Selectmen maintain that, on the whole, the commission has been less than helpful throughout the process.

“With few exceptions, Commission members and Commission employees, including those of longstanding tenure, have been less than fully cooperative,” McCue stated. “Dealing with the lack of cooperation has delayed the conclusion of the investigation.”

He and Selectmen “regret that it has come to this but we respect their decision,” McCue said.

“Monday morning, this office and the Board of Selectmen received the resignations of the remaining members of the Recreation Commission,” McCue said. “When it was brought to the attention of the Board and this office that there were issues with the way business was being conducted at Camp Kiwanee, an investigation was compelled and began in late March.”

Selectmen voted 5-0 Tuesday, April 19 to continue an audit review begun by interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera under the oversight of town labor counsel Leo Peloquin, rather than starting over again when McCue began work on May 9.

That investigation is not yet complete, costing the town $27,572.50 since February 2016 [see chart].

The town’s auditor — Lynch, Malloy, Marini LLP — had made some suggestions and comments concerning documentation of employee work hours, integration of the Camp Kiwanee computer system into the town’s system, adherence to the fee schedule for rental facilities, improved tracking of receipts, the need for an inventory log and a better process for issuing beach passes.

LaCamera was also taking a “closer look at some of those issues” after the December 2015 audit.

LaCamera had resigned abruptly during an April 12 Selectmen’s meeting following a heated exchange with then-Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young over the Bluegrass on the Bogs contract negotiation that involved allegations of drinking at Camp Kiwanee. LaCamera’s scheduled departure date had been April 22.

“Mr. LaCamera started this project as a result of findings by the town auditor in the town’s annual audit,” Young said at the time. “The inquiry started by the town administrator is not complete. It must be completed with a report and recommendation provided to the Board of Selectmen.”

The investigation will continue, officials maintain.

“Notwithstanding the recent and past resignations, the inquiry will continue to its conclusion,” McCue said. “The goal of this office and the Board has been, and continues to be, to insure that business operations are conducted appropriately at Camp Kiwanee. The Board and this office intend to honor all scheduled events and programs, now and in the future, at Camp Kiwanee.”

In July eight non-union employees resigned due to the extreme scrutiny of unsubstantiated claims, according to the former staff member, adding that one commission member resigned in January due to extreme online harassment by anonymous Facebook accounts. On May 2, the Board of Selectman dismissed Recreation Commission Chairman David Blauss citing his non-cooperation in the Camp Kiwanee Investigation, they said.

Hanson mourns Mann, legacy

August 18, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — Former State Representative and Town Moderator Charles W. Mann is being remembered by friends and colleagues on both sides of the political isle as an effective and dedicated public servant.

Mann, 81, died Friday, Aug. 12 after a long illness. [ See obituary, page 13]

The House of Representatives will be adjourning in Mann’s honor on Thursday, Aug. 18, at the request of state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury.

“After being elected [state representative] he would meet with the Democratic Town Committees and others that had not supported him — he was adamant that campaign ended after election night and that he was the elected official for every constituent of the district — supporter or not,” said his daughter, Karen Barry. “Dad was known as a spokesman for our agriculture industry, especially for our cranberry growers.

Mann’s own father had been a vice president of sales for Ocean Spray, credited with the introduction of the company’s juice products.

“Legislatively he worked extremely hard for farmers and the conservation of woodlands,” Barry said, noting that, “On a lighter note [Mann] was named “Best Dressed” in the Legislature on more than one occasion.”

She said it has been wonderful to talk to people who have reminded the family of things her father had done.

Born in Pittsfield, Mann lived most of his life in Hanson. His mother had encouraged him as he began his life in public service, beginning with the Hanson School Committee. The dedicated Republican later served eight terms as a state representative in the 6th Plymouth District — Hanson, Pembroke, Duxbury and parts of Marshfield. While in the General Court, he served on the Ways and Means, Personnel and Administration and Banks and Banking committees.

He also served as deputy sheriff of Plymouth County and was an active member of the Hanson Republican Town Committee, of which he was chairman. Mann also volunteered with the W-H Citizen’s Scholarship Foundation — Little League, and the Hanson Kiwanis Club, serving as president for both; advisor to the Hanover Hi-Y Club and as director of the Squanto Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

For some residents, Mann’s public service was their first introduction to him.

