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A hero’s welcome: Sam Mewis inducted into W-H Athletics Hall of Fame

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World Cup champion Sam Mewis returned home to get inducted into the W-H Athletics Hall of Fame.

A World Cup title and back-to-back National Women’s Soccer League championships are part of Sam Mewis’ accomplishments, but some of her fondest memories playing soccer came from her time at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

“One time, Mary, one of my best friends from high school, I had said it was my mission to have her score a goal, and I was able to assist her first goal ever,” Mewis recalled. “I just remember being so happy and there was this picture in the newspaper, and it just meant so much to me to share that with Mary.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Mewis returned to Dennis M. O’Brien Field — not to play — but as an inductee into the W-H Athletics Hall of Fame. She shared that message with the W-H girls’ soccer team before the game.

“She talked to [the team] about cherishing every moment,” said W-H head coach David Floeck, who coached Mewis from 2007-10. “She’s been in the biggest moments around, and she talked about remembering getting ready for her senior night and getting ready for the tournament and for the kids to enjoy each and every one of those nights.”

Braving the evening rain in a Whitman-Hanson Panthers sweatshirt and black pullover, Mewis, who was unable to attend the original W-H Athletics Hall of Fame induction last month, sandwiched a halftime speech between autograph sessions.

“It’s great [to be back],” said Mewis, who graduated from W-H in 2010. “It’s super exciting and it’s a huge honor. I’m just really excited to be here and be back with the community and seeing a lot of my old friends and teachers. It was awesome.

“I’m really grateful for obviously this community, the way that the coaches and players and my teammates contributed to all that success. Everyone who has been a part of my journey so far has contributed in such a big way, so I wouldn’t be here without them.”

During Mewis’ tenure at W-H, the Panthers went 74-6-4 and won four league titles. Floeck said she helped lay the groundwork for the program’s future.

“When Kristie (Sam’s sister) got here and Sam followed a couple years behind, that’s really when the program took off,” Floeck said. “We had been good up to that point, but that’s when it really took off and we’ve maintained a level of success that a lot of the players that have gone through here have a lot to be proud of.”

Erin Wood, a current senior back on the team, used to attend Mewis’ games growing up.

“Knowing she’s from our school is really awesome to see,” said Wood. “I mean, she grew up in the same town we did, probably five minutes from my house, so the fact that she made it that far in the World Cup and actually won, shows that even if you’re from a small town you build a name for yourself and can create something.”

And that’s just the message Mewis is trying to relay.

“I hope that I can inspire young girls to work hard and believe in themselves and know that no matter where you’re from or what you want to do, it’s possible,” Mewis said.

That’s just a part of the impact Mewis said she is hoping to have on society.

“One of our goals with this whole fight, to help inspire the next generation and all women to understand their value and their worth in the workplace,” Mewis said. “It’s a responsibility, but we also hope that young women everywhere understand that they deserve equal pay.”

Next up for the Hanson native, she now sets her sights on the chance to represent the country on the national stage once again, in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

“It would be unbelievable,” Mewis said. “I missed out on the Olympics last time and it was a huge honor to make the World Cup team, but I would love to continue making rosters and continue down that path.”

Curry’s Villanueva develops new appreciation for football: ‘I missed it more than anything.’

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Nick Villanueva. / Courtesy photo: SportsPix

Nick Villanueva is an “all-around” leader for the Colonels.

As he sat in his dorm room at the University of Rhode Island in the fall of 2015, Nick Villanueva couldn’t help but think about one thing — football.

For the first time since third grade, there were no shoulder pads to put on, cleats to tie or playbook to study. He was out of the game. 

“I missed it more than anything,” Villanueva, a Hanson resident said. “At that time, all I could really do was follow the Patriots. I was watching football every day.”

Villanueva opted to attend URI in order to pursue a degree in engineering despite being recruited by colleges to play football, after hauling in 31 passes for 538 yards and two touchdowns in his senior season at Whitman-Hanson Regional High in 2014. He quickly realized URI wasn’t the place for him.

“I started missing the game and everybody because I saw the football team there playing and everyone preparing for the season,” Villanueva said. “It was the first time I hadn’t had to go through camp and everything.”

It wasn’t completely lost time for Villanueva, though. He pushed himself to the limit in the weight room, with a mission of getting back into the game the following year. After transferring to Curry College, he was one step closer.

