Town clerk Patricia Detterman and town moderator Barry DeCristofano both attended the Monday, December 2 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting to prepare for the special town meeting on December 16.

Thirty-five people will have to be present to constitute a quorum. There will be seven articles on the warrant to be voted upon. Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said that the warrant would be mailed to residents. Dennehy said that the cost for making and printing the warrant for the mailing was $1500 so future warrants may need to be distributed only electronically.

Article 1, which pertains to zoning, will be handled by the Planning Board and will require a two-thirds vote to pass. Article 2, which pertains to the police chief, will require a majority vote. Selectman Chair Christine Joy will speak on the article. Article 3 which requires a majority vote would authorize the selectmen to create safety zones with reduced speed limits. Selectman Mark Russo will make the motion and speak to the article. Selectman John Traynor agreed to speak on Article 4 which intends to secure money for a Council on Aging van. It will require a two-thirds vote. Chair of the Bylaw Review Committee Alan Wheelock will speak to Article 5 which would change the fees, etc. related to animal control. It will require a majority vote to pass. Articles 6 and 7 require a majority vote and will be explained by a member of the Board of Assessors.

A tax classification hearing for fiscal year 2020 was originally scheduled during Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting but Dennehy received notification during the meeting that the Assessors had canceled and moved the meeting to 6:15 on December 16 at Dennett Elementary School just prior to the special town meeting.

The Selectmen shared an update on the efforts of the Town Campus Committee who met for the first time the previous week. “They are going to be looking at really, two things. One will be the campus and the other will be building and land needs,” Joy said. The Committee will be setting up a maintenance schedule for building needs including large pieces of equipment such as air conditioners and furnaces. The hope is to eliminate doing band-aid type work on these items and focusing rather on spending money where it can be put to its best use. The next meeting will be January 7 at 6:15 p.m.

Joy said that the town had reached out to both The Brockton Area Transit Authority (BAT) and The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) about bringing services to town. BAT was very interested in meeting with Dennehy and Halifax town administrator Charlie Seelig. Taunton Mayor  Thomas Hoye is the current Chair of the GATRA Advisory Board. Traynor said that he had reached out to State Representative Kathleen LaNatra to organize introductions.

The Selectmen each shared their raves of the past few weeks. Traynor praised the annual Thanksgiving Feast organized by CASA (Community and School Association) and held at Dennett Elementary School. Traynor noted the efforts of the volunteers and said, “It was just a fun time and the spirit of the town was there.” Traynor also mentioned that the Boy Scouts are selling wreaths in town.

Joy’s rave was the upcoming pancake breakfast this Saturday, December 8 at 8 a.m. Santa will also be in attendance. Russo shared an experience he had recently sitting in on a meeting between Executive Director at The Compact of Cape Cod Mark Robinson, a representative from the Open Space Committee, and some private citizens. Russo praised the cooperative effort of those involved to look at a project proactively.

By Mallory McCarthy
The Laker Student Editor

Ms. Cahill’s journalism class sat in a semi-circle, intently listening to the life stories of their guest speaker Dr. Dorothy MacFarlane this past October 15th. MacFarlane is a Kingston resident and graduate of Silver Lake’s class of ‘61. She returned to her alma mater to share her experiences as a woman working in the male-dominated science field. MacFarlane explained her hardships and struggles with sexual harassment throughout her career, and expressed her hopes for gender equality in the future.

As a child, MacFarlane excelled in science and math. She followed her father’s words of wisdom to “aim high,” and wanted to pursue an education in the chemistry field. However, a college advisor told MacFarlane that chemistry is for men, and women should only consider careers in biology. Following this advice, MacFarlane earned her BA in Biology at Northeastern University in 1966, and went on to earn a master’s degree in physiology in 1972.

MacFarlane experienced sexual harassment during her college experiences. She told the students how she was afraid to walk down certain hallways in the school buildings because some male professors and administrators were notorious for cornering the young female students. MacFarlane said the harassment ranged from unwanted verbal advances to physical abuse. Whatever the victimized students endured, MacFarlane made it clear that there was nowhere to seek justice– often times the individuals students should turn to for help were perpetrators.

When MacFarlane landed a job with the U.S. Borax company and moved out to California to begin her career, she hoped she would be taken more seriously. Yet, sexism in the workplace was evident from the very beginning of MacFarlane’s experience, with male higher-ups penalizing women for their achievements.

MacFarlane explained to Laker students how the harassment was not always blatant: Her presentations were at times cut short with insignificant questions, and she was often scheduled to present last, when all the men of the company were eager to leave and play golf. MacFarlane felt that she was not always taken seriously and granted the respect she deserved, and she was paid less than male individuals who had the same qualifications. This subtle, but continous discrimination only progressed as she attempted to flourish in her field.

