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South Shore Vo-Tech gets budget review

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South Shore Vo-Tech gets budget review

HANOVER — The South Shore Regional School Committee held its annual public hearing on the school budget proposal for fiscal year 2017 — a $12,455,356 spending plan — on Wednesday, Jan. 20. That figure represents a 2.91-percent ($352,203) increase over fiscal 2016.

Preliminary information on town assessments will be available after the governor’s budget is released Wednesday, Jan. 27. The committee will take a vote on certifying the district budget on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Finance committee representatives from Whitman and Scituate attended the Jan. 20 hearing.

SSVT_frontMore than 300 applications were received last year for the school’s 180 seats in the freshmen Class of 2019, according to Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey who called it “one of our strongest years on record.”

Because of the added students, even if assessment formula remains the same, SSVT will have a bigger foundation budget which should bring in more state aid.

“We build a budget zero-based, of course, so each year there are factors that change,” Hickey said.

Within the budget request are:

• $170,000 for capital expenses such as paving, rooftop units, instructional technology and feasibility funds placed in stabilization;

• $175,533 for full-time entrepreneurship and science teachers and a part-time graphics communications position (the latter two now funded by grants) and summer funds for an assistant to the technology director;

• $112,140 for active employee health insurance, a 12-percent increase;

• $1,977,885 — 15.9 percent — of the budget covers health insurance, retirement, debt, unemployment, snow removal and other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

Non-salary budget items are projected to cost less than in fiscal 2016, Hickey said.
“There’s not five cents-worth of fluff in here, so if we don’t have it we don’t get to use it,” said committee Chairman Robert Molla. “We don’t have the ability to go back [to towns] for an override to get more money and we don’t have the ability to go beyond what we have.”

The committee also voted Jan. 20 to resubmit a statement of interest letter to the Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA) to fund building renovation work to the heating system in the original   1962 part of the school and adding on for needed space.

“Whether MSBA invites us into their core program, or not, I want to begin to build toward us eventually having to look at the fact that renovations to the building will need to be done,” Hickey said. “I am very proud of the fact that we do not need a total overhaul of this building.”

In other business, the committee honored Whitman culinary arts senior Connor Christie as Student of the Month and allied health teacher Lynne Ricardo as Staff Member of the Month.

Christie, who plans on attending the Culinary Institute of America next year, was selected “for his overall efforts within the school,” said Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey.

“Many teachers spoke about how hard a worker he is, how willing he is to assist others, I personally say he is a self-learner … which is always a good thing in life,” Aubrey said. “He seeks out additional work to see how it can apply to skills he has learned … and never hesitates to help a peer who might need additional support.”

Christie is also on the management track at McDonalds, a highly competitive industry program, as part of his co-op work.

Ricardo was selected by students during her first year at SSVT on the strength of her inspirational presence in the classroom, according to Principal Margaret Dutch.

“She is very helpful and understanding,” one student reported. “She is a good person to talk to and has a great personality.”

“She is always there for us when we need her,” said another. “She is willing to share her knowledge with us and never fails to put a smile on her students’ faces.”

“It is very easy to talk to her and have a regular conversation instead of the typical teacher-student conversation about school or homework,” another student said.

Dutch also announced an online application for admission to the school has been launched.

“It is posted and we have already started receiving applications from students online,” she said. “It allows students and parents to make that decision at home, to answer those questions together — they’re not doing it at their middle school where they might be writing down what their friends want … and it brings that information directly to us.”

Hanson plans future for Plymouth County Hospital

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Resident members approved for reuse committee as Hanson plans future for Plymouth County Hospital

HANSON — Selectmen got their wish.

After postponing appointment of the two at-large citizen representatives to the Final Plymouth County Hospital Re-use Committee on Jan. 12 in an effort to attract more applicants, they received four more.

Green Hanson founder and chairman Marianne DiMascio and environmental consultant Philip F. Clemons were appointed from a five-person pool that included original applicant and Community Preservation Commission Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. Robert Sutter and town building maintenance employee Brian H. Clemons, both members of the original reuse committee, had also applied. Resident Mark Vess had indicated via email an interest in serving, but selectmen only considered those who had filed applications by Jan. 15.

plymouth_county_hospital“I am an excellent team member and good at consensus building, facilitating discussions and ensuring that all voices are heard,” DiMascio stated in her application. She works in public policy with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Phil Clemons noted his experience with regulatory permitting, environmental compliance, facilities planning and management.

They will join Selectman Don Howard, Planning Board designee Don Ellis and a representative from the Zoning Board of Appeals on the PCH committee.

FitzGerald-Kemmett, who was the only applicant attending the meeting, pledged to attend all reuse committee meetings citing the need for CPC involvement with the project. She supported the appointment of DiMascio.

Selectman James McGahan expressed concern that FitzGerald-Kemmett was already spread thin with her other club and committee work. Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young said he would not vote on her nomination — but would not vote against her — noting he backed DiMascio as a new face.

“Laura’s tremendously qualified for this committee,” Young said.  “The only thing I would say is we have a relatively new person here that wants to get involved … I just would like to see a new face on the committee.”

McGahan noted that, in addition to Community Preservation, FitzGerald-Kemmett is also active with the Hanson Business Network, Hanson Kiwanis and Panther Education Trust.

