Despite significant restrictions on most sports under Governor Baker’s phased reopening plan, baseball and softball are in the unique position of being able to still play games due to their status as moderate contact sports. Both Halifax Youth Baseball and Halifax Youth Softball have moved forward with their summer seasons after having cancelled the spring seasons due to the pandemic.

The Express spoke with the president of both leagues, Pete Barone who has been involved with youth sports in Halifax for more than 24 years.

The boards of both leagues felt that it would be too difficult to ask the youngest players to follow strict safety guidelines so they decided to move forward with those in third through seventh grade playing in the softball league and those in fourth through sixth grade in the baseball league. An instructional baseball session was recently added for third graders on Sunday mornings. Barone was pleased with the level of interest at the instructional level, saying 23 boys had already signed up to play. In addition to the younger players, there is a baseball team known as the Major Team made up of seventh graders who play against Kingston, Marshfield, Duxbury, and Pembroke. Barone said that participation is down by about 10 to 15 percent for baseball but that the numbers for softball have been consistent with past years.

Plympton also has a number of kids participating in both the Halifax baseball and softball leagues. Barone said that the inclusion of the Plympton players and parents makes the program better for everyone. “It works out great. The kids all get to know each other before going to middle school; we have a couple of excellent volunteers and coaches,” he explained.

Barone also serves as president of the South Shore Softball League as well. As a result of his involvement in that league, he said he felt comfortable moving forward with the girls competing against the other towns. Sacrifices do have to be made, however, including the cancellation of the largest girls’ softball tournament in the South Shore known as the Summer Smash which has taken place in August since 2005.

“We have done extensive work in setting up safety guidelines for games and practices, not only for the players, but for families and spectators that come to watch the games,” Barone said. While players are not required to wear masks, all coaches are required to wear them. Barone said that many players elect to wear them to and from the field removing them only while playing. He pointed out the sometimes oppressive heat as a deterrent for wearing them while playing. There are designated areas at each of the complexes telling parents and other spectators where they can sit as well as brightly colored signs that encourage social distancing.

Other safety protocols include limiting the dugout to only three players at a time who are spaced out from one another. Orange dots have also been painted outside the dugout at six-foot intervals indicating to kids where they should stay throughout the duration of the game. The girls have red buckets with their names on them that get carried to one of the dots, turned upside down, and designated as their spot for the game.

Players are not allowed to share equipment and must use separate bats, gloves, and helmets. Barone said that coaches are equipped with disinfectant as well as hand sanitizer. He said they regularly clean the bucket of balls as well as the handles of bats. Players are lined up for a spritz of hand sanitizer at the end of games as well. “The coaches are all getting into a good little rhythm with it,” Barone said of the new guidelines. Barone said he was very proud of the other coaches involved saying it was difficult to implement these new protocols while also coaching. “I’m very proud of what everyone has been doing and God knows these kids need it.”

Without naming names, Barone did say that some of the other towns have not been as organized in their attempts to maintain distancing and disinfecting. He cited issues such as crowding in the dugouts. “You can only concern yourself with our own kids,” Barone explained.

Fall baseball and softball will begin in September and will include some of the younger grades not playing during the summer. Barone said that while he respects the opinion of those caregivers who don’t feel comfortable letting their children play, he hopes to show people how safely everything has been set up and wants to stress the efforts being made by coaches and staff to enforce all safety measures. He said he hopes to be an example to other sports as they eventually begin to allow for participation in some manner.

Michelle Smith
Special to The Express

The summer of 2020 has been challenging on many levels. During this time of pandemic uncertainty, The Soule Homestead, located at 46 Soule Street in Middleboro right on the Plympton line, is a grounding, beautiful working farm with trails, farm animals, community gardens as well as commercial farmers.

The farm is open to the public for free from sunrise to sunset. There is one public restroom which is cleaned daily.  Oftentimes,  Executive Director Megan Connolly Riley, “Miss Meg”, and Education Director Katie Roberts, “Miss Katie”,  are around to answer questions about the trails or point you in the direction of the many farm animals including two calves, two goats, a rabbit, several sheep, lambs, chickens, ducks and pigs. You can also see farmers working the fields.

Many people in the area have attended their annual Sheep Day in the spring as well as the Harvest Fair and Joe Davie’s Folk Festival every September.

According to Meg,  “the overarching goal is to keep open and keep people safe.”   Even though the Soule Homestead’s programming looks different in 2020, they continue to be a vibrant member of the community.  For example, Plato’s Harvest and Bay End Farm, a vegetable farm that leases land, sold out of CSA shares.  Due to increased demand, Plympton based Revival Farm pork farmers, was able to lease a field.  Last weekend, there was a virtual concert by Abby Vail.

