Plympton Animal Control Officer Griffin Webb came before the Board of Selectmen to testify at a dog hearing. Photo by Abram Neal.

PLYMPTON — The Plympton Board of Selectmen got off to an early start at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, when they welcomed new Fire Chief Stephen Silva, of Plympton, as head of the force. Area fire chiefs, family members, and Plympton Fire Department members were on hand to congratulate him.

The board next moved into a dog hearing, their first in many months, involving a dog named Mandy, a female brindle Plott hound, owned by Daniel Gazzola, who according to Animal Control Officer Griffin Webb, attacked another dog owned by Robert and Carol Quindley. Gazzola and Quindleys are neighbors on County Road.

Webb read his report into the record. “Quindley … stated that both of his dogs were outside in a completely enclosed fence attached to the house. He said that his neighbors dog ‘Mandy’ then got into an altercation with Mr. Quindley’s dog ‘[P]earl’ … resulting in a bite wound …”

Robert Quindley also testified before the board regarding the incident, stating that the attack went on for 15 minutes after Mandy jumped his fence, and that he was struggling to protect his dog, Pearl, with a stick the entire time.

Eventually, according to the report, Gazzola, the owner of the aggressor dog, removed her from the scene and was not present when Webb arrived.

Quindley rushed his dog to a veterinarian for treatment, he said.

Webb, at the suggestion of Selectmen at their last meeting, put Mandy under quarantine because she was not up to date on her rabies vaccine– or town license– and further placed the dog under a 14-day muzzle order before the hearing took place.

Webb described Gazzola as cooperative throughout the process, although he did not attend the hearing, which he was not required to do. Webb also said that Mandy was not aggressive to him, but that there was not another dog around at the time to “test” her behavior around other dogs.

Selectmen largely took Webb’s recommendation and ordered that Mandy be under the direct supervision of her owner at all times while outside her home, including on their property.

If she isn’t on a leash or a proper run, then she must be muzzled, according to the board’s order.

“Muzzles are tough,” said Webb. “I don’t want to see the dog muzzled outside for the rest of its life.”

But the board felt the need to protect the town, they said, and the dog can be unmuzzled if it is on a leash or run.

“I’m not up for another encounter,” said Quindley. His wife, Carol, agreed. “I just hope this works,” she said.

“So do we,” said Joy.

Later, Scott Ripley, Highway Surveyor, came before the board regarding speed limits, this time stating that it was unlikely the town would be able to set a blanket speed limit across the whole town, unless otherwise posted, as towns that choose this method of enforcement must be determined by the state to be high density.

Citing “town’s rights,” Selectman Mark Russo asked for permission from his colleagues to spend about a half-hour with Town Counsel to explore the issue further, and they agreed.

As the Express has previously reported, the state is changing some speed limits in Plympton and are replacing signs for free as part of a regional grant program with the new speed limits.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) sets these speed limits, not municipalities, according to their own rules and regulations.

This has upset some residents who have said they feel the speed limits are too high.

Finally, the Board of Assessors came before selectmen to hold the annual tax classification hearing. It was not attended by any residents.

At the recommendation of the Assessors, Selectmen adopted a singular rate across all classes of property for fiscal year 2019: “residential, commercial, industrial and personal property at their full and fair cash value of the tax levy, resulting in a single tax rate.”

The actual rate will be set after it is certified by the state, according to Wendy Jones, assistant assessor.

Edward and Christine Savage in Hingham District Court on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Photo by Abram Neal.

HINGHAM— On Wednesday, Nov. 14, Edward and Christine Savage, of Plympton, came before Judge Heather Bradley in Hingham District Court for a hearing on a shoplifting case stemming from an incident at Kohl’s Department Store, 100 Derby St., Hingham in April 2017.

The Savages reached an agreement with Assistant District Attorney Frances Cannone, and Judge Bradley agreed to it, continuing the matter without a finding for six months with the condition that the Savages stay out of criminal trouble and stay away from Kohl’s at the Derby Street Shops.

The Savages were represented by Daniel Webster, a Pembroke-based attorney and former state representative.