“The only problem I have is the number of committees that [she’s] on,” McGahan said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett countered that she is “very well aware” of her obligations.

“I think I’m really the best judge of what my ability to take on more would be,” she said. “This isn’t a lifetime commitment. This has to be done by Town Meeting.”

Selectmen encouraged her to attend meetings to bring Community Preservation input to the discussion.

“I think, with Laura’s experience with Community Preservation, she would be a valuable asset,” Selectman Kenny Mitchell said in support of her appointment.

The Selectmen also approved the Highway Building Committee’s selection of Weston and Sampson environmental consultants of Boston to conduct a needs assessment, authorizing Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera to sign a contract.

“All four of [the interviewing firms] did a real good job — good presentations — but one particular company kind of knocked it out of the park,” Selectmen Bill Scott, who chairs the building committee, said of Weston and Sampson. The firm also came in under budget, bidding $28,000. Town Meeting had appropriated $30,000 for the assessment.

“This company just stood right out,” said Mitchell, who also serves on the building committee. He noted that Weston and Sampson does not subcontract services.

In other business, LaCamera reported on progress with the fiscal 2017 budget. Selectmen were provided budget books for review.

The town has $21,826,000 available for appropriation.

The school budgets for both W-H and South Shore Vo-Tech [see related story] had not been received as yet. W-H rolls out its budget Wednesday, Feb. 3.

The Propostion 2 ½ levy limit would bring in an added $437,000 and new growth accounts for $175,000 — down from $373,000 last year — of available revenues. Gov. Charlie Baker is pledging no cuts to local aid, which would mean Hanson could even see an increase of $50,000 over the current $1,371,000.

“It’s down significantly from last year,” LaCamera said of new growth revenue, because condominiums under construction last year have been completed.

Debt exclusion payments for the new police station ($389,000) and the high school ($347,000) and the first of five payments for school technology ($160,000) must also be calculated into the fiscal 2017 spending plan. Payments for the high school have been reduced by about $20,000 through refinancing and will continue to decline over the remaining 10 years on the bond. The town is also involved in contract negotiations with five unions.

“There is no amount [in the budget] having to do with union negotiations at this point,” LaCamera said.

Legislators and school board discuss Chapter 70 funding

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How it adds up: Legislators and school board discuss Chapter 70 funding

When the W-H Regional School District budget is rolled out Feb. 3, it will consist of two scenarios — one reflecting the increased costs in a level-service budget and one a student-success budget — according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner.

The latter would add $3 million to the level-service budget to bring back cut library and art programs, decrease class size, bolster writing skills and improve science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) instruction.

“What we’ve been doing in our district planning is looking at where we’ve been, where we are and where we’d like to be three years from now,” Gilbert-Whitner said at the Wednesday, Jan. 13 School Committee meeting. “Clearly, where we are today we’re seeing that revenue has been stagnant but costs that we have no control over continue to increase.”

The School Committee, Hanson Selectmen, teachers’ union members and several concerned residents heard presentations from state representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, as well as state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, on how the state calculates aid such as Chapter 70 funds to the district are calculated and affect the budget.

They also touched on the budget impact of unfunded state and federal mandates.

“I don’t think any of us here are comfortable with the lack of full funding for education,” Diehl said. “But the ground beneath us is moving constantly. The Foundation Funding Formula known as Chapter 70 is under review and at the same time we are trying to navigate changes caused by the adoption of Common Core.”

Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget will be delivered to the House at the end of the month on the heels of a second year in which state revenues have failed to meet expenditures, Diehl noted.

There is, for example, only $1.25 billion in the state’s stabilization fund, “a historic low which is below the national average” and affects the state’s credit rating, Diehl added. State borrowing is also nearing its allowed limit.

“All these elements provide a background of uncertainty about the future, but we’re tackling those challenges each and every day to turn it around,” he said.

Most of the discussion was devoted to an effort to explain the Foundation Funding Formula and how it might be changing.

Foundation formula

Currently, the formula includes district enrollment — including demographics, grade level and special education, English proficiency or vocational program involvement as well as income data — factoring in 14 enrollment and 11 program areas. Communities are assigned minimum local contributions to the school budget as well as an “extra local contribution,” or target share. Falling short of the target share can affect the amount of Chapter 70 funds a district receives. Local contributions are based on property values and aggregate resident income.

Hanson’s contribution of $1,322,998 is currently 7.66 percent below target share and Whitman, at $1,170,654 is 4.82 percent short. The district has invited Department of Elementary and Secondary Education representative Melissa King to an upcoming meeting to further explain the Foundation Funding Formula.

“We’re about 1 or 2 percent over the foundation budget, while towns around us were meeting that state pupil average, or getting closer to it, are well above their minimum budget,” said Whitman resident Chris George. “That either comes from state aid — which we know they’re not getting — or it comes from the taxpayers.”

A member of W-H Support Our Schools, he said the choices were to go after other town departments or choose to raise the revenue base.

“It’s time to pay the piper,” George said. “We benefitted for years, we shouldn’t be putting it on the backs of our kids.”

