The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, Nov. 1. The committee briefly discussed the ongoing issue of dog excrement being left on the playing fields at the Dennett. While Principal Peter Veneto said that he had not received any new complaints, Committee member Amy Hempel said that she was still seeing dog droppings left on the fields despite bags being available. Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen said that they would need to come up with a plan going forward before the spring sports season begins.

Regarding the new playground, Director of Business Services Christine Healy asked, “who could imagine a pandemic and 100 mph winds while we are trying to build a playground?” Healy said they were at the phase where they need to order concrete for the footings that couldn’t happen until that morning as the companies had been shut down. Healy also said that once the equipment is in place, a determination will have to be made as to whether the rubberized surface will be able to be placed as it is weather dependent. Wood surfacing will be used until the spring if the rubberized surface cannot be placed. “We’re closer to the completion than we are to the beginning,” Healy said remaining optimistic.

Veneto said that someone, who wished to remain nameless, came to see him and offered a check for $20,000 to be used toward the construction of the playground. “Well, I think that is incredibly generous,” Wilhelmsen said. He further said that he hoped it could be used toward the rubberized surfacing as more of that surface makes the playground more accessible to all users. The committee voted to accept the donation.

Regarding the solar project at the school, Wilhelmsen said they were still working on agreements. He said that one of the challenges is that the laws in the state have changed with respect to pilot agreements for solar projects. He said that the agreement voted upon at town meeting would not be in compliance with the new rules. “So, we have to go back to town meeting,” Wilhelmsen explained. He said they have also joined a group called Power Options who are a consortium of which Select Energy is their chosen provider for solar. As a result, it is not necessary to go out to bid for the solar panels on the roof. Wilhelmsen said the best option would be to go to town meeting in May and approve a new plan.

Committee member Jason Fraser began his legislative update by saying, “The State has more money than it has ever had in its entire history.” He said that the American Rescue Plan Act funds total $6 billion, representing about 15 percent of the State’s annual budget. He said that some of that money has been allocated toward education though Fraser said he didn’t yet know how it would affect them at the local level. He cautioned against the fiscal cliff saying, “we’re working with our delegation up at the State House urging them to use caution, to use patience in the spending of these funds.” He urged that the money be used toward school infrastructure and programs as opposed to hiring new personnel.

A CASA update was provided and it was said that the Halloween dance and the Harvest Festival in October were both successful. They also just finished selling Dennett merchandise. A thankful luncheon will take place this month and the Holiday Bazaar will be back in December.

Principal Veneto provided a school update saying that enrollment was holding fast at 243 students. He said he has received multiple letters of resignation including the school nurse, the music teacher, and a long-term substitute. Additionally, an aide will be out on maternity leave shortly. He said he is scrambling to fill the open positions.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch also presented to the Committee. He provided information regarding the MCAS testing including what was different in 2021. He said that some students were able to take the test remotely. Across the state, over 90 percent of students took the test and at the Dennett the percentage was closer to 99. Lynch said that students tended to struggle with math in 2021 compared with 2019, the last time the test was administered. Fraser acknowledged that there was a push in 2021 not to administer the MCAS but said that the argument in favor of holding the tests was that there was data to be gleaned from it. Fraser also said, “I just need to acknowledge… the incredible job that our kids in the fifth grade did last year and their third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers teaching them that curriculum to get them ready for it… very satisfied with their ELA results.” He said that his concern is with the mathematics scores but said that tools are being added to help bring those scores up.

Regarding the ESSER funds, Lynch said that they still have about 90 percent of ESSER II remaining to be allocated. “We’re continuing the work with ESSER,” he said. Regarding the 20 percent of funds to be used for social and emotional learning, Fraser said, “If kids are still dealing with social and emotional issues then they are not available for learning.” He also said that he wanted to make sure that they were getting teachers the best quality professional development available. Lynch said that the SEL (social and emotional learning) task force has met with Panorama Education, a research-based company out of Boston for assistance in figuring out where student needs lay. “I’m looking forward to getting this information into teacher’s hands so they can figure out what our students need,” Lynch explained.

Superintendent Jill Proulx presented to the committee regarding the core values for the school. “We aspire to create a community where everyone belongs and students and staff encourage one another to grow, learn, achieve, and dream without limit,” Proulx said. She further discussed steps to be taken to achieve those goals. Proulx called the five-year plan, “a pretty ambitious plan.” She discussed the proposed steps to be taken for the coming year. Strategic objectives include building relationships, emphasizing high expectations for all students, and creating and implementing an aligned and engaging curriculum for PK-12. “While we want to align to the state standards – we don’t want to teach to the test,” Proulx said. Yet another strategic objective is to improve structures and processes to focus on learning, efficiency, and outcomes.

