HALIFAX – Selectmen on Tuesday interviewed building inspectors, re-appointed lists of committee members up for re-appointment, and spent a lot of time discussing junk.

In fact, for weeks now they have discussed junk at almost every meeting, a lot of junk. They also took care of some general town business, as well, but the junk seems to be fraying a lot of nerves at the Selectmen meetings lately.

A property on Monponsett Street continues, after months of gentle cajoling by the Board, to have an extreme amount of unsightly debris in front of the house and several unregistered vehicles on the property. This is in violation of town by-laws. The owner was approached months ago to come into code.

At first, the Board wanted proof that all the cars on the site were registered. This has not been proven to their satisfaction. According to a town by-law, only one unregistered car may be on any given property.

Then the Board demanded that the debris in the yard be removed. The resident did finally secure a dumpster, but didn’t get the proper permit from the fire department, and is now creating a dangerous situation for neighbors in the event of a fire by blocking a hydrant.

The board ordered that the police and fire chiefs speak with the property owner immediately to rectify the dumpster situation, and to attempt to force them to make more progress, as very little has been made.

Selectman Kim Roy is tired of giving the owner more time before levying fines, and wanted that on the record. She was the most visibly frustrated with the situation, and expressed that the Board was wasting too much time on this matter. She stated that as a mother of four boys, one has to escalate punishments in order to change behavior.

Selectman Tom Millias was concerned that, despite fines sending a strong message, it may not motivate the owner to change the situation and clean up, which is the ultimate goal, he said. The board resolved to deal with the immediate issue first: the dangerous dumpster blocking a fire hydrant.

Selectmen agreed that they were spending too much time discussing junk and attempts to be reasonable working with this property owner have gotten few results.

Also on Tuesday, two of the three candidates for an open Finance Committee position were interviewed, Mel Conroy and Derick Bennett. They will also be interviewed by FinCom, which will make a recommendation to the Selectmen. The Selectmen will appoint one of the three to the position in the next two weeks, after they receive FinCom’s advice. The third candidate has scheduled an alternate date for an interview with the Selectmen.

An opening for building inspector has also opened up as Tom Millias, the current inspector, has been elected Selectman and has thus resigned his position in Halifax.

Millias abstained from the interviewing or voting, as his appointment has not technically ended. The Board interviewed two candidates, Michael White, of Bridgewater, and Robert Piccirilli, of Halifax, a current assistant inspector for the town.

Although no final decision has been made, the Selectmen tipped their hats a bit toward the candidate who has been working for the town for 15 years. Piccirilli also serves on several committees in town and is well known to the Board.

Selectman Troy Garron was concerned as to why Michael White would  take a pay cut to leave a position he says is going well in Bridgewater.

Finally, the Board re-appointed many individuals to various town committees. As these positions expire June 30, Selectmen will hold final re-appointments on the few remaining positions until their next meeting in two weeks, on June 24.

In other news:

• The treatments on both East and West Monponsett Ponds have occurred.  The Board of Selectmen are continuing to reach out to Brockton officials regarding the use of water from the Monponsett Ponds and the water quality problems that may be occurring due to this. They plan to solicit help from state legislators.

• Several standard “use of town property” permits were issued for events in September.

Kathy Wilbur, of Seven Hills Behavior Health, travels with an assortment of e-cigarettes, vaporizers, oils, cigars, cigarillos (small, thin cigars) blunt-wraps and other smoking paraphernalia, although she is no smoker nor does she “vape,” as “smoking” a vaporizer is known. They are all props for her presentations on the new fad, which is rapidly becoming popular among youth.

At a Board of Health meeting in Plympton last Thursday, she and a colleague, Judith Coy Kendall, as well as Sarah McColgan, of the Massachusetts Health Officers Association, presented a variety of products most of us have never noticed sitting out at the convenience store. They allege these are dangerous products marketed to children, and suggested recommendations that the Board of Health could unilaterally instate to regulate them like tobacco products.

