More than 220 volunteers from Southeastern Massachusetts attended Old Colony Elder Services (OCES) Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon and awards ceremony held at Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston.
The Plymouth County based non-profit agency that serves older adults and individuals with disabilities, honored their volunteers and presented special awards to 22 volunteers.
OCES is a National President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) Certifying Organization which honors outstanding volunteers and recognizes the impact they make. Armindo Rocha, OCES’ Volunteer Program Manager and Cidalia America, Volunteer Coordinator, hosted the event and bestowed the awards.
Sharon Frank of Wareham was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. The PVSA’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes 4000+ volunteer hours in a lifetime.
The Annual Gold Award is given to those who have volunteered for more than 500 hours during the year. The PVSA’s Annual Gold Award was presented to Anne-Marie Borsje, David Drain, Peter Keohan, Mi Kim, Nancy McDermott, Joanne Protasewich, Sophia Loc-Tringali, John Tuffy, Gary Peterson, Marie Claire Ording, Richard Shoemaker and Sherry Williamson of Duxbury; Steve Meissner of Easton; Christina Butta of Middleboro; Kathleen Breen of Plymouth; and Sandra Saltzman of Stoughton.
OCES’ Make a Difference Award recognizes exceptional volunteers for their dedication to helping others making an impact on the community. Sharon Perry of Halifax, along with OCES staff members and volunteers Rochelle Degany, Rick Alvarnaz, Paul and Neal Mullen were each presented with the Make a Difference Award.
“We recognize and thank all of our generous volunteers for their tremendous dedication to helping others in our community and making the world a better place,” said Nicole Long, CEO of OCES.
More about the PVSA
In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action too. Led by AmeriCorps and managed in partnership with Points of Light, this program allows Certifying Organizations to recognize their most exceptional volunteers. As an AmeriCorps Seniors grantee, OCES receives funds through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) for volunteers age 55+. RSVP of Plymouth County (RSVP-PC) volunteers help OCES and other local agencies that are Community Service Partners.
Volunteering for OCES
The Volunteer Program supports OCES and other RSVP-PC Community Service Partners. With the help of more than 550 Nutrition Program volunteers, OCES serves 2,000 meals each weekday as part of its Meals on Wheels Program. Money Management Program (MMP) volunteers assist older adults and individuals with disabilities with bill paying, reconciling bank statements, balancing checkbooks, and in special cases, negotiating debt with creditors. Volunteers also serve on the OCES Board of Directors, MMP and RSVP Community Advisory councils and contribute to many other important efforts.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit www.ocesma.org.
Founded in 1974, OCES proudly serves greater Plymouth County and surrounding communities. OCES is a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Brockton with a second office in Plymouth. OCES is designated as one of 23 Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) in Massachusetts.
Through the talent of an experienced and diverse workforce, OCES supports the independence and dignity of older adults and individuals with disabilities by providing essential information and services that promote healthy, safe living which positively impacts our community.
The agency offers several programs to serve older adults, individuals with disabilities, their families, and caregivers. For more information call 508-584-1561 or visit www.ocesma.org.
Plympton Seniors to State Park
Plympton seniors were treated to a trip to the Myles Standish State Forest organized by Capt. John Sjostedt of the Plympton Fire Dept. In addition to the history of the forest, the group learned about fire prevention and detection, with a special presentation by Smokey Bear. The day’s activities culminated in a cookout. Who could ask for more? The COA sends special thanks to the Plympton Fire Department and Capt. John Sjostedt for arranging the event. For more photos by Capt. Sjostedt, go to page 7.
Thrilled, proud, and emotional
That’s how Kingston’s Sienna Harrington described her recent trip to Missouri earlier this month, which culminated with her U14 Girls’ South Shore Select Soccer Club team winning the national championship.
“It feels surreal and exciting because the skill level and competitiveness of the other teams from all over the country we were going against were so good,” Harrington said. “They were very physical and fast paced games. Every player on the Select 09 GA team worked so hard all year to get to where we are and am so proud of everyone.”
Harrington’s club kicked off the July 6-9 trip with a 1-0 victory over the South Carolina Surf SC. It then beat the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, 2-1, to earn a spot in the finals. It was there where the South Shore Select doubled up TopHat, 2-1, for the crown.
“The excitement of beating some of the top-ranked teams in the country and advancing from game to game until we were national champions was definitely a highlight,” Harrington said. “Especially because we came from behind and won our last two games, 2-1, in the second half of the game.”