Proulx also provided an update on enrollment. She said the October 2020 enrollment at the Dennett was 209 compared to the October 2021 enrollment of 241 students. Regarding assessment percentage changes for Silver Lake, the Plympton assessment decreased compared to Halifax and Kingston who both increased. For Union 31, the Plympton assessment has increased. “So that will have an impact on our budget as we begin that process as well,” Proulx said. Fraser said he would be interested in pursuing an increase in Chapter 70 funds as the Dennett enrollment has increased by 15 percent.

The Plympton School Committee also met on Monday, Nov. 15 to decide whether to advocate for a half day for parent-teacher conferences. Wilhelmsen explained that it took a vote by all four school committees to make a change to the district calendar, but that Plympton would be voting in favor or against it that night. President of the Teacher’s Association Ann Walker spoke on behalf of the teachers. “We really feel it would be valuable to us so that we can get parents into the building and get to communicate with parents,” Walker explained. She noted that the remote option would also be available. The Committee voted to approve a half day during the first three weeks of December pending the approval of the other committees.

The Town of Halifax is seeking volunteers to serve on the Traffic Safety Committee and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Committee. Residents interested in serving on these and other committees and boards can complete a “Talent Bank Form” (available in the Selectmen’s Office in Town Hall or on-line at https://www.halifax-ma.org/board-selectmen/files/talent-bank-form-0) and send to the Halifax Board of Selectmen, 499 Plymouth Street, Halifax, MA 02338 or pamela.mcsherry@halifax-ma.org – For more information, call 781-294-1316.

Mayflower Church will host its 14th Annual Crafts Fair Saturday, November 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Briggs Building at 207 Main Street.

 The public is invited to come and join in for a fun day of shopping, treasure-hunting and dining.

 The event is being sponsored by the Mayflower Women›s Club. The Fair features a number of talented crafters, as well as several tables that are sponsored by the Mayflower Women’s Club.

 Crafters will offer a wide variety of beautiful wares. Also there will be a bake sale.

 Fairgoers will have the opportunity to bid on a variety of items; and, the Club is also looking for anyone with a product or gift certificate who might wish to donate it to the cause.

 Lunch is available, including hot dogs, chili, corn chowder, chips and beverages.

 The public is invited to attend to see the work of crafters from throughout the region, and purchase any items of interest.

 There is no admission charge to attend the fair.  Proceeds from the fair benefit local, state and global charities.

 Mayflower Church is located at 207 Main Street, Kingston, MA 02364. Reverend Anton Brown serves as Pastor. For additional information, please call 781-585-3167.

The Silver Lake High football team traveled up the road to face a tough Patriot League opponent last Friday night.

The Lakers faced the Marshfield Rams, who had not lost a game in Patriot League play and their opponent kept that winning streak going. Marshfield beat them 37-8. With the loss, the Lakers fell to 2-5 on the season.

Marshfield’s offense only scored in the first half, but its defense also put up a couple of points in the second. Marshfield led 35-0 at halftime in this one.

The first touchdown for Marshfield came on a 54-yard touchdown early in the first quarter; the team also had a three-yard touchdown run later on in the quarter.

Marshfield went on to add three more touchdowns in the second quarter. Two of those touchdowns came on passes and the other was a 10-yard run. The team made all of its extra point kicks.

The final score of the bout for Marshfield came in the third quarter. Marshfield got two more points on a safety against the Lakers.

While the Lakers entered the fourth quarter down 37-0, they didn’t give up. They scored their first and only touchdown of the game in the fourth. It came on a three-yard run from Austin Smith. He was also the receiver on the successful two-point conversion attempt. Jacob Barnett threw the pass on that two-point try.

The next game for the Lakers will take place this Friday, October 29 on the road against the Hingham Harbormen (7:00 p.m. start time). It will mark the end of the regular season, although the Lakers will play a few more times in November.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, Sept. 21,  joined by town counsel. They began with a review of articles for the special town meeting to be held later that evening, and recommended or passed over all articles discussed.