“I had a coach who coached at W-H and coached at Curry, coach [Steve] Scott, and he told me a lot about Curry and the program and I should give it a shot,” Villanueva said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been waiting,’ and I kind of made my decision really quick.”

His next step was to pick up the phone and call Curry head coach Skip Bandini.

“I told him who I was and that I was interested in playing football,” Villanueva said. “I had to almost ask to play.”

Bandini let Villanueva come to camp. He caught the coach’s attention right away.

“I saw a kid that was very well mannered,” Bandini said. “He’s very articulate. Coach Scott said that this is a kid that we want on our team and coach Scott was right.”

Since making the team, Villanueva has blossomed into Curry’s go-to offensive weapon at wide receiver, earning Second-Team All-Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Football Offensive selection in 2017 and Second-Team All-CCC honors last season. But his biggest achievement came heading into this season: being voted as team captain.

“It’s a great honor,” Villanueva said. “To have my teammates think of me as a leader for them makes me feel incredible. I just want to be a member of the team and not only lead by example but make sure everyone’s on the same page.”

Bandini called Villanueva an “all-around leader.”

“Any company would love to hire this kid,” he said. “We have players speak in front of recruits all the time and their parents. He gets up there and is very articulate, passionate about what he talks about, clear and concise and he certainly delivers a great message, so I think that makes him stand out above the other people.”

Last season, Villanueva ranked in the top five in the conference in receptions (50, third), receptions per game (5.0, second), receiving yards (655, fourth), receiving yards per game (6.5, third) and yards per reception (13.1, third).

“The system is great and practicing every day and just being part of the system kind of made it happen,” Villanueva said. “My teammates make me that much better, I just happened to be the one in the right place at the right time.”

Villanueva said he has a new appreciation for the game of football now, after going a year without it.

“Coming to Curry changed my whole life,” Villanueva said. “It was probably the greatest decision I’ve ever made. Whether I have anything going on in my personal life or school, once I step foot between those sidelines and get on the field, all that goes out the window and it’s a whole new life. I loved the game my whole life but having that time off made me realize it’s not always going to be there for me so I have to take advantage of it while I have it.”

‘Thank God I didn’t quit’: Adversity drives Newman’s cross country career to Bentley

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Abbie Newman. / Courtesy photo from SportsPix

Hanson resident Abbie Newman is a junior co-captain on Bentley University’s cross country team.

Abbie Newman remembers her freshman year at Whitman-Hanson Regional High well. But the first few weeks, predominantly, come to mind.

“I got into cross country because my mom ran,” said Newman, who hails from Hanson. “I was just like, ‘Whatever, I’ll try it.’ But I got through the first couple of weeks of practices and was like, ‘This is horrible.’”

After that, she was ready to quit.

“It was so much work and I didn’t think I could do it,” Newman said. “It was a lot.”

But those feelings were altered over time because of her supporting cast.

“Coach Keith Erwin (former Whitman-Hanson cross country coach) and my teammates kept me going,” Newman said. “They just kept pushing me.”

And Newman said she’s thankful they did keep her running. If they didn’t, she wouldn’t have been elected as a junior captain this fall for Bentley University women’s cross country team.

“Being voted as a captain is probably my greatest accomplishment,” Newman said. “It gives me a lot of confidence.”

Newman admits her results weren’t what she wanted them to be last season, as she battled through some dietary issues, but her work ethic and upbeat attitude at practice never wavered, according to her coach.

“She leads by example,” said Bentley women’s cross country head coach Kevin Curtin. “Just week in and week out she does the work, and takes care of things academically. She shows up to practice and does what she’s supposed to do and she just consistently goes out and does it.”

Being a captain has many different responsibilities.

“We lead the practices, all the stretches and running with them and making them feel comfortable with our training,” Newman said. “They also come to us with a lot of questions based on academics.”

Curtin said Newman raises the bar for the newcomers.

“The freshmen look to her and see her and know what they should be striving for,” said the coach.

Newman is still a key contributor on the course. In the Bentley’s latest race, the Capital Cross Challenge out in Sacramento, California, held on Sept. 28, Newman was the third Falcon to cross the finish line with a time of 24:28.3.

“I’m really looking to stay healthy and be a contributing member of the team and be at least top four or top five,” she said.

Now, six years later, when Newman reflects on those first few weeks of her freshman year of high school, she does it with a chuckle.

