North Easton Savings Bank announced that, due to the evolving situation related to the coronavirus outbreak, banking office lobbies will close until further notice.  Additionally, the bank has temporarily closed its two in-store locations at Roche Bros. in Easton and Shaw’s in North Attleborough.

Rich Spencer, Chief Executive Officer at North Easton Savings Bank, said that he hopes that lobby service will be restored soon, and reminds the public that, despite the temporary closings, Bank customers have several other ways to conduct banking with North Easton Savings Bank.

Individual locations will continue to offer drive-up and ATM services. In addition, the bank offers a variety of convenient services that include:

• Online and Mobile Banking – pay bills, transfer money between accounts, check balances and recent account activity, deposit a check, set up Alerts, and open a new account in our secure site. Login or enroll at www.NorthEastonSavingsBank.com.

• ATMs – Deposit cash or checks, withdraw, transfer funds between accounts, and check balances at the bank’s network of 23 ATM locations. Find maps and directions at www.NorthEastonSavingsBank.com./locations

• 24/7 Automated Telephone Banking Line – Get real-time balances, monitor recent account activity, transfer funds. To enroll, call the Contact Center. To access, call 888-226-5276.

•  Customer Contact Center – the bank’s service team can help with banking questions, or quickly put customers in touch with an expert if needed. Current hours are M-F 8-6; Sat 9-1. Reach the Center at 508-238-2007.

• Limited In-person Service by Appointment – For urgent matters requiring in-person assistance, individuals can call the bank’s Customer Contact Center to request an appointment. Appointments would be available based on the bank’s evaluation of conditions at the time of the request.

• Online Account Opening and Loan Application at www.NorthEastonSavingsBank.com

Spencer said, “We are sorry for any inconvenience this temporary closing of our lobbies will cause. We did not take the step lightly. But, given the current circumstances, it’s the right decision. The safety of our customers and employees must come first.

The North Easton Savings Bank employee team is working hard to help our customers smoothly navigate this temporary situation, and we are looking forward to the day we can restore our lobby services.”

He continued, “As a community bank, our goal is to meet the needs of our customers and communities and do so in a way that we believe best protects their health. Our top priority is to maintain a safe workplace for our employees, and a safe place of business for our customers.”

North Easton Savings Bank will maintain current information about its banking operations, and possible impacts to service delivery, on the Bank’s web page, and will communicate with its customers by email.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an arm of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html, provides situation updates, advice, and FAQs.

About North Easton Savings Bank

With eighteen local branches and over $1.1 billion in assets, North Easton Savings Bank is uniquely situated to provide personal and business banking and lending solutions to southeastern Massachusetts. Founded in 1864, the Bank has a proven track record of growing the community through fair banking practices, financial advising, and local philanthropy.

Looking forward, North Easton Savings Bank is well-positioned as the preferred area banking partner with a powerful combination of convenient features like mobile and online banking and the personal, hometown touch of a local bank. North Easton Savings Bank is fully insured by the FDIC and the DIF and is an Equal Housing Lender. For more information, please visit www.NorthEastonSavingsBank.com.

Plympton Town Clerk Patricia Detterman has announced that nomination papers are now available for the Spring Town Election on Saturday, May 16.

A complete list of offices is available on the town’s web site or at the office of the Town Clerk during regular business hours.

Voters across Massachusetts headed to the polls on Super Tuesday to vote in the presidential primary.

Voters in Halifax, selected Joe Biden as their preferred Democratic  presidential nominee with him receiving 519 votes or 39 percent of the vote.  Bernie Sanders finished second with 363 votes or 27% of the vote. Elizabeth Warren received 190 votes, 14.3 percent, and Michael Bloomberg received 171 votes  or 12.8%. Bloomberg has since left the race.

Nearly 43 percent of voters in Plympton also selected Biden who received 249 votes. Sanders received 149 votes and 25.7 percent of the Plympton vote while Warren received 73 votes (12.6 percent) and Bloomberg received 64 votes (11 percent).

