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Hanson hazards grant is reviewed

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 23 heard a review of priority projects aimed at easing the effects of potential weather-related hazards.

A representative from the Old Colony Regional Planning Commission reviewed a vulnerability preparedness grant application process and is seeking feedback from residents. Top hazards already identified by community members are: floods and drought; extreme winds and storms, fire and extreme temperatures, which led to the creation of a risk matrix of facilities in town that could be impacted by the hazards and how they could be made more resilient.

Workshops on the process have been ongoing since October 2021.

The public is asked to call Laurie Muncy at 508-583-1883 Ext. 210 or email lmuncy@ocpcpa.org to offer comments on the presentation, which may be viewed on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV’s YouTube site.

Priority projects identified were continued efforts to identify and address flood-prone areas; improve a warming/cooling center for seniors lacking a backup generator for power; pursuing alternative or supplemental water supplies; increasing the town’s water storage capacity; development of a culvert maintenance and repair plan and a new highway facility.

40B developments

The board also heard a review of ongoing 40B developments in town.

Hanson currently has 4.5 percent of its 10-percent affordable housing goal, to be consistent with local needs. The town needs 357 total units to meet that goal, and now has 160 affordable units.

“At our last meeting we talked about a 40B project extensively,” Town Administrator John Stanbrook said. “I just wanted to give an update on some of the other 40B projects that are in town.”

One of those facilities is Dunham Farm condominiums for people age 55 and over. Built in the 1990s as affordable units in perpetuity, the original plan called for 52 units, with 28 built aimed at a market rate of $321,000, 12 of which were affordable. There are now 24 more units being added (market rate $429,000), with only one intended as an affordable unit because enough were built in the original portion to cover the required ratio.

Another project, Depot Village on Phillips Street, will have 45 total units when completed — 12 affordable. The three-story building will have no age restriction.

“Hanson will be credited with all 45 units as affordable, because they are rental units,” Stanbrook said. It is expected to be move-in ready in January 2022.

Ridders’ development at 280 Liberty St., with 57 townhouse units planned to be built starting in about four weeks, includes 13 affordable units with a 55-and-older age restriction.

The three developments will bring Hanson to within half-way to it’s goal — 186 units of the 357 needed.

“We’re not close to the 10 percent yet,” Stanbrook said. “If we only put aside 25 percent of every 100, it will take another 1,000 units in order to get to the 10-percent goal.”

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said it seems there is a misconception that the board can stop 40B housing from coming to Hanson.

“I think it’s important that people recognize … that the town needs to basically demonstrate that it’s on track to have 10 percent affordable housing,” she said. “We’re far from that.”

What selectmen can do, FitzGerald-Kemmett said, is articulate their concerns and work with the land use boards, so the developments are in keeping with the character and nature of the town.

“What we can’t do is stop 40B,” she said. “There is no way to stop 40B.”

Selectmen also discussed the ongoing issue of under-billing for water services to the W-H Regional School District by the Whitman Water Department.

“This is kind of a long-standing matter that got on our radar screen close to a year ago,” said town general counsel Jay Talerman. “We’re kind of odd man out, so we don’t really have that much of a stake in it, although there is some money at stake.”

Talerman said Whitman, which forgot to bill the school district for water supplied to the high school, for whatever reason, now wants to collect. He became involved in the issue because Hanson would be obliged to pay some portion of that bill, and the school district’s counsel thought he could be helpful with bargaining.

He said that among the things he pointed out to Whitman officials is that the law only allows going back six years for payment — not the 15 that is owed.

“Second, we’re not going to pay it,” Talerman said, unless any payments are spread out over time in the operating budget. About a year ago the bill was negotiated down to the six years, or about $185,000.

“It appears that’s been accepted by Whitman … and they’ve also agreed to spread it out over three years,” Talerman said. “The remaining question is, how is it paid?”

He said the school district has the authority to pay it through the assessment and does not recommend taking it out of other funds. The town generally pays water bills from the assessment, which he recommended Hanson’s position should be as it is not a principal part of the discussion, but only a party to paying a portion of the bill.

Selectmen agreed with the approach — with FitzGerald Kemmett reminding the board Hanson would only be paying 40 percent of whatever the final bill is.

Timing a Town Hall opening

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen, on Tuesday, Feb. 23 supported a “three weeks in the Green” timeline for reopening town buildings, including Town Hall.

The state has established a guideline of reopening municipal buildings after a community has completed three straight weeks in the Green level.

Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman met with the Board of Health to discuss their recommendations Tuesday morning.

“The consensus among the Board of Health members was that the town be three weeks in the Green level and that would be the appropriate time for reopening,” Heineman said.

Red indicates greater that 10 average cases per 100,000 and greater than 5 percent positivity rate; Green indicates less than 10 average cases per 100,000 with a positivity rate. There is a Yellow level between the two.