“I just think it’s funny now and looking back realizing that thank God I didn’t quit,” Newman said.

Hanson’s Sam Mewis nets a pair in Women’s World Cup debut

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It was tough to ask for a better Women’s World Cup debut for Sam Mewis.

The Hanson native struck for two goals and dished out two assist as the U.S. romped Thailand, 13-0.

Mewis netted her first goal in the 50th minute to put the U.S. ahead, 4-0.

 

Four minutes later, she made it 6-0.

Read more about Mewis in last week’s Express: 

In midst of ‘biggest accomplishment’ yet, Hanson’s Sam Mewis reflects on where it all started

What’s in a plan?: Resident questions Whitman’s capital planning process

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WHITMAN — Disagreement over what constituted adherence to a bylaw requirement for a capital plan sparked discussion between Selectmen and a resident at the board’s meeting Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Shawn Kain, a former member of the Finance Committee and proponent of a five-year capital improvement plan, asked the Board of Selectmen during a Public Forum who he should approach regarding an appeal of what he saw as the board’s failure to meet a January bylaw deadline for such a plan.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said that, while a capital plan was not being presented that night, a meeting has already been held between town officials, including some department heads and representatives of the Collins Center of UMass, Boston toward developing an ongoing five-year plan.

“You have to have capital to satisfy a capital plan,” Kowalski said. “It’s been asked and answered every time you come.”

“I will meet with the Finance Committee and we will do some prioritization for capital needs this year, but a formal plan will not be [completed],” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said.

“Who do I speak to about this matter if the bylaws aren’t being upheld by the Board of Selectmen?” Kain asked, saying the issue had not yet been made public, an assertion with which Lynam took issue, asserting the situation has been very public. But, aside from the attorney general’s office, officials had no appeals options to offer.

“You can file with the District Court an injunction and order us to get it done,” Lambiase said, noting that planning  work is already underway.

“I’m not aware of any court of appeal above a board of Selectmen,” Lynam said.

“I don’t think there is a board of appeals that’s set up to hear the appeal of anybody [that would have] authority over this board,” Selectman Scott Lambiase agreed, noting he understood Kain’s frustration. “I totally get what you’re asking and what you want here and I think what Frank and the Finance Committee are going to put together is going to be what we’re going to get for a capital plan.”

Both Kowalski and Lambiase agreed that the plan drawn up will meet the requirement for a capital plan while a more formal process is being drawn up with the help of the Collins Center, but Kain was not satisfied with that explanation.

“Will it be a long-term plan, will it be everything we want? No,” Lambiase said. “Do we have money to actually finance this capital plan? That remains to be seen, but there will be a plan forthcoming.”

Lynam said he plans to present a report to the board outlining the town’s capital conditions.

“But it won’t be what you’re looking for,” he said, noting he felt it was clear from Kain’s previous discussions with the board that the Collins Center was being engaged to create a long-term plan, although it wouldn’t meet the timeline he was looking for.

“I think what I’m looking for is specifically what’s in the bylaws,” Kain said. “The bylaw says there will be a capital plan and it will be presented by January. That’s very specific. I was here in June asking about it. I was here in July, I was here in August, I was here in October.”

He said that he was told about the grants for the Collins Center project in October, but saw that as a long-term effort.

“Right now, my major concern is fiscal year 2020,” he said.

Lynam countered that he had five pages of capital requests on 11-by-17-inch paper. Not counting the DPW, there are already “well in excess of $3 million” being asked for this year.

“Will we have a plan put together?” Lynam asked. “We’ll develop one. Will it address all those needs? No it won’t, because it can’t. The revenue isn’t there.”

Lambiase asked Kain what he would do in their position.

“You’re asking us to do something, what would you do?” he asked.

Kain referred to an offer made by Selectmen to have him chair a capital planning committee, which he declined because he felt it would not be in the best interests of those people already working on a capital plan, including Lynam, Selectman Daniel Salvucci — who did not attend the meeting as he was meeting with the Finance Committee about the South Shore Tech budget in his role as liaison to SSVT — and others “used to working together.”

The Building Needs and Capital Projects Committee last met in August, Lynam said, noting it failed to get a quorum to meet in December.