In response to no summer camp, Soule Homestead is offering farm tours for families and friends. More information about the tours is available on the Soule Farm website and/or Facebook page.

The annual Farm to Table fundraiser will be a deliver and or pick up event to be decided. The Farm to Table fundraiser highlights the food grown on site prepared in exciting and unique ways by local chefs who are involved with the farm.

Two  years ago, Soule Homestead built a commercial  kitchen that is rented out to local businesses. The fate of the Harvest Fair has not been decided but will most likely be re-structured  in response to pandemic restrictions. The farm continues to host craft classes such as wool spinning and rug braiding.

Despite the many challenges, friends and members of the community have been generous to the non-profit. Sheep Day was a virtual event and for a price, Miss Meg offered to have the sheep shearer cut off all her hair. She raised over $10,000. Many families elected to donate their summer camp deposit to the farm. A volunteer organized a plant sale raising $400.

The Soule Homestead Education Center has been an essential member of the local community since 1987. The land has been in use since the 1600’s when George Soule, a pilgrim, bought the land from the Wampanoags. In 1983, the town of Middleboro purchased the farm. At the time, the homestead was in danger of being bought by developers.

The non-profit Soule Homestead Education Center was founded  four years later in order to restore the farm and, according to their website, “develop it into an agro-ecology  education center.”  The homestead is part of the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program. Middleboro received money from the state to buy the development rights so it will be preserved forever.

Although summer looks different at the farm, it remains open to the public, providing a refuge from the day to day stressors and isolation during these challenging times. Check out their website http://www.soulehomestead.com/ for COVID-19 regulations as well as membership opportunities and upcoming programs.

The office hours vary; call 508-947- 6744 for details.

Plympton held both its annual and special town meeting on Wednesday, June 17 inside the Dennett Elementary School. The annual addressed fiscal year 2021 while the special was to address funding changes for this current fiscal year’s spending. Town Moderator Barry DeCristofano donned a purple and gold mask as he explained the protocols that needed to be followed due to COVID-19. Residents attending the meeting were divided between both the gym and the auditorium in order to ensure proper social distancing.

Article 1 was the annual report of town officers that was moved by Board of Selectmen Chair Christine Joy. Joy also moved Article 2, authorizing the town treasurer to enter into compensating balance agreements in accordance with Massachusetts Law. There was no discussion for either article and both passed unanimously.

Article 3 was a vote to amend the wage and personnel classification plan effective July 1, 2020 and to pay in wages the sums as read by DeCristofano. The Fire Department/Paramedic, clerical and election workers, elder affairs, library, professional, town hall support, town labor, and veterans’ affair all passed without discussion. Resident Ted Taranto went to the microphone to suggest that the special police officer and matron police officer be paid the same amount. Wage and Personnel Chair Alan Wheelock said he deferred to Police Chief Matt Clancy. Clancy said that there were different rates as they were completely different jobs with separate training requirements. “There needs to be at least a modest grade separation,” Clancy explained. Following the discussion, all lines were passed.

Article 4, the town budget, did generate considerable discussion with respect to both the town clerk’s salary as well as the regional schools’ budget. Chair of the Finance Committee Nathaniel Sides requested a few changes to the funding sources for the insurance and pension line but did not request any changes to the overall amount of $1,243,613. Total general government came in at $75,768, total assessors $82,292, Total tax and treasurer, $186,249, total Selectmen $323,053, total public works $591,678, total protection of personal property $26,617, total building department $95,116, total fire and EMS Services $695,678, total Board of Health $35,393, total police $1,069,879, total veterans $59,756, total emergency dispatch $103,000, and total library $155,239. Those areas all passed without discussion.

Town Clerk Patricia Detterman asked for a hold on both lines 180 (the town clerk salary) and 197 (town clerk support staff). Detterman explained that the fy20 salary for the town clerk was decreased by 11 percent by the Finance Committee bringing the total from $47,163 to $42,000. Detterman countered each of the Finance Committee’s arguments for reducing the salary including that it was not an election year, job duties were calculated at 25 hours per week, and she was a new employee. She said that there were actually 4 elections held during that year, her predecessor reported that it took 30 hours or more to satisfy the duties of the job, and that aside from volunteering for the town in multiple capacities over the years, she also served as the assistant town clerk for 8 years. Detterman also pointed out a number of challenges faced this past year including the sudden resignation of her first assistant, COVID-19 related difficulties, and an inability to take vacation in the past 18 months. She asked for a motion to restore the clerk’s salary to a fair wage. Specifically, Detterman was looking for $47,163 with a 1.6 percent cost of living increase, bringing the total requested salary to $49,925.

