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Little Library = big difference

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You see them all over — little free libraries, adorned with the motto: “Take a Book, Leave a Book,” now one has become the Eagle Scout project of Alexander Nunes of Hanson, who is a member of Whitman’s Troop 59.

Lowe’s donated all the $640 worth of construction materials needed for the project.

“Since they donated the materials, I didn’t need to do fundraising,” he said. Nunes said he isn’t certain of the date for his upcoming Eagle Court of Honor yet, as he is still working to finish his last two merit badges — including hiking.

The project, worked on by a few fellow Scouts and adults who wielded the power tools, took about a month to construct.

“We could only get people together on the weekends, and there were a lot of small details,” he said. “It was well done.”

The kiosk is already in place ad being used, Nunes said, noting he doesn’t have a particular dedication ceremony planned.

“I just wanted to see if people would use it, and luckily, they are using it and enjoying it,” he said, noting that the public has been using it respectfully.

Nunes’ project is one of the Little Free Library [littlefreelibrary.org] non-profit (officially earning its 501(c) 3 designation in 2012) projects across the country. His project is posted at the Head Start building across the street from Whitman Park, looking like a trim, miniature house, painted white to match the Head Start building.

“There’s been a lot of them popping up and I thought one would be good to place near the park,” Nunes said in an interview last week. “I collected donations from anyone willing to give books.”

From here on out, Nunes said he will re-stock it occasionally if it gets too low, but it’s operated on the honor system of take a book/leave a book.

In some places the little free libraries had been stocked with new books, only to be cleaned out by thieve and needing to be completely restocked.

Despite the location in front of the Head Start building, the books weren’t specifically geared toward any particular age group.

He said the design of the miniature building his little free library, as well as the paint job, were meant to represent the town and the style of houses in the area.

The design of the kiosks is in keeping with the origin of the original Little Free Library built by Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisc., in 2009 — a model of a little red one-room schoolhouse in tribute to his mother, a teacher who loved to read. According to the littlefreelibrary.org site, he built more for neighbors and friends who loved the original and a friend, Rick Brooks of UW-Madison, joined the project.

“They were inspired by community gift-sharing networks, ‘take a book, leave a book’ collections in coffee shops and public spaces, and most especially by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie” the website states.

Brooks and Bol set out to surpass the 2,508 Little Free Libraries — the number Carnegie sought to fund across the English-speaking world. They surpassed that goal in August 2012, a year and a half before their target date. By the end of 2012, there were more than 4,000 of the officially chartered Little Free Libraries in existence, up from 400 the year before.

Hanson eyes the Health Board budget

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HANSON — Board of Health Chair Arlene Dias fielded some tough questions on the state of the department’s budget during a meeting of the Select Board on Tuesday, Aug. 30 ahead of the special Town Meeting next month.

“We’re trying to really urge transparency in the budget process, and the only way we do that is if we’re consistent across the board,” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Just prior to the May Town Meeting, the Select Board had asked that the Health agent provide them with a budget plan similar to one provided by the Recreation Commission, outlining any austerity measures the Board of Health might be able to implement to narrow the town’s revenue investment required to keep it solvent.

FtizGerald-Kemmett said Dias had indicated to her that the whole Health Board had not discussed it yet, but some members had a conversation about the issue at their last meeting.

“They wanted to take a look at it before I presented it to the [Select Board],” Dias said, noting that the Board of Health’s next meeting is not scheduled until Sept. 28.

“Well, that’s not going to be sufficient because we’re shutting the warrant tonight,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting that the Select Board would next meet Sept. 13 and strongly suggesting that the Board of Health schedule a “one-off meeting” to “have a conversation about this and make it a priority.”

She said that otherwise a stalemate would loom at the Oct. 3 special Town Meeting.

Dias said she submitted the Health Board’s article as a placeholder. FitzGerald-Kemmett said a placeholder could be put in, but it could not be included in the warrant when the board closes it without having a conversation about the Health Board’s budget.

The warrant closes on Tuesday, Sept. 20 with the “drop-dead date” for submitting information supporting a warrant article would be this week’s [Sept. 13] meeting.

“I certainly think [a one-off meeting] is justified, given the alternative,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. 

Diaz said that, in going over the warrant articles earlier that day, the Heath Board realized it would probably see a budget shortfall.

“We thought we had enough to cover everything through program revenues, and we may be short a little,” she said, noting she would have to talk with Town Accountant Todd Hassett, but she anticipated it being less than $50,000. “We have to shore that up.”

Quasi-revenue sources, such as for cardboard recycling, comes in as a credit so it doesn’t appear as revenue, were one example of areas where Dias said could show “what we truly get for revenue.”

“This will be an ongoing request for you guys,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said about the budget reviews.

Select Board member Jim Hickey stressed that the situation is not Dias’ fault, and FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed. He said the Health agent and board should have held meetings with Hassett right after the spring Town Meeting, instead of the Select Board’s waiting all summer for the information.

“She picked up the ball here, and I want to be careful how I say this, which is not a strong suit  so this should be good,” she said. “Typically, it would be a department head that would be presenting the budget, and I think Ms. Dias is trying to be responsive to what this board has asked, knowing that we were not satisfied with what was presented to us the prior two times that we heard from them.” She acknowledged there is a lot of ground to be made up.

FitzGerald Kemmett put it another way, asking Dias what steps the Health Board or agent have taken since the May Town Meeting, taken to address the Select Boards information requests. 