“You’ve been asking about this for a long time and you knew the answer before you got up to the podium,” Kowalski said. “You’ve been told that we did not have the resources to develop a sensible five-year plan in the time frame that you wanted. We know that we’ve missed the deadline for the bylaw, we knew that we were going to miss the deadline for the bylaw and I’m pretty sure we were clear to you that that was what was going to happen.”

He said the next-best thing the board could do was to apply for the grant that is funding the Collins Center’s work.

He suggested Kain’s motivation was to embarrass the board.

Budget update

Lynam said he was meeting with the Finance Committee Jan. 22 to review budget scenarios he distributed to them last week, but no action was planned at that meeting.

“We’re going to be reviewing the results of the meetings in our … the budgets that are under the Board of Selectmen,” he said. “I’m also going to be presenting what we best know, as of this point, for capital requests.”

He said there have been “tremendous amount of capital requests” with limited funds to work with them. A joint meeting on the budget will be scheduled with the Finance Committee next month.

Lynam also noted the Budget Review Committee is progressing in its work to formalize the steps to be taken in beginning, preparing and submitting budgets.

Community assessment survey results are now being analysed for presentation to the board.

Census update

Lambiase reminded citizens to return their Town Census forms as soon as possible.

“A quick note on that is, if you don’t return them, they remove you from the voting rolls,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said. Lynam said that process involves the expense to the town for repeated mailings involved in that process.

State’s funding shortfall

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Unfunded and underfunded state education mandates cost the W-H Regional School District more than $5 million a year, based on the most recent complete report from fiscal 2018. There were $8,131,147 in mandated costs during FY 2018, but only $2,110,957 of anticipated reimbursements were received [See page 5].

“We have an $8 million state mandate that no other department in the town has with $5 million of it not being funded,” said School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “That is a giant piece of the budget that other departments don’t have. … The point I’m making is that, when departments start getting pitted against each other, and I hate to use that term, we provide a different service was the answer that I told the Finance Committee members, than other departments. It’s very difficult to compare.”

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak offered a breakdown of those costs during a budget discussion at the Wednesday, Jan. 16 School Committee meeting.

Town administrators, select board and Finance Committee members from both towns attended the meeting.

Szymaniak said he has appreciated the opportunity to have talks with the Whitman Finance Committee and the town administrators to fill them in on where the district is at financially, he is not yet able to offer budget projections until the official budget roll-out on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Whitman’s Finance Committee, for example, has been seeking impact statements from town departments based on 3- or 6-percent budget cuts.

“I can’t do what police, fire — everybody else [has done] — and put a number on it,” Szymaniak said. “We have great teachers right now and I would be remiss and I would not be doing my job if were to say I’m starting to cut the budget in January before I present it to you folks.”

Szymaniak said his job is to present a budget that will “adequately move the district as slimly forward as we can. … So I’m telling you this, a deficit or a level-fund will impact us severely.”

The district is looking at a $2.9 million increase in costs — with $3.7 million in deficits that are unfunded across the board if the budget were level-funded, according to Szymaniak.

“The impact would be in service delivery,” he said. “It’s people — I’m not going to put a dollar number or put a number on folks — it’s programs. It’s everything that we’ve done the right way over the past five years.”

Szymaniak said he fully understands Whitman’s financial position and is willing to work with them, but sees the potential for “devastating” cuts if the schools are looking at a $3.7 million deficit.

“We have not yet fully recovered from [cuts made in 2008 through 2010]. If we went back to Square Zero, you look at a 10-year process to get back to where we were.”

He also outlined how unfunded and underfunded mandates from the state impact town budgets.

“Some of the things that we think we do out of the course of doing business out of the course of the day are actually mandates that have an impact on our school budget,” Szymaniak said. “This is what we’re held to, so when we’re talking increases in costs, this is what the state determines we need to do as a district.”

Teacher evaluation, for example, used to consist of an administrator talking with a teacher, according to Szymaniak. The state now wants districts to generate evidence-backed data for such evaluations, requiring a software program — as well as added time not calculated for the comparison, which has doubled if not tripled over the past 10 years.

“As our student population grows, we might have to provide more teachers for that,” Szymaniak also said of English Language Learners. “We doubled our teachers — we had one teacher and two tutors last year — and by our numbers, we should have two teachers and a tutor, if not three teachers for next year.”

Health insurance costs are also expected to increase by about 5 percent next year. Finance Committees and town administrators have also been asking about full-day kindergarten, Szymaniak said. While it will not likely be a budget issue this year, but will likely come up in the future.

