A Whitman man has been indicted on charges that he was operating under the influence of alcohol when he caused a crash that killed a Carver man, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced June 22.

A Plymouth County Grand Jury returned indictments against Alec Dowie (DOB: 09/15/66) of Whitman, charging him with one count each of Manslaughter by Motor Vehicle and Operating Under the Influence, third offense. He will be arraigned in Brockton Superior Court on the charges at a later date.

On February 6, 2018 at 6:45 p.m., Halifax Police and Fire responded to the area of 38 Monponsett Street for a report of a two-car crash. Upon arrival, police found a 2018 Dodge Challenger operated by Dowie, had crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a 2005 Honda CRV operated by Richard March (DOB: 08/08/39) of Carver. Both operators were transported from the crash scene for treatment of their injuries. March was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he succumbed to his injuries just after 9 p.m. that same night.

Halifax Police contacted State Police Detectives with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and an investigation commenced with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department BCI and State Police CARS Unit. The investigation found that Dowie had a Blood Alcohol Content Level of 0.084 and Dowie tested positive for Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine and Opiates in his system. Dowie told investigators that he took a Percocet prior to the crash.

Assistant District Attorney Russell Eonas is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, Halifax Police, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department BCI and State Police CARS Unit.

Plympton Fire and Police departments responded to Lake Street in the area of Cranberry Knoll Tuesday at approximately 6:20 p.m., when a bicyclist was struck by a motor vehicle driven by Elizabeth Hanson of Plympton.

The 47-year old Whitman man was Medflighted from the Silver Lake football field to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  His injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

While the accident remains under investigation, Hansonmay be cited for negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Kingston Fire Department also assisted with the incident.

One male occupant was transported to the hospital following a house fire at 30 Oak Place in Halifax on Wednesday.

The home was fully involved with flames when first responders arrived and was still smoldering, reduced to a charred shell, as homeowner Tia O’Meara arrived.

She was visibly distraught as Fire Chief Jason Viveiros and Police Chief Theodore Broderick spoke to her in the neighbor’s yard.

The home, on the edge of Crystal Lake, is approximately 2000 feet off Plymouth Street.

Hose lines were stretched and connected to reach the fire hydrants and get water on the flames.

As of press time on Thursday, the cause of the fire remains under investigation by  the State Fire Marshal’s office.

Justin Douglas Kilburn, 29, of Kingston, plead not guilty as he was arraigned at Brockton District Court on Wednesday, June 6, charged with one count of motor vehicle manslaughter by operating under the influence of alcohol and motor vehicle homicide by OUI in the fatal crash May 10 that took the life of Diane Giordani, 52, of Plympton, and her German Shepherd dog “Blitz”.

Kilburn reportedly turned himself in to State Police, Norwell, Tuesday afternoon where he was arrested.  Following a dangerousness hearing, Kilburn remains in custody, held on $50,000 cash bail, with the condition that if he were to be released on bail, he would be required to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet, be confined to his home, not drive, and have no contact with the victim’s family.  The prosecutor had requested a $100,000 bail with those same conditions.  As of noon yesterday, Kilburn remained in custody.

It was reported that Kilburn tested 1.7 blood alcohol level at the time of the crash, more than twice the legal Massachusetts limit of .08.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Thursday, May 10, Giordani, who was driving a black 2015 Nissan Xterra east on Route 106, was hit head-on by a white 2005 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by Kilburn.

Kilburn was ejected from his truck through the passenger window, landing in the road, suffering major injuries.  He was Medflighted to Rhode Island Hospital trauma center.

The head-on impact toppled Giordani’s SUV onto the driver’s side, trapping her and her German Shepherd “Blitz” inside.  County Road neighbors ran to assist, trying to get Giordano and her dog out of the SUV.  Both died at the scene. Plympton Fire/EMS, Halifax Police and Fire, and Middleboro Fire departments were all at the scene to extricate Giordani from the wreckage and extinguish a fire in the pickup truck.

Several witness accounts, including a closed circuit TV recording, agree that Kilburn was driving at a high rate  ofspeed when he crossed into the opposite lane and struck Giordani’s vehicle head-on.

Both vehicles were towed to the State Police barracks in Middleboro, where the case remains under investigation by State Police detectives with the CARS Unit and Crime Scene Services.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Thursday, May 10, Giordani, who was driving a black 2015 Nissan Xterra east on Route 106, was hit head-on by a white 2005 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by Kilburn.

Kilburn had been ejected from his truck through the passenger window, landing in the road, suffering major injuries.  He was Medflighted to Rhode Island Hospital trauma center.

The head-on impact toppled Giordani’s SUV onto the driver’s side, trapping her and her German Shepherd “Blitz” inside.  County Road neighbors ran to assist, trying to get Giordano and her dog out of the SUV.  Both died at the scene, according to reports.

Plympton Police, Fire/EMS, Halifax Police and Fire, and Middleboro Fire departments were all at the scene to extricate Giordani from the wreckage and extinguish a fire in the pickup truck.

Both vehicles were towed to the State Police barracks in Middleboro, where the case remains under investigation.