Dias said she could not speak for Health Agent Gilbert Amado, but said that she met with the Health agent three weeks ago when Hassett provided help with the article and his office was closed Aug. 30.

FitzGerald-Kemmett thanked Town Hall personnel for helping get the warrant squared away during Town Administrator Lisa. Green’s medical leave.

“I want to extend a huge thanks to Beth Sloan and Jean Kelly [in the Town Clerk’s office] and Jeanne Sullivan [in the Collector’s offie] and Todd Hassett, all who have stepped up in Lisa’s absence … to work with us on the warrant.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett also thanked Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff for prioritizing the town’s town meeting warrant needs.

“The warrant is actually in much better shape than one would have expected given the circumstances,” she said. “They’ve all worked together as a team to get it … where we’re at.”

The board was asked to discuss and approve a new rental agreement for the Nathaniel Thomas Mill, but FitzGerald-Kemmett expressed some confusion about the context of the request, but tabled the matter.

“We’ve got a revised Thomas Mill application here, but I don’t really have a comparison of what it was before and what precipitated the change,” she said. “So I think it’s probably not the most urgent of matters at this moment, and I would therefore suggest that we not discuss it.”

Mass. voters cast ballots in primary

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Come November, voters will be choosing between Democrat Maura Healey — currently the commonwealth’s attorney general — and Republican Geoff Diehl — former state representative from Whitman.

Pundits cast the race pitting Diehl against an historic all-female ticket lead by the out LGBTQ Healey, as a “referendum on Trumpism” in Massachusetts.

Healey focused on her past bipartisan approach to the attorney general’s office and saluted the leadership of Gov. Charlie Baker, thanking him for his service to the state.

“Gov. Baker has led with respect and worked with both parties,” she told supporters during her victory speech Tuesday night. “He’s refused to engage in the politics of division and destruction that we’ve seen across this country.”

She said her campaign would be about making the state more affordable, growing the economy toward opportunity for all and protection of reproductive freedom.

Diehl focused on the state’s population loss and the focus on big government over individual freedom, calling Healey “the people’s worst nightmare” leading the state down a path of higher taxes and radical legislation.

“With this campaign we are going to be redefining politics as usual here in Massachusetts,” Diehl said, noting he appreciated opponent Chris Doughty’s call conceding the race, and pledging to “work together to defeat a radical attorney general who wants to be our governor.”

Diehl pledged “for the first time” to run a campaign toward November focused on “we the people — our freedoms, our rights and our prosperity.” He also pledged support for empowering parents to keep Healey’s “political agenda out of the classroom.”

Diehl has been endorsed by Donald Trump, who said in his remarks to Diehl’s supporters Monday that Diehl would “rule your state with an iron fist.”

Turnout was 22.5 percent of Whitman’s 11,239 voters and 26 percent of Hanson’s 8,170 voters.

“Primaries really don’t do that well, but we’ll see,” said Michael Ganshirt of  the Whitman Town Clerk’s Office, who estimated turnout would be about 20 percent.

Locally, Healey won Whitman by 1,144 votes to Sonia Chang-Diaz’s 142 votes, while Diehl carried his home town with 969 votes to Chris Doughty’s 241. In Hanson, Healey garnered 880 votes to Chang-Diaz’s 15 and Diehl won with 881 votes to Doughty’s 268.

For Lieutenant governor, things were more dramatic over the course of the evening as the also-rans started the evening as state leaders in early voting, but eventually, Diehl’s running mate Leah Allen took 681 votes in Hanson to Kate Campanale’s 372; and in Whitman, Allen won with 801 votes to Campanale’s 321.

On the Democratic side, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll won Whitman with 673 votes to state Sen. Eric Lesser’s 375 and Tami Gouveia’s 189. In Hanson, Driscoll garnered 516 votes to Lesser’s 290 and Gouveia’s 116.

In her victory speech, Healey saluted outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker’s leadership on behalf of Massachusetts.

Local Democrats were looking for executive experience in a lieutenant governor, according to Whitman Select Board member Justin Evans, as he held signs for Democratic candidates near Town Hall.

“I think she is a quintessential executive,” said attorney Chris DOrio. “If she were asked to take over for the governor, she sits in the chair and gets the job done. Her exective experience is what really drives me. She turned Salem around in her term there and I think she could do the same in the Corner Office one day if Maura Healey decides to move up or move out, I think Kim does a great job as governor, too.”

Diorio was also waging what he termed a “rather quixotic effort” online to garner write-in votes for Plymouth County Sheriff, needing 1,000 votes to attain that goal. At presstime, it was not clear whether his four-day social media campaign was successful.

“I got into this race because I believe in Massachusetts. We have the best people, innovation and know-how in the world. As Governor, I want to harness that potential, bring people together and build a state where every person and every business can thrive,” Healey said in a statement after she carried the Democratic primary. “Thank you to every voter who believed in that vision and made their voices heard in the primary. Thank you to every volunteer and supporter who put in the hard work to get us on this path to making history. We’re going to spend the next two months getting after it to earn every vote. This is a campaign for everyone.”

“I am tremendously humbled and honored to have received your support at the polls today,” Diehl told a cheering crowd in Weymouth. “Now, it’s on to the general election.”

There were trouble spots during the day’s voting:

• Uncontested races on both sides of the political spectrum up and down the ballot across the state;

• Polls having to stay open until midnight in Barnstable because a vault where ballots were stored for security could not be opened; and

• At least one voter, who declined to be identified charging that a sign-holder for the DA Tim Cruz campaign at the East Bridgewater school complex told them polls in East Bridgewater had closed at 6 p.m., dissuading them from voting.