“FinComs asked, because we are putting expenditure out for charter schools … and when are we going to look at keeping our kids here,” he said. “That’s a piece that this board has looked at over time.”

Full-day kindergarten could help the district see charter school kids staying in the district over time, according to Szymaniak.

“I think you’re not going to see it the first year, but you will see a definite impact in that expense going out,” he said of the charter school money. “Once you establish roots in a school system, you’re going to stay.”

Special education costs are impossible to project, Szymaniak said, noting that just last week two students were placed out-of-district based on behavior issues that are “not acceptable to our school” and disrupt classrooms, effecting the education of other students.

School choice requires that districts permit students to attend schools where they want. Students that go out of W-H, brings in no money for the district, but students coming into the district bring in some funds.

“I don’t see myself advocating for less services than the meager services that we already provide,” School Committee member Fred Small said.

Hayes agreed, noting it was incumbent upon Szymaniak to present a budget outlining what it’s going to take to run the district and it was up to the committee to come up with a budget figure.

Where regional transportation is concerned, Small said he understands that the state wants communities to have “skin in the game” by limiting reimbursements.

“But the mandate is they shall fully fund regional transportation subject to appropriation,” he said. “We’ve cut our start times, we’ve done everything we can, software-related to create the best bus routes to save as much money as possible on our busing.”

He said there are problems with the state bidding process for bus contracts, because of the limited number of bus companies competing.

In other business, Dan Sullivan of CLA provided an auditors’ report.

“All the information in the financial records were presented fairly, were presented in compliance with what you need to do to prepare the financial statements,” he said. The clean report indicated that the district does not need to make any changes in its practices.

The outside audit encompasses reviews of financial statements, internal controls and accounting principals as well as a government-required single audit of grant expenditures and bonds to determine a bond rating.

“Management and staff were responsive to all our inquiries,” Sullivan said. “We had no [problems] with the way things were reported.”

District Treasurer David Leary also provided a positive report on the district’s debt position, OPEB and transfers of scholarship accounts to better-yield investment vehicles.

Season Preview: SSVT football ready to make noise

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The Vikings have eight starters back as they aim to improve on last season’s 5-6 record.

Twenty-year South Shore Vo-Tech football head coach Derek Mariani is confident his team has what it takes to make a run for the league title.

The Vikings, who finished 5-6 last season and 3-1 in the Mayflower Athletic Conference Small Vocational Division, return eight starters.

“We’re talking about — with the people we have — we should to be able to contend for the league because I think right now that league is wide open,” Mariani said. “I don’t see anybody as a huge odds on favored, it’s just going to be who plays consistent week to week.”

The Vikings’ main weapon back in the fold is senior running back Shane Fougere (Hanson). Fougere, who burst onto the scene as a sophomore, is SSVT’s only returning league all-star.

Paving the way for Fougere, who is a captain, will be an offensive line led by senior John Jolliemore (Whitman), who moves from guard to center and is also a captain.

“He’s going to bring the experience,” Mariani said. “He’s been working very hard getting in condition. We may not always have the biggest line, but I think we have a line with some good football knowledge and good football sense.”

Insulating Jolliemore on his right side will be junior Nick Morrissey (Whitman).

“He put on some good, solid weight over the year,” Mariani said of Morrissey. “He is an intelligent player and as a guard he has great speed. His footwork and his intelligence is very good.”

Senior 6-foot-4, 225-pound Noah Rodri (Hanson) will move from right tackle to left tackle as he enters his second fall as a starter.

Junior Mac Johnson (Hanson) and senior Casi Ezekiel (Whitman) may work their way into the starting lineup at tackle and guard, respectively.

“Noah is one of our bigger and stronger kids,” Mariani said. “Noah’s got the power.”

At quarterback will be senior Nick Podgurski (Whitman), who will share time with classmate Spencer Joseph (Rockland).

“He’s quick,” Mariani said of Podgurski. “He’ll run the option well. He’s got the speed.”

Jolliemore (DT), Fougere (CB), Podurski (CB) and Rodri (DE) will be starters on defense also. Mariani said he’s been impressed with junior Bobby Fettig (Hanson) and sophomore Joseph Parker (Hanson) and wouldn’t be surprised if either nab a starting role soon.