A court official said the sentence is typical for a shoplifting case, but this case was hardly typical, as it was both lengthy for its type and at least one of the defendants is well-known to area residents.

Edward Savage was formerly the Hanson Police Chief who resigned in 2012 after an extensive outside investigation revealed he was reporting false and inflated crime statistics to the town for its annual town report for a period of seven to eight years, leaving an appearance that the department was struggling to keep up with the amount of work at its staffing levels at the time– among other substantiated allegations, according to the investigatory report by Alfred Donovan of APD Management, Inc. in 2012.

Several media outlets questioned whether the Savages received lighter treatment than other defendants because of Savage’s former position with the police, including WCVB-TV and The Boston Globe. A court official familiar with the matter strongly denied that the two received special treatment at any time.

According to the Hingham police report, “Edward took clothing off of the racks and tables and removed the hangers from them and then carefully folded them into the bottom of the carriage. He then brought the cloths [sic] to Christine who had an empty Kohl’s bag with her. She then brought the carriage with her into the woman’s [sic] dressing room. When she came out, she had the clothes tucked under the empty Kohl’s bag. The two of them then headed for the front door.”

They were apprehended by two Kohl’s loss prevention employees, who contacted police. The Savages were not cooperative according to the report.

The Savages were summonsed before now-retired Hingham District Court Clerk-Magistrate Joseph Ligotti, June 19, 2017, in a closed-door show of cause hearing, the audio of which was later released to media. Ligotti did not find probable cause to issue charges, which, said a court official at the time, is typical for minor cases where defendants do not have criminal records.

But Ligotti made it clear that he did not believe the two had made a mistake. “You want me to believe that two people have to go back to a car to get one wallet … I don’t believe either one of them,” he said in the recording.

He also questioned why the two were not arrested after being argumentative to Kohls employees and the Hingham police.

“I don’t know,” says the Hingham police prosecutor, Sgt. Steven Dearth.

Ligotti agreed to dismiss the charges, with the agreement of the police, if the Savages stayed out of legal trouble for eight months and wrote letters of apology to Kohl’s and to the Hingham Police Department.

In January, 2018, Ligotti retired and Andrew Quigley became the acting clerk-magistrate for Hingham District Court. Hingham police notified Quigley after the eight-month period that the Savages had never written a letter of apology to the police, so Quigley issued the charges, this time before a judge. An outside prosecutor, Frances Cannone, of Essex County, was brought in.

The Savages were arraigned April 2, 2018, on the criminal charges for not complying with the conditions of Ligotti’s dismissal. They later filed a motion to dismiss those charges Sept. 13, 2018.

At that hearing, the Savages’ attorney argued that the acting clerk magistrate, Quigley, should not have issued the criminal charges, and that he had “violated the integrity of the Magistrate’s hearing” by doing so, because the Savages thought they had until the very last day before the charges were dismissed to write their letters of apology. Webster said they wrote the letters. But it was only after criminal charges were being filed against them, according to Cannone.

During the hearing on the motion to dismiss, held before Judge John Stapleton, Webster read a quote from the original show of cause hearing:

“Okay, I am getting two letters written, signed by both people. I’m going to continue this matter until 2/28 of ’18 for dismissal. It will automatically dismiss on that date, no need to be back. Should you be dumb enough to do anything else illegal, this will automatically kick in and will automatically come back … and it will be issued,” Clerk-Magistrate Ligotti said.

Stapleton denied the motion to dismiss the charges noting that the court found that the acting clerk-magistrate, Quigley, had not violated the integrity of the clerk-magistrate hearing.

Finally, the Savages struck a deal with Cannone, this time with no requirement to write any letters, and Bradley approved the deal. Should the Savages follow its conditions by staying out of legal trouble and staying away from Kohl’s at Derby Street Shops, this may be the end of this legal matter for them. If they break those conditions, according to Bradley, they will be back before the court.

HALIFAX – On Tuesday, Nov. 13, the Central Plymouth County Water Advisory Board met in Halifax.

The once long-dormant committee, created by emergency legislation in 1964 which assisted the City of Brockton in obtaining its drinking water for free from the Silver Lake watershed during a drought that year, has begun to meet once again only in the last five years, with the assistance of state legislators.

