Whitman-Hanson Express

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They’re soaked in inclusion

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Nearly $2,000 was raised by Whitman Hanson Best Buddies and Student Council as part of a Best Buddies’ project during the culmination of Inclusion week.

Whitman-Hanson students and staff had a daily dress up theme and special guests from the post-graduate program and students with disabilities participated in the morning announcements. Students also had eight different videos highlighting their strengths and what inclusion meant to each of them.  The videos were played at the end of the school day throughout the week, according to student council advisor Dan Moriarty. Best Buddies and Student Council were hosts to the event, which was open to all school staff and students to participate.

The end of the week in past years included a Polar Plunge with a run in and out of the ocean on the Cape, said Moriarty.

The new plunge, in view of COVID restrictions, was completed by doing an ice bucket challenge.

Colleen Patterson a teacher at Whitman-Hanson was chosen by a raffle ticket to dump a bucket over the head of WHRHS Principal Dr. Christopher Jones. Several of the teachers dressed in scuba gear, face masks, and Dylan O’Neil a special education teacher wore a snorkel mask and a donut shaped float. His brother Sean O’Neil of Hanson is a student in the post-graduate program. He took a minute to line up and readied his bucket but spared his big brother and instead of his face, soaked his belly with the ice water.

He had fun dumping the water on his brother, O’Neil said following the event.

For information on ways to donate through the April deadline visit the  Special Olympics Massachusetts wesbsite support.specialolympics.org/massachusetts. The polar plunge challenges ended this week but donations are still open.

Hanson sharpens town budget pencil

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen is looking at override options to close the town’s $2.18 million budget shortfall.

“People are asking how would you get to $2.18 million?” Town Administrator John Stanbrook said. “Should we go for the entire amount? Should we cut what we can [first]?”

The board will be meeting again on April 6 to finalize the budget.

Should an override fail, he said, the school district would have to cut about  $750,000 — with Hanson realizing 40 percent of the cut.

If free cash were used to keep the transfer station open, for example — $118,000 is needed — it’s a dollar that can’t go into the town’s budget. If retained earnings were used for the transfer station, it would return $60,000. No additional OPEB transfers would bring $25,000 back to the budget coffers; $616,000 in the budget would close the gap a bit more than has already been discussed; Ambulance receipts could mean another $100,000; overlay surplus holds another $215,000 with the potential to free up $200,000 toward the deficit; $20,000 in the tax title line is not needed this year; boosting the local receipts by $80,155 — or a 4 percent increase — would also produce deficit savings. Finally, cutting the town budget where it can be cut to the fiscal 2020 level, would bring back $847,053.

The $847,053 represents “real money and would mean real cuts” to police, fire, highway, Town Hall, Council on Aging, library and transfer station.

“All of those together would be the $2 million-plus amount that we’re looking at right now,” he said. Using free cash is using money the town won’t have next year, however, because the town would be cutting the budget as close to the bone as possible.

Stanbrook said the town cannot afford the 4-percent increase in the assessment sought by the school district.

“That gives us a $1.9 million deficit,” he said. “It’s really every dollar that the school district does not charge us is a dollar amount that we could use on the town side.”

He suggested the Article 4 budget line could be presented in two columns, representing the budget impact with and without an override. Or divide the two budgets between two separate articles.

Selectman Chairman Kenny Mitchell advocated for a single column, arguing that two columns would be too confusing.

“It seems to me as though this is an all-or-nothing [approach],” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, asking if a tiered approach would be better. “I’m always afraid when it’s almost like you’re calling people’s bluff.”

She suggested counter-arguing for the need of an override.

“We haven’t taken this lightly,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “John’s crunched the numbers beyond crunching and there’s no way around it.”

Selectman Wes Blauss said a tiered approach has been tried before, and did not work well. He advocated providing voters with both options as a method for helping them decide.

Town Moderator Sean Kealy suggested the information could be provided to voters in a handout, because two columns in Article 4 could be very confusing.

Selectman Jim Hickey agreed with Kealy’s suggestion.

“When you say this is what we’re going to have or this is what we’re not going to have, you’re talking jobs and you’re talking services,” Hickey said. He argued that the message has to center on what the town could be missing.

“When we debate the override — and it’s going to be debated — is someone going to make a presentation on de-regionalization, or at least speak to that issue, because I anticipate it coming up,” Kealy said.

Town Meeting, to be held at 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 3 at the WRHS gym as a priority one site, with an outside location at the high school as priority two.

Mitchell advocated for keeping the date and the original location at Hanson Middle School.

“Especially when you’re talking about an override, I think going to the ballot first before Town Meeting is a little deadly,” Mitchell said.

Town Clerk Beth Sloan agreed with keeping the meeting date on May 3. Her only question was how to fit people in the auditorium while observing proper social distancing if an override is to be discussed.

“I don’t have any objection to keeping it on May 3,” agreed Kealy. “Was there an argument for keeping it May 3 other than more people would be vaccinated by then?”

Mitchell said, so far as he was aware, that was the only argument.

“You’ve got to be thinking about overflow,” Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said about the potential for a large turnout. “It really depends on what infrastructure you have at that building and I just don’t know.”

Sufficient technology would be needed to enable people in overflow rooms to hear and participate in the proceedings.