In Kingston, Biden also received the lion’s share of votes with 1032, or 39.1% of the democratic votes cast.  Bernie Sanders took 704 votes, or 26.7%, and Elizabeth Warren tied Micheal Bloomberg with each receiving 350 votes, or 13.27%.

Plymouth County voted very similarly overall to the Silver Lake towns of Halifax, Plympton, and Kingston. Tulsi Gabbard, who as of press time was still in the race, received very little support from Massachusetts. Biden walked away from Super Tuesday with 34 of Massachusetts’ delegates while Sanders picked up 26, and Warren 17.

Republican voters faced a choice between President Donald Trump or former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.

Trump easily won the Massachusetts Republican primary with nearly 87 percent of the vote while Weld picked up 10 percent of the vote. For reference, both Halifax (53 percent of the vote) and Plympton (50 percent of the vote) went for Donald Trump in the 2016 general election, despite Clinton winning the state by a significant margin.

Three candidates were on the ballot in both Halifax and Plympton for Republican State Committee Man in the Second Plymouth and Bristol District. They were Incumbent and Halifax Selectman Gordon C. Andrews, former state representative and Whitman resident Geoff Diehl, and Lawrence Novak of Brockton. Diehl won decisively in  both towns with 420 in Halifax to Andrews 292, and Novak 28.  In Plympton,  Diehl won with 187 votes to Andrews 67 and Novak 11.   

Two candidates were also on the ballot for Republican State Committee Woman: Whitman resident KathyJo Boss and Brockton resident Jeanie Falcone.  Kathy Jo Boss won Halifax with 397 votes to Falcone’s 300.  In Plympton, Boss  won 146 votes to Falcone’s 108. The races for Democratic State Committee Woman and Man were uncontested with both Michael D. Brady and Peggy Curtis both up for reelection.

In Kingston, voters chose James R. McMahon, III for Republican State Committee man with 562 votes over Jesse G. Brown, 483 votes, and Sean Patrick Rausch with 36 votes. Jennifer A Cunningham won 593 votes for Republican State Committee woman over Linda M Zuern with 405 votes.  The Democratic State Committee Man in Kingston was Brian R. Dunn who ran unopposed. Democratic State Committee Woman Amy B. Kullar was also unopposed.

Results of the State Committee races were still being tabulated as of press time.

Kristy Zamagni-Twomey
Express correspondent

HALIFAX – Representatives from Area 58 and the Cable Advisory Board met with the Halifax Board of Selectmen Tuesday night to discuss concerns several months before the end of their current contract.

Selectman Tom Millias said that he feels there is a lack of transparency on Comcast’s end, specifically regarding the types of fees on bills. Millias said that the Area 58 fees are included under “franchise fees” and stressed that most subscribers are probably unaware that they are paying for those services. Cable access is available to everyone including non-subscribers who are not paying for it. “It took me a while to figure out that I was paying for it and I scrutinize my bills,” Millias said. Millias also said that he was concerned that there was no option to opt out of paying for the service. The representatives from Area 58 said that they had no control over the way in which Comcast bills for their services. They offered to do a PSA on their channel to make viewers aware.

There were several appointments scheduled during the Tuesday’s Selectmen meeting. The first was with Judith Rakutis and Martha Smith. Both women were appointed to the Council on Aging Board of Directors. The selectmen thanked them for volunteering.

Amber Sadlier, the Race Director for the Ragnar Road Relay met with the Board to request permission for the race to run through the town and use the elementary school as a minor exchange point. The Ragnar Road Relay is a series of 200-mile relay races run in 20 different geographic locations. The Massachusetts’ race traditionally begins in Hull and finished in Provincetown but had to be re-routed in recent years for safety reasons. The race will now end at Smuggler’s Beach in Yarmouth with a stop in Halifax. The race is run on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9. It is anticipated that runners would begin to trickle in around 4 p.m. with peak time being 6 p.m. on Friday. Sadlier said that it wouldn’t be necessary for roads to be closed down. Due to concerns regarding heavy traffic in the area at that time in the afternoon, Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves said he would have a police detail present. The selectmen unanimously supported Sadlier’s request. Sadlier told the Board that the race raised $400,000 for various fundraising campaigns in 2018.