Wilbur and Coy Kendall demonstrated a number of items: an expensive, reusable vaporizer with different nicotine oils (the addictive ingredient in tobacco), small, inexpensive cigars and cigarillos (cigars are not taxed as cigarettes and are thus cheaper). Colorful disposable e-cigarettes, like vaporizers, they produce no smoke but pack in the equivalent of 2 ½ cigarettes’ worth of nicotine, and blunt-wraps, tobacco leaves intended to roll cigars with loose leaf tobacco, but apparently, rarely used for that purpose (something illegal usually ends up in them). All were flavored, with exotic tastes such as “Bubble Gum, Swedish Fish, Chocolate Bliss, or Melon.”

Wilbur and Coy Kendall insisted that these were not being marketed to adults and that no adult would choose a flavor such as “Bubble Gum” for a cigar or cigarillo. These items are packaged colorfully and placed at the front counter in displays at eye level. Their explicit conclusion is that these are marketed to children because, as smoking rates plummet, tobacco companies have to find creative ways to get people to buy their products and only children would buy these.

Colleague Sarah McColgan insisted on reducing access by changing laws. She recommended, as many towns in Massachusetts have done, that the town take this matter into their own hands and regulate these items as tobacco products because the state and federal governments are not taking any type of uniform action, yet. She wanted to start first banning “vaping” in public.

She recommended raising the age for all tobacco products to 21, stating that reducing access to the products was key. She had a philosophy of banning hypothetical scenarios before they happened. For example even though Plympton has only two cigarette retailers and one school, many towns ban retailers from operating within 500 feet of a school. McColgan stated that even if a cigarette retailer wasn’t likely to open within 500 feet of a school anytime soon, it could happen, so why not ban it?

She also suggested raising inexpensive products to a minimum price to make them harder for youth to obtain. Other towns have banned any flavored products containing nicotine from places where children go, thereby forcing their sale into smoke-shops specifically intended for purchasing tobacco and related products.

Another recommendation  she suggested was bringing several by-laws up to date with state law, such as the “Smoke-Free Workplace” law and vending machine bans, which according to her, with which Plympton was not fully up-to-date with.

But, even these professionals acknowledged that there is very little science that has been conducted on e-cigarettes, vaping, and the like. No study has concluded that second-hand vapor is harmful, and although the documented rate of youth vaping e-cigarettes has gone up (while smoking rates have plummeted overall), there is no study that says only youth purchase these products. Some, anecdotally, have successfully used e-cigarettes to quit actual cigarettes.

And when questioned, they did acknowledge that there must be a balance between banning things to protect youth and adults from themselves and allowing adults to make decisions for themselves, even if harmful.

In Plympton Monday evening, heated exchanges occurred between Linda Leddy of the Open Space Committee, and former Selectman John Henry. Henry was at the meeting to dispute money being spent on several ongoing projects by the Open Space Committee and the Community Preservation Committee. He frequently sparred with the Board and with Leddy, mainly about the acquisition of a long controversial USDA-owned property at 59 Parsonage Road, for about 45 minutes.

The CPC and Open Space Committee expressed interest in exploring the possibility of purchasing the property which has been used for farming for nearly 80 years. The committees have begun their due diligence as a first step in investigating a possible purchase.

Two years ago at Town Meeting, in Article 18, pre-acquisition funds were approved for this and other projects. This led the CPC and OSC to move forward with environmental studies, and to research possible issues with the property including several trailers on it and how to dispose of them. The committees thought they had authority to move forward to commit to payment for work done within the voted budget and according to what had been approved at Town Meeting, they began their pre-acquisition work.

But, Town Counsel informed the Board of Selectmen that it had to approve expenditures by the OSC and CPC after a concerned citizen who was a former selectman saw contractors on the property that he did not believe had the proper permits.

Thus, Leddy was at the meeting to explain expenditures to-date, have them retroactively approved by the board with one vote, and approve further expenditures in the rest of their budget for pre-acquisition work with a second vote.