Following the recommendations, the Selectmen turned their attention toward the fiscal year 2022 budget. Speaking of Town Accountant Sandra Nolan, Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said, “Sandy reran the numbers so that the articles for the raise and appropriate do pass so we’re at about $229 left on the table – something like that.” Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews noted the remaining amount was less than recommended by the Finance Committee.

There was then a discussion over a proposed insurance settlement offer related to an insurance claim made by residents David and Laura Gibbons of Oak St. Specifics were not relayed as they were not in Executive Session but the Selectmen did vote to approve moving forward with the settlement.

Finally, the Selectmen discussed the 5G cellular “small cellular” general by-laws, zoning by-laws, and municipal permitting. Town Counsel Paul DeRensis said that there were four options available to the community. The first would be to adopt some regulations, the second would be to adopt a zoning by-law at town meeting, the third would be to do both numbers one and two, and the fourth option is to do nothing. “I got an email from Charlie saying he thought the third option is the best,” DeRensis said.

Seelig explained saying, “Zoning can obviously handle to a limited extent, where and how 5G can be installed; basically, the feds have said that the town really doesn’t have much authority over 5G; there might be reasonable permitting restraints we can put on it, but basically, the rule of thumb is they’re going to be allowed.” He continued, “But they could be setup through a special permitting process… most 5G cellular is going to be within the right of way of our streets and roads so that the Board will have the right to essentially issue permits for use of the right of way so we’ll have zoning, but we’ll also have regulations.” He noted that zoning would have to wait until May but regulations could be done sooner in the event that a 5G company came into town prior to then.

DeRensis called the third option the most “elaborate” and said the concern would be running up legal fees on these projects. “You do need something to protect the community against distasteful looking 5G installation.” He said the question, however, would be whether that is where you want to spend your legal costs. DeRensis said that they have drafted by-laws approved from the Attorney General in other communities and said it would be possible to adapt those to Halifax. Andrews recommended reviewing it further with some other committees before trying to implement something at the moment saying they should shoot for trying to get something implemented the second half of the year. The Board agreed.

Put a win on the board for the Silver Lake High football team.

The Lakers took down the Norwood Mustangs 20-7 at home last Friday night for their first win of the season. The win put them at 1-2 on the season.

Norwood struck first in the game, but the Lakers played tough defense as things progressed and were able to prevent it from happening again. Norwood scored a touchdown in the first quarter and made the extra point to take a 7-0 lead, but the Lakers would go on to score a touchdown in each of the next three quarters; this gave them the points they needed to win the game.

In the second quarter, they got a one-yard touchdown run from John Dickerson. Seth Wakefield’s extra point kick was good, tying the game at seven apiece. In the third quarter, the team got a touchdown in the air. Ryan Carroll caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Barnett. Wakefield’s extra point kick was good, putting them up 14-7.

And in the fourth quarter, Barnett took it in himself. He had a 15-yard touchdown run that put the Lakers up 20-7. The Lakers went for two instead of kicking an extra point, but their attempt came up short. Carroll also performed well defensively with three sacks.

Additionally, Austin Smith had 90 yards on the ground for the Lakers.

The win marked the final non-league game of the regular season for the Lakers. Now, they will kick off their Patriot League schedule. Their next game will take place this Thursday, Sept. 30 on the road against the Plymouth North Eagles (7:00 p.m. start time).

Northfield, MA – After months of hearings and deliberations that led to special permits being issued for 10.5 Megawatts and 26,000 solar panels by the Northfield Planning Board, an appeal was filed in Franklin Superior Court in Greenfield asking the Court for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief prohibiting the landowners and developers from taking any action to begin construction of the project.

The plan would span across 124 acres of farmland located in land zoned as Residential Agricultural, all lying outside of the Town’s solar overlay district. The developer is BlueWave Project Development, LLC, with offices in Boston. The landowners and developers proposed the project as “dual-use”, a category of solar project in Massachusetts that maintains its use as agricultural land under the solar panels and is able to get higher ratepayer subsidies. The Massachusetts legislature had to vote to release the properties from a ten-year agricultural covenant so that the solar panels, otherwise not allowed, could be built on the farmland.

“If I had known that the farm fields across from my house would be covered with acres and acres of solar panels, I never would have bought this property,” said Chris Kalinowski, one of the plaintiffs in the complaint. “Now I have to think about my property values and constant noise. And I am really worried about what happens if the lithium batteries leak or catch fire. This whole area is where my well water comes from.” Also listed as concerns are light pollution and glare, noise, dust, and vibration during and post-construction, and the loss of scenic value of his property. “We have a solar overlay district. It’s land that’s not much use for anything. We all voted and said to put solar panels there. I never agreed to have them at my house.”