Eagle Scout candidate Ryan McCarthy sought the Board’s approval for his project to create tables near the soon to be built gazebo at the HOPS Playground. McCarthy, who is a part of Boy Scout Troop 39, said that one of the tables would be handicap accessible. Asked how he would be funding the project, McCarthy said that he has several sponsors lined up as well as a GoFundMe page. Selectmen Chair Troy Garron said, “Once again, the Boy Scouts are improving upon the quality of life in Halifax.”

The final appointment of the night was with Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Land Agent Joan Pierce and Plymouth County Administrator Frank Basler. In July, Pierce met with the Board to discuss Fisheries and Wildlife buying an area of Peterson’s Swamp from Halifax. According to Pierce, the Department would maintain the land rather than develop it. Included in the plan is a small parking area to make the land more accessible.

Currently, Plymouth County and Halifax each own 50 percent of the land being referred to as Parcel A and Parcel B. Halifax needs to purchase their share of the land from Plymouth County for $75,000 before selling it to Fisheries and Wildlife for an agreed upon $150,000.

In previous meetings with Pierce, both Garron and Millias have expressed frustration with getting the short end of the stick in their previous deals with Fisheries and Wildlife. To make this deal more appealing to the selectmen and the town, Fisheries and Wildlife will also be transferring a sliver of land behind Aldana Road to Halifax. This land carries value to the town as ownership of it will be necessary to eventually pave the road.

Seelig said that they had Article 97 legislation drafted for the transaction. Seelig said that the Board could vote to request Representative Kathleen LaNatra and Senator Michael Brady to file it. Pierce said that the draft was approved by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A & F), and Fisheries and Wildlife and would now just need the approval of the town in order to be filed.

Selectman Gordon Andrews asked, “What guarantee do we have that we get the sliver?” Pierce reminded him that Fisheries and Wildlife wants Parcel B and without the transfer of the sliver, that can’t happen.  Once the Article 97 legislation goes through there is a swap for no further consideration.

Millias, who called the town’s track record with Fisheries and Wildlife “poor to lousy” said, “My issue all along has been that I have absolutely no confidence in Fisheries and Wildlife and the Commonwealth. Absolutely none and this is not just recently, this has been over twenty years.” Pierce assured him, “We are committed to this. I’m on record, I’m in the minutes, and that’s all I can tell you.”

Andrews made a motion to approve the purchase of Lot A and B from the county for $75,000 as voted by the town at special town meeting. Millias seconded the motion and the selectmen voted it through. Andrews said that he was fine with purchasing the lot but was hesitant to sign the option to sell it to the state without having the legislation filed. The Board voted to have Seelig request that it be filed.

Aside from the night’s appointments, the selectmen and Town Administrator Charlie Seelig took up a few other matters including officially signing the Host Community Agreement with Bud’s Goods and Provisions for the development of an outdoor marijuana growing facility in Halifax. Both Brian Kling and Scott Materna were named to the Building and Facility Needs Committee that also includes most department heads in the town. The committee will hold its first meeting on March 11 at 2 p.m.

The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) is scheduled to meet with the Board of Selectmen on March 10 about possibly having Halifax become a member. Plympton recently voted to join GATRA.

The reusable bag bylaw, designed to reduce the use and distribution of single use plastic shopping bags, will take effect on March 1, 2020. This bylaw was voted at the Annual Town Meeting in May, 2019 and has been approved by the Attorney General. It applies to all businesses operating in the town of Halifax.

