USDA to be notified it has 30 days to act

By Mike Melanson
Express Correspondent

PLYMPTON — The Board of Health on Thursday, Sept. 18 voted, 3-0, to order that an historic horse farm at 59 Parsonage Road either be made safe and secured, or demolished, within 30 days.

A three story antique wooden barn on the property, held by the USDA, burned to the ground on Aug. 25. 

Board of Health Chairman Arthur Morin said it is up to the USDA to fix the house roof, board up doors, fill the barn cellar hole, and fix trailers on the property.

Morin said he is concerned that children might go in to explore, fall through a broken floor board into the cellar, and break a leg, or come out covered with mold.

The USDA must also put a new roof over the kitchen, to stop rain from getting in. The doors are unlocked and the house is open. Doors and windows need to be secured. Mold needs to be taken out. Trailers need to be secured, but Morin said he would prefer they be taken out. There are pipes underground that go to the trailers that might be part of an illegal septic system, he said.

“It needs to be secured. It needs to be done right away,” Morin said. “This is not a request. This is an order.”

Board of Health member John Doyle said his personal opinion is he believes the USDA will demolish the structures instead of restoring them.

“We are trying to enforce this. This is a bad situation there. It’s been going on for years. It’s getting worse every year,” Doyle said.

The Community Preservation Committee is considering acquiring the property, known as the Pina property.

Last Monday, Sept. 15, selectmen Chairman Mark Russo, who chairs the CPC, said a public safety building could be built on the Route 58 side of the property, and that the old house has a tremendous historical value.

The property, he said during last Monday’s selectmen meeting, could be used for farming, community housing and recreation, and it would offer access to the Winnetuxet River.

Brook Retreat

The Board of Health Thursday also discussed septic system and sprinkler requirements for a recovery house planned for Brook Street.

Brook Retreat, 55 Brook St., is a five- to nine-month residential spiritual retreat dedicated to helping addicts and alcoholics recover through the immediate and rigorous application of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, although the retreat is not affiliated with AA.

It was founded in May by Tom Rielly, Michael Goedicke, and Joe Carroll, all recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of alcoholism and addiction.

Jeraldine Batchelder, administrative assistant to the Board of Health, said the state recommends two people per bedroom. With six bedrooms, there could be 12 people, she said.

Brook Retreat is seeking an occupancy permit for 16 people, said Rielly, who attended Thursday’s meeting.

Doyle said the house would need to increase its septic system, and with a well would need enough pressure to run sprinklers.

“Those are our priorities. Whether you’re qualified to do it or not is none of our business. I’m not expressing a personal opinion,” Doyle said. “We’re just interested in the health aspects.”

Doyle said Rielly and his colleagues should wait for approvals from other town boards, especially with zoning, to make sure they may run a recovery house, before spending thousands of dollars on septic and sprinkler systems, money wasted if no more than four people are permitted to occupy the house. 

“You guys might be jumping the gun here,” Doyle said.

Rielly said the same man who engineered the sprinkler system for the Town House is engineering that for Brook Retreat.

Rielly said he does not want to miss something or miss a meeting, and just wanted to make contact with the Board of Health to see what the applicants need to do.

“Everybody keeps saying you’ve got to talk to these people, you’ve got to talk to these people. I’m just trying to do my due diligence,” he said. “We’re more than confident that it is legal. We do fall under the special regulations that we fall under.”

Rielly said that six months ago, a house in Wenham similar to Brook Retreat called Cross Keys went through zoning in that town, and six months ago, got permission through a federal court to stay there.

“We’re going to do everything we can do to keep moving forward,” he said.

Tobacco regulations

The Board of Health is looking into redoing its tobacco regulations, last updated in 2001, Morin said.

The health board banned synthetic marijuana in March, and plans to look at regulating e-cigarettes, he said.

Board of Health members Thursday discussed a recent presentation by Judith Coykendall, program manager, Tobacco-Free Community Partnership with Seven Hills Behavioral Health in New Bedford; and Sarah McColgan, tobacco control director for the Massachusetts Health Officers Association in Plymouth.

The presentation centered on e-cigarettes and other nicotine delivery methods, said Health Officer Cathleen Drinan.

A federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study included in the presentation showed a three-fold increase in the number of youth using e-cigarettes who do not smoke conventional cigarettes. The study also found that youth who have used e-cigarettes are twice as likely to have intentions of smoking conventional cigarettes.