“I think our last July Town Meeting went very well and I think there is going to be an overflow crowd,” said Blauss. “I think we’re dealing with a large number of people, and I think that putting it on the field — it wouldn’t be able to start at 7:30 p.m. — rather than worry about where we are with vaccinations, which I think is still going to be a huge issue at the beginning of May, I think we should start off [acknowledging] last year worked great.”

Selectmen advocated checking with the School District to see if the Town Meeting can be held outside at the high school.

Kealy, expressing weather concerns, said the October Town Meeting held in the high school gym, worked well. He noted that social distancing could be observed there and the school has the proper ventilation to keep people safe.

“It may not be as good as outside, but outside would be tough because of the weather,” he said.

Sewer, school costs reviewed

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, March 23 heard some sobering numbers with a potential to affect the town’s budget from both the school district and public works officials.

Selectman Brian Bezanson said that, following the evening’s sessions with the DPW Commissioners and school officials, following the board’s meeting with South Shore Tech officials earlier in the month, the town has some “sobering numbers” to contend with going forward.

“We’re putting the squeeze on everybody and it’s going to be very difficult going forward,” he said. “I think we all need to come together to try to figure out ways that we can get through this together without causing a mass exodus out of Whitman.”

Selectmen held a meeting with Department of Public Works Superintendent Dennis Smith, DPW Commission Chairman Kevin Cleary and Environmental Partners Group consultants about the 20-inch sewer force main project.

The pipe alone will cost about $6 million, with another $1.7 million for Auburn Street water main replacement and $4.5 million for restoration. Incidental work is estimated at nearly $1 million with general conditions priced out at $2.3 million — the construction subtotal coming to $12,331,350. Engineering services and contingency costs would bring the total to $14,471,950.

“As of originally setting up this meeting, the commissioners were still, I think, having some internal debate about which version of this project they would be recommending to go forward [with] at Town Meeting,” Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said.

He said the commissioners had decided at their last meeting to go with the base work, and not some of the alternates originally viewed as part of the project. Heineman added that he wanted to make sure Selectmen were aware what the project now entails as well as current cost projections as well as possible funding sources.

“I will say they were definitely keeping an eye out for the rate payer to keep the cost as low as possible,” Selectman Randy LaMattina said.

But he said, in watching the commissioners’ last meeting he did not recall discussion of replacing the water main.

Commission members said that decision was made several meetings ago to avoid having to dig the road up later, bringing the cost up by about $1.8 million, largely for water main work.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski asked if the commissioners had voted on the new numbers yet. Cleary said the new numbers would have to be voted at their next meeting.

“I don’t argue the veracity of this project one bit,” LaMattina said. Sometimes the people who pay the bills get lost in a lot of what we do — and that’s the ratepayer. … Are we dealing with a definitive need or are we talking about a want?”

LaMattina said that, if the DPW Commissioners want a vote from Selectmen, he definitely wants a vote by them.

Selectman Justin Evans said the water main replacement had been discussed with Selectmen in December or January.

“It makes sense to do it while the road’s open,” he said. “It makes sense in the long run — the sewer system is close to 40 years old, the water main is close to the same age.”

Evans suggested it could be a good time to look at retained earnings as a funding source. Heineman said there is about $4.1 million in retained earnings.

After a few significant breaks over the past few years, the DPW is seeking to replace the force main in the sewer line leading from the Auburn Street pump station due to corrosion issues.

The line carries 500,000 to 1 million gallons per day into the Brockton system.

The project the commissioners have worked on for the past two years is aimed at repairing the problem and addressing infrastructure improvements to town water and roadway systems in the Auburn Street area, according to Cleary.

“We’ve got our longevity and then some since the pipe was put in during the 1984,” he said.

Ziad Kary of Environmental Partners Group reviewed the project’s need and proposal for Selectmen. Options ranged for a new main and abandonment of the existing main to cross-connections and partial replacement.

“We focused on alternative number one,” Kary said. “Simply put a new force main in and abandon the existing.”

Design began in October, using corrosion-resistant materials. Permitting is expected to be complete by March 31 with final design done by April 30. Bids would be advertised in May and awarded in June with a construction start planned for July or August this year.

“We believe this is about a year of construction,” Kary said.

School budget

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak and six members of the School Committee also met virtually with Selectmen about the budget. [See related story, page one].

“It will certainly be a challenge to balance this budget with the number that was certified by the School Committee on Wednesday [March 17],” Heineman told the board.

LaMattina took issue with School Committee member Dawn Byers’ outline of the work of Whitman’s Override Committee at the March 17 meeting.

“The School Committee should deal with that person,” he said.

Szymaniak admitted he misspoke on the issue at the meeting.

Moving on to the budget itself, Szymaniak said some money from the American Recovery Act should be helpful in offsetting the budget as presented where one-time costs and funds for regression programs are concerned.

“Sometimes we talk about dollars and cents all the way to the week prior to Town Meeting,” Szymaniak said, adding that Heineman had asked for solid numbers by April 13 when Selectmen vote on a budget article. “I don’t know if the School Committee is going to have a budget for you by that time.”

He argued that the budget is a good one for students in Whitman and Hanson to open the doors in September after a “year of displacement, of virtual learning, of remote learning, of anything that we can do to get them back in the building.”