No plastic bags will be permissible for distribution at checkouts (points of sale). There is no thickness, or percentage of plastic content acceptable. The Beautification Committee, on clean up days and at other events, has distributed free reusable bags while supplies lasted.

Start gathering your reusable bags now!

For more information about the bylaw, or with questions, please contact the Halifax Beautification Committee at Beautification@halifax-ma.org.

The Tuesday, January 28 Halifax Board of Selectmen meeting began with a final interview for the vacancy on the Planning Board. Timothy Fabroski told the assembled Board of Selectmen and Planning Board that he owns a real estate and construction company and has been self-employed since the 1980s. Fabroski said, “I think the Planning Board could use me” and cited his experience on the other side of the table presenting before the Board. Selectmen Chair Troy Garron asked Fabroski his opinion on building in Halifax. Fabroski said, “I honestly think the more you build, the better.” Three other candidates previously came before the two boards; they were Alan Dias, David Mascio, and Ashley DiSesa.

Planning Board Chair Gordon R. Andrews said that the Planning Board was looking forward to having the vacancy filled but also said that he didn’t want to see someone with an agenda assume the position. Selectman Tom Millias made a motion to forgo a vote and wait until May to fill the position when candidates could pull papers and run against one another in the election. Garron seconded Millias’ motion. Planning Board member Amy Troup said, “I think that would be a detriment to everyone that stepped forward.” Troup, who said she would like to see the position filled by someone not currently serving on a board in town, suggested that the experience to serve between now and May would prove a good trial. All four current Planning Board members elected to move forward with the vote.

In order to secure the position, a candidate had to receive votes from four of the seven members of the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen. Millias nominated Dias and Selectman Gordon C. Andrews nominated DiSesa. Gordon R. Andrews, Gordon C. Andrews, Karlis Skulte, and Troup all voted in favor of DiSesa, awarding her the position.

Bud’s Goods

Alex Mazin of Bud’s Goods and Provisions came before the Board just as he did at the previous meeting to hopefully finalize a five-year Host Community Agreement (HCA) for his outdoor marijuana growing facility on River St. in Halifax. Halifax is set to earn 3 percent of Bud’s gross sales, the most allowable under MA state law. Should that law change, however, Halifax will also have a most-favored-nation (MFN) status, preventing Bud’s from entering into another HCA with better terms for another municipality without amending their agreement with Halifax.

Mazin, who grew up in Worcester and attended Babson College, has three retail licenses for a retail store currently under construction in Worcester, another potential one on the Abington/Weymouth line, and a third newly acquired retail license for Watertown. Mazin also operates a facility in Lakeville that he’s hoping to now use for manufacturing purposes; he will be transferring his cultivation license from this facility to Halifax. Mazin explained his belief that outdoor growing will revolutionize the cannabis industry as the environmental impact, cost factors, and sustainability of indoor facilities do not make a viable market.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig explained to Mazin that while a few final tweaks still needed to be made to the agreement, the selectmen’s intent is to sign the HCA. Addressing any final concerns the selectmen or town may have, Mazin said, “A community that lets us in, we want to make sure is benefitting as well because we are doing something very unique and historic and we’re all taking risks at some degree and some level and risk should be rewarded.”

COA happenings

Newly appointed Council on Aging (COA) Director Susan Lawless as well as two members of the COA Committee provided the selectmen with an update on the COA. Lawless said that the addition of a kiosk has allowed her to track participation in the various COA events. These statistics will prove useful as many of the grants Lawless would like to apply for require them. Lawless also said that the COA has purchased a minivan to help get residents to and from appointments. Seelig said that the town has two interested applicants for the vacancies on the Council on Aging Committee.