“That did not happen,” said Cruz Campaign Manager Patrick Nestor on Wednsday morning. “I was there and none of our people acted that way.”

Pundits cast the race pitting Diehl against an historic all-female ticket lead by the out LGBTQ Healy, as a “referendum on Trumpism” in Massachusetts.

Healy focused on her past bipartisan approach to the attorney general’s office and saluted the leadership of Gov. Charlie Baker, thanking him for his service to the state.

“Gov. Baker has led with respect and worked with both parties,” she told supporters during her victory speech Tuesday night. “He’s refused to engage in the politics of division and destruction that we’ve seen across this country.”

She said her campaign would be about making the state more affordable, growing the economy toward opportunity for all and protection of reproductive freedom.

Diehl focused on the state’s population loss and the focus on big government over individual freedom, calling Healy “the people’s worst nightmare” leading the state down a path of higher taxes and radical legislation.

“With this campaign we are going to be redefining politics as usual here in Massachusetts,” Diehl said, noting he appreciated opponent Chris Doughty’s call conceding the race, and pledging to “work together to defeat a radical attorney general who wants to be our governor.”

Diehl pledged “for the first time” to run a campaign toward November focused on “we the people — our freedoms, our rights and our prosperity.” He also pledged support for empowering parents to keep Healy’s “political agenda out of the classroom.”

Diehl has been endorsed by Donald Trump, who said in his remarks to Diehl’s supporters Monday that Diehl would “rule your state with an iron fist.”

Turnout was 22.5 percent of Whitman’s 11,239 voters and 26 percent of Hanson’s 8,170 voters.

“Primaries really don’t do that well, but we’ll see,” said Michael Ganshirt of  the Whitman Town Clerk’s Office, who estimated turnout would be about 20 percent.

Locally, Healy won Whitman by 1,144 votes to Sonia Chang-Diaz’s 142 votes, while Diehl carried his home town with 969 votes to Chris Doughty’s 241. In Hanson, Healy garnered 880 votes to Chang-Diaz’s 15 and Diehl won with 881 votes to Doughty’s 268.

For Lieutenant governor, things were more dramatic over the course of the evening as the also-rans started the evening as state leaders in early voting, but eventually, Diehl’s running mate Leah Allen took 681 votes in Hanson to Kate Campanale’s 372; and in Whitman, Allen won with 801 votes to Campanale’s 321.

On the Democratic side, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll won Whitman with 673 votes to state Sen. Eric Lesser’s 375 and Tami Gouveia’s 189. In Hanson, Driscoll garnered 516 votes to Lesser’s 290 and Gouveia’s 116.

In her victory speech, Healy saluted outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker’s leadership on behalf of Massachusetts.

Local Democrats were looking for executive experience in a lieutenant governor, according to Whitman Select Board member Justin Evans, as he held signs for Democratic candidates near Town Hall.

“I think she is a quintessential executive,” said attorney Chris DOrio. “If she were asked to take over for the governor, she sits in the chair and gets the job done. Her exective experience is what really drives me. She turned Salem around in her term there and I think she could do the same in the Corner Office one day if Maura Healy decides to move up or move out, I think Kim does a great job as governor, too.”

Diorio was also waging what he termed a “rather quixotic effort” online to garner write-in votes for Plymouth County Sheriff, needing 1,000 votes to attain that goal. At presstime, it was not clear whether his four-day social media campaign was successful.

“I got into this race because I believe in Massachusetts. We have the best people, innovation and know-how in the world. As Governor, I want to harness that potential, bring people together and build a state where every person and every business can thrive,” Healy said in a statement after she carried the Democratic primary. “Thank you to every voter who believed in that vision and made their voices heard in the primary. Thank you to every volunteer and supporter who put in the hard work to get us on this path to making history. We’re going to spend the next two months getting after it to earn every vote. This is a campaign for everyone.”

“I am tremendously humbled and honored to have received your support at the polls today,” Diehl told a cheering crowd in Weymouth. “Now, it’s on to the general election.”

There were trouble spots during the day’s voting:

• Uncontested races on both sides of the political spectrum up and down the ballot across the state;

• Polls having to stay open until midnight in Barnstable because a vault where ballots were stored for security could not be opened; and

• At least one voter, who declined to be identified charging that a sign-holder for the DA Tim Cruz campaign at the East Bridgewater school complex told them polls in East Bridgewater had closed at 6 p.m., dissuading them from voting.

“That did not happen,” said Cruz Campaign Manager Patrick Nestor on Wednsday morning. “I was there and none of our people acted that way.”

Regional pact panel formed

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The School committee on Wednesday, Aug. 24 approved a 10-member Regional Agreement subcommittee — made up of a School Committee and Select Board member from each town and both town administrators as voting members; as well as a finance committee member, citizen at large from both towns, the superintendent, assistant superintendent, the district business manager as non-voting members.

The School Committee will vote on membership of the subcommittee at its next meeting.

The Committee rejected a proposal by member Fred Small that the subcommittee be charged with hiring the Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) to facilitate the work to ensure it is legally sound, following a discussion of the feedback received from both select boards regarding the Regional Agreement.