It shows that efforts to create a tobacco-free generation is being undercut by e-cigarettes, according to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, which in August called on the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes and ban flavorings that are attractive to youth.

“This is serious stuff,” Doyle said. “It blew my mind when I say that stuff.”

Doyle said he had no idea that e-cigarettes had nicotine.

He said anyone can buy an e-cigarette, even a 3-year-old, and someone could walk into the Board of Health smoking an e-cigarette and the board could do nothing about it.

Doyle said he spoke with Plympton DARE Officer Dana Smith about the presentation, and Smith is coming up with a program for the school.

“A lot of parents are unaware of what their kids can buy,” said Board of Health member Kenneth Thompson.

All-boards meeting

Board of Health members Thursday criticized an all-boards meeting called by selectmen and held Aug. 25.

Doyle said he does not think anything was accomplished. The meeting was supposed to be about communication issues, but all people did was just say what their board or department did, he said.

Morin said that former selectmen Joseph Freitas called for another all-boards meeting a few years back, and it was the same thing.

“The communication needs to be handled internally rather than through a big meeting,” Morin said.

“The problem was re-affirmed,” Thompson said.

Board of Health Notes

• The Board of health approved a large event permit and mobile food permit for Sauchuk Farm on weekends from Sept. 20 to Nov. 1 for a corn maze.

• The Board of Health approved a mobile food permit for Relish the Dog, owned by Irene Alden of Halifax, to operate at Billingsgate Farm.

Halifax will apply for grant to study feasibility of water controls

By Mike Melanson
Express Correspondent

HALIFAX — If automatic valves and controls were installed at the Stump Brook Dam to remotely manage the water levels of the Monponsett Ponds, residents might be spared from record algal blooms and forced closures to swimming, fishing and boating.

Selectmen on Tuesday Sept. 23 voted, 3-0, to apply for a state grant to study the feasibility of and produce a conceptual design for using a supervisory control and data acquisition system, or SCADA system, to better monitor and control water levels at the ponds.

The project is estimated to cost $74,850.

Town Meeting appropriated $15,000 as a 20-percent match for the project.

Health Agent Cathleen Drinan is also donating 80 hours of in-kind service, at a value of $2,400, by sharing the progress of the feasibility study, planning, attending meetings and doing outreach.

Halifax will seek a Sustainable Water Management Initiative Grant from the state Division of Ecological Restoration for a feasibility study and conceptual design.

A final report would be ready by June 30, 2015, given a Dec. 22 grant award date.

Drinan and Russ Kleekamp, a civil engineer, proposed the measure Tuesday, and offered selectmen a written statement in support of it.

“A lot of improvements are needed,” Drinan said. “Keep forging ahead. Try to keep going.”

“This application is the first step in an implementation approach,” Kleekamp said.

According to the six-page statement, Brockton draws water from Silver Lake as a drinking water supply. Furnace Pond and Monponsett Ponds are connected by pipeline to supply water to Silver Lake to meet the city’s demand.

Before modifications were made to provide water supply, Stump Brook drained West Monponsett Pond to the Taunton River, and the Jones River drained Silver Lake to the Cape Cod Bay.

To provide water supply and industrial improvements, the Stump Brook was dammed, and the Jones River was dammed in three areas.

Residents surrounding Monponsett Ponds are concerned about algal blooms that have forced closures to swimming, fishing and boating, and are plagued by foul odors and views of neon green blooms, according to the statement.

Hydraulic retreat, due to man-made modifications, of the natural relief formerly provided by the Stump Brook, has idled the waters of West Monponsett Pond, resulting in prime conditions for record algal blooms.

In 2012, the state Division of Ecological Restoration awarded Halifax a $79,346 Sustainable Water Management Initiative grant to develop the Monponsett Pond and Silver Lake Water Use Operations and Improvements Report.

The report, prepared by Princeton Hydro, states that “existing water management practices are not sustainable.”

One of the drivers behind the “mismanagement,” according to the report, is the water level of Monponsett Ponds, especially West Monponsett Pond, which is closest to the Stump Brook Dam.

