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Destruction everywhere in storm’s wake

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Plympton Police Chief Patrick Dillon described the ordeal of Superstorm Riley as “something out of a horror movie!”  In the height of the storm, trees were swaying, cracking, and breaking, falling and bringing down everything in their path.

The spectacle of trees on homes and massive limbs spread across front yards could be seen throughout Halifax and Plympton as South Shore towns bore the brunt of Mother Nature’s force over 48 hours, from Friday noon, as winds began to gather and swell, through Sunday noon when they finally began to ease.

The storm sadly proved fatal, taking the life of Plympton resident Ryan MacDonald, 36, who was killed Friday night around 5:30 p.m. after being hit by a fallen tree in his Dodge Ram pickup truck. Crews had trouble reaching him due to blocked roads and trees across Cedar Street, said Plympton Fire Chief Warren Borsari.

At right Captain Jeff Cuozzo on scene at the Halifax house fire on Oak Place Monday night March 5.

First responders continued to field calls on Tuesday in Plympton reaching more than 100 storm-related calls by mid-day.

A tangled web of electrical wires remained on the ground at Prospect Road and Winnetuxet  in Plympton late Monday as line crews were being dispatched to the area to repair and replace visibly damaged equipment. During the height of the Nor’easter Plympton lost power in 99 percent of homes, according to Chief Borsari.

A neighbor on Crescent Street reported a whooshing sound and odor pointing firefighters towards a propane tank that had been sheared off by a fallen tree. They safely shut down the tank without injury. The majority of their calls dealt with trees on homes, wires down and water issues.

Halifax firefighters battled a structure fire Monday night while still handling calls resulting from power outages.

A homeowner on Oak Place had left his residence due to the power outage.  Luckily a neighbor spotted flames at the house and alerted 911.  Significant damage was done to the home.

Firefighters were challenged by the distance to a hydrant, and needed approximately 1800 feet of hose to reach the fire, Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros told the Express.

Flames were visible at the back of the house when firefighters arrived. Early estimated structure damage was $150,000 leaving the home uninhabitable.

Calls in Halifax totaled 114 throughout the storm and two days following. They had a total of 26 homes struck and damaged by trees.

  “Firefighters were in dangerous conditions while they were evacuating others… trees were falling all around. But they continued on to the next call,” Viveiros said, commending the town’s first responders.

The Chevrolet Tahoe that belongs to the Halifax Fire Chief was heavily damaged by a tree falling on his vehicle during an evacuation on Fuller Street.

Halifax Mobile Estates was hard hit with 17 homes affected by fierce winds and falling tree limbs. A portion of the park was evacuated as a precaution due to trees that were leaning and considered an immediate threat to the safety of residents.

A warming center was opened at the Halifax Elementary School.  Fourteen residents were housed overnight at the school and assisted by the C.E.R.T response team. Viveiros thanked volunteers and Walmart of Halifax for providing supplies at the warming center.

Department support and mutual aid for a house fire was provided by Hanson and Pembroke on Monday, March 5. First Responders also put out a small structure fire and an appliance fire during the storm.

Plympton opened a warming center Saturday morning at the Town House, according to Lt. John Sjostedt of the Plympton Fire Department. It remained open 24 hours a day through Monday at about 4 p.m.  and is ready to re-open should conditions demand.

A white suv was speared with a tree limb during the storm on Holmes Street where the same family also had trees fall on their home

Eversource restoration estimates and maps were updated on Tuesday, March 6, by town listing Plympton as being fully restored by Tuesday at 5 p.m. Much of the time during  Winter Storm Riley, Plympton was in the top five communities without power, a dubious distinction.

Plymouth County listed only 403 residences without power of the 30,999 served by late Tuesday afternoon.

Silver Lake Middle School hosts Noche Latina, first cultural awareness night

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The first cultural awareness event, Noche Latina, was recently hosted by Silver Lake Regional Middle School, Kingston.  Students and their families were immersed in Latin American traditions, food, customs, and dance.

Teacher Rose Whitehall, a native of Puerto Rico, demonstrated cooking she grew up with.  Latin dancers Vivi Pierce and Devon Morse taught traditional Latin dances and brought the audience to their feet to give it a try.  Traditional foods were also presented by Los Jefes chefs and owners Nikki Irving and Eduardo Miralrio of Plympton who own a mobile kitchen. The husband and wife team prepared and served tacos and traditional foods at the event.