Detterman also cited a survey she conducted of town clerk salaries in Plymouth County. She said that the next lowest paid clerk in the county, who happens to limit their hours to 25 per week and is in a border town, made $55,000. Sides countered this argument saying that Plympton was among the smallest towns in the South Shore and therefore, comparing salaries was not comparing apples to apples. He said that the Finance Committee had conducted their own survey using towns in Massachusetts of similar size. He went on to say that based on that survey, Detterman’s current salary would place her into the top third. Detterman said that such a comparison was unfair as the clerk must live in the town to which they are elected and the cost of living on the South Shore is vastly different than the cost of living in say, the Berkshires.

Retired town clerk Nancy Butler came to Detterman’s defense saying that there was no way the job could be done in 30 hours per week. “I wish you would all consider the recommendation by the town clerk,” Butler said.

In the end, there was a slight majority in the two rooms and Detterman’s motion passed. She also made a motion to increase the town clerk support staff line from $22,186 to $25,804 saying, “The service that the support staff does for the town is incredible. We are the front porch for the town.” Like the motion before, it passed though by a very slight majority. The new total for the town clerk’s budget is $103,829.

Chair of the Plympton School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen asked for a hold on all three lines of the Plympton school’s budget. Wilhelmsen explained that when the budget was created the school committee had not yet had a chance to look for additional savings. Wilhelmsen proposed reducing the elementary school costs from $2,494,050 to $2,441,399 and the vocational costs from $105,000 to $90,000. Wilhelmsen proposed an increase for the special education line from $1,115,495 to $1,186,396. He explained that the proposed increase was necessary to keep certain students in the building and prevent them from going out of district, which would incur significant additional costs to the town. The total amended budget amounted to $3,717,795, which Wilhelmsen said, “…is pretty close to the recommended budget.” The town voted to support this new number.

Chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee Jason Fraser asked for a hold on the regional school line requesting that Plympton’s assessment be raised from $2,463,609 to $2,513,608.42. Fraser said this represented a 0.4 percent increase over the previous year’s number. Fraser also explained that cuts to state aid are still unknown. He went onto explain that provided one other town in the district votes to approve the number, if Chapter 70 funding comes in below what is expected, the school committee has the ability to amend the number without requesting a special town meeting as long as the assessment remains the same or lower. Thirty percent of the Silver Lake Regional School budget comes from Chapter 70 funds.

Sides said that while the Finance Committee had originally agreed to Fraser’s amended number, they had since decided to ask for an overall decrease in the town’s assessment. He said that the estimated amount was somewhere around a $50,000 reduction. Fraser said he had no record of being reached out to by the Finance Committee to discuss amending the budget. Ann Sobolewski took to the microphone in support of Fraser saying that if the town votes the number recommended by the Finance Committee, there would no longer be an ability to amend the budget should Chapter 70 funding come in higher than anticipated. Another resident inquired as to the cost to hold a special town meeting. Selectmen Chair Joy said it would cost roughly $9,000. The town voted to approve Fraser’s requested amended number of $2,513,608.42.

Before recessing the annual town meeting to begin the special, DeCristofano lamented, “I know people can leave when they want but I really feel bad when people leave after their pet projects have been voted on. It’s not fair to the rest of us.”

The special town meeting had 7 articles. Article 1 was a vote to transfer $29,882.13 from available funds to pay for the final change order for the Plympton Police Station project. Selectman Mark Russo reduced the amount requested to transfer from available funds to pay unpaid bills from the prior fiscal year in Article 2 from $6,897 to $2,153.09. Article 3 was a vote to transfer $10,000 from the overlay surplus fund to the OPED retirement fund. Article 4 was a vote to transfer up to $50,000 from the overlay surplus fund into the town building and maintenance emergency fund. Article 5 included several line item transfers in the fy20 budget. Article 6 was a vote to transfer from the sale of town owned property $8,100 raised from the sale of the Fire Department’s modular home to cover the costs for Fire Department repairs. Article 7 was for $7,000 to replace the Fire Department ladders that were rendered out of service due to safety issues. All transfers passed.

DeCristofano then returned to the annual resuming with Article 5 to transfer $33,000 from free cash to conduct fiscal audits for fy21. Article 6 allowed the town to borrow in anticipation of reimbursement $169,092 as the state’s share of the cost of work under Chapter 90.

