On Friday, May 1st the HES PTO sponsored a fun night for the 5th graders and their families.  See photos of the event on our Facebook Page.

There’s still time to get something for Mom!

Check out these local merchants. Sponsored by Carleybelles.

Faye George

Bridgewater poet Faye George read from her latest collection, World of Hard Use (WordTech, 2015), at the Holmes Public Library last week, to celebrate National Poetry Month. George explained that when she looked back through poems she had written she discovered that many of them shared the theme of work, which then became the theme of World of Hard Use. One poem George shared with the audience of seventeen poetry lovers who braved the evening’s cold rain was about the tragic Pemberton Mill collapse in Lawrence in 1860. Another, Pont du Gard, described the construction of the enormous stone aqueduct built by Roman slaves in the first century, A.D., preserved in southern France to this day. George also shared lighter poems, including one about getting ready for work in the morning called The Bathtub, the John, and the Sink. “Don’t laugh,” she joked. “The Paris Review took this one.”

The Friends of the Holmes Public Library sponsored this poetry reading on April 8. If you missed it, George will be reading again at the Lakeville Public Library on Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. and at the Thayer Public Library in Braintree on Wednesday, April 29, at 7 p.m.

‘A nicer man you would not meet’

By Deborah Anderson
Express Staff

Bruce Wood

Flags all around the South Shore were lowered on their masts to honor Bruce Wood, a 43 year veteran of the Halifax Fire Department and contract mail hauler for the US Postal Service, who was killed in a head-on collision Friday, April 10, at 2:37 p.m.

Bruce drove his box truck among the various South Shore post offices delivering and picking up mail, and on Friday left the Plympton post office with a cheerful comment to the mail clerk about it being a good day, and on his way to the Carver post office met a  truck head-on which, travelling north, had reportedly drifted into the southbound lane.  Wood was declared dead at the scene and the other driver, 35-year-old Joel Reed of New Bedford, was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth with serious injuries. Reed, it is reported, was later transported to a Boston Hospital.  His condition could not be determined at press time.

Chief Patrick Dillon of the Plympton PD, said that the cause of the accident is under investigation by the Plympton Police Department and the State Police Accident Reconstruction division. State Police have custody of a cell phone which was found in the passenger compartment of Reed’s vehicle.

Wood’s funeral service will be held this morning, Friday, at 11 a.m. at the Halifax Congregational Church, 503 Plymouth St., Route 58, Halifax, following visiting hours at the Church at 10 a.m.  After the funeral service, Wood will be buried at the Central Cemetery in Halifax. Arrangements are by the Leighton-MacKinnon Funeral Home.

A visitation was held at the Funeral Home, 4 West Washington St., Hanson.

Bruce was a lifelong resident of Halifax, and a 43-year member of the Halifax Fire Department.  He was also the department’s chaplain, Halifax Chief Jason Viveiros told the Express.  He was known for his smile and upbeat attitude.  “A nicer man you would not meet.”

Bruce was the only son of the late Myron “Bud” Wood Jr. and Elizabeth “Betty” (Alger) Wood. He was the loving father of the late Christopher Wood, his only son, who died in a motorcycle crash in 2009 at the age of 21.

He was the most wonderful brother and will be sorely missed by his sisters Beth Wood of Shelbyville, KY, Bonnie Wood and Brenda Pettingill and her husband Robert, all of Halifax. He also leaves aunts, uncles and cousins whom he truly loved.

Bruce graduated from Silver Lake High School, Class of 1970. He attended UMASS for two years and in 1974 worked at Armstrong Cork in Braintree. In 1972 Bruce joined the Halifax fire department and maintained his service till now working with many generations of firefighters and friends. He was most recently made Chaplin of the department.

He started driving early in life on a John Deere tractor on his grandfather’s farm. The seat felt so good he started driving professionally. Local businesses, Bosworth and Casoli’s, were predecessors to his eventual postal contract as a distributor of bulk mail to the local post offices. He enjoyed the rigorous schedule because of the great people he saw every day. He was active through his life with boats, motorcycles, fishing, hunting and enjoying the outdoors.  Since his son’s passing, he found great strength through local churches and the words they bring. Through this knowledge, he felt his greatest achievements were being able to help those in need.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bruce’s memory may be made to one of his causes: Bible Baptist Missions, PO Box 17615, Pensacola, FL 32522, or to any homeless charity in your area. It will make you feel good.  Visiting hours were held in the Leighton-MacKinnon Funeral Home, 4 West Washington St., at the corner of Rte. 58, Hanson, Thursday, April 16, from 4 – 8 p.m. Services will be held at the Halifax Congregational Church, 503 Plymouth St, Halifax on Friday April 17, at 11a.m.  There will be a visiting hour before service. Relatives and friends respectfully invited to attend. Internment will follow in Central Cemetery, Halifax.