Her favorite memory?
“[It] was when I was on the field and the whistle blew during the championship game,” she said. “Our whole team was celebrating on the field and the Select 06 team that was watching came running out on the field too.”
Harrington, an incoming freshman at Silver Lake, has now shifted her focus to the high school pitch.
“I’m going to spend the next six weeks continuing to work on my speed and agility to prepare for high school tryouts at the end of August,” she said.
~ Nate Rollins
Local Author Marianne Leone to speak at Adams Center
KINGSTON – Local author Marianne Leone will discuss her 2010 memoir about her son, “Jesse: A Mothers Story,” on Wednesday, August 2 at 6 p.m. at the Adams Center.
Jesse was an honor roll student, who loved to windsurf and write poetry. He also had severe cerebral palsy, was a quadriplegic, unable to speak, and wracked by seizures. He died suddenly at the age of 17 in 2005. In her memoir, Leone chronicles her transformation by the remarkable life and untimely death of her child.
During her discussion, Leone will also highlight how she and others communicated with her son, and how he communicated back through an adapted computer as a non-verbal individual. Leone’s author talk is part of this year’s Massachusetts Summer Reading theme, “Find your Voice,” with a number of programs at the Kingston Public Library to help individuals find their voice through writing, music, speechwriting or other means.
Leone is an actress, screenwriter, and essayist. Her other memoir, “Ma Speaks Up,” was published by Beacon Press in 2017. She had a recurring role on HBO’s, “The Sopranos,” and has appeared in films by David O. Russell, Larry David, John Sayles, and Martin Scorsese. Her essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, WBUR, and other publications.
This program is part of the 2023 Adult Summer Reading Program. Attendees will be given a raffle ticket to be used towards a prize. This year’s prizes have been generously provided by the Kingston Public Library Foundation
To register for this event, please visit – https://kingstonpubliclibrary.org. For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at smiller@kingstonma.gov.
Food System Caucus prioritizes eight bills, endorses 20
BOSTON – Rep. Kathy LaNatra of Kingston announced that the Food System Caucus, of which she is a member, has prioritized eight pieces of legislation and endorsed twenty additional pieces of legislation for the 193rd session. Led by Co-Chairs Representative Kane, Representative Vargas, Representative Schmid, Representative Domb, Representative Donahue, Senator Comerford, and Senator DiDomenico, the Food System Caucus has based its priority and endorsed legislation on the three primary areas identified as priorities in the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan and accepted by the Massachusetts Food Policy Council in 2015:
• Food access/insecurity: Reducing waste, hunger, and food insecurity while making available more fresh, healthy food to everyone who lives in the Commonwealth.
• Farmland: Protecting the land and resources necessary to produce food while maximizing the environmental benefits of agriculture and fishing and the preservation of agricultural land.
• Economic Development: Recognizing the significant impact to local, regional, and state economies, supporting the increase of production, sales, and consumption of Massachusetts-farmed food and seafood, and creating jobs and improving wages in the food, farming, and seafood industries.
• The Food System Caucus will be a hosting an upcoming legislative briefing to highlight and summarize the caucus’ priority legislation and answer any questions from members about the bills prior to August recess.
“Thank you to all of our fellow Legislators who submitted their important pieces of legislation to the Food System Caucus for priority consideration” said the Food System Caucus Co-Chairs. “We are excited to work together this session to propel these pieces of legislation forward.”
“I am pleased to be one of the many members of the Food System Caucus,” said Rep. Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston).“The priority and endorsed legislation our Caucus has chosen this session will strengthen our local food system and help reduce food insecurity, as issue made acutely important over these past few years. I look forward to advocating with members to advance these bills this session.”
The House and Senate Clerks have now referred bills filed seasonably to the appropriate Joint Committee. All seasonably filed bills are guaranteed a public hearing before February of 2024, when Committees have a deadline to take action on bills heard by their Committees. Below is background on each of the priority and endorsed bills for the Food System Caucus.
The Food System Caucus includes 158 legislative members. For more information on the caucus, please visit our website: www.mafoodsystemcaucus.com
New Halifax trash collection schedule
Effective Monday, July 10, the Town of Halifax’s trash and recycling curbside collection schedule will be permanently delayed by one day.
New Curbside Collection Schedule:Monday’s trash and recycling will be picked-up on Tuesdays.
Tuesday’s trash and recycling will be picked-up on Wednesdays.
Wednesday’s recycling will be picked-up on Thursdays.