Chair Christopher Howard met with the Whitman Select Board on Tuesday, June 21 and both he and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak attended a meeting of the Hanson Select Board on Tuesday, July 26. Both meetings, broadcast by Whitman-Hanson Community Access (WHCA-TV) are available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/WHCA9TV/videos). 

“If we’re forming a committee among our partnership [between the towns], I have full confidence we can lean on [the committee] to do due diligence,” Vice Chairman Christopher Scriven said of the MARS requirement. “Of course we’re going to consult with MARS. I feel it’s a bit of an overstep at this point.”

Both select boards indicated a preference for a more streamlined subcommittee with fewer members than worked on the last review of the document. 

“They both would like to move forward,” Howard said. “They both see the need to update the regional agreement for a variety of reasons, and the general consensus — general, because I think we got there in both meetings, but there was certainly some discussion — was to probably start small.”

Howard said there was clarity around the opinion that it was “a really big committee” last time.

He suggested the School Committee could form the subcommittee right away unless some members needed more time to review the select board meetings. The committee indicated its willingness to proceed with that discussion.

The panel would be a subcommittee of the School Committee, and Howard’s suggestion was to include one School Committee member from each town, one select board member from each town, both town administrators as voting members; with the superintendent, assistant superintendent, the district business manager and a finance committee member from each town as non-voting members.

Howard told both select boards it was preferable to start small and add to it, if necessary.

“I’ve never seen a committee get smaller,” Howard said. “The charge right now is we’ve got to build something, then we can figure out who’s going to be on it.”

Committee member Beth Stafford agreed with that approach.

“If you start with a smaller group you’re more likely to get full participation,” she said.

Member David Forth suggested adding a citizen member from each town, regardless of their voting status.

“The question I had is how would the quorum work for voting members and nonvoting members?” he said because any changes to the agreement must go through the School Committee and both select boards and town meetings in both communities for ratification.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for participation and transparency from anyone that wants to along this entire way,” Howard said. He also said his thinking was that the quorum requirements would only apply to the voting members.

But Forth argues that because it goes through town meetings, it is important for citizens fro both communities involved in the review.

“I also kind of like that you’d have three from each town, so if it’s three to three, it kind of forces [them] to find consensus,” he said.

Small, however, recommended a subcommittee of two School Committee members from each town, a select board member from each town, and a citizen’s representative from each community as voting members. He suggested the administrators could be nonvoting members without finance committee members included.

Member Dawn Byers agreed with Small’s voting members, but argued that two members from town finance committees were important more than citizens at-large for an eight-person committee.

“I think that (the Mass. Association of Regional Schools) MARS should be consulted and ask them to come in and help construct [the committee],” Small said. “Granted, we have a foundation to work off of, but they would know what updated laws and rules and regulations are, even compared to four or five years ago.”

Howard said placing two School Committee member from each town, it opens the door to two select board members from each town.

“Now we’ve gone from a committee of six to a committee of 10 just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “If I was a member of either select board I’m not sure I would say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to have two School Committee members, but we’re only going to have one select person.”

Small said it’s important to have citizen members in order to gauge their opinions.

One is the loneliest number

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HALIFAX — Selectman Jonathan Selig, the town’s only remaining member of the board, conducted a regularly scheduled selectmen’s meeting in the Great Hall at Halifax Town Hall, to deal with town business in an emergency meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 30. 

After the shocking resignation of his two other board members, as well as Town Administrator Marty Golightly, Selig put out a notice taking charge and requesting calm from the townspeople.  

“I want the people of Halifax to know this — we will be following the proper procedures going forward and we will get through this,” he said.

Thursday’s emergency meeting, Aug. 25, at 2:30 p.m. was convened with the sole purpose on the agenda to accept the resignation of town administrator, after only five weeks on the job.   

Chair Ashley DiSesa began the meeting.

“We got an email this morning from Mr. Golightly saying that his intention is to move on as planned; he did reconsider but feels the town is not the right fit for him.” DiSesa said to Golightly, “I thank you. I think you’re an amazing human being and I’m sorry that our town is very toxic and the way that you’ve been treated by residents and some town employees, so I apologize too on behalf of us because the whole town is not like that, so I’m sorry.” 

Golightly previously served as the Director of Public Health in Abington during much of the pandemic. Regarding his resignation from that position, he said, “it just wasn’t the time to live and work in the same community.” It had been reported that Golightly had received “personal attacks and threats” during his time in the position. 

DiSesa then read a statement regarding her own position within the town. She began, “When I was elected, I was told this would be a thankless job. What I didn’t realize was that thankless would be the least of my worries. I’ve weathered the storm of misogyny, sexual harassment, underestimation, and doubts about my abilities to perform the expected duties. Nonetheless, I believed that my becoming a selectwoman would allow me to make a difference in a town I consider myself fortunate enough to call home with my 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.”

She continued, “Over the past 16 months, I have dedicated countless hours to this town, taking away from my children and have withstood multiple personal attacks without retribution.” DiSesa noted that she was not perfect but said that she “maintained an optimistic belief” that doing the right thing would be worthwhile all while losing people she considered friends. She continued with her statement saying, “I’ve seen our small town be torn apart by personal vendettas — a group of officials and some town employees who live by the mentality “rules for thee and not for me.

“I wanted to believe Halifax was better than this. That we could work together for a common cause, compromise, and be able to disagree without being so disagreeable.” DiSesa noted that it was an “honor” to work with Halifax’s Police and Fire Departments saying that they were the heart of the town. She then said that her resignation would be effective that day at 3 pm. 