 

Latin dancers Vivi Pierce (left) and Devon Morse taught traditional Latin dances at the event.

Los Jefes chefs and owners Nikki Irving and Eduardo Miralrio of Plympton own a mobile kitchen. The husband and wife team prepared and served tacos and traditional foods at the event.

Lucia Acobo pointed to geographical maps as she along with presenter Victoria Cruz discussed cultural differences and similarities between their native cities of Arequipa and Lima Peru’.

Shakespeare Festival at Silver Lake

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Silver Lake Regional High School became a wacky wild Stratford on Avon where the words of the Bard were bandied about with a new twist provided by English students, all seniors, Tess Beckwith of Plympton, Ali Farina of Halifax,  and Tom McSorley and Abby Kramer, both of Kingston.

From a love of Shakespeare, the four writers, under the direction of Silver Lake staff Shakespeare and English teachers Heather Bates and Ashley Ferrara, presented their homage to the Bard Thursday, Feb. 15, with performances throughout the day to English students and a finale public performance at 5 p.m. to the public. The play honored Shakespeare’s 454th birthday, which is thought to be April 23, 1564.

Brainstorming for the project began in the summer of 2017.  Students were chosen from project applicants by staff teachers Bates and Ferrara. After months of collaboration, writing, and re-writing, A Quinn-Kle in Time was born.

The seniors were given the opportunity to present their show with a cast -which grew to 60 in the past two years – and figuratively leave their marks – written with a magical quill pen – as their legacy in the Silver Lake Drama Department.

Their meetings were held to exchange Shakespearian tragedy in their coolest teen hangout – Panera!  As if the entire world was a stage they openly laughed, twisted, penned, edited and formed their 2018 Shakespeare Festival script with as much amusement, underlying humor, and irony as Shakespeare himself or at least in their case more like his intern Quinn.

The fictitious intern Quinn, played by Quinn Bonnyman of Halifax, literally whirls through time in the portal, which is a white sign (insert imagination).  The typical ending of a Shakespeare wedding was recognized with not one but three weddings.

With continued coaching, editing and tweaking, the script developed through the fall.

“Each year we come up with new things to do. We were doing an independent study where students were writing the spring show just to celebrate his birthday. It morphed each year into different sonnet reads, stage fighting then in 2006 a couple students wrote an independent study.  From there we decided this would be really fun… in the last couple years there has been so much interest, “ said Bates.

The student writers/directors embraced all aspects of the show casting, costuming, and set designing with only eight rehearsals.

The four plays, based on Much Ado about Nothing, The Tempest, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet, added such calamity as Banquo’s ghost riding a toy horse scooter and a same sex couple ending in unity between Mercutio and Romeo. They also included in their twisted-up plots a few inside jokes that drew uproarious laughter among the auditorium of students and families.

The Shakespeare Festival has become a tradition which a group of seniors take on each year, said Ali Farina one of the writers.  Changing it up to keep it fresh is an annual challenge they meet with gusto.

All four writers have begun their countdown to graduation, with college next fall and a multitude of career aspirations. Their collective advice to incoming freshman, whether it is drama club or sport, is ‘make sure to join in something you love’.

One dead in Halifax head-on collision

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A head-on motor vehicle accident on Route 58 in Halifax Tuesday night left Richard March, 78, of South Meadow Rd, Carver, driver of a 2005 Honda CRV, trapped in his vehicle with serious injuries sustained at approximately 8:46 p.m.  He was transported by med-flight to a hospital in Boston where he died several hours later.

Alec Dowie, 51, of Washington St., Whitman, the operator of the 2018 Dodge Challenger, was transported to South Shore Hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

A landing zone was cleared at Walmart for March, who had been trapped in the Honda CRV. He was airlifted to Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, according to State Police Media Spokesperson David Procopio.

Halifax Police Chief Theodore Broderick was on scene with investigators for several hours Tuesday night as the State Police Reconstruction and Analysis Team began their investigation in cooperation with Halifax Police.   Firefighters and EMS were seen debriefing in a circle with Fire Chief Jason Viveiros, the wreckage just a few feet away.

Remnants of the two mangled vehicles and debris were scattered down Route 58, Monponsett Street, at Palmer Mill Road.  Parts of vehicles and orange spray paint marked lines in the road and were still visible as police returned to the scene Wednesday morning, according to Chief Broderick.

A preliminary investigation by State police suggests at approximately 8:46 p.m. a 2018 Dodge Challenger heading north on Monponsett Street and a 2005  Honda  CRV heading south on Monponsett collided head-on, said Procopio.