W-H receives the third-highest state reimbursement of the state’s regional schools, but is 29th of 87 regional districts in per-pupil spending — 10th from the bottom in per-pupil expenditures among all state public school districts.

“Whitman and Hanson are both residential communities with very little commercial infrastructure, but we’re weighted the same as a Braintree that has South Shore Plaza,” said School Committee member Fred Small. “We’re weighted the same as Brockton that is a city that has malls and many businesses and a lot of commercial enterprises.”

He said state funds fall short of what the district needs and puts the burden on the back of the taxpayer.

“The one-size-fits-all formula is what’s discouraging,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “It makes W-H look like they get a lot because [we’re] third in regional schools, but there are other parts of this budget that it fails in. … You can’t just pick a number and say, ‘That’s enough.’”

Hanson Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera said the problem has been ongoing for a number of years.

“To funding provided for the W-H Regional School District is  [near] the bottom of the state,” he said. “To think this coming year that we’re going to get a significant increase in state aid, I think, is unlikely.”

All Hanson’s town budgets have been level-funded for fiscal 2017 with only about $650,000 left to spend for all departments, including school assessments.

“It’s going to be very difficult,” he said.

“We’re very aware that W-H gets a significant percentage of its budget from the state,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We’re also realistic in knowing that’s not going to increase at a level that’s going to solve our problems.”

Her major concern, however, was that regionalization was approved by voters because of the promised state funding as an incentive for it.

“Something was done to W-H at the state level that hasn’t been fixed,” she said. “The towns, I believe, believe in education, but they have revenue issues that have to be addressed.”

Cutler noted that he, Diehl and Brady have all worked in municipal government and understand the challenges and frustrations.

“There’s two issues here,” he said. “One is the size of the budget and how much you get from the state year to year. … The size of the pie we have control over … how the pie gets divvied up is all done by formula.”

Each year, Chapter 70 aid is increased by $25 per pupil for the 201 districts where local contributions do not permit an overall increase in Chapter 70 aid.

Small asked the legislators to work toward increasing that to at least $50 per pupil, but $100 to $200 would really be needed to come closer to closing the gap.

Under-funded
mandate

Diehl also indicated the state has also backed off full transportation reimbursement — now at 66 percent of the WHRSD $1.2 million transportation cost for students living 1.5 miles from school — as a way to force districts to “put skin in the game” and prevent some districts’ practice of billing unworkable bus schedules to the state. He argued 66 percent is still too low and noted the local legislators are working to try and get the reimbursement increased.

Hayes also pointed out that regional schools are not permitted to charge for, or opt out of busing students.

A federal mandate to provide transportation for homeless students from shelter facilities to their “origin district,” was initially unfunded and is still underfunded, Diehl argued.

Whitman looking to grants

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Whitman looking to grants: Funds could back dog park, trail improvements

WHITMAN — Grants are enabling the town to save money on energy costs and may help plan for a dog park and continue improvements to walking paths in Whitman Park.

Selectmen supported an application to the Stanton Foundation, an organization that helps finance dog parks through grants and which has expressed interest in assisting Whitman. Grants would cover 100 percent of design costs and 90 percent of construction costs.

“We would have to come up with a committee to review where we want it, make sure that it’s on town land and provide water and a maintenance plan,” said Assistant Town Administrator Gregory Enos.

Officials in West Bridgewater and Holbrook are also pursuing the non-competitive Stanton grants for dog parks.

The grants range from $100,000 to $250,000. Town Administrator Frank Lynam said his talks with foundation officials indicated Whitman could receive $120,000 and the town would have to fund $12,000.

Whitman officials are currently looking at the parcel between Memorial Field and the DPW facility of Essex Street as the location.

“We’re looking for a way to move dogs out of the park and off of the streets to an area where it would be more natural to take them,” Lynam said. “We will have an article on this year’s Town Meeting for it.”

Patrons would be assuming any risk in using the park, as would be outlined by signs at the entrance.

“We will be insured in the event a claim is filed against the town,” Lynam said. “It’s really not very different from recreational use [of town property].”

Funds received from a Green Communities Grant in the amount of $166,215 are planned for interior sand exterior lighting changes at municipal buildings and switching to variable speed motors at the town pumping station. The lights in Town Hall Auditorium —priced at $4,200 to replace 85 light bulbs — have been postponed for now. Future grants through the Green Communities program will likely focus on mechanicals and HVAC controls.

“Right now this gives us more bang for our buck,” Enos said of this year’s plan. “It will save the town $50,000 a year on energy costs alone.”

A $50,000 Trail Program Grant is being applied for in an effort to continue funding Whitman Park walking paths, Enos said. Selectmen voted to support the application due in February and sign a support letter.

The grant provides 80-percent funding for such projects and requires a 20-percent match of funds or in-kind gifts. Enos estimated the grant, if obtained at the end of a nine-month application review period, could finance another 2,000 feet of curbing and path work at the park in spring 2017.

Friends of Whitman Park and DPW may be approached for funds or in-kind services.

In other business, Selectmen agreed to a two-week extension for David Federico, the owner of Diesel Trucks, 575 Bedford St., to complete the cleanup of the premises ordered by the board on Jan. 5. The extension was recommended by Building Inspector Robert Curran.

