PLYMPTON– Plympton Selectmen heard some good news about the Dennett Elementary School Monday night, such as the long-awaited water filter coming online, and a new generator being installed, reimbursed by Town Meeting.

But the theme of the presentation to the board by Jon Wilhelmsen, Chairman of the Plympton School Committee and Joy Blackwood, Superintendent of the Silver Lake Regional School District, was that of a leaky roof.

The elementary school needs a new roof, and, “It’s not in great shape and it’s not going to be cheap,” said Wilhelmsen.

Blackwood said the roof was leaking in many places, and therefore insulation was wet underneath.

“It’s just a mess,” she said.

The two stated that the leaky roof is leading to inefficient air circulation in the building all year-round, causing classrooms to be too hot or too cold. Blackwood also mentioned that she believed this in turn leads to what she sees as high electricity costs at the Dennett.

A Massachusetts School Building Authority grant may be able to pay for somewhere in the range of 40-50% of the project, which Selectmen seemed to reticently accept.

Blackwood, as Superintendent, must apply for the grant and then Plympton assumes responsibility for the project. She noted that the due date for the grant, mid-February of next year, comes at a bad time for her.

“It is an astounding amount of work,” she said of the MSBA grant. “It is an onerous project.”

No work will begin on the project until summer of 2020 at the earliest, if the grant application is accepted. An STM approving the funds for whatever portion is not covered by the grant, must be held before then as well, said Blackwood.

Selectmen Chairman John Traynor asked if there would be patching in the meantime, to which Wilhelmsen said, “Yes, we’ll have to.”

Selectman Mark Russo asked if there was any sense of what would happen to the roof if the project was delayed, and Blackwood responded that water problems tend to get worse with time. Grants also come and go, and costs can go up, they said.

“We don’t want to use the ‘m’-word.” Blackwood said, referring to mold.

All agreed that the Dennett roof must be replaced sooner rather than later.

Old Town House

After putting new windows and painting out to bid, contracts were awarded by the selectmen on the recommendation of Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy. MJ Connors Company Inc., of Hanson, won the bid for the new windows for $46,964, after the lowest bidder, Aden Construction Company, Inc., of Dudley, which bid $34,900, withdrew. The painting project was awarded to the lowest bidder, DeMelo Construction Services Corp., of Whitman, for $19,435.

Last week, Dennehy said that the bids came in higher than expected.

Traynor wants to change the lettering on some of the signs on and in front of the building. Dennehy recommended getting one of the historical wooden signs from the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Special Town Meeting Debriefing

Selectmen also spoke about the special Town Meeting held the previous Thursday. 193 registered voters were in attendance, which Russo said was, “pretty amazing.”

“That sense of shared purpose, sense of community was really a beautiful thing, kind of in sharp contrast to other issues we’ve had at Town Meeting,” said Russo.

That kind of attendance rivals some annual Town Meetings, pointed out Traynor and all the board agreed.

The board was very pleased with the Town’s approval of the project to acquire the Twin Brooks Preserve.

In other news:

• The board will next meet Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at Town House.

• Town House will be closed Oct. 8 in observance of Columbus Day.

PLYMOUTH– Documents at Plymouth Superior Court show that allegations against Robert Tinkham, the current Plympton Health Agent, have been amended. The complaint, submitted by counsel for the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District, details and expands allegations against Tinkham, specifically.

He stands accused of nine civil charges, including Conversion and Civil Theft, Fraud, Civil Conspiracy, as well as violations of the Uniform Procurement Act and the Conflict of Interest Law.

He is accused with two other defendants, Ray Pickles and his wife, Diane Bondi-Pickles. Pickles is the elected Marion town clerk while Bondi-Pickles is a real-estate agent.

The corruption by the defendants has resulted in monetary damages to the waste district in an amount in excess of $838,458.22, according to court records, and the investigation is ongoing by state and local officials.

The Office of the Inspector General is investigating, as well.

Tinkham, of Carver, previously worked as the Carver Health Agent, and, in that capacity, served as Carver’s representative to, and, at times, chairman of the committee overseeing the waste district. Pickles was the Executive Director of the waste district and the authorized signatory of all its accounts.

Committee members did not receive compensation for their services to the district, yet Tinkham received monetary payments from the district for periods of time between 1995 and 2018. He did not have a contract or employment agreement with the district, and no taxes were withheld on the payments, according to the lawsuit.

He stands accused of billing the waste district for landfill inspections while working for the Town of Carver. The Town of Carver job description for the health agent includes inspecting the Carver landfill, according to public records.

In 2007, Carver officials reaffirmed this aspect of Tinkham’s job description, and that he would be “paid for such work by Carver, even if the work occurred outside his normal working hours.”

But, the Carver landfill, leased by the district, is inspected by a professional engineer. Tinkham is not an engineer, according to his résumé, and he kept no records of his inspections for Carver, if they indeed occurred, the lawsuit alleges.

The total amount paid to him for inspections by the district was $88,990.