The average daily incidence per 100,00 people was 30.8 between Feb. 4 and 18, with a 5.33 percent positivity rate. Whitman’s peak for the second wave was hitting at the end of 2020 when the town saw a 62.5 incidence rate with 10.8 percent positivity.

Selectmen Chairman Dan Salvucci said he has had conversations with residents who have asked him when Town Hall would be reopened.

He said there are residents who cannot pay bills online or do not have checking accounts and need to pay bills, such as excise tax, in person with cash.

“I look around Town Hall, and all the offices are protected by [Plexiglas] shields, and employees are protected behind those shields,” Salvucci said. “The same goes for the DPW office — I’ve seen that.”

He said he has not been in the Senior Center or Library to see what changes have been made at those facilities.

“I do have concerns about the Senior Center and Library, where people sit around tables and communicate with each other, whether they are at a meal or at a book club meeting at the Library,” he said. “If we ever consider opening up the town buildings — which I would like to — we need to talk to the department heads and they would have to take some kind of action to make sure that their building is taken care of during the day, and [a custodian] could spray the buildings down at night.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson said he has heard a news report about the state aiming to reopen schools in early April and suggested that could be a good target date for the town.

“That might get us to that Green area we need to be in anyway,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to put a hard date on it but my suggestion would be that maybe we look to that timeframe for reopen.”

Selectman Dr. Carl Kowalski expressed concern over the town’s current incidence level.

“The fact that we’re still in the Red would make me really pause about getting too excited about opening the town buildings,” Kowalski said. “We have been pretty good about listening to the Board of Health and where they get their information from.”

He said if the three weeks of Green the Health Board is talking about coincides with the early April date Bezanson mentioned it would be fine, but that the town needs to take the side of safety.

Salvucci agreed that it should be up to the Board of Health’s knowledge before a reopening date is set.

Selectman Randy LaMattina asked whether Heineman has looked into whether all town buildings and offices have plastic shields in place and a supply of disinfectant wipes on hand to ensure safety as a plan is formulated.

“I do think there’s a few other things that need to happen in Town Hall,” Heineman said. “I would say, if the consensus of the board is three weeks in the Green, the board could take a vote on that.”

He said there are still some CARES act funds remaining, and such preparations would be an appropriate use for that money.

Selectman Justin Evans said he sees no reason to stop listening to public health experts, but noticed there was a period when the town was in the Gray area, which meant that the town — because of its small size could have been Green, but there was not enough data to determine that.

“Would you just run that by our public health experts and say, ‘Do you consider Gray to be Green?’” he asked.

Heineman agreed to ask about that, noting that Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Timothy Grenno agrees with the three weeks in the Green rule of thumb.

COVID rate

In the meantime, Heineman said he would request that Town Hall offices post at the entrance the number of employees willing to go to the door to help people with bill paying, accepting voter registration cards or other simple transactions.

Salvucci said that, when a plan is devised, Heineman should meet with department heads to review proper sanitation procedures.

“We need to be safe,” he said. “We need to keep people safe.”

Heineman reported that all town first responders, who wished to be vaccinated, received their second dose last week.

On Monday, Feb. 22, Whitman received a small shipment of vaccine, focused on second doses for those who have already received their first, to get the new dose next week — after two weeks of requests had been denied.

The Fire Department and Board of Health have set up on a hotline to serve homebound residents (due to age or disability) eligible to receive the vaccine. These residents should call 781-618-9778. A small mobile clinic will be used to deliver the vaccine to the homebound. A reverse-911 call will be issued later this week to eligible residents to help spread word of the vaccine availability.

“The good news is that our incidence rate is going down,” Heineman said. “We are certainly still in the red in the color-coded system, but down from the previous week.”

Budget issues

Regarding the fiscal 2022 budget, resident Shawn Kain wrote a comment to the Selectmen that continuing the assessment compromise with Hanson for another year should be considered to ensure the schools have adequate funding.

“I sympathize with Shawn, but it was pretty clear last year, when we were able to get this compromise passed, that it was basically based upon using the statutory method this year in both towns,” Kowalski said. But he said he does believe the idea should be considered and thought about.

LaMattina, however, said that while he respects Kain he does not believe the town is in the position to subsidize the school budget this year.

“I would not vote for that this year, knowing that,” LaMattina said. “This is being played off [in some quarters] as we gave Hanson money. I don’t believe we gave Hanson money. I believe we gave our kids money.”

Salvucci also said upcoming capital needs such as a sewer main project among others, will also require Town Meeting actions.

The board was unanimous in their opinion that it is premature and counter to what was promised to voters who supported the compromise last year to support extending it another year.