“There’s been some changes, but not nearly enough as far as I’m concerned,” Curran said. Still, he suggested an extension until Feb. 9. “I will attend whatever meetings on-site that he needs for me to guide him on what I think is best for the town.”

Federico has reduced the number of vehicles from 65 down to between 48 and 50, and has created a handicapped parking space, but more issues — such as a car parked in the loading area — remain.

“I did see some effort there,” said Selectman Dan Salvucci. “But if you look at his lot and the lot next to it, it was night and day. One lot looked like it was open for business and the other one looked like it was there for salvage.”

Salvucci said he supported an extension, but would advocate further action if Curran was not satisfied by Feb. 9.

The board also voted to adopt the one-day suspension of O’Toole’s Pub’s All-Alcohol License as recommended by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. The board had initially sought a five-day suspension last year after infractions at the pub were reported by Whitman Police. Selectmen selected Saturday, March 19 as the suspension date to give the pub owners time to inform patrons of the date it will not be open.

Selectmen also offered “friendly advice” to the Police Department to determine the suspension is heeded.

WH hoops alums fundraise for grandkids of coach

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The goal in sight: WH hoops alums fundraise for grandkids of coach

HANSON — PJ Fisher, 3, and his little sister Jovi, 1, are like a lot of children — he loves train sets and hanging out with his grandpa and she has a favorite blanket to snuggle.

But an eye exam at 10 days old, confirmed PJ had bilateral retinoblastoma, a genetic mutation that causes tumors to grow in the retina. His sister was diagnosed in-utero and was delivered prematurely to permit surgery on her right eye.

“My eye was sick,” as PJ puts it now. “We had to heal it.”

kidglasses

PJ Fisher, 3, says ‘Swiss cheese’ for the camera as his dad, Paul Sr. looks on while discussing his children’s retinal tumors. Photo by Tracy Seelye

It’s not quite that simple. PJ and Jovi have to have MRIs every six months, if not sooner, to monitor their eye tumors and any potential growth in their brains. They also have very routine eye exams under anesthesia (EUA) on a monthly or bi-monthly schedule. The EUAs will continue for the rest of their lives.

Tumors had also started to show up on photos, such as at PJ’s baptism when he was 3 months old, according to his mom Kate Daley-Fisher.

“It started glowing white [in photos],” she said. “It’s a big movement called ‘Know the Glow.’”

Red-eye in photos is normal, a white spot is a sign of trouble.

“It’s pretty obvious when you see it,” said the children’s maternal grandmother Maureen Daley.

Reaching out

W-H girls’ basketball alumnae who played for PJ’s grandfather, James Daley when he coached the Lady Panthers, have stepped up to help fund some of the children’s medical costs. Their fund-raising goal is $10,000.

As the song puts it, “That’s what friends are for.”

It still elicits an emotional response from their former coach.

“I see a lot of them at different times and we do connect and get some nice Christmas notes,” Daley said of his former players Sunday evening. “This took me by surprise. They’ve really done a wonderful thing.”

One of those former players, Susan Cole of Whitman, said she and Kate (Buckley) Lussier are “planning to give back” with a fundraiser at the Meadow Brook Restaurant from 7 to 11 p.m., Saturday Feb. 20.

“At W-H Mr. Daley touched so many kids’ lives,” Cole said. “It’s time for us to start to give back to them.”

Admission is $20 per ticket. Baskets for raffle range from Bruins ticket packages to an overnight stay at the Cape, gift card tree and much more. At this point there are 20 baskets up for raffle as well as cash prizes.

“Mr. Daley was a huge part of my life and our family,” Cole said. “Mrs. Daley babysat my son from the time he was 6 months old. I want people to realize this family wouldn’t seek anything out and they’ve handled this like champs — they are those people who just do, do, do, including Kate and her husband Paul.”

Daley-Fisher was also touched by the gesture.

“It’s really nice,” she said. “It’s nice to see them come together and want to help.”

Future risk

Retinoblastoma carries a higher risk for secondary cancers and sarcomas, so PJ and Jovi will be watched very carefully. They also will pass the genetic mutation on to their children.

The children inherited the mutation from their dad.

There are about 200 cases of bilateral retinoblastoma diagnosed each year, but there are “tons” of mutations, Daley-Fisher said. Her children and husband are three of only four people with their specific mutation.

“I’m the first one to have it,” Paul Fisher Sr. said. PJ is a family nickname for Paul Jr. “When they found mine it was pretty much by accident because my mother had brought me to the doctor for an ear infection.”

During that examination, Fisher’s eye tumors were discovered.

“Our kids’ form is hereditary,” said Daley-Fisher. “Not all forms are. We were told of would be a 50/50 chance one of our children would get it. We just hit the jackpot and got two.”

Daley-Fisher is a teacher in Randolph and her husband is self-employed shipping contractor. The couple reside in Holbrook.

PJ’s left eye was removed due to spreading tumors in the fall, when daily radiation appointments forced his mom to take a leave of absence from teaching. She is now back at work.

“He likes to say, ‘I fixed my eye’ and hands it to you,” Daley-Fisher said of PJ. “He’s trying to get used to it — it doesn’t fit right yet.”