Selectman Alex Meade began his own statement by saying, “Idiotic, disgraceful, shameful, and embarrassing are just a handful of the adjectives that have been used to describe me and my conduct after taking my Select Board position.” Meade, who began as Selectman in May, had unseated Gordon Andrews for a three-year term on the Board during the most recent town election. He continued, “Since the election, I have been threatened, I have been verbally attacked, and I have had lies and rumors about my private life thrust into the public spotlight for reasons unknown. Despite all of that… I have continued to do what I believe is in the best interest of the town.” 

Meade said that after a recent meeting, the Selectmen were encouraged to use a separate exit because of the commotion surrounding the outcome of the meeting. 

“Quite frankly, I have enough self-respect to take the high road and not engage when misplaced negative rhetoric and a mob mentality emerges, but I know, too, that I deserve better treatment by other members of my community,” he said. 

Meade said that despite working with good members of the community on other boards and committees, he would be resigning immediately following the meeting in the interest of the health and safety of his family especially his children. 

The Selectmen then voted unanimously to accept the resignations of Marty Golightly, Ashley DiSesa, and Alex Meade. Jonathan Selig, who has been serving since May and was elected to the one-year term that was previously filled by Troy Garron, is now the only remaining Selectman in town. 

To fill the vacancies on the board, Town Clerk Susan Lawless worked put out the election calendar that would best suit the town.  It was decided in the interest of cost efficiency, the election would be held alongside the town’s state election Tuesday, Nov. 8.  Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Nomination papers are available now at the Office of the Town Clerk until Sept. 20. They must be returned with signatures by Oct. 4.  Those wishing to vote in the special election must register by Saturday, Oct. 29.  Nov. 1 is the deadline to post the warrant.

After adjourning the meeting, the audience of about 50 residents stood in applause for Selectman Jonathan Selig for stepping up.

Green is out on medical leave

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HANSON — Town Administrator Lisa Green is out on a temporary medical leave, elect Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett announced at the board’s Tuesday, Aug. 30 meeting.

The board had met in executive session Monday, Aug. 29 under Mass. General Law provisions regarding the physical condition or competence of an employee.

“Naturally I can’t provide any details [about Green’s health], that would be violating HIPAA, nor do I think people necessarily want to hear the gory details,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “With that said, we’re obviously in a critical time since we are knee-deep for preparations for Town Meeting which is one of the most important days of the year for the town.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that, working with town counsel, the board was able to identify a candidate who has acted as an interim for in the past 

The Select Board entered into an agreement with Kevin Donvan to serve as interim town administrator for a period of up to three months at a rate of $75 per hour, which FitzGerald-Kemmett is quite reasonable for the job he is going to be doing and is expected to do He is deeply experienced, having served as tow administrator for other towns and has also served on the Abington select board and “has quite an impressive résumé.” 

Donovan started his role on Wednesday, Aug. 31 and planned a department head meeting for that day.

“With Lisa’s medical situation, the board wanted her to focus on getting well,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “She’s really been trying to be a hero by coming in — and I think she’s ended up causing more problems [for herself] by coming in — so we really said to her, ‘You need to take care of yourself and we want to give you the opportunity to do that.’ But we need to steady the ship and bring somebody in to make sure we’re getting the day-to-day business done.”

Green will be using sick and vacation time while she recovers as preferable to the rules of the Family and Medical Leave Act. Te board will figure out a transitional period back to the office when she is better.

“There might be a time wen she is working remotely part-time and Mr. Donovan is working part-time and then at some point, she’ll come back to the office,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Donovan should be a good fit as he helps the board catch up and keep up with work while Green is out, she said.

“We were impressed. He has a great sense of humor, which is going to stand him in good stead. … He knows his priority is to get the Town Meeting warrant done and he knows what he’s coming into and what’s expected of him.”

Selectman Jim Hickey said he agreed that Donovan was very knowledgeable.

“Right now, the most important thing for us is Town Meeting, and he’s been through it many times,” Hickey said.

Donovan will be working with the Hanson Select Board full-time for the first couple of weeks to onboard the new administrative assistant and potentially beyond a couple of weeks, if town business requires it.

“The thought process is he’ll pull back to 20 hours a week and be on-call full-time at no charge to the town unless he physically has to come into the office,” she said.

The Select Board voted on Tuesday, Aug. 30, to appoint Jake Matyi as temporary administrative assistant and intern to the town administrator, and Lynn McDowell as the new executive assistant to the town administrator. Select Board member Anne Rein was away on a long-planned vacation Tuesday.

“We’re hopeful that, between [Donovan] and Jake and Lynn, we’ll get things back on track at the office,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We can’t wait for you to start,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said of McDowell’s Wednesday, Sept. 7 start date. McDowell attended the Aug. 30 meeting.

Matyi, who was not in attendance at the meeting is a student at Bridgewater State University, who will be stepping in to serve for about five to six weeks to assist in the town administrator’s office.

In other business, the board approved a conditional offer of employment to police officer Michael S. Maliff Jr., to fill a vacancy, which opened when an officer transferred out of the department in June, according Chief Michael Miksch. Maliff must pass the required medical and psychological exams and a background check before officially joining the Hanson Police Department.

“Normally, I get 50-plus résumés and letters, and we got, like, 20,” Miksch said. Of those 20 applicants, about six met the minimum requirements posted, but 10 were interviewed, based on their backgrounds.

“Mike Maliff is the one who came out on top,” he said.