Selectmen indicated they did not favor voting to eliminate non-mandated school busing for the sum of about $64,000 that could be saved, if it meant placing children at risk.

“The goal right now is obviously to get students back to school as safely as possible, not messing around with busing right now is a way of doing that,” LaMattina said.

SST sets town assessments

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HANOVER — The South Shore Tech School Committee set assessments for member communities during it’s Thursday, Feb. 18 meeting.

Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey has met with finance committees in Hanson and Rockland in recent weeks, and Selectmen and the Advisory Committee in Scituate and Abington’s Finance Committee this week.

The fiscal 2022 budget of $14.6 million is being assessed to the towns as follows: Abington, $1,280,575; Cohasset,  $126,594; Hanover, $882,861; Hanson, $1,228,077; Norwell, $420,095; Rockland $1,824,264; Scituate, $574,126 and Whitman, $1,651,348. Total assessments make up $7,987,941 of the budget.

“Borrowing too much money too quickly is not something that is going to work in an annual budget,” said Hickey. “On the other hand, not taking on any debt will really restrict our schools’ ability to modernize.”

MSBA will also be asked for more funding. No action regarding borrowing would take place until fiscal 2023. Hickey plans a video presentation for posting on the district website on the issue.

“This allows us to go to our towns once for what we think are our priority items at this time, and then be able to plan accordingly,” Hickey said. No vote has been taken yet, because once a vote occurs, it starts a 60-day clock ticking as it is required to go before town meetings, which are strung between early April and late May. An official vote is not anticipated until late March.

Hickey also reported the district is coming closer to a debt authorization approval at the School Committee level. The amount is expected to be $18,960,537 – with almost $990,000 in electrical labor stripped out as work that SST students and instructors could undertake over a period of years to basically redo a lot of the wiring in the 1962 portion of the building, Hickey said.

“We have been in the process of negotiating with our sending communities and the feedback has been constructive, it has been clarifying what we are trying to do,” Hickey said, “We arrived at this number by looking at the projects that our engineering firms helped us develop and prioritize as part of the 2018 facilities master plan.”

Projects accomplished since 2018 have been removed and costs for remaining projects have been calculated with a 4-percent inflation factor going forward to fiscal 2023.

“In talking to our town administrator, he’s been saying that we take care of our schools too well and that’s been hurting us with MSBA,” said Whitman School Committee member Dan Salvucci. “If we saw an issue — which we don’t do — and let it go, they’ll approve [us], but that’s not the type of district we are.”

“One thing we can’t stop is age,” Hickey said.

Call for local clinics

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WHITMAN — A state policy change due to take effect March 1 would eliminate delivery of new vaccination doses for local fire departments and boards of health. It is meeting with near-universal criticism amid local officials and public safety personnel.

“It is highly premature to cut off the line of local vaccine doses, especially at this critical time,” said Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno on Thursday, Feb. 18. “It cuts off a literal lifeline for many residents.”

Cutting off the supplies to the local clinics — operating for several weeks — showed a “gross lack of forethought” and is a waste of municipal time, energy and resources, he argued.

As state legislators, educators and representatives of more than a dozen Plymouth and Norfolk county police and fire departments and health boards looked on, Grenno sounded the alarm over the state’s mass vaccination program at the expense of local clinics. Holding a press conference at the Whitman Knights of Columbus on Bedford Street, officials expressed concern that the vulnerable elderly are especially being left behind.

“Since the Cold War, municipalities have been asked to plan and prepare for emergency situations,” said Grenno, who also serves as Whitman’s Emergency Management Agency director. “As a result, local leaders are uniquely qualified and trained to handle a situation such as the distribution of vaccines.”

State Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, attending along with state Rep. Alyson Sullivan, R-Abington, and state Rep. Kathleen LaNatra, D-Plymouth, said he planned to meet with state Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders’ office later in the day to readdress the change.

He said regional legislators sent a letter to the Baker Administration expressing disagreement with the vaccination policy change because local communities have the personnel to handle the situation.

“Our chiefs today aren’t saying that the mass vaccine sites aren’t working, they’re saying that they need it here, locally,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said the Baker administration counted on local health officials from the beginning of the pandemic and is now shutting them out.

LaNatra added that Kingston and Plymouth have been in talks with Mass DPH for a long time with “no straight answers” to set up a regional vaccination site at the Kingston Collection.

“We need to put this back local,” she said. “Our chiefs, our boards of health, know their community. They know who is housebound.”

LaNatra, whose first-responder husband has been able to receive his second dose of vaccine, but not all have been able to do so.

“It’s a big lack of supply and every other week they’re changing their mind,” Brady said of state officials.

“We’re not against the mass sites, we’re not against the pharmacies that are having these [clinics] as well,” Abingon Fire Chief John Nutall said. “There’s definitely a need for that, however, they cannot cover all of our residents.”

