Winners of the recent Silver Lake Middle School Geography Bee, will have an opportunity to try out for the state GeoBee, and the winners from each state Bee will go on to compete at the national GeoBee. From left are Wyatt Rosano, 2nd place, Connor O’Brien, 1st place, and Michael DiBona, 3rd place.
Register to vote for primary election
HALIFAX – The Annual Street Listing form has been mailed out to all Halifax households. Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor requests that residents please fill out the form and return it as soon as possible.
Filling out the form DOES NOT REGISTER you to vote.
If there is no letter such as D; R or U listed under Party beside your name, then you are not registered to vote. You may register to vote at the Town Clerk’s office or online at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/.
The last day to register to vote for the Presidential Primary, is Wednesday, February 12. The Massachusetts Presidential Primary is Tuesday, March 3.
The Annual Town Election will be held on May 16. Nomination papers will be available beginning Tuesday, January 21 at the Town Clerk’s office and must be returned by March 25.
Nomination papers are available for the following:
Board of Assessors, three year term; Board of Health, three-year term; Highway Surveyor, three-year term; Library Board of Trustees, two positions with three-year terms; Halifax Housing Authority: three positions: three-year term, four-year term and a five-year term; Park Commissioner, a three-year term and a one-year term; Halifax Elementary School Committee, two three-year terms; Silver Lake Regional School Committee, three-year term; Board of Selectmen, three-year term and Board of Water Commissioners, three-year term.
Halifax seeks volunteers to serve on COA
The Halifax Board of Selectmen is seeking volunteers to serve on the Halifax Council on Aging as the Board has received notice of two vacancies on the Council.
The Council coordinates and carries out programs designed to meet the needs of seniors in Halifax in the areas of health, welfare, education, recreation, and transportation.
Residents interested in serving on the Council on Aging can download a talent bank form at
http://www.halifax-ma.org/board-selectmen/files/talent-bank-form-2019 and submit it to the Board of Selectmen, 499 Plymouth Street, Halifax, MA 02338 or contact the Selectmen’s Office at 781-294-1316 to obtain one.
Plastic bag ban begins March 1
Jeanne Kling of the Halifax Beautification Committee wants to remind residents that the ban on single use plastic bags in the Town of Halifax will begin Sunday, March 1, so retailers and shoppers alike should be prepared.
The article was passed at the Halifax Town Meeting in May 2019.
The reusable bag bylaw, designed to reduce the use and distribution of single use plastic shopping bags, will take effect on March 1, 2020.
This bylaw was voted at the Annual Town Meeting in May, 2019 and has been approved by the Attorney General. It applies to all businesses operating in the town of Halifax.
No plastic bags will be permissible for distribution at checkouts (points of sale). There is no thickness, or percentage of plastic content acceptable.
The Beautification Committee, on clean up days and at other events, has distributed free reusable bags while supplies lasted. Start gathering your reusable bags now!
For more information about the bylaw, or with questions, please contact the Halifax Beautification Committee at beautification@halifax-ma.org.
Changes at Plympton Post Office
Residents may have noticed a new emptiness at the Plympton Post Office. While the clerks remain the same, and the service over the counter is the same, where are the mail carriers? Where is the mail?
Online shoppers during the holiday season bombarded the little building with an avalanche of packages that made sorting the mail and preparing it for delivery a dangerous proposition.
One worker noted that it became an emergency situation and became unsafe for everyone behind the counter.
Now Plympton mail carriers are working out of the spacious Carver post office. The same rural carriers are working their same postal routes, they said, but the carriers work from the Carver location.
“There is no plan to bring the carriers back to Plympton – not to this location – because it is just too small, “ a worker told The Express. For now, service will remain the same, just happening from two locations.
Local fire dept. grants
KINGSTON -State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) commended Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito recently for their support of $920,000 in grant awards to 174 Massachusetts fire departments for gear and equipment for that will reduce firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals on the job.