Eventually the harassment became physical and more egregious. During a company trip to Puerto Rico, she was groped by one of her coworkers on the dance floor. Incensed by this, MacFarlane fled to her hotel room, where the man followed her and repetitively knocked on the door. MacFarlane was mortified by the unwanted attention and commotion caused, and waited until the man gave up. Later, she answered a phone call and remembered hearing, not only the voice of the pursuing man, but the laughter of her colleagues in the background. The people she thought of as friends, along with her bosses, found the situation entertaining and did nothing to rectify the hurt and embarrassment MacFarlane felt.

 After that trip, MacFarlane realized she would never be valued as an equal in that company. She shared that women did not have many options with regard to sexual harassment in the workplace. “Either you took it or you left.” MacFarlane left. This decision afforded MacFarlane the opportunity to continue her education, and she eventually earned her doctorate in biology in 1996.

In the wake of campaigns like the #metoo movement, Doctor Dot’s experiences are relevant more than ever. While sexual discrimination still remains part of our nation’s institutionalized culture, Dr. Dot is hopeful that women will keep making forward progress. She found assurance in the fact that Cahill’s thirteen year-old daughter could not conceptualize the wardrobe limitations put on female college students in the 70’s. When Dr. Dot explained she was only allowed to wear pants on Saturdays, Cahill’s daughter questioned, “What did you wear then!?” The skirt rules of the past are so far removed from the eight-grader’s current experience, that she misunderstood Dr. Dot’s anecdote.

Dr. Dot is still visibly angry and upset when she talks about the harassment she endured so many years ago.  She stood up against inequalities and hopes that by sharing her stories young people can continue to make progress. She encourages Laker students to live by her father’s words and “aim high” for the future.

The Silver Lake High football team might not be in the playoffs anymore, but they did have a strong performance against a playoff-caliber team.

Last Friday night, the Lakers hosted the Nauset Warriors and shined on both sides of the ball en route to a 28-0 victory. With the win, the Lakers improved to 5-5 on the season.

An early interception by Drew Keiran gave the Lakers the ball around midfield, and they capitalized on the field position. Ben Lofstrom capped off the drive with a short touchdown run and Keiran’s extra point made it 7-0 Lakers.

In the second quarter, Keiran had another interception, once again giving the Lakers solid field position. This time, they scored on a 35-yard touchdown run by Matt Gabra; Keira hit the extra point, putting the Lakers up 14-0.

Defensively, the Lakers had three first half interceptions; Owen Thompson got one on a deep ball as time expired.

The Lakers started the second half with the ball and Jake LaFerrara caught a touchdown pass from Lofstrom to complete a 60-yard drive. Nauset blocked the Lakers extra point attempt, making it a 20-0 game.

With Gabra excelling on the ground, the team also moved the ball downfield early in the fourth quarter. In the red zone, Lofstrom then hit Sean Waters with a short touchdown pass. The Lakers went for two and Waters caught another pass from Lofstrom, giving the Lakers a 28-0 lead.

The Lakers defense continued to shut down Nauset and Kyle Cipullo blocked a punt, giving the Lakers the ball back; with the game out of reach, they put in their second offense.

The Lakers have one last game left on their schedule: the annual Thanksgiving Day bout against the Pembroke Titans (10:00 a.m. start time).

Pembroke is the home team this year but surely, the Lakers have to be the favorite to win this one. Pembroke is 2-8 this season and coming off a 42-6 loss to Dedham, a team who did not make the playoffs this season.

Vice Chair Jason Fraser provided an update on the playground plans for the Dennett Elementary School at the Plympton School Committee meeting on Monday, Nov. 4. Fraser and Dennett Principal Peter Veneto had what Fraser described as “a very fruitful meeting” with consultant Joseph Dufour of O’Brien and Sons.

The two-hour meeting included a discussion of the plans to make the new playground as accessible as possible for all students. The original plan included a wheelchair accessible swing but Dufour said it takes two people to man the swing and because of risks posed by the heavy pendulum, it would have to be secluded from the rest of the playground.

Fraser said that since that defeats the purpose of being more inclusive, they will instead have two of the swings on the playground be adaptive swings that are molded and include a harness.