He said the state cited a question of equity as a major factor in officials’ reason for the policy change, but noted a supply had been approved for a private health spa located in an exclusive country club.

“We’re not allowed to question why these decisions are made,” Nutall said. “It is time to question what is going on, so that we can get the vaccines to our residents that we know best.”

Grenno said there is no doubt that there is a need for regional vaccination efforts, especially in larger areas or areas more adversely impacted by COVID-19, but said they must work in connection with locally led health boards and first responders. It is especially crucial during Phase 2 of the distribution, when seniors ages 75 and older are inoculated.

Whitman has more than 950 residents over age 75, and Grenno’s department offered to help transport them to a mass vaccination site with all proper precautions.

“We’ll register you, we’ll hold your hand, we’ll walk you in, we’ll get you vaccinated and we’ll bring you home,” he said the department told them.

Less than 25 of them accepted that invitation because of fear or mobility problems, he said.

Four Whitman clinics had been scheduled, which would have vaccinated more than 500 of them. The clinics have all been cancelled because the state is denying the vaccine.

“These individuals are the ones who should be asked to drive the least distance and be given the greatest access to quick and efficient vaccination sites,” Grenno said. “They’re our neighbors helping each other  … local clinics for the oldest and sickest population, offer a familiar, a comfortable and convenient location when people need it the most.”

Mass sites are difficult for some to get to, involve long lines and staffed by unfamiliar people, while at local clinics they would be greeted by local fire personnel and health agents and involve shorter lines.

Whitman-Hanson Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said vaccinations for teachers and students are also a concern, especially since teachers would run the risk of missing a school day to travel to a mass vaccination site.

“It was surprising to me that our schools aren’t being used as mass vaccination sites,” Szymaniak said. “Our school nurses are available and ready to work with our local health agents and fire chiefs to provide vaccines not only to our 65-and over populations,  but sequentially, our teachers.”

He noted teachers have been moved down the priority list for vaccines.

He argued the change reflects either a significant policy change by the state or a major vaccine supply shortage coming to the state from the federal level.

“Either way, it is an issue that should be discussed and addressed,” he said.

Grenno also expressed concern about the status of the state’s online vaccination registration at VaxFinder, which crashed due to heavy demand at about 8:30 a.m. Feb. 18. The state’s 211 information line also went down that morning.

He said Whitman registers its elder residents, noting a lot of senior residents don’t even own a computer.

“We are prepared to provide local vaccine clinics,” said Medway Fire Chief Jeff Lynch, who is president of the Norfolk County Fire Chiefs Association. “We’ve done extensive planning, we’ve done significant investment in equipment and training for our firefighters.”

Lynch said fire personnel stand ready to bring the vaccine to homebound elders, but as of now, he is not aware of the plan to serve them.

Hanover Town Manager Joe Colangelo said his town has already invested $500 in federal CARES Act funds to build up a program to test residents and merge to vaccinations. Hanover Fire Chief Jeff Blanchard added that town’s frustration is palpable.

“We are prepared to do vaccinations, but we have no vaccine,” Blanchard said.

Abington Board of Health member Marty Golightly has vaccinated more than 200 75+ residents and has a plan in place to vaccinate shut-ins, asking only for the supplies to take care of his town’s own people.

Communities represented: Whitman fire and police departments, schools and town administrator, Hanson Fire Department and Board of Health, Abington Fire Department and Board of Health, Hanover Fire Department and Town Manager, Cohasset Fire Department, Duxbury Fire Department, East Bridgewater Fire Department, Halifax Fire Department, West Bridgewater Fire Department, Medway Fire Department and Board of Health, Plympton Fire Department State Representative, Canton, Stoughton Board of Health, Brookline Fire Department and Middleboro Fire Department.

Schools look to March reopen target

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The W-H Regional School District is committed to safeguarding the safety and health of students and staff, officials say — and that means a return to in-person learning will not likely happen before the end of March.

“Our numbers in the communities have gone down, but we’re still quarantining students and staff due to positivity rates,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said.

He told the School Committee meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 10 that the district will have to work out strategies for social-emotional support for students and when they return to school.

Szymaniak said he is still looking toward the end of March, but parents have been starting to demand a March 1 return. That, he said is unlikely because the district would need the month of March to prepare for students’ return. He is planning a March 3 presentation to the committee on what the return plan might look like.

“We’ve always had a plan, but we want to make sure it’s structured and good for all,” he said. “It will not look like March 12, 2020.”

Committee members agreed with Szymaniak’s approach, especially since teachers are still waiting for vaccinations, which are still difficult to obtain.

The CDC issued changes to its COVID guidelines Friday, Feb. 12 for the first time since August, stopping short of green-lighting an immediate return to classes.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the CDC is “not mandating that schools reopen,” instead opting for a color-coded zone approach based on numbers of new cases in a given area.

