The Town of Kingston held its annual Town Election last Saturday, April 23, and these are the uncertified results from Paul Gallagher, Town Clerk.

Selectman – Tyler R. Bouchard won 560 votes for the three-year term.  There were 159 blanks and 12 write-ins.

Assessor – Michael P. Martin won re-election with 492 votes for the three-year term.  There were 226 blanks and 13 write-ins.

Collector of Taxes – Kenneth B. Moalli won re-election with 548 votes for the three-year term, 178 blanks, and five write-ins.

Planning Board – Thomas S. Buchard, Sr. won re-election to the five-year term with 527 votes, 198 blanks and six write-ins.

Silver Lake Regional School Committee – vote for two – Amy M. Cortright received 413 votes.  Michael E. Shekane received 382 votes for the three-year term.   Jeanne M. Coleman got 334 votes, and there were 328 blanks and five write-ins.

Kingston Elementary School Committee – vote for two – Timothy E. Lewis, candidate for re-election, topped the vote with 490.  Michael E. Shekane was next with 334 votes.  Sheila Vaughn, candidate for re-election, got 257 votes.  There were also 374 blanks and seven write-ins.

Water Commissioner – Robert J. Erlandsen was unopposed and won 485 votes for the three-year term.   There were 242 blanks and four write-ins.

Board of Health – Joseph F. Casna, Jr. and William J. Kavol  both won re-election to the three-year term, Casna with 443 votes and Kavol with 407 votes.   There were 593 blanks and 19 write-ins.

Library Trustee – two positions for three-years.  Ralph T. Calderaro won relection with 488 votes.  Carolyn Bromage won the position with 60 write-in votes.  There were 886 blanks and 88 write-ins.

Recreation Commission – Joseph P. Cunningham, Jr., ran unopposed, taking the position with 488 votes.   There were 231 blanks and 12 write-ins.

Recreation Commission – Patrick Rooney won the one-year term with 59 write-in votes.  There were 617 blanks and 114 total write-in ballots.

Sewer Commissioner – Elaine A. Fiore, candidate for re-election, ran unopposed and won 469 votes.  There were 250 blanks and 12 write-ins.

Constable – Brian J. Graziano and Robert J. Short, both candidates for re-election, won their bids,  Graziano with 439 votes and Short with 411 votes for the three year terms.

Housing Authority – Mary L. Hayes was re-elected to a five-year term with 490 votes.  She was unopposed.  There were 238 blanks and three write-ins.

Housing Authority – There were 710 blanks for the one-year term and 21 write-ins.

The Town of Plympton Board of Selectmen is pleased to announce that we have selected Mr. Matthew Ahl as the next permanent Police Chief of Plympton.  Mr. Ahl has accepted the position pending successful contract negotiation, with an anticipated official appointment date of May 9, 2022.

This decision marks a significant milestone for the Plympton Police Department, as the Chief position has been filled on an interim basis since July 2019.  We would like to thank those who stepped forward to assist us during a transitional period in an interim capacity, including most recently Acting Chief Daniel Hoffman.

Mr. Ahl was selected from an incredibly talented pool of candidates after progressing through an initial rigorous screening and interview process and subsequently participating in a competitive final public interview process before the Board of Selectmen, along with three other highly qualified finalist candidates.  Community Paradigm Associates of Plymouth, MA coordinated the professional search process.

Mr. Ahl has been serving the Town faithfully since 2016 and was promoted to the role of Sergeant in 2021.  Mr. Ahl also has prior law enforcement experience with the Town of Whitman, and has a private sector business and management background that we believe will serve the Department well.

The Board of Selectmen is enthusiastic about Mr. Ahl assuming this new role on a permanent basis, as his character and work ethic align with the goal of further professionalizing our Town Departments and continuing to provide efficient, effective and responsive service to the public.  We also take great pleasure in having so many talented individuals serving within the Department and being able to develop leadership from within. We look forward to Mr. Ahl continuing with efforts towards Department accreditation and leading the amazing team of men and women who serve the Town proudly on a daily basis.

The Silver Lake High outdoor track and field teams competed against the Whitman-Hanson Panthers last week.

Both Lakers teams — the boys and the girls — had very competitive meets against Whitman-Hanson on Tuesday, April 5.

On the girls side, the Lakers won 71-65. The meet came down to the last event:  the 4×400 relay. The Lakers won that race — which won them the meet.

Caroline Gerety, Samantha Faherty, Megan Laliberte, and Riley Paskow were the winning relay team for the Lakers. The Lakers also shined in field events.

Messina Sheehan had a first-place finish in the javelin throw, Emily Hesketh came in first in both shotput and discus, Riley Paskow won the long jump, and Ella Bossio finished second in the high jump while Kera Becker came in second in the triple jump.

On the boys side, the Lakers lost a tight one: 69-67.