Today, the towns have their own public water needs, at odds with Brockton. The 1964 legislation created the commission to manage the watershed and an advisory board to appoint the commission.

The board almost didn’t have a quorum, nearly ending the required bi-annual meeting.

Members Jim Bragg, Cathleen Drinan, Don Howard, Scott Lambiase and Chair Josh Warren were present, a smaller group of members than attended the last meeting in August.

One issue the board tackled is that a member of the advisory board is supposed to be a Brockton Water Commissioner. That member, Tom Monahan, has not attended one meeting, says Drinan, and therefore the board wants Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter to appoint someone else who will participate.

Carpenter has historically been less-than-responsive to the water issue.

The board also would like to invite the newly  elected state legislators to their meetings, including State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) and State Representative Alyson Sullivan (R-Abington).

“I’ll track who RSVPs and we’ll be sure to wow them,” joked Warren, noting that not much is happening with the board right now.

They also discussed inviting re-elected State Senator Michael Brady (D-Brockton).

Despite having a mandate from the state, and meeting for several years now, the board is in a nascent state. They are still obtaining email addresses and a letterhead, both topics of discussion.

The controversies over where Brockton gets its drinking water has long been a source of consternation for the towns that supply it:, Halifax, Hanson, Kingston, Pembroke, Plympton and Whitman.

Halifax has possibly been hardest hit by the mismanagement of Brockton’s drinking supply, say experts.

Cyanobacteria blooms in Monponsett Lake are believed to be just one of the consequences of this mismanagement and recently the quality of Brockton’s water supply is in question.

Brockton primarily draws its water from Silver Lake. During periods when the Monponsett Lakes are at a level where Brockton can draw off water, the natural direction of the water flow is effectively reversed, leaving West Monponsett pond stagnant and an excellent environment for cyanobacteria to grow.

Soon, cyanobacteria blooms, feeding on the phosphorous, were frequent in the summer, limiting recreational activity on the once-thriving lake.

Although the towns and state have addressed issues year-by-year, more permanent solutions are being sought.

The CPCWDAB will next meet Monday, Feb. 4, at 4 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room of Halifax Town Hall.

PLYMPTON/HALIFAX – Both Plympton and Halifax had extraordinarily high voter turnout in Tuesday’s Midterm election.  Unofficial election results show Halifax with 3,691 ballots cast, or 64% of the 5775 registered voters, not counting overseas or provisional ballots, according to Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor.   In Plympton, Town Clerk Tara Shaw confirmed that with 1,539 ballots cast, or 68 percent turnout, a record was set for a Midterm election – and it was the second busiest election ever, after the 2012 presidential election.

But the two towns are certainly not bellwethers for the state. As Plympton and Halifax go, the Commonwealth as a whole does not go. Many races in the towns were much closer than at the state level.

In the tightest race of the night, Kathy LaNatra, a Democrat, faced off against Joseph Truschelli, a Republican, for State Representative. In Plympton, unofficial results separated the two by 33 votes, with LaNatra ahead. In Halifax, just 12 votes separated the two, again with LaNatra ahead. Truschelli conceded the race for the expansive 12th Plymouth District, and Kathy LaNatra will be the district’s next State Representative.

“I will always put the needs of the district and my fellow citizens first. I’m really looking forward to serving as your next State Representative!” said LaNatra in a statement to The Express.

Reached via Facebook, Truschelli congratulated LaNatra and her team while thanking his supporters. “I am grateful to my friends, family and supporters who generously offered their time and energy to help spread our campaign message throughout the district.”

Republican Geoff Diehl received 835 votes to Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s 639 votes in Plympton for Massachusetts Senator, while Diehl received 2,071 votes to Warren’s 1,409 in Halifax. Warren handily won against Diehl statewide.

The Governor and Lt. Governor, Charlie Baker and Karyn Polito, popular Republicans even among Democrats, won in both towns as they did statewide.

Democrat Maura Healey beat Republican James McMahon, III in a close race in Plympton, but lost in Halifax. Healey will return as Massachusetts Attorney General.

Both towns voted to send Democrat Secretary of State Bill Galvin back to office.