All of the communities within Representative LaNatra’s district, with the exception of Duxbury, received funds in these grant awards. There are two different grants. For the first, the Firefighter Turnout Gear Grant program will provide firefighters in 144 departments with new hoods and gloves for structural firefighting activities. These items will reduce exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in the head and hand areas, which are high-risk areas for dangerous chemicals to enter the body. In total, approximately 3,000 hoods and 3,000 pairs of gloves will be purchased with the $500,000 from this program. Communities receiving grants in the district included Halifax, $2,390.07; Kingston, $2,506.25; Plymouth, $2,496; and Plympton, $2,440.
Through the Washer-Extractor Equipment Grant, $420,000 was awarded to 75 departments that will receive a new washer-extractor to clean their structural firefighting gear after exposure to smoke and other toxic chemicals. Because some of the recipient agencies are purchasing regional-use machines, 84 departments will actually benefit from them. A national standard set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on the care and cleaning of structural firefighting gear delineates specific types of machines that should be used to effectively remove cancer-causing chemicals after each fire. All washer-extractors purchased with this grant will meet this standard, and enable personnel to wear clean gear each time they leave the fire station for an emergency. The town of Middleboro received a grant of $5,000.
Representative LaNatra said, “First responders face so many dangers on a daily basis. I am thrilled to see the Baker-Polito administration taking an active role in first responder safety and ensuring that they are able to perform their jobs without the risk posed by out-of-date equipment.”
Representative LaNatra’s district includes all residents of Halifax, Kingston and Plympton, as well as residents of Precincts 1, 11 and 13 in Plymouth; Precinct 1 in Middleboro; and Precinct 1 in Duxbury.
She maintains regular office hours throughout the district. For additional information, please contact Chris Jean, Christopher.Jean@MAhouse.gov. Meetings can also be arranged by appointment.
Roofer Will sentenced
BROCKTON – A South Shore contractor who ran a scheme to defraud dozens of homeowners out of many thousands of dollars has pleaded guilty to larceny and other charges, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.
Late Monday, Matthew R. Will, of Pembroke, pleaded guilty to one count each of Larceny of Property Over $1,200 by Single Scheme, State Building Code Violation and Money Laundering. Will additionally pleaded guilty to seven counts of Home Improvement Contracting Violations and three counts each of Forgery and Uttering. Brockton Superior Judge Mark A. Hallal sentenced Will to serve 2-3 years in State prison with three years of probation from and after. Once released on probation, Will must adhere to the court ordered conditions that he stay away and have no contact with the victims of the case, surrender his contractor’s license, submit to a substance abuse evaluation, cooperate with victims of the case seeking restitution through the state fund and remove the roofing company’s website from the internet.
In July 2018, a Middleboro Police investigation began when at least 15 individuals reported that Will had defrauded them out of funds ranging from $800 to $12,000. The extensive grand jury investigation revealed a substantial criminal enterprise involving multiple victims that extends across the entire state. In total, the investigation found that approximately 39 victims, ranging in age from 50 years-old up to 94, were defrauded in the towns of Middleboro, Kingston, Duxbury, Brockton, Plympton, Wareham, North Easton, Hanson, Falmouth, and Pembroke. The approximate total amount that Will defrauded customers of is in excess of $250,000.
On March 2 and 3, 2018, a severe Nor’easter storm struck the New England region, with heavy rains that caused extensive power outages as a result of downed trees. Many homes within Oak Point, a large retirement community in Middleboro for people aged 55 and over, were left badly damaged from the storm. Will, doing business as 5-Star Discount Roofing, offered his services to homeowners to repair their roofs. Will took payments and never returned to start any work. Homeowners often found themselves unable to get a hold of Matthew Will who ignored concerned texts and calls from customers.
In late July, 2018, Hanson Police Department received a complaint from a couple who reported that Will had defrauded them when they hired him to replace damaged shingles on their newly purchased home. In August 2018, Kingston Police were contacted by a couple who also reported that Will had defrauded them after providing him with a down payment for his roofing services. In November 2018, Wareham Police also received a report from a customer who reported that Will had defrauded him after accepting payment to repair his roof in East Bridgewater.
Will held a Construction Supervisor’s License from the state and was operating his business as 5-Star Discount Roofing out of a Halifax address.
Will engaged in a pattern of criminal conduct or scheme while operating as a contractor through 5-Star Discount Roofing.
