PLYMPTON – Beginning May 1, 2015 a representative from Real Estate Research Consultants, specialists in personal property collection and valuation,  will visit businesses to list and value all business and agricultural personal property per Department of Revenue guidelines to implement a collection program. The inspector will present identification. The Board of Assessors appreciates the cooperation of all business and agricultural business owners.

Plympton voters are one step closer to having a part in the Carver Halifax Access Television after the Town Meeting’s nearly unanimous vote of Article 24, creation of a cable television public access enterprise fund.

Since the dissolution of the Comcast Cable Studio in Halifax last year, Plympton’s public access television has been at the mercy of Halifax and Carver who have provided for Plympton’s coverage of meetings.  Now Plympton can begin the process toward participation with Carver and Halifax in the new public access studio in North Carver in the Cornerstone plaza.

Plympton resident Karen Foye, who works for the Comcast studio in Middleborough, spoke to the article, saying that while currently there are some Plympton selectmen’s meetings online, all of that would go dark if the process for collecting funds from Comcast cable and disbursing them to fund studio expenses was not voted.

Residents showed their support through their overwhelming vote.

The business of the town was completed in twenty five articles and the Annual Town Meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m.

Discussion regarding retiring old debt for the Dennett School roof and the Town Barn took time as questions were answered about interest paid – on a loan – and interest earned – in a savings account.  In this case, the Finance Committee recommended that the old debt from the school roof be retired at a cost of $23,206 which must be paid this year.  An additional $75,822 would pay off the Town Barn note.  Those funds would come from the Capital Purpose Fund, which required a 2/3 vote.  Residents voted to retire the debt to put the town in a better financial position, looking ahead to when the town will construct two new public safety buildings which will house Police and Fire departments.  Voters gave their approval.

The wages and salaries were capped at a 2% increase across the board, excepting those which were negotiated by contract.

Voters agreed to $104,691.46 for the annual lease payments for the 2013 Fire Dept. Pumper Tanker, the 2008 Smeal Pumper and 2008 GMC EMS vehicle as part of the lease to own programs.  Fire Chief Warren Borsari explained that there are four years left on these annual payments.

In addition to salary budget line items and operating expenses, Plympton voters also

~ transferred from the Capital Purpose Fund $25,000 to fund the position of engineering project consultant to review plans, proposals, and bids for the creation of public safety facilities and the related infrastructure improvements.

~ rescinded the vote taken at last year’s Annual Town Meeting approving the creation a Silver Lake School District Stabilization Fund.

~ agreed to adopt a quarterly real estate tax payment program, instead of the biannual payments now in effect.  Treasurer/Collector Colleen Morin spoke to the article saying that it would save the town from borrowing to meet expenses especially during the summer months.

~ agreed to purchase and equip an asphalt recycler and hot box for the sum of $17,300.  Highway Superintendent Jim Mulcahy said the purchase would pay for itself as hot asphalt patches are less expensive and do a better job than cold patch.

~ voted to authorize Selectmen to enter into a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with Blue Wave Capital LLCD or their assign for a solar facility.

~ voted unanimously to set a $5,000 per year stipend for the position of Council on Aging director.

The meeting voted to adjourn at 10:15, until 8 a.m. Saturday, May 16, for the sole purpose of conducting the Annual Town Election at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd.  Polls are open until 6 p.m.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen is accepting applications from Halifax residents to serve as the at-large member on the Town’s “Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) Trust”. The OPEB Trust is a fund with money set-aside for future payments for health insurance and other benefits for employees who have retired from Town service. The Trustees, working  with an investment advisor, monitor the Trust and make investment  decisions on behalf of the Trust. The at-large Trustee serves for a term of two years and is appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Anyone interested in serving as the at-large Trustee can download, complete and mail in or drop off a copy of the Town’s “Talent Bank” form on the Town’s web site: http://www.town.halifax.ma.us/Pages/Halifax
MA_Bcomm/Selectmen/talent.pdf or obtain the form from the Board of Selectmen’s Office, 499 Plymouth Street.

Anyone who needs more information about the position can contact the Selectmen’s Office at 781-294-1316.

This map shows the “Hop for HOPS” 5K race route, which starts and ends on South Street.

Now is the time to register for the 2nd annual “Hop for HOPS” 5K Run/Walk!

 About 300 runners and walkers raced the course last year… and this year looks to be even better! They’re currently at the early registration phase… which means it will only cost $25 for entry fee. But after May 17th the cost jumps to $30… and there’s no guarantee late entrants will get the cool new “Hop for HOPS” tech shirts runners are getting this year. Take a second… use the link below… and get yourself all squared away:

http://friendsofhops.weebly.com/hop-for-hops-5k.html

And don’t forget to stay for more family fun all afternoon:  face painting, and bouncy houses.

See you Saturday June 6th! “Hop for HOPS”… Rebuilding the Magic… One sweaty step at a time.