Dufour also dissuaded them from using an abundance of pine bark mulch as it may not be allowed as a surface on playgrounds in the near future as it wears down within 3-6 months affecting its impact resistance.  Dufour suggested incorporating more rubber surface into the design. A rubber surface is wheelchair-accessible whereas woodchips are not. Rubber grounding comes in at $17 per sq. ft., making it more expensive than mulch. Fraser asked the committee if upon completion of the project the contingency fund still exists that it be applied toward more rubber grounding. Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen suggested first running it by some others but agreed saying, “I think provided the money is there and available and there isn’t any cost overrun once the project is finished, I think there is some long term benefit to the town.”

A ground level merry-go-round was another ADA compliant feature that was discussed. The installation, delivery, and equipment will cost an additional $37,000. Dufour said that he could complete the installation over the summer. Regarding the addition, Fraser said, “We really felt that at that point we would have a well-rounded playground that we could hang our hats on and hold onto for the next twenty/twenty-five years.” Fraser asked the committee for their support in using school choice funds toward the merry-go-round.

Regarding cost, Fraser said they currently have $226,000 including school choice funds and Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funds with some money being held back as a contingency fund. As drawn up, the plan proposed by Dufour would cost $201,000. Fraser said it is looking likely that they will be going with O’Brien and Sons for the creation of the new playground.

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx gave a presentation on the Dennett students’ MCAS results. Their results indicated that they are outperforming 73 percent of other elementary and middle schools in the state.

Dennett students had high growth in both English Language Arts (ELA) and math as well as exceeding targets in science. Fraser expressed relief that the outcomes were significantly better than last years’. Wilhelmsen pointed out that given that Plympton has such a small population, the sample same size is limited and therefore a change in just a few students can make a big difference in the results.

Proulx said that chronic absenteeism (a measure used in reporting MCAS results) did rise slightly from 5.1 percent to 6.8 percent. While Proulx asked that no one come to school with the flu she did want to remind parents and students of the importance of coming to school whenever possible.

The Title 1 Director and K-6 Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell also spoke to the committee. Farrell said that Dennett has adopted a new math program this year that is better aligned with state standards.

Farrell also said that they are currently working across the district to ensure that the science curriculum is better aligned with standards. Farrell also informed the committee that there will be a $120,000 cut in Title 1 funding. Farrell said that this year would proceed as usual, but that in January, it will be necessary to evaluate where they are.

Both site visits to the current campuses of the two superintendent finalists were conducted this past week. Final interviews will be held on November 11 and November 12 at 6 pm in the Silver Lake Regional High School library. A final deliberation and decision will be made on November 13 or November 14, if needed.

Important upcoming dates include a D.A.R.E. coffee hour on November 12. The event will be videotaped and posted to the school website. Picture retakes will take place on November 18 and the annual Thanksgiving feast will be on November 20 at 11:30.

There is no school on November 28 and 29.

Stop & Shop has chosen the Monponsett Watershed Association to be part of the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program, designed to make it easy for customers to contribute to their local community while supporting the environment.

For the month of November, each time a $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at the Stop & Shop located in Halifax, $1 will be donated to the MWA.

It is a great way to raise awareness, suppport the environment, and fundraise for the cause.

The bags will be available at various registers at the Halifax Stop & Shop, and at the reusable bag rack.  If you are having trouble finding the bags, ask the store manager where the Community Bags are and he will be happy to show you.

Spread the word about the Community Bag Program and help fund the work of the Monponsett Watershed Association.

The Halifax school committee meeting on Tuesday, October 15 began with a discussion on the current situation with the school’s buses. Halifax Elementary School Principal Kayne Beaudry and Superintendent Joy Blackwood reached out to the bus companies employed by the school to request that data be collected for several weeks regarding schedules and headcounts. According to that data, unlike last year, all buses are now under capacity. Halifax has four buses with capacities of 77 students a piece. The headcount for most of the buses came in in the forties with Bus 23 having sixty something riders. Blackwood explained that while it is required that there be space on the buses for all registered students, these numbers reflect the number of students actually riding the bus on a daily basis.

The data also revealed that the routes that take the longest are Bus 22 in the afternoon and Bus 38 in the morning with those rides averaging around 50 minutes. Currently, Bus 22 is the third of three buses to leave the school in the afternoon heading in the same direction for a time. As a result of the order, Bus 22 needs to stop behind the other buses dropping off students while its own first stop isn’t for nearly 20 minutes into the ride. Beaudry said it may be possible to change the order of the buses to see if it could cut down on ride length for Bus 22. Overall, however, the buses are reporting their completed routes back to the school ten minutes earlier than last year.

School committee members inquired about behavioral issues on the bus and whether there was improvement over last year. Beaudry said that they try to pull and examine the tapes from the bus on a regular basis. Additionally, bus contracts are set to go out to bid soon with Blackwood saying they are exploring the option to do so in the fall rather than the spring. One of the things that both the school committee and administration would like to see come from that are cameras that are located both at the front and back of the buses.

