The Silver Lake High football team has a real opportunity to end their season on a strong note this Thursday.

The Lakers have been in what is essentially a rebuilding year, going 2-8 in their first 10 games, but they can at least up that total to three wins as they host the Pembroke Titans on Thanksgiving morning (10:00 a.m. start time) in their annual bout.

While the game does not really have any implications, it will be one to remember for members of their senior class as it will be the final football game of their Laker careers.

This year’s senior class is exceptionally small for a Patriot League football team, featuring just nine players in all: Jake Waters, Ben Winslow, Dan Duggan, Cam Danahy, Dan Walsh, Bobby Ohlson, Alex Duke, Marshall Roy and Derek Ingersoll. Waters, who has been an asset to the Lakers as a defensive back, may be able to participate in the Thanksgiving bout despite having missed much of the season with an injury.

The game provides the Lakers with a few opportunities: one being to potentially pick up their first Patriot League win this season, another to get their first home win this year and another being to see what type of shape they are in headed into next season. The team will have plenty of returning starters so the bout will be a good indicator of where they look sharp and where they need to improve .

for the 2019 season.

HALIFAX – Chief Joao Chaves, formerly a lieutenant at the New Bedford Police Department, officially took over as head of the Halifax Police Department from Chief Ted Broderick Tuesday, Nov. 13.

The 53-year-old married father of a son spoke with the Express Friday in a wide-ranging interview where he asked almost as many questions about the town as were asked of him.

The Dartmouth resident who will be relocating to the Halifax area within the year, was chosen by selectmen for the position from four semi-finalists in October after an exhaustive selection process. He was visibly excited to be leading the HPD and enthusiastically spoke about settling in and getting to know the town, developing a vision for the department, challenges that Halifax is facing and his background growing up.

Chaves said that, under his leadership, the Halifax police will be known for treating people with dignity and respect as well as transparency.

“I want the [officers] to treat people like they would treat their own parents. I don’t have time for guys with bad attitudes,” he added.

But he doesn’t see the department needing any major overhauls.

“I’ve come into a good, well-run place,” said Chaves.

The Selectmen have previously stated that they, too, are pleased with how the department has been running, although Chaves does come with some new ideas.

Some early thoughts mentioned include streamlining some duties and responsibilities so that officers can be more efficient and bringing new programs to Halifax Elementary School through the School Resource Officer.

Chaves is still defining his priorities and is taking time now to informally interview officers so they can get to know him, and he can learn more about them and how the department functions.

New Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves in his office on Friday, Nov. 16.

“It’s hard for a stranger to come in and take over,” he said.

Chaves said he is also getting to know other town officials, including Fire Chief Jason Viveiros, who he is grateful to for “taking me under his wing.”

“I’ve been humbled by the positive responses I’ve gotten,” he said, regarding his arrival on the force. He described the many officials and townspeople who have been very welcoming to him. He has been meeting with department heads to introduce himself and hear their concerns, as well.

Chaves spoke extensively about how the opioid epidemic has affected the town. Most crimes in Halifax are property crimes, he said, but the opioid problem may be worse than many think. Chaves said that although there has been a drop in the number of overdoses based on last year’s numbers, there has been an increase in opioid-related fatalities in town. “It affects all types of people,” he said of the problem, mentioning class and socioeconomic status as examples.

Chaves said his extended family had also been affected by opioids. “This affects us all,” he added, and plans to continue the work that the HPD has done with Plymouth County Outreach to assist those struggling with addiction and their families.

Chaves was born in Chaves, Portugal, a town that he joked was named after him, in the northern part of the country, near the Spanish border. The city is known for its ancient history and architecture, going back to the Roman period, he says. He said he grew up in a small village outside Chaves, under communism.

His parents fled Portugal with him and his older sister, first to Spain and then to France when he was 6 years old. His father worked construction jobs while his mother cleaned houses to make a living. After he finished elementary school in France, an aunt who resided in Massachusetts sponsored his family to come here and they emigrated to New Bedford.

Chaves describes the transition to the U.S. from Europe as “really tough.”

“I was speaking French and Portuguese to my sister, and everyone else was speaking a foreign language,” he said. But a bilingual Portuguese/English program in his middle school had him speaking fluent English by high school.

“It kind of forced me to learn English. When you’re a kid, it’s easy,” he said. Chaves says he still speaks Portuguese with his mother, and his son is minoring in the language at college, although they speak English at home. He still reads and understands some French.

After high school, he thought he wanted to seek a career in law enforcement, and almost became a correctional officer. In a twist of fate, he got a call from the NBPD with a job offer and spent the next 31 years there.

Chaves studied at the undergraduate and graduate level at Western New England University in Springfield.

At the NBPD, he has held positions in everything from internal affairs to the major crimes division. His experience is extensive, according to his resumé, including several FBI management classes.

Chaves said that as soon as he settles in, he’s coming into his first budget season as a chief, so that will keep him quite occupied.

But for now, “I like to be on the road … I want to get to know the town,” said Chaves. He seems well on his way to doing just that.