SSVT opens the season on the road Saturday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. against Tri-County.

“I want to see some toughness and some consistency,” Mariani said. “I think we have the people and the experience that we should be able to play a fundamentally sound game [with] minimal mistakes, but be very physical.”

3-alarm blaze is probed

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Fire crews battled a lingering heat wave as well as the intense flames from a three-alarm fire at the vacant JJ’s Pub at 16 Liberty St., Thursday afternoon. / Photo by: Stephanie Spyropoulos

Express staff report

HANSON – A three-alarm fire on Thursday, July 5 has been deemed suspicious by state and local public safety officials.

Firefighters from several area communities assisted Hanson Fire Department in battling a three-alarm fire in a vacant building. No injuries were reported, but two firefighters were transported to the hospital for treatment of heat-related illness.

The cause of the fire has not been determined and the incident is still under investigation by Hanson Police and Fire and the State Fire Marshall’s office.

Anyone who has information about the fire is asked to call Hanson Police at 781-293-4625 or the state Arson Hotline at 1-800-682-9229.

Hanson fire personnel responded to calls reporting the fire at 16 Liberty St. – the former JJ’s Pub – at about 3 p.m. Flames were visible on their arrival and crews immediately began to fight the fire as second and third alarms were struck calling companies from numerous area towns to assist.

Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., reported that the fire was extinguished by 6 p.m., but that fire crews were still dousing hot spots. Route 58, at the intersection of Liberty and East Washington streets remained closed to traffic while the scene remained active and residents were asked to avoid the area.

National Grid shut off power to the area to permit firefighters to safely work. Nearly 200 customers were affected by the shut-off.

Thompson and Police Chief Michael Miksch thanked the residents for their patience.

The cause and origin of the blaze are not known and it is under investigation by the State Fire Marshall’s office.

Hanson Fire also Tweeted their thanks to the departments that assisted today at the fire.

“We also would like to thank our other Town departments that assisted and members of the public who dropped off water and Gatorade,” the Twitter post stated.

Photo by: Stephanie Spyropoulos

Photo by: Stephanie Spyropoulos

 

IMG_27391 click on link to view video

IMG_29851 click on link to view video

 

 

 

Hanson Selectmen to give voters say on cannabis

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen has approved the placement of a local-control retail marijuana bylaw, banning the sale of cannabis, before October’s special Town Meeting as well as a referendum ballot.

Discussing the issue only among themselves without accepting questions or comments from the public, the board agreed 5-0 that the state’s Chapter 94G provisions for the two-step process would best permit residents to have a say on the issue.

Selectmen also declined to share their own personal opinions on the issue as irrelevant.

“I’m not even going to share that because it doesn’t really matter,” said Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell, supporting the Town Meeting warrant article. “I got voted in to make the right decision for the town of Hanson. I personally think that it should be left up to the voters.”

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who asked for the issue to be placed on the board’s agenda, agreed with Mitchell.

“We’re here to do the will of the people,” she said. “I don’t think it matters what each one of us individually think and I’m not here to argue for or against the moral merits because the state has decided that it’s legal.”

She said she did not anticipate, nor endorse “continually” bringing the issue back before the board.

“Move forward,” Selectman Wes Blauss said in support of the article.

“I believe the will of the people will really be voiced,” agreed Selectman Matt Dyer.

“It’s up to the people,” Selectman Jim Hickey said.

They rejected claims they had heard around town that it was a ploy to give proponents “a second bite of the apple.”

Selectmen plan to hold an informational forum on the issue before the special Town Meeting to permit residents to ask questions and/or comment on the issue.

 “This is on the agenda because the Board of Selectmen wanted to talk about this and make a decision whether or not we wanted to move forward regarding retail marijuana shops,” said Mitchell. “This started in November 2016 [when] we had a state-wide vote … whether or not we wanted to legalize marijuana. The town of Hanson said yes. It was a slim margin, but we said yes.”

The next year Town Meeting rejected a moratorium measure sought by the Planning Board, based on an East Bridgewater measure designed to provide towns more time to obtain more information before further action was taken.

“We were very surprised that it did not pass, that people did not want to at least take some time to be thoughtful and study it,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett. “I think that a lot of people, when it was voted on at the state level, were voting on it conceptually. … ‘Am I OK with it in the state of Massachusetts?’ They weren’t necessarily aware … now you need a two-step process [to keep it out of town].”