The policies subcommittee recently met to discuss updated school policies. One of the new policies will allow for alternatives to dissection as many students now hold strong beliefs regarding veganism, etc. Blackwood explained that while this has been the practice for quite some time, it is only now becoming official school policy.

Another policy update was made regarding the administration of medications. This policy underwent a thorough vetting including review by legal counsel to ensure that the changes were in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws. Additionally, Blackwood consulted with nurses from all six schools in the district over the summer.

Summer Schmaling told the committee during a Union 31 update that three finalists have now been selected for Superintendent. Schmaling reminded the committee members that the final interview process is open to all school committee members and invited their participation. Field trips to the campuses where the final three candidates are coming from are also going to be scheduled. The search committee hopes to have a final decision made by November 14.

Principal Beaudry gave a report on the recent happenings at Halifax Elementary including the open house held on September 11. Beaudry said, “The place was packed, it was great; it was a good vibe in the building.” The PTO run ice cream social in the cafeteria was also a huge success. The staff also underwent ALICE training (active shooter response training). They plan to roll it out to students as well. Beaudry shared some important upcoming dates as well including the PTO run book fair from October 21 to October 25 in the school library. The Halloween Social is scheduled for October 25 and the Turkey Trot for November 7. Volunteers are still needed for several of the events.

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx gave a presentation on the Halifax MCAS results. Proulx said she met with Beaudry, Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes, and K-6 Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell to go over the results and talk about next steps. While there was marked improvement in English Language Arts (ELA) scores in Grades 3-6, math scores for the same cohort have dropped since 2017. Farrell said it’s often difficult to pinpoint exactly what caused scores to raise or lower but at least partially attributed the drop in math scores to a change in curriculum and explained that, “in implementation of a new curriculum, it’s historical that you see a dip.”

Another area that needs improvement is the Grade 5 science and technical engineering scores. This was the fifth grade’s first time taking the science test. Farrell said that the long-term goal is to move the teaching of science more toward doing and less toward nonfiction reading.  Farrell also pointed out the difficulty of trying to keep up with changing Massachusetts standards, saying, “What isn’t aligned with standards is any textbook that is out there.” Farrell and Proulx assured the committee that they are working on making sure that teachers and students are in the best positions possible to meet those standards.

Farrell, who oversees Title 1 funding and spending, said there was an overall decrease in funding and that this year Halifax is functioning off a $250,000 grant. At this time last year there were 74 students being served under Title 1 and this year there are 83. Despite having more students, Halifax lost one of their four part time Title 1 staff members.

Unlike qualifying for an Individualized Education Program (IEP), determining which students receive Title 1 services is less strict and more fluid. Farrell explained that two pieces of data are used to determine which students will receive Title 1 services. Examples of data include test scores, teacher recommendations, social needs, etc.  Title 1 funds are used for professional development, summer programming, etc.

Farrell said that she is concerned about funding summer programs next year because of the cuts. Ways to supplement the grant money used for the summer programs are currently being explored.

Blackwood provided details regarding enrollment at Halifax Elementary as of October 1. This year’s kindergarten class was smaller than last year’s by nearly 20 students. Unlike Kingston and Plympton that both have an increase of students, overall enrollment at Halifax Elementary was down 22.

For the year 2020, 31.4% of Silver Lake students are from Halifax with estimates placing those numbers at 30.6% for next year. This is good news for Halifax’s budget as it means that their contributions will go down.

Blackwood also gave the committee her recommendations for where funds could best be used to better the school district. Blackwood said that she would recommend a nurse leader and said it was unusual not to have one.  Blackwood urged that it would bring value, safety, and oversight to the district. It would be a part time position and Blackwood estimates that Halifax’s portion of the cost would likely be around $6,000 – $7,000.

The second recommendation was to bring band back during the school day. Blackwood again recommended a part-time position emphasizing that the change would equalize the playing field and allow all students to participate and not just those whohave rides during after school hours. “For many students that is what makes school worthwhile – the extras,” Blackwood explained.

Police Celebrated and Marijuana Discussed during Halifax Selectmen Meeting

Selectman Tom Millias and town administrator Charlie Seelig were both unable to attend the Tuesday, October 8 Halifax Selectmen meeting but Police Chief Joao Chaves was on hand for the swearing in of one officer and the promotion of another.

Andrew Lyczynski, a recent graduate of the Police Academy in Plymouth, began his career with the department in March of 2018. Chaves said, “Andrew was a distinguished student officer earning praises and accolades from both the staff and fellow academy mates. He earned the position of squad leader and led the squad in exemplary fashion.”