“Schools in areas with substantial transmission (orange, 50 to 99 new cases per 100,000) may still consider a limited reopening, as long as they can layer multiple safety strategies in the classroom,” according to an NPR report. “In hard-hit communities (red, more than 100 new cases per 100,000), elementary schools may consider limited reopening, with physical distancing required, but the CDC recommends middle and high schools be virtual-only unless mitigation strategies can be met.”

School distircts in many states have been demanding more practical information on reopening, according to the CDC. Still, the six-foot social distancing rules “should be considered nonnegotiable” for K-12 schools in high-transmission areas. Teachers would not be required to be vaccinated, but there is a recognition that teachers would prefer vaccinations before returning to work.

“It seemed like the wheels of the bus came off in the South Shore [region] a little bit last week, with some announcement that some districts with a full return to school,” he said, noting he sent another parent survey about return to school issues last week.

Resident Susan Wolford of Birchbark Drive in Hanson asked about the survey parents received from Szymaniak about returning to school during the Public Forum.

“I was looking for when and if there was a plan in place for when the kids are going to return full time,” she asked.

Szymaniak reminded committee members of the administration’s presentation of return options at the beginning of the school year, when the committee made it clear the most important thing was the safety and health of students and staff.

“So far that’s been true and I have no doubt that’s the first thing we have in our hearts and in our minds,” he said.

The committee chose the hybrid plan, while accommodating families that asked for a fully remote plan, with additional teachers hired to fill that role. Teachers who have tested positive have also been able to teach remotely from home, Szymaniak said.

“We have some long-term subs across the district that are in classrooms,” he also said. “That cost us.”

That is an expense for which the district is seeking reimbursement funds through the CARES Act. There are, however, regulations about how the district could use such funds and it is not clear at the moment if it can be used to balance the fiscal 2022 budget.

“There’s been some huge community push to get students in school — that’s our goal,” Szymaniak said. “Bottom line: If I can get students in here, that’s what I want to do.”

But, keeping to the tenets of health concerns, the district has not yet moved off the recommendation for six-foot social distancing and the limitations that it brings to classroom sizes. He apologized if the survey was interpreted as an attempt to be negative.

Even if teachers are vaccinated, which has not happened yet, the six-foot distance could be revised to three-feet or less. Movement between classrooms or around lockers would make contact tracing more difficult.

“With every challenge, we can modify and overcome the challenge, but parents need to know this — that this is going to be a change,” Szymaniak said.

The survey results indicate 67 percent of parents want full in-person learning or 2,204 responses. Students now learning remotely whose families want to send them back to school, would have an effect of class size.

Social distancing at lunches might also change. In some communities, when there is a limit to space, students have brought a blanket to eat sitting on the floor, which can affect other uses of school space.

There are also academic challenges when most students come back and a few others remain on remote learning. Space limitations on buses could also present challenges.

“I’m concerned about next year’s budget,” said resident Shawn Kain of Forest Street in Whitman during the Public Forum via Zoom. “Obviously with COVID, for anyone involved with the schools — teachers, students and parents — it has placed an incredible mental health burden on all of us and the thought of potentially losing funds next year is terrible.”

He said budget cuts to education at this moment would do “a good amount of harm,” noting the insight Hanson has already provided into their financial situation. Arguing that, since Hanson’s need to seek an override even for a level-service budget is less than ideal, Kain said it would be a good idea to extend the assessment formula compromise for another year.

In other business, Assistant Superintendent George Ferro provided an assessment testing update for the committee. A midyear assessment was given to students in kindergarten to grade five on math and ELA (reading), following similar assessments at the start of the year.

“Overall, for math, from the beginning of the year to now … we went from 21 percent on grade-level to 40 percent on grade-level,” Ferro said. The number of students in need of educational support is down 63 percent to 51 percent of students, while closing the gap in the high-needs areas down to 9 percent, he said.

“In math, we are moving more students to grade level and we have seen significant progress from our initial beginning of year term to our midyear report,” he said.

There was also progress in reading scores, Ferro said, explaining that at-risk students will receive extra help in improving before an end-of-year assessment and reviewing a regression plan for the summer as well as entering the next school year.

It’s down to two ..

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And then there were two Whitman-Hanson Regional High teams remaining in Patriot Cup play.

Boys’ basketball (11-0) wrapped up the regular season with a 72-57 victory over Hingham on Monday, Feb. 8. Senior captain Nate Amado scored 34 points in the win, while junior Malcom Alcorn-Crowder notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. … On Saturday, junior Amari Jamison exploded for a career-high 26 points to lead the Panthers to a 68-52 victory over North Quincy in Patriot Cup action.

