Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express

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Nomination papers now available for May 15 election

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Plympton Town Clerk Tricia Detterman has announced that nomination papers are now available in the Town Clerk’s office at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Plympton.  Following are the positions that will be voted on at the town’s annual election on Saturday, May 15, 2021.  Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The following positions will be on the ballot:

• Selectman, three-year term

• Board of Assessors member, three-year term

• Board of Assessors member, one –year term

• Board of Health member, three-year term

• Finance Committee member, three-year term

• Two Library Trustees, three-year terms

• Library Trustee for one-year term

• Planning Board member for five-year term

• Planning Board member for four-year term

• Two Plympton School Committee members for three-year terms

• Silver Lake Regional School Committee member for three years

• Town Clerk for three years

• Tree Warden for three years

Nomination papers may be obtained from the Town Clerk’s office and will be given ONLY to the person seeking nomination, or to a person presenting a signed authorization form from the candidate.  The Town Clerk’s office is open by appointment during regular business hours:  Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The last day to submit nomination papers to the Board of Registrars with 20 signatures is Friday, March 26 at 5 p.m.  The last day to object or withdraw nomination papers is Tuesday, April 13 at 5 p.m.

State nixes local vaccine programs

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To Plympton and Halifax residents:

It is with regret that I must issue this letter regarding COVID Vaccines.  The Town of Plympton had partnered with the Town of Halifax to provide a local solution to bringing vaccines to our seniors and other persons who qualify for Phase II COVID Vaccines.  We anticipated the first clinic to have been today, Wednesday, Feb. 10.  This has not happened.

Effective this week the State of Massachusetts Department of Public Health will not support local entities such as Fire Departments to administer any type of a vaccine program. DPH will no longer provide us with the medication, despite very successful programs already underway or that had been previously approved and slated to begin this week.

According to the Governor, vaccines will be distributed through private concerns such as CVS, Walgreens, etc., or State-run sites such as Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and others.

This was unexpected and problematic. Please refer to the Governor’s press conference notes at https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-announces-two-mass-vaccination-sites-new-appointments

There is a new site on the South Shore at the Marshfield Fairgrounds.  To book an appointment there, you must be eligible under the Phase II guidelines and be a resident of Plymouth County.  The link to that site is   https://www.marshfield-ma.gov/home/urgent-alerts/vaccine-clinic-information-and-senior-assistance

The other option it to go online to mass.gov/covidvaccine   or call 211 if you wish to make an appointment for the State sites

If anyone does not have internet access, or has issues with transportation or other COVID related problems please reach out to Captain Cheryl Davis at 781-689-0131 or email her at [email protected]

Thank you

Steve Silva

Fire Chief / Emergency Management Director

Plymouth County Mosquito Project recognized by State Department of Agriculture

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Working all year to prevent mosquito breeding and conducting research to find what works best, the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project is proud to announce their receipt from the Department of Agricultural Resources, a citation for Outstanding Performance for their response to the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus interventions of 2019 and 2020. The award is given annually and recognizes individuals or agencies that have made extraordinary contributions to public service.

Submitted by Cathleen Drinan, a Commissioner for the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project

Plympton now in RED zone

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Plympton’s Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Stephen G. Silva told The Express on  Tuesday that Plympton’s increase to “Red” as of last Thursday was expected.  “We have been hovering in a yellow status for some time.”   The color status is based on a percentage of positive cases weighted against total persons tested, and then compared to the total community population.  This analysis is performed at the state level, Silva explained.

“When certain criteria are reached, the zone color changes.  Because we have such a small population compared to other communities, a small shift can change the equation and move us into a different category.  We have been the only community for months that remained in a lesser group for the entire area.  When you look at the state maps we are “surrounded” by red.

Last Thursday Plympton’s positive COVID-19 case count was 28, with another four additional cases as of Tuesday, according to Chief Silva.

“There is no smoking gun or hot spot that we have been able to identify at this time,” Silva said.  “I expected a rise due to increased testing as a result of better awareness and of course the return from holiday travel.  It is interesting that many people are testing as a safety measure only to find they are positive.  Many are fully asymptomatic or have had very mild symptoms; that is not to say others are not becoming very ill,” Silva said. “The change since spring is the more asymptomatic cases especially in the younger population.  This change in my opinion may breed a false sense of security.

“We are monitoring this very closely.  I optimistically hope the next set of numbers will show either a plateau or decline.”

Curry College Fall 2020 Dean’s List

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MILTON– Curry College congratulates roughly 1,000 students who were named to the Fall 2020 Dean’s List. To earn a place on the list, full-time undergraduate students – those who carry 12 or more graded credits per semester – must earn a 3.3 grade-point-average (GPA) or higher.

From Halifax:  Kayla Knudsen, Melanie Stoltz, and Makenzie Hughes.

From Kingston: Rachele Bouchard, Sarah Busby, Hannah Gillis, Trevor King, and

Valerie Willette.

From Plympton: Zachary McCarthy and Mark Martin.

