Justin Kilburn, 30, in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at a final pre-trial hearing for the alleged motor-vehicle homicide death of Diane Giordani, 52, of Plympton. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMOUTH — Justin Kilburn, 30, was before Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty, II, Tuesday, April 30, in Plymouth Superior Court at Plymouth for a final pre-trial hearing. His motor vehicle homicide trial starts Monday. The Kingston man is accused in the death of Diane Giordani, 52, of Plympton, and her German shepherd, Blitz, following a collision on County Road (Route 106) in Plympton, May 10, 2018.  

Police determined that Kilburn was allegedly speeding when he crossed the center line and struck the car driven by Giordani head-on. The investigation found that Kilburn had a blood alcohol content level of .17 percent at the time of the crash, according to the DA’s office. 

Giordani and her dog died at the scene of the collision, say prosecutors and police. 

The trial is expected to be jury-waived and last about three days, according to Jack Atwood, Kilburn’s Plymouth-based court-appointed defense attorney. 

Kilburn was indicted on one count of motor vehicle manslaughter by operating under the influence of alcohol and motor vehicle homicide by operating under the influence of alcohol by the grand jury June 5, 2018. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Russell Eonas. 

The collision was investigated by Plympton Police, State Police detectives assigned to the DA’s office, the State Police CARS Unit and State Police Crime Scene Services.  

Plympton’s Winnetuxet River and Taylor Pond were stocked with about 600 brown trout on Monday.  (Photo by Michelle Smith)

Plympton’s Winnetuxet River and Taylor Pond were stocked with about 600 brown trout on Monday.  This photo by Michelle Smith caught the fishery guys in the act.

Many rivers and ponds are in the process of being stocked with trout by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, as they get ready for the spring fishing season.

Biologists at Fisheries and Wildlife told the Express that about 600 Brown Trout were released into Taylor Pond on Monday.  Taylor Pond is considered a “put and take” stocking site, and the trout are not expected to winter over and naturalize, according to Fisheries biologists say.

They don’t stock Monponsett Ponds because that water is too warm, according to the biologist.  Trout are cold water fish and a water temperature of 52 degrees is ideal.

About 3,000 trout, a mix of Brook Trout, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout were released into the Indian Head River, which runs between Hanover and Hanson.

These trout, measuring between 6 inches and 8 inches, were raised in the Sandwich hatchery, and were part of close to a half million fish stocked throughout Massachusetts this spring.   Coupled with the more than 65,000 fish stocked last fall, the 2019 fishing season should be excellent, according to the fisheries personnel.

Halifax Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor has announced that the following have returned their nomination papers and will be listed on the ballot for the town’s annual election on May 18.  The deadline to return nomination papers was Friday, March 29, at 5 p.m. in order to have the candidacy printed on the town’s election ballots.

Two candidates will seek the single selectman’s position left by retiring Kim Roy.   Gordon C. Andrews, a current member of both Halifax Elementary School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee will face off against Melinda Tarsi, a member of the Finance Committee, in the election’s only contested race.

The following candidates will seek re-election to these three-year terms:

Board of Assessors – Thomas Millias; Board of Health – John Weber; Constable, two positions – Thomas Hammond and Thomas Schindler; Board of Library Trustees, two positions – Paul Delaney and Madeline Flood; Park Commissioner – Thomas Schindler; Silver Lake Regional School Committee – Paula Hatch; and Board of Water Commissioners – Donald Bosworth.

Amy Troup will seek election to Planning Board for the 5-year term.  She is unopposed in her race.

There is no candidate for the Halifax Elementary School Committee three-year term.

The Annual Town Election will be held Saturday, May 18, at the Halifax Elementary School gym.  The polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The last day to register to vote at the Annual Town Meeting and Town Election is Tuesday, April 23.  The clerk’s office will be open until 8 p.m. on that day for voter registration.    Also, people can check their voter registration status and register to vote online at: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/

Assistant Town Clerk Patricia Detterman, the Town of Plympton Annual Town election will take place Saturday, May 18, at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Rte. 58, Plympton.  Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The last day to return nomination papers with at least 20 signatures was last Friday, March 29.

According to Assistant Town Clerk Tricia Detterman, there are 14 positions on the ballot this May and the following have returned nomination papers:

Incumbent Arthur B. Morin, Jr., for the 3-year term on the Board of Health; incumbent Christine Winslow for the 3-year term on the Board of Library Trustees; Linda Lawson for the 2-year term on the Board of Library Trustees; incumbent Steven Lewis for the 3-year term on the Finance Committee; Barry DeCristofano for the 3-year term as Town Moderator; John Schmid for the 3-year term on the Planning Board; Ann Sobolewski for the 5-year term on the Planning Board; Amy Hempel for the 3-year term on the Plympton School Committee; Michael Antoine for the 2-year term on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee; Patricia Detterman for the 2-year term as Town Clerk; and incumbent John Traynor Jr. for the three year term as Selectman.