The Brockton water system uses the diversion to draw as many as 23-million gallons per day from Monponsett Ponds to Silver Lake. The withdrawal allotment from Silver Lake to the Brockton water system is 11-million gallons per day. The surplus 12-million gallons per day is deposited through the outlet of Silver Lake into the Jones River.

The man-made diversion creates a reversal of flows, flooding the Jones River, and putting Stump Brook into a state of drought.

The Stump Brook Dam is in the far corner of the Burrage Pond conservation area, time consuming to access, and has manually operated controls. The dam is neglected because of the time needed to frequently visit it. It is easier to open and control the diversion from Monponsett Ponds to Silver Lake by the pipeline at the East Monponsett Pond, than it is to control the elevations of the Monponsett Ponds from the Stump Brook Dam.

The report recommended automating controls at the Stump Brook Dam and other strategic locations.

Controls and the up-stream and down-stream ecosystem could be monitored and controlled remotely from an Internet ready device such as a smart-phone or tablet computer.

The feasibility study would recommend locations for automated controls, such as the Stump Brook Dam and diversion stations.

It would review available SCADA technology and compatibility requirements with the existing Brockton water supply system controls, and structural modifications to fit new controls at selected infrastructure points.

The study would recommend material and technology suppliers.

It would also determine operational procedures to maintain constant water levels of Monponsett Pond, and reduce excess diversion flows into the Jones River.

The study would produce a conceptual design and cost estimates for final design plan and construction, according to the statement.

Selectman Troy Garron said Brockton has state legislation in the city’s favor in terms of domain of the water supply, and that concerns him.

Halifax would be buying equipment for Brockton, Garron said, and the town should have a say over its use and accountability from the city, Garron said.

“All control goes into their hands. How do we know that they’re doing what they’re supposed to?” he said.

Selectmen Chairman Michael Schleiff said the state grant would get the door open to coming up with a solution. 

“This is a step in the right direction, to get it off and running,” Schleiff said. “You may want to make it vandal-proof too.”

In other action Tuesday, selectmen voted, 3-0, to ask Town Administrator Charlie Seelig to write a letter to Brockton Water Commissioners on behalf of selectmen to request a meeting with the Monponsett Pond Working Group.

Permit Reinstatement

Selectmen Tuesday voted, 3-0, to reinstate a fuel storage permit held by Kozhaya Nessralla in connection with a farm stand at routes 58 and 106 and a farm on Hemlock Lane.

Selectmen in August voted to revoke the permit for nonpayment of taxes.

On Tuesday, Seelig said Nessralla has worked out a payment agreement with the treasurer-collector, and has agreed to pay $8,500 by the middle of November; $1,500 in January; $500 in February, March and April; and $1,500 in May. Then the agreement will be updated with the new treasurer-collector, Seelig said.

“Thank you for following through with these things. I appreciate it,” Garron said to Nessralla.

Nessralla said, “I was under the gun for awhile.”

Eagle Scout project

Selectmen Tuesday voted, 3-0, to approve a request by Robert Veno for an Eagle Scout project to fix up the dugouts at Shea Field behind the Halifax Elementary School.

Veno said the dugouts are in a state of disrepair, and he plans to raise funds to repair and repaint the dugouts.

“I was in baseball all of my life growing up. I thought I would like to give back to the program,” he said.

Veno said the project would cost $1,000 for materials and $200 for other expenses, and would be done in October.

“This is an ambitious project,” Schleiff said.

By Cathleen Drinan

What a horrible year this has been! The West Monponsett Pond looks terrible and has been closed due to cyanobacteria counts since June 25  and since July 15 for the East Monponsett Pond.

At this point, the numbers for the West Pond are lower than the East Pond.

I still am not sure why this change in seeing this Aphanizomenon in such high numbers in the East Monponsett Pond.

In the past, the East Monponsett Pond closed only in the years when there was a summer time diversion to lower the water, that resulted in pulling the algae from west to east.

It is a concern that people still use the ponds.

We, at least, need our own signage at both boat ramps.  The State boat ramp has so much signage, all in brown and white. I think we need to pursue permission from the state to place an educational sign about algae. Ideally, it would be an informational sign board, similar to 4th Ave and Holmes St.

On the Holmes St beach, the sign board is over to the left and, if you ever watched the very dangerous process of someone backing their boat onto that that barely visible ramp, right at that curve in the road, you will recall that they do not walk over and read about the pond before dong so.