By Abram Neal
Express Staff

Tuesday evening the Halifax Board of Selectmen began on a sad note by acknowledging the tragic death of 43-year veteran Halifax Firefighter Bruce Wood in a head-on collision Friday afternoon, and offered their condolences to his family, several of whom also work for the Town of Halifax.

Presentations from the Beautification Committee and a dialogue with State Representative Thomas Calter were also on the night’s agenda.

Representative Calter was invited to explain to the Board why the town was moving forward with a non-binding ballot question asking if voters support continuing with the current Massachusetts Common Core Standards, or wish to go back to the MCAS curriculum framework that existed prior to 2010. John Shiavone stated from the audience that a group within town had formed opposing the Common Core Standards, and wanted to gauge where the rest of the town stood on the subject.

Representative Calter stated that about a year and a half ago he been to a forum, also attended by Selectman Kim Roy, which was clearly opposed to Common Core. He believed that decisions should be based on data, not emotions as at that forum. He left the Board with some data he had prepared for other legislators. Representative Calter stated that he did not want to take a stand on one side or the other.

Calter went on to say that critical thinking was the most important skill lacking in today’s youth. He then repeatedly stated that the Common Core Standards taught critical thinking, despite emphatically taking the position that he wasn’t taking a position.

Rep. Calter also pointed out that under either standard, area community colleges were reporting back that large portions of their budgets were being spent to teach remedial math and English to students who had passed S.A.T. and MCAS testing, seeming to indicate a severe deficit in education today. From a businessman’s standpoint, Representative Calter said that this was frustrating as mid-career employees were now filling jobs once held by entry-level college graduates, and college graduates were now graduating with only a degree, but without the right skill-sets needed to get jobs.

He said that there are plenty of jobs available, yet the employment rate lies artificially high because people are not being trained in the right job skills. He finished with a heart-warming anecdote of a friend’s daughter whom, when unable to decide what to do with her business degree,  he counseled to combine her two major interests from high school, sports, and writing, and become a sports writer, which she had never considered. She is now a well-known sports writer, but apparently had never been taught critical thinking skills before her encounter with Representative Calter, he said.

Two forums will be held for the public on the issue of the Common Core ballot question, one on Wednesday April 29 and again on Thursday May 7.

The Beautification Committee presented to the board three proposals for a spring and summer garden outside Town Hall. Selectman Roy, a self-described “former gardener”, seemed most interested, and the major debate revolved around which type of tree to plant in the middle and was it appropriate for the site. Selectmen were solicited for their ideas outside of the meeting. Work will begin in May and the garden is hoped to be ready for a dedication ceremony in June. Selectmen moved to allow the project to continue to go forward with the caveat that they be updated if any major changes are made to the proposal.

Russ Kleekamp, an engineer, updated selectmen on a grant for feasibility studies to put automatic flood controls on a dam on Monponsett Pond. He expects to be able to report back soon on the feasibility, cost and size of the project, but noted that it is a multi-faceted project with many stakeholders, and it might take some time before any work begins, if the grant is awarded.

Finally, a debate on issues regarding parking on a town-owned parcel at 15 Ocean Street was held, and was obviously a difficult subject for the Board. Town Counsel strenuously objects to neighbors or anyone else parking there, due to liability issues for the town. A Mr. Dale Anderson was present, and has an unregistered car on the site. It was a hardship for him to move his car until next week, despite the deadline being April 14 to have vehicles removed, as Selectmen voted last week. All selectmen were visibly torn regarding the issue of balancing Mr. Anderson’s hardship against the town’s liability. Mr. Anderson submitted a written letter to the Board asking for a one-week extension, which in a 2-1 vote, was granted, after a lengthy discussion by the Board. Selectmen Roy voted against, stating her duty was to the liability of the town and that this had been going on since January, and surprisingly during the actual vote vociferously exclaimed “No!.” after the first two “Yea” votes. Mr. Anderson thanked the Board for their time and apologized for putting them in that position.

