Kingston – The Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kingston Public Library will jointly present a free string quartet concert titled, “A History through Music,” on Wednesday, April 3 at 6 p.m. at the Kingston Intermediate School auditorium, 66 Second Brook St., Kingston.
“We’re excited to collaborate with the Kingston Public Library in presenting a free chamber ensemble concert for the community,” said Kim Corben, Executive Director of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra. “Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to utilize the Kingston Intermediate School cafeteria for some of our concert rehearsals. In appreciation, we hope students, families, and Phil fans will come out to enjoy a free evening of beautiful music.”
The 45-minute program will feature a variety of musical periods including baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary. The string quartet will perform Loure from Third Suite for Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Minuet from Quartet in D minor by Joseph Hayden, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13, Franz Schubert’s Moment Musicaux, the String Quartet in F Major by Antonin Dvořák, and Libertango by Astor Piazzolla.
Kingston Public Library Reference Librarian Steven Miller will introduce each piece, and the concert will conclude with a brief question and answer session with the musicians. The quartet features Plymouth Philharmonic members Ana-Maria LaPointe and Aleksandra Labinska on violin, Elizabeth Christensen on viola, and Peter Zay on cello.
The concert is sponsored by the Kingston Public Library Foundation, with additional funding from the Kingston Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.No admission or registration is required to attend the concert which is geared towards middle school and high school students, casual music lovers, and regular concert goers of the Plymouth Philharmonic.

About the members of the String Quartet:
Ana-Maria LaPointe has been Concertmaster of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra since 2008. She also performs with the Lexington Symphony and Nashua Symphony Orchestra.
Aleksandra Labinska is the principal second violin of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a versatile violinist performing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Elisabeth Christensen is the principal viola of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra. She is the managing director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, working closely with the music director.
Peter Zay is the principal cello of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra. He also serves as the acting assistant principal cello of the Hartford Symphony and as a member of the New Bedford Symphony.

New England orchestras as the Portland Symphony (ME), the Boston Modern Orchestra, the Springfield Symphony (MA), he also appears regularly as the newest member of the long standing, Connecticut based New World Trio. He is a soloist with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s Learning in Concert program for over 50 local elementary schools in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and as a member of the Mosaic String Trio, he has collaborated to create and perform many varied and engaging educational programs for thousands of school children throughout Connecticut. Zay is a private cello instructor in the Boston region and on the teaching staff for the Wayland Public Schools.

About the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra
The Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra is a premier non-profit cultural institution in Massachusetts. Dedicated to artistic excellence and community enrichment, the orchestra offers world-class performances, innovative outreach programs, and strong community partnerships. Now in its 108th season, the Phil’s mission is to inspire, engage, and entertain through the power of live music. For more information, visit plymouthphil.org or call 508.746.8008.
About the Kingston Public Library
Established in 1871, the Kingston Public Library is a community-driven organization, a center for learning, collaboration, creativity, fun and an environment for lifelong learning. The Library is dedicated to providing the residents of Kingston with cultural enrichment, recreation, learning opportunities, and supporting the community with practical help in their everyday lives. Our knowledgeable staff willingly and capably provide the assistance needed to ensure each patron’s success, in a place that is comfortable and welcoming.
For more information you can visit the Kingston Public Library at kingstonpubliclibrary.org.