Petition seeks action on Murray mystery

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Petition seeks action on Murray mystery using Change.org

On Feb. 9, 2004 Hanson native Maura Murray, then 21, disappeared after a car accident on a remote stretch of Route 112 in Haverhill, N.H.

Almost 12 years later, private investigator John E. Smith of Truth Seekers Investigations in Bethlehem, N.H., has launched a change.org petition to ask the FBI to actively enter the case.

Petition seeks action on Murray mystery

Photo courtesy of https://truthseekersinvestigationssearch4mauramurray.wordpress.com/

“We’re trying to keep Maura’s story in the light,” Smith said. “We’re not looking for anyone to be ‘on our side’ … we just want what we’re trying to do put out there.”

Smith, a retired Littleton, N.H., police officer who lives about 15 miles from the scene of Maura’s accident, has been working with the Murray family for nearly 12 years.

The FBI, meanwhile maintains it is already aiding in the investigation.

“The FBI is assisting New Hampshire Sate Police and we’re going to defer to them as they are the lead agency,” spokesman Kristen Setera of the Boston FBI office said in a prepared statement this week. “Due to the fact that there is an ongoing investigation, we have to decline further comment.”

As of press time, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Sate Police had not returned calls for comment.

The petition has 2,880 of a 5,000-signature goal as of Wednesday morning, but Smith would like to see 50,000 people sign it. A podcast interview with Maura’s father Fred linked to the petition has had more than one million views.

A father’s pain

Fred Murray described his daughter as one who “never gave her parents any trouble in her entire life.” Initially interested in a military career, she later determined it did not suit her personality and transferred to UMass, Amherst midyear to study nursing.

“We just want her back,” Fred said on the podcast. “I need help and I’m so totally frustrated. … It’s my daughter. I can’t go away. I’ve got to find her.”

He said his daughter’s car was malfunctioning and due to be replaced within a week.

At about 7 p.m. on the night Maura disappeared she evidently veered off the road on a curve near a farm, a review of case information on the change.org petition states. A witness calling 911 reported hearing a vehicle accelerating and a thud. It was determined her car had spun out of control and hit a tree but Maura was nowhere to be found.

Accident reconstruction later determined no trees were hit by her black 1996 Saturn and that the damage to the car was likely caused by “a solid stationary object or a solid object at the same height as the damage” to the car.

A rag was also found stuffed into the tailpipe, according to the writeup.

“The only thing that the FBI ever did was, in late 2004, they went to Hanson, Mass., and talked to Maura’s high school friends,” Smith said last week. “We’re not sure what that had to do with the whole investigation because none of her high school friends were her college friends.”

That was one of the questions on which the FBI deferred comment.

“I think the only way it can be [solved] is if we have, hopefully, and unbiased FBI that will step in here,” Smith said. “We’re not sure what happened. We have several different theories.”

He said she could have just walked away, she could have been picked up by someone at the scene and  “taken far away and murdered or something.”

Smith said there have been a lot of inconsistencies with police reports over the years, including conflicting ID numbers of responding cruisers and a lack of timely investigation to the east of the crash site.

“We’re even looking into the possibility that there’s some type of police involvement or some type of cover up on the part of the locals because someone important might have been involved,” he said.

He said New Hampshire authorities would have had to ask for help and that he was told they felt the assistance was not needed.

Questions

Smith said that is one of the questions surrounding the case that has never been answered and hopes signatures on the online petition will generate answers and a full-scale FBI investigation into a case involving Maura’s movements through three states.

“We actually have three states involved because she lived in Massachusetts, she drove though Vermont and she ended up in New Hampshire,” he said. “Now, with as long as this case has been going on, there’s just so many inaccuracies and inconsistencies that have followed this case for years that it just   made no sense and made it harder to investigate for all of us involved.”

Merlin moves to Music City

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Still keeping her Hanson hometown near to her heart, Kristen Merlin will be home in just a few days to perform after her recent move.  She is settled in Nashville, after relocating this fall, where she said she is deeply immersed in writing and defining her musical profession.

Photo courtesy www.kristenmerlin.com

Kristen Merlin has moved to Nashville, to further her music career. Photo courtesy www.kristenmerlin.com

“As much as I love the adventure of playing original music, I truly miss my hometown fans and their energy,” she said. “I’m looking   forward to experiencing that again at the ‘Country Voices Collide’ concert on Jan. 23 at Plymouth’s Memorial Hall.”

Merlin who will perform at the all-ages show with a full band plans to entertain with her originals from her CD, “Boomerang,” as well as all the fan favorites.

She is anticipating playing her new originals and giving fans a taste of what she has been accomplishing in Nashville.

She regularly participates in writers’ rounds, usually attending two writes a day for several hours with other artists and writers.

“It is a great night of networking and a new sense of adventure for me,” she said.

Merlin has always wanted to take her talents to the next level with her original music.

In an interview with the Express less than two years ago Merlin said becoming known for her own music was her ultimate dream.

“On a national scale I hope for my own words and music to be impressing to others,” she said in 2015.

Merlin has proved time and again that she can belt out all genres of music and has demonstrated her vocal strength in her cover shows developing a fan following on the east coast.

Discovering new stomping grounds, she has been performing before live audiences at some recognizable pubs in Nashville — The Listening room, The Dawghouse Saloon, Tin Roof Bar, known for its laid back style and live music sets, and the Pour House to name a few.