I am working with Russ Kleekamp on the next SWMI grant. EPA is working on their WMOST model. The Division of Ecological Restoration is talking about stream gauges.  Many, many people are working on this!

Please encourage people to join the Monponsett Watershed Association.

Thank you, George Zoto, for your reports and pictures!

Stay strong!

Cathy Drinan

More pond reporst next week

Barbara L. Scarlata, of Carver, passed away on September 16, 2014. She was 74 years old. Beloved wife of Thomas Scarlata. Loving mother of Linda Savini of Stoughton, Thomas Kirlis of Bridgewater, Carolyn Campenelli of Longs, SC, Mary Wojciechowski of Dorchester, Tammy Scarlata of Halifax, Timothy Scarlata of Brockton, and the late Michael Scarlata. Barbara is also survived by many brothers, sisters, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, as well as her extended family and friends.

Visiting hours will be held on Friday, September 19th from 4-8:00 PM at the Shepherd Funeral Home, 116 Main St, Carver. Interment will be at the MA National cemetery, time to be determined.

Donald R. Melanson, age 45, of East Bridgewater, formerly of Halifax, died on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, at his home.

He was the beloved husband of Karen Doyle Melanson; loving son of Raymond & Joyce (Mills) Melanson of Halifax; devoted brother of Lori Iversen of Keller, TX; dear son-in-law of Philip & Claire Doyle of Halifax; dear brother-in-law of Philip Doyle, Jr. of Plymouth, Michael Doyle of Plymouth, John Doyle of Lakeville and Jeff Doyle of Kingston. He is also survived by many dear aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Funeral services at the Shepherd Funeral Home, Kingston, on Wednesday, September 17, 2014, followed by his funeral Mass at Our Lady of the Lake Church, 580 Monponsett Street, Route 58, Halifax. Interment services will follow at the Central Cemetery, Hemlock Lane, Halifax.

 James G. “Jimmy” Deagle, 67, of Kingston, formerly of Dorchester, died Thursday, Sept. 11, from injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in Halifax on Tuesday, Sept. 2. He was brought by Boston Med Flight from the Industrial Park on Plymouth Street, Halifax, to the Rhode Island Trauma Center where he remained in critical condition.  He was upgraded to fair condition as reported by the hospital spokesman on Tuesday, but passed away on Thursday.

  Jimmy was the Co-Owner of J & R Indian Head Pub, Rte. 27 in Hanson and member of the 49’er’s Club in Bridgewater.

He was the husband of Patricia A. (McCourt) Deagle, and son of the late James G. Deagle, retired Boston F.D. and the late Rita F. (Brennan) Deagle, the father of Laura Lee Deagle of Florida, brother of Denis Deagle and his wife Dolly of Quincy and Kevin Deagle, Lieutenant, Boston F.D. and his wife Mary Ellen of Pembroke. He also leaves four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

His funeral Mass was held Wednesday, Sept. 17, in St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hanson. Interment was in Fern Hill Cemetery, Hanson.

Donations may be made in Jimmy’s memory to the Jimmy Fund at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline Pl., West Brookline, MA 02445.

Dozens of family members, friends, and firefighters packed the selectmen’s meeting room on Tuesday, Sept. 9, to witness the swearing-in of two permanent firefighters, Michael Delcourt and William Palma by Assistant Town Clerk Susan Lawless.

Fire Chief Jason Viveiros told the gathering both men are hard workers who bring teamwork, professionalism, respect, and a positive outlook to the department.

Delcourt started as a call firefighter in Halifax in 2011.

“He’s worked really hard. He’s currently in paramedic school and working towards achieving that goal,” Viveiros said. “When I first met him, he was with his newest baby. I know it’s difficult managing his personal and professional life, but he’s doing an excellent job of doing that.”

Palma started as a call firefighter in Halifax in 2008, and was a call lieutenant.

“He actually left the town for a short period of time, before realizing his home was here,” Viveiros said. “It made him really proud to know he came back here and embraced Halifax as the full-time department that he chose to work for.”

By Mike Melanson
Express Correspondent

PLYMPTON — A house and trailers at a historic horse farm on Parsonage Road known as the Pina property face demolition.

The Board of Health was scheduled to vote on Thursday Sept. 18 to condemn the structures and the barn cellar, according to board Chairman Arthur Morin.