Girls’ basketball (7-3) capped the regular season with a dominating 45-22 win over Silver Lake on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Senior captain Rylie Harlow (11 points) and sophomore Caitlin Leahy (10 points) combined for 21 points in the victory. … On Saturday, W-H was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and fell to Scituate, 51-45, in a non-elimination game in Patriot Cup play.

Boys’ hockey (4-9) doubled up Silver Lake, 4-2, in its final game of the regular season on Monday, Feb. 8. Sophomore Joe Culley had two goals, while freshman Luke Tropeano and junior John Ward added single tallies. … On Wednesday, sophomore Matt Solari netted a hat trick to propel the Panthers to a 4-3 win over Pembroke in the first round of the Patriot Cup. … Senior captain Kevin Willis also scored for W-H, while fellow senior captain Bobby Siders recorded 32 saves. … Rob Peters’ club’s run came to an end on Saturday with a 4-3 loss to Plymouth North. Solari scored twice and Willis stuck for another goal of his own in the defeat.

Girls’ hockey (2-4-2) finished the regular season with a 6-1 win over East Bridgewater/West Bridgewater on Monday, Feb. 8. Senior captain Emily McDonald (Whitman) had two assists in the triumph. … On Saturday, the co-op opened the Patriot Cup with a 1-0 shootout loss to Cohasset/Hanover.

State vaccine process raises concern

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Fire chiefs and health officials in several Massachusetts communities have expressed frustration with the state’s program to vaccinate residents against COVID-19.

“As of right now, the state’s vaccination program is an epic failure, and everyone sees that except the governor and the Department of Public Health,” Whitman Chief Timothy Grenno said on Friday, Feb.12.

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it will increase the vaccine supply to states to 13.5 million doses per week, and send 2 million doses to local pharmacies this week.

A trio of health and EMS officials spoke to Channel 25’s investigative team Thursday, Feb. 11, citing the state’s prioritizing of mass vaccination sites costing local communities access to the vaccine for their clinics. Dr. Dan Muse, an emergency physician at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, has been a medical director for some local EMS departments’ COVID response efforts.

He said there is a “huge amount of frustration” among the personnel who are simply trying to help their communities.

Along with state lawmakers, the Channel 25 report said EMS teams do not oppose mass vaccination sites, but they want the ability to vaccinate residents for whom travel to a mass site is difficult — and they want enough doses to provide their residents.

“They haven’t listened to us from Day One, so I can’t imagine them listening to us now,” Grenno said, adding that the Mass DPH has issued an order not to schedule any first-shot clinics unless the vaccinations are in hand.

“Every time we put in an order we seem to get cut a little bit,” Rutland Health Board Chairman Scott Gilroy told Channel 25’s Investigation Team. “At some point, it’s going to run into a course where we either can’t take care of our townsfolk or we’re going to have to short some of our partnering towns.”

The state has required every town in the commonwealth to have an emergency dispensing site specifically for vaccinations during a pandemic.

Locally, Grenno agrees there is reason for alarm over the state’s plan to send vaccines to mass vaccination sites only, and not to local clinics. Vaccination clinics announced by Whitman Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman for next week, would likely have to be cancelled.

“I think it’s a total disgrace against our elderly population and it just shows the ignorance of the state government to not recognize the personal needs of our elderly people,” Grenno said. “There’s never been a more incompetent operation than what the state is doing, starting with PPE on Day One, straight through until today. The state has made this whole COVID thing a complete debacle.”

Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., whose department held a successful vaccination clinic for elders over age 75 on Feb. 5, said he has also seen information that first-dose requests for local vaccination clinics are going unfilled, but he said Hanson’s planned second-dose clinic should be able to go forward.

“I don’t think they’ve done anything official [about vaccine supply policy,” Thompson said. “You just have to put in for it every week and see what you get.”

He said he was fortunate that Hanson received the 300 doses for the Feb. 5 clinic.

Whitman Fire Department put in for a second dose of vaccine last week, but it was denied, Grenno said.

“We put in a request for this coming week, which we’ve yet to hear about,” he said, saying he expected to hear back by the end of that day. “I’m anticipating that request will be denied also. … If that’s the case, then we’re pretty much dead in the water.”

Grenno had anticipated earlier this winter that the vaccination site plan he had submitted to the state for a local vaccination site at Whitman Middle School would be used.

Even shifting to a mass-vaccination site in town hasn’t helped.

“We had a vaccination site ready to go in the town of Whitman that will vaccinate all the 75-and-older population either at a mass-vaccination site at the K of C or at the Housing Authority units and we have been unable to get the vaccines to do that,” Grenno said.

Instead, the state is vaccinating the 75-and-over people they are providing shots to at mass vaccination sites such as Fenway Park, Marshfield Fairgrounds and Gillette Stadium.