Founded in 1879, Curry College is a private, four-year, liberal arts-based institution located on 131 acres in Milton, Mass. Curry extends its educational programs to a continuing education branch campus in Plymouth, Mass. Curry offers 28 undergraduate majors, as well as graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, criminal justice, and nursing, with a combined enrollment of over 3,700 students. The student body consists of approximately 2,000 traditional undergraduate students, and 1,700 continuing education and graduate students. Approximately 1,575 of its students reside on the Curry campus. The largest majors are business management, communication, nursing, criminal justice, and education, and the college is also internationally known for its Program for the Advancement of Learning (PAL). The College offers a wide array of extra-curricular activities ranging from 15 NCAA Division III athletic teams to an outstanding theatre program. Visit us on the web at www.curry.edu.

First responders began Halifax vaccination program Tuesday

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Tuesday, Jan. 12, the Halifax fire station became a  Public Safety Vaccination Clinic with first responders receiving their first shots.

“This has been several months in the works.  Our staff has worked very hard to get our Community Paramedic Program licensed by the state and obtain the proper approvals to administer the vaccines.”

Viveiros furthered, “By the beginning of next week we hope to have all of our first responders done and are already working on plans to expand this to our elderly populations.”

Halifax honored for water system excellence

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HALIFAX – Keith Swanson, Halifax Water Superintendent, was recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Drinking Water Program for outstanding performance in 2019.

The Halifax water system achieved one of the top compliance scores in the Medium and Large Community System category of the 2020 Public Water System Awards Program.

“MassDEP realizes that it is no easy task to keep up with the ever-evolving federal and state drinking water regulations.  Your compliance efforts have not gone unnoticed,” the letter accompanying the certificate stated.

Swanson, who has been Halifax’s Water Superintendent for the past seven years, told The Express that his job has many facets, with a major portion of his time devoted to testing and communicating those results to the state and federal government by monthly and annual reports to ensure that Halifax’s water is safe and healthy to drink.

“We check for asbestos, chlorine, haloacetic acids, inorganics, lead and copper, nitrate, nitrite, manganese, perchlorate, radium 226-228, plus much more,” Swanson said.

Halifax water is pumped from four wells, Swanson told us, and what is not used in the system on its way to the tank is stored in the tall blue tank behind the Town Hall.

Swanson also takes care of the filtration plant on Plymouth Street where the water is filtered, the Ph adjusted, and disinfected, before going on to the faucet or water tank.

He has been a member of the Water Department for 26 years, serving as its superintendent for the past seven years.

COVID-19 spike mandates changes in Plympton

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January 4, 2021

To the Residents of Plympton:

We hope this letter finds you well. We are writing to inform you that due to the continuing increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Town and our positive test rate percentage doubling over a matter of days, we are enacting the following protocols:

Town House and Council on Aging:

The Plympton Town House will remain closed to in-person business and we will continue conducting business remotely, as we successfully accomplished throughout the Spring of 2020 and in recent weeks. We have set a tentative date of Monday, February 1, 2021 to re-open for in-person business as usual. This date was selected after careful consideration of Plympton’s positive test rate percentage, statistics available to us from the MA Department of Public Health and in anticipation of a second surge in the upcoming two weeks.

All Town offices will be fully available to conduct business remotely via Email and/or telephone during this timeframe. Email and telephone messages will be checked daily. If you need to deliver something to the Town House, you can send it by mail to the respective Department, 5 Palmer Road, Plympton, MA 02367 or you can utilize the drop boxes on the outside of the Town House by the main entrance for payments or dropping off paperwork. The drop boxes on the exterior of the building are checked frequently throughout the week, so you can feel comfortable making use of this resource.

The Council on Aging pantry will continue to be available to seniors on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., however, the public will not be able to enter the pantry directly; if you come to the Town House during the respective timeframe, bags will be prepared and brought out to your vehicle or handed to you at the entryway of the building.

Our Inspectional Services Department (Building, Wiring, Plumbing/Gas, Zoning) will continue to be available by appointment for any of your needs. Please Email: [email protected] or contact them by phone: (781) 585-0571 to set up an appointment and/or if you have any questions.

Christmas Advent windows in Plympton, UK

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PLYMPTON, UK – Celebrating Christmas while staying safe was a real challenge for people around the world.   Express friend and contributor Charmaine Evans sent photos of their celebration showing their village “Advent Windows”.  Each day during the Advent, another window in the village was revealed.  See more of these works of art and Charmaine’s story on Page 12.

Rep. LaNatra announces new Cordage office location Cord

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State Representative Kathy LaNatra, of the 12th Plymouth District announced that she will have a new district office, located in Cordage Park in Plymouth. She will share the office with State Senator Susan Moran.

The office will be used to meet with constituents, various organizations in the District, as well as provide a place for the Representative and her staff to work. Anyone who would like to meet with Rep. LaNatra at her district office location can reach out to her office and set up a time. At the beginning of the new