The investigation further found that Will made false statements about the length of time to complete projects to induce customers to employ him, that he received funds from customers’ jobs but then did not pay his employees, vendors or for equipment.
Will forged and uttered the signatures of customers on contracts submitted to obtain building permits and used false names to obtain jobs with customers.
Will continued to remain in business well after these initial reports were made to police, falsely telling customers in Pembroke, Hanson, and Falmouth that the name of his company was “Matthew Ryan Roofing.: The customers, unaware of the allegations against Will, hired him to repair their roofs and were unable to reach him after he failed to start any work.
“Mr. Will promised necessary home improvements to these victims, many of whom were elderly, and event went to so far as to use conditions of a Nor’Easter storm to his advantage,” DA Cruz said. “Though his schemes and scams he victimized these people and stole from them – first their trust, and then their money. I am hopeful that Mr. Will will spend some time in state prison thinking about his manipulative actions toward this vulnerable group of victims.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Zane and was investigated by Sgt. Eugene Andrews of the Hanson Police and the Middleboro Police Department, Pembroke Police Department and Wareham Police Department.
Rain barrel winter storage tips
Anyone who purchased a rain barrel this summer, it’s time if you haven’t already, to drain and store it! This prevents it from cracking from freezing water left inside.
There were directions on how to store your barrel, but if you are like most folks, finding them may be harder than the process!
Some helpful tips on how to do it!
1) take off the top of the barrel and use a bucket to get most of the water out then gently tip over to get the rest out.
2) use an elastic to keep the lever down and let it flow through the spout (see pics)
Also if you don’t have space in a garage, shed or basement to store it, make sure it is totally empty and lay it on it’s side. Secure it from rolling with rocks, bricks or some other heavy object against winter winds. If you leave it standing, rain and snow will just filter in again. If you must leave it standing, flip it over and put a heavy object on top.
This will keep your water barrel useable for next season and many more to come!
Have a safe winter and here’s to looking forward to gardening weather in 2020!
– Thank you to Nancy & Joe Botelho for these tips!
Open air burning season begins January 15
The Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and our local fire departments limit open burning for public health and safety reasons.
Open burning is allowed in Plympton and Halifax from January 15 to May 1, with permits available at no charge at the fire station beginning January 1. You must have a permit issued by the fire department in advance.
State fire wardens determine each day whether conditions are safe for open burning. Weather and air quality can change rapidly, especially in the spring, and fire departments can rescind permits when that happens.
Open burning must be done between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. from January 15 to May 1, at least 75 feet from all buildings.
You must also be sure air quality conditions are acceptable for burning by calling the Massachusetts DEP Air Quality Hotline at (617) 556-1021 or by visiting the MassAir Online website at http://public.dep.state.ma.us/MassAir.
Only Certain Materials Can Be Burned
• Brush, cane, driftwood, and forestry debris from other than commercial or industrial land clearing operations, agricultural materials such as fruit tree and bush prunings, raspberry stalks, and infected bee hives for disease control, trees and brush resulting from agricultural land clearing, • Fungus infected elm wood, if no other acceptable means of disposal is available.
Call For Help Immediately if a fire gets out of control. People conducting illegal burning, or who allow a fire to get out of control, may be held liable for the costs of extinguishing the fire in addition to fines or imprisonment (M.G.L. c.48, s.13).
See the Massachusetts web site for complete information www.mass.gov/doc/safety-tips-for-open-burning
Halifax COA holiday luncheon
Halifax’s first responders were on hand to serve up a delicious roast beef lunch to the seniors on Tuesday, Dec.10, at the annual Halifax Council on Aging Holiday Luncheon,
Guests enjoyed Christmas music from Corey Winters and organists Vivian Cardinal and many guests sang along.
Santa himself made a special appearance and many guests enjoyed taking selfies and photos with the jolly old elf himself.
Interim COA Director Brenda Fitzgerald welcomed all and thanked all the volunteers including members of the Halifax Police, Halifax Fire, and the Plymouth County Sheriffs’ Office who helped make the luncheon a success. Also helping was Jim Brenton from State Senator Mike Brady’s office.
Due to the large number of seniors participating in this event, the lunch was prepared and served at the Our Lady of the Lake Parish Hall .
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