A fatal head-on crash in Plympton took the life of a Sheffield Park woman following a horrific collision near 56 County Road just after 6 p.m. Thursday night, May 10.

The accident involving a pickup truck claimed the life of Diane Giordani, 52, of Sheffield Park who was driving a Nissan sport utility vehicle.

The operator of the pickup truck, Justin Kilburn, 29, who was reportedly ejected from his truck, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital trauma center via medical helicopter for treatment of his injuries.  Kilburn was listed in “good” condition, according to Rhode Island Hospital on Wednesday.

Plympton Police Chief Patrick Dillon told the Express that the State Police will be seeking charges against Kilburn, who is known to police, once their accident reconstruction report is complete.  He did note that alcohol was found at the scene.

Dillon was angry that this tragedy was one that in his opinion was “certainly preventable.”  Giordani’s dog, her German shepherd ‘Blitz’, also was killed in the crash.

“Society pays the price every day for people’s stupidity,” Dillon continued.

Neighbors gathered outside their homes before noon on Friday along the busy stretch of road and spoke with the Express.

A resident who did not want to give her name but lives directly across from the crash was visibly upset as she told how she and others tried to save the woman.

Several neighbors ran from their homes with fire extinguishers and tried to put flames out which were visible on the front hood of the pickup truck, according to first re-

Thursday, April  26, the Plympton Public Library hosted Daffodil Daze, a presentation  by local gardener Jane Schulze of Main Street.  Jane introduced the audience to the many types of daffodils she has growing in her garden, how to keep these bulbs happy and coming back to her garden for many years.  All participants were invited to bring home a daffodil bouquet.

Photos by Kathy Kierstead

Jane Schulze, Plympton gardener, shows Brenda Traynor the difference between the various types of blooms.

Debbie Batson, library director, left, looks on as a participant chooses daffodils for a beautiful bouquet to bring home.

Potential candidates are lining up to fill the open seat that will be left by State Rep. for the 12^th Plymouth District, Thomas J. Calter, as he steps down to accept the position of Town Administrator for Kingston.

As of Wednesday morning, Summer Schmalling, Halifax School Committee chairman, and Joseph Truschelli from Plymouth, both Republicans, have drawn nomination papers.  Democrats Daniel Zotos from Halifax, R Lindsay Wilson, II, from Kingston and Kathy LaNotra, a Kingston selectman, have declared their intentions, according to the Secretary of State’s Elections office. Candidates have until Tuesday, May 1, to return nomination papers with at least 150 signatures of registered voters, to secure a place on the primary ballot.  That election will be held Tuesday, Sept. 4.

There will not be a special election to fill the position.  The seat will remain vacant until the November election.  Calter told his constituents his office will remain open and his staff in place to handle their concerns.  They will be helped by Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury; Rep. Mathew Muratore, R-Plymouth, and Sen. Vinne deMacedo, R-Plymouth.

Kingston selectmen voted last week 4-1 to give the job of town administrator to Calter.  After negotiating a contract with the town, Calter announced that he would accept the position.

Calter told his constituents he will work through the budget hearings this week to support those articles that affect his region.  He has not, however, announced the date he will leave the Statehouse or the date he will begin in Kingston.

Kingston will be a short commute for Calter who has made his home in that town for many years. “My wife and I raised our children here,” Calter said.

He held the seat of Representative to the 12^th Plymouth District, serving the towns of Kingston, Plympton, Halifax, part of Plymouth, Duxbury, and Middleboro, since 2006.

Jessica Zeoli

Express correspondent

Continuing discussion from the past three meetings, the Plympton Board of Selectmen heard the current state of the draft for the proposed Earth Removal Bylaw, budget and warrants for the Town Meeting, as well as an update on the Fire Advisory Committees.

Up for discussion first was the Earth Removal Bylaw, presented by Linda Leddy. She told the board that she, Rick Burnet, Marta Nover, Brian Wick, Amy Conin, along with the guidance of selectman Mark Russo, had volunteered to develop a new Earth Removal Bylaw for Plympton as it is currently outdated according to state standards and the growing needs of the town. The goal of the bylaw is to take into consideration everybody involved in an application of an Earth Removal site.  Citizens, land owners, and wildlife all need to be considered to ensure the potential project is fair on all sides.  In developing the bylaw, volunteers met on several occasions and for many hours to adapt bylaws from surrounding towns, as well as edit sections to be better suited to Plympton’s needs.

The sudden action to construct a new bylaw was due to the rising concern of Ryan Vlaco of BRV I, Inc. in Middleborough, which is a sand and gravel company. He is a potential buyer of the Atwood property on Prospect Road and presented to the board several weeks ago his plan to expand a pre-existing cranberry bog, and also begin a sand and gravel removal operation that will require 100 trucks a day moving material for sale out of Plympton. Due to the unreasonable amount of trucks estimated for a small restoration project, many town and board members believe he has found a loop hole by claiming to be agricultural and exempt of needing to file an application. Without filing an application for an earth removal permit, he would be able to build a sand and gravel distributing company, without consent of the town.