The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, Feb. 26. Chair of the Plympton School Committee Jason Fraser acknowledged previous Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen and Food Services Director Megan Ahrenolz in the audience.
Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Hickey provided a financial report which Fraser said might inform some of the conversations that would take place later about the budget. “There are deficits in special education transportation, tuition, and contracted services,” Hickey said. “The budget for FY25 takes this into consideration. The Special Education Department is currently working on filing a Circuit Breaker Extraordinary Relief claim with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education which if approved will offset this cost, but at this time I recommend that the Committee puts in a budget freeze for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year,” Hickey continued. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that she was also in agreement. “Since last month, that overall function line went from a positive $209,000 to a negative $15,000; what occurred in one month to change these numbers so drastically?” Fraser asked. Proulx said that it was their understanding that payments were updated to reflect “multiple areas.” Hickey said when all was said and done by the end of the year they anticipated having a $215,000 deficit. There were three additional students that fell into the out-of-district special education category. Fraser noted that this was two years in a row that they were facing this situation with a deficit of $300,000 last year and approximately $200,000 this year.
Proulx gave a budget presentation which she said was based on Version 2. Proulx told the Committee that changes for FY25 include that Pre-K and out of district special education tuitions for Pre-K and Grades 7-12 are now Silver Lake expenses per the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Shared-cost positions will now be paid according to regional agreement percentages. The extended school year will now be paid out of each school’s budget, where last year it was paid out of a revolving account.
Proulx also covered the impact of special education costs. Plympton’s portion of the programmatic budget of Pre-K, including renting the building space, is $293,833. “If these tuitions were to remain in the Plympton budget; they can’t, but let’s say that they did, it would cost Plympton $617,315,” Proulx said. She continued, “anticipated transportation for FY25 would be $167,878… something to keep in mind, Circuit Breaker in FY26 for out-of-district tuition and secondary and Pre-K will go to Silver Lake in the future, but for FY25 Plympton is able to spend the entirety of Circuit Breaker on Plympton. Circuit Breaker is the Massachusetts program that provides reimbursement to public schools to aid in special education costs.
Increases to the Plympton budget also include two new paraprofessionals at $56,000 and a shared curriculum coordinator at $15,993. Extended school year costs are estimated at around $65,507 for 31 eligible students. Decreases to the Plympton budget include $1,079,026. The money that previously would have been a Plympton expense is now a Silver Lake expense per the DESE requirements. Fraser said that he was confused how $1 million was taken away from the budget but $800,000 was added back in which amounted to a 25 percent increase over the previous year. “So the FY24 budget… the forecast was low at $625,000, just in tuitions alone,” Proulx said, referring to special education tuition. She continued, “the forecast, again, was below what we are currently spending. In FY24, currently we are at about $1 million and we only forecast for $625,000, so that’s $400,000 there.” Fraser clarified saying that the mistake in last year’s budget resulted in the issues being seen now and Proulx confirmed. Committee member Dan Cadogan asked how the forecasts were so far off and Proulx answered that they have since realized where their mistakes were in anticipating costs. She also acknowledged that changing needs of the students themselves, as well as increases in costs, have also played a part.
Hickey also went over changes from the Version 1 to the Version 2 budget. She noted that she had previously had a teacher double counted in the teacher salary line. A Circuit Breaker estimation was also added into this version with a savings of approximately $700,000.
“I need to make the Silver Lake budget and the Plympton budget work together,” Fraser said. “I can’t look at either one of them in isolation because I have to send both of them to the same voters and the same taxpayers… I basically want to see us get as deep into the negatives as possible without hurting the school that I’ve worked for 11 years get where it’s at,” Fraser continued. He noted that they were still looking at an increase to Plympton’s budget of $700,000. “Which alone, is a 5.4 percent increase to my town’s budget without a single other penny being spent on another department – Police, Fire, Highway, anything else, and we had a substantial increase last year,” he said.
Proulx said that the regular day budget reflects an 11 percent increase, special education reflects a 38 percent decrease, substitutes are level funded, utilities have been increased by 5 percent, and shared costs are included but not updated to reflect any potential changes. The total budget is a decrease of 4 percent. Fraser asked if they had realized any savings from the solar panels in the utilities. Hickey said that she wasn’t able to answer that question just yet due to some outstanding and confusing Eversource bills.
Fraser said that he would like to see the Administration come up with four tiers of cuts, each consisting of $40,000. The Committee agreed that they were hopeful that those cuts would not come to be, but all felt that it was necessary that they review them at their next meeting.
Proulx told the Committee that not included in the budget was any additional staffing or potential kindergarten enrollment increases. “English language learner needs, since the last time we met, we got feedback from our English language teacher who helped provide services to our students here. Plympton currently reimburses Kingston about $2,000 per year; the issue is that Kingston needs this person to be full-time. Both Halifax and Plympton have seen an increase in needs that Kingston can no longer provide services for because they’ve had such an increase in needs as well. … we’re recommending a 0.5, part-time English language-learner person here,” Proulx said. She said that they felt that if Halifax and Plympton went in on a teacher together, they would be better off as it would then become a full-time position. Fraser asked if a comparison could be brought to the Committee to show the difference between contracted services versus a full-time employee with benefits. “I need to show due diligence and a cost comparison to the Finance Committee to show why we’re asking for this,” Fraser said.
Hickey shared with the Committee the draft assessments for each of the towns for Silver Lake. She also shared the percent increase to each of the towns’ overall operating budgets. Fraser reiterated that the schools’ budgets in Plympton represented a 5.4 percent increase to the town’s overall operating budget and a dollar amount of $700,000. “Again, trying to figure out how we can get that number smaller and figure out how the town can afford this, is really the next step,” Fraser said. Plympton’s share of the Silver Lake assessment was shared to be roughly 11 percent.
“We will continue to look at ways to possibly refine our estimates and continue to look for areas where we may be able to save some money,” Proulx said of the budgets. Fraser said, “We have benefitted greatly over the past three fiscal cycles from additional Chapter 70 funding from the State and this year the trend continues. We were at about $750,000 back in FY22 and looking forward to FY25, we have an annual increase from the State of $164,000 net of receipts for Chapter 70 for the local budget here in Plympton… another piece of the puzzle to help the town wrap their arms around and their heads around.” He noted that it wasn’t included in the schools’ budgets as the money goes directly to the towns.
Proulx said, “We have confirmed through the Department of Education that we can continue to operate food services through the revolving account provided that the Silver Lake School Committee votes to continue that practice under the USDA which is different than the other reasons why we’re untangling financial responsibilities for the upcoming school year… if it is voted by the Silver Lake School Committee it would mean that the cafeteria workers will remain Silver Lake employees as well.”
Fraser addressed that the rules prohibiting dogs from the Dennett Elementary School fields hasn’t seemed to reduce the amount of dog waste. He said that a larger conversation would likely be necessary with the Selectmen. “It seems like we almost are punishing the good dog owners in town by not allowing them to use the fields responsibly,” Fraser said.
Hickey provided an update about getting a certified safety inspection of the playground done. She said that a quote from the vendor for a few thousand dollars was expected soon. The inspection process for the rubberized surface can only be done once the exact specifications for installation are provided or it would result in an automatic fail. She also noted that the surface needs to be above 32 degrees to do the test. Additionally, the playground must be closed for two days to complete the inspection.