Leddy presented the Board with a spreadsheet detailing their budget. Leddy, and the Selectmen, were concerned about a clear and streamlined procurement and acquisition process across the town, so as not to create future confusion.  Chairman Russo held this topic for another meeting when it can be discussed as an agenda item.

As Leddy explained her spreadsheet to the Board, Henry asked a dozen or more questions, of both Selectmen and Leddy. Among the exchanges, Leddy and Henry told each other that they were “Sick of each other.” Henry demanded that Chairman Russo recuse himself because as Henry stated, “You’re in on this.” Russo did not recuse himself or respond.

Leddy demanded of Henry, “John, don’t you cross-examine me; you wait until I finish,” and they repeatedly disagreed on whether a Community Preservation Grant was an expenditure to the town. Henry, visible upset, bellowed at Leddy, saying, “Will you get it through your head that Community Preservation money IS town money?”

Henry, multiple times as the Board attempted to vote, would ask for items to be clarified or re-read after it had already been explained, interrupting the ability of the Board to conduct business.

Twice, Selectperson Joy asked the two to calm down, and finally Russo stated that he wanted to narrow the focus down to just the two votes for the Open Space Committee and Community Preservation Committee, and not have to try to answer a larger philosophical question about whether the town should spend money on this property, as that was not at issue.

The votes were on an already approved Town Meeting article, and approving or not the OSC and CPC to spend funds, both retroactively and moving forward. Actual purchase of the property would require a Town Meeting vote.

Finally, the votes were taken, both unanimously approved, and the Board moved on to other business, most notably a brief presentation by Silver Lake School Committee representative Jason Fraser.  Appointed in late-January, Fraser told the board of his attempts to liaise with state officials about the way regional schools assess their constituent towns.

Fraser contacted State Senator Thomas Kennedy and State Representative Thomas Calter and invited them to meet with the Board of Selectmen to discuss two areas of concern that he believes are beginning to “pinch” the town budget.

There are two state mandates, the first being the State Foundation Budget for Education. This, each year, is presented to the towns as what the state believes is the minimum amount that should be spent per student to provide an adequate education.

It is common for towns to spend 130%-150% of this amount, according to Fraser, but Silver Lake Regional Schools has dropped from 113% in FY 2006 down to only 104% in the last fiscal year.

Fraser believes this indicates money needs to be invested to improve this low percentage. If the district falls below the base, the towns could lose control of their financial autonomy.

Yet, as Plympton, which has historically troubled finances, improves, and the State Department of Revenue recognizes this, the Silver Lake District assessment would go up as this number is determined by the state with its complicated regional school assessment formula.

Thus, the better the Town of Plympton handles its finances, the more it will be assessed by the Silver Lake Regional School District.

Fraser asked Selectmen for their input, and they agreed to present a united front. They asked Fraser to coordinate a meeting with state officials to see how this issue might be creatively addressed.

The Board finished up quickly after this. Russo stated that the agreement to join Area 58 Television, formally CHAT, the public Carver Halifax Access Television cable station, was being drafted and negotiations with Comcast are in the works.

The Town House will soon begin summer hours, to be announced. All other items were held over for future meetings, including the solar projects, still stalled by on-going litigation, a uniform procurement policy, and how the Selectmen will split up work on the Public Safety Building projects and Department of Revenue report planning.

The next scheduled Selectmen’s meetings will be June 15, June 29, July 13 and July 27, all tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m.

As boil-water orders across the region due to last week’s water-main break in East Bridgewater were cancelled, the controversial issue of Brockton’s water supply resurfaced.   The water comes from Silver Lake, which is located in Halifax, Plympton, Pembroke and Kingston, and those towns have long questioned the large amount of water Brockton draws from the lake, the impact that draft has on local ponds, as well as the City’s lack of responsibility for problems it causes upstream.