“Charlie introduced me to Hanson town government when he appointed me to the Finance Committee,” current Town Moderator Sean Kealy said. “Over the years he became a friend and mentor. I was honored when he first suggested that I run for moderator after he decided to step down; in fact at every Town Meeting I continue to ask myself and others, ‘What would Charlie do here?’”

Board of Health Chairman Arlene Dias, recalled helping her parents campaign for Mann when she was about nine or 10 years old.

“The first political event that I ever went to was a Charlie Mann thing that my parents took me to,” Democrat Dias recalled with a smile about her staunch Republican parents. “They had me handing out pamphlets. I know it was some kind of a fundraiser and I always meant to ask him what office he was running for … I think it was the late ’50s or early ’60s.”

Mann had won election to the Hanson School Committee in 1963, according to the Republican Town Committee, which honored Mann for his five decades of public service on his retirement as town moderator. He was first elected to the General Court in 1966 for two terms, returning for three more in 1970.

Kealy is among many in Hanson official circles who feel they have lost a friend as well as a colleague.

“We have lost a great public servant and I am going to miss him very much,” he said.

For other close friends in Hanson Town Hall, Mann’s loss was too difficult for them to offer comment, but Selectman Bruce Young offered a salute to Mann’s legacy.

“Charlie was an excellent legislator, serving the town of Hanson very honorably as our state representative for many years, and his legacy as our town moderator for 20 years, acting fairly and impartially on all issues to come before Town Meeting,” Selectman Bruce Young stated. “He set a standard for all those who hold that office in the future and will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”

Republican Town Committee Chairman and former Selectman David Soper agreed.

“He was a civic leader who truly made a difference in our community and region,” Soper said. “He knew how to work with people and get things done. He was friend a mentor and all-around a good guy.”

Cutler also lauded his predecessor.

“Charlie Mann served the town of Hanson, and our entire Commonwealth, for many years with distinction and dedication,” said state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, who now represents the 6th Plymouth District.” He was a true public servant who brought civility and dignity to the political process.”

Cutler said the loss will be felt by many Hanson residents on a personal as well as professional level and expressed his appreciation to the Mann family for sharing him with the community all these years, offering sympathy for his loss.

“Mr. Mann was a legislator, a moderator, a constable, but most of all a gentleman,” Cutler said. “I will miss hearing his stories, his sense of humor and his plain-spoken wisdom.”

In 1970, Mann joined Governor Frank Sargent’s administration as Legislative Secretary, returning to the House of Representatives in 1980 and served seven terms, including four in leadership as the Republican Whip. In 1992 he was elected in a write-in campaign for Hanson Town Moderator.

Mann’s first legislative action was to correct the application process to receive welfare, Barry said.

“Too often resources were limited and he was concerned that people of need would not get the assistance they need,” she said. “When he entered the legislature welfare benefits were administered through your local town hall.”

In 1987-89 was instrumental in the building of Duxbury’s Town Pier, Construction of the Powder Point Bridge and dredging of Duxbury Harbor. He worked closely with Duxbury Harbor Master Don Bears.

Whitman talks traffic: Hearing reviews Route 18 intersections plan

August 18, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

WHITMAN — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) plan to redesign two intersections along Route 18/Bedford Street found that at least one local businessman is not happy with what he has heard so far.

James Loring, owner of TLC Auto Sales & Service at 746 Bedford St., told state and regional officials during a public hearing Tuesday, Aug. 16 that he would take legal action if the plan encroached on his property in any way. His concern was that the plans would take 300 square feet from the corner where he displays the vehicles he sells.

“I’m greatly concerned,” said Loring, who has owned his business for 36 years ago and also operates a realty office at the Route 27 intersection. “I’ve got a ton of questions, but you’re not going to take my land. I’ll fight you to the bitter end for every square inch.”

Loring was assured after the hearing that the plans would not involve any taking of his land, and only required a temporary easement to allow workers to enter his property line to do sidewalk construction.