In other news:

Police Officer Al Hingst was recognized for his work mentoring a young person through a difficult family situation. A letter was written by the person’s mother to the police chief who shared it with selectmen. The Board voted to send a letter of thanks to Hingst and also include a copy for his file.

The grant application to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for replacing the roof at Halifax Elementary was submitted by Superintendent John Tuffy.

Selectmen voted to extend the third year of a 3 year contract for gas and diesel fuel with Dennis K. Burke.

Selectmen will not meet next week.

By Abram Neal
Express Staff

PLYMPTON – Monday evening Plympton Selectmen met to continue to work on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting on May 13th.  The Finance Committee also reported to selectmen where they stand on their recommendations for final budget warrant articles.

Town Coordinator Dale Pleau stated that most of the articles are completed, but he continues to edit the language in several.

One important question is whether and how the town will contribute to the South Shore Community Action Council, a non-profit group that provides assistance to needy citizens. The selectmen had previously voted to donate $2,000, but cannot directly donate in this way according to Town Counsel.

Concerns were raised to Selectmen that the heaviest users of the services provided by the SSCAC, the Council on Aging, are not satisfied with services rendered. Chris Maiorano, Director of the Council on Aging, later told the Express that the Council was either not aware of services offered, or found that services were cost prohibitive.  Maiorano has called Plympton’s representative to the SSCAC, Janis Morrison, to COA’s next meeting. Selectmen did pass a motion to make the gift if a financial vehicle to do so is found. FinCom will consult with the board further on the matter.

FinCom was invited to the meeting and presented some preliminary findings, but also sought advice from Selectmen on whether areas of the budget needed further funding. They were very clear that the budget was in near  final state but preliminary, and that they, “needed to make sure it all added up,”  Funding for D.A.R.E. was previously removed, but FinCom was optimistic that moving some money around could restore it. Furthermore, the Town Clerk’s office asked for further funding at a previous Board meeting, and the Selectmen agreed that it was needed.  Selectmen were so strongly in favor of the Clerk’s request that they asked their salaries be reduced to $0 and the money appropriated to the Town Clerk’s office.

The FinCom stated there was no money to further fund any other departments this year. The only other major concern was that the animal control budget looked high this year, which will be looked into, and Board Chairman Mark Russo otherwise thanked FinCom for keeping the budget under control.

An audience member voiced his concern about an item that was glossed over in correspondence last week. Eversource had sent a copy of a letter to the Board that was addressed to the Board of Health stating that they are going to be spraying herbicides along their power line right-of-way to reduce unwanted vegetation. Last week the Selectmen seemed satisfied that all proper permits had been pulled and that they didn’t need to sign off on anything. This week, the Chair of the Board of Health, Art Morin, confirmed that Eversource had acted properly. The audience member asked to know specifically when and where the spraying would take place, as he was a bee-keeping hobbyist. He also had concerns over chemicals seeping into groundwater and stated that this had been a concern in neighboring communities and Cape Cod. Mr. Morin told the audience member that he would forward documents from Eversource to him and the Board of Selectmen decided that they may address the issue as an agenda item at at next week’s meeting.

An ongoing issue with fire inspectors and town assessors making home visits at the same time, concerning some residents, has not been resolved. It seems that the issue more specifically now is that the assessors are not identifying themselves as such. Residents do have to allow in fire inspectors, but not assessors. The Board and Town Coordinator are waiting for further advice from Town Counsel.

Finally, Mr. Russo read a letter of commendation from Police Chief Patrick Dillon regarding life saving action taken by Officer Brent Peterson. An unresponsive adult male was found by a family member, who called 911 and began CPR. Officer Peterson arrived at the scene and administered NarCan, a medication that is an opioid antidote. He then took over C.P.R., provided 6 cycles of twenty chest compressions and two breaths, reviving the patient and restoring normal heart function and breathing. The Board commended Officer Peterson as well, who will receive a “Life Saver Day” (a paid day off).

In other news:

Due to the Patriots’ Day holiday, the next Board of Selectman meeting will be held  Wednesday, April 22, at 6 p.m.