There are one 3-year term for Board of Assessors, one 3-year term on Finance Committee, and one 3-year term on the Board of Library Trustees that have no candidate.

The last day to object or withdraw nomination papers is Wednesday,
April 17, 2019.

Voting will take place at the Plympton Town House, Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Plympton School Committee and Dennett school leadership discuss recent events at the elementary school.

PLYMPTON – Results showing lead in the water at the Dennett Elementary school were discussed at the Monday, March 25 Dennett School Committee meeting. While some of the results were showing clean, others were showing traces of lead. The areas of the building where the lead results were found are sporadic and random and include portions of the school built after 2000 when lead would not have been found in pipes or other building supplies. Three different people from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have been unable to identify a logical reason for the findings. The committee expressed frustration with the lack of a resolution as each set of test results seem to come back more inconclusive than the previous ones. While Green Seal has stated that they don’t believe their system is to blame for the results, the school committee agreed that the next logical step might be to get a representative from Green Seal to come out to the school.

On a more positive note, the Dennett Elementary School playground project, which has been ongoing since 2015, was also discussed. Vice chair Jason Fraser spoke to the three main goals in the development of the project; that it be accessible to all students, that it be safe for all students, and that it be developmentally appropriate for all students. The total cost for the playground is roughly $228,000 of which some $132,000 has accumulated in the form of school choice funds available for a one-time need such as this one. 

Voters will be asked at the May 15 town meeting to approve the remaining funding through an article by the Community Preservation Committee. If approved, the article will provide $94,000 toward construction of the playground. 

Fraser stressed the importance of residents attending the May 15 town meeting in order to secure the necessary funding. Additionally, other individuals have approached the committee with offers to donate equipment, etc. to the playground if the money is passed at town meeting. 

Principal Peter Veneto spoke about the myriad of upcoming events at the Dennett school. In a testament to the school’s academics, up to 80% of the sixth grade is expected to attend this week’s Grade 6 honors breakfast.  Friday, March 29, will be the students vs. teachers/parents basketball game. DARE graduation will be Tuesday, April 2.  The dress rehearsal for the talent show will be held April 3 with the big show on the following day, Friday, April 4. 

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx addressed the changes to functionality that parents and students can expect to see in Spring report cards. The previous set of report cards were issued electronically but the versions were not printer-friendly. This issue should now be fixed.  Additionally, Proulx mentioned that while it may appear at first glance that the report cards contain very little information, there will be interactive links that will take parents and students to more information. 

The town of Plympton is pursuing a Green Communities grant application which would help find clean energy solutions while reducing costs. Of importance to the school committee was the timing for the Green Communities projects as the Dennett School will host much of the district’s summer programming as well as potential demolition and rebuilding work on the playground. The committee also agreed on the importance of receiving confirmation that the projects would be funded at no cost to the Dennett school. 

Fraser mentioned his work with Massachusetts legislators including Representative Josh Cutler (D-Duxbury) in advocating for an increase in the Chapter 70 minimum per pupil increment from $20 to $100. Representative Kathleen LaNatra and Senator Michael Brady have also signed on in favor of the proposed increase. Chapter 70 is Massachusetts’ program to ensure adequate funding for all of the Commonwealth’s public K-12 school districts. Once a foundation budget has been established for each school district, each community’s property values and residents’ incomes are then analyzed to determine what percentage of the foundation budget should come from local property taxes. The remaining portion of the foundation budget is funded through Chapter 70 state aid. An increase in the minimum per pupil spending would provide a boost to the Silver Lake district.

The committee unanimously voted at Monday’s meeting to approve the 2019-2020 operating budget. Superintendent Joy Blackwood noted that the Dennett budget had been reduced by $10,000 from the original version 1 of the budget by decreasing the cost of the math textbook adoption and reducing utilities. Two areas of increase in the budget were special education and continuing education for teachers. The committee has yet to hear back from the finance committee regarding the proposed budget. 

Robert Tinkham, the current Plympton Health Agent, and another local public official, Ray Pickles, the Marion Town Clerk, have been indicted on larceny charges after a joint investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General into years-long mismanagement at the Carver, Marion and Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District, according to state officials.