A three story antique wooden barn at 59 Parsonage Road burned to the ground on Aug. 25.

The health board has prepared a letter to send to the USDA, which holds the property, ordering them to make repairs, or tear down the house and the trailers, and fill the cellar hole of the barn, Morin said.

“It’s unsafe for the health of the general population,” he said.

Morin said the roof is leaking and the ceiling and the floor are collapsing. The place is open, and there is mold.

The letter would require the USDA to demolish the house and structures in 30 days, or make repairs to bring them up to code, he said.

The USDA would have seven days to respond. The town could demolish the structures after one year, Morin said.

Historical Commission Chairman Jon Wilhelmsen said demolition would not be in the spirit of what the town does with old buildings.

“We would find that approach to be short-sighted,” he said. “It’s completely against what the town has voted for in terms of demolition delay.”

Open Space Committee member Linda Leddy said the committee contacted the USDA eight or nine months ago to see if the property could be given to the town.

The US Fisheries and Wildlife Services has an option to acquire the property for use as a wildlife reserve, but had 14 days to make a decision as of Monday, she said.

Leddy said the committee and selectmen could put a proposal or plan together if Plympton gets the property.

Selectman John Henry said he agrees that there might be an opportunity, as long as no Plympton taxpayer dollars are used.

“The worst thing that can happen is this becomes the town’s problem,” he said.

Leddy said the committee wants to maintain a balance.

“Let’s see what happens in two weeks,” she said.

Selectmen Chairman Mark Russo, who chairs the Community Preservation Committee, said the town should do whatever can be done to get the property.

Russo said a public safety building could be built on the Route 58 side of the property.

The old house has a tremendous historical value, he said, and the property could be used for farming, community housing, and a recreation area.

Russo said the property would also offer access to the Winnetuxet River.

“I’m incredibly enthusiastic about getting that property, if it’s possible,” he said.

Town Coordinator Dale Pleau said the fire chief is also sending a letter to the USDA regarding the condition of the property.

Brook Retreat

Selectmen Monday voted, 3-0, to grant a transfer station permit to Brook Retreat, 55 Brook St., as long as there are no more than four residents there.

However, the board would reconsider the permit if there are five or more residents there.

Brook Retreat is a five- to nine-month residential spiritual retreat dedicated to helping addicts and alcoholics recover through the immediate and rigorous application of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, although the retreat is not affiliated with AA.

Henry said that under state law, Brook Retreat is considered a single-family residence, and their trash is considered residential trash.

Henry said the applicants said they would either buy a $200 transfer station sticker, or go with a private hauler.

Morin said that as a single-family homeowner he does not want to pay for commercial trash going into the town dump, from Brook Retreat, Sysco or any other business in Plympton.

“It’s a business. They’re going to charge people to go there,” he said.

Russo said he believes that Brook Retreat should be able to get a transfer station sticker if there are four or fewer residents, but he might not agree if there are five or more residents.

“It does get sticky. That’s separate,” he said.

Parks fund-raiser

Selectmen Monday voted to approve a request by the Friends of the Plympton Parks to display a sign no larger than four-feet by eight-feet in front of the Town House between the library and Town House.

Wilhelmsen, with the Friends, said the group plans to kick off a fund-raising campaign on Oct. 4, and needs to raise $36,000 for a boardwalk to link Churchill’s Park off Main Street with the Cato’s Ridge conservation area.

He said people will be able to buy and inscribe the planks to be used for the boardwalk, for $50 per plank.

The fund-raiser sign will resemble a thermometer and track progress toward the fund-raiser goal, and be displayed from Oct. 5 to no later than Dec. 31, Wilhelmsen said.

He said the sign would drive people to parks website, www.plymptonparks.org

LUCAS 2

Selectmen Monday voted to permit Russo and Pleau to sign an application for a state Community Innovation Challenge grant.

Pleau said a number of fire departments in the area are seeking the grants to purchase Lucas 2 chest compression systems, including Plympton.

“These machines cost $13,500 a piece, so hopefully we get the grant for it,” he said.

In a specifications sheet, a paramedic and field supervisor is quoted as saying, “If I had one arm, and could only grab one thing to take into the house, it would be LUCAS.”

Percolation tests

Selectmen Monday voted, 2-0, to ahead with plans for Collins Civil Engineering Group to conduct percolation tests on a Maple Street property, one of three properties identified as possible sites for a public safety building.

The town is also considering a property on Center Street and also the Town House complex.

Pleau said the testing would take place on Oct. 4, starting at 7:30 a.m.

Town Meeting approved and funded a measure to evaluate all three properties.

Pleau said the tests would cost from $3,500 to $4,000.

Russo, an abutter, excused himself from deliberation.

Thompson and Henry voted for the measure.

“I think we should do it because Town Meeting voted on it,” Thompson said.

Selectmen’s assistant hired

Selectmen voted, 3-0, to hire Kristen LeVangie as selectmen’s assistant.

LeVangie has worked in the private sector for a property management firm in Brookline for the past 10 years, Russo said.

“We will look forward to making her welcome and getting her up to speed as soon as possible,” he said.

Comcast negotiations

Russo said attorney Peter Epstein, representing Plympton in license renewal negotiations with Comcast, met with Comcast manager Gerry Buckley last week.

According to Russo, Buckley indicated that he felt that Plympton’s request for origination points, or places from which live broadcasts could be made, is asking for too much.

Russo said he was frustrated and that Plympton should not get one bit less than Halifax did in that town’s pact with Comcast. Plympton, he said, needs accommodation for lack of origination points.

Russo said he hoped he would participate in a conference call with Epstein and Buckley by the end of the week.

Comcast, Russo said, might be obligated to keep the Halifax-Plympton studio open for Plympton if no agreement is signed.

By Town Clerk Tara Wick and Deborah Anderson, Express staff

Residents of Plympton had an opportunity on Tuesday to use their old  “Perfection Ballot Box” made in Worcester in 1927 to cast their vote on Tuesday at the Commonwealth’s Primary Election.

Tuesday morning, the box was wheeled out by the police officer on duty and inspected by all Election officials just prior to the polls opening for the day.

Each paper ballot, folded in half lengthwise, was fed into the throat of the machine, overseen by the Plympton Election Warden, who for Tuesday’s Primary was retired Town Clerk Nancy Butler.  She turned the wooden handled brass crank, which delivered the ballot into the locked box, advanced the number dial one place and rang the bell to indicate that the vote has been cast and counted.  She plans to make a return appearance for the November 4 state election.

The residents of Plympton often look forward to hearing the sound of the bell tone once they have cast their ballot. One of the warden’s primary functions is to be sure that the ballot is inserted properly where it then advances through the top portion and drops into the bottom portion of the box where it is kept safely and securely under guard until it is removed and counted after the polls close. 

The warden often takes this opportunity to point out to children how important it is to vote and to show what number ballot their parents have contributed to a final tally. 

The bottom cabinet on which the ballot box sits was built and added by a resident in 1957.

How do you fix a broken ballot box?  You call your friendly horologist, otherwise known as a clock maker.  Plympton calls Richard Ketchen, from the Massachusetts town of Carlisle. He is very familiar with the ballot box as he has been commissioned by other “hand cranking” ballot towns throughout the state for repairs and service of similar boxes. Mr. Ketchen carefully restored Plympton’s ballot box in 2012, including reattaching loose paper numbers, sharpening anti-withdrawal tabs, replaced broken front deflector, evened out worn drive rollers, oiled all mechanisms, and lubricated locks with graphite. 

Despite the age of the box, all components live up to it’s namesake and all parts are in “Perfect” working order.

By Tracy F. Seelye,
Express editor

In a state primary election noted mainly for low voter participation, there was little by way of surprises in the outcome Tuesday.

Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker, as expected, carried their respective nominations for governor in the Nov. 4 general election. Democrats statewide also tapped Maura Healy over Warren Tolman for attorney general.

Locally, it was not a day of heightened activity at the polls. Less than 20 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

From the start, local town clerks were not certain that percentage would make it out of the single digits.

Only a handful of residents were at the Plympton polls at 8:30 a.m., and only 37 votes had been cast at that point.