“You have to realize, big picture, what a blow it was to realize our assessment was going to go up by about 10 percent, when last year we had bent over backwards to try to compromise and help the school system — and then we see a school budget that gives us a very difficult path to walk down,” Kowalski said. “We’ll all try to work together to try to sort all of this out.”

Kowalski said that, as a fierce supporter of the schools, even he was set back by the school budget.

Evans lauded Szymaniak for trying to use the ESSER III federal funds to put forth a strong school budget without setting back the towns, but suggested it might be easier if the budget process could be started earlier.

Szymaniak said the intent was to start the budget work in December, but COVID threw a lot of things off track.

“I don’t have any concerns about starting the budget process earlier,” he said.

“We’re not finding another $800,000 to $900,000 this year,” LaMattina said. “It just isn’t happening.”

$57.5M school budget is approved

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The School Committee on Wednesday, March 17 voted to approve and certify a fiscal 2022 budget of $57,572,579 — with an operating assessment of $16,575,019.22 for Whitman and $12,951,002.72 for Hanson — after non-mandating busing and some other costs, brings the total divided to $55,572,579.

“This is the beginning of sealing the budget process,” said Chairman Bob Hayes.

The votes were:

• Approve the fiscal ’22 budget at $57,572,579.40 with a vote of 8-1-1 [Committee member Fred Small voted no and Hayes abstained because his daughter teaches in the district.]

• Approve the operating assessment of $16,575,019.22 for Whitman with a vote of 8-1-1.

• Approve the operating assessment of $12,951,002.72

for Hanson with a vote of 8-1-1.

Committee member Dawn Byers asked for source material on the often-repeated assertion that once budget figures are set they cannot be increased — only decreased.

While he was not able to cite a specific law or regulation, Hayes said that  has always been the assertion and asked Business Manager John Tuffy for clarification.

“I’m not sure I agree with you,” Tuffy said. “I’ve heard that here a couple times and, perhaps we should talk to district counsel. I believe that, up until Town Meeting, the budget can change and the assessments can then change because the budget changed.”

But once a budget is voted, certified by the treasurer and delivered to the towns, the budget cannot go up by any action of the school committee. At that point, it would take Town Meeting action for that to happen.

“I can only say I hope the committee supports what we’ve added for increases this year,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak. “I know we spoke about potential federal money — and I believe that federal money is coming — however, tonight’s the night I don’t have a check from the fed. Tonight’s the night where you certify a budget.”

Szymaniak said he believes the federal funding will be “significant” but doesn’t know specific numbers yet.

“I believe what we asked for is prudent, it’s fiscally sound, knowing that both communities have some financial difficulties,” he said. “I just need some clarity from both communities on what’s affordable.”

The district is using the statutory assessment formula only this year.

“My desire here is for accuracy,” Tuffy said. “This is not a policy statement. This is mathematics, and if there are any errors or issues, we can work them out and make some changes.”

Estimated non-mandated transportation figures and would likely change when the district gets better information about ridership.

“The total amount won’t change, but perhaps the distribution will,” he said.

The cost of the HVAC work at Hanson schools will also change, according to Tuffy, and will only affect Hanson’s assessment. The minimum local contribution has increase $795,538, with Hanson’s up $320,803 and Whitman’s up $474,735.

At about $100,000 Medicaid reimbursements seem on par with previous years and the district expects to use about $600,000 in Circuit Breaker funds to offset the budget. Last year, $700,000 was used.

Projected regional transportation reimbursement is $697,269.

Interest income to the district is at $20,000; school choice revenue is estimated at $246,000; and charter school reimbursement is expected to be $124,000.

Costs for students going out of district through special education placements and outgoing school choice and charter school students are included in the budget lines, according to Tuffy.

“Obviously, we’d like to have an infinite pot of funds that we can draw down, but it’s good to take a step back,” said Committee member Christopher Howard. “Two years ago we basically spent a year on assessment methodology and this last year we tried to keep the wheels on the bus as a result of COVID … there are so many pieces that we could look at in terms of pulling this thing together.”

He suggested that the committee begin, perhaps during the summer, going through what things they would like to see and work toward working them into the budget a year from now.

“I think this is really good, given where we are — where we’ve been and what we’re going to do — and I support what you’ve put together,” Howard said.

Whitman Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said an override is not being considered for his town this year. Hanson, however, is looking at a significant override.

“Hanson is driving the bus this year, as from a financial perspective,” Heineman said. “I think it’s important for a school budget that includes an assessment that will pass an override in Hanson.”

Byers said that is a “dangerous conversation” to have.

“I feel the towns have been driving the bus on our school budget for decades and, essentially, that’s why we’re at the bottom [in per-pupil spending],” she said. “At this point the committee has a duty to consider the students’ needs first and put forth a budget that meets our needs and the towns will decide how they fund it.”

Committee member Fred Small said every town is different, but that the district has been lucky to have received more in Chapter 70 funds over the years than other towns and districts, but noted that annual increases for Chapter 70 aid W-H has been miniscule.

School return
update

Szymaniak also gave a re-entry plan update, noting that the facilities department has been working to place desks in classrooms with proper spacing and showing principals what the configurations look like. Assistant principals and school nurses are measuring all distances to ensure social distancing regulations are met on a geometric basis to aid contact tracing, if it is needed.

