The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Thursday, Dec. 21. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy and Selectman Mark Russo were present.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said they have been reviewing the town’s flag policy with an intention to add a stipulation to it. “We would try to get the flags up on the telephone poles, that Highway does for us, generally from May 15 through November 15 unless there’s bad weather then obviously, we would make arrangements to have them taken down,” she told the Selectmen. Joy asked Dennehy why those dates were chosen and Dennehy said that they felt that getting them up before Memorial Day and having them remain up slightly past Veteran’s Day would be ideal. Dennehy also mentioned that the town should probably budget for the flags as they can be expensive. “We can get an inventory of our flags too as we get closer to Town Meeting time… and if there are any that need to be replaced, we could even do an article for it,” she said.
Dennehy also told the Selectmen that she is working with the Highway Superintendent on a project to have Dennett Elementary School students vote to name the three snowplows in town. “So the three trucks will get funny names… we’re trying to find ways to get our Highway Department more integrated with the community,” she explained. She also said that they are trying to coordinate a time for the trucks to be brought to the school so the students could see them and learn a bit about how they operate and what goes into plowing snow.
Dennehy said that budget season was well underway and preliminary budgets are due from town departments in mid-January. “We’re off and running on that,” she said.
“We got our Purple Heart community designation,” Dennehy told the Selectmen. She said that they coordinated with the Veteran’s Agent on it and signage would be going up soon.
The Selectmen issued Class II and III and scrap metal license renewals for 2024. Russo did the inspections on the properties and “found everything to be in good order.” Russo said he paid particular attention to the number of vehicles on display and found everything to be in compliance. The unanimous approvals were for Alby’s Salvage Inc., Angels Auto and Towing Inc., Bridge Bike Inc., Carey Auto Inc., Competition Auto Body Repair, Motorsports, and Plympton Cycles.
The Board also voted unanimously to support several appointments. Susan Vetterlein was appointed as the Clerk at Town Hall. Deborah Anderson was appointed to the Bylaw Review Committee until dissolved. Paul Johnson was appointed as a Transfer Station attendant until June 30, 2024. Caitlyn Mullaney was appointed as a full-time Police Officer and Stephen Raddatz was appointed as a part-time police officer, both until dissolved.
As customary, the Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves. “It was really neat, the Fire Department, I think with the help of the Police Department, doing the Santa over on the weekend. I know the kids on my street were really excited,” Joy said of her rave. She did note that the sirens were “really jarring” and wondered if next year they could play Christmas music instead. “Everything was awesome, but until I figured it out, I thought we had a major accident in town,” Joy explained. For her second rave, she said, “how thankful I am that we have such a great team of people who are working for the town. We really have come a long way with professionalizing departments.” She named Dennehy as well as Administrative Assistant Briggette Martins, Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte, and the Chiefs of Police and Fire.
Russo said he wanted to underscore, emphasize, and appreciate Joy’s rave and all of the wonderful things going on in town.
He said his second rave was for the holidays. “It’s the darkest time of year; it’s the time of year when the weather is getting pretty darn cold and it’s kind of our opportunity for some agency – our opportunity to offer antidote in the form of some light and some comfort and some joy and hope for everyone, a peaceful new year,” Russo said.