The sidewalk on that side of the intersection would stay exactly where it is now, according to Design Consultant Greg Lucas of BETA Engineering Group in Norwood.

“We’re not widening into your property, we’re not taking your property,” Lucas said. “Not a square foot. [The easement] is just to allow them to do the sidewalk work and to allow them to patch the asphalt — so they can do the work and then they leave.”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam told Loring after the meeting that he would email a copy of the design plan for him to review.

The MassDOT Highway Division held the design public hearing at Whitman Town Hall Auditorium on a proposed project to improve safety and traffic flow at the intersections of routes 18 and 14 and routes 18 and 27. Project Manager Muazzez Reardon facilitated the sparsely attended hearing in which only Lisa Szamreta of the MassDOT Right of Way Bureau, Lucas, Selectman Daniel Salvucci and Loring spoke.

Reardon advised that, since the design phase is not yet complete, not all questions could be answered at the hearing. A form was provided in hand-out materials for audience members to submit comments or questions to the Highway Division.

The project, expected to cost $3.2 million is still in the design phase to be concluded in 2017, with construction not expected to begin until 2018. Little traffic disruption is anticipated during construction, officials said.

“The reason that we brought this issue to Old Colony Planning Council was because both our police chief and our fire chief had concerns,” said Salvucci, who also represents Whitman on the OCPC Joint Transportation Committee.

Lucas outlined the need for the project and how it is being designed to meet those needs.

“Crash rates are higher than the statewide average,” Lucas said of the two intersections, explaining that at the Bedford and Auburn streets (18/14) intersection the rate is 1.31 crashes per million or 46 over the last three years. The state average is .8 crashes. At the Route 27 intersection the rate is higher at 60 crashes over three years.

Among the problems are a lack of left-turn lanes and protected movement for left turns — that is, a green arrow light when all opposing traffic is stopped by a red light. Pedestrian accommodations, such as crosswalks and sidewalks, also need to be improved.

The design calls for new traffic signals with a protected left turn arrow, an exclusive left-turn lane as well as sidewalk, crosswalk and drainage improvements and a dedicated bike lane.

Salvucci asked if the new intersection design would permit right turns on red light. Lucas replied that would be allowed at some locations.

“Both intersections have school bus [traffic],” Salvucci noted. He also pointed out the problem with truck traffic on Washington Street because of truck route designation at Route 14. Whitman is already looking into posting signs to restrict trucks from Washington Street.

Lawn areas and landscaping disrupted by construction will be replaced after work is completed.

“Affected property owners will be contacted by personnel from the Right of Way Bureau or consultants representing them,” Szamreta said. Permanent and temporary easements may be required, she said, but the number has not been determined, noting the MGL Chapter 79 protects property owners’ rights, as well as federal regulations where they apply.

Pirates sailed to New England? Ayuh: Suffolk University lecturer speaks to Hanson Historical Society

August 11, 2016 By Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

HANSON — He teaches one of the more hedonistic entries in boston.com’s list of “10 College Courses You Wish You Registered For.”

Suffolk University Senior History Lecturer Stephen O’Neill’s “The History of Piracy” made that list — along with a study of Surfing and American Culture at Boston University and the Culture of Burlesque at Emerson and others from anime to board game strategies in business. the Pembroke native has taught the course for 11 years and has researched the topic for 20 years.

On Thursday, Aug. 4, O’Neill brought his knowledge of the pirate life to the Hanson Historical Society for a program titled “New England Pirates.” He is also the new executive director of the Hanover Historical Society.

New England pirates?

“Everyone is fascinated with pirates,” O’Neill said, noting that the Johnny Depp “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie made more than $600 million to date. “But pirate stories have been around since pirates were sailing the seas.”

Among notable authors to write on pirate themes have been John Steinbeck, Emily Dickenson, Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving, O’Neill said.

“There were pirates in ancient Rome, ancient Greece … in all parts of the world,” he said. “Piracy is basically the theft of portable wealth at sea. … We’re talking a global economy in the 1690s.”

Turns out, New England was more than just a place where pirates went to die on the scaffold — after enduring a lengthy sermon on the sins of their trade from Puritan minister Cotton Mather.