Every year, there are a great deal of talented athletes who come through the Patriot League both in the Keenan Division and Fisher Division to compete against teams throughout the South Shore and beyond.

The athletes are also recognized year after year for what they have achieved on the playing surface and earlier this month, the Patriot League awards were announced for a few different sports. With this in mind, here is a look at which Silver Lake athletes were recognized.

Soccer

Forward Patrick McMahon took home the highest honor possible in boys’ soccer: Patriot League MVP. Needless to say, he was also a league All-Star and the same could be said for many of his teammates including Justin Keating, Colin Canniff, James Gallagher, Alex Loyd and Cole Whidden. While six winners for one team may seem like a lot, it should come as no surprise that the Lakers had so many league All-Stars this year. After all, they went undefeated during the regular season (17-0-1) and won the Patriot League championship.

On the girls side, there were three more All-Star selections. Calliste Brookshire, Izzy Ruprecht and Hannah Vogt were all recipients of the honor. Plus, Ari Damery earned the team’s sportsmanship award while Ellie Swanson was their scholar-athlete.

Cross Country

On the boys side, Ryan McCarthy and Chris Tilton earned the nod as Patriot League Keenan Division All-Stars for Silver Lake. While the girls did not have any All-Stars after going 0-4 in league play, Ally Tonsberg, the Lakers top runner, did receive the team’s sportsmanship award and was also named their scholar-athlete. 

Field Hockey

The Lakers had one player selected as a Patriot League All-Star: senior midfielder Colleen Foley.

Football, Boys Golf and Volleyball

As of Wednesday morning the football, volleyball and boys’ golf Patriot League All-Star recipients had not been revealed, but they are expected to be announced later this month.

Albeit they did not make it to the MIAA tournament this season, the Silver Lake football team continues to compete hard–and their offense shined last week.

While the Lakers were unable to come out on top in their Thursday, Nov. 1 bout against the Rockland Bulldogs, they scored three touchdowns in the 42-21 bout; it was their third-highest point total of the season and the most they had scored in a game in which they did not come out on top. With the loss, the Lakers fell to 2-7 on the season.

From an offensive standpoint, quarterback Ben Lofstrom helped propel the team’s attack, among others including Michael Cambria, who had a pair of touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving) in the team’s 27-9 win over Norwood one week prior.

The Lakers next bout is this Friday, Nov. 9 against a Patriot League opponent. They are set to host the Hanover Indians in a game that will start at 6 p.m., according to MaxPreps. It is their second to last game of the season as they will have a bye week next week, giving them more time to prepare for their Thanksgiving Day (November 22) bout against the Pembroke Titans.

The Lakers will be at home on Turkey Day this season and both of those games present the team with the opportunity to earn their first Patriot League win of the season; so far, they are 0-5 in league action this year. The two opponents left on the Lakers schedule are in the Fisher Division while Silver Lake is in the Keenan Division and Hanover is 5-4 this season while Pembroke is 1-8 on the year. Offensively, Pembroke has struggled mightily this season, averaging just six points per game while allowing more than 30 in those same contests.

The Second Senate District for Plymouth and Bristol features incumbent Democratic State Sen. Michael Brady facing off against Republican candidate Scott Hall.

Brady is currently seeking re-election for his third term for the district, which represents Plympton, Halifax, Hanson, Whitman, Brockton, and parts of East Bridgewater and Easton. Prior to becoming a senator, he served four terms as State Representative in the Ninth Plymouth District.

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Revenue where he has worked to provide funding for the district for education, public safety, infrastructure, seniors and veterans, according to a statement from Brady’s campaign.

Some funding the campaign highlighted included:

•$1,000,000 for expanded handicapped accessibility and building code improvements at Halifax Council on Aging and $50,000 for design of a new building and parking.

•$500,000 to build four monitoring stations to monitor cyanobacteria levels in Monponsett Pond.

•$500,000 to design and construct a pump house system for distributing aluminum sulfate in Monponsett Pond.

•$320,000 for new field lighting at Silver Lake Regional High School.

•$170,000 for Central Plymouth County Water District Advisory Committee for water quality monitor program.

A statement from Brady’s campaign said, “Senator Brady will continue to support and fund and protecting public education, incentives for renewable energy resources, opioid abuse prevention, helping veterans, the elderly, and increasing economic development.  He says that constituent services have always been his top priority and will continue to do so if re-elected.”

Challenger Scott Hall has kept a relatively low profile this election season, not using a Facebook page, or social media to promote his campaign. His website focuses on cutting costs in public safety and schools by investing in more software that can automate and integrate certain departmental tasks.

“Harnessing the power of predictive analytics and other business intelligence solutions would be most effective towards becoming more proactive and less reactive,” his campaign website said. “We can reduce operational costs by millions of dollars within a few years that may also lead to the generation of new revenue streams and additional employment opportunities for the people of the Second Plymouth and Bristol District.”

Despite the low profile, Hall had a strong showing in Plympton’s primary, garnering 222 votes compared to Brady’s 155. Both candidates ran unopposed. In Halifax, Hall had 534 primary votes compared Brady’s 410 votes.