The pipe that burst last week was one of two 24-inch pipes that lead directly from Silver Lake to the City of Brockton. The incident also brought back to the forefront another fishy issue: if Brockton needs so much water from outside its own borders, how can it be selling off water to other towns?

The story is more than 100 years old. As Brockton’s industry and population began to grow at the end of the 19th century, the legislature gave permission for Brockton to tap into Silver Lake.

Although sustainable at the time, Brockton’s water needs grew, and in the late 20th century it became apparent that it was necessary to keep water levels under control. In 1964, during a serious drought, Brockton was granted legislative permission, as an emergency measure, to divert from East Monponsett Pond and West Monponsett Pond from October through May into Silver Lake and sell water to the Town of Whitman. This diversion has continued ever since, most recently this spring.

Originally, diversion was used during emergencies, but Brockton has recently diverted more and more water, hundreds of millions of gallons per year. They have recently diverted up to 24 million gallons per day!

A once dormant committee, the Central Plymouth County Water District Advisory Board, was reactivated in 2013 to help mediate these disputes and various interests. The Board manages water use in eight towns: Brockton, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Hanson, Kingston, Pembroke, Plympton and Whitman.

The Board has recently asked Brockton to present evidence that their diversions do not create health or environmental problems, such as fish kills over the last several months, or the continued problems with water quality in the Monponsett Ponds. Brockton has yet to respond. Brockton has also ignored requests from the Advisory Board to stop transferring water from the Monponsett ponds due to possible contamination.

The Department of Public Health has been testing the ponds for several years now for cyanobacteria, a potentially poisonous algae.  The algal blooms have continued to appear at high levels on the West Monponsett Pond and the East Pond has weed overgrowth. While it is difficult to prove definitively how the water diversions affect this harmful situation, the Town of Halifax has continued to have to pay for water treatments of the Monponsett Lakes.

Despite Brockton’s claim of need for water, it has been selling water to neighboring towns. Due to a 20-year agreement with a desalination plant on the Taunton River, Brockton actually has a surplus of water.  Brockton has recently tried to purchase the plant. With this second source of water, why does Brockton need more and more from Silver Lake?  It does not seem to be needed at all, and Halifax taxpayers are paying the bill.

Because of that 1964 law which allows Brockton to tap East and West Monponsett Ponds and to sell water to Whitman, Whitman benefits from the surplus and buys water from Brockton.

Brockton makes about $2 million dollars a year on this deal, according to a presentation at an April 13 Pembroke Selectmen’s meeting.

With a questionable surplus water situation, quirky laws, aging infrastructure, and uncertain needs for the future, it seems that the Silver Lake water diversion is being abused and only Brockton and Whitman win, while Silver Lake towns lose their shared natural resources.

For a detailed history of the more than one hundred years association of the Silver Lake/Brockton water agreements, see the Princeton Hydro report commissioned by the Town of Halifax in 2013.

Thomas Millias welcomed to Board

Selectmen in Halifax met on Tuesday evening this week, quickly moving through a long agenda. A new face joined the board that night, Thomas Mellias, who had already been sworn in, and a new member was appointed to the Halifax Housing Authority, Patricia McCarthy, among other business.

Millias, who has served in many positions in the Town of Halifax including Building Inspector, Assessor, Zoning Inspector, and years ago as a School Committee member, brings a wealth of experience to the board. He is replacing Michael Schlieff, who did not run for reelection. Millias’ term will end in 2018.

In the Board’s annual reorganization, Selectman Kim Roy was elected Chairman, Selectman Troy Garron,  Vice-Chair, and Selectman Thomas Millias was elected Clerk.

The Selectmen held a joint meeting with the Halifax Housing Authority to fill a vacancy which occurred when a candidate withdrew after the election ballots had been printed. McCarthy ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for the opening.

Despite this, she still showed interest in the position and had the support of the Authority. The joint meeting appointed McCarthy, a 20 plus year resident of Halifax and five-year resident of Parsons Lane, unanimously.