The plaintiffs submitted 13 representative examples from 2004 and 2005 alone of Tinkham collecting payments from the district while being paid a salary from the Town of Carver.

Tinkham also stands accused of providing no goods or services in connection with money he was paid for the district’s “Grant/Recycling” services, between 2012 and 2018, totaling $88,100.

He allegedly submitted false documentation for payment for that work.

Tinkham finally stands accused of receiving payments not supported by any documentation at all. “In total, there are 82 payments totaling $86,703.82 for which payment was made but the District has no invoice or proof of any services rendered.”

The fraud was discovered when Pickles, in 2017, without the authorization of the committee, sought payment of assessments from the district towns for the first time since 2015.

When Carver and Wareham refused to pay, claiming a lack of documentation, Pickles used district counsel, again without authorization, to sue for breach of contract in Wareham District Court.

That suit was voluntarily dismissed.

The actions by Pickles led to the discovery of inappropriate expenditures by the district. Pickles was terminated Jan. 29, 2018.

The district is seeking triple-damages, interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.

The district was created as a regional refuse disposal district in 1973 by a special act of the General Court. It is an independent body-politic, based in Marion, funded by user-fees, assessments to the member towns and agreements with third-parties.

Pickles and Bondi-Pickles are seeking to go to trial. Tinkham is seeking to have the proceedings dismissed.

Tinkham denies all accusations.

The Silver Lake High boys’ football team will stay within the Patriot League in the first week of the regular season.

The Lakers are scheduled to host the North Quincy Red Raiders on Saturday, Sept. 8 (2:00 p.m. start time) in their opener. Certainly, a win to start the season would give the Lakers a leg up on the competition as they hope to earn their third straight playoff bid. Right now, it appears as though the Lakers have a strong chance to achieve that feat.

The Red Raiders are in a different position than many teams this season. They went 4-7 last year, graduated the majority of their offensive line and will have a new quarterback taking over. Plus, they have a new head coach in Ryan Craig, who coached youth football for the past several seasons.

Since the Red Raiders experience is primarily on the ends on both sides of the ball, as well as at running back and in their secondary, a strong run game and tough run defense will likely be the key to victory for the Lakers in this one.

Neither team has much experience on the line, but having senior co-captains Marshall Roy and Cam Danahy at linebacker should give the Lakers some confidence when it comes to stopping the opposing running backs.

Regardless of who is at quarterback–junior Jesse Miller or sophomore Ben Lofstrom–having Bobby Ohlson, a senior co-captain, at wide receiver should help the team gain some yards in the air when needed. However, the running back corps led by the other team’s captain, Jake Waters, will likely determine how the game goes offensively for the team–as will the protection they receive up front.

Per usual, the first game of the season will give fans a glimpse of what the Lakers are capable of achieving this season. Playing against another young team should be a good test to see how they will fare in the league this season.

The SIlver Lake High football team has a bit of a different look this season.

The team which made it to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, graduated quite a bit of talent and is now working with a younger, less experienced squad.

This time around, the Lakers have just nine seniors on their roster and more than 20 juniors; the issue they face is that not a lot of these players have a ton of varsity experience. Perhaps the biggest unexpected blow was losing their return man Diamani Williams, whose family moved elsewhere.

Right now, it’s unclear who will be the team’s starting quarterback; competition exists between Jesse Miller, a junior, and Ben Lofstrom, a sophomore. What is clear is that the Lakers do have some talent at wide receiver. Two of their captains, Bobby Ohlson and Jake Waters, man the position.

Defensively, the linebacking corps should be a strength for the Lakers. This is because two more of their captains, Marshall Roy and Cam Danahy, play there. Waters also brings experience on the defensive side of the ball, playing cornerback.

However, the Lakers offensive line will be brand new. They lost every one of their starters to graduation which gives opportunities to some other players like seniors Alex Duke, Derek Ingersoll and juniors Will Hesketh and Aidan Crone.

T he Lakers are coached by Chris DiGiacomo, who is in his fourth season with the team. So far, he is 18-15 in his head coaching tenure with the Lakers; last year’s squad finished the season at 7-4.

The Lakers open up their regular season at home on Saturday, Sept. 8 against the North Quincy Red Raiders (2:00 p.m. start time). In all, they have seven regular season games scheduled, not including their annual Thanksgiving day bout with the Pembroke Titans.

PLYMPTON/HALIFAX– On Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 candidates for federal and state offices will face off in party primaries. In Plympton and Halifax, residents will choose from the following candidates. (In no particular order.)

Democratic Ballot

Incumbent Elizabeth Warren, of Cambridge, is running uncontested for another 6-year term as U.S. Senator.

Two candidates for Governor are running in the primary, Jay Gonzales, of Needham, and Bob Massie, of Sommerville along with their respective Lieutenant Governor candidates Quentin Palfrey, of Weston, and Jimmy Tingle of Cambridge.

Incumbent Maura Healey, of Boston, is running uncontested for another term as Attorney General.

For the office of Secretary of State, incumbent William Galvin is running against Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim, both of Boston.