Whitman officials reached out to the district and told school officials that they will use CARES Act funds to help purchase the desks for Whitman Middle School required to group students at the proper distance, because trapezoid-shaped tables require pupils to face each other from within three feet apart

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said the district had received 314 bus change requests as of March 16, but said 98 percent of them were from parents calling to confirm they are driving their children to school.

“What it [now] looks like on most of our bus routes is two to a seat and the bus routes look manageable,” Ferro said. New routes will be updated on the infinite campus web portal, under transportation, this week.

Enough middle school students are signed up for in-person learning, that live-streaming of classroom work will not be necessary except when administrators deem it an extenuating circumstance not limited to COVID.

“There safe operation of school is taking place,” Ferro said. “There is a return to normalcy, just like, hopefully, next September.”

Found photo spurs ‘detective’ work

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WHITMAN — A picture is worth a thousand words as the old adage says — and a photograph found this month in a Whitman home told a story that was 43 years in the making.

Two Whitman families collectively shared one another’s stories and memories through a surprising find at 69 Chestnut St., Whitman where Jessica Curtin her nine month old baby and her parents reside.

The bathroom needed remodeling and they decided to tackle it together, she said. She needed help during the pandemic and was happy her parents were willing and able and are such a part of their grandbaby’s life.

During demolition inside the wall behind the cabinet there was a hard, plastic laminated photo. The couple in the image was later identified as Richard Warren Parker and his wife Helen Olympia Parker who bought the home in 1945.

Curtin said her father recalled the name as the former owners of the home but he wanted to see if they could locate their relatives to hand the photo back over.

Curtin posted the print on social media with a brief story. Later that evening Jessica Quagliozzi who lives in New Jersey with her husband Jerome responded that it was her husband’s family.

There were many Whitman locals who assisted through Whitman town social media pages but ironically there were three Jessica’s involved in ultimately determining how to get hold of Jerome.

He is not wel-versed in social media but was flabbergasted at the efforts made in finding him. With help from his wife he communicated his thanks to Curtin and others for reaching out to him but the story did not end there.

Including a slight step toward learning social media, Quagliozzi felt a higher power was aligning the recent happenings. He was able to thank Curtin and share some memories but most importantly he got to tell his family story.

He was raised by the Parker’s who were his great-grandparents. They took him in as an infant and in an unselfish act raised him; giving him the best life he could have ever dreamed of… “my best opportunity was to be with them,” he said.

Finding the photo has become a way of memorializing them and the life they gave him, said Quagliozzi in a phone interview with The Express from their home in New Jersey were they have four young adult children.

Quagliozzi was raised in Whitman where he attended Conley Elementary School through Whitman Hanson until his junior year.

He was reunited with his biological mother and two half siblings in New Jersey and moved there for his final year of high school. It was difficult as all his schoolmates and close friends were in Whitman where he had lived for over 16 years of his life, he said.

His memories of growing up with his Pappy and Mimi are full of happiness, love, complete support — they attended all his activities and enrolled him in numerous sports programs —Pappy attended every game. They instilled great work and religious ethics in him. They attended Holy Ghost Church where he was an altar boy at one time, he said.

They dedicated their whole life when they were already in their 60’s and it was their time to relax. He never took that for granted, he said.

They had been married just shy of 40 years and were fairly healthy but when Mimi passed away in 2001, he could only imagine that his Pappy was declining from a broken heart.

He in fact passed just 33 days after his wife.

The very night the photo was unearthed in Whitman Jerome and his wife Jessica were out to dinner near their home in New Jersey. They were celebrating his 43rd birthday.

They had been talking earlier that evening about returning to Whitman to see and relive their fondest memories.

They were eating clam chowder and although it was not New England clam chowder the dinner was good, he laughed.

He saw a man with a Boston Red Sox hat on at the restaurant another prompt in their discussion.

They got engaged on the sledding hill in Whitman Town Park 20 years ago. His great grandparents are buried in the Colebrook Cemetery on Essex Street. He said he hasn’t been back for many years.

When they got married, he and Jessica drove up in a cargo van with her family so Pappy and Mimi could see him get married as they were unable to travel, he said.

The conversation ended with their decision to go back home and visit Whitman. To take in all the things that Jerome had been thinking about. Then the messages started to arrive about the photo and Jerome’s family.

The exact photo of his great grandparents is framed on his living room wall.

The photo was not lost completely it had however brought forth significant reflection for Quagliozzi.

“ I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without them. It was so meant to be,” he said.

Quagliozzi lost his biological mother in August 2020. He had a close relationship with her when she passed he said she was very strong in her faith.

He recently spoke with his pastor about the challenges of life and received this advice.

“The Lord does speak. We have to shut out the noise. When you are distracted — you don’t pay attention,” he said.

I am blessed for who I am today because of them. It’s time to go home – for a visit. The message is received.

He called the divine timing a sign from his “angel army.”

Curtin and Quagliozzi did get a chance to speak and she realized after hearing his story that their lives parallel one another in several ways.  The most heartfelt equivalent — her son will have shared life experiences and his own memories with his grandparents’ just one room away- in the same house.

Big Tony’s warm welcome home

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HANSON — Having completed  six months of chemotherapy this week at Mass General Hospital, Anthony Sevieri was welcomed home by a car parade filled with his family and friends.

