WHITMAN — Selectmen heard some sobering news from police and fire officials Tuesday, Aug. 18 regarding the town’s — and region’s — efforts to combat increasing numbers of heroin/opioid overdoses.

Selectmen also supported a $24,000 appropriation via a warrant article for the 2016 annual Town Meeting to support the Whitman Food Pantry’s need for a larger space. [See related story, page 9]

“We should be taking care of each other,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson. He and Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski also commended Police Chief Scott Benton for his work “on the front lines” of the overdose problem.

“We have to attack this from all angles,” Bezanson said.

“It’s almost like we’re chasing our tail,” added Selectman Dan Salvucci. “We can’t stop it from coming in and we’re just trying to help people that are caught in this web.”

Benton had reported that overdoses in Whitman since Jan. 1 are up to 39, with seven deaths. Fire Chief Timothy Grenno said his department has responded to 45 overdose calls, with Narcan administered 42 times. He said the different number reflects Whitman Fire’s responses to mutual aid calls from East Bridgewater and Abington as well as Whitman.

Grenno added he had just received a bulletin from the National Hotline out of North Carolina advising heroin is now being laced with clenbuterol, approved only for veterinary use to treat respiratory issues. Narcan does not work on those types of drugs, Grenno reported.

“It’s coming our way,” he said.

Last month there were 17 confirmed cases in North Carolina.

“If it was as easy as driving up to somebody and throwing them in the back of the car and ending this problem, we would do it,” Benton said. “It’s not that easy.”

Both chiefs discussed the four overdoses, including one death, their departments responded to on Sunday, Aug. 9 as a reflection of the problem.

Three involved unconscious juveniles sitting in a single vehicle parked along South Avenue and the other, which resulted in a fatality seven days later in the hospital, was called in two and a half hours later, Benton said.

Grenno said four firefighters responded, finding two persons in critical condition and the third “probably 15 seconds away from cardiac arrest and dying.”

Narcan was administered nasally to two patients and via an “IO” — a “drill gun” which inserts Narcan directly into femoral bone marrow. One responded with the typical vomiting but the others remained critical as they were transported to the hospital.

Both Benton and Grenno said their personnel have responded to overdoses involving people they know.

“Even though this is your job, it certainly doesn’t mean that this is not an emotional  [situation that] has a personal impact on first-responders,” Benton said, commending the police and fire departments’ professionalism in handling such calls.

“The majority of my guys were born and raised in Whitman and they know all these people,” Grenno said. “This epidemic is having a crushing toll on these guys.”

Grenno lauded the work of Lt. Al Cunningham and Firefighter/Paramedics Joe Kenealy, Matt Bush and Scott Figgins for their professionalism under difficult circumstances.

While the three-overdose call was being worked on Aug. 9, another call was received to which the department was not able to respond right away and a third call — an overdose victim in cardiac arrest — was later received.

“I wish that I had a solution to this,” Benton told Selectmen. “It could have been significantly higher [than seven deaths] if not for the quick response of the police and fire personnel, who administered Narcan and were able to save these people.”

Benton said Narcan is also being made available to athletic trainers at WHRHS in response to the “critical” opioid epidemic throughout the commonwealth.

“People could debate it, but it could be the parent or the aunt or the uncle of one of these student-athletes or students that goes down and you don’t want a bunch of people standing around going, ‘Oh, no!’ You want to have something you can do,” he said.

Whitman Police are members of the Brockton Mayor’s Opioid Overdose Coalition and the Whitman-Hanson Will Coalition on prevention measures, as well as the Whitman East Bridgewater (WEB) Task Force and partnership with the DEA regarding enforcement issues.

“We now seize the cell phones of overdose victims and try to identify who is supplying them with the heroin and go after the dealers,” Benton said, adding the decision was thoroughly discussed with the district attorney’s office. “Worse-case scenario, we give back a phone — maybe we save someone.”

He noted most heroin addicts are also addicted to opioid painkillers and the problem has an effect on other crime statistics.

Dr. Daniel Muse of Brockton Hospital has indicated that the medical profession must do a better job weaning patients from legitimately prescribed opioid pain medications, according to Benton.

As of Aug. 16, the Police Department had received 7,433 calls for service this year — an increase of 1,281 over the same period last year, Benton said.

Year to-date, the Fire-Rescue Department has responded to 1,765 calls — an increase of 147 from last year, Grenno said. Of those, there were 200 occasions when firefighters were responding to simultaneous incidents.

“We can answer the first call, but the second call is where we have to rely on mutual aid and call-back personnel,” he said. “It’s not getting any better.”