Democrat Deborah Goldberg narrowly won against Keiko Orrall in the race for Treasurer in Halifax and Plympton. Goldberg will return as Treasurer after being elected statewide.

In another tight race, this time for Auditor, Democrat Suzanne M. Bump squeaked out a win in both towns and won handily at the state-level.

Although the race was about 60 percent to 40 percent on the state level according to Boston Globe results, Bill Keating won in Plympton by less than 50 votes against Peter Tedeschi and lost by about 60 votes in Halifax, according to local results. Keating, a Democrat, will return as Representative in Congress.

Christopher Iannella, a Democrat, ran unopposed and was elected Councilor, 4th District.

Democrat State Senator Michael Brady was re-elected to Beacon Hill against Republican Scott Hall, by less than 100 votes in Plympton, although by a greater margin in Halifax.

Popular Republican District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz won re-election against Democrat John E. Bradley, Jr. by a wide margin in both towns and will return as Plymouth County District Attorney.

Robert Creedon, a Democrat, won re-election as Clerk of Courts. He ran unopposed as did John Buckley, Jr., also a Democrat, as Register of Deeds.

Republican Sandra M. Wright ran unopposed as Plymouth County Commissioner.

On the ballot questions, Halifax and Plympton mirrored the state in their results. Question one was defeated, and although questions two and three won by narrower margins than they did statewide, they both passed.

PLYMPTON–On Monday, Oct. 29, Griffin Webb, the part-time Animal Control Officer for the Town of Plympton made an impassioned plea to the board for leash laws in town. But the board rejected those requests, noting that the current bylaws should give Webb the “teeth” to enforce the law against aggressive and nuisance pets.

Webb, who also works in Marshfield as an ACO, had compiled a list of surrounding town’s leash laws, and frequently made reference to what he explained as greater authority to enforce laws where he works in Marshfield.

Accompanying him was Robert Quindley, of County Road, who described a neighbor’s pit-bull mix attacking his beagle in an enclosed, fenced-in area of his yard. Webb had informed him that he could not take action against the dog or owner because of the lack of a leash law, something the board disagreed with.

Selectman Mark Russo, a veterinarian, said he was not in favor of leash laws. He said that although he professionally sees the results of dogs who fight, he also said that he sees dogs on a regular basis that “are half-crazy because they can’t run.”

He said that towns with leash laws need to have leash-free areas in town.

“Could we work leash-free areas into a law?” asked Webb. But the board was not budging.

“I totally support your enthusiasm, but you do have the power [to enforce the bylaws],” said Russo. Plympton bylaws do state that dogs must be under the control of their owner at all times, and have fines for violations.

“I don’t want to see you patrolling the streets for dogs,” said Selectman Christine Joy. “Maybe in the future.” But, she added, there is room for improvement in the bylaws.

Selectman Chairman John Traynor suggested that the fines for violating current animal bylaws, such as unlicensed or aggressive dogs, need to be drastically increased.

The board seemed to be gearing up for more hearings, though, as they did encourage Webb to bring forward his investigations and findings to the board in the future.

Webb also brought up the fact that he is having issues with livestock in the middle of the road, particularly sheep. This brought some laughter to the room, but again, the board encouraged him to use existing bylaws to deal with livestock.

Webb wished to know where he could get a citation book, like he has in Marshfield. Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said that if the police could not obtain one for him, the town would order him one.

In other BOS news:

• Area58 Community Access Television, of which Plympton is a member, is bringing the ability to go “live” in high definition on cable for certain meetings held in Town House’s large meeting room. The board gave Area58 permission to move forward with the nominal cost of obtaining a static IP address for the technology to work.

• Dennehy, the town’s chief procurement officer, will be delegating more procurement responsibilities to department heads, while retaining some oversight at the same time for major spending projects.

• The family of Diane Giordani, who was killed in an alleged motor vehicle homicide in town last May, have donated a large American flag to the Plympton Fire Department in her memory. The board graciously accepted the donation, which the department suggested should replace the tattered flag flying outside the Town House campus.

• Selectmen will next meet Monday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. in the large meeting room at Town House. The board has decided to meet twice a month for the time being.