KINGSTON – State Representative Kathy LaNatra announced that she will host a monthly event for constituents called “Coffee and Conversation with Rep. LaNatra.” Constituents from across the 12th Plymouth District will have the opportunity to come and speak to Representative LaNatra and her staff about issues they care about, concerns they have regarding legislation or State policy, get assistance on any issues they are experiencing, or to hear from the Representative on events from Beacon Hill.
“I take my job as a Representative of the 12th Plymouth district seriously, and that begins by listening to my constituents and providing opportunities for constituents to engage with myself, my staff, and let their voices be heard,” said State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston). “I am excited to begin hosting this monthly event to give my constituents another opportunity to meet with me, talk with me and allow me to better understand the needs and viewpoints of the residents of the communities I serve.”
“Coffee and Conversation with Rep. LaNatra” will take place once a month at a different coffee shop or restaurant throughout the 12th Plymouth district. This month’s event will take place on:

Friday, March 22, 10:30 – 11:30 AM
at The Early Bird Restaurant, 287 Main St.. Kingston.
Representative LaNatra can be reached at (617) 722-2575, or at her email [email protected]. If you cannot make the “Coffee and Conversation” event, you can reach out to her office at the number listed above, or through her Chief of Staff at [email protected] to set up another time to meet.
Kathy LaNatra proudly serves as a State Representative for the 12th Plymouth District, which consists of the Towns of  Kingston, Plympton, Precinct 1 and 2A of Halifax, Precinct 1 and 5A of Middleborough, Precinct 3 of Pembroke, and Precinct 1, 2, 3, 5, and 13 of Plymouth.

SMITHFIELD, RI- Bryant University is pleased to recognize the students from Kingston and Plympton for their academic success in being named to the Fall 2023 Deans’ List.
To earn a place on the Deans’ List, students must have a GPA of 3.4 or better for at least 12 semester hours of work. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
• Benjamin Andrade of Plympton
• Jacob Bugbee of Kingston
• Jake Cipullo of Kingston

About Bryant University
For over 160 years, Bryant University has been at the forefront of delivering an exceptional education that anticipates the future and prepares students to be innovative leaders of character in a changing world.
Bryant delivers an innovative and uniquely integrated business and liberal arts education that inspires students to excel.
With approximately 3,700 graduate and undergraduate students from 38 states and 49 countries, Bryant is recognized as a leader in international education and regularly receives top rankings from U.S. News and World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and Barron’s.
Visit www.Bryant.edu.