Since July 31 the Fire Station has been empty 35 times due to multiple calls. Traffic accidents, cardiac emergencies and psychological calls are most numerous, according to Grenno.

HANSON — What a difference a year makes.

In the 12 months since Hanson has operated it’s transfer station on a “pay-as-you-throw” basis, the town has gone from resistance by some residents to a 64-percent reduction in trash tonnage, according to contract hauler WasteZero and town health officials.

The town has also saved $51,000 in disposal fees, while more than doubling its recycling rate — from 16 to 38 percent — reported Joshua Kolling-Perin, WasteZero’s director of public engagement.

The program, managed by WasteZero as part of the WasteZero Trash Metering service offering, began on July 1, 2014. Municipal solid waste (MSW) decreased from 2,752 tons in fiscal year 2013 (the year before pay-as-you-throw) to 986 tons in FY2014.

Departing Town Administrator Ron San Angelo said Friday, Aug. 7 that he was encouraged, if not surprised, at the development.

“I’m extremely pleased, because the program has done everything we said it was going to do,” San Angelo said. “It dramatically affected people’s habits in how they throw away trash, which is important.”

Health Agent Donna Tranontana credited the commitment of Hanson’s residents.

“The pay-as-you-throw   program could not have been successful without the cooperation and support from the residents of Hanson.” she said.

San Angelo said residents, including himself, have become very focused on what can be recycled, and how they can save money on municipal trash bags. He also said people are finding a sense of pride in helping protect the environment through recycling.

“When you pour this big container of recyclables into the bins it makes you feel good about who you are and what you’re doing to contribute,” he said. “I know I feel better about it when I recycle big amounts.”

San Angelo noted the complaints about the program have also reduced as the level of recycling has increased.

“When we first did this program everybody and anybody was complaining about going to it, because it was fear of the unknown,” he said. “We don’t get any complaints anymore.”

In fact, he said, residents have been complementing the program of late. It is not an unfamiliar evolution of attitude among public policy changes.

“One of the biggest obstacles to improving government is the fear of change,” he said. “Political leaders, like boards of selectmen, because people are angry at the beginning have a hard time voting for those changes.”

Hanson adopted its pay-as-you-throw program partly in response to an upcoming dramatic increase in its tipping fee, the cost the town pays to dispose of its garbage. The town had been paying $34.50 per ton, and expected a significant increase when its disposal contract with SEMASS Covanta expired in December 2014. The tipping fee is now $55 per ton.

Under the program, residents use official orange bags stamped with the Hanson seal to dispose of their trash at the town’s transfer station. Being more aware of the cost of their garbage makes residents more likely to recycle and divert other productive materials from the waste stream.

The bags are sold at 13 retail outlets in and around Hanson. They are available in two sizes: 30-gallon ($2 per bag, sold in packages of five) and 15-gallon ($1.25 per bag, sold in packages of eight). Recycling at the transfer station is free.

San Angelo credited the Board of Selectmen that voted for pay-as-you-throw for facing that initial anger.

“They had the guts to make a tough decision,” San Angelo said. “And because they had the guts to make a tough decision on pay-as-you-throw, they created a situation where we saved a dramatic amount of money, improved the environment, we have a much better program than we ever had, an improved facility and we have over $100,000 in the reserve fund.”

Those funds, originating from tipping fee savings rather than bag revenues, should be left in the reserve fund to help finance the DEP-ordered capping of the ash landfill, he argues.

The municipal bag requirement and new stickers prohibited small business and contractors from dumping job site refuse — as well as former residents who were continuing to use the transfer station despite having moved out of town — from continuing those practices at taxpayer expense.

Staff encouraged by community support

WHITMAN — About half the residents in town hold library cards at the Whitman Public Library, and the staff hopes to increase those numbers.

There are 6,855 registered borrowers at the library, Director Andrea Rounds told the Board of Library Trustees on Tuesday, Aug. 11. With 14,696 residents, and an age limit of only 5 years old to get a library card, or about 50 percent saturation, Rounds said the figure is encouraging.

The circulation files are purged every year, she noted, so the numbers reflect active library users. The number does not reflect the number of children under age 5 whose parents use the library to check out children’s books to read aloud, or who bring their children to library events.

“We’re doing great,” she said. “We have lots of people coming into the building. We’re very busy and this shows how busy we are.”

The library’s meeting room facilities were also used 517 times over the past 12 months, according to the report the library submits to the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners to qualify the facility for state aid.

Rounds noted Whitman’s circulation figures remain on par with all other libraries in the Old Colony Library Network. Growth is also continuing in e-Books and use of online materials.