It’s worth noting voter turnout tends to be much lower in primaries compared to general elections.

HALIFAX – Halifax Selectmen held a brief meeting Tuesday, Oct. 23, where they chose a police chief (see accompanying story), heard about challenges to the local and worldwide recycling industry and held a dog hearing.

Recycling Concerns

Sue Johnston, the town’s recycling coordinator and Todd Koep, of the MassDEP, appeared before the board. According to both Town Administrator Charlie Seelig, and Koep, China has been the processor of about 40 percent of the recycled materials for the world for many years now.

About 12 years ago, according to Koep, the entire world was put on notice by China to clean up their recycling. Too many contaminants were making it through in bundles of recyclables. “It’s not that the Chinese aren’t accepting materials, it’s that they’re not accepting contaminated materials.”

In fact, he says, inspectors from China now inspect all loads here in the U.S. before they are shipped to China, rejecting contaminated loads.

In order to prevent this contamination, materials are being run through MRFs (or Material Recovery Facilities) such as the one in Avon that Halifax uses for its recycling program more than one time (sometimes two or three times), to reach the target of only 0.5 percent contamination.

“Halifax has one of the cleanest streams around,” said Koep. “But, most towns are running 20-40 percent contamination,” he added.

Costs are increasing in the short term, and are up to $72.50 per ton, said Johnston.

When the board asked what to do about the problem, Johnston said she simply didn’t know. “Raise the recycling fee?” she asked, tentatively.

Selectman Troy Garron noted that citizens have to dispose of their trash and recyclables properly.

Selectmen Chairman Kim Roy thanked both Johnston and Koep for the history and their time.

Dog Hearing

A dog hearing was held in the case of a 1-year-old Halifax puppy, owned by Erika Azuma, of Lake Street.  The puppy jumped up on a Quincy woman after she attempted to pet him. Noreen Callahan, the Halifax Animal Control Officer, described the incident.

While the owner’s boyfriend was walking the puppy, a Quincy woman and her Halifax date were walking as well. The woman had her sunglasses knocked off when the puppy, apparently excited, jumped up at her while she attempted to pet him. Callahan noted no reports of a bite, injuries or a hospital visit.

The parties went their separate ways, said Azuma, until the Halifax date called the Town Clerk’s office, not wanting to file a complaint, but wanting “owner information” and threatening to sue, according to Callahan, who said he had left two “long-winded” messages.

Callahan, a warm but stern character, was unusually sympathetic to the owner and the puppy. Although she said the dog had “lunged at the victim,” she also noted that “puppies jump.”

“He’s a big puppy,” said Azuma, a veterinary technician, who attended the hearing with her mother. “And sometimes puppies are going to jump,” she added.

Roy, who historically has taken dog hearings very seriously, asked if the dog was in any kind of training program.

“Yes, since February,” Azuma replied.

This prompted Roy to make a motion to take no action regarding the incident, although Garron, himself an animal lover, interjected and made a motion that a standard letter reminding the owner to keep all vaccinations up-to-date and to ensure the dog is licensed be sent.

The motion passed unanimously.

Azuma and her mother thanked Callahan for her help and thanked the board for their decision.

In other BOS news:
• HOPS received permission to raze the playground at the Halifax Elementary School in mid-November so that they can get a head start on building the new playground when the winter is over. They are still short some money, said Jonathan Selig, of HOPS, and any donations are appreciated.

• Evergreen Beverage, doing business as Twin Lakes Liquors, has had their liquor license revocation hearing continued. They are behind on a tax payment plan, and are being given the chance to catch up by the board.

• The board will next meet Monday, Nov. 5, at 9 a.m. (Note the unusual time and date due to scheduling conflicts.)

The Silver Lake High football team continued its Patriot League play last Friday night at home and ran into yet another tough foe.

The Lakers hosted the Whitman-Hanson Panthers and while the game was competitive for the majority of it, Silver Lake was not able to get enough big plays to overcome a now-healthy Panthers squad. The Lakers fell 29-6 in the game and to 1-5 on the season.

At first, it looked like Whitman-Hanson could run away with the game. They scored a pair of touchdowns and hit their extra points just three minutes into the game, making it a 14-0 contest before the Lakers had a full offensive drive. However, the Lakers would fight back with a big play of their own later in the quarter.

Sean Waters reeled in a 71-yard touchdown pass from Ben Lofstrom with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter, making it a 14-6 game. The Lakers played stout defense for the rest of the first half, so this would also end up being the score headed into halftime.

Neither side got much going offensively in the third quarter either, but Whitman-Hanson pounded their way downfield and took a two-touchdown lead with 7:29 left in the game with a short touchdown run and successful two-point conversion.

About a minute later, the Lakers threw an interception which set the Panthers up for a 76-yard touchdown run with 5:23 left in the contest to go up 29-6.

Ultimately, that would end up being the final score because when Whitman-Hanson got to the Lakers 4-yard line with under two minutes remaining in the game, they knelt to run out the clock.

The Lakers next bout is this Friday, Oct. 19 (7:00 p.m.) on the road against the Duxbury Dragons, who are 6-0 so far this season.