“Getting those folks up and out of their homes and into a car and drive them to Marshfield or Gillette and stand in the bitter cold just to get a vaccination,” he said, noting that shots have been offered to people who drive them.

That has raised the issue of non-relatives taking to the Internet to try and arrange to drive a senior in order to get a vaccination.

Grenno maintains that, had the vaccine been delivered to Whitman when it was requested the town’s 75-and-older population could have already been vaccinated.

“We spent a ton of time and resourced on developing our clinics to service our residents, to vaccinate our residents,” he said.

Criticism of Gov. Baker is coming from all over the state.

In Springfield, named the “asthma capital of the country” in 2019, residents with the disorder may be forced to wait longer for the vaccine, because it had not been included on the state’s list of high-risk medical conditions to qualify people for the COVID vaccine.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Boston, advocates it, arguing that the exclusion will have a significant impact on low-income communities.

Baker has indicated his administration is talking about it, according to media reports, but no action has yet been taken.

“A general profile of the people included in the priority group indicates that they are mostly white, mostly young, mostly middle class, mostly healthy and those most likely to have benefit of the best health care and protective health equipment,” a Fall River resident wrote in a letter to the editor published in the Boston Herald last week. “Who are missing from the priority list are the poor, the elderly, sick people, people of color, those living in the most congested neighborhoods and those who depend upon public transportation. The latter groups make up those who are suffering the highest rates of infection and death from the virus.”

Grenno said another part of the problem is that the federal government had been sending the vaccines to the mass-vaccine sites, where official have not been seeing the numbers of people they want to see.

On the road to recovery

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HANSON — A prognosis of complete recovery and riding her longboard are the two things Jess Nihan, 22, of Hanson desires with undeniable determination. She knows only time will restore her health and bring her these rewards but for now she is happy to be alive and at home with her family.

“Every day I think of a reason to be happy. My life is better than a lot of people’s and I am lucky the whole way through,” Jess said, smiling at her mom.

Jess, a graduate of Whitman-Hanson’s Class of 2017 suffered a stroke as a result of arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which is shaped during uterine development. AVM is a snarl of abnormal and inadequately formed blood vessels present at birth but in most cases — such as hers — it is never discovered.

According to Brigham and Women’s website, the tangle of arteries and veins usually develops before birth or shortly after. Occasionally, an AVM forms later in life, though it is unclear if the risk for an AVM is passed down through families genetically. For someone with an AVM, an increase in blood pressure is a risk factor for rupture.

The sequence of events and emotions surrounding Jess’ stroke are still raw for mom Julie Nihan, who spoke with gratitude as she recounted the hours following Jess’ brain bleed the day after Thanksgiving. She credited the quick assessments made by EMS, which saved valuable time during her daughter’s medical crisis.

In each step the medical professionals made all the fastest and most accurate decisions in saving Jess’ life, she added.

Following the November holiday, Julie and husband Greg had their sons home and a sister visiting, who happens to be an ICU nurse.

The Nihan’s had a relatively quiet day.

Jess had come downstairs for Tylenol complaining of a migraine and returned to her room but in minutes was calling for her aunt. A seizure ensued as Hanson Firefighters/Paramedics were called.

Jess has no recollections of the incident or the four weeks following.

She was transported to the Brockton Hospital by Hanson firefighters and paramedics and was evaluated with imaging in the Emergency Room. The ER doctor diagnosed the bleed and she was airlifted to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston within the hour.

Jess comforted her mom with a tissue-taking a break from medical facts and talked about her short hair, which is just starting to grow back.  Her scar is thick and resembles a zipper where her skull was removed then replaced as her brain healed.

With a giggle she called her scar “Bad Ass” when she described it — in the sense it is a sign of her survival — as a reminder of her resilience and her determination to recover.

She keeps an eye on her mobile independence physically but she also cannot wait to drive again in due time.

Her work at The Home for Little Wanders as a social service residential relief counselor gives her insight to the lives of less fortunate youth.  She cannot wait to return to the work she loves, she added.

Jess is passionate about her profession and strives to be a positive role model in their world.

Describing herself as goofy, thankful and lucky for her life she talked about the appreciation that she has gained as her family has surrounded her every step of the way.

Nihan is working intensely on regaining her speech. Her mobility is slower but she is intentional with skills such as: drinking from a glass. Her rehabilitation is intense and has become her purpose. Recovery after this medical crisis can take a year or more, according to data from Brigham and Women’s Hospital AVM treatments and diagnosis.

Jess’ Neurosurgeon Dr. Nirav J. Patel of Brigham and Women’s Hospital performed her repairs needed to stop the bleed and correct the entangled vessels from AVM.