“It’s nice to have fans come to listen to your original material,” she said. “The Listening room has certain nights dedicated for musicians to showcase their talents. I have been performing and writing. It’s been busy.”

The move to Nashville was a worthy choice as she was continuously traveling back and forth.

“I can be a lot more productive while I am here. It felt like the right time to make that next step to be full-time in Nashville,” she said.

She was exhilarated to recently co–write with Lance Carpenter, a well-known songwriter who penned “Love Me Like You Mean It,” performed by rising pop-country singer Kelsea Ballerini.

Over the Christmas holiday Merlin performed with “Country Girls in the City” at Loretta’s Last Call in Boston.  The group was combined with regulars who perform in the group: New England to Nashville.

“We played to a packed house,” she said.

Merlin’s last all ages show, which was jammed with hometown fans and friends was at the annual Marshfield Fair last summer.

She recently became part of the McPherson guitars family last year and is endorsed by Kevin Michael carbon fiber guitars. The guitar is made of carbon fiber and is unlike any wood guitar.

“The McPherson guitars caught my attention with the Kevin Michael line. It has become one of my new favorite toys.  The sounds that I can get out of this guitar are beautiful,” she said.

The process of writing sometimes is built on a single word or hook.  With her ear trained on sounds, for Merlin, writing rounds are often inspired by simple conversation.

“Something usually jumps out. Listening and working with different writers has brought diverse experiences in each session and each level is a step towards creating a song,” she said.

Honed in on her writing she is motivated to challenge herself and steadily evolve musically.

Merlin recently sat and wrote with Jake Worthington runner up on NBC’s “The Voice: Season Six.”      

“He’s a friend first, and fellow musician. I enjoy trading stories . . . checking in and seeing his path musically,” she said.  “Each one of us is still taking the journey she said of her fellow Voice competitors. Merlin progressed to the top five on Team Shakira on NBC’s Season Six in 2014.

Pinewood car workshop honors late scoutmaster

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Carrying on for Kent:  Pinewood car workshop honors late scoutmaster

WHITMAN — Cub Scout Pack 22 hosted a tri-town Pinewood Derby workshop Saturday at the Cardinal Spellman Center in Whitman.  Dozens of volunteer carpenters and parents loaned and operated tools for the carving and building process of the wooden cars.

kent

BUILT FOR SPEED: Jackson Preskins, top right, holds up the winner of the practice trials during the annual Pinewood Derby Workshop Jan. 9. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos

Going forward, the workshop will be named the Scott Kent Workshop for Pinewood Derby after the longtime scout leader and volunteer. Kent lost his battle with pancreatic cancer just days before Christmas less than six weeks ago.

He was a longtime Whitman resident — a volunteer for many years as well as a cabinet and furniture maker and a union tradesman. He was phenomenal with his hands, said Mike Warner Boy Scoutmaster and longtime leader and friend.

“He always organized the volunteers for the pinewood workshop,” Warner said. “The kids would draw what they wanted and he would work with them on how they could achieve the finished cars.”

Kent was strongly involved while his son was younger and then he often gave his time volunteering for events and racing his own pinewood car in the adult races.

“Something will be in the works to honor Scott we are working on that,” Warner said.   

Kent’s son Hayden, who is in his early 20s completed his rank as Eagle  Scout and is still very involved with the troop as an assistant scout master.

“Scott was one of those people who came to work behind the scenes,” Warner said. “At the pancake breakfast he would cook. He was the guy who would quietly make it happen. He was never concerned over recognition. He was just there for the boys.”

Warner’s own son, now 22, is also still a volunteer for the 11-18 years of age group.

“He was a friend to all,” Warner recalled about Kent.  “He was the first guy to say, ‘What do you need and how can I help?’”

In Saturday’s workshop, which had been started by Kent in the early 2000s and ran for approximately four hours, Cub Scouts applied pictures of how their wooden cars would look in pencil for the  upcoming derby, which is only a few weeks away. They were assisted with light direction but for the most part each Cub Scout finished his own project.

Gabe Newman, 11, of Whitman designed his car to look like an ant. It was black with a white eye on the side. Some scouts chose sports car designs, others the classics. Numerous designs lay to dry at the paint station with unique details such as lightning rods, flames, lucky numbers, as well as stripes and initials.

The Pinewood Derby is a long-standing tradition at the beginning of year for each age group of the scouts.

Building their own wooden car from start to finish and completing the project for the most part on their own is a great self-esteem builder, said volunteer and mom Crissy Pruitt.

She assisted her son in a few of the stations, mostly involving tools, but Tyler, 7, wanted to create everything himself.

“They can see they are a part of something,” said Pruitt who said her older son Jake, 10 won two years.

“It is a great project for them to be involved in,” she said.

Saturday was a day of completion carrying out their vision in a five-ounce piece of wood.

Cubmaster Robb Preskins and other volunteer den leaders and assistants took turns at the official weight center. Some of the boys held their breath as they eagerly watched to see if their car made the weight limit.

Each year the kids enthusiastically await the event, but believe it or not the parents have officially been entered into the “friendly competition”.  It has long been a passion of many den leaders to have their own cars while evoking childhood memories of their own Pinewood Derbies.