A Christmas Story
By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
In May of 1972 when my brother Dave graduated from high school, he set out to travel across the country on his motorcycle, a Triumph 650 Tiger. He and a friend had planned the trip together. Four days into the trip the friend decided he’d rather go to California and left. Dave continued on, sticking to his itinerary to see the places he had dreamed about.
A few weeks later when he made it to Glacier National Park in Montana, he was feeling lonely. He found an animal shelter in a town called Missoula to see about getting a dog. In a row of cages, the last cage being the death cage, sat a little black dog, a dachshund and Pomeranian mix. Dave took him. He was told to take caution as the dog may jump off the bike. He went into an athletic shop nearby and got a knapsack. He put the dog in it and drove slowly around a field to see if the dog would stay in it. He jumped out twice but then stayed in it. Dave called him Dog. When he got back out on the highway, Dog jumped out and ran across all four lanes. Dave watched helplessly as vehicles veered to miss the dog in the heavy traffic. Dog looked across the highway at Dave as if to say, aren’t you coming and then crossed it again as Dave’s heart sank, thinking he would never make it back but he did. He picked him up, put him in the knapsack and told him he was naming him Lucky.
Dave’s birthday is in August and our mom was hoping he would be home by then. Our youngest sister was born on his birthday when he was three and we always celebrated the two birthdays together. When he didn’t make it home for the birthdays, we were all disappointed; it just wasn’t the same without him and I know it bothered Mom. One day at the end of summer when you could feel Fall in the air, I was helping Mom move some things in her room and a framed picture of my brother fell off her cedar chest onto the floor. There was no reason for it to fall and she was alarmed, feeling like something had happened to Dave. Within the hour the phone rang, and it was him. He said he had a feeling that he should call home, and mom was glad to hear his voice. He told her he was low on money and was working for a Czechoslovakian family on their farm picking fruit so he could make enough money to get home.
September passed into October and after Dave drove through the Painted Desert his bike wasn’t running well and got worse. He pulled into Albuquerque and found a motorcycle shop where the owner told him the main bearing was gone on the bike and he’d have to send away for the part. Dave found lodgings in a basement room of a condemned building where a group of Chicano men lived, and he found work as an assistant cook and dish washer at a local restaurant. The owner of the bike shop kept offering him money for his bike and told Dave the part hand’t come in. It was now November. Our dad wanted to fly Dave home and he refused to leave without the bike. Dad called Spooner’s Bike Shop in Hanover. Mr. Spooner called Triumph and they in turn contacted the owner of the bike shop who had Dave’s bike and put pressure on him to fix it and return it to Dave so he could come home.
When Dave left there, it was December and he wanted to be home for Christmas. A pleasure trip was turning into a survival trip as he drove through a torrential rainstorm in one state, a hurricane in another and then snow twelve inches deep and more. He had to make it with what money he had left, saving it for gas. He drove without stopping and thanks to some insulated coveralls our parents sent him. He and Lucky survived one 30 degree night after he’d been driving well over 24 hours. The ground was too frozen to pitch a tent and he put all his clothes in the knapsack to keep Lucky warm while he held him and slept on the ground.
The week before Christmas we had a blizzard in Massdachusetts, and we were all glued to the news. We hadn’t heard from Dave for two weeks. We knew from the news the weather and temperatures were not in Dave’s favor. All we could do was pray. After the blizzard was over, I went to my parent’s to see if there was any news. All of us were there, both the radio and TV were on so we could hear the news and weather. It was late afternoon, and it was getting dark. Suddenly there was the familiar sound of a motorcycle. We all held our breath; did we dare hope it was him? We all ran to the window to look in the driveway. A bike, but no Dave. Then we heard the kitchen door open and when we got there, in he came with a knapsack on his back and a little black dog peeking out. There was relief, happy tears and lots of hugs, the most beautiful sight to see and the best Christmas gift we could have gotten.

Halifax will be all aglow, on Saturday, Dec.9, with Holiday celebrations at a number of locations.
The Christmas Tree will be lit at 4:30 on the Town Hall Green. The Silver Lake High School choir and the Halifax Elementary School choir will offer Holiday Songs. There is an amazing train display in the Great Room in the Town Hall, with food tables and music for your enjoyment.
The Congregational Church Bell Ringers will play at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. and also there is a silent auction of beautiful Gingerbread Houses.
There’s hot chocolate and goodies at the Brockton Store.
Five food trucks will be in the library parking lot with a tent and tables for your dining pleasure. More surprises for the children inside the Library.
The Council On Aging and the Fire Station will be open for your enjoyment, as will the Multi- Purpose Room at the Elementary School where crafters will be there for your shopping pleasure.
The evening will conclude with FIREWORKS at 8 p.m. behind the Elementary School.
Come enjoy an evening of family fun.

Longtime New England musician Matt York will perform “Holiday Songs and Stories” at the Adams Center, 33 Summer St., Kingston,, on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.
York’s selection of songs will run the gamut. Some songs date back hundreds of years, while others are more modern Christmas and holiday classics.
York will talk about the origins of many of these songs while performing them. Attendees are encouraged to sing along.
Matt York has been known for his classic country performances, especially showcasing the talents of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and supergroup The Highwaymen.
To register for this event, please visit – https://kingstonpubliclibrary.org.
For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at smiller@kingstonma.gov.

BATON ROUGE, LA– The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
Caroline Bryson of Kingston
David Shoblom of Kingston
Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 325 select colleges and universities in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society’s mission is “To recognize and advance excellence in all fields of higher education and society.” For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.