In July 2017, Gov. Charlie Baker developed a process for towns that voted yes on the 2016 ballot to opt out of permitting retail shops within their borders.

“If a town voted no on marijuana [in 2016] all they had to do was go to a Town Meeting vote to ban retail shops,” Mitchell said. “If a town voted yes, then there is a two-step process.”

A local-control bylaw would have to go before Town Meeting, and if approved there, to a referendum.

“The two votes that we’ve had are totally different than we’re discussing tonight,” Mitchell said.

In other business, the board approved a request by the Education Committee to place information, as well as a request for donations, on the tax bill in an effort to spur donations.

“There’s a misconception bout what the Hanson Education Fund is and we’re hoping to alleviate some of that and have people understand what it is,” said Chairman Gary Banuk. The fund has been on the tax bill as a donation option since 1993.

Response has not been good of late, with last year averaging about $150 per quarter in total donations.

“That’s not really a lot to help the students of Hanson,” Banuk said, noting that funds had been donated to purchase Chromebooks for Hanson schools last year. It is not limited to primary or secondary school pupils. Residents of Hanson with educational expenses are welcome to apply for funding, including for college or other vocational education costs such as books.

Selectmen also discussed their goals for the year, most of which are ongoing projects. But Blauss requested the addition of a plastic bag ban and Dyer asked if polystyrene beverage cups could be added to that list.

“We can look around at the process that other towns have already worked at to do this,” Blauss said. “I also don’t want to scare our businesses, either, by going at it so fast that they don’t have time to adjust.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said that issue, conceivably could go before the October Town Meeting, providing a grace period until the start of next fiscal year before implementation in order to give local businesses time to make accommodation.

Mitchell tabbed as Hanson Select Board chair

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HANSON  — Selectmen welcomed two new members and discussed ways to attract more residents to the ranks of public service at the board’s annual reorganizational meeting on Tuesday, May 22.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell was also elected the board’s new chairman, joined by new Vice Chairman Jim Hickey and Matt Dyer as clerk. Dyer, Selectman Wes Blauss, Cemetery Commissioner Jim Flanagan — who had accepted his four-write-in-vote win — Health Board member Arlene Dias and Housing Authority member Benjamin Fletcher were sworn in by Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan to start the meeting.

W-H senior Marc Benjamino was among more than two dozen people receiving one write-in vote for cemetery commissioner, with another nine people attracting two or three votes each.

Mitchell offered thanks to former Selectmen Chairman James McGahan and former member Don Howard for their service.

“Don Howard is a breath of fresh air,” Mitchell said. “He loves the town of Hanson. … Don’s blood type is 02341.”

Mitchell also noted that Howard, who served on more than a half-dozen committees might be interested in, and would certainly be welcome to, continue serving on some of those. Not all the appointments need to be selectmen.

Mitchell asked Blauss and Dyer to look over the committee assignments filled by Howard and McGahan to determine which ones they would be interested in serving.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested that social media platforms such as Facebook could be used to outline the skill sets needed and time demands required of boards and commissions.

“Trust me, I understand the words I’m saying out loud in this town — Facebook and Hanson, not a great mix,” she said. “But I do think for some people, that’s the level, that’s where they’re engaged and there are ways to prevent people from abusing that and using it just for information.”

She has been doing some of that outreach on her own already.

“We need some fresh faces,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

“One of the problems I see with maintaining a Facebook page is maintaining a Facebook page,” said Town Administrator Michael McCue, noting that a planned IT hire cold be tasked with doing that, among other responsibilities. “One of the things we would expect of an IT director is [his or her] currency with new technologies and any new methods for getting information out.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett also reiterated the need for more transparency in the process for filling appointed committee vacancies, urging they be posted with more regularity to help attract new people with the right skill sets and reassure the public.

“We want to open it up, welcome everybody and be really transparent,” she said. “They’re being appointed by us.”

Selectmen also reviewed their goals for the year, many of which are still in the works — such as reuse of the Maquan School building, new cell towers, Plymouth County Hospital reuse, potential new highway building among them — while goals of hiring a new police lieutenant and a part-time facilities manager have been completed.

“These things are being accomplished with the invaluable assistance of … department heads … and staff members,” McCue said. “When I read a list of things and say, ‘We’ve done this and we’ve done that,’ these are really staff accomplishments.”