Hazel the cow. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos.

Jonathan Seelig, chairman of the Friends of HOPS (Halifax Open Play Space) committee, was happy to announce that the recent “Plops for HOPS,” held Saturday, April 11, was a huge success, getting the project more than $9,000 closer to its goal.

The Plops event, generously sponsored by The Rockland Trust’s Halifax branch, was a lot of fun for all.  Pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and jumpys were just some of the events on hand. DJ Keith was there playing the tunes… Bellas 2 was there selling delicious food.

Congratulations to the big plop winners:

First Prize: Joe MacDonald of Abington; Second Prize: 4-year-old Dylan O’Brien of Halifax; and Third Prize: Lynne Jamoulis of Brockton.

Thank you all so much to everyone who helped make the “Plop for HOPS” such a huge success.

It really was a great day. Hazel the cow came through…

Mother Nature finally cooperated … and we raised some serious money for the Halifax Open Play Space. We are still tallying things up but it appears the Friends of HOPS took in a little over $9,000!

Cow Plop indeed!

A HUGE thank you to Rockland Trust for sponsoring the event. Also to Walmart, Stop & Shop, Monponsett Trading Company, John the Barber’s, Cinderella Nails, A Fork in the Road and Lou Lou’s Cafe for all donating gift certificates, Bella’s for the pizza donation, Terri Carman, the Farming Association, and Hanson Grain for lending us their animals for the day. Fun Faces with a Twist for the face painting. Mr. Nessralla for helping us land a cow, The Well Church for providing the bouncy houses, Keith from “Just Dance Productions” for playing the tunes.  And a special thanks to Celebrity Judges Selectmen Kim Roy, Troy Garron and Youth and Rec Director Dick Steele.

The list goes on and on…

And please, please, please remember our local businesses the next time you need something. They ALL have been so supportive of HOPS and the children of this town. It would be great to return the favor.

The Friends of HOPS had a blast and hope you did too.

See you all on June 6th for the second annual “Hop for HOPS 5K”!

~ Jonathan Seelig

See more photos of the event on The Plympton-Halifax Express Face book Page:  https://www.facebook.com/plymptonhalifaxexpress/posts/1614507518764064

Rick Hamelin at the wheel.

Master potter Rick Hamelin presents Spouting Off! Teapots from Around the World, a pottery demonstration, at the Holmes Public Library, 470 Plymouth St., Route 106, Halifax, on Saturday, May 9, at 11 a.m.

Watch as these teapots take shape and hear the history of their form and function: the English “Brown Betty”, an Asian teapot made from one piece of clay, a Lebanese two-walled tea pot, and a unique, mythological-form tea pot.

Hamelin has been potting since 1976 and is committed to learning about the historical Redware potters after learning of the Colonial and Early American industries in his native Central Massachusetts.

Pied Potter Hamelin can be taken linguistically apart and understood as a “Colorful Potter from a Small Town”. 

Pied means multicolored, potter is his trade, and Hamelin translates as “one from a small town.”

Hamelin makes redware pottery that is hand-thrown on the wheel and after a drying period, his wares are bisques.  Following bisquing, they are covered with a lead-free glaze of his own formation, then fired again.  An antiquing finish is applied to the unglazed surfaces as a final step.

The running cat paw prints on the reverse of all the Kulina Folk Art and Pied Potter Hamelin plates and platters began by one of his cats leaping onto the slab of clay.  He had found an old brick with a dog’s paw print on it and thought it to be a unique way to make an association between our work.

Hamelin has taught and worked in museums and currently lectures and demonstrates pottery throughout New England.

This presentation by the Pied Potter, Rick Hamelin, is supported by a grant from the Halifax Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The pottery demonstration will be followed by a light tea to close out our week-long Books in Bloom event and to recognize our library volunteers!

Editor’s note: Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor, contributed to this story.

The New England Seismic Network Weston observatory confirmed that Plympton experienced a minor quake at 3:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Alan L. Kafka, of the Weston Observatory, told the Express this morning that a small earthquake measuring just 1.7 on the Richter scale struck the area about five miles east of Bridgewater, at 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21.  These tremors are not at all uncommon, he said, and in fact quite a few have been felt throughout the region, in Brockton, Middleboro, and even Martha’s Vineyard.  All coming down the fault line that goes through Cape Ann, north of Boston.

One Plympton resident thought he was awakened by a particularly strong thunder clap at almost 4 a.m. Tuesday, “but it was close to the ground, not really like thunder.”  He didn’t realize just how close to the ground it was.

With all this activity, are we getting ready for “the big one”?  You just never know.  Earthquakes aren’t easy to predict, although these little tremors are to be expected.

Kafka, author of “Why does the Earth Quake in New England?” said Thursday, that earth tremors and earthquakes really do occur on a regular basis in New England.