Helen O’Reilly said she loves watching the kids make their “cool” cars.  They understand the event is just for fun, but there is a bit of competition that arises, she said.

Growing up with brothers O’Reilly always wanted to be included.  Throwing back to the good ole days she re-created an original 1970 midget car, which she unveiled to her son, Jon, 9, who had no idea his mom would be competing.

“I’m going to beat her,” he said after taking a nanosecond   to gather his thoughts. Suddenly, the pair knew they had their own discreet competition he eyed her like a competitor and ran off to finish painting his car.

The practice track was open to competing siblings and families in the name of amusement.

Nurse mourned after fatal crash

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‘Always a smile’: Nurse mourned after fatal crash

HANSON — Amanda Turner Russell, 32, of Hanover was getting in a training run for the Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car on Winter Street just over the town line in Hanson on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

She died from traumatic injuries to her head and neck on Monday, Dec. 28, according to family spokesman Brian Dever of the Taunton-based Keches Law Group.

nurse

Amanda Turner Russell, a labor and delivery nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was taking a training run for her first Boston Marathon when she was hit by a car in Hanson Dec. 23. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Russell was a labor and delivery nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She leaves an 8-year-old son.

At about noon on Dec. 23, Hanson Police received numerous 911 calls reporting a motor vehicle crash with a person ejected from the vehicle in the area of 854 Winter St., according to Chief Michael Miksch.

“Hanson Police officers working a paid detail in the area arrived to find a motor vehicle had struck a pedestrian and a utility pole,” Miksch stated.

Hanson Fire and Hanover Fire also responded to the scene.

The pedestrian, later identified as Russell, was transported to Brockton Hospital for treatment. She was flown by Med Flight to Boston for further treatment. The operator of the vehicle, a female Hanson resident, was transported to South Shore Hospital for treatment.

Miksch said the driver’s name won’t be released unless charges are filed, but Dever indicated civil action is likely regardless of whether the driver faces charges.

The vehicle involved in the crash is a 2004 Nissan Altima, according to Miksch. The Altima was travelling south on Winter Street when it crossed the roadway and struck Russell. The vehicle then struck a pole, snapping it in half before coming to rest in the center of the roadway.   

National Grid crews responded and shut off power to the area while pole repairs were made — a job that took about an hour. Approximately 480 customers lost power in Hanson and Hanover.

The road remained closed as members of the Hanson Police, Massachusetts State Police, and Plymouth County BCI investigated. The roadway remained closed for the afternoon as crews worked to restore power to the area.  Hanson Police were also assisted by the Hanover Police Department.  The office of Plymouth County DA Timothy Cruz is also investigating, a process that is still ongoing, according to spokesman Beth Stone.

A family steps in

Russell’s son is being looked after by her family members, including her ex-husband and the boy’s grandparents, according to Dever.

“The family is a strong and supportive one,” he said. “There’s an actively involved father. There are grandparents that are actively involved. There are wonderful aunts and an uncle. … Everyone is really trying to do what’s best for Amanda’s 8-year-old son.”

Dever said the family is in the process of setting up a fund for the boy’s education.

“It’s a tragic situation,” he said.

Russell’s colleagues at BIDMC are also mourning her death.

“I had intended no more blog posts for this year, but then Amanda died, and she merits recognition,” former Beth Israel CEO Paul Levy wrote on his “Not Running a Hospital” blog. “She was a loyal friend. Working in the most optimistic part of our hospital, she saw and delivered joy.”

‘shining light’

Levy called her “a shining light in so many ways.”

As Russell was fond of posting sunrise photos on social media (#bidmcsunrise), dozens of her friends are honoring her life on Facebook with #sunrisesforamanda posts of their own sunrise photos, according to Levy.

As of Tuesday, Russell’s Crowdrise page for Team BIDMC had raised $19,073 — 254 percent over her original goal of $7,500 for what would have been her first Boston Marathon run. Her fellow labor and delivery nurse Nancy Eaton told Runner’s World magazine she now plans to run the marathon in Russell’s place — to earn the finishing medal Russell wanted so much.

A GoFundMe page  has been created by Beth Sinibaldi of Marshfield to benefit Russell’s family, raising $26,721 of a  $30,000 goal from donations by 440 people in six days.

“Amanda succumbed to her injuries earlier this week and gave the ultimate gift in her passing, the gift of life,” Sinibaldi wrote Dec. 30. “Amanda was always the first person to help out someone in need, she would always go that extra mile for anyone, and always with a smile on her face.”

 

MSBA denies Hanson Maquan funds

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MSBA denies Hanson Maquan funds

HANSON — The question of what to do with Hanson and Whitman school facilities is taking on a new urgency now that the Massachusetts School Building Authority has declined Hanson’s most recent application for financial and technical assistance for a Maquan School redevelopment project.

downloadThe School Committee plans to meet on Wednesday, Jan. 13 to identify priorities and plans for school buildings and programs, and consider drafting a new statement of interest seeking state assistance.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School library. State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, as well as state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, will attend. The meeting will focus on state education funding, said Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee Robert Hayes.