Recycling pick-up will still occur every other week.
Additional updates regarding trash and recycling curbside collection services will be posted online at www.halifax-ma.org as they become available.
For questions, please contact the Recycling Center by calling (781) 293-1732 or e-mailing Susan.Johnston@halifax-ma.org. If your trash does not get picked-up, you should contact the Town’s new trash hauler, All State Waste (www.allstatewasteinc.com), at (508) 807-4646.
Route 58 closed for fatal accident
A news release from Plympton Police Chief Matt Ahl stated the following:
Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at approximately 2:07 p.m., Plympton Police Department and Plympton Fire Department were dispatched to a t-car motor vehicle collision involving a roll-over an entrapment on Palmer Road.
Upon arrival, officers observed a truck and a sedan involved. The truck was operated by a male Plympton resident and he was the sole occupant of the vehicle. The sedan was operated by a male non-resident and he was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The male non-resident driver of the sedan was transported to BID-Plymoouth with non-life threatening injuries. The male Plympton resident from the truck was promounced deceased on scene.
Palmer Road was closed from Center Street to Main Street, as well as Main Street from Palmer Road to Mayflower Road for multiple hours due to the collision and investigation. Halifax and Carver Police Departments assisted with road closures. The Plymouth County Bureau of Criminal Investigation, as well as the Massachusetts State Police COAC Unit and Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section responded to the scene. The investigation is ongoing.
We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the resident who succumbed to their injuries. The family has been notified and we ask the public to please respect that we will not be releasing further information on the deceased at this time. This is a time where our communty must come together and our department is committed to offering support to all impacted by today’s tragedy.
Respectfully,
Chief Matthew Ahl
$170,006 in ARPA funds for Plympton
Friday morning, June 30, Plymouth County Treasurer Tom O’Brien brought good news to Plympton by way of a very large check! This $170,006 was from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds and will be used to replace a Silver Lake HVAC rooftop unit replacement. From left are Plympton Police Lieutenant Daniel Hoffman, Plymouth County Commissioner Gregory Hanley, Plympton Selectman John A. Traynor, Jr., Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien, Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy, Plymouth County Commissioner Jared Valanzola, and Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl.
Photo by Sandi Neumiester
Library to host author talk on Saturday, July 22
The Kingston Public Library is hosting a Saturday afternoon author talk event with local author, historian, podcaster, and blogger Zachary Lamothe on Saturday, July 22 at 2 p.m. at the Adams Center. Zack will be discussing his recent 2021 book, Classic Restaurants of Boston, along with a preview of his newest book Distilled In Boston published on July 3, 2023.
Classic Restaurants of Boston – The story of Boston is inextricably linked to food, hence its nickname “Beantown.” Given the city’s geography, its cuisine is understandably tied to the sea, with popular dishes such as lobster, oysters and clam chowder. Join local author Zachary Lamothe as he explores the best food in Beantown.
Distilled in Boston – Boston has a long history with distilled spirits, from Colonial times through Prohibition. More recently, there has been a resurgence in the craft distilling industry from Cape Ann to Cape Cod. The ingredients, production processes and marketing techniques are as varied as the beverages themselves. Join author Zack Lamothe as he reveals the backstory of the popular craft spirit movement in the greater Boston area.
Zachary Lamothe is the author of Connecticut Lore: Strange, Off Kilter and Full of Surprises and More Connecticut Lore: Guidebook to 82 Strange Locations, as well as A History Lover’s Guide to the South Shore and Classic Restaurants of Boston, both from The History Press. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in American studies and holds a master’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University in education. He also runs the website Backyard Road Trips and cohosts the Backyard Road Trips podcast. He lives in Plymouth with his wife Jaclyn, three sons, one dog and one cat.
Happy 247th Birthday, America!
Halifax’s traditional July 4th fireworks display lit the skies Saturday, July 1, to the delight of all. The family- friendly fun began at 11 a.m. with kids’ games, face painting, dunk tank, corn hole, cookie decorating, and the hula hoop competition.
The evening events began at 5 p.m. with food trucks helping to feed everyone, and more music kept the tempo upbeat for the party.
Balloon animals, face painting, t-shirt sales, all led up to the main event – the fireworks. The nearly full moon watched over the events which went off without a hitch.
The majority of the expense of the fireworks was borne by contributions from Flower and Soul cannabis dispensary and MacDonald Industries, both of Halifax.
Go to pages 6 and 7 for more photos of Fireworks day!
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