Jesse Ierardi won the 110 high hurdles and the 400 hurdles; Boyd Wechter won in both shotput and discus;

Michael Beauchesne earned a first-place finish in the high jump; Damian DeKarski took first in the long jump; Gavin McCarthy had the top time in the one-mile run; and DJ Gilmore won the javelin throw.

The Lakers next meet is Tuesday, April 26 on the road against Duxbury (3:30 p.m. start time).

There will be a Silver Lake connection on the Brockton Rox once again this summer.

Silver Lake High grad and Halifax native Michael Quigley is set to pitch for the Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League this summer, the team announced this past weekend on social media.

The 2020 Silver Lake grad had a brief stint with the Rox at the end of the 2020 season — before he played college baseball. In it, he pitched two games and allowed two runs in four innings pitched. In his second appearance of the season, he pitched three scoreless innings.

After making six appearances for the Division 1 UMass Lowell baseball team as a freshman, Quigley has carved out a role as a regular in the team’s bullpen this season. As of the start of this week, he had already pitched in six of the team’s 16 games thus far. It was the third-most appearances by any pitcher on the team.

Quigley had a standout career at Silver Lake. He threw a no-hitter in his first career varsity start as a sophomore for the Lakers. And he was named Patriot League MVP his junior year. He was a four-year varsity player, but didn’t get to play his senior year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Plympton School Committee met virtually on Monday, Feb. 28. The committee and administration discussed next year’s budget. Committee member Jason Fraser shared good news on the Chapter 70 front. Fraser said that Governor Baker’s House 1 budget contained a “nice surprise” for Plympton. “This is from years of trying to be recognized for our small-town needs… but also due to the 20 percent enrollment increase,” he explained. He continued, “I think that the State is definitely stepping up to help us with that tremendous enrollment growth.” Fraser said that due to the increase in Chapter 70 funding, the town “wouldn’t show a net increase in funding the Dennett for next year.” Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen said they would need to have a discussion with the Finance Committee to drive this point home. Fraser also said that due to something called being held harmless, even if the town were to see an enrollment decrease down the line, the town wouldn’t be held responsible.

Superintendent Jill Proulx shared an updated version of the preliminary budget with the Committee. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that all shared cost positions, including a Human Resources Director and a Technology Technician, were now included in the budget. Additionally, Proulx said that Circuit Breaker, the State’s special education reimbursement program, was now estimated at 70 percent to get closer to what it will likely end up being. Additionally, there was an increase for ELL (English Language Learners) as well as a .2 added to the music position.

Proulx told the Committee that she had submitted a grant for $20,000 that would be used to offset the cost of a kindergarten teaching position. Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch also provided an update on grant funding. He said that they would be receiving a mix of grants at the State and Federal level including rural aid, ESSER funding, Title II A, Title IV, and special education allocations.

Regarding the current year’s budget, Healy said, “right now the budget is still supporting all of the activities within our building and some outside the building.”
Dennett Elementary Principal Peter Veneto provided a Principal’s Report saying there were 242 students currently enrolled. Veneto said that the DARE officer had completed his curriculum with the sixth-grade class and would soon be moving to the fifth-grade class. The intention is to provide DARE education to all grades before the end of the school year. The Assistant District Attorney will be holding an assembly on cyber safety in March for the older students at Dennett. CASA will be holding Winterfest on March 18. Veneto also said that they remain hopeful that they will be able to hold a talent show this spring provided the COVID numbers continue to move in the right direction.

Additionally, the Dennett is hoping to create a mural made entirely out of painter’s tape as an art project in early April. A similar one was made at Silver Lake Regional High School which Veneto called, “absolutely amazing.”

Proulx shared with the Committee a brief update regarding masking. The CDC is no longer requiring masks to be worn on school buses. Massachusetts previously removed the mask mandate for K-12 schools effective following February break. “Individuals may continue to wear them if they so choose and will be supported in that,” Proulx said. Lynch said that they had held a professional development day earlier that day. The focus was on inclusivity and relationship building.

The Silver Lake High girls’ track team has a new state champion.

She had a standout performance at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on Wednesday, Feb. 16 last week. In fact, it was the best performance of her high school track career to date.

The Division 3 state championship meet was Summer Bejarano’s time to shine. She won the one-mile run; she broke her own school record on the girls’ side at the meet. She ran the mile in 5:06.28. It came a week after she set the school record in the event at the Patriot League championship meet.

She wasn’t the only Laker to have a strong showing at the championship meet either. Riley Paskow shone in the long jump, earning a second place finish. That wasn’t Paskow’s only event either; she earned a sixth place finish in the 300 meter run.

Samantha Waters also made it to the podium. She had a sixth place finish in the 55 meter dash; it’s an event where she holds the school record for the best time on the girls’ side. Emily Hesketh also made it to the podium. She shined in a field event:  shotput. Hesketh earned a fifth place finish in shotput at the meet.

The Lakers didn’t have anyone make it to the podium on the boys’ side at the state meet last week.