The 20-year-old Whitman Hanson graduate known to all as “Big Tony,” was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in October 2020 and has received treatment every two weeks.

Tony stood outside his home on County Road taking in the love like a seasoned rock star. Balloons, streamers and confetti flew through the air celebrating his resilience.

His sense of unwavering positivity and his determination to beat the disease is what got him through, according to his mom Erika who is an OBGYN nurse at Mass General Hospital.

His elder sister Alexis who is a special education teacher north of Boston said it was the first time since Christmas she got to hug him.

She quarantined in order to come home for Christmas, she said.

They talked via face time almost daily but seeing him home and done with treatments was a great relief.

“He is a remarkable kid,” said Colleen Cole a family friend and colleague of Tony’s mom.

Sevieri gave the thumbs up and pointed to his shirt, which he created while in quarantine and during his chemotherapy.

Many of his well-wishers wore his T-shrt brand lettering stood out with bright yellow and black as they gathered on the lawn at his home.

A milestone he is looking forward to is turning 21 in a few months he had a mixed set of emotions on completing chemotherapy, he said.

“Tired,  excited and in a weird way kind of a slight sense of loss  because this has been my focus for six months just getting through each treatment, getting to the last day- just day- to -day. The last day is here. The treatments over now (pause) what’s next,” he said of how he felt.

What’s he looking forward to?

“A lot more of these, he said pointing to his t-shirt brand. Good vibes and good times,” he said with great enthusiasm.

He is also waiting to get the all clear from his future scan in April. Mom Erika said they are expecting a good prognosis and are optimistic he is on the path to better health.

The support from co-workers and family was tremendous with father Thomas adding “they are very happy” that he is doing so well. He credited Tony’s unwavering commitment

End of the job for Jays Carpet

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HANSON — After 30 years, the Hansen family owners of Jay’s Carpet in Hanson are ready to roll up the carpet and they are “going fishing.”

Peggy and Jay Hansen formally retired last week after “saving their pennies” as they called it. Luckily, they were not one of the mom and pop shops across the country forced to close due to COVID-19 or the economy.

In fact it was just the opposite.

The couple sat with The Express this week at the Whitman Park during the 60-degree sunshine. They have resided in Whitman for the last three decades. Prior to Whitman they lived in Hanson for 42 years.

“Best part of the country,” said Peggy.

In the last two years including 2020, the year everyone stayed home, Jay’s Carpet was collecting significantly higher profits as house quarantiners were redoing rooms with carpeting and renovating their spaces. The uptick in sales allowed the Hansen’s to reach their savings goal they declared many years ago, when they had agreed to officially retire.

Recalling their love story, Peggy and Jay met 55 years ago while she was on vacation in California. His home outside of the San Fernando Valley and five-plus years of the carpeting trade, gave him a running start as the couple eventually pursued their own company back in Massachusetts. Also a licensed subcontractor and retail and installation specialist, Jay had the skill set to be in business on his own.

Married and starting a family in the late 1960s, the couple put a deposit down in April 1991 to officially launch their company — Jay’s Carpet.

They eventually expanded the Old Pratt building which was 1914 built house located in a commercial location after they gathered what was needed to make a deposit and the rest is history.

She said she learned early on the taste and meaning of success. Never afraid of a day’s work, Peggy painted a picture of herself as a 10-year-old girl whose pride and joy was her first lemonade stand, which eventually sold lemonade, popcorn and popsicles.

By age 12 she gained a paper route and has been working ever since. With a strong work ethic the couple knew they were both ready to fulfill their dream of owning their own business.

“Being in business for ourselves was not always easy,” Jay said. “It’s like a marriage when you own your own business you are married to it.”

What was the key to their success?

“It is not something that you have when you are done. It doesn’t mean you’re rich. It is the feeling of success, the satisfaction of selling something to someone which the glass of lemonade made me feel successful when I was only 10,” she recalled with a laugh. 

Jay expressed his thankfulness for all the customers and the loyalty of repeat business over their three decades with 98 percent of their years filled with positive interactions.  He called their relationship with employees and other sub-contractors more than work – they got to know them and they became friends.

The Hansen’s have two adult daughters.  Peggy Number Two, as she is lovingly known to customers, was named after her mom and has helped run and establish the business for nearly 20 years alongside her parents. Their second daughter Pam is a hospice nurse who has two children now in their 20s.

Peggy guaranteed her two grandchildren would have plenty of hugs for her considering lighter COVID restrictions and their recent completions of their vaccinations. She is preparing her arms for lots of embracing.

They are planning on enlarging their garden for starters on their list of fun. They plan to enjoy breakfast together now.

Some of their memorable experiences at Jay’s Carpet were their giant yellow tent sales a once in a year clearance that customers always looked forward to. They had over 1,000 people at one of their largest tent sales with cars parked in any spare area a site to be seen, she added.

It became harder as they aged to host the traditional tent sales and subsequently decided it was too much for them.

They have received well wishes and congratulations from all of the south shore and were unbelievably humbled by the outpouring of calls and social media.

With an emotional tone in her voice Peggy held her arm against Jay and expressed she was sad that age had caught up with them.

:…Because if we were younger we would still be there – but we are going out on a high note,” she said.