Town’s Campus

Fire Chief Jason Viveiros, Police Chief Joao Chaves, and Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward were all present at Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the town’s campus improvement concept. Chief Chaves explained some of the thoughts shared at earlier meetings including consolidating the police and fire departments into a new, single building, moving the Council on Aging into the current police station, and moving the water department and building maintenance into the current fire station (freeing up space for the highway department). Chief Viveiros recently surveyed all department heads regarding their most pressing needs. Millias said, “Everything is conceptual at this point, we need to get input and narrow it down.” The Selectmen agreed to the formation of a Campus Committee to further develop the global approach to improving the municipal buildings to better suit the various department’s needs. The hope would be to include the department heads and building inspector as members as well as to have representation from the Finance Committee, Conservation Commission, and any other pertinent people. The selectmen hope to have a response to the committee requests by their next meeting.

Memorial Day

The selectmen also voted to form a Memorial Day Committee per resident David Walsh’s request at their last meeting. Walsh, a member of the Halifax VFW Post 6258, had requested the formation of the committee, as well as asking that the military lead the parade and requesting more involvement between the elementary school and the veterans. Seelig said that he would request five members for the new committee that will be publicized.

Silver Lake budget

The Silver Lake budget was also discussed. Andrews asked Garron or Millias to attend the Thursday, February 13 public budget hearing to be held at 6 p.m. at the high school as he will be there in his capacity as a school committee member rather than a selectman. Seelig said that the proposed Silver Lake budget calls for a 3.84 or 3.34 percent increase. The selectmen and Seelig agreed that while increases may seem minimal in a single year, they are compounded over several years with the end result being a budget that isn’t sustainable for the town. Seelig also said that he wrote to Senator Michael Brady as well as Representative Kathleen LaNatra about the lack of state aid.

The selectmen, Seelig, and Chief Chaves also discussed the need for and method to pay for an additional 12 hours for the school resource officer (SRO) at the middle school. Currently, the SRO at the middle school is allotted only 8 hours per week, funded by the town of Plympton. The town of Halifax narrowly voted against funding their share of the requested 20 hours for the school resource officer during last spring’s town meeting. Currently, the town of Kingston fully funds the officer at the high school. Seelig said there will be an article on the warrant at this year’s town meeting to fund those hours. All parties are in agreement that there is a need for the officer to be at the school 20 hours a week, though the mechanism to pay for it has been disputed.

Oak Place repairs

Resident Bill Pond of Oak Place attended the meeting to share his concerns regarding the condition of his road and request help from the selectmen for all Halifax residents living on dirt roads. Millias clarified that Oak Place is actually considered an easement rather than a public road. Pond said that the efforts being made by the Highway Department to improve Oak Place are futile and requested that a roller be used. Hayward said that there isn’t enough money to purchase a large enough roller. Hayward also said that according to by-laws, the department is to only go out twice a year with a grader. Hayward further emphasized that they are not supposed to spend any extra money on private roads. Millias suggested to Pond that a place to start might be to petition to accept Oak Place as a public road. Currently the Highway Department rents much of their equipment and hires companies to do much of the work. Andrews suggested to Hayward the possibility of regionalizing with several other neighboring towns and hiring a crew and purchasing equipment to serve the collective communities. Hayward said he would look into the cost of such an endeavor vs. the cost of the current methods.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen is seeking volunteers to serve on the Halifax Council on Aging as the Board has received notice of two vacancies on the Council.

The Council coordinates and carries out programs designed to meet the needs of seniors in Halifax in the areas of health, welfare, education, recreation, and transportation.

Residents interested in serving on the Council on Aging can download a talent bank form at
http://www.halifax-ma.org/board-selectmen/files/talent-bank-form-2019  and submit it to the Board of Selectmen, 499 Plymouth Street, Halifax, MA 02338 or contact the Selectmen’s Office at 781-294-1316 to obtain one.

The Halifax School Committee began their Monday, January 6 meeting with a review of the budget. The meeting was the last for Superintendent Joy Blackwood before her retirement. Blackwood said that herself, new superintendent (former assistant superintendent) Jill Proulx, and Director of Business Services Christine Healy have been working on five budgets simultaneously.