Incumbents Deborah Goldberg of Brookline and Suzanne Bump of Easton, are each running for Treasurer and Auditor, respectively, uncontested.

Incumbent Bill Keating, of Bourne, is running for Congress again in the Ninth District, and is being challenged by Bill Cimbrelo, of Barnstable.

Incumbent Christopher Iannella, Jr., of Boston, is running for Governor’s Council. Mark Rooney, also of Boston, is running against him.

Senator Michael Brady, of Brockton, is running for another term as State Senator for the Second Plymouth & Bristol District.

For the Twelfth Plymouth District, Kathleen LaNatra, of Kingston and a former selectman there, is running uncontested for State Representative.

Robert S. Creedon, Jr., of Brockton, is running for Plymouth County Clerk of Courts and John Buckley, Jr., also of Brockton is running for Register of Deeds, both unopposed.

The Democrats do not have anyone running for Plymouth County District Attorney or Plymouth County Commissioner.

Republican Ballot

Republicans have three choices for U.S. Senator, Geoff Diehl, of Whitman, John Kingston, of Winchester, and Beth Joyce Lindstrom, of Groton.

Governor Charlie Baker, of Swampscott, and Karyn Polito, Lieutenant Governor, of Shrewsbury, are running for another term. Scott Lively, of Springfield, is running against Baker.

James McMahon, III, of Bourne, and Daniel Shores, of Hingham, are facing off for Attorney General.

For the office of Secretary of State, Anthony Amore, of Swampscott is running uncontested.

Keiko Orral, of Lakeville, and Helen Brady, of Concord, are each running for Treasurer and Auditor, respectively, uncontested.

Peter Tedeschi, of Marshfield, is running uncontested for Representative in Congress for the Ninth District.

The Republicans are not fielding candidates for Governor’s Council, Plymouth County Clerk of Courts or Plymouth County Register of Deeds.

Scott Hall, of Brockton, is running for a term as State Senator for the Second Plymouth & Bristol District.

For the Twelfth Plymouth District, Halifax’s own Summer Schmaling, an Elementary School Committee member, is running against Joseph Truschelli, of Plymouth, for State Representative.

Timothy Cruz, of Marshfield, is running uncontested for Plymouth County District Attorney.

Sandra Wright, of Bridgewater, is running again for Plymouth County Commissioner uncontested.

The Republicans are not fielding candidates for Governor’s Council, Plymouth County Clerk of Courts or Plymouth County Register of Deeds.

Libertarian Ballot

The Libertarians are offering one candidate for office, Helen Brady, of Concord, for Auditor. Brady is also running for the office as a Republican.

Where do I vote?

All Plympton residents vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Road, Plympton.

In Halifax, all precincts vote 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the all-purpose room at the Halifax Elementary School, 464 Plymouth Street, Halifax. Voter registration for the primaries has closed.

The winners of the primary election races will face off in the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.

The Silver Lake High football team has already made it clear who they expect to be among their team’s leaders this season.

Sometimes, teams may wait until the season to determine who those leaders will be, but the Lakers made the decision early. According to the Silver Lake High football Twitter account, the Lakers have already named their captains for the 2018 season. In all, they selected three players: Bobby Ohlson, Cam Danahy and Marshall Roy, all of whom are incoming seniors.

Ohlson, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds, will certainly help the Lakers passing game once again this season; he served as the team’s primary wide receiver last season. 

Danahy, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, has shined in two sports. Not only has he played well as an outside linebacker, but he is also a key player on the Lakers basketball team.

Roy, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds provides the Lakers with some versatility. An experienced outside linebacker, he is also capable of playing tight end and even long snapping on special teams.

Outside of the three captains, the Lakers will likely receive leadership from the rest of their senior class. What is clear though is that this group of seniors has the opportunity to earn a third straight appearance in the postseason. After all, they made trips to the postseason in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, when this group of seniors were sophomores, the team made school history with their playoff win over Scituate; it was the Lakers first football playoff win since 1980. The Lakers also won a playoff game last season, 20-18 over Dighton-Rehoboth.

According to MaxPreps.com, the Lakers open up their upcoming regular season on Friday, Sept. 9 at home against a Patriot League opponent, North Quincy (2:00 p.m. start time).

HANOVER — The job title and office are new, but South Shore Tech Principal Mark Aubrey, 49, is a familiar face at the school where he has been a teacher or administrator since 1999. Following a lengthy interview process, he stepped up to the principal’s office to succeed Margaret Dutch, who retired at the end of the 2017-18 school year.

“This is where I belong,” Aubrey said. “I’m a believer that, if you’re a good teacher you can teach anywhere, but to be a great teacher you have to be in the right place.”

The son of a Greater Lowell Tech graduate, Aubrey — who was born in Montana while his father served in the Air Force — is a believer in the benefits of a vocational education.

Like his WHRHS counterpart Dr. Christopher Jones, he did not set out after graduating from high school to become a teacher. Aubrey initially wanted to become an architect, but his experience as a youth sports coach made him realize that teaching and connecting