Maliff grew up in Whitman and is a graduate of WHRHS. He is currently an officer on the Oak Bluffs Police Department on Martha’s Vineyard, where he has served since 2013. He is working on his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

“One of the things that’s impressive with Michael is he’s part of the drug task force [on the Vineyard], so he’s done some detective work, and he’s also a field training officer,” Miksch said, noting that, ironically, he will have to go through field training with the Hanson department. “He’s fully academy trained, which will save us a lot of money … he looks like he’ll be a very good fit for the department.”

It’s back-to-school time

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The School Committee was updated on school start times. COVID protocols and heard updates on the strategic plan working groups at its Wednesday, Aug. 24 meeting.

The district’s schools opened for the 2022-23 school year on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

“We are ready to go,” Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said at the meeting. “School is ready to open. Professional staff – we’re fully staffed, but I’m going to make a plea to the public right now … I’m in dire need of paraprofessionals at all levels.”

Szymaniak said he also needs duty aides – lunchroom assistants for the elementary and middle schools – and long-term substitute teachers, especially at Conley and Indian Head schools and the high school.

Those positions are all posted on the SchoolSpring website [schoolspring.com].

He also said bus and van drivers are needed by both First Student and North River Collaborative.

“The lack of bus drivers will impact us in the future when people start calling out sick and things like that,” he said. 

Szymaniak said for the first time since the pandemic started, he had an extremely short COVID report.

“I asked [lead nurse] Lisa Tobin for an update and she said, ‘We’re as close to 2019 as ever,’ so we’re opening as normal,” he said. “We’re only asking students – if they test positive at home – to stay home for five days.”

Masks will only be required in the nurse’s office.

The strategic plan working groups provided an update on their work over the summer. Chair Christopher Howard said no votes were planned on the working groups’ reports.

Uniform start times

With the start of a new school year in mind, as well as requests over the summer from parents and students asking that start times be pushed back, Symaniak reviewed the work of the Uniform Start Times working group.

He has included further investigation of the issue in his years’ goals. Hurdles along the way include financial implications, teacher contract renegotiations, student work schedules, younger students at home alone after school, special education can availability and the impact on athletic schedules, among others. 

“We think 9 a.m. is a good start time, that will definitely have an impact on high school schedules and our league,” he said. “We need to dig deeper. There were a lot of what-ifs at our meetings.”

Benefits include more downtime for high school students at the end of the day, parents will have older students home with younger siblings after school or can find work and the lower grades administrations seem to be satisfied.

Szymaniak is also looking into what plans the state may have in mind regarding start times as well as the possible budget implications of any change.

Career readiness

“This is really supposed to be just an information share,” said Howard, who was a member of the Postgrad Readiness and Early College and Work group. “We really focused in on early college pathways, additional post-graduation type opportunities in terms of career readiness and then we looked at early college, as well.”

The group researched what other school districts and the state has to offer as part of their work, Committee member Beth Stafford said, including business innovation pathways programs.

“We’re hoping to do a medical one, because we feel that it’s not just about college,” Stafford said. “It’s about readiness for all different aspects of the world.”

Dual enrollment with Quincy College has also been discussed. The school already has a program with Quincy College involving courses in pre-calculus, sociology and accounting with the aim of adding marketing, anatomy & physiology and statistics. 

High School Guidance Counselor Ruth Carrigan said that a “robust” internship program is already in place for several years, in the past connected to a work-based learning program, which has lost some focus recently before COVID stopped it completely.

She said the plan is to bring it back.

Counselors also work closely with students to develop a post-graduate career plan.

“It’s not the same for everybody,” Committee member Fred Small said. “Everyone has a different need. Everyone has a different desire, and to be able to accommodate so many students in that aspect is fantastic.”

He did express concern about the sustainability of grants. Stafford also said someone had to be put in place to run the programs.

Related arts

The K-8 Related Arts working group’s blueprint includes foreign language — what a language is and how it looks like in today’s day and age, according to Assistant Superintendent George Ferro. The group analyzed how teachers are used today, how to bring in new staff and programs as well as how students learn best.

Starting with a STEM and robotics program, during a related arts period already offered, from K-8 was recommended because there is no impact from a personnel standpoint. Using library periods in earlier grades adds a literacy component including early coding and STEM aspects. In grades three to five use of an online program called Robotitfy works off an ingenuity platform that fits with all the students’ hand-held devices, again during time already allotted in their schedule. Middle school students already have STEM or technology application classes.

“This would be infused in it and would be a formal way for students to do it,” Ferro said. The cost starting point for a year would be $55,000 with that method.

Introducing foreign languages, too, could be built into the day for grades seven and eight through an online course that “doesn’t have to always be during the day,” Ferro said.

“You would offer online Spanish to all eighth-grade students in both middle schools, that way there are no equity issues,” he said. “We’re providing a service, we’re providing a device and we’ll talk about the support for that.”

Online programs also provide on-demand tutoring outside of school.

“We would hire one Spanish teacher as we begin this,” Ferro said, who would provide in-person support to interested students during academic extension time. The teacher would serve both middle schools, who could also offer a introductory cultural class in grade six and one school and grade seven in another.

The Spanish course would cost $24,000 per year for Whitman and Hanson combined through Imagine Inginuity with the on-demand tutoring option costing $4,400. The teacher would cost about $75,000.

“You would be making students competitive with other students locally, within the state and nationally,” Ferro said. Students would start with Spanish II at the high school. He argues it could open avenues for other courses.