The Warrant is now open for the Town’s 2024 Annual Town Meeting which is scheduled to occur on Monday, May 13, 2024, at the Halifax Elementary School. Citizen petitions must be submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office by March 12, 2024.
In order to participate in the Annual Town Meeting, residents must be registered to vote. The deadline to register to vote in order to participate in the 2024 Annual Town Meeting is Friday, May 3, 2024.
All questions relating to Voter Registration should be directed to the Halifax Town Clerk’s Office by calling (781) 293-7970 or e-mailing [email protected]. More details regarding Elections and Voter Registration are available on the Town Clerk’s web page as well as the Elections & Registration web page.
Any questions regarding the Annual Town Meeting, submitting warrant articles, etc. should be directed to the Halifax Board of Selectmen’s Office by calling (781) 294-1316 or e-mailing [email protected].
A copy of the Warrant will be posted on the Town’s website and mailed to every household when it becomes available.

Plymouth Superior Court ruled Feb. 5 in Morse Brothers, Inc vs. Town of Halifax and the Halifax Select Board, to uphold the restrictions on the earth removal permit issued by the Select Board Sept. 1, 2023.
Morse Bros. stated that even though they have been operating a cranberry business in the Town of Halifax for some 45 years, it was the first time they had been required to obtain a permit pursuant to the Halifax Earth Removal Bylaw.
The plaintiff, Morse Bros., filed a complaint alleging that the bylaw was improperly applied, and the conditions were invalid. Morse Bros. asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction to prohibit enforcement of the conditions.
Morse Brothers, Inc. asked the Court to declare that the restrictions would harm their business and stated in their filing that the Town had never asked for these restrictions in their Earth Removal Permit in the past. They further stated in their filing that “Morse Brothers has historically relied on the sand available on its Halifax property to renovate and maintain its bogs both in Halifax and in nearby towns.” During the past year, the complaint stated, Morse Brothers has been excavating soil, screening sand, and transporting the sand to Hanson as part of its renovation project.
They said that their company has engaged in these practices for decades, and its farming practices have been “in harmony” with the town. Morse Bros. received notice Sept. 1 that Halifax was requiring Morse Brothers to obtain an earth removal permit for the first time, pursuant to the Halifax Earth Removal Bylaw, or to “cease and desist any sand removal or transportation-related activities.”
On Oct. 4, 2023, Morse Bros. submitted a request for an exemption from the bylaw, noting that the bylaw negatively impacted its “ongoing cranberry bog maintenance” and “unreasonably infringed on protections of land uses for the primary purpose of agriculture under state law.” Simultaneous with its request for an exemption, Morse. Bros. also applied for an earth removal permit under the local bylaw.
Nov. 15, 2023, the Halifax Select Board granted the permit, subject to several conditions. The first condition limited the hours of the earth removal to between the hours of 7 a.m. and 2:25 p.m. Monday through Friday, and in no case on a legal holiday. The limitation applies also to the starting of engines, loading and unloading trucks, and preparation for commencing of work.
The permit also states that vehicles loaded with soil and/or sand shall not exceed 10 miles per hour while on Lingan Street. To avoid conflicts with school buses, vehicles traveling to and from the project location for the purpose described in the permit shall not be present on Lingan Street during school bus pick-up and drop-off times provided by the town.
Morse Bros. would also be limited to 25 trips per day of vehicles loaded with soil and/or sand.
Each truck and driver entering or exiting the property shall be provided by Morse Bros. with a list of rules and regulations regarding road safety. Each driver shall sign an acknowledging receipt of these rules and regulations. It is the responsibility of Morse Brothers to keep record of this information and provide it to the Town as requested. And no activity is allowed under the permit during the 2024 school vacation weeks of February 19 through 23 and April 15 through 19.
In their ruling, the court said it must assess “whether the moving party has shown that success is likely on the merits and that irreparable harm will result from denial of the injunction; and the risk of irreparable harm to the moving party outweighs any similar risk of harm to the opposing party”.
In applying these requirements, the court found that Morse Bros. was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because it has not shown proof of irreparable harm.