At the age of 81 and 76 their new found time she said is called freedom!

Bylaw amendment is sought

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HANSON — Town Meeting may be asked to vote on a zoning bylaw amendment to the current cannabis bylaw to permit two different delivery options for customers outside of town. A two-third vote would be required at Town Meeting, with no ballot question needed.

The move could double the revenue the town is already going to see from the community impact agreement with manufacturing business Impressed LLC.

The Board of Selectmen voted 4-1, with Selectman Jim Hickey dissenting, on Tuesday, March 16, to approve referring the matter to the Planning Board for a hearing to determine whether they could come up with a zoning bylaw amendment for the Town Meeting.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff briefed Selectmen about a proposal to permit retain cannabis delivery to residents outside Hanson.

“Delivery has two components,” she said. “There are two separate licensures, now, from the [Cannabis Control Commission] CCC — one is called the Courier License and one is called the Delivery Operator License,” Feodoroff said. “The difference between those is very significant.”

She stressed the service is different than a marijuana retailer as defined in the regulations, because it is not a storefront business. A facility will be required for the delivery operator service, however, because drivers will have to wear body cameras and be tracked by GPS, among other security measures that will have to be monitored, as well as storing it in the facility at times.

Delivery Operator licenses are going to be rolling out soon from the CCC as they begin to accept applications at the beginning of April, according to Feodoroff.

“If you want to react to that and try to capture some of that market, now’s the time to do it,” she said. The option would avoid the prospect of a lot of brick-and-mortar retail traffic at the Impressed LLC site, because much of the business would be done online with professional delivery companies delivering the product.

The financial benefit to the town would be “much more significant” than for the manufacturing business alone.

Couriers are services that pick up marijuana orders from retailers for delivery to consumers at their house — providing only the transportation. Delivery operators can pick up marijuana from any cannabis establishment – cultivators, manufacturers and retailers — in any form, and can re-label the product as their own.

“They buy the marijuana, make it their own product, and deliver it and sell it to the consumer,” she explained. “If you were to allow it in Hanson, you would get both local retail sales tax — 3 percent — and in addition to the 3 percent the town will see from community impact fee payments. The courier is less of a significant business.”

School Committee

Noting that Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak and “a good portion of the School Committee” was attending the virtual Board of Selectmen’s meeting over GoToMeeting, Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell welcomed them to provide an overview of the budget process.

Szymaniak noted that the committee would be voting to certify a budget for fiscal 2022 at the next evening’s meeting.

“I’m looking for an increase of $2,252,341 — or a 4 percent increase — in the school budget,” Szymaniak said. “That’s what I call a Level Service-plus Budget.”

Level services are augmented by returning a science teacher that was cut in 2018-19 and focusing on intervention from learning regression during COVID, three more special education programs and more funds for Chromebooks and technological support for the devices, which have been leaned on heavily during COVID.

South Shore Tech Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey also met with Selectmen to review a debt authorization article going before Town Meeting as well as the school’s fiscal 2022 budget, which is up by 1.89 percent, with Hanson’s share of $1,228,077 is going up $92,657 or by 8.167 percent. There are four more students attending the school this year, in addition to cost increases.

COVID relief ESSER II grant funding will allow towns to offset some of the minimum local contributions, and could reduce Hanson’s cost by about $24,000.

Memorial Day

Selectmen also voted to designate Hanson as a Purple Heart Community at the urging of Veterans’ Agent Timothy White, and heard his recommendation for another low-key Memorial Day observance this year due to the continued concern over COVID-19.

White said he has been working with the Halifax VFW commander to learn more about the Purple Heart Community designation.

Rockland, where White also serves as Veterans’ Agent is also a Purple Heart Community, recognizing Aug. 7 — the date in 1782 when the decoration was established as the nation’s first honor for soldiers by George Washington — as Purple Heart Day.

A draft proclamation would be signed off on by Selectmen and forwarded to the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which would then present the town with an official proclamation.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett thanked White for his work and said the designation was “absolutely the right thing to do.”

White said he generally starts planning Memorial Day at least two months in advance.

“Last year was very difficult and this year is going to match last year in that difficult nature,” he said. “I’m not sure what the governor’s restrictions will be as we move forward … there’s information about variants and there’s still a lot of concern.”

Hanover has also announced they will not have a parade this year. Like Hanson did in 2020, Hanover will only conduct a simple ceremony for broadcast on Memorial Day.

Rockland’s Veterans’ Ally Council has also indicated that town will not have a parade, either.

“I was going to proceed with it in mind that, most likely, there’s not going to be a parade,” he said.

Mitchell said he would go along with whatever White decided.

“Whatever you think, and whatever you need from this board to support you, on anything you decide for Memorial Day is fine with me,” Mitchell said.

“You obviously don’t want to put a vulnerable population of veterans in harm’s way by trying to celebrate them,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting last year’s ceremony was “quite lovely.”

Budget trims, back to class plans

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The School Committee, on Wednesday, March 10, conducted a line-by-line review of the proposed fiscal 2022 school budget.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said the $57,572,579 budget — down by about $300,000 after the spending plan was examined line by line.

Another meeting was set for Wednesday, March 17 to vote on the budget and assessments for the towns.