Hanson selectmen plan to attend. Selectman Kenneth Mitchell suggested a joint meeting for the school and select boards, and said Hanson Selectmen could vote at the Jan. 13 meeting to submit whatever statement of interest results from the meeting.

Hayes, who attended the Tuesday, Jan. 5 Hanson selectmen meeting, said there has been some discussion of shelving plans for the Maquan School and instead seeking assistance for putting an addition onto the Indian Head School, although nothing is etched in stone. The last project that failed was to combine the Indian Head and Maquan schools.

“You have to submit a statement of interest. It’s a very lengthy process,” he said. “There are definitely no guarantees.”

Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young said nothing has changed with the Maquan School building except that problems there are now a couple of years older.

Young said the statement of interest starts the process of getting assistance, but nothing is guaranteed.

“This is the foot in the door,” he said.

In a Dec. 18 letter to school Superintendent Ruth Gilbert-Whitner, the school building thanked the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District for their interest in the state’s 2015 statement of interest (SOI) grant program for school building construction, renovation and repair.

The MSBA fielded 97 statements of interest from 67 school districts last year for consideration.

“In reviewing SOIs, the MSBA identifies the school facilities that have the greatest and most urgent need based on an assessment of the entire cohort of SOIs that are received for consideration each year,” reads the letter, signed by MSBA Chief Executive Officer Maureen G. Valente and Executive Director/Deputy CEO John K. McCarthy.

“Through the MSBA’s due diligence process and review of the 97 SOIs that we received for consideration in 2015, the MSBA has determined that the Maquan Elementary School SOI will not be invited into the MSBA’s Eligibility Period at this time,” the letter states.

Selectman James McGahan said he wanted a more specific reason in the letter for why the regional school district did not get MSBA approval for the Maquan School project.

Three or four years ago, the town applied to the MSBA for the project and got approval, yet the town did not get approval for it this time, McGahan said.

Hayes said the MSBA letter indicated that the regional school district, if they would like for the Maquan School to be considered for future collaboration with the MSBA, should file a new statement of interest for 2016. The MSBA was scheduled to start accepting SOIs on Jan. 8.

“The letter is somewhat vanilla, but they say they are still interested,” Hayes said. “There’s only so much money to go around.”

Hanson resident John Barata asked if the state’s denial of Maquan School application in 2015 had to do with the town voting down funding for the school project.

Hayes said the MSBA is not supposed to look at past projects and is supposed to look at each project as it comes.

“They have to go on need,” he said.

Young said the MSBA would not hold a grudge against Hanson.

Not all of the school building news Tuesday was bad.

Hayes told selectmen that final costs connected to the Indian Head School came in under contractors’ estimates. As a result, a $645,290 contract will be decreased by $4,510.

Hanson will see an additional savings of $3,500 for seeding and loaming in connection with the roof project, Hayes said.

Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera said the school department has submitted a $5million capital request for next year, which, he added, realistically is impossible to fund.

LaCamera said Town Meeting is going to come very quickly, and the capital improvement and finance committees as well as his office need more information on what should be done, and how town capital funding next year would be affected by an MSBA grant application.

“What are we supposed to be doing?” he said.

Hayes said the school district still has the responsibility to address and fund capital needs, regardless of MSBA approval, and that Whitman-Hanson maintains a matrix or list of capital needs.

LaCamera said this year’s school capital request lists a number of items with notes that architects and engineers would need to do studies to estimate project costs, itself an expense.

Hayes said the School Committee planned to discuss and prioritize capital needs items at the next meeting.

Hanson resident Leigh-Ann Silva asked how the credit from the Indian Head project would be re-allocated, and suggested that voters at Town Meeting draw from it for architectural and engineering studies to estimate at least some of the school capital need costs for next year.

Hayes said the credit would be returned to the town, and LaCamera said money for one project cannot be reallocated to another unless Town Meeting approves.

Hanson resident Kimberly King praised school and town officers for working well together to accomplish the Indian Head school building project. King said this time, Hanson should think about not just an addition to the Indian Head School, but maybe looking into an addition at the middle school.

McGahan said there is an idea being floated, though generally not well received, for a regional middle school.

“All of these options will be vetted out,” he said.

In other business, Selectmen tabled and took under advisement a request by Green Harbor Dispensary for a letter of approval or non-opposition and, ultimately, a special permit from Hanson to open a medical marijuana dispensary and/or cultivation site in Hanson, perhaps on Winter Street near the Hanover line.

In a Dec. 23 letter to board Chairman Young, Robert Schnibbe, chief executive officer of the Green Harbor Dispensary, said the dispensary hopes to be invited to have an opportunity to present their program to town administration and selectmen, as the special permitting process moves forward.

“The Green Harbor Dispensary has an impressive management team, a comprehensive security solution and well thought out vision for our dispensary. Our team is composed of business professionals that live and work in the immediate area and are committed to being responsible corporate citizens and good neighbors,” states the letter, signed by Schnibbe.

Young said Green Harbor would be a first in Hanson and that selectmen act as the licensing authority for licensing medical marijuana facilities.

LaCamera said the town would need to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, as Green Harbor is a non-profit organization and non-taxable.

The dispensary must still apply for a special permit and go through the zoning Board of Appeals, he said.