“Circulation figures are slightly down, but that’s good — the economy’s improving and, as everybody knows, when the economy improves we see a little bit of a drop.”

With reductions in school library staffs following budget cuts, the trustees anticipate greater reliance on the public library’s facilities and programs.

One way to increase the number of library card holders will be via a “remote” sign-up drive at a table outside the rear entrance during the Touch-a-Truck program, which wraps up the summer reading program at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Police Chief Scott Benton has arranged for a “Bearcat” armored SWAT vehicle to be on site for the program, joining Fire Department, DPW and other municipal vehicles for children to explore. The Mix 104.1 ice cream truck will also be on hand.

Holy Ghost Church is donating use of the parish parking lot for the public’s use during the event.

With the conclusion of summer reading, Rounds and her staff are turning their focus to the fall.

“The numbers for the summer blow everything else out of the water,” Rounds said before the trustees meeting as she outlined some of the coming programs and events. “We had 886 participants in programs last month alone.”

The fall will be starting with a bicycle and pedestrian safety program at 1:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 4 — the first half-day on the school calendar.

“Selectman Dan Salvucci is a big fan of this,” she told trustees. “He was in here talking to me about how it’s a real problem in the community and how he sees kids at the four-way stop in the center of town and they just dart out into the street.”

Whitman Police DARE and School Resource Officer Kevin Harrington will attend, decked out in his cycling gear, to talk to children about safety and the rules of the road. He will also read a story during the event. No registration is required for the program.

The Police Department will donate a limited number of bike helmets for a giveaway feature and the Old Colony Planning Council is donating a larger amount of reflectors and bike lights and bells.

In other business, the trustees were updated of staffing changes.

Youth Services Librarian Nicole Monk is leaving Whitman  Library to pursue other opportunities. Her last day is Friday, Aug. 21.

The position has been posted with applicant interviews scheduled to begin in September. Meanwhile, a second interview is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14 with a candidate for the position of assistant director to replace Molly Klenowski who left in July to work in another community.

Michael Robin has been hired to fill a part-time library technician vacancy. Robin, in the process of moving from Connecticut to Walpole, has “quite a few years of working and volunteering in children’s rooms in other libraries and several years of working off-Broadway on the stage,” Rounds said. He will work every Tuesday night and every Saturday during the school year, starting before September.

The library will be closed Sept. 8 to 10 to allow ServePro to work on water damage caused by ice dams last winter and subsequent inspection of that work to see if more needs to be scheduled.

Voters to have say on cost of razing building

HANSON — Voters at the October special Town Meeting will be asked to decide how to fund the abatement and demolition of the old Plymouth County Hospital site, which must be done before the site can be used for other purposes.

“The first thing you have to do is clean up the lot,” said Selectman Don Howard, who made the motion for placement of an article on the Town Meeting warrant.

A placeholder article was approved by a 5-0 vote.

Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera will be asked to oversee the engineering estimate and request for proposal and bid process, which would hinge on the outcome of a Town Meeting vote. The article would also require a ballot question.

Selectman Bill Scott raised the issue again at the board’s Tuesday, Aug. 4 meeting after recently discussing potential costs of a PCH demolition with the company hired by Lite Control to raze buildings not being donated to the town at the company’s former Hawks Avenue site.

“They expressed an interest, if we did decide to move forward on a demolition up there,” Scott said. “They would certainly like to bid on it.”

The Costello Company also looks for developers to work on sites following demolition “and work on cleanup and other issues,” Scott said.

Community Preservation Commission Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett lauded the company’s work at the Lite Control site, but cautioned that if they were used as consultants on a cost estimate they would not be permitted to bid on a demolition contract.

A previous study on the demolition cost at PCH came up with the $1.5 million figure only a few years ago.

“I’m wondering if we might not be able to brush off whoever it was who did that and go back and say, ‘Could you give us a refresh on the estimate that you did?’” she said. “It could be easier for somebody familiar with the property, that’s already done the analysis, to come in.”

Howard has advocated placing the issue on the ballot, proposing that — since the debt on Town Hall renovations is being retired — another 20-year bond could pay to raze the hospital and clean up the site.

“I think it should be voted for by the people,” he said. “I’d just like to see an article put before the Town Meeting to clean up the mess.”

The town owns the PCH property, which has been vacant since 1999.

“Everyone has a bunch of ideas as to what they might like to see at the Plymouth County Hospital, and I think we all agree we’d like to see something done up there,” Scott said. “Seems like every time we bring up the hospital all we get is a history lesson.”

Scott said he was not a fan of investing taxpayer dollars without getting some type of revenue from the site in the future, but admitted he doesn’t have the answer.