Another appointment was made Tuesday. Robert Badore was reappointed as Cemetery Commissioner through 2016.

Also, the Board discussed the water quality issues at Monponsett Pond, and upcoming treatments scheduled on both the East and West sides of the pond. The treatments are tentatively scheduled to begin May 28th (east) and June 2nd (west).

Selectmen also discussed the impact of a proposed casino in Brockton. Having been contacted by the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency, they learned the casino was expected to use 120,000 gallons of water a day. The Halifax watershed already supplies much of Brockton’s water, while Brockton sells water to other cities and towns.

Also of concern are several recent fish kills around the area, in the past week and at the beginning of spring.  Selectman Garron is concerned how the casino would have an impact on both the fish and the watershed, as was the rest of the Board.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig reported on continuing issues with junk and unregistered cars on properties throughout town. Selectman Roy stated that this has started to become an ongoing issue across town, and the Board decided to send a “strongly worded” letter to the property owner currently at the center of this controversy.

The Board wants the letter to make clear that they will enforce by-laws including one that states that only one unregistered car may be on a property without a permit, and others that prohibit leaving clutter and junk in plain view.

In other business, the Board offered to allow the Boy Scouts to use a “sandwich board” sign several times a year on town property for their fundraisers and approved several standard permits for the Halifax in Lights festival coming up on Saturday, June 27th, including fireworks permits. They also approved several routine “use of town property” permits for various groups.

Finally, the Board went into executive session to discuss wage negotiations with unionized town personnel that had already been approved at town meeting (expected to be on par with wage personnel, a 1% increase.)

The Board will meet next on June 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Newly sworn in Selectmen Christine Joy shared with the Express some information about her background. She has a history of public service in Plympton, serving on the School Committee for a partial term in the late 1990’s as well as two, three year terms on the Board of Selectmen, from 2000-2006. After a break from town politics, she’s enthusiastically back.

What is your background professionally and personally? How long have you lived in Plympton?

My husband and I moved to Plympton in the winter of 1991.  I have a husband and we have two children ages 23 and 21.  I have been in sales for many years and am currently working in Plymouth.

You’ve served the Town of Plympton for approximately eight years, including two three year terms as on the Board of Selectmen from 2000-2006, as well as on the School Committee (1998-2006.) What has this experience taught you that you hope to bring to your current term as a Selectperson?

I was fortunate to have served with some extremely knowledgeable, insightful and experienced individuals (some are still serving in elected and appointed positions). Listen; learn; make thoughtful decisions; create a respectful environment for open debate; be appreciative of the efforts of others; and by working together, ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things.

Why did you leave public service for so many years, and what inspired you to return?

I was burnt out and needed to spend time with my family.  When I left office, we did not have a Town Coordinator or an administrative assistant.  While I enjoyed serving as selectman, it had become a full time commitment and my family suffered.  I have been contemplating returning for the past several years and felt the timing was right to run this year.   

What is the most pressing issue that you feel you need to get up to speed on with the Board? Other than Chairman Russo’s vision for the next year, are there any specific issue(s) you plan on championing during your term?

My initial focus, is getting up to speed with our finances.   I do not have an agenda, I believe opportunities will become evident as I become more knowledgeable and issues will present themselves through our day to day business.    

You’ve been relatively silent during this campaign, I presume as it was uncontested. Do you have anything you’d like to say, now, to the people of Plympton? 

Thank you!   I truly appreciate you allowing me another opportunity to serve.   I enjoy serving as one of your selectmen and will strive to be worthy of the honor you have bestowed upon me.

What would you like to be remembered for in Plympton when your term(s) are over? 

I do not think I am remarkable or accomplished enough to be remembered at all.

From one family business to another

Vishnu Patel is the pVishnu Patel is the proud new owner of Lindy’s General Store in Halifax.