Their initial investigations indicate that the driver of the Dodge Challenger did not negotiate the curve at the intersection of Palmer Mill Road and lost control of his vehicle between the southbound and northbound lanes. The investigation is still active and ongoing, said Procopio.

Sgt. Theodore Benner of Halifax Police and the S Procopio told The Express that investigations can take several weeks to determine the cause of the crash.

First responders from Halifax, Plympton, Hanson and the State Police assisted at the scene, and at the landing zone at Walmart following the crash.

Halifax and Plympton after Snowstorm

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Snow cleanup was continued throughout the day in the Town Hall parking lot in Halifax.

Falling snow through the day on Jan 30 created a postcard effect for the Pope Tavern senior center in the center of town.

Ryder, a seven year old German Shepard played in the snow while his person shoveled on Orchard Circle in Halifax.

Love was in the air despite the cold and snow. A car in Halifax had a snow heart melting on the window.

A horse in a bright red turnout blanket stood out in the falling snow on Mayflower Road in Plympton on Tuesday.

Neighborhood on alert

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The dreary, misty morning on Wednesday mirrored the atmosphere of the  close-knit Lingan St., Halifax, neighborhood.  The lurking stillness was a stark reminder of the sexual assault on a young woman who was out walking her dog on Sunday, just before sunset.

Halifax Police Chief Edward “Ted” Broderick told The Express that the attack, which appears random, occurred as it was getting dark.  He asked neighbors to be aware of their surroundings and to watch out for one another.

Broderick explained that the details of the assault remain restricted, both to protect the victim, who was treated medically for the attack, and for the integrity of the investigation.

The department is investigating every lead and persons of interest, but is asking anyone who may have witnessed something at that time on Sunday or who has information which they think might be helpful, to contact the Halifax Police Department.

The area of a cranberry bog off Lingan Street and a fenced park with a beach are diagonally across from one another.  Broderick did not specify the exact location where the assault took place, but urged people to be aware of their own safety wherever they are.

“Besides taking all precautions while in this area, we also need your help.  If you were in the area Sunday night and think you saw anything that would help the investigation, please call the station and speak to Officer McDonnell or Officer Schleiff,” Broderick said. 

“It’s with regret I have to ask this, but when walking the area after dark, that you do it with a friend, or try to do your activities during the day,” Broderick said in a media post.

Without a suspect in custody, neighbors remain cautious.  A woman walking her dog while pushing a baby stroller, told The Express that she would be paying extra attention to her surroundings, but as a general safety rule, she never leaves the main walking area of her street – a safety plan she will continue.  The assault has left neighbors on edge.

The neighborhood, made up of many closely spaced former summer cottages on Monponsett Pond, polkadotted with children’s swing sets, and decorated with Christmas lights, is on alert. 

Anyone with any information should call the Halifax Police at 781-293-5761.

Major storm leaves its mark on area towns

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A tree speared through a mobile home at 19 Sycamore Drive in the Halifax Mobile Home Estates. The couple who lived in the home was not hurt. There was no one at the mobile home when an Express Reporter knocked at the door on Monday.

The interior of the mobile unit received significant damage with the harpoon like branch forcing itself straight down into the structure crushing the toilet in half.  The couple was asleep less than ten feet from the impact, according to Fire Chief Jason Viveiros

“We had two pretty significant incidents. Luckily there were no injuries, said  Viveiros .

Around midnight Sunday Halifax resident Jim Chandler, 33, fell asleep on his couch only to be awoken by the sounds of tree branches ripping his home in half.

The loft area of the cottage style home on Wood Street took the brunt of the impact, dangling wet limbs over his head as he woke, fleeing his home to call for help.

With support from his parents Jim and Faith Chandler of Whitman he picked through his belongings on Monday when the sun began to shine.

Still feeling the emotions of the night and purely running on adrenaline he tried to remain positive.

“I found my cat. I am glad I am OK. We are going to salvage what we can, “said Chandler.

His parents who also were feeling sleep deprived helped stuff what they could in a van until the cleanup could begin.

Luck may have been on his side, but mom feels having ‘faith’ may have played a part as well, just happy their son was OK . They were lining up tree removal and picking through clothes, things they could focus on at the moment as the wind still blew on Monday.

Shaken by the rude awakening and the events of the storm he said forgetting the sounds of the night may take a bit longer to forget.