While he admitted it would have to be explore it with the teacher’s union, Ferro said it could open different teaching opportunities for staff.

Learning a language – whether coding, ASL or a foreign language –  expands the mind’s ability to think critically and problem solve, making decisions quicker, as well as introducing them to a broader world.

Student culture

The Student Climate, Culture and Support working group will be collecting information over the coming school year to gauge where the culture is as a district before the meet again as a group to make recommendations.

Whitman TA has resigned

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WHITMAN —Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman has resigned from that position, effective Monday, Aug. 15 Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina announced following an executive session of the board during a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 25.

The board had also voted, during that executive session on the topic, to appoint Frank Lynam as interim town administrator, a post he has been working in an acting capacity since Aug. 9.

Lynam suggested that a search committee be appointed to hire a new administrator, which the board approved. Serving on the committee will be Select Board member Dr. Carl Kowalski, Finance Committee Chair Richard Anderson, a public safety chief and Lynam and resident John Galvin as citizens at-large.

“I would suggest we start it fairly quickly,” he said of the selection. “If, for no other reason, that I would love to see someone come here and I will go back to my previous most recent occupation, which is playing with my grandchildren and relaxing at home.” 

When the town conducted its last administrator search, the firm of Community Paradigm was hired to do that work, Lynam noted.

“My concern with that process is, it seems — particularly with all the activity occurring now among different towns with administrators and managers retiring or otherwise leaving for other positions — that a list develops of available people,” he said. “It’s the same type of list that’s continually recycling.”

He said that, with the collective talent among the Select Board, and with the assistance of some citizens, they could do “as good or better” a job than the consultant firm did.

Kowalski volunteered his services on the search committee as did Galvin, who was attending the meeting. Lynam offered his services based on his experience on the Finance and Select boards as well as 18 years as town administrator.

“I think I have some value to offer the board in serving on that search committee,” he told the board. “My only vested interest is seeing someone who can lead the community with your direction in a more productive and positive way.”

Galvin has been very active on town committees in recent years and has a skill for research, Lynam said indicating he was “reasonably sure” Galvin would accept. He did.

Kowalski said all members of the Select Board would have the opportunity to review résumés and ask questions of applicants.

Select Board Vice Chair Dan Salvucci asked if they would be looking at hiring an assistant administrator at the same time.

“I think it would be very difficult for a committee to try to fill both positions at the same time,” Lynam said, but he said the responses for the administrator post may point to some applicants who, while they might not be prepared to be a town administrator, could have something to offer on that track.

He said the board’s focus on someone to work primarily on grants and personnel management as an assistant town administrator.

Select Board member Shawn Kain suggested that town employees be asked for their feedback to give them a voice in the process, which Lynam thought would be helpful.

The town is also working to replace departing Treasurer/Collector Mary Beth Carter.

“I had hoped to bring some encouraging news here,” Lynam said about that position. “We had reached out, with the help of our current TC, who, we hoped would be able to step in for us.”

Unfortunately, the person spent 4.5 hours on Wednesday, Aug. 24 and left “with a migraine, and said ‘this is way too much work,’” he said. “It kind of sheds a little light on the sophistication and level of what’s required in Whitman for a treasurer/collector.”

While the person had more than 18 years of experience, she had not done utility or trash billing, which are routine for the office in Whitman.

Lynam recommended that he reach out to another candidate he has in mind who is currently serving in a municipal treasurer role as well as the Select Board’s consideration of the practicality of an elected treasurer and give thought to reaching out to the citizens of Whitman with the aim of changing it to an appointed one.

“The majority of such positions around the state are appointed, and for good reason,” he said. “While an election does allow the voters to say, ‘This is the person I want,’ an appointment allows the town to evaluate the qualifications and the skillset of the person who would be handling the investment of town money and working to collect taxes and discharge all the duties that a treasurer and collector are required to do under Mass. law.”

He encouraged the board to place the issue on it’s next agenda.

West Nile found in Hanson, Whitman

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The boards of health in Whitman and Hanson have been notified of what has become a late summer tradition — a positive West Nile Virus positive mosquito sample in Hanson and Whitman. While the risk of human infections is low, certain steps should be taken to protect yourself, the boards have joined with the state Department of Public Health in recommending.

Chief among them is to be prepared: Repair screens, clean up to get rid of mosquito breeding sites, be aware of stagnant water on private property (e.g. unused swimming pools).
Residents should also wear mosquito repellent between dusk and dawn; wear long sleeves and long pants from dusk to dawn and to se mosquito netting on baby carriages and playpens.

Chief Timothy Clancy and the Whitman Fire Department also wish to remind Whitman residents of the important safety tips to avoid mosquito and tick bites.

Serious viruses including West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) can be spread by mosquitos in rare instances. Residents are also reminded to take care to prevent tick bites, as some ticks may carry diseases including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Borrelia miyamotoi and Powassan virus.

The Whitman Fire Department wishes to share the following tips from the CDC, which can be used to prevent both mosquito and tick bites:

• Use insect repellents that are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and have one of the following active ingredients: DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. 

— Reapply insect repellent as directed and follow instructions on the label of the product.

— Apply sunscreen first and insect repellant second.

— Do not apply insect repellent on the skin beneath clothing. 

— Parents, guardians and caregivers of babies and children are advised: 

• Dress children in long layers to cover their arms and legs.

• Use mosquito netting to cover strollers and baby carriers outdoors.