A key issue for the plaintiffs is whether the concept of ‘dual-use’ is even a viable concept. “This project is being marketed as building a solar array but keeping the land in agriculture. That looks to me like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole,” said Michael Kellett of RESTORE: The North Woods, the other plaintiff. “You can see in the documents that the Clean Energy Center at UMass Amherst had many questions about this idea. There are studies that show things don’t grow nearly as well in the shade of solar panels as in wide-open fields. This developer came up with the idea of part-time sheep grazing on the property as a way to claim that the land will remain in farming. In fact, there is even mention of using these same sheep to graze at other nearby properties to help other solar projects qualify as ‘dual-use.’ This rent-a-sheep idea is creative, I suppose, but can we really call these industrial-scale solar arrays farms?” Kellett’s organization decided to join the complaint to help protect a healthy environment for members of his organization who live in Northfield.

Attorney Margaret Sheehan of Plymouth, who filed the complaint also questions the dual-use policy, not just in Northfield, but on cranberry bogs in Southeastern Massachusetts. “Unscrupulous developers are exploiting taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies for green energy. Dual-use solar is an unproven experiment. Developers are mounting solar panels in cranberry bog wetlands on telephone poles treated with copper chromated arsenic. Is this how the cranberry industry is going to grow food for 30 years? On bogs covered with telephone poles leaching arsenic? Over 1,000 telephone poles are being installed on a bog on Route 58 in Carver by a Canadian multinational corporation with our state green energy dollars. AD Makepeace is installing a mile of solar over an agricultural canal that was once a stream. Some systems are installed but there are no crops growing under them such as the REDP project on Gate Street in Carver. How well can crops grow shaded by solar panels sited to use the sun on a plot of land? Common sense says not very well. This is a waste of our money and farmland. We are in a climate crisis and it’s code red. We shouldn’t be wasting the public’s money on ridiculous schemes like this. The state’s Department of Energy Resources needs to pull the plug on this subsidy program,” says Sheehan.

Climate scientist and former IPCC report author on climate mitigation, and Emeritus Professor of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University, Dr. Bill Moomaw, supports solar energy, but only in the right places. “We need solar panels to replace burning fossil fuels and wood to make electricity. Solar panels belong on rooftops and wastelands. If we are concerned about regional resiliency, are committed in Massachusetts to buying local food, and know we need forested land to sequester carbon to mitigate climate change, how much sense does it make to weaken our farming land base. Wouldn’t that mean we either import more food or cut forests for farming?” Dr. Moomaw also cited a Mass Audubon report that calculated that we can get 80% of our electricity by putting solar on rooftops, parking lots, and brownfields.

Mr. Kalinowski added, “I am all for solar energy, just put it in the right places. Why is this even happening in my town? Because someone convinced someone to give money for it. That’s really the story here.”

Sheehan is collecting signatures on a petition asking Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to put a temporary hold on subsidies for clear-cutting forests or using farms for large-scale solar. It can be found on the Save the Pine Barrens website.

Failing to meet its quorum of 100 voters, last week’s Special Town Meeting had to be rescheduled to Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. in the Elementary School when it is hoped that the business of the town can be completed.

As with previous meetings, both the Gym and the All-Purpose Room will be used and due the continuing pandemic, COVID protocols will be in place – https://www.halifax-ma.org/moderator/files/what-expect-town-meeting-september-2021.

Warrants have been mailed out or a copy can be downloaded – https://www.halifax-ma.org//town-administrator/files/special-town-meeting-warrant-september-8-2021

If you have any questions, please contact the Selectmen’s Office at 781-291-1316.

To begin with, please do not attend the meeting if you have signs of a fever or a measured temperature above 100.3 degrees, or greater, and/or any symptoms of COVID-19 including fever, chills, shaking chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell, persistent cough or trouble breathing within the past 24 hours or if you have had “close contact” with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 during the last fourteen days.

Close contact” means: living in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19; caring for a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, being with six (6) feet of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 for about 15 minutes, or coming in direct contact with secretions (e.g., sharing utensils, being coughed on) from a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, while that person was symptomatic.

• OR

• You have been asked to self-isolate or quarantine by your doctor or a local public health official or have been told by a medical provider that you probably have COVID-19 even in the absence of a test.