Plympton Firefighters and police were nonstop throughout the night and early morning with storm related downed power lines and  tree damage. They responded to a  total of 22 storm related calls as well as regular medical calls.  There were no reported injuries related to the storm, said Fire Chief Warren Borsari. 

A significant incident for the department brought them back to 108  Brook Street for over three hours on Tuesday after a large oak tree fell, tangling primary wires and causing a telephone pole fire near the transformer.

A hole had been burned through the pole when they finally could get close to it after power was shut down.

“We cordoned off the area and the power was killed remotely by EverSource so we could extinguish the fire, said Borsari.

Residents experienced a temporary two to three hour power loss but most were restored as of Tuesday afternoon.

Grove and Lake  street saw a black out early in the storm when a large tree pulled the primary service wires down into the main road causing just one of the major outages that needed attention for Plympton.

Still part of the peak storm with winds howling, teams of tree crews and bucket trucks for numerous cable, electric and landscapers could be seen cleaning up throughout the day.

One local company had a close call while cleaning up as part of a split tree landed on their truck and trailer blocking West Street near house 27. Fire and police stood by to block access to several streets as electric crews restored power.

“We worked seamlessly with  police and  highway as we always do,” Borsari .

Last Call for George Colby, call firefighter, retiring

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Plympton Fire Department has seen many changes over the past four decades. George Colby has borne witness to the last 43 years as a call firefighter. He has responded to the tones of a pager when an incident has arisen in the community.

Leaving his wife often in the night during blizzards and hurricanes, there have been many times he has been away from his family and missed many events through the years.

He credits his wife Sandi’s unwavering support as an integral part of his career. They have one adult daughter, Meagan, and a 9- year old grandson.

Holding his keys, Colby imitates his wife’s gesture as he walks through his late night calls.

“She got up with me every call over the last 43 years. My pager goes off and she is up with the lights on in the house, porch light on and my truck keys in her hand, waiting at the door to send me,” he said.  The key ring has a carved ornamental firefighter hat that his wife gave him as a present.

The two met when they were in college, both then working full time in the field of radiologic technology.  He asked her to marry him after two weeks of dating.

His eyes misted over as he proudly spoke about his career and the many changes he has experienced within the department.

In addition to the obvious body style in engines and ambulance designs, Colby has seen alterations in turnout gear, the way the jackets are fit alongside the nearly tripled weight of fire helmets. With progress and development in protection and flame retardant materials, firefighters have a lot more protection on calls, he said.

When I began my career I was in a long jacket and hip boots.   “In the old days,” the material warned us when things got too hot, to get back. Now, the gear allows firefighters to move in closer and go further to fight a fire, he said.

He has served under four fire chiefs including Warren Borsari, the current Plympton Fire Chief.

“George is the best pump guy I have,” Chief Borsari said. Borsari described George as dedicated, but Colby replied, “I never looked at this as a job or hobby. I have considered it serving the community. It has been a calling.”

As he spoke he glanced at a paper pocket calendar, which was ear marked, full of writing and ever so slightly crinkled.

He pointed to the date of his upcoming meeting, where he will be addressed and honored as a retiree.  One thing that hasn’t changed is his method of recording.

“I know the battery isn’t going to die on this,” he said shaking the paper notebook.

He does plan to stay on as an educator, teaching the younger guys, something he says he enjoys. “I am looking forward to having him teach some of the hydraulics classes.  He is full of knowledge, “Chief Borsari told the Express.

Anticipating signing off from his post, Colby said, “The whole thing feels very emotional. What I think I will miss the most is the camaraderie of the firehouse along with being there to help the public. I am going to miss this something awful,” he said.

A reunion of Halifax firefighters and infant cardiac patient

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In a surprise emotional reunion, parents Colby and Rachel Whelan of Halifax offered their 3-month old daughter Avery to the arms of Captain Matthew Cunningham on Sunday at the Halifax Fire Open House.  With visible emotions, Cunningham cuddled the baby he helped save on July 19.

“She is the best birthday present”, he said as he looked at her bright eyes. The desperate call fell on his birthday, a day he will not soon forget.

“It’s the type of call that you hope you go your whole career without getting,” said Captain Cunningham who spoke after the reunion aside fellow paramedics and Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.

“I’ve been on similar calls that unfortunately didn’t go as well. Luckily for all of us, circumstances could not have been better,” he said

That crucial day they had a full medical crew available, an address neighboring the fire station, and Rachel herself, CPR certified, all working in favor for little Avery who at just 12 days  old  was in full cardiac arrest.