“That’s a different number than was presented two weeks ago,” Szymaniak said. “It’s lower. We made some adjustments, we found some errors in the line items. … This has been a really challenging year, especially in personnel, because we have people all over the district working remotely, we’ve hired a lot of folks and we had some double numbers.”

He said he feels very comfortable with the new number, which is more accurate.

Szymaniak also reported that the W-H Regional School District is set to reopen Monday, April 5, a reentry plan the School Committee voted to accept.

Wednesdays would be half-day instruction with the remainder of the day set aside for teachers’ professional development, which the committee approved 9-0-1, with Hayes abstaining because his daughter teaches in the district.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said the budget line items would be presented for discussion as they are at Town Meeting, with committee members asked to place holds on lines they wanted to question or discuss.

Holds for questions were placed on some costs and reviewed when the committee reconvened for a special meeting on Monday, March 15.

Those holds included: teacher salaries; elementary instructional materials; general supplies; photocopier supplies; SPED teacher, SPED paraprofessional and speech salaries; guidance salaries; library supplies; athletics salaries, supplies and equipment maintenance; graduation expenses; co-curricular acting salaries; central office business/finance clerical salary; tuition to other schools; school choice; tech services salaries; health insurance; SPED tuition to other schools; district liaisons and police detail expenses; transportation contracted services; facilities contracted services building maintenance, emergency repairs and supplies; and other supplies at various schools.

Member Dawn Byers sought explanation of per-pupil spending and how many teachers are funded by each school’s salary line, class sizes and whether the increase account for steps, lanes and any salary increases that might be agreed to during negotiations.

“We have a lot of money that we’re spending and we need to be sure we’re spending it wisely that we’re targeting these dollars where we should,” she said.

Szymaniak explained that teacher salaries could not be discussed in detail due to contract negotiations, but that School Committee members could discuss them in executive session. He did say that steps and lanes are calculated in as well as an earmark for contract negotiations.

He said that, while still low, per-pupil expenditures have increased in recent years.

“Any time I saw anything kind of change, just looking to understand the why behind it … [I’m] just looking to understand the reason for the bump,” Member Christopher Howard said of his questioning special education costs and salary lines.

Director of Student Services Lauren Mathieson said the TLC program, which reintegrates students to classes following any hospitalizations, as well as a speech program at Indian Head. The number of behavioral specialists, speech therapists and paraprofessionals has also fluctuated at schools.

Byer’s questions on numbers of children in the TLC program drew a caution about privacy from Szymaniak and Hayes.

“Students have a right to confidentiality,” Szymaniak said. “By saying how many, that could potentially put their names out there.”

“I believe that we hire the superintendent because he has a license and we have to have some sort of trust,” Hayes said. “We hired the SPED director and [Assistant Superintendent] George [Ferro] for the same reason. … We have to have some sort of faith in what goes on with our leaders.”

Member David Forth asked why salary lines were divided by school rather than grade level. Business manager John Tuffy said it was largely past practice.

Szymaniak said general supplies are building-specific and needs based.

Copy costs have decreased with technology use, but some of the funds in the line can be used for technology costs as well as paper copying.

School Committee members also asked for specifics about the “other expenses” line for WHRHS, which Principal Dr. Christopher Jones said includes Community Evening School and the Ingenuity program, association memberships for teachers.

Howard suggested that, in future any way of providing more detail than the heading “other expenses” would be better.

“We’ll probably ask the same questions in another year when we see other expenses,” Howard said.

An increase from the $17,000 budgeted for the 2019 graduation and $30,000 in the proposed budget is intended to cover added expenses, such as a sound system, for holding graduation outside.

Reopening

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said the district is going to be using student desk configurations that permit the proper social distancing for student safety. He said the purchase will use internal funds, but noted school officials are working with the towns to determine if there is more COVID relief funding available to reimburse the schools.

Szymaniak said the timing is more an issue than whether the funding would be available.

He also sought to clarify state information on reopening.

“The media is misquoting the Commissioner [of Education Jeff Riley] right now,” said Szymaniak, who described the result as a lot of phone calls from “really nervous parents.”

Commissioner Riley said on Tuesday, March 9 that he will not be accepting asynchronus learning time from hybrid models or remote models.

“People who are in our remote program automatically said, ‘Well, the commissioner said no remote is allowed,’” Szymaniak said. “We have a solid remote program, which is acceptable by DESE in our return. On April 5, as of today … all my parents who have wanted to stay remote, stay remote. All my parents who wanted to move from remote to in-person have notified their principals.  All my parents who wanted to move from hybrid to remote should have notified their principals.”

He said the K-12 remote program is in full swing. In K-8, is the classrooms they have had since September and nine through 12 is live-streaming.

“It’s OK, nobody has to worry about it — nobody needs to panic,” he said. “You can stay remote if you choose to stay remote.”

Student representative Anna Flynn noted that the prospect of returning to schools has “crossed the minds of everyone” in the W-H community.

“I have heard from many of my classmates that they’re nervous that people will not follow through with the respectful way to wear their face masks and [observe] the rules of social distancing,” the junior class member said. She reported that students have expressed to her that they want to see stronger consequences for improper mask wearing.

Flynn also noted concerns about how lunch periods will be conducted.

Ferro said lunches will be six feet apart, but will be using different areas.