To try to prevent similar companies from finding the same loopholes, the draft of the bylaw had three main edits to the version that was presented to the board last week.

The first main change to the draft was specifying which agricultural projects were exempt from filing an application for earth removal. These exempt projects would be normal construction and maintenance projects, including for existing bogs and farmland that operate under the state’s agricultural and wetlands laws. If new projects arise such as installing a new bog, or pond, then an application must be filed with the board of selectmen.

This portion also included the addition of a new section stating that any amount removed from a site more than 1,000 yards must also require an application.  This was heavily debated by a concerned resident, Rebecca Lipton. She stated, “If you have a project happening on one side of you and another project on the other, you would have about 75 to 100 trucks going by your house per day.” Another concerned resident asked the board to consider the typography of Plympton and the need to protect all the open land that Plympton has left.

After several other concerns of 1,000 yards being too large a quantity to allow an application, Marta Nover of the Bylaw Committee, suggested the quantities be discussed when the draft is sent to Town Council for approval.

The second change to the Earth Removal Bylaw was making sure it provided significant protection for the town’s residential properties, special environments, water, or any other qualities that give Plympton its rural character. Any applications that may harm Plympton’s valuable features would not be allowed.

The last change to the bylaw was constructing clear standards and procedures for applications so that residents, applicants, and the board can reference the bylaw for guidance at any point. Board member, Christine Joy, stated that the bylaw was “very well written, comprehensible, and transparent.”

The bylaw will be sent to Town Council, on Tuesday, April 10, for recommendations and approval. The bylaw is expected to be presented to Town Meeting, May 16, for a vote of the residents.

   Fire Advisory               Committees

The Fire Advisory Committees updated selectmen on their progress and the joint training for Plympton and Halifax Fire Departments to receive their Firefighter I/II certifications. Interim Chief Phil Curran of the Plympton Fire Department reported that both departments will begin their joint training session the first or second week in May.  Selectman John Traynor, the board member overseeing the Advisory Committees, discussed a meeting Wed. April 18 for all fourteen volunteers of the Fire Advisory Committees, and then a meeting the following Wed., April 25 between the two fire departments regarding shared services. Selectmen wanted to emphasize that the town is only exploring the option of shared services and have made no legal decisions yet.

FinCom Budget

The Finance Committee presented their approved budget for next fiscal year, as well as vote on approvals for the presented articles for the Annual Town Meeting. After evaluating all the recommended budgets for each committee in the town, the Finance Committee came up with a final budget of approximately $10,903,000 for next year, which is a 5.7% increase from last year. Local real estate taxes will not increase to that extent, only roughly 2.5% from last year. The Finance Committee presented their changes such as their decision to separate EMS services from medical supplies needed for the town, and a reduction of the budget for vocational technical students as less people registered for the program than expected.

Selectmen and the Finance Committee then discussed each article presented for the Annual Town Meeting one by one, providing recommendations or approval for its current state. Out of the 27 presented articles, three were not recommended by both parties, as they believe there are other options worth exploring that could exclude the need for those articles this year.  For example, Article 13, which was not recommended, requested funds for hiring a specifically named consultant for map research for the town. Both selectmen and FinCom believed there could be more exploration of costs for consultants for the town and they did not recommend the article for this year.

In other news:

Council on Aging Warrant-

The director of the Council of Aging, Joy Marble, met with the board requesting $55,000 for the COA budget so they may be able to get a new van to help with their services. The current van is getting old, and in need of repairs, as the Council on Aging often transports senior citizens to distant towns for medical appointments such as Cohasset causing wear and tear on the vehicle. The van is also a regular minivan that is not handicapped accessible, and riders often have a difficult time getting seated.

With the increase to the number of people being served by the COA, the van is not always available. Because of this, volunteer drivers are using their own cars when transporting seniors to so-called  “social events” such as shopping and other non-medical appointments. Director Marble is trying to eliminate the need of volunteers to use their own vehicles with the purchase of the new van.   The present van would be maintained for these uses.

Possibilities of a donated van from Best Chevrolet, or cashing in an unused town sedan were discussed among the board, leading to their decision to pass over the article for this year, which was presented as Article 24. The board plans to explore this idea over the coming year, and bring a solution to next year’s Annual Town Meeting.

Animal Control Officer Update

The board contacted the former Animal Control Officer, Frank Bush, who said he was not interested in serving in that position again. The board is now exploring any surrounding towns that would be interested in sharing animal control services with Plympton. If no suitable candidates are found, the town will post the position for any interested applicants.

CORI Policy

Elizabeth Dennehy, Town Administrator, presented a new CORI policy last week, which is beginning to be utilized for new employees for the town. The application is simpler, and excludes the Dennett Elementary School and Plympton Police Department since they have more in-depth procedures for CORI checks. There were questions regarding this policy such as if current employees are now needed to submit a CORI check, even though they did not require one upon hire. The board authorized Elizabeth Dennehy to meet with legal counsel regarding this.

The next open  meeting for the board of selectmen is Monday, April 23, at 6 p.m.