In the Feb. 2 edition of the Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express, we mistakenly reported that a $20,000 gift from MacDonald Industries, was for landfill repairs. What we did not make clear was that the funds were to be earmarked as landfill repairs to help the Town of Halifax with the cost of engineering for the Hemlock Lane landfill, owned by the Town of Halifax, near the Highway Department that is showing some problems.
Halifax Health Agent Bob Valery consulted with Marilyn MacDonald, of MacDonald Industries, for advice on how to approach solving the town’s problem, calling on her experience.
When she found that the problem was beyond her level of expertise, she gave suggestions for engineering firms that would be able to provide plans and a course of action for the landfill repairs. In a gesture of goodwill, MacDonald Industries donated $20,000 that will more than cover the projected engineering costs for the old Halifax landfill repairs.
Valery said, “Let’s fix it and fix it right.” He had noted that repairs in the past had been more a “short term fix”, with the problems recurring over the years. The board voted to approve TRC Environmental Companies to provide the engineering plans for the project.
Chairman John Bruno asked the board to approve his request to write to MacDonald Industries “expressing our deepest gratitude to them for their community concern and gift of $20,000.”
“In my mind, this is extraordinary,” Bruno said, “She’s really a good neighbor”. The board voted unanimously to send that letter.

CHARLESTON, SC– Howard Cushman of Halifax, is among the more than 1,300 cadets and students recognized for their academic achievements during the fall 2023 semester.
The dean’s list is a recognition given to cadets and students who are registered for 12 or more semester hours and whose grade point average is 3.20 or higher, with no grade of I (Incomplete) and no grade below C for work in a semester.
Cadets who are named to the dean’s list receive a medal, which is worn on their uniform during the semester following their academic achievement. Non-cadet students on the dean’s list are presented a certificate.
The Citadel, with its iconic campus located in Charleston, South Carolina, offers a classic military college education for young men and women focused on leadership excellence and academic distinction.
The approximately 2,300 members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets are not required to serve in the military, but about one-third of each class earn commissions to become officers in every branch of U.S. military service. Citadel alumni have served the nation, their states and their communities as principled leaders since 1842. The Citadel Graduate College offers dozens of graduate degree, graduate certificate and evening undergraduate programs in the evening or online. The Citadel has been consecutively named Best Public College in the South by U.S. News & World Report for 13 years and No. 1 Best Public College for Veterans in the South for six years.

Deb Anderson
Express staff
Kingston’s Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the Kingston Town House, to continue the earth removal permit from Dec. 19, and hear the appeal for a senior citizen who has been permanently barred from the Kingston Senior Center.
In the open forum, Pine DuBois, from the Jones River Watershed, asked selectmen to to watch the drone footage taken by Jimmy Powell in the Landing Road area, showing the dangerous flooding on Jan. 13, where water flooded the road and vehicles were trapped in standing seawater. She asked selectmen for future preventative roadblocks and traffic control to avoid the damage to vehicles in an extremely dangerous situation. “I don’t think people know that salt rots their cars.” she said. The drone footage and flooding photos can be seen on the Jones River Ecology YouTube channel.
The earth removal permit hearing was continued as the peer review company has not yet been hired. Town Administrator Keith Hickey advised selectmen to wait until the peer review was complete. The hearing was continued until Feb. 13, at 6:15 p.m.
Selectmen were next asked to consider the appeal of a Council on Aging’s suspension of a patron to enter the senior center or attend activities there. Originally a 30-day suspension, the event involved a patron and the Director of Eder Affairs, foul language and inappropriate behavior. Upon appeal to the Council on Aging Dec. 15, the COA increased the suspension to a permanent ban, all of which was within their authority.
The patron, who is a resident of Carver, appealed further to selectmen. After much discussion, with several selectmen considering that a permanent suspension was “too aggressive”, and after several votes to amend the term of the suspension, they finally agreed and voted to amend the suspension to end at January 1, 2025, at which time the term of the suspension will have been served.
Selectman Tyler Bouchard said, “I used to umpire a lot of baseball games. I’ve kicked out a lot of Dads – a couple of Moms, too.” In all of his hundreds of games he has never seen a lifetime ban.
Selectman Eric Crone said he thought the purpose of the hearing was to see if the COA Advisory Board acted within its authority in elevating the 30-day suspension to a permanent suspension. He said that reviewing the tapes and the testimony it looked like they did what was within their authority. He did not vote to overturn the lifetime suspension.