Lyczynski’s family stood by to see him sworn in as a member of the Halifax Police Department. Chaves went on to say, “The residents of Halifax should be proud to have such a dedicated professional and community minded police officer.”

Officer Robert McDonnell, who has been with the Halifax Police Department since 2010, received his Detective badge during Tuesday’s meeting. Chaves said of McDonnell, “Throughout his career with the department, Officer McDonnell has distinguished himself not only through his excellent police work but through his dedicated service to the residents of Halifax.”

McDonnell’s list of credentials is lengthy and includes being a member of the SEMLEC (Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council) Search and Rescue Team where he assisted in finding lost children, missing persons, and recovering evidence. He is also a part of the Old Colony Police Anti-Crime Task Force, who work with state police and other departments on narcotic investigations throughout Plymouth County. Additionally, McDonnell conducts all investigations into sexual assaults that are reported to the Halifax Police Department.

Chief Chaves, who said he feels that Officer McDonnell has the skills needed to make a great investigator, shared a story of a recent investigation spearheaded by McDonnell into various shed break-ins that had occurred throughout Halifax. “Within days he identified a suspect, corroborated information with another police department, and requested warrants for the arrest of the suspect,” Chaves explained.

President and CEO Alex Mazin and Vice President of Community Relations Greg Czarnowski of Bud’s Goods and Provisions met with the Selectmen to discuss the possibility of an adult use outdoor marijuana cultivation facility on the same lot where Four Daughters had previously planned to build an indoor facility.

Mazin gave a thorough presentation explaining his philosophy on the environmental, financial, and socio-economic benefits of outdoor cultivation versus indoor cultivation. According to Mazin, outdoor cultivation is more sustainable for the environment and also has significantly lower startup and operational costs as compared to indoor cultivation.  Lighting, air movement, and temperature controls all contribute to the costly nature of an indoor growing environment.

According to Mazin, the costs to build a 50,000 sq. ft. indoor facility is estimated at $10,000,000 whereas the cost to build a 100,000 sq. ft. outdoor cultivation facility (or farm, essentially) is only around $300,000. The lower startup and operational costs mean more affordable products which, according to Mazin’s presentation, “bridges the gap for disadvantaged communities.” Mazin explained, “My belief is that if we cannot allow outdoor cultivation and greenhouse cultivation the whole effort on the war on drugs is a facade because you’re never going to be able to bring down the pricing to the point where you compete with the black market.”

Bud’s, which was established in 2016, is seeking a Host Community Agreement to build the outdoor growing facility with a 15,000 sq. ft. storage building on the 47-acre parcel of land located at 111 River St. That lot is currently zoned industrial and is not within 500 ft. of a school, park, daycare, or any other location where children primarily congregate.

Selectman Gordon Andrews pointed out that a special town meeting is scheduled for October 21 at which residents will vote on a citizen’s petition to increase the distance between residential areas and marijuana growing facilities. It would require a quorum of 100 people with two-thirds of them voting in favor of such a change to amend the by-law. If it passes, the lot on River St. would have to be re-evaluated as a site.

Mazin informed the selectmen that Bud’s had hired a civil engineer to review the land to allow them to predict what they could potentially cultivate on this land seasonally. According to their estimates, the six-month harvest, which would start in May and end in October, would produce a yield of 5,739 lbs. with a total revenue of $9,756,300 in the first year.

As was established with the Four Daughters agreement, 3% wholesale would go to the town estimated at $292,689. Assuming all went according to plan, Bud’s estimates that by 2023 Halifax would see over a million dollars in municipal revenue.

In addition to the financial benefits, Mazin also emphasized job creation as well as positive environmental effects. “I know Halifax is a farming community and the history was a farming community and so I think this sort of fits that and I’d like to see my efforts in changing the notion that cannabis is a manufacturing technique; it is farming, it is nothing more than another crop that you can grow,” Mazin said.

Chair Troy Garron said, “My feeling at this point in time is that even though we voted, the town, on Article 4 to make marijuana legal for adults, the tide has sort of changed.” Garron and Andrews told Mazin that they couldn’t provide an answer at this time and that a lot would depend on the result of the vote on October 21.

Several town positions have recently become available. Sadly, Jack Mather passed away recently, leaving a need for someone from the public to take his place as the town representative on the Old Colony Planning Council. Jonathan Soroko resigned from the Planning Board effective immediately. Longtime member of the Board of Health John Delano is set to retire in early November, leaving an opening that will need to be filled in the interim before the election in May.