According to his in-depth discussion on AVM treatments and diagnosis Patel explained what AVM is on his patient page which includes videos of the type of repairs he makes to the brain.

“The tangle of arteries and veins usually develops before birth or shortly after,” according to data on Brigham and Women’s website (AVM and Neurological specialties). “Occasionally, an AVM forms later in life, thought it is unclear if the risk for an AVM is passed down through families genetically. For someone with an AVM an increase in blood pressure is a risk factor for rupture.”

For more information on AVM and data on recovery from the procedure such as Jess’ visit  brighamandwomens.org.

Jess is the only girl with three brothers one of whom is her twin — she has always been close to her mom and now more so than ever.

This month when she returned home after three months at Spaulding Rehabilitation in Boston Jess still has her appointments for outpatient services as she continues to gain her strength. She was welcomed with an outpouring of messages, well-wishes and flowers.

“Living in a small town all the training helped save her life, said Julie when every second counted.

The family is grateful for each person who had a hand in the positive out coming.

More COVID clinics planned

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WHITMAN — The town is planning a series of COVID vaccination clinics for elder residents at the Housing Authority’s Harvard Court site.

“As this board knows, there have already been several vaccination clinics that have occurred, primarily focused on first responders,” said new Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman, attending his inaugural Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9, noting those clinics are continuing. “There are also already plans [for] vaccination clinics at Harvard Court.”

Those are planned for Feb. 22 and 26, as well as March 22 and 26 for the second dose.

“There are also other vaccination clinics planned,” he said. “The key issue that many members on this board may know about is that, we have this plan in place to provide vaccinations to the community, based on the phases as identified by the state Department of Public Health, but the key is actually receiving the  vaccine to perform those, which is — obviously — outside of the town’s control.”

He said the past week, according to Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, is the first time when the state has not been able to fulfill a request for vaccine from the town.

“We don’t know when that is going forward and, obviously, we’re going to be requesting vaccines to fulfill the plan that we want to pursue,” he said. “The big unknown at this moment is how much vaccine we’re going to get and in what kind of time.”

Heineman also announced that cases are now at 1,003 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to figures calculated as of Feb. 2. There have been 115 new cases recorded over the past two weeks.

“Just as a comparison to the state as a whole, we’re slightly higher as daily average incidents rate per 100,000 residents,” Heineman said. During the same two-week period the state was at 48.9, while Whitman is at 52.9.

Grenno and the Board of Health have developed the plans for the vaccine clinics, Heineman said.

“There’s a lot of very detailed and organized work that’s been going on prior to me and, again, I want to give all the credit in the world to our emergency management director [Grenno], the Board of Health and everyone here in Town Hall and the Town Hall workers in general,” Heineman said.

In other business, Selectmen approved a request from Council on Aging Director Mary Holland to revise COVID-19 protocols for her department.

“She said there are certain issues that needed to be done, and we had to redo our town protocol because the COA does certain functions that are required under health issues only the senior center provides, and she’s asked us if that would be allowed,” Selectmen Chairman Daniel Salvucci said.

New town COVID protocols passed on Jan. 19 had closed all town buildings to the public until further notice.

“The services that we’ve been able to continue to offer — one of them being the podiatrist — it’s only once a month, but seniors need that service,” Holland said. “We’ve been doing it since September with no issues.”

Seniors enter at the back door and are seen one-on-one by the podiatrist in a private room, she said. Masks are worn during examinations.

Fuel assistance is another service for which seniors must go to the COA to obtain help with the first-time completion of complex paperwork. The center is still closed for social events.

Selectmen also voted — in recognition that Carousel Family Fun Center was the only business in town required to close [for 30 weeks] due to Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 order — to reduce the business’ licensing fee, applying a pro-rated amount to her feed owed in 2021.

Fire damages Whitman home

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WHITMAN — One person was treated and released at the scene of a fire at a single-family home on Franklin Street, Saturday, Feb.6. Fire Chief Timothy Grenno said the person’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The home is temporarily uninhabitable due to the fire, smoke and water damage. The residents are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

At approximately 7:51 a.m., Whitman Fire received a report from a resident of a fire at their home at 44 Franklin St., Grenno said. Upon arrival, first responders saw smoke coming from the first and second floor of the two-and-a-half story home. The four residents who were home at the time were able to exit the house safely before first responders arrived.

Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire, which was contained to the dining room on the first floor. Crews cleared the scene by 9:15 a.m.

The Hanson Fire Department provided mutual aid during the fire. Station coverage was provided by the Halifax and Abington fire departments. Members of the Halifax Fire Department provided medical aid at the scene. National Grid, Whitman Police, and the Whitman wiring and building inspectors assisted on scene as well.

While Whitman Fire responded to the fire, Abington firefighters responded to two additional emergency calls in Whitman.

The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental and related to an electrical issue.