On a recent warm and foggy evening, just past East Monponsett Pond on Holmes Street in Halifax, a steady flow of customers came in and out of Lindy’s General Store. Many seem like regulars, although there are a few new faces behind the counter.

Lindy’s, a Halifax institution, was sold on April 28th from Adam Worrall, the 18-year owner, whose father started the Lindy’s stores and named them after his mother. The family business was sold to another family which has their hand in convenience stores across the South Shore and beyond.

Vishnu Patel, an immigrant to the United States from India who landed in New York City 22 years ago, purchased Lindy’s from Mr. Worrall. Mr. Patel has run convenience stores in New York, but moved up to the South Shore for friendlier faces and a more laid-back pace of life.

Mr. Patel owns two other stores, including Bennet’s General Store in Duxbury (for nine years) and another one in Worcester. His son-in-law and other family members also own convenience stores throughout the area, including Lawrence and Hanover.

The father of three says that he likes the business that he is in because he enjoys being out in the community, and can be found affably chatting with his customers throughout the day.

He stated that he has been welcomed into Halifax in the last few weeks, and enjoys the town–and people– very much. He doesn’t plan to make major changes to the store, keeping the look and feel Lindy’s has retained for many years, but does plan on bringing in more beer and wine, and further convenience items.

Asked if he was living the “American Dream”, Mr. Patel enthusiastically responded, “Yes! This is the American Dream.” From one family to another, Lindy’s seems it will continue on for years to come.

Familiar face takes oath of office

In Plympton Monday the Board of Selectmen met to take care of a few matters of business following the previous week’s Town Meeting and Town Elections. Notably, Christine Joy was sworn in. Ms. Joy returns after leaving public life for a period of time, but returns as the most experienced Selectperson due to her previous experience of 6 years on the board from 2000 – 2006.

Mark Russo was re-elected Chairman of the Board and, as is tradition, the newest member, Joy, was elected as Clerk of the Board. Russo thanked all who came out to the Town Meeting and the Town Elections, and also thanked Selectmen’s Assistant Kristen Levangee for her hard work in the previous year, especially her effort in putting together the annual Town Report.

Russo spoke about taking the final steps to join CHAT, the Carver-Halifax public cable access station that Plympton has been courting.

The final hurdles that need to be cleared, according to Russo, now that funds have been appropriated, are to renew the town’s license with Comcast and negotiate with Carver and Halifax to join the studio, located in North Carver. He expects this to be finished by July 1st.

Ongoing solar projects, a cause championed by departing Board member John Henry, remains on the agenda, but is still stalled at the moment due to ongoing legal action. Mr. Henry promised to continue to liaise with the Board regarding solar energy projects.

The Board briefly discussed Memorial Day activities, and affirmed that they would be participating.

Chairman Russo then laid out his vision for the upcoming year, stating that he wanted to take the next few meetings to focus on several specific priorities.

Amongst his suggestions were to study the Department of Revenue Report on Plympton’s financial operations, developing a Committee for Public Safety, working towards the Tri-Town television studio finalities, to continue to make Town Hall an hospitable place for townspeople to volunteer and serve the town, and to create a liaison between the Board and other committees. He also wants to continue study of the ongoing solar projects, internal and external communications, a committee for Policies/Procedures and tax relief.

Selectmen Joy wished to get up to speed on the Town’s financial situation, which Town Coordinator Pleau promised to get her information about. She also expressed interest in inviting Board Chairs and or whole Boards and Committees to present to the Selectmen from time to time.

Selectmen Colleen Thompson stated that it was time for a Town By-Law review.

The Board finally discussed its reduced summer schedule. They will meet next Thursday, May 28th at 6 p.m. and then on June 1st, 15th, and 29th.

In Other News:

Officer Brent Peterson was again hailed as a hero for saving yet another life with NarCan, an opiate antidote. When a citizen was found unconscious by a family member due to an opioid overdose, he responded and was able to administer the medication. The Police Chief forwarded a Notice of Commendation to the Board.