Tinkham, 57, of Carver, who was the former district board chairman, and Pickles, 85, of Marion, who was the former district executive director were indicted by a statewide grand jury Monday, March 18, 2019, Attorney General Maura Healey and Inspector General Glenn Cunha announced in statements this week.

Tinkham along with Pickles allegedly stole more than $675,000 in district funds. Of that amount, Tinkham is alleged to have stolen $65,000 and Pickles allegedly stole $610,000, according to the statements.

The investigation revealed that Tinkham allegedly received $65,000 in payments from the district for inspection services he did not perform while he was the chairman of the district board.

Pickles also allegedly opened district accounts that only he knew existed at two other banks. Investigators allege he deposited checks intended for the district into these accounts, withdrew cash for personal use and made payments on his personal credit cards. Investigators further allege that Pickles billed the district for services he did not perform and used district funds to pay for personal expenses.

Pickles was elected Marion Town Clerk through 2020, and the Town of Marion has no process for recalling elected officials, having defeated a warrant item to add such a process at a previous town meeting, according to a statement from Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson.

Dawson said in the statement, “The accusations constitute a staggering abuse of the public trust, and we are grateful to the Marion Police Department, the Inspector General’s Office, and Attorney General Maura Healey’s office for their diligence in bringing out the details of these alleged thefts.”

Tinkham was charged with one count of larceny over $250 and one count of presentation of false claims while Pickles was charged with six counts of larceny over $250. The defendants will be arraigned at a later date in Plymouth County Superior Court.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Marion Police Department, in cooperation with the towns of Carver, Marion and Wareham.

Neither of the accused currently works for the district. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General John Brooks and Ashlee Logan, of the Inspector General’s Investigations Division, with assistance from Chief Trial Counsel James O’Brien of the AG’s Criminal Bureau. Lead Investigator Logan Davis and Analyst/Investigator Will Bradford from the Inspector General’s Office investigated the case.

The district is suing Tinkham, Pickles and his wife Diane Bondi-Pickles in Plymouth Superior Court in a civil suit making similar allegations.

Plympton selectmen Monday night were surprised by the request of Highway Superintendent Scott Ripley to declare a snow and ice emergency. (Courtesy photo)

Plympton selectmen Monday night were surprised by the request of Highway Superintendent Scott Ripley to declare a snow and ice emergency as he has used up his snow removal funds for the season.

Having been a winter with the least snow in recent memory, according to Boston weather people, selectmen said they would either call him in to explain, or perhaps just have a member of the board meet with him and discuss how the funds were spent.

In all fairness, Ripley began his position of Highway Superintendent in August, 2018,  after the budgets were set by Town Meeting vote ion May of 2018.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy presented the marijuana by-law produced by Ann Sobolewski with the Planning Board for selectmen’s approval.  The approved by-law will be returned to the Planning Board so a hearing may be scheduled in preparation for the Annual Town Meeting in May.

Selectman Christine Joy told the board that Plympton needs to do a much better job in its recycling, as does the rest of the country, and the effects are being felt throughout our economy.

China no longer buys our mixed paper for recycling because of the contaminants we allow, an average of 25%, forcing the United States to look elsewhere to sell its mixed paper.  What in 2017 brought $90 per ton in trade with China, in 2019 brings only $4 a ton from other markets like India.  “I don’t know that the country will ever get China back,” Joy said.   

What items are the worst offenders?  Think long, stringy things that tangle up the processor: garden hoses, plastic one-use grocery bags, plastic wrap. Don’t put recyclables in plastic bags.  The attendant won’t open the bag; it just goes into the trash.  Clothing can’t be processed with recyclables; in Plympton, it goes in the charity bins near the bottle and can redemption trailer.

The presentation she attended also cited help Massachusetts is giving in the way of grants for educating residents about what is recyclable and what is trash, and also grants for building recycling facilities, to help communities get serious about recycling.

Selectmen unanimously approved the application of Upinto2, Inc., the corporate name of the motorcycle riding school on County Road.  Upinto2, Inc. was granted a Class II motor vehicle sales license to sell motorcycles, primarily to their students.   Selectmen stipulated that no motorcycles were to be displayed outdoors for sale and no more than 40 motorcycles, 10 of which would be for sale, the rest for students to ride in classes, would be on the premises at a time.

In other business selectmen

• reviewed the open election seats for boards and committees

• executed a contract for Air Vacuum Corporation to deal with the exhaust fumes of vehicles at the Fire Station.

• voted to open the warrants for the Special Town Meeting and the Annual Town Meeting, both to be held May 15.

• reviewed the process of compiling the Annual Town Report, making sure that boards and committees follow the instructions to submit their reports to the town before the March 21 deadline.

The next meeting will take place March 11, at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted.