Living life to the fullest can mean very different things to each of us. For some of us, basic needs being met is a luxury and aspiration. For others, it may mean extraordinary opportunities and adventure. Regardless of your definition of living life to the fullest, one common component that must be met to feel and experience joy is the right to as much autonomy and free will as possible. Historically, and unfortunately currently, these freedoms are still lacking for many -especially for those in minority groups and of different abilities or conditions.
You don’t have to look too far back in the past to see that these human rights and access to dignity-enriching inclusion and care was particularly denied to those of different abilities and disabilities. A young child with say, what we now know is Autism, was incorrectly diagnosed, incorrectly treated, and often unnecessarily institutionalized and ostracized. Liz Sandblom, Chief Executive Officer of The Arc of the South Shore Chapter, explains, “Before rights for individuals with disabilities were even considered, people usually ended up putting their children in institutions where there was little to no oversight or monitoring of the conditions or welfare for the people kept there.” Without medical advancement or social programs in place to provide support and/or educate caregivers on how to care for those with disabilities, there was a reluctantly accepted and medically promoted mentality of shutting people away in these often-traumatic places and kind of forgetting about them.
Of course, many family members desperately wanted to include their children or family with disabilities in their daily lives and one such group of Weymouth parents did just that. Tired of seeing their loved ones and precious children with different abilities denied opportunities and enjoyment in life, they began the first parent advocacy group in the state in 1951 and almost immediately, The Arc of the South Shore began to change lives. Its mission: To be a family oriented, community-based, non-profit located in Hingham that offers information, referrals, and a range of community programs. The Arc strives to empower families and individuals of all ages with disabilities to reach their fullest potential by providing high-quality, individualized services and opportunities that foster independence, community inclusion, and advocacy.
In the state of Massachusetts, one must fall below a certain IQ or have underlying learning or physical disabilities to legally be considered disabled. This leaves a broad spectrum of what can be managed as a disability and for this reason The Arc has had to develop into a multi-faceted, inclusive, and accommodating organization to reach as many people as possible that are in need of support, opportunity, and education. With 17 independently operating, non-profit chapters, and care provided for over 100,000 individuals since 1951, The Arc is one of the foremost driving forces in the country for advocacy and pushing for legislation for the disabled and differently-abled community. “The biggest functional pillar of our organization is working towards legislation to protect and provide for people who need support to be included in the community, and to help these individuals live life to their fullest capacity,” Sandblom points out.
The Arc of the South Shore currently provides Adult Foster Care, an Autism Resource Center, Community-Based Day Services, Day Habilitation, First Early Intervention, and Personal Care Management as well as Residential Supports. To take a deeper look at the support and services that The Arc provides to the local disabled community and their family, caregivers, and friends, Sandblom explains that the level, intensity, and nature of support varies greatly for each person. “Some need full-time, daily, in-home care and others may only need help with transportation or finding employment. We customize care to the individual and what their support system is capable of offering as well -if they have one in place.”
In addition to offering support systems, The Arc of the South Shore also has a focus on providing caregiver support and education. “We want to make sure that anyone in the lives of the people we are working with is equipped with the knowledge and resources to ensure a healthy, safe, and loving environment and interactions,” says Sandblom. “One thing we like to do is provide enriching entertainment that is sensitive to the needs of the people we work with,” says Sandblom, “for example, we have movie nights where the sounds and sights are calming and not loud or overwhelming -they are sensory friendly events so that everyone can enjoy a normal experience that many of us would not see as problematic or difficult to endure in terms of being over-stimulated.”
One of the most substantial support systems in place with The Arc of the South Shore is the Group Home Program. The Adult Family Care (AFC) program helps individuals with medical, physical, or developmental disabilities receive the daily support they need while living at home. It is an alternative to nursing homes, assisted living placements, or residential care. Caregivers assist with everyday activities such as dressing, bathing, preparing healthy meals, and managing medications, allowing individuals to remain comfortable and supported in familiar surroundings. Being part of a loving family and connected to their community helps individuals maintain their independence, dignity, and quality of life.
“We have 10 group homes here in Hingham and 6-7 group homes in the Plymouth Chapter,” Sandblom notes, “Each home has 4-5 individuals that receive daily care ranging from full-time, daily-attending staff that provides care specific to the needs of the individuals living there.” Each home requires a great deal of funding and a focus on safety and comfort to ensure the dignity and enjoyment of the residents. One new endeavor The Arc is undertaking is adding cutting-edge technology to these group homes to provide further, increasingly comprehensive care and comfort for residents.
Sandblom explains, “We are focusing on integrative, in-house technology for things like thermostat control, door cameras so residents do not answer the door unless it’s an approved guest or caretaker, assistance with laundry services, scheduling reminders for medications and routines, starting and turning off appliances on a set schedule -things that might present a challenge or difficulty for the people in the home. We can’t have staff there all the time, but if you have, say, an Alexa who takes on the ‘nagging mom’ mode of ‘brush your teeth’ or can turn the heat up when it gets too cold, it is an assurance that they are comfortable and safe and it also increases their ability to be a bit more independent.”
Of course, providing these kinds of accommodations and services as well as employing about 200 people across all The Arc chapters requires immense funding and financial support. “We are funded in three main ways,” Sandblom says, “By the state through the Department of Developmental Services, by medical insurances such as Mass Health and the Department of Developmental Services Early Intervention Program, and lastly grants, sponsorships, and community support via donations and fundraisers.”
To celebrate The Arc of the South Shore’s 75th Anniversary, there are several upcoming public events that will help raise awareness in the community and also provide fundraising opportunities. “We have annual events like the Bunny Bash at Derby Street Shops with an Easter bunny, face painting, and other family activities,” Sandblom says, “We also have a Summer Soiree/75th Anniversary Celebration in June with raffles and donation opportunities -all of which support The Arc and our mission to provide care, opportunities, and enhanced quality of life to disabled and differently abled people.”
One of the recipients of services recently suggested a food drive and that event was carried out with great success as was an event that made wheelchair maintenance enjoyable. Sandblom explains, “We had local volunteers help us run a car-wash-style event where we washed and serviced people’s wheelchairs. It was so much fun.” Sandblom assures that volunteers are always needed and greatly appreciated. “We need volunteers for a variety of things -from helping us maintain and repair the playground, gardens, and even things like painting jobs in the buildings and helping run events -we can use support anywhere it is offered.” As for donations, The Arc is often looking for raffle items, giveaways, and partnership opportunities in the community.
In spite of the worthy, noble, and crucial mission The Arc of the South Shore works toward every day, there are still many challenges and unmet needs to operate at full capacity and potential. “We always struggle with federal and state policy and funding,” Sandblom explains, “And our biggest challenge is employment. Covid was a huge setback that we still have not recovered from. We struggle to find enough employees who can provide the level of care needed without the ability to pay a lot of money. There are so many people in need who are waiting for services because we simply can’t provide enough for everyone.”
Still, people like Sandblom are relentless in their dedication and drive to do right by some of the most vulnerable and innocent in our community -much like those parents in Weymouth who just wanted their children to experience joy and freedom in life like anyone else. “I have been doing this for 30 years,” Sandblom says, “and it is really amazing to see how far things have come in terms of what is offered and available now and it gives me hope that things will continue to fall into place and that we will be able to reach and help more people in need. We need the support and involvement of the community and it really is the most rewarding, worth-while work.”
Perhaps this year, if you feel so compelled, to look for a meaningful place or cause to spend your time, focus, and money, look no further than your local The Arc chapter and rest assured that you will be contributing to the lives of others in a beautiful way -and in doing so, you will find that YOU are also living life to the fullest.
Here are The Arc of the South Shore’s Upcoming Community Events:
-Bunny Bash at Derby Street Shops, Friday, April 3 10:00 and 11:00
-Summer Soiree/75th Anniversary Celebration, Thursday, June 18
The Arc of the South Shore, 371 River Street, Weymouth
Please Visit: https://arcofsouthshore.networkforgood.com/events/97223-2026-bunny-bash
Please Visit: https://arcsouthshore.org for information on volunteering, partnership, services, legislation, and upcoming events.

Amidst the bustle of tourists exploring the narrow, colonial-lined streets of America’s Hometown, and locals following their noses to various food establishments in the historic district of Plymouth, you will notice that Middle Street is peppered with people -young and old, carrying various instrument cases and bags filled with music books. They are heading to one of several doors of the Middle Street School of Music where music pours out into the streets as the doors open and students come and go in their weekly pursuits in music education.
Founded by Berklee School of Music graduates, Patricia Drain and Paul Kinnear, Middle Street School of Music opened its doors in 1992 when downtown Plymouth looked very different from today. “When we started here it was like a ghost town,” Kinnear notes, “Everything had moved over to the mall and shops here were boarded up.” Drain and Kinnear did not let the less-than-bustling scene deter them in their goal to provide students with the opportunity to have music education -especially as several local music schools had closed down and there were eager students without teachers who still wanted to learn. “The school I was teaching at closed down and so we were able to give some of the displaced students a place to continue their training,” Kinnear explains.
Starting with four teachers, a handful of students, and a small space in an old building on historic Middle Street, Drain and Kinnear established a stress-free, positive experience for their students that carries on to this day. Instead of a strict focus on music theory and notation and mandatorily prescribed teaching methods, Middle Street School of music allows each instructor to tailor the lesson to each, individual student based on their interests and abilities -making musical training a highly personal experience. “We want students to come here and enjoy being here, not worry or be stressed about their lesson,” says Drain, “Music should be fun -that’s the whole point, to enjoy making it.”
That said, don’t let the open-minded approach fool you into thinking there is not a great deal of hard work that takes place at Middle Street. The school currently employs twenty music teachers and all of them not only meet strict qualifications and high standards, but they have each spent decades perfecting their skill in their chosen fields and many of them actively participate in performing local bands and music groups. “We have had students that left the school and ended up forming some of the well-known, local bands that tour the New England area,” Kinnear says.
A music-and-mind-positive philosophy at Middle Street School of Music has earned loyalty from local families and students -sometimes even after relocating. “I have one student in their 30’s who moved to North Carolina, but we still meet for music lessons on Zoom,” says Drain. One of the most surprising facts about Middle Street School of Music is that a little more than half of their 350+ students are adults. “It really is never too late to start an instrument or learn a bit more about music,” says Kinnear, “Even if it’s just for fun -you don’t have to be amazing or take it seriously, it’s just good for you to do.”
In addition to students of all ages engaging in and learning about music and instruments, Drain and Kinnear are also out in the community performing. They founded Trillium, a jazz trio in the 80’s. Trillium toured all over New England and often performed at Musikfest in Pennsylvania where they shared the line-up with the Fifth Dimension, Diane Schuur, and Queen Ida.
Now as the duo, Swing Set, Drain and Kinnear continue to perform at various venues in and around the Boston/Cape Cod area and for both private events and public performances. Drain also continues to work as a sideman with Java Swing an 8-piece swing orchestra and is an expert in the musical fields of voice, piano, guitar, and ukulele. With his expertise in guitar (a four-year degree in guitar performance), ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and bass, Kinnear has been a member of many well-known local bands as “Fit 2B tied”, “Joy”, “Soul Sensation”, “Bruce Peterson Big Band”, “Shameless”, and “Shatterproof”. Kinnear is multifaceted in his range of musical experience from Broadway to Country, and from Rock and Roll to Jazz.
With such experienced and multi-talented founders, it is not surprising to see a wide range of instrumental instruction and instructors available at Middle Street School of Music. Lessons offered include piano, drums, guitar, mandolin, ukulele, vocals, woodwinds, bass, banjo, horns, reeds, music theory I and II, songwriting, music production, and ear training. Instructors offer private lessons that are built around each students needs, interests, goals, and abilities. In addition, opportunities to play in rock, country, folk, and jazz ensembles as well as group lessons for guitar and ukulele are offered.
The culmination of each year ends with a spring recital in which all students are encouraged, but never forced, to participate. Music teachers help their students select a piece or pieces of music to perform well in advance so that each student is comfortable and adequately-rehearsed for the performance. “Our teachers also use the music that students choose for their recital piece to teach about notation and theory as a learning tool so that they can focus on getting their piece ready and still be learning and expanding on their knowledge,” Kinnear explains.
With music education programs being defunded and dismantled in schools, it is more important than ever to ensure children have the opportunity for music experience and exposure. Drain and Kinnear assure that perfection and proficiency are not the main focus at Middle Street School of Music, but cultivating a positive association with musical training is. Kinnear warns about putting too much pressure on music students, “Sometimes we hear about music teachers out there taking things so seriously -stressing kids out and being unkind if the progress isn’t enough in their eyes.” “That is just not what is it about,” Drain adds, “Music should be a positive thing for all ages and not something that makes you fearful. I don’t understand why anyone would teach to make it anything but a joy.”
Middle Street School of Music may offer only music-based classes, but be assured that the skills and experiences there filter out into the daily lives of the students. “Learning music affects your entire life,” Drain points out, “Things like discipline, courage, focus, dedication, and accomplishment come along with learning an instrument or learning to read music, and those are things that help you in life overall.” “It is really great to see students come here and find real joy when they discover they can play an instrument or make music. Not everyone is going to be some prodigy -I hate to use that word, and sometimes we do get a student that you can tell is meant for the world of music,” Kinnear explains, “but we mostly just like to see our students discover their own capabilities and get confidence and have a way to express themselves.”
While comfortably filled with hundreds of students, Middle Street School of Music is always open to adding more and offering various opportunities to learn and explore music. Connected to the music school, Drain and Kinnear offer various instruments for sale at their Bumblebee Music Shop. The shop offers a range of instruments from Blueridge Guitars, Bristol Guitars, Gold Star Banjos, Rover Banjos and Mandolins, Kentucky Mandolins, Regal Resophonic Guitars, Kala Ukuleles and Guitars, and Cremona Violins and Cellos.
After over three decades of steady growth and stable patronage, it is clear that Drain and Kinnear built Middle Street on the right foundation for success -one that focuses on music positivity and confidence building rather than accolade and prestige. “I am sold on this product,” Drain says with pride, “We have found longevity in keeping musical training about making it enjoyable and accessible and that is something Paul and I are very proud of.”
As a mother of four students at Middle Street School of Music, I can easily agree that what Drain and Kinnear have established through their philosophy and dedication to focusing on a positive student experience, is a love and respect for music that carries on after the lesson is over. After all, finding your adult son playing the keyboard in the attic late at night -lost in the song and confident in his ability to not just play the music, but feel it, is a testament to teaching done in harmony with the human spirit.

Stephani Teran
Express staff
On Feb. 7, 2026, the Plympton Town Properties Committee held the first open-to-the-public meeting concerning the ongoing, but delayed, project to provide the town with a new, up to code, fire station. The meeting was opened by the Town Properties Committee Chair, Pierre Boyer and fellow board members Kaitlin Johnson and Keelin Smith. This meeting was to be the first in a four-phase initiative to present factual data on current operations, EMS response times, and facility needs while being transparent with the public and focusing on tax impacts for the residents of Plympton.
Boyer began by explaining that they had been working closely with the Fire Chief, Cheryl Duddy, on gathering data about how the fire department works within the town and surrounding areas. Boyer assured that, “We are going to use this data to help find the right solution for the town as we continue to move forward with the project.” He also reiterated that there would be no votes taken, no decisions made, and was purely to present data and engage in a feedback-based conversation with town members in attendance.
The first operational topic that was discussed concerned how the fire station responds to calls. All emergency calls go through the Regional Old Colony Communications Center in Duxbury. Plympton emergency services are then dispatched -both on calls within town boundaries as well as surrounding towns that have mutual aid agreements with our town.
The fire station staffing was reviewed by the Chair as well. Currently, there are six full-time employees at the fire station -the Fire Chief, the Administrative Fire Prevention Captain, and four firefighter paramedics. The chief and captain have a traditional five-day work week, while the paramedics work in rotating 24hr shifts. The Plympton Fire Department provides services and coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Next, the daily staffing needs were discussed with weekdays having three to four personnel with two on call overnight. The impact shifts, meaning the hours likely to present the highest frequency of calls, is Monday through Thursday 3-9 p.m., and Friday 3-7 p.m. During the weekends, the fire department staffs three personnel during the daytime, and three overnight, with impact hours being Saturday’s entire 24 hours and Sunday’s from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In addition to the full-time staff at the fire station, there are five part time employees that work up to 24 hours a week, 20 members that are certified to work EMT shifts, and seven fire fighters who are fire-response only and on call from home, as well as four probationary fire fighters who are awaiting academy training, as well as 35 on-call firefighters.
Once the shifts and personnel status of the fire station was presented, Boyer moved into presenting facts about the apparatus and what is currently available. This includes one tanker, two engines, two ambulances, two brush trucks, one command vehicle, and one support vehicle. Boyer noted, “The next apparatus we need to replace in the town is ambulance #2.” He then explained that all these vehicles would need storage in the bay.
Another area of data collected by the Town Properties Committee concerned call volume. Call volumes from 2021-2024 were analyzed and compared. The total number of emergency responses were presented as: 2021 at 750 calls, 2022 at 759 calls, 2023 at 785 calls, and 2024 at 808 calls. The number of fires responded to in 2021 came in at 11, in 2022 at 14, in 2023 at 12, and in 2024 at 12. This was presented with the much higher numbers of EMS based responses which tallied at 454 for 2021, 513 for 2022, 542 for 2023, and 541 for 2024.
The next points of data presented by the committee concerned mutual aid activity -given and received. Mutual aid is collaborative responses of our fire department to assist in surrounding towns as well as other towns assisting with responses in our town if needed. Mutual aid given in 2021 totaled 89 responses given and 14 received. In 2022, 124 responses were given and 19 received. In 2023, 138 responses were given and 6 were received. In 2024, 172 responses were given and 10 were received.
All data provided by the Town Properties Committee shows that the Plympton Fire Department is an EMS service driven entity with a steadily increasing number of calls and services rendered in ours and surrounding mutual aid towns. In addition to the numbers of responses presented, Boyer also displayed a heat map that showed the frequency of calls from inside Plympton do not have a specific, concentrated origin -meaning calls were pretty evenly dispersed throughout the town with a few exceptions. “Sysco is a high-volume call area as is Center Street and Palmer Road where there are a lot of car accidents,” Boyer pointed out.
Boyer moved in to the data behind population and expected population in the coming years. The data presented indicated a minimal decrease in population for Plympton from 2025-2050. The current population of 2928 residents was divided into the focus-age groups of 60+, 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and 80+. According to simulated runs of data, the 60+ age group had 890 residents in 2025 vs a projected 779 60+ residents in 2050. For the age group of 60-69 the 2025 population was 435 vs a projected 401 for 2050. For the age group of 70-79 the population was a drastic decrease from 303 in 2025 to a projected 170 in 2050. Lastly, the 80+ age group was presented as 152 in 2025 and expected to increase to 208 by 2050. None of this data included the pending developmental projects that will increase town population significantly such as the Ricketts Pond Estates. It was noted that population increases were possible and unpredictable and that additional demands on the fire department might include increased storm-related activity and aging infrastructures around town.
One of the biggest concerns with the project of the new Fire Station is the tax implications on residents. This was a driving reason to cause the town to vote down the previous plans that had taken years of research and work to come to fruition and be formally presented. The new Town Properties Committee is looking to present tax mitigation strategies beginning as soon as Phase One of the project. Boyer stated, “We are going to approach the fire station project with the goal of minimizing the tax impact on residents -though we can make no guarantees at this stage. The Town Properties Committee is deliberately evaluating multiple financial strategies to reduce, offset, or smooth a potential tax burden.”
Boyer stated that the Town Properties Committee was committed to a disciplined, data-driven approach that prioritizes fiscal responsibility and focuses not only on the cost to construct a new station, but on the long-term financial impact on the town over the next several decades. The currently proposed mitigation strategies include a debt roll-off and timing strategy, grants and outside funding opportunities, ambulance fund review as a source of revenue, and studying long-term cost control.
The debt roll-off strategy would include looking at the towns debt schedule to see which debts are to roll off in five years, then time any potential borrowing so that the new debt replaces the old rather than layers upon it. Boyer than explained that the grant and outside funding opportunities are being evaluated by the committee to see what the town is eligible for on a federal and state level. “We are actually in contact with a senator and other fire stations to see what opportunities they found for funding,” Boyer assured.
The ambulance fund review would look at the revenue generated by ambulance services rendered by Plympton and the committee would take a close look to see if generated funds from this service could offset any of the fire station costs. Long-term operating cost control is also a strategy the Town Properties Committee is using to keep costs down. Boyer stated, “There is tax impact often driven by construction costs and long-term operating expenses. We are looking at evaluating staffing assumptions, overtime trends, utilities and maintenance, and life cycle costs to ensure the solution is affordable long term.”
In addition to these strategies, the Town Properties Committee assured they are committed to transparency concerning the budget context. Lastly, Boyer added, “It is important to note that at this phase there are no final decisions made. Phase One is to gather data, listen to residents, ensure future recommendations are noted in fiscal responsibility, and to get community input.” Upon conclusion of the data presentation the meeting was opened to the public for comments.
With 22 residents in attendance there were many questions and concerns shared with the committee. The nature of running the project based on a more EMS-supportive model as opposed to a fire station-focused, operational model was brought up. The importance of providing mutual aid to surrounding towns was also discussed, with Chief Duddy adding, “When we go for mutual aid, we bill the patient no differently than we normally do and we collect that revenue. So, it actually generates revenue when we go out of town with the ambulance. It is important for us to keep our mutual aid agreements in place, because if we do have a large structure fire, we need to bring mutual aid in. It’s a reciprocal system. So, the ambulance does bring revenue to the town.”
Justin Shepard commented that the ambulance is a “cash cow” for the town and pointed out that with a new, large residential structure in Halifax as well as the 60-unit development via Ricketts Pond in Plympton, there would likely be an increase in demand for emergency services rather than a decrease. “We also have a lot of single-family homes right now with one or two occupants, turning over into families with two or three kids -I can’t imagine that with the aging population we have that our population will decrease.” Boyer responded that the population-decrease data was based off of the current numbers and data but did not account for pending projects and possibilities that would undoubtedly increase the town population.
One common concern was about the $978.000.00 loan taken out to conduct the usability study -half of which was already used for the project. Marilyn on Elm Street asked, “I would like to know if you have decided to totally disregard the plans that were already developed for the fire station. I also want to know if you have looked into making modifications for those plans. Debt-wide, the Dennett debt will roll off this year and that is why we had looked to get the fire station started.” In addition to this concern, another resident stated, “It cost a lot of town money to fund the previous fire station proposal, and if I am hearing correctly, we are not going to use that. So that is close to a million dollars that we have authorized and it is not cast to the wind. I don’t understand why you would start with something new unless you felt it wasn’t researched well. From what I read, I know the previous committee did a lot of hard work.”
Justin Shepard added a posed question to the committee asking if there came a point when the new research aligned with the previously done research, would the committee, in fact, go back to the original plans presented by the previous committee. Boyer replied, “Absolutely we are open to that,” he explained, “If the data leads us in the same direction, then that previous plan is what we are coming back with.” He noted that this would be in addition to presenting other options to the town, including a possible proposal to renew and remodel the current fire station.
Some of the residents in attendance wanted to know where the previous plans and studies were available for viewing, to which Jon Wilhelmsen -previous Town Properties Committee Chair, provided the previous architects contact and said that if anyone reached out to them, the first feasibility study could be obtained. Another resident asked about the line of authority in terms of final decisions being made about the project. Boyer answered that the committee would present the plans to the Board of Selectmen, town administrator, and residents via a town meeting.
Vicki Alberti expressed her view on the flaws in the current population projections depicted in the data presented. First, she thanked the committee members for stepping up to such a monumental task. She then explained that she did not agree with the projections at present. “There is a lot of pressure to develop this town from the state. And the possible 40B Complex will add 60 families to the town. So, I disagree with the state numbers you have presented. I am on the Open Space Committee and I know the town is pressured to develop anywhere it can, so I think we are cutting ourselves short looking at a decrease in population.” Boyer responded again that he would only use the current data when formulating a plan.
Kathryn Shepard invited the committee members to attend a Finance Committee Meeting. “I invite you to join a meeting to learn about some other areas in town that we are getting polls from that require funds as well as doing this project.” Boyer thanked her for the offer and noted that he had not had the time to attend any town council or committee meetings aside from the Board of Selectmen meeting days prior which was his first time attending any meeting of that nature. He also reminded the residents that the current Town Properties Committee had only been in place since November and they were still learning things and trying to manage their own time and energy with their personal lives and the fire station project.
Resident Mark Wallace asked the Chair why a meeting between the former Town Properties Committee and the new one could not take place to exchange information and reach a better understanding of what had already been done. Boyer quickly said he would take that into consideration. More concern about the debt roll-off strategy was expressed by residents as well as confusion as to why the previous costly plans were not being consulted to enhance or add to current data. There was also concern over the site location potentials for a new station and worry over the wasted money to install wells in the area previously designated for the project.
Wilhelmsen spoke up about his insight with the timing of the project and the tax mitigation strategies. “You have the debt that’s rolling off this year, that $50,000.00. Silver Lake, as you mentioned, over the next two years is $700,000.00, and then following $600,000.00, so that’s 1.3 million. Plympton is about 10% of that, so $130,000.00 -that’s a total of $180,000.00 over the next three years going off. We ended up paying for some projects that, perhaps in hindsight we should have bonded to leave some extra money to pay for things… That is unfortunately a challenge.” Wilhelmsen added that there were also a few things on the horizon such as the $50 million in repairs needed for Silver Lake Middle and High Schools and a new roof needed in the town. He also noted an increase in students coming into Dennett at about 250 new students and the need for increased space in the school. In addition, Wilhelmsen noted that Plympton’s financial struggles were not unique in the state. “Based on news articles about town meetings posted all around the South Shore, every town sounds like this. It’s an absolute crisis. The state is not giving the money that it needs to in order to offset the cost of public buildings.” Lastly, Wilhelmsen noted that when a fire station is planned, there is a minimum that must be met regardless of the number of residents served. “If you have 3,000 residents, that station is not going to be fundamentally different than 6,000 or 9,000 residents. You might add a couple of bedrooms and a bit more space, but things like decontamination and storage -all of that is a bare minimum. If the fire department went out on 12 calls or three, or a big house or structure fire -you are still coming back contaminated.” Wilhelmsen thanked the committee for the work they are doing and referred to his many years serving on the board and offered access to all previously obtained and conducted studies and data.
The committee reiterated that this was an entirely volunteer based effort and that everyone in town has specific qualifications and abilities and they invited anyone who feels so inclined to offer their expertise, insight, and support. Boyer assured that no prior experience in town boards or politics is needed to volunteer in any way and that the committee was doing their best to deal with a steep learning curve and designated as much time to the project as the feasibly could. The meeting was adjourned and the following meeting will be Phase Two of the Education and Listening Initiative.

One of the first things people learn when they take an interest in gardening, is that it is never-ending. If you aren’t actively doing it, you are thinking about it -and that is entirely necessary to have a successful garden adventure. Bloom season hardly ends with the first frosts -if anything, the most prolific blooming that occurs in a garden is done in the mind of the gardener in the winter months because that is the only time the garden is entirely successful and goes perfectly to plan.
Lofty ideas of perfect, disease-free roses that cascade with abandon over archways, and behemoth, crinkly-green cabbages straight out of a children’s storybook easily occur in the January garden because it is all in the mind (at least it is here up north where our zone calls for a long period of growth dormancy). Our optimistic zest while planting the first spring peas as soon as soil can be worked, and the surprisingly consuming anticipation of watching the first daffodil and tulips poke their green, lipstick-tube heads through the thawing earth can lead us into a spring-fever-frenzy where we begin to over-plant, over-plan, and overspend on ideas that are, perhaps lacking, a specific plan.
This lack of logic in favor of only fantasy can lead to discouraging phrases such as, “I guess I don’t have a green thumb”, and “I kill everything I plant” to follow the equinox-fueled hopes for Eden. The experts, however, know the remedy for this cycle of hopes vs mishaps, and it involves keeping expectations realistic, and starting each year with the basic foundations of gardening: Know your zone, know your light, know your soil, know yourself, know your goals.
Perhaps the most crucial thing to understand when planting or starting a garden is to know your zone. Our country is divided into thirteen zones -from 1A to 13B. Each zone is determined by the average annual minimal winter temperature, frost dates, humidity levels, and average annual rainfall that occur there throughout the year. All plants, trees, shrubs, all produce, fruits, and flowers have specific thresholds for what zones they can tolerate. When you purchase a seed packet or a plant, the information for its zone hardiness is usually provided on the packaging or tag and it can certainly be researched on the internet, via books, or from the experts at the gardening center where you are purchasing the item.
It is crucial to understand that just because a plant can survive in a specific zone, that doesn’t mean it will thrive there. For example: You can grow peonies in Florida, but they won’t be prolific or thrive there because they need a dormancy period of frost, snow, and cold to produce large and numerous flowers. Make sure that when you are purchasing seeds, seedlings, or plants that they are hardy to your zone (hint, we are 6b for the most part here in southern New England). Furthermore, you need to learn what is an annual and a perennial in your zone. Annual plants are things that are planted at the beginning of the growing season in your zone, but will die back once it gets cold enough or with the first frosts. Perennials are plants that go dormant in your zone’s cold months, but regenerate in the spring without you having to replant them. Biennials are plants that take one year to establish their leaves, and then the next year they bloom and die. These often self-seed before they die their second year so that there is a random, albeit consistent, supply of the plant at all times. Most foxgloves are an example of a biennial plant in our northern zones.
An equally important factor to consider when drawing up your vegetable or cutting garden dreams is to know your sites’ light. Just as with zones, plants and trees and all growing things have specific lighting needs and tolerances. There is a big difference between shade and full sun and even partial shade and full shade. Some plants are very forgiving when it comes to lighting needs. For instance, I continually push the shade limits in my container gardens on my front farmers porch where it is nearly full shade with a roof, but I have found which hardy plants indicate they need partial shade, but actually tolerate the near darkness I foolishly subject them to.
Then there are, say, roses. Roses are the divas of the garden and have a very specific list of demands that, even when met, are sometimes not enough to convince them to thrive. Roses absolutely need full sun or you are headed for trouble -aka mildews, black spot, funguses, and weak blooms. And if you think full-sun alone will give you a happy rose -well, you have not properly met a rose plant. Just as the zoning information can be found on your seed packets and plant purchases, so can the lighting conditions -often indicated by easy-to read graphics or sun images shaded to show how little or much a plant prefers.
Once you have established your zone and your lighting conditions in the area you want to plant in, you need to get to know your planting medium: The soil. Soil is a loaded word in the gardening world because it sets the stage for nearly everything you plant. Soil is a very complex topic that many gardeners spend their lives trying to understand, amend, and maintain, but for the sake of the length of this newspaper, I will give the most basic advice. Keep your soil alive. This means no harsh, inorganic chemicals, weed killers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.
Microbes make or break your soil -and if you kill them off, you will spend the rest of your days, money, and time trying to put back the naturally occurring life force you stripped out when you dumped toxins into it. Just as your gut needs good bacteria to promote overall health, the soil needs its intricate and complex systems of biodiversity and organic matter that not only sustain life and growth, but act as a natural preventative for disease and pests in the garden. The best way to keep your soil healthy is to make, or purchase and use, compost. Compost, compost, compost! NOT fertilizer or plant food -COMPOST. Added each spring and fall, and incorporated into your native or added soil, it will be the reason your garden is a success story.
That said, how do you know how much and what to add to keep your soil alive and active? The most effective way to get to know your soil and what it is lacking or has too much of, is to do a soil sample test. These are easy to use, inexpensive tests that you can purchase at garden centers or you can request them from your local gardening extension. The results of these soil tests will tell you the pH, nutrient levels, and heavy metals in your soil. If you order a soil test from your local extension, you are often provided with a detailed breakdown of what is found in your soil and how to amend it depending on what conditions you are hoping for. These tests are inexpensive and accurate. If you are planting in multiple sites that are spread out in your yard, it is a good idea to do a test for each are, a as soil varies a great deal -even on a relatively modest-sized property.
Once you have learned about your intended site or existing plot, you need to ask yourself: How much work do I want to/am I willing to put into, not only planting, but maintaining this garden and everything I put in it? There is no shame in whatever answer you give yourself because even toying with the idea of growing and nurturing something is a worthy cause. That said, it is crucial to learn about your style and wishes for a garden versus your allotted time to dedicate to it. If you are strapped for time and energy, certainly do not spend time and money planting an intricate English cottage garden, or a structured Italian-style garden -both of which would require a lot of daily attending.
If you are, perhaps, gifted with some extra time on your hands and an accompanying itch to be in the garden daily, perhaps skip the low maintenance perennials and succulent-based groundcovers which would grow if the garden was not visited for a decade and are actually worse for ware with interfering hands. Some plants require a great deal of effort the season long with dead-heading, pruning, and pest control, and some are demanding feeders who want compost and water frequently. Other plants grow in horrid, rocky soil with a few rainstorms a season and nothing more. It is important to research your plants before you spend money on them. Nothing in gardening is worse than spending a good deal of time and money establishing a garden that gets beyond your control and becomes a burden to keep up with instead of a therapeutic outlet. Ask me how I know…
Lastly, when you are planning a garden, it is imperative to ask yourself what you want out of your garden. Are you hoping for fresh food? Daily fresh-cut flowers? A purely visual treat to look at but not interact much with? A shade garden to fill that empty dirt patch by the porch? An engaging space to develop or cultivate a serious hobby or passion? Perhaps you want to better the environment and local ecosystems with a native plant garden. Or you may wish for a statement in landscape architecture on your property or even an herb garden in a pot on a city apartment patio. Gardens can be so many things, and when you ask yourself what you want out of the garden, you already have a much higher chance of getting it because you can make a plan. Again, there is no shame is how simple or extravagant your ideas are because gardens are really extensions of us and our lives. They are the visual result of our interaction with the earth and our relationships with nature. A mentor of mine said, “Gardens are the symphony we see when souls and soil meet.” Audrey Hepburn said it best when she said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Perhaps, especially right now, there is no better time to cultivate a little hope wherever and however we can. The trick is to meld vision with direction and once you can do that, your thumb will be green enough to prove gardening an encouraging sort of venture rather than a daunting one. Here are some resources to help you with your January gardening:

Seed Companies Worthy of Your Attention:
Seed Savers Exchange
Johnny’s Select Seeds
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
High Mowing Organic Seeds

Gardening Catalogues and Companies to Trust:
White Flower Farm
K. Van Bourgondien
Breck’s
Gardeners Supply
Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
Bluestone Perennials
Jackson and Perkins
Prairie Moon Nursery

Gardening Books:
A Way to Garden by Margaret Roach
Monty Don The Complete Gardener by Monty Don
Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers by Erin Benzakein
Blooms and Dreams by Misha Gilligham
The Complete Guide to Gardening with Annuals and Perennials by Richard Bird and Kathy Brown
The New Gardener by Pippa Greenwood
The Natural Garden by Ken Druse

Local Gardening Centers That Know Their Stuff:
The Gardeners’ Choice, Pembroke
Morrisons Home and Garden, Plymouth
Crystal Lake Garden Shop, Plymouth
Sunshine Gardens, Kingston
Every Bloomin’ Things Garden Center and Nursery, Scituate

Gardens to Learn From:
Garden in the Woods, Framingham
Heritage Gardens, Sandwich
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston
Alan C. Haskell Public Gardens, New Bedford
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston

We have all seen it before -the “bread and milk” index displayed on local news forecasts and store shelves emptied of non-perishables, while “Winter Storm Warning in Effect” flashes on electronic screens along the highway. Any seasoned New Englander knows to fill the tub and grab the generator fuel and have the snow shovels and blowers at the ready. They also often have the familiar cold-weather New England “yard-sculpture” -a perfectly curated log-pile stacked neatly somewhere near the house. Winter storms are obviously common events mastered by New Englanders for generations, but perhaps it might be worth taking a look as to what exactly cooks up these infamous storm’s we call nor’easters.
The term nor’easter is fairly common in winter weather vernacular and refers to strong areas of low pressure along the U.S. East Coast featuring winds that move in from the northeast off the Atlantic Ocean. These storms are most usually associated with winter and snowstorms as they are most common and strongest between September and April, but nor’easters are possible year-round, as long as a low-pressure system fits the criteria. Just as no two snowflakes are alike, no nor’easters are exactly alike, but they can usually be sorted into categories, named after the researcher who came up with the system in 1946, J.E. Miller. Although not every nor’easter is a Miller System storm, the majority of them can be classified as such. There are five categories of Miller System storms, Types A-B-C-D-E, but the majority of storms fall into the Miller Type-A and Type-B categories.
To over-simplify and provide a quick visual of what pressure systems do, consider that high pressure is literally that -downward gravitational pressure that suppresses storm development -a lid, if you will, keeping things contained. Storms need the ability to ascend into the atmosphere and interact, with little restraint, with moisture and air masses to become significant. High pressure keeps all of that fun in check. Low pressure, however, means the “lid” is off and the atmospheric mayhem is allowed to commence and storms develop. The placement of high-and-low pressure systems also act as buffers that create pathways to guide and set the track for storms -much like the bumper pads on a bowling lane. Now that you have a visual of pressure systems, let’s talk about the Miller Systems.
The first Miller category, Type-A, includes nor’easters that primarily develop near the Gulf Coast or East Coast along an old cold front or the boundary between marine and land air masses. These types of nor’easters are considered “classic” nor’easters. For a Miller Type-A system to develop, high pressure must be in place near the eastern Great Lakes and a stationary boundary of low pressure is usually stationed off the southeast coast. This low-pressure line allows the cold, northern air mass to travel down and mix with the warmer air mass from the coast. This causes a system to develop. This growing storm system will then ride the buffered track up the east coast. By the time it reaches New England it is usually a significant system with a lot of moisture which usually falls as heavy snow.
Miller Type-B nor’easters are a bit more flamboyant with their wintry party as they tend to gift the inland states with blizzards and ice storms that make headlines and give headaches. Low pressure develops over the plains and rushes eastward. These systems approach the Northeast from the west, often through the Ohio Valley, bringing precipitation and ice to the Midwest on their journey. As with Miller Type-A storms, there is a delineation between rain and snow, but this time it’s more of a north-south split, rather than an inland-coastal split.
One thing that is unique to Miller Type-B systems is that they get a bit jumbled when they hit the Appalachian Mountains. The change in elevation and flow of terrain causes the initial low-pressure system to weaken as the central pressure goes up to accommodate the mountains, but this sets the stage for the low to then redevelop on the eastern side of the mountain range. This process is also known as a “center-jump.” Regardless of this momentary hop over the mountains, Miller Type-B systems are undeterred in unleashing a bit of chaos as they travel.
Sometimes, a nor’easter comes in the package of an Alberta Clipper System. Alberta clippers are another common type of winter storm, but only occasionally fall into the category of a nor’easter. An Alberta Clipper is a fast-moving area of low pressure that moves southeastward out of the Canadian Province of Alberta, through the Plains and Midwest. This type of winter storm qualifies as a nor’easter *if* it follows the path of a Miller Type-B storm and eventually reaches the East Coast to cause the northeasterly winds coming off the Atlantic Ocean that are required to classify a storm as a nor’easter.
Each nor’easter system can have various types of precipitation depending on where it is on its developmental journey. Initially, all the precipitation from a nor’easter falls as snow due to the low pressure allowing high (freezing cold!) atmospheric development. It can stay snow if it does not encounter a warm air mass on its way down. If it does encounter warm air, a few things can happen. First off, if the warm air mass is dense and stretches to the surface of the earth, you will have rain. If the warm air mass over a part of land is less dense, and there is an underlying horizontal line of cold air again before the precipitation hits the ground, you can have refreezing which results in either freezing rain or sleet. For freezing rain, the cold air mass above the ground has to be thicker and a more intense temperature change, and for sleet the cold air mass above the ground has to be thinner and with less a temperature change so the freezing is less instantaneous.
Be it a Miller System or an Alberta Clipper, nor’easters have long been commonplace due to the natural weather patterns in this part of the world, but they have made headlines and become local lore since we started recording weather events and collecting data on them. Some of the most notable nor’easters (that many readers are sure to recall first-hand) are:
The Great Blizzard of 1888. This monster storm dropped up to 58 in. of snow in some areas and drifts as high as 50 ft. The blizzard lasted three days. The impacted areas were centered in New York City.
The Storm of the Century in 1950. This nor’easter slammed from New Jersey northward and caused $70 million in storm damage. Variants from 33-62 in. of snow were left behind as well as downed lines and trees from 60 mph winds.
The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. The Ash Wednesday Storm lasted from March 5-9 and left destruction from Florida to New England and some places, such as Ocean City, under 4 ft. of water. It also caused mayhem with 70 mph winds and 42 in. of snow.
The Northeastern United States Blizzard of 1978. This infamous, deadly blizzard left todays equivalent of $1.85 billion dollars in damage. Over 10,000 cars were left stranded after a two-day white-out buried the seaboard from Philadelphia to Boston in 27 in. of snow and reached hurricane-force winds.
Storm of the Century 1993. What started as a nor’easter in March 1993 ended as a disaster dubbed the “Storm of the Century.” This record-breaking nor’easter was the result of a rare catastrophe when three massive, and separate, weather systems unexpectedly mingled over the Gulf of Mexico. This combo from Hades affected states along the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, as well as interior states that didn’t often feel the effects of powerful nor’easters. $Six billion dollars in damage and up to 56 in. of snow in some areas.
The Nor’easter of 2016. This damaging weather event spanned two days across the mid-Atlantic and up into the Northeast and left behind 36-52 in. of snow in some areas. In addition to the heavy snow, there were 85 mph wind gusts and six tornadoes spawned as it traveled up the coast.
There are many more famous nor’easters to learn about and many more to come and experience first-hand. Given what you now know about the Miller System, perhaps you can spend your snowy days the next few weeks reading about the famous blizzards and figuring out which Miller-Type each of them was. You should also be able to identify the types of blizzards forthcoming. Don’t forget to make sure that in addition to learning about these weather systems, you are preparing adequately for them -but here in New England, where nor’easters are as much a part of life as lobster rolls and Dunkin’, you hardly need a reminder from this Utah-born and raised transplant. Stay safe and warm, readers!

The Plympton Zoning Board of Appeals met for a pubic hearing on Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Plympton Town House. Secretary Ethan Stiles opened the hearing with ZBA Chair, Suzanne Jafferian, Alternate Member, David Alberti, and Town Council, Carloyn Murray in attendance. The applicant, Peter Opachinski of SLT Construction was joined by Brad McKenzie of McKenzie Engineering Group, Inc. and Attorney Robert Galvin of Galvin and Galvin PC.
The first matter of business was to address the Cease and Desist Order issued Nov. 10th, 2025 for SLT Construction for illegal earth removal operations at the assessor’s parcel M19-B2-L4 without a permit. This Cease and Desist Order was issued by Plympton Zoning Enforcement Officers Kathleen Cannizzo and Thomas Millias. Due to this order not being included on the night’s agenda as an oversight, the issue was postponed until the next hearing on Feb. 4, 2026. This is the second Cease and Desist Order issued by the Plympton Zoning Enforcement officers and the third violation of stormwater regulations as well as a history of wetland violations across the state by SLT Construction.
The next matter of business was the presentation of four hydrogeology peer reviewers that Gregory Driscoll, of JDE Civil, Inc. would be working with on behalf of the town of Plympton. The four proposals received were: Scott Horsley, Principal of Horsley Witten Group at $6,600-7,600.00, GEI Consultants at $12,000.00, Haley and Aldrich at $15,000.00, and RMA Geo-Environmental at $14,776. Due to the time frame compatibility of the proposal from GEI Consultants, the board selected GEI as the proposed peer reviewer of the hydrogeology report with RMA Geo-Environmental as the back-up plan should GEI be unable to keep the needed timeline.
Once the hydrogeology peer reviewer was selected, Stiles moved the hearing into a review of outstanding department head comments concerning the Ricketts Pond project. Zoning Board Alternate Dave Alberti asked to be allowed to present a compilation of questions he had for SLT Construction. “Some of these have already been covered, but these are items people have come to me with or we’ve had here on the floor during our discussions or out on the street with people…” Alberti noted, “I compiled what I had myself as well and there are about a dozen questions.” Alberti presented the questions in hard copy as well as via projection on the screen in the room.
The first question Alberti had was concerning a timeline for SLT Construction to estimate the project to be completed and how long they anticipated it to have the subdivision fully occupied. Galvin responded on behalf of SLT Construction, “Assuming we are given the permit allowing us to commence construction immediately, there is also a given period of site work, we would proceed to construct buildings as soon as possible. It’s likely to take more than a year, possibly two years, to complete construction, but we would proceed diligently to complete construction,” Galvin assured that if there were environmental or economic issues, a permit extension would be sought after. Town Council, Murray added that the permit issued would be good for three years, so it would likely already compliment to the proposed construction timeline, but extensions could be granted if needed.
The second question presented by Alberti addressed if the town was protected if construction was, for some reason, left incomplete. “I am trying to address things that could happen -though it’s unlikely it will,” Alberti pointed out. Galvin replied that in order for an occupancy certificate to be obtained, construction would have to be completed to the level that the planning board would normally say is adequate -for fire and safety access and water and septics would have to be completed…our expectation, you know, is that we will proceed expeditiously and diligently to complete the project.” Galvin added, “But the infrastructure, which is most important to you all, is going in first.”
Stiles then asked about the building permits and occupancy certificates and if they would be given individually to each duplex or bundled together. Opachinski replied, “My thoughts are to do like four duplexes at a time -so if the first two sold, then we would start another two, but a lot of that would depend on how the bank structures my construction loan.” Opachinski continued, “They are not going to loan all the money at one time to complete all 60 units -they will put a limit on it and it will be incremental over, say, a three year period, but the site will be neat and clean, the road will be done, and it’s just a matter of digging foundations and putting foundations in at that point.”
The third point of concern presented by Alberti was about oversight in monitoring the construction site and project adherence to compliance and safety. “Your engineer will monitor the construction to determine that it’s built in accordance with approved plans and code compliance, and we won’t be issued a building permit unless we can show them a plan that’s compliant with the state building code,” Galvin explained, “Your building inspector or building commissioner will determine building code compliance.” He then stated that SLT Construction would be funding the construction monitor, which was likely to be Driscoll.
Stiles then asked for clarification about what would happen if there was a compliance issue or confusion on the plans with the project or an issue raised by the construction monitor to which the reply was that SLT Construction would then approach the board and ask for a meeting to clarify and amend as needed. Galvin also assured that Driscoll’s firm would take the role of making sure that the work being done was in compliance with permits and plans. The board expressed collective relief to know that this measure of oversight was going to be in place. “That is super encouraging to me,” Jafferian commented, “To know that there are other boards and inspections and people in place to make sure -we don’t have to run down there all the time -it’s not all on us. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work -and I didn’t want ‘Oh you can just run’ with no checks and balances.”
The fourth point Alberti presented concerned the issue of needing visual and sound barriers for residents of the Ricketts Pond Estates due to its close proximity the Route 44. Opachinski responded that there are still some trees left after their removal years ago, and a chain-link fence for separation and an actual roadway to serve as a “pretty good” buffer. Stiles suggested that other parts of Route 44 do have concrete buffers along developments, to which Opachinski interjected, “It’s a great place for graffiti -no thank you.”
Next to address was addressing the maintenance of the stormwater management systems and operation and if that was the towns responsibility, or that of the HOA. McKenzie replied, “There will be a homeowners association that will be responsible for maintaining all infrastructure of the subdivision -the roadway, catch basin, and maintenance of the storm water facilities.” He continued, “Part of what we submitted to Mr. Driscoll for review of the drainage report was not only the construction phase of operation of the maintenance plan, but a long-term operation maintenance plan for the storm water system. There are reporting responsibilities and requirements from the states’ stormwater management regulations via the HOA.”
Stiles followed by asking for clarification about the proposed structure of the homeowner’s association for the Ricketts Pond subdivision. The proposed structure is a two-level management system with one level as the residents of each duplex, and the second level as the overarching level that maintains the common grounds of the subdivision. McKenzie replied, “Each lot is a sperate owner. The owner is a condo association because there are multiple units on each lot. It’s really no different than a conventional, definitive subdivision except you have multi-family units on each lot, and each lot is its own condominium association.”
McKenzie then explained the overarching HOA, “Overarching is the HOA responsible not for the maintenance of the lots, but for the maintenance of the right-of-way -which contains the stormwater management systems and common areas.” Opachinski then added that SLT Construction would be responsible for overall maintenance until enough of the subdivision was occupied to transfer that responsibility.
Stiles then inquired about the transference of ownership maintenance. “A certain amount of ownership then gets divested from the developer once a certain level of occupancy is reached.” Galvin pointed out that this transference can be flexible, “We want to maintain control for as long as possible to make sure it gets maintained… I have seen it done up to the last lot -you can do it when it reaches 75% occupancy, but it’s in the developers best interest to maintain control as long as possible.” Opachinski added, “We just did a 34 unit in Kingston and we didn’t turn it over until the last house was occupied,” which he explained took about three years.
The sixth item on Alberti’s list of questions raised the topic of the egress into Carver from the cul-de-sac. He asked if there was yet a planned roadway or escape or access. McKenzie pointed out that this area is private property and they don’t have legal authority or access to make decisions about the access point that is in Carver’s boundaries. Stiles asked about the possibility of a tunnel or overpass that would go under Route 44 to allow easier emergency access to the subdivision, but the idea was struck down due to the unlikelihood of the state granting permission for such a big project and the high cost.
Alberti asked the question then be addressed by attending Plympton Fire Prevention Captain, John Sjostedt. Sjostedt said that SLT Construction had a valuable meeting with the Plympton Fire and Police Department heads the day prior about emergency access to the subdivision. “I went down to Solar Circle and accessed the property from there, and with very minimal work we could have access for emergency vehicles.” He noted that the road existed currently to provide access to the solar project there, but it would be used for emergency vehicle access to Ricketts Pond as well.
Alberti moved to the next topic about a drawing of several units presented on plans from July 25 of 2025 that are no longer included in the current plans. They had initially indicated the units that were deemed affordable housing units. McKenzie inspected the map on the projector screen and pointed out that the document from July was prepared by Delphic Associates, LLC., and not part of SLT’s proposed plan.
The topic of renting out units was next up for discussion. The question posed was, “IS the owner of a single unit or a number of units able to rent out the dwellings as an absentee landlord?” Murray interjected that for the affordable housing units, it was required to have an eligible-income purchaser and there will be deed restrictions that require the unit be occupied by the eligible-income purchaser. Galvin said that they would not allow short-term rentals, but long-term rentals would be acceptable.
Alberti then asked about the enforcement of the regulation of keeping occupancy limit of each unit at two people per bedroom. “That is actually illegal and considered discrimination against families to enforce an occupancy limit,” Galvin explained. Stiles commented that if am issue arose with something in terms of sanitation due to overcrowding, then the Board of Health would be the ones to get involved. McKenzie clarified that the “two-persons per bedroom limit” was only drawn up by the state to regulate what constitutes the need for public water supply -which would be 25 people using one well -something far out of the planned threshold of the Ricketts Pond project.
The following topics presented covered the concern about the town of Plympton being covered in the event of a failing of the subdivision, and if the HOA’s established therein would serve the best interests of not only the subdivision, but the town. Galvin explained, “Each lot will have its own condominium association, and that will have a lot of authority to impose fees, and fines, and collect money to make sure the infrastructure is taken care of.” He went on to explain that all of the condominium associations would then form a home-owners association that would take care of street, drainage, and all facilities. Each lot would get one vote in relation to HOA policies and they will each disperse the management of their fees.
Stiles pointed out that if each lot gets one vote, that is uneven for lots that have more units on them. “That would mean that the voting of one lot with one house on it would have double the weight of a lot with two houses on it.” Galvin assured that the voting weight gets distributed because a majority of 80% vote is needed to approve or change anything. Stiles concluded that the Zoning Board has no jurisdiction over how the HOA is formed and run, but they were expected to act in the best interest of the town once formed.
Concluding the questions posed by Alberti, there was a question from a resident in attendance who asked Sjostedt if the emergency access to the subdivision would be lost if the solar farm ceased to exist. Sjostedt said that he was fairly confident access would still be possible as emergency response allowances are very liberal. “They will do whatever is necessary to get to a fire,” Galvin assured.
McKenzie brought up the discussion with the Plympton Emergency Response teams the day before. “The letters were somewhat confusing as to what was required of us in terms of the requirements for water storage capacity in the cisterns. And what we heard was that she would require two cisterns or one cistern and automatic sprinklers for each unit. We are in the process of assessing those costs.”
In addition to clarification of the letters from the Fire and Police Departments, was the issue of street parking possibly blocking emergency vehicles access. SLT presented their remedy for these issues in the form of “No Parking” signs alongside the road, and a twenty-car parking lot for visitors to the subdivision. In addition, the safety measure of placing cisterns no further than 900ft away from a unit and each cistern holding the required 30,000 gallons of water, each, pacified both parties and their questions. The meeting was adjourned shortly after and the date for the next public hearing is February 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Plympton Town Hall. We, at the Express, continue to encourage public participation in these hearings -especially pertaining to issues determining the future of our unique town. For more information on the Ricketts Pond Estates 40B Project, please visit the town website: https://www.town.plympton.ma.

On a snowy late-morning, the usually bustling gym of Silver Lake Regional High School seems empty -until you notice a section of bleachers in the back corner packed with students and flanked by coaches. It is a remarkably reverent group of teenagers at the moment and all eyes are on the tall man in a suit standing at the podium facing them. Though it is an unassuming scene, it is clear that the person at the podium is not a random guest or a familiar teacher or coach, but someone who instantly has the respect and attention of everyone in the room. That is because it is Silver Lake Regional High School’s most distinguished living alumni -Tim Murphy, and these students are the sports team captains of Silver Lake High who have come to glean any available wisdom from this legendary Laker.
Whether he knew it or not, in the early 1970s, Silver Lake Regional High football coach John Montosi had two pending stars of the college football world on his team. His quarterback, Eugene (Buddy) Teevens and a scrappy end/linebacker, Timothy Murphy, would go on to be legends in American football. “We became best friends after playing on Little League together. Our story began with a call that I am still 51% sure was wrong as I was called ‘out’. He says the call was right, but we will never really know,” Murphy recounts to the benches of observing students. Teevens went on to be the quarterback of, and later head football coach, at Dartmouth College. Murphy went on to play at Springfield College under Coach Vandersea where he was named All New England linebacker. Both former Silver Lake students went on to have historic careers in the world of college football and, more importantly, keep a true friendship that would prove a motivating force in both their lives.
Rick Swanson, Silver Lake Regional High School Athletic Director, asked Murphy to touch base on three main traits that the team captains had been focusing on to become ideal leaders for their respective teams. The first question Swanson asked was for Murphy’s take on and experience with work ethic and how it impacted his career and life.
Following his high school graduation, Murphy started as part-time assistant coach for Brown University. He met a Brown engineering student and football player who inspired Murphy to set new goals. “I realized, it is not enough to have a goal in life, you have to have a plan.” Murphy made a goal to become a head coach for a college football team by age 30, and if he couldn’t do that, he decided he would go back to school and get his M.B.A.
After spending another year at Brown as assistant offensive-line coach, and a year as defensive-line coach at Lafayette, Murphy began to work for an M.B.A. during three years on Rick Taylor’s staff at Boston University. In 1985, Teevens became head coach at the University of Maine and he hired Murphy as offensive coordinator. Although accepted into business school, Murphy could not shake the call and passion for coaching. In 1987, Teevan’s left to coach his alma mater and Murphy was offered the head coaching position for the Black Bears at the University of Maine where he was the youngest head coach in college football -just about meeting his goal of being a head coach of a football team by age 30.
Two years and one Yankee Conference title later, Murphy moved to Cincinnati where he was the youngest head coach in Division I. Cincinnati’s football program had not had a winning season in a decade and they had a reduced roster of 53 players on scholarship due to NCAA infractions instead of the typical 85. Under the direction of Murphy, the program rebounded and was ranked in the top 25 by the time he left to take over at Harvard in 1994. Murphy led the Harvard Crimson football team to success after success for 30 years. He retired as the second longest tenured coach in Division I with 16 consecutive winning seasons, 10 Ivy League championships with only one losing season in this century, and an athletics program that focused on academic success as well as athletic success. Murphy was also named the President of the American Football Coaches Association. It is arguable that Murphy is the one of the most successful collegiate football coaches in history.
As he accumulated career opportunities, Murphy was also gaining enormous amounts of insight into what it takes to be successful. “The best players were always the hardest workers -not the most gifted or strongest or fastest, the hardest workers. Worth ethic changes everything. If you have a goal, and you don’t let anything talk you down from it, you will transcend your own limits,” Murphy assures.
Swanson then asked for Murphy to give advice on leaders practicing servitude and humility and how this quality enhances leadership positions. “Being humble is good for everyone -and it earns you true respect. One reason Buddy was such a successful leader was because he earned the trust of his teammates by leveling with them -helping them out and making sure they felt equal.” Murphy goes on, “You know, I always noticed the leader’s mannerisms in the locker rooms. Some kids make such a mess in there, and then there would be the captains going around picking things up, encouraging people to clean up a bit -humility is about having a level of respect for others and being willing to pitch in and not think any task is beneath you.”
Swanson followed up with the final focus point for the years team captains -Communication. Murphy easily agreed that this was a key quality for any leader to possess but especially in a sports environment. “Communicating in a constructive way with your teammates is the make or break of a good team dynamic. You can’t just communicate with your friends or the best players on the team -you have to keep that line open with everyone. You have to be real and vulnerable and that puts people at ease to be themselves. And honestly, building the foundations of a team on healthy and constructive communication will reward you with lifelong friends.
Murphy explained how friendships forged with teammates often transcend the team. “The greatest gift from playing sports is the friendships you get from it. The likelihood of the relationships you have on your teams now carrying on throughout your lives is very high because you are forging a bond with these people. You are learning to rely on them, read them, trust them, appreciate them, and work with them and those kinds of things carry on after graduation and the games stop. You are making bonds with people that are unique to sports and unlike friendships made in other activities because you have to work as one when you are on a team. You have a common goal for an extended period of time and that makes lifelong bonds.” Murphy explained that even your opponents in sports can be lifelong connections, “When you compete with someone, you have to witness how hard they are working and that makes you respect them.”
Murphy also pointed out that leadership can’t be an act or defined by a checklist, it has to be genuine. “The biggest influences in my life were my coaches. They genuinely wanted to see me become my best self and they really cared about me as a person -not just an athlete. I had a home life where my dad wasn’t around for mentorship, but my coaches filled that for me. Coaches and leaders who care change lives. Mine really cared and caring about someone isn’t something you can fake,” Murphy says.
Murphy then noted that student athletes are unique in the world of sports. “Being a student athlete is so much harder than just being an athlete. Your academic success only enhances you as an athlete because it requires the same qualities that being a good athlete does. Hard work, humility and being open to learning, and communicating and advocating for yourself and others -all of these make you a great student as well.”
Murphy explained that the most successful leaders for sports teams in the Ivy League setting were also dedicated students. “I knew that if someone was willing to put in the work to get an A in economics, they would likely also work really hard for the team.” Murphy encouraged the students to not separate being a good student from a good athlete, but to see them as inseparable. “If you can keep your studies up as well as show up for your team every day, you are basically set for anything life hands you because you have the recipe for success right there.”
Most importantly, Murphy emphasized that working on relationships with family and friends should always be the number one priority. “You know, coaching college football is really, really hard. The schedule is incredibly demanding. Playing sports and keeping up grades is really hard, and these things can make you neglect those around you. But remember that they are your reason for all of this and that you can’t do anything hard in life without support from family or friends or mentors. Keep the right perspective because it will help you make better decisions for yourself, too.”
The closing remarks were followed by questions from students, one in particular asked what a captain or leader should do when there were mistakes made during a game. Murphy replied, “You own it. Good leaders always take responsibility for things that go bad. You can’t blame anyone -it’s everyone. Mistakes don’t usually happen because of one isolated thing -it’s usually a series of things that add up. A good leader will take it upon themselves to own the mistake and then work with the team to find solutions.”
After a group picture was taken, the attending student athletes filed back out into the hallways to their next classes, but the speech given by Murphy was hardly over. No, the things all of us heard, students and adults, were the kind that stick, provoke thought, and influence many decisions made thereafter -because they were the genuine words of humble wisdom from a true leader, and those never really leave us.

Soft chatter and laughter fill the January-sun-drenched space and provide a warmth, body and soul, that make lingering easy. An occasional water droplet from the melting snow on the sloped, clear rooftop hits the few remaining yoga mats yet to be rolled up. A rainbow-clad peace flag flies above the landscape fabric floor like a castle banner in a great hall -but this is a banner of inclusion, acceptance, and love and it flies above empty wooden tables that will soon be laden with the seedlings for this year’s crops at Colchester Farm in Plympton. In the center of the room is a tiny powerhouse of blonde hair and energy, Meg Murphy Garfield, doing her favorite thing: Sharing the lessons of yoga and whole health with others.
During the winter months, the large greenhouse at Colchester Farm in Plympton is used for Garfield’s tri-weekly yoga classes which are moved to her outdoor backyard pool at her house in the warmer months. Garfield shares her passion and knowledge with students of all experience levels -from those who can teach yoga themselves to people who are there for their first class. Garfield, herself, was not introduced to yoga until age 50 when she took a class at her local gym in Rochester, NY. What started as a trial class quickly turned into a way of life for Garfield as she found her body and mind transforming for the better as she continued to attend.
Prior to a career in teaching yoga, Garfield was immersed in the world of health and whole foods. She worked for Niblack Foods -a spice and ingredient supplier that put her to work doing nutritional and food research. She applied her passion for healthy eating and food sources to a career as a private chef and also gave weekly demonstrations and instruction at the Rochester, NY Farmers Market. Garfield’s exclaims, “I absolutely loved the farmers market in Rochester, and talking to people about healthy eating and teaching them what I was learning was incredible!”
After establishing herself as a health support chef and yoga enthusiast, Garfield moved to Plymouth, MA. Once there, she was looking for the next big step to take in life and it wasn’t hard for her to identify what she wanted to dedicate her life to: Yoga. Garfield purchased Open Doors Yoga in Plymouth in 2012. Garfield continued to learn and research and teach and watch her life improve drastically in many ways while also helping others find things that worked for them. “Every body is so different,” says Garfield, “I want people to know that yoga is a practice. It becomes YOUR practice -not mine or the person next to you. I can help you make modifications to suit your level and preferences in yoga and in your health, but then it becomes your responsibility.”
Due to the inability to meet in person during the pandemic, Garfield closed the doors of Open Doors Yoga in 2020 and moved her classes to virtual. Now that she has relocated to Plympton, she keeps her in-person classes local at her home and neighboring Colchester Farm thanks to the generosity of farmer Jim Lough. This year, Garfield’s mantra for her classes focuses on the “inner and outer smile” and finding peace and balance of body and soul and building upon last year’s mantra, strength and purpose. When asked what is the most important focus in yoga for anyone at any level, Garfield answers easily, “Breathing. It is all about breathing. If we, as a society, just learned to breathe through things, our world would be so much better.”
Yoga might sound like a complex, out-of-reach thing to some, but Garfield assures that it offers plenty of highly beneficial things for anyone and everyone. “I am 67 this year and I have never felt better,” says Garfield, “I make sure that we move gently while also challenging ourselves so that growth is fluid and natural -not stressful or causing injury. Even if movement is restricted, yoga is about awareness and organic movement. So much of disease happens when things get stagnant and stuck. Yoga can help keep things flowing and helps us listen to our bodies and minds as one.”
Another offering in practicing yoga is the ability to be present. Garfield explains, “Yoga focuses your attention on your body’s abilities at the present moment. It helps develop breath and strength of mind and body. It’s not about what you look like, it is about how you feel.” Unlike many other fitness or dance classes, yoga studios typically don’t have mirrors so people can focus their awareness inward rather than how a pose, or the people around them, looks. Studies have found that those who practiced yoga were more aware of and in harmony with their bodies and overall health than people who didn’t practice yoga. They were also more satisfied with and less critical of their bodies -creating a cycle of positive body image and self-esteem in a society where comparison is king.
In addition to the benefits of mind, Garfield is dedicated to helping her students learn about taking action and responsibility for their own health. “Medicine should not be one size fits all,’ says Garfield. Everyone will respond to varying levels of different things in different ways. I can give you ideas and tell you what worked for me, but it is up to you to learn your body and advocate what works for you.”
Garfield then explains that yoga can effectively stimulate the Vagus nerve, promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and enhancing overall well-being. “The Vagus nerve is the center of our parasympathetic nervous system -helping us regulate and process things. When it is not functioning well, we can be left with stress and health problems that are usually just treated with medication.” Garfield suggests that exploring new ways to support your natural systems, rather than muting or silencing them, could lead to a more permanent improvement than what can be offered in traditional routes of healthcare.
In addition to the seemingly endless benefits of yoga for body and mind, another perk of taking up the practice is that if often plays a role in improving one’s relationship with food. Garfield says, “When you get talking to people around you who also care about and are passionate about health and people’s minds open up to things about what they are putting in and on their bodies. We are lacking so many nutrients and filled with things that don’t work with our bodies’ systems -causing inflammations and dysfunction.”
Our modern-day food culture tends to result in over-fed, malnourished people and the key to fixing that is most likely found in the collective efforts of individuals like Garfield who dare you to ask yourself real, honest questions about what you are doing to help or hinder your body and mind. “I want to help people heal and take care of themselves. My daughter has chronic Lyme and I have spent many years with her on her own health journey to find things that give her relief. I know how overwhelming it can be, but doing nothing is the worst thing you can do,” reflects Garfield.
In addition to yoga, Garfield makes sure her students are well-versed in being able to meditate. “So many people today are just constantly yelling at themselves internally,” Garfield points out, “The negative self-talk is so damaging. Learning to quiet that self-hate and encourage and uplift yourself by being in control of your emotional range is healing. The best decisions are made in the quiet.”
Garfield knows that perhaps the benefits of yoga sound out of reach or strange or for a “certain type” of person -but yoga is really about enhancing the human experience and can be practiced uniquely by everyone no matter the age or interests or condition of health or life status. “The hardest part about starting your journey with yoga…is starting. Walking through the door. But once you have done that,” Garfield smiles, “You are going to feel welcome, and peaceful, and grounded. Yoga is an escape -it is magic, but it is the kind of escape that is educational.”
Garfield knows what it is like to be the newbie -the beginner, and to not know what you are doing for a while. “I did not have any expectations when I started,” she says, “But it began to have such an impact on me that I realized I needed it.” On making yoga a positive personal journey, Garfield suggests applying it as often as possible because you can’t use it if you don’t know it. “You take what you learn and feel with you and it is yours to use in daily life once you leave this space. Being able to find yourself stopping in a stressful situation and saying, ‘What do I see? Hear? Smell? Feel?’ and being able to find that calm and breath instead of settling into fight or flight -that is where health is found. It is not just about being able to get into a difficult pose, or be the most flexible, it is about finding yourself and your sacred space in the world.”
You can’t help but notice as you leave the warm greenhouse and the undeniably positive energy to traipse through the snow back to your car, that you feel different. The connections you made were refreshingly non-digital, the chaos of the world isn’t as loud, and the breath you didn’t realize you were holding beforehand flows easier through you. You start to see for yourself that perhaps yoga IS for everyone, and suddenly next week with sunny, motivating Meg in the toasty greenhouse down a little Plympton country road can’t come fast enough -so you will just have to remember to breathe in and out until then.
Yoga 111 Love Yoga holds classes at Colchester Farm, 90 Brook St., Plympton
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 9:30-10:45 a.m.
$20 per class, 20 spots per class max.
Special for Express readers: If you mention this article, you can take your first class for just $5!
Please follow along with Meg Murphy Garfield to see her other teaching locations and classes such as sound bathing.