Town Elections held on Saturday, May 16th in Plympton and Halifax suffered from very low turnout and many uncontested races. In Halifax, voter turnout was 16.83% percent while in Plympton it was just half that at 8%. In fact, in Halifax there were just two contested races out of 16 and in Plympton, just one contested race out of 15.

The atmosphere of uncontested and vacant races created a situation where many write-in and/or sticker candidates participated. Write-in candidates must accept their positions before official results can be disseminated, and two write-in candidates declined the positions voters wrote them in for, thus creating a “failure-to-elect” situation, and vacancies. In Plympton there were two “failure-to-elect” races.

In Halifax, 862 of the 5,123 registered voters cast ballots.

In the two contested races, one for the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, incumbent Cassandra Hanson lost to Mark Aubrey for a three-year term, who won handily.

Ms. Hanson is mid-term and continues to sit on the Halifax School Committee. In the other contested race, Pamela Adduci beat Robin Maher for another three-year term as Treasurer/Collector, 502-337.

Thomas Millias was elected with strong support to a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen in an uncontested race, with 669 votes in favor. Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor was re-elected with for a three-year term as was John Bruno, II as Town Moderator for three years, both comfortably.

As for the Halifax School Committee contest, the incumbent Summer Schmaling and newcomer Linda Twiss Gioscia both won a three-year term for the two available seats, with 547 and 439 votes, respectively.

Holly Merry was re-elected to the Board of Assessors, for a three-year term, and Alan Dias was written in for a three-year term to the Board of Health with just 140 votes.

Pricilla Murphy was re-elected to a one-year term as a Library Trustee. Caroline Harrington and Ava Grimason were elected to two and three-year terms as Library Trustees, respectively, as well.

Richard Clark won a write-in campaign for a five-year term on the Housing Authority. Incumbents Gerard Elliot were re-elected for a three-year term as Park Commissioner and Daniel Bosworth was re-elected for a three-year term as Water Commissioner.

A five-year term on the Planning Board remains vacant, as no one ran.

The controversial non-binding ballot question regarding the Common Core and PARCC testing, asking if voters wanted to return to pre-2010 (MCAS) curriculum standards passed 516-210 in favor.

In Plympton, which has 2,107 registered voters, just 175 turned out to cast ballots.

In a very tight race for Plympton School Board, and the only contested race on the ballot, Michael Antoine was defeated by just six votes to Lynn Kaupp (138-132) for a three-year term.

Two seats on the Finance Committee resulted in “Failure-to-Elect” scenarios when the write-in candidates declined (Former Selectmen John Henry for a one-year planning board seat and Art Morin to a two-year seat, also to the planning board). These seats are thus vacant.

Incumbent Maureen Springer was re-elected to the Silver Lake Regional School District for a three-year term, uncontested, and Jason Fraser was elected for a two-year term, also uncontested.

Christine Joy was elected Selectmen with solid backing of the voters to a three-year term, with 161 votes in favor.

Jocelyn Anderson was re-elected Town Assessor for a three-year term in a write-in campaign, with just 58 votes. Ethan Stiles and Steven Lewis were voted Assessor for two and one-year terms, respectively, with 134 and 143 votes cast in favor.

Paul D’Angelo was elected to a five-year term on the Planning Board in an uncontested race, and Deborah Anderson was elected to the Planning Board for a one-year term in a write-in campaign.

The race for library trustees saw Kristine Boyle re-elected, winning easily, and newcomer Dominique Sampson, also win another open seat as a write-in candidate,  with 151 and 31 votes, respectively.

The Board of Health gained a new member with Harry L. Weikel, Jr., 141 votes in favor, and James Mulcahey was re-elected Highway Supervisor with 151 votes. Tree Warden William Hayes was re-elected for a three-year term with 161 votes in favor.

Finally, Tara Morrison was re-elected Town Clerk in an uncontested race for a three-year term, with 167 votes.