“We have a myriad of good ideas,” said Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young. “We just haven’t put those good ideas in the form of either articles or [questions on] the town-wide ballot and let the people pick the direction they would like to go in.”   

Among those ideas are a park or a mixed use of some form of over-55 housing adjacent to a park and even selling lots to a developer for single-family houses.

HANSON — Selectmen have unanimously approved the drafting of a by-law proposal for consideration at the October special Town Meeting which would restrict selectmen from also working as paid town employees answerable to the board.

Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera was also officially hired, effective Monday, Aug. 10 as selectmen approved his contract at the Tuesday, Aug. 4 meeting.

Selectman James McGahan, who raised the issue and volunteered to draft the by-law for town counsel’s review, said that a resident had raised the concern about potential conflicts several months ago.

“I was asked for my opinion and what I intended to do about it,” he said.

He stressed that it was not directed at a specific individual.

Under the proposed by-law, town employees would be allowed to run for selectman, but would have to give up their job during their tenure in office and for a period of time afterward.

“That’s unfortunate, but that’s how it goes,” McGahan said, inviting arguments to the contrary.

Building Department Administrative Assistant Ann-Marie Bouzan, who ran for selectman this year, said she had consulted the state Ethics Commission before entering that race.

She was advised that the only potential conflicts for her, should she be faced with town administrator contract review and negotiation, would arise if there are pending matters in which she had financial interest that the town administrator has direct, immediate power to decide. Otherwise, she was informed, she would not be required to abstain.

As a union steward, she would have been allowed to participate in contract negotiations, but could not vote on the contract had she been elected selectman.

“I’m trying to be as transparent as possible,” Bouzan said. “I just think it’s prohibiting a lot of people from running. The town is only so big — I just want to have that opportunity.”

Selectman Don Howard and Health Board Chairman Gil Amado, who both also sit on the Board of Water Commissioners, would not be affected by the by-law, as the two boards are not connected.

“The incompatibility occurs when the person holding both positions can’t discharge the duties of each,” McGahan said. “It is evident that the selectmen would have the power over the employee in the areas of hiring, firing and determining compensation, which is why I find the two offices incompatible.”

The towns of Carver, Westborough, Concord and Tewksbury have similar by-laws on the books.

In researching the issue, McGahan said he had definite concerns.

“I felt much of the information, although there is no formal state ruling on the matter — suggests that the practice can cause future problems down the road — [and] places an additional workload on officials and, most importantly, provides a disadvantage to the town by not having such a by-law in place,” he argued.

McGahan cited section 23 of the state Ethics Law prohibiting officials from taking additional official actions which “could present the appearance of an impropriety” or cause an impartial observer to suspect bias. Section F forbids actions by officials that could lead an impartial observer to suspect an action had been illegally influenced.

“I felt these two particular points would be difficult to maintain as both a selectman and town employee,” he said, adding that a by-law would get rid of the “good old boy network type of thing.”

Section 20 allows elected officials to hold as many uncompensated or paid elected positions as they wish.

Chairman Bruce Young noted the town administrator, who reports to the Board of Selectmen, is also responsible for evaluating town employees.

“In that particular case you could have a problem,” Young said. “And if you are a union employee, the town administrator acts as the head negotiator for union contracts.”

Bouzan said the conflicts could be resolved by the selectman involved recusing himself or herself from any discussion or vote.

“There’s different issues for every selectman that there’s going to be a chance that somebody’s going to have to recuse themselves,” she said.

Some residents argued a town employee elected, as selectman was most likely to err on the side of caution.

“It’s an interesting issue, but I think we have checks and balances and laws that are currently in place,” said Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “If there were a problem then you could report that to the Ethics Commission. You can also express concern to the employee.”

Residents Thomas Dahlberg and Richard Edgehille voiced support for the proposed by-law.

“I don’t have the same faith in humans as the previous speaker,” Dahlberg said. Abstentions could lead to a lot of tie votes with four selectmen left to make decisions, he argued.

“It’s not anything that has happened, but why let it happen,” he said.

Residents on both sides of the issue agreed the matter was one to be decided by Town Meeting.

In other business, the interim town administrator contract, agreed to during an executive session and reported in public meeting, calls for LaCamera work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. three days a week until he is advised in writing that his services are no longer needed.

On days when he is required to attend Board of Selectmen’s meetings, his hours would be adjusted so that he does not exceed 18 work hours per week.

LaCamera will be earning $65 an hour, but as a part-time employee, will not receive other benefits or compensation other than mileage reimbursement for job-related travel out of town and a town-provided cell phone or $50 reimbursement for using his personal cell phone for town business.