There are 5,192 registered voters in Halifax and 764 or 14.7% voted.  Out of 2,092 registered voters in Plympton, 351 cast their ballots, or 17%

Local vote totals for Halifax were, on Democratic ballots:

• Senator in Congress — Edward J. Markey (D) 297

• Governor — Donald M. Berwick (D) 82

Martha Coakley (D) 208

Steven Grossman 167

• Lt. Governor — Leland Cheung (D) 86

 Stephen J. Kerrigan (D) 224

Michael E. Lake (D) 67

• Attorney General — Maura Healy (D) 258

Warren E. Tolman (D) 180

• Secretary of State — William F. Galvin (D) 339

• Treasurer — Thomas P. Conroy (D) 114

Barry Finegold (D) 129

Deborah B. Goldberg (D) 173

• Auditor — Suzanne M. Bump (D) 310

• Representative in Congress — William R. Keating (D) 327

• Councillor [Fourth District] — Christopher Iannella (D) 300

• Senator in General Court [2nd Plymouth & Bristol] —Thomas P. Kennedy (D) 327

• Representative in General Court —Thomas J. Calter, III (D) 328

• Register of Probate [Plymouth County] — Mark E. Linde (D) 106

Matthew J. McDonough (D) 254

• County Treasurer — Thomas J. O’Brien (D) 322

• County Commissioner — Scott M. Vecchi (D) 293

Those choosing Republican ballots voted this way:

• Senator in Congress — Brian J. Herr (R) 214

• Governor — Charles D. Baker (R) 224

Mark R. Fisher (R) 75

• Lt. Governor — Karyn E. Polito (R) 243

• Attorney General — John B. Miller (R) 225

• Secretary of State — David D’Arcangelo (R) 223

• Treasurer — Michael J. Heffernan (R) 217

• Auditor — Patricia S. Saint Aubin (R) 207

• Senator in General Court [2nd Plymouth & Bristol] — Viola A. Ryerson (R) 345

• Representative in General Court  — Write-ins 75

• District Attorney — Timothy J. Cruz (R) 253

• Register of Probate [Plymouth County] — R. Andrew Burbine (R) 58

Anthony T. O’Brien Sr. (R) 130

Joseph M. Truschelli (R) 70

• County Commissioner — Sandra M. Wright (R) 215

Local vote totals in Plympton were for Democrat ballots:

• Senator in Congress — Edward J. Markey (D) 111

• Governor — Donald M. Berwick (D) 44

   Martha Coakley (D) 81

   Steven Grossman 60

• Lt. Governor — Leland Cheung (D) 41

   Stephen J. Kerrigan (D) 84

Michael E. Lake (D) 24

• Attorney General — Maura Healy (D) 112

Warren E. Tolman (D) 67

• Secretary of State — William F. Galvin (D) 140

• Treasurer — Thomas P. Conroy (D) 40

Barry Finegold (D) 48

Deborah B. Goldberg (D) 72

• Auditor — Suzanne M. Bump (D) 127

• Representative in Congress [9th District] — William Keating (D) 129

• Councilor — Christopher A. Ianella, Jr. (D) 121

• Senator in General Court [2nd Plymouth & Bristol] Thomas P. Kennedy (D) — 118

• Representative in General Court [9th Plymouth District] — Thomas J. Calter, III (D) 136

• Register of Probate [Plymouth County] — Mark E. Linde (D) 127

Matthew J. McDonough (D) 110

• County Treasurer — Thomas J. O’Brien (D) 135

• County Commissioner — Scott M. Vecchi (D) 120

Plympton’s Republican primary ballot totals:

• Senator in Congress — Brian J. Herr (R) 122

• Governor — Charles D. Baker (R) 111

Mark R. Fisher (R) 49

• Lt. Governor — Karyn E. Polito (R) 139

• Attorney General — John B. Miller (R) 131

• Secretary of State — David D’Arcangelo (R) 130

• Treasurer — Michael J. Heffernan (R) 131

• Auditor — Patricia S. Saint Aubin (R) 124

• Representative in Congress [9th District] — Mark C. Alliegro (R) 20

John C. Chapman (R) 28

Vincent A. Cogliano Jr. (R) 37

Daniel L. Shores (R) 65

• Senator in General Court [2nd Plymouth & Bristol District] — Viola A. Ryerson (R) 126

• Representative in General Court (9th Plymouth District) — Thomas J. Calter, III (R) 16

• District Attorney — Timothy J. Cruz (R) 140

• Register of Probate [Plymouth County] — R. Andrew Burbine (R) 35

Anthony T. O’Brien Sr. (R) 68

Joseph M. Truschelli (R) 36

• County Commissioner — Sandra M. Wright (R) 124