The Halifax Finance Committee requested a level service budget during a meeting with administrators. As a result, requests for additional staff were not included in the budget being presented Monday. Those requests include an additional teacher for a much larger than average class size, a math coach, and a band teacher. Currently band is offered after school only and at a cost. Blackwood would like to see the program reinstated during school hours in order to allow all students to participate and level the playing field. It would be a shared position between Halifax and Dennett Elementary in Plympton. Kingston brought band back this past year.

Halifax Elementary School principal Kayne Beaudry developed three options to fulfill the need for additional help with the large grade. The most obvious, but most expensive, option would be to hire a new classroom teacher. Another option would be to move a classroom teacher from a grade with a lower enrollment, in this case the current kindergarten class. Another option for the current school year would be to reassign some support staff.

Blackwood said that the budget reflects a 65 percent reimbursement from Circuit Breaker, the state special education reimbursement program, although that number could be as high as 72 percent. According to Blackwood the special education numbers reflect that the school is meeting the current and anticipated needs of all students.

Four students are graduating from the out of district vocational program. Three spots will be saved for students that will potentially apply before the deadline in April. Unless someone moves into the town, $27,000 will be returned from this account to the town.

Utilities decreased substantially for the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget thanks to the new roof, new siding, and new doors. “Halifax invested heavily in this building and it is really reflected; we’re actually seeing real numbers… it’s pretty exciting to be able to say that and that’s not a sentence I can say in any other district.”

Enrollment in Halifax has been decreasing over the last ten years. In 2010 enrollment at Halifax Elementary stood at 652 and by 2019 it was down to 586. The same trend is seen for Halifax students at the secondary level. Homeschool enrollment has been holding steady around 5 students for the last few years. Additionally, 10 Halifax students attend school out of the district through school choice. The town receives no Chapter 70 funding for students attending school elsewhere (either through school choice or homeschooling). The good news is that the lower enrollment numbers mean a decrease in the assessment for Halifax whereas Kingston will see an increase.

The busing number that is currently in the budget is just a placeholder and Blackwood said that they hope to have a final number by February. There are no retirements in Halifax and thus there will be no cost savings related to that.

“We’re coming in at a very reasonable percentage increase, I think,” Blackwood said of the increase of 2.18 percent in the proposed budget thus far.

Halifax Elementary School Chairman Summer Schmaling gave an update on the Halifax Youth and Recreation Department (HYRD).  Director Dick Steele said they are moving into their winter phase with both town basketball and travel basketball kicking off.

Steele also extended a thank you to the school for the use of their facilities as well as the additional help they provide to make Holidays in Halifax a success. Steele will be in touch with school building administrators about redoing the floor in the gym during April vacation. The next big event on the radar for the department will be the egg hunt in March.

Beaudry reported on recent and upcoming events at the school. Beaudry spoke highly of the winter concert led by music teacher Brenda Lessard and performed by the chorus. “It is great to get everybody in the gymnasium all together,” Beaudry said.

A new event this year was the MARC (Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center) Assembly. MARC is part of Bridgewater State and the assembly, which is presented by a Bridgewater State student, focuses on anti-bullying and anti-cyber-bullying. “The presenter was amazing, really kind of knew all the current lingo and terminology and talked to the students on their level,” Beaudry told the committee.

The MCAS calendar is out and is available on the school website. The testing window for English and Language Arts (ELA) will be from April 13 to May 1.  Math testing will be held from May 5 to May 15 and science for Grade 5 will be on May 19.

At the close of the meeting, Schmaling took the time to thank Blackwood for her years of dedication saying, “I’m grateful for you always being there, being a mentor… asking and answering any questions that we might have. I really appreciate and value our relationship and everything that you’ve done to support our committee and our town and our children both in this town and throughout the entire district… the amount of manpower and hours and dedication that you bring to our community doesn’t go unnoticed.” Blackwood said, “Thank you, it’s been an honor and a privilege. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in the district and it really has meant the world to me to be your superintendent.”