Her training taking over, Rachel was given pre- arrival directions by the 911 dispatcher and paramedics continued to revive Avery moments later until they reached Signature Health Care Brockton Hospital.  Avery had open-heart surgery the next day at Tufts Children’s Hospital in Boston.

“The incredible response time and focus you gave in this emergency- you saved her brain. You saved her life,” said Avery’s father Colby as he spoke to EMTs and Viveiros on Sunday.

Avery will need continuous medical care; however, Rachel describes her as a happy, feisty baby who is doing ‘awesome’. “Better than we can imagine,” she said.

Also responding that day were PJ Hogan, Shamus Ricciarelli, and Joe Gibbons, with Chief Jason Viveiros who drove Rachel to the hospital as medics sped away with her infant.

“That call validates everything that we do, all the years of school and re- certification classes we undergo. That call is why we do what we do. I’m just glad that the outcome was positive and that I was able to be a part of it. “  “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about Avery every single day since July 19. To see Avery come in with her parents completely, neurologically unaffected by what she went through, and being able to hold her, gave me a feeling of satisfaction that I hadn’t yet experienced in my 13-year career,” said Cunningham.

Coveney offers support and hope

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Derek Coveney is following his mission to support and offer hope to others. He recently returned from providing emergency flood relief and clean up with Team Rubicon USA  in some of the hardest hit areas in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. Entire neighborhoods and large expanses of Houston were flooded for weeks and he saw an opportunity to offer hope to those who lost everything.

Derek, now 21, a paid call Halifax firefighter, doesn’t come from a line of public servants. In fact he didn’t know that he would be a firefighter at all, but at the age of ten his world changed.

“10 years ago this October 5th will be my mom’s anniversary. She suffered a brain aneurysm. I found her having a seizure on the floor. She survived the incident and does have physical limits but that  is when I realized what I wanted to be.

I had the Halifax Fire Department here in my house helping me-us,” he said.

Two long- time Halifax firefighters,  Andy Scanlon, now a Pembroke firefighter, and Captain Bosworth gave Coveney hope in a time of crisis and later gave him inspiration to discover his passion to become a first responder.

“It was really cool having the Halifax firefighters there and now I am that person,” he said.

“I saw as a kid that firefighters brought that comfort and I wanted to be that person for someone else. It is amazing. I love being able to be that person … to give someone a chance and not feel hopeless. “

With his service in Texas, he was in charge of a small group who were ripping out wallboard, debris and anything that water may have touched.

The assistance was for some of the many financially challenged areas, some families who did not have insurance to assist with the demolitions.

“We saw that hopeless and helpless look on many faces,” said Coveney.

“We go in and provide ‘muck outs’, which is tearing out anything that has been damaged in the floods, interior debris removal and full demo services. Although the debris is someone’s belongings … that is their stuff, “ he said.

Seeing the immense piles of debris taking up the width of entire streets with water receding was an eye opening, and sometimes emotional, experience for them.

“Seeing resilience as these families came back from being flooded in previous storms, that struck me as amazing.

Nothing compares to working with guys who are there to make a difference. There was a lot of emotions,” he said. 

“We tried to show them (the residents) we had boots on the ground. We were instilling some hope – we were there to help.  Many people lost everything.”

As an incident commander over his volunteers, Coveney said the group offered a vast spectrum of all walks of life – “coming together and bonding like you can never believe,” he said.

There are many volunteers that come out.  Team Rubicon is doing extremely hard labor and they are happy doing it. They come from all walks of life, many retired or current first responders.

A graduate of Silver Lake Regional High, class of 2014, Coveney learned in high school about becoming a first responder.

“They allowed me to be a cadet in the high school for three years. I would go after school to see how the fire service worked. I became a volunteer and I’m continuing to serve. I received the opportunity to be a firefighter and paramedic …  the program got my foot in the door.”

His goal is to eventually become a full time firefighter.

He is looking forward to helping more people in future deployments.

In a statement from his fire chief:

“I’m very proud of Derek and the way he has stepped up to help the people of Texas. He exemplifies what is means to be a public servant,” said Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.

About Team Rubicon:

“Founded in 2010, Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. With over 48,000 volunteers across the country, Team Rubicon has responded to over 200 disasters across the United States and the world,” according to the Team Rubicon USA website/ Harvey relief. www.teamrubiconusa.org.