The new year may come with a host of cheesy slogans, high expectations, social graces, and sanctimonious proclamations, but, as usual, a deeper look into the holiday and the traditions behind it reveal a rather inspiring amalgamation of celebrations, beliefs, ceremonies, and customs that compose a truly beautiful holiday celebration package.
The earliest record of celebrating the new year date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox in late March (where there is an equal amount of sunlight and darkness) heralded the start of a new year. They marked the occasion with a festival called Akitu (derived from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut around this time). Akitu involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days. It was also during this time that a new king was crowned or that the current ruler’s divine mandate was symbolically renewed.
The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox. According to tradition, this calendar was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C. Later, King Numa Pompilius, added the months of Januarius and Februarius. Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun, and in 46 B.C., Julius Ceasar attempted to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of the time. He introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today.
The name January was a tribute to the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings. Janus had two faces which allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated the first day of the new year by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches, and attending raucous parties.
In early medieval times most of Christian Europe regarded March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year. William the Conqueror decreed that the year began on Jan. 1, but England later joined the rest of Christendom and adopted March 25. The Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1582 by the Roman Catholic Church, restored Jan. 1 as New Year’s Day, and most European countries gradually followed suit -Scotland in 1660, Germany and Denmark around 1700, England in 1752, and Russia as late as 1918. In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced Jan. 1 as the first of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as Dec. 25 (the symbolic anniversary of Jesus’ birth) and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation). Pope Gregory XIII reestablished January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1582.
Many of the customs of New Year festivals dichotomously note the passing of time with regret and anticipation. The baby used as a a symbol of the new year and an old man representing the year that has passed dates back to ancient Greece. The practice of making resolutions to rid oneself of bad habits and energy also dates to ancient times. These early resolutions were likely made in an attempt to curry favor with the gods. In the West, particularly in English-speaking countries, the nostalgic Scottish ballad “Auld Lang Syne” revised by the poet Robert Burns, is often sung on New Year’s Eve. The song begins by posing a rhetorical question: Is it right for old times to be forgotten? The answer is generally interpreted as a call to remember long-standing friendships and family.
Symbolic foods are often part of New Year festivities. Many Europeans eat cabbage or other greens to ensure prosperity in the coming year, while people in the American South prepare black-eyed peas for good luck. For Ugadi in southern India, a special culinary preparation called ugadi pachadi combines multiple flavors, and depending on the person eating it tasting a sweeter or more bitter flavor is what determines the luck of their year to come. Throughout Asia, special foods such as dumplings, noodles, and rice cakes are eaten, and elaborate dishes feature various ingredients whose names or appearance symbolize long life, happiness, wealth, and good fortune.
In Scotland, Isle of Man, and Northern England a custom called “First Foot” takes place on New Year’s Day. The first guest to cross the threshold, or “first foot,” is significant and may bring good luck if the person is of the right physical type, which varies with location. In Spain on New Year’s Eve, many people follow a unique tradition that dates back to the 19th-century known as uvas de la suerte, or “lucky grapes.” There are conflicting reports about the exact origins of the tradition, but the two most likely versions are that: Grape growers in Alicante came up with the custom in the early 1900s after a bountiful harvest left them with too many grapes and farmers needed a ploy to sell them. Others trace it to the 1880s, when Madrid’s bourgeoisie adopted French habits like drinking champagne and eating grapes on New Year’s Eve. Over time, the current day tradition consisted of people eating one grape at each chime as the clock strikes midnight. Each grape represents a month of the coming year. If you finish all twelve in time before the twelfth chime you’ll have good luck; if you fail, you will not be so fortunate.
Closer to home, celebrations of New Year’s Eve are usually characterized by public gatherings. Times Square in New York City draws large crowds and the countdown with the infamous New Year’s Eve ball to signify the exact moment at which the new year begins. This event is televised worldwide and for the first time ever, it will drop twice this year -once at 12 a.m. and then again clad in red, white, and blue at 12:04 a.m. to signify Americas 250th birthday.
On the West Coast, the first Rose Bowl Game was played in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 1902, and other college football games have come to dominate American television on New Year’s Day. The Tournament of Roses Parade, featuring floats constructed of live roses and flowers as well as the Mummers’ Parade in Philadelphia are popular New Year’s Day events.
Here in Boston, it will be the 50th Boston’s First Night Celebration. Activities will start as early as 10 a.m. with plenty of family-friendly events, including a sing-along at the Boston Public Market, archery lessons on the Boston Common at noon, and ice skating shows at the Frog Pond throughout the afternoon. Performances at City Hall Plaza begin at 2 p.m., with Boston-based rock band Leaving Irene opening the event. The Sultans end the performances of 2025 at 11:30 p.m. and fireworks will kick off at the stroke of midnight. All First Night performances are open to the public but are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Once the New Year’s Eve celebrations are concluded and we have sauntered back home a little worse for wear after a night of frivolity, you might be inspired to clean up a bit from the holiday hoopla. Luckily, there are several local businesses offering just the things to align, relax, heal, and invigorate. Sure, New Year’s resolutions are jokingly called “the first week of January’s to-do list”, but even if you only dip a toe into your efforts, it’s better than nothing! If anything, you are just joining the ancient Greeks in seeing the new year as a symbolic reset and goal-setting opportunity, and that is hardly seasonally en vogue, it is timeless.
Here are some local businesses that can add some calm and clarity to your year ahead:

Shanti Shala Yoga and Wellness Center
55 Pleasant St., Carver
https://shantishalayoga.com

111 Love Yoga
111 Upland Rd., Plympton

J Norrie Beauty and Spa
368 Main St., Plympton
(781) 585-0080

Soul Purpose Wellness Studio
274 Plymouth St., Halifax
https://soulpurposewellnessstudio.com

Natural Body Works
161 Summer St., Kingston

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Skin Esteem Med Spa and Wellness Center
214 Main St., Kingston
https://www.skinesteemmedspa.com

Kingsbury Club and Spa
86 Summer St., Kingston

Kingsbury Club and Spa