Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express

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National Guard delivers to Plympton

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The National Guard arrived on Sunday with much needed protection gear for Plympton first responders including N-95 masks and other protective equipment.  Since the arrival of COVID-19, protective gear has been in the news because it is so difficult to get.  Fire Chief Stephen Silva said that the supplies have loosened up and now his department is in good shape.

The chief made the news this week with his war against the giant online retailer Amazon.  Plympton Fire Department has been a municipal customer of Amazon for years, and has enjoyed a good business relationship with them.   Once the COVID-19 virus pandemic hit, Amazon restricted the purchase of many protective equipment items so they would be available to hospitals and emergency responders, and not hoarded by resellers.

All Plympton had to do is fill out a form.  And another form.   And fill it out again.   Weeks went by, Silva said, and no product orders came through.  Other fire departments recommended to Amazon by Silva were getting their orders, but Plympton was not.   Silva finally enlisted the aid of Channel 25 News to put their media might behind it, and Amazon did call them back, assuring them that Plympton would be taken care of.  Problem solved!

First responders show appreciation at BID

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First responders from throughout the area came together at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Plymouth, last Thursday afternoon to form a parade around the building, showing their support and thanks to the healthcare workers who put their lives on the line every day they come to work.

Plympton’s Fire Chief Stephen Silva’s daughter is an ER nurse there and tells her dad of the difficult situations they face.  Many who could come outside applauded the parade – and first responders could see the gratitude on their faces.

Make a joyful noise …

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Church bells rang out, horns sounded, and doors opened to let out clapping, singing, and music-making Wednesday and Thursday evenings for five minutes at 7 p.m., all to pay homage to our first responders and healthcare workers who have put their own lives on the line in service to others, especially now, during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Selectman Mark Russo put the program into action, inspired by what neighborhoods throughout New York City, and others across the continents are doing to show their appreciation.

Colleen Thompson and Susan Vetterlein rang the bell at the First Congregational Church in Plympton Village, a bell that was cast by George Holbrook, an apprentice under Paul Revere, in 1830!  It cost a princely sum of $386 at that time.   The First Congregational Church was the first church in town to have a steeple and a bell.  The bell weighs 1,100 pounds and it takes strong arms to pull the ropes to ring it.

Russo invites all of Plympton to continue to open their doors each night at 7 p.m. to make a joyful noise – or just listen, “listen deeply to what is possible.”

Fire Chief Stephen Silva had his department take available trucks to the bottom of the driveway and flash their lights.

Police Chief Matt Clancy’s department also took part to show their appreciation.  Fire and police opted not to sound their sirens out of respect to their neighbors.

Lean out the door, windows, sound a horn, sing a song, bang on a pot, and continue at 7 p.m. each evening at least until Tuesday, or until the virus is contained.

Transfer Station closure nixed

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After reading an announcement on the Plympton’s Facebook page April 8 that the town would close the transfer station at the end of business on April 9 for a period of two weeks because of a health emergency that could not be discussed due to HIPPA regulations, cars and trucks poured into the transfer station Thursday morning, with the line of vehicles lined up Ring Road, as far as Crescent Street at one point in the morning, creating a traffic jam.

It didn’t take long for town officials and the Board of Health, to modify that order and by Thursday mid-morning decided that curtailed transfer station hours would be the better solution.

Chairman Joy was pleased with the quick response and praised Arthur Morin, chairman of the Board of Health and head of the transfer station attendees, for the new plan.  The new transfer station hours will be Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sundays, 9 a.m. to noon.  It will no longer have Tuesday hours.

Morin told the board that the compactors will no longer be used and residents will toss bagged trash only into open top containers, leaving no need for anyone to touch any of the equipment at the Transfer Station.   The office building remains closed to the public.  “Now you can come in, drop your trash, and go,” Morin concluded.

Morin said that residents, perhaps in an attempt to be helpful, were touching the buttons, levers, and equipment, without protective gloves, not practicing social distancing, and were trying the doorknob to get into the office, despite signage stating not to.  Morin said he took steps to protect the health and safety of workers at the transfer station.

The bottle redemption center is also closed, as they are throughout the state during this COVID-19 emergency, and the recycling compactors at the Transfer Station are closed for the present time.

Any recycling, glass, plastic, and paper now go in with the regular bagged refuse until the pandemic emergency is over and the Selectmen and Board of Health announce new protocols.  Electronics, appliances, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, will also remain closed.

Morin reported that he was notified that there are two additional  COVID-19 positive cases in Plympton, raising the total, as of last Thursday, to four.

Plympton’s Board of Selectmen met via ZOOM Thursday evening, April 9, at 5:50 p.m. following an executive session at 5:30.  All three selectpersons were in attendance, ready to tackle the town’s business on this new platform.

Chairman Christine Joy called the meeting to order and with the board acted on some housekeeping items from the posted agenda:

• Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy’s contract vote on March 2, 2020, was ratified.  She will serve the town for another three years.

• Nathan Cristofori’s appointment as Special Police Officer that was voted on April 2, 2020, was ratified

• Arthur Morin, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Health and Cathy Ferguson, Board of Health Administrative Assistant, were voted as members of the Emergency Management Team on April 2.   That vote was also ratified at Thursday night’s meeting, April 9.

Selectmen weighed the benefits of postponing the Annual Town Meeting from Wednesday, May 13 and the Annual Town Election from Saturday, May 16, to Wednesday, June 17, and Saturday, June 20, respectively.   The board voted unanimously for the postponement, hoping that the COVID-19 pandemic crisis would have passed by mid – June.

After reading an annouJoy commented, “This is a very fluid situation … things change daily.   People need to be aware that this is an unprecedented situation,” Joy said.

Selectmen will next meet on Thursday, April 16, at 5:30 p.m.

Plympton’s Transfer Station to close for 2 weeks

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Word has come that the transfer station in Plympton will close for two weeks beginning today, April 10.  The decision was “not made lightly” and  is the result of several factors, according to the edict, including patrons not following safety instructions, and trying to enter the closed office at the site, touching buttons on the equipment, and while trying to be helpful may actually be putting employees at risk.

The station is due to re-open Saturday, April 25, unless otherwise posted.

Halifax Fire Dept. Awards for community service and heroism

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Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Halifax Fire Department’s first annual awards night, previously scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, had to be cancelled. Fire Chief Viveiros has decided that instead of continuing to delay, the department will begin announcing the award recipients.

Today, Citizen Hero Awards were presented to John Keegan and Christine Tompkins.

John Keegan

On December 21st a small aircraft plummeted into the icy waters of the East Monponsett Lake. The pilot, who was soaking wet and could not swim, was able to climb on top of the aircraft as it slowly began to sink. Without hesitation or concern for his own safety, John immediately utilized a neighbor’s canoe and paddled through the icy water to make the rescue. In recognition of his valor and heroism, John Keegan was honored with the Citizen Hero Award.

Christine Tompkins

Christine Tompkins truly embodies the spirit of community and selflessness that who care as much about our seniors and display such willingness to help their neighbor, as Crissy does. Even as this award is presented Christine continues to once again serve our community. As quickly as the Coronavirus appeared so did the need for additional PPE. Crissy immediately recognized that need and continues to put in countless hours sewing masks for anyone who might need one.

In recognition of her countless acts of human kindness, Christine Tompkins was honored with the Citizen Hero Award.

Congratulations John and Christine !!

Plympton UK needs our help!

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Charmian Evans
Special to The Express

This is a big “Hi” from Plympton – not in Mass but across the pond from Devon, England.

There are about seven Plymptons in the world – the Devon one being the oldest, and no doubt where your town got its name from.

Plympton St Maurice, to give it its full name goes back to 900 ad and today has one of the finest examples of town planning of that time. Strip gardens run down to a stream and animals would have been kept on the far side. Come the 12th century, Plympton St Maurice was busier than nearby Plymouth and was a tin assaying town, complete with castle.  As a result of the wealth, lots of lovely old buildings grew up, and over time we can boast that it truly is the birthplace of British art, with a host of well-known artists born in the village, not least Sir Joshua Reynolds. John Sparke explored the Spanish main and from that voyage became the first person to describe potatoes and tobacco. World famous clock makers, scientists, physicians and politicians all trod the pavements of this small village.

And folks, we’re still going! Now we are deemed a conservation area and many of our fine houses are listed for preservation. Our main road, Fore Street, was built about 1136! We’re situated about 4 miles from Plymouth and the coast, and about the same to Dartmoor, a 400 square mile  gorgeous national park complete with the special breed of “Dartmoor ponies”, thatched cottages and views that are beyond gorgeous.

We have a terrific community. In our Guildhall, built in the 1600’s, we have a pop up cinema and lots of fun events. Two pubs run a variety of entertainments as well as fine local ales.  A What’s App group keep us all informed and able to offer help if needed. Every summer we have a Midsummer Festival on the Castle Green, which includes a day long lamb feast, open gardens and a music festival. The whole village gets stuck in to help and it is a lot of fun.

And like you, we need it at the moment. Our beautiful conservation area is coming under threat.  A new town is being built not far away and our politicians and councils seem unable to divert traffic away from our area. Already our church has cracked windows, the original 16th century glass in some of the houses can’t cope with vibrations and the very safety of pedestrians is threatened because of excess traffic.

But never mind hey! Plymouth City council would rather spend millions on putting up a good front to celebrate the Mayflower 2020 anniversary than save the village that many of your ancestors may have come from.   It’s a sad tale and I’m sure you have these battles yourself. We’re in negotiations – have been for 12 years actually – but are now getting to the point when we need to get noticed. And we might just need the good people of Plympton Massachusetts to help us – so watch this space!

Progress on our village conservation is held up because of the dreaded “V” word. We’re all in lock down – only allowed out for absolute essentials and steering clear of anyone within  feet.  So far we have no cases and I hope, as I write this, that you have none either.  Of course it brings out the gardener in us, and seeds are being propagated in greenhouses and if it goes on much longer I reckon people will be building a still for some bootleg! Of course our seasons are a bit ahead of yours. The gardens are filled with spring blossom and there’s the cheery prospect of summer ahead.

This is the first, of what I hope may be more missives from England. We’d love to form links with you, love to hear any history you know of that the two towns might share. And we’d be tickled pink if any of you made it across here when times are easier. We would be delighted to host you. Meanwhile, keep well and if you’re interested, look us up on our website: https://www.plymptonstmaurice.com.

House passes state tax filing extension

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KINGSTON and BOSTON – State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) announced today that the House of Representatives has passed legislation to move the individual tax filing and payment deadline, support municipal government operations, and allow alcohol sales for take-out or delivery at restaurants.

The legislation would extend the individual state tax filing and payment deadline from April 15 to July 15.  Additionally, it includes the following provisions:

• Permits establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption to sell wine and beer via delivery and take-out provided the wine or beer is sold in the same transaction as a purchase of food and in a sealed container.

• Modifies local permitting processes, extending municipal tax deadlines, and allowing municipalities to extend property tax exemptions and deferrals.

• Allows municipalities to activate qualified workers by suspending the cap on hours and compensation for certain retired employees for hours worked during the state of emergency.

The legislation will provide administrative and economic relief to restaurants, cities and towns, and to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth. There are several provisions affording towns and municipalities the flexibility to allow for extending time frames for town meetings and assessing some kind of temporary leniency with paying taxes and late fees. The bill will now go to the Senate.

Representative LaNatra said, “This legislation will provide needed relief in a number of important areas. I am pleased that my colleagues in the House of Representatives moved quickly and we look forward to seeing it enacted into law.”

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. To reach her, email Kathleen.LaNatra@mahouse.gov or her legislative aide, Chris Jean, Christopher.Jean@MAhouse.gov. The phone number for the office is 617-722-2430. For updates and announcements, please visit Representative LaNatra’s Facebook page, https://bit.ly/2Ura8VR or her website, https://www.kathylanatra.com.

Fire Dept. Special delivery lunches

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The Plympton Fire Dept. helps out in many ways – and with the COVID-19 order to close the schools for several weeks, it is delivering lunches that students would usually enjoy in the cafetoria.

Lunches are picked up at Silver Lake Middle School where they are prepared, then brought back to the Dennett Elementary School for distribution Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  On the left is Lt. Andrew Norton and right is Firefighter Steven Fennell.

“The guys are awesome – ready to step up and are glad to help,” said a proud Capt. John Sjostedt.  “We’ve never had a situation like this …”

Second case of COVID-19 confirmed

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The Town of Halifax notified residents on March 25 that a second case of COVID-19 has been confirmed.  Due to privacy requirements, the name and address were not disclosed, although the close contacts of the positive case have been notified and are following CDC guidelines for self-quarantine.

Other contacts are still being investigated. With increased testing capabilities and community spread of COVID-19, having positive cases in Town was inevitable. This is a crucial time in infection control. Maintaining social distancing, limiting exposure to others, avoiding crowded places, and vigilant hand washing are vital steps in slowing the spread of this disease.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) continues to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), other Federal agencies and our local Board of Health to share the most up to date information available. The DPH website is updated constantly with the latest guidance, including printable fact sheets in multiple languages at www.mass.gov/2019coronavirus.

The CDC website is https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html   The Town will continue to share information to ensure you are updated as broadly and quickly as possible.