“These questions have caused students I know to opt out of the full return and remain in full remote [instruction] online,” she said. “I believe that W-H has the knowledge and consideration for what the results will be when students return in April.”

School Committee member Christopher Howard said he appreciated Flynn’s sharing the student perspective with them.

“I think, for all of us, we’re a little disconnected — moreso that we’d like to be at this point — so I appreciate you coming to these meetings and sharing what’s going on,” he said.

School Committee member Dawn Byers, who is also the mother of two WHRHS students, also thanked Flynn.

“The students’ voice is important for us to hear, as well as [for] the students to hear you representing them,” Byers said.

Another challenge will be making sure the district gets all its ChromeBooks back to be used in classrooms, while students staying with remote learning able to retain the devices for at-home learning.

Whitman board hears SST debt proposal

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, March 9  were briefed on an $18.9 million capital article — of which, Whitman’s share would be 24.75 percent — being presented to the eight member towns of the South Shore Tech school district this spring.

W-H Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak plans to attend the Selectmen’s next meeting to discuss that school district’s budget.

Town Administrator Lincoln Heieneman is planning to have the annul Town Meeting on Saturday, May 3, possibly either outside at Memorial Field or at the high school, but also reported that Town Hall custodian Todd Decouto has volunteered to figure out, with six feet of social distancing, how many people could be accommodated inside Town Hall.

Acting Chairman Dan Salvucci returned the gavel to Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski to start the meeting. Kowalski had taken a leave from the post due to health concerns.

Salvucci returned to his role as vice chairman.

“Dan, I want to thank you a lot for taking care of me for that time when I felt like I couldn’t fulfill all the duties of chair because of  COVID and it’s relationship to my health,” Kowalski said.

“Well, welcome back,” Salvucci said.

A full slate of articles is expected to be voted on later this month.

“We’ve been talking for several years about the need to maintain the building that we have, and I know that starts with the support of our eight communities through the annual budgeting process,” said SST Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey and along with District Treasurer James Coughlin, who presented an overview of the debt authorization article sought at Town Meeting.

Coughlin said Hickey has applied for grants whenever they become available, bringing the district more than $3 million in vocational equipment over the past half-dozen years.

“We’ve got to continue to listen to our communities and see what the state of the union is, in terms of the local economy,” Hickey said. “If we’re not going to get a budget passed going into fiscal ’28, despite our great idea of having a five-year phase and because of an economic issue, we have to be mindful of that.”

Enrollment from Whitman is unchanged at SST from fiscal 2021, Hickey noted, and the budget presented this year has no debt in it.

“Nothing that I speak about tonight has any impact on the fiscal ’22 budget,” he said. “We’re looking at an assessment increase of about 1.7 percent — or a little over $27,000.”

Of that assessment of $1.65 million, $221,550 is set aside for capital projects, with some ESSER II [COVID relief grant] money available for some of that, according to Hickey. He said he thinks some of the assessment increase could be absorbed by ESSER II funds.

“We’ve been a very patient and annual applicant to the Mass. School Building Authority since 2015, telling a story about an aging building — a well-maintained, aging building — and the need for more space,” Hickey said.

The SST School Committee, meanwhile will delay a vote on the article until late March or early April, because their vote would “start the 60-day clock ticking” to take into consideration Scituate’s April Town Meeting through to early May when most district towns hold their meetings.

South Shore is awaiting to hear word, following the MSBA’s April board meeting about whether they would be invited to participate this go-round. In the meantime, he said, there are capital projects the district cannot justify or afford to bring to member towns in one budget cycle.

A window project of about $700,000 for fiscal 2022 is expected to be the last big capital project that could be absorbed within one annual budget cycle, according to Hickey.

Borrowing for bigger projects would be phased in over a six-year period using a combination of interest-only bond anticipation notes and bonding.

Recent capital requests have been largely about infrastructure, and while this proposal won’t be entirely that way, Hickey foresees that a good portion of future capital lines will be transferred over to debt service under this proposal.

“We have the responsibility of bringing a single number that includes capital and operating expenses [to town meetings],” Hickey said of the plan, which stemmed from a master facilities plan created by an engineering plan.

There will also be annual capital costs for materials supporting the vocational programs at the school.

“Unlike debt, capital is a rolling three-year average, so that 24.75 percent could certainly change,” Hickey said.

“I think Tom has presented a budget that is outstanding as far as a capital budget,” Salvucci said. “We’re looking at an entire building that is almost 60 years old, and now we’re looking to do the part that was built in 1992 that’s going on 30 years.”

Salvucci said the district may have maintained the buildings too well, as MSBA’s criteria is concerned.

Selectman Randy LaMattina asked about the scope of the SST application to MSBA.

“The scope of what has been submitted to MSBA is broader than what you’re seeing here,” Hickey said, noting expansion for future enrollment increases will be focused in trades with the strongest industry and student demand.

“Money’s going to be tight for sure, and to have such a good plan in place, the Whitman citizens are going to have their ability to make judgments based on this presentation,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said.

COVID update

Whitman has improved to the yellow, rather than the red zone for rate of positive cases, according to Heieneman.

The town has received some doses, with 21 people vaccinated at their homes who are elderly and/or homebound, and another 81 were vaccinated during a clinic at the K of C.

The town is also working with the Housing Authority to obtain vaccinations for elderly residents.