Remember, when using insect repellent on a child: 

• Follow the instructions on the label.

• Never use products that contain oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol on children under 3 years old. 

• Never apply insect repellent on a child’s hands, eyes, mouth, cuts or irritated skin. 

• To apply insect repellant to a child’s face, carefully spray it onto your hands and apply it to the skin.

• Consider buying permethrin-treated clothing and gear, or using permethrin to treat your clothing and gear.

• When temperatures allow, wear breathable long sleeve shirts and pants when hiking or participating in outdoor activities. 

Residents are advised to prepare their homes and properties to avoid mosquitos from laying their eggs in the area, and to prevent insects from getting indoors. This can be done by maintaining screens and doors properly and repairing any holes, utilizing air conditioning where possible, and regularly checking your property for standing water and clearing it out. Mosquitos are known to lay their eggs in and around water.

Whitman Fire also stressed CDC tips for tick bite prevention.Remember that ticks live in grassy, bushy, or wooded areas and can also be found on animals. You can get a tick walking your dog, camping, gardening, hunting, in your neighborhood or in your backyard.

• Walk in the center of trails and avoid wooded areas with high grass and litter.

• Check your clothing and skin for ticks after being outside. When checking your body, be sure to look for ticks in the following areas: 

— Under the arms

— In and around the ears

— Inside the belly button

— Back of the knees

— In and around hair

— Between the legs

— Around the waist

• To kill ticks that may be on clothing, tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes. If the clothes need to be washed first, use hot water.

• After being outdoors, examine gear and pets for ticks.

• Shower within two hours of being outdoors.

A summer of career exploration

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HANOVER — So, how did you spend your summer vacation?

For 140 middle school students who said summer school, it wasn’t all remedial work. In fact, for students in the eight member towns of the South Shore Tech district, it was quite the opposite.

For the second year, students in grades six to eight attending SST’s Vocational Summer Discovery program, the focus was squarely on the future.

Vocational Director Keith Boyle said the program was started as a way to recruit and reach out to younger students in an effort to make them aware of what the school offers — and for the second year in a row it also sold out.

A lot of the repeat students used it as an opportunity to explore a different program this year, he said, adding that, while it is not designed to give a student a “leg up” in the freshman exploratory weeks it gives them a better idea what some different programs at the school offers.

“We start with our member towns, but we have expanded to out-of-district based off available seats,” he said. “This year, we had quite a successful program — we offered eight vocational trades.”

The only four of the 12 trades taught at the school that were not included in the summer program were allied health, manufacturing, cosmetology and electrical. Students did explore automotive, computer information technology, culinary arts, design/visual communications, horticulture/landscape construction, HVAC/refrigeration and metal fabrication/welding.

“I don’t think they knew what they wanted to do [as a high school course of study], but I think there was interest,” Boyle said. “I think it was an exploration to match up with their hobby or maybe their dad is an electrician and it was a way to get the student kind of involved in the trade to see, ‘Is this what I want to do?’”

Each day involved a project they could take home, according to Boyle.

For students who love to cook, for example, they had a week where could work in a commercial kitchen with chefs. They cook and they bring food home with them every day.

While it doesn’t drive the schools curriculum, it does incorporate the exploratory portion of the school’s traditional freshman year program, tailored for younger students.

“But they all did small projects that they could take home,” Boyle said. The carpentry program had campers making small birdhouses for their backyards, automotive program made small racecars.

“The goal of the program was, the students are building something,” he said. “The students are using their hands. They might be using some minor tools with supervision, but they’re taking home a project at the end to show their parents and to show folks that, ‘This is what I built, his is what I made.’”

In a small way, it can also inform the school about what incoming students may want to study.

Automotive, for example is a field that is changing rapidly as car makers begin moving to EVs — especially in light of a California’s recent decision to ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035.

“That will come to fruition in a lot of vocational schools that have gone through renovations and have built their automotive program to house EV shops,” said Boyle. “A lot of that is because the power needs just means that this building might not have the capacity for it. If we renovated the building or added the capacity, now’s the time to put in the EV, electrical — all those components.”

SST is one of the schools now working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on a renovation and expansion plan, in which the MSBA has asked the school to outline possible future program changes or offerings.

Between the electronic and battery components of EVs, that could also mean cross-instruction between automotive, electronics, IT and science programs.

Grants are also helping drive what’s coming ahead at the school Boyle said. A $500,000 Mass. Skills Capital Grant will be used to purchase industry-standard equipment for the HVAC and advanced manufacturing programs.

“Those dollars will specifically go toward new stat-of-the-art equipment, where we will replace or purchase new equipment based off the frameworks so our students are training and gaining experience on the high-tech equipment to make them successful in the industry once they leave here,” he said.

That equipment includes lathes, milling machines, boilers, tankless water heaters, home energy trainers and more.

Another grant involves the Commonwealth Corporation, in the form of a $640,000 Career Technical Initiative Grant to launch adult evening after school programs.

“We’re kind of changing our building from being a 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and sports to a 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. school and then 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. adult education facility,” Boyle said. “They will go through a 250-hour automotive course with the goal being [for example] to be employed in the industry.”

The career changing programs in automotive, carpentry, manufacturing and HVAC, among others will be aimed a career-changing for under- and unemployed adults and veterans.

“Not every program we offer here could be offered in that specific program at night,” he said. “But that specific program is a no-cost program.”

A typical adult night school course for other people looking to upgrade skills or change careers while employed carries a tuition cost.