If LaCamera wishes to end his obligations under the contract he must provide written notice of at least 30 calendar days.

WHITMAN — Lifeguards at the town pool have earned a raise, and can expect some increase — depending on the end-of season balance from revenues after maintenance expenses are paid.

Much of the problem surrounding the lifeguard pay issue, according to Recreation Commissioners,  is rooted in turnover at the director’s position over the last two years, affecting the marketing of pool passes as well as the hiring, scheduling and salary budgeting for lifeguards.

“We apologize that this is happening,” said Recreation Commission member Oliver B. Amado III.

The commission wanted to go on record as recognizing and appreciating what the lifeguards do, often under a broiling sun.

“We’re going to try to do what we can for you,” said Chairman Todd DeCouto. “A mistake was made, unfortunately, but we’re going to do everything in our power to help you.”

The pool account is currently at $5,960.53 with two more weeks of payroll left to be paid out, as well as another $400 to $500 worth of bills, interim Director Dan Mason reported to the Recreation Commission Monday, Aug. 3. Two weeks’ worth of revenue will also be added, but he said he does not expect that amount to be a lot of money.

The last lifeguard payroll was $2,657 for the week.

Four lifeguards, three veterans including supervising guard Judith Gill and one recent hire, attended the Aug. 3 meeting to argue for a raise. Recreation Commission members and Mason agreed the lifeguards deserved a raise. Gill is the only full-time lifeguard.

“They should get paid more,” Mason said of the lifeguards. “They should get paid a lot more.”

But paperwork turned into the town when former Director Emily Richardson left, set the salaries for the year unless the commission decides to distribute any funds left at the Aug. 16 end of the season.

“The problem is getting you your money — and please know we want to do that,” DeCouto said. “We’ve got to find a way to do that.”

“We have to fix what’s broken,” Vice Chairman June O’Leary said.

Many other area facilities pay $13 an hour.

Whitman Pool lifeguard Rachel Baker makes $11 an hour. She also works at Camp Kiwanee in Hanson, doing so last week while putting in 35 hours at Whitman, where guard scheduling has been another issue of concern.

“We’ve all been going overtime this summer because we had about seven people to start the summer off,” Baker said. “In the first few weeks, everybody worked every day.”

She has been a lifeguard in Whitman for five years, has water safety instructor certification and acts in a supervisory capacity, but does not carry the title. She is seeking a $1.50 per hour raise and retroactive payment for the summer to reach parity with another senior lifeguard. Luke Laubacher, working part-time at the pool as a fill-in lifeguard as well as working at South Shore Hospital, is labled as a supervisor on the schedule and makes $12.50 an hour.

“We should be paid the same because we are doing the same exact job, he is a sub this year, I’m even more of an evening supervisor than he is,” Baker said.

Laubacher is also a veteran lifeguard with WSI certification. An EMT, Laubacher plans to study nursing. John Gorman, another senior guard, makes $10.25 per hour and is seeking a raise of 75 cents per hour.

Several other lifeguards are also seeking raises.

Gill is, in fact, the only pool supervisor and is paid $15.25 per hour. She is not seeking a raise, but attended to support her staff.

“What we have done in the past is a 25-cent raise every time you return [for another year] in addition to any raise you would get for qualifications,” Gill said. “That’s the problem a lot of the guards are having.”

The commission will meet again at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 19 to continue discussing the issue when final pool receipts and expenses are expected to be finalized.

“The park just got over the edge today,” said Mason, noting the summer park program has $611 with no bills left to pay. “It will probably have a comma in it at the end.”

Park Program Director Jeannie Angelos has indicated she plans to end her tenure at the end of the year to start a family, Mason said. But Amado added that she has indicated a willingness to return if a new recreation director resumes responsibility for scheduling bus trips as part of the summer program.

In other business, resident Shawn Kain requested information on how to “start the conversation” toward establishing a free-admission public skateboard park in town.

Kain, a special education teacher in Brockton, is a skateboard enthusiast and co-founder with his wife Shannon of The Practice, an indoor after-school program that includes skateboarding. They are in the process of obtaining nonprofit status for that facility.

An account does exist for funds raised toward establishing a public skate park with from $12,000 to $13,000 still in it, commission members said.

Kain said he would not mind coordinating additional fund-raising efforts. Commission members referred him to selectmen Brian Bezanson and Dan Salvucci “who did all the groundwork” on the park project in the past, as well as Assistant Town Administrator Gregory Enos.

“For some reason, it just died,” DeCouto said of the previous effort. “They got the money together and it just stopped.”