WHITMAN – It’s going to take a bit longer to find a new town administrator.
The Select Board had planned to interview its three finalists on Tuesday, Dec. 13, but with the withdrawal of one candidate the process has been delayed, Chair Randy LaMattina announced.
“Our candidate list kind of dwindled by one today,” he said. “Obviously, I set the agenda, and felt the board had made a commitment to bring three candidates to the board for final interviews. Not having three [now], I’ve decided to put it off – probably to send it back to the search committee to find another qualified candidate and then return it back to the board at a later date.”
If thar list of finalists gave you a case of déjà vu, there was a reason for that. Two of them were familiar faces to the area – former Hanson Town Administrator Ron San Angelo and former Whitman Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos were among the three finalists slated to be interviewed by the full Select Board on Tuesday. David J. Marciello, a municipal and land use attorney who had served as town manager in Millbury and Lunenburg as well as a town administrator in Rehoboth.
However, Enos withdrew his name Tuesday.
San Angelo has also served as town manager for Southbridge and his hometown of Naugatuck, Conn. Enos has been Avon town administrator and a human resources director in Ashland.
And there was other sadly surprising news for LaMattina to relate before the meeting got underway.
“The board found out recently that a very active member of our community, Marie Lailer, had tragically passed away suddenly while on vacation with her husband Ken,” LaMattina said, in dedicating the meeting’s moment of silence to Mrs. Lailer. [See obituary, page 5].
“Marie was super active in this town,” he said. “She moved to Whitman in 1977 [and] devoted her life to public safety as a nurse for close to 32 years.”
Marie Lailer was chair of the Whitman Historical Commission and president of the Dyer Memorial Library Trust. She was also active in Whitman’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Fire Chief Timothy Clancy also lauded Mrs. Lailer.
“Marie and Ken have been long-time members, and key components of the success of the Whitman CERT team,” Clancy said. “They came as a team, they were always willing to come on a moment’s notice. They were key to the success of the team, whether it was on the scene of an emergency or a vital operation of our town emergency center.”
In addition to nursing, she also worked in emergency medical services … and impacted many people.
“One of which, as an 18-year-old EMT student at South Shore Hospital 31 years ago, she left a lasting impression on me,” Clancy said. “I’d like to thank her for her service and dedication to the town of Whitman and may we keep the Lailer family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”