DeCristofano then read Articles 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, and 19 which all proposed funding various things from the capital stabilization fund. Article 7 was for $200,000 for road construction and resurfacing. Article 8 was for $17,700.30 to make the annual lease payment on the Highway Department truck. Article 9 was for $30,000 to purchase a flail mower. Article 14 was for $6,950 to make the first payment to lease/purchase 10 digital portable radios for the Police Department. Article 15 authorized the Board of Selectmen to enter into an agreement to lease/purchase fiber optic equipment and allowed for $22,000 to make the first payment. Article 17 was for $48,90.05 to pay the lease payments for the Fire Department vehicles. Article 19 was for $16,724.23 to pay the lease payment for the Fire Department command vehicle. All motions passed.

Article 10 included multiple requests from the Community Preservation Committee for fy21. Articles 11, 12, and 13 were all requests for the Assessors office. Article 16 was a request for $340,000 to purchase an ambulance. Article 18 was for $10,000 to purchase new personal protective equipment for the Fire Department, Article 20 was a request for $12,000 from free cash to provide the required 5 percent match for a FEMA grant to replace a brush truck. Article 21 was for $8,000 to purchase or repair self-contained breathing apparatus. Article 22 was for $14,000 to fund Plympton’s share of a part-time school resource officer at the middle school. Article 23 was for $100,000 for the replacement of the roof and insulation at the Highway Department building.

Article 24 authorizes the Board of Selectmen to enter into a mutually beneficial agreement with the town of Middleborough for access to the parcel of land at 0 Soule St. to provide (among other things) parking and access to 2 Brooks Preserve Conservation land. Russo described it as a “win-win-win” for those involved. Russo made a motion to refer Article 25, which would amend zoning by-laws regarding floodplains, back to the Planning Board rather than voting on it. Articles 24, 26, 27, and 28 all had to do with the recodification of bylaws. Articles 24, 26, 27, and 28 all passed as did Russo’s motion regarding Article 25.

Articles 29, 30, 31, and 32 were all in regard to payments on the following solar projects: 29 Brook St Solar, Upland Road Solar, Plympton Lake St. Solar, and Main St. solar – all passed.

Russo asked to pass over both Articles 33 and 34 and his motions were approved. Article 35 was a vote to adjourn the town meeting until the town election.

Jumps continued

here

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig and Chair of the Finance Committee Melinda Tarsi attended the Halifax School Committee meeting on Monday, June 8. Halifax Elementary School Principal Kayne Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes prepared a budget proposal for the fy21 school year which included a number of tier one and tier two cuts necessitated by the economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Jill Proulx shared the budget presentation during Monday’s remote meeting. Proulx said that the Halifax Finance committee had approved funding the school at the FY20 level for the regular day. The FY20 budget amounts to a reduction of $211,863 from the FY21 budget that had been voted by the school committee prior to the pandemic. The town of Halifax requested the reduction due to concerns over a lack of state aid and local revenues as well as delays in real estate tax collection.

Proulx said at the center of the core values used to arrive at the cuts is the need to continue to support the students both academically and developmentally. Tier one cuts include changing the nurse leader position from a part time one to a stipend position. Also included in tier one, were cuts to a number of different supplies including library, technology, curriculum, custodial, and special education. Proulx said that some of those cuts could potentially be offset by supplies that were not used during the spring term. Additionally, it may be possible to request funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for technology supplies.

Tier two cuts involve staff and include eliminating the part time math interventionist position at $22,000. The position is a new one in the budget as it was previously funded through Title 1 funds that are no longer available. Also on the table as part of tier two cuts is the loss of two paraprofessional positions. Such a loss might mean not having designated paraprofessionals in the kindergarten classrooms. Other cuts include a reduction in the behaviorist from a 1.0 full time position to a 0.8 position. This cut would likely mean the behaviorist working four rather than five days of the week. Another possible cut is the loss of a bus though the feasibility of such a cut may change based on the guidance that is still to be released from the state regarding social distancing for school buses.

School Committee Chair Summer Schmaling asked if the town provided any guidance as to when the school should be voting their budget. Seelig said that the Halifax town meeting is likely to be postponed until July 11. Seelig said that the recess of the town meeting is due to the uncertainty regarding the state’s finances as well as safety concerns over holding a large gathering.

Proulx explained to the committee that faculty must be notified by June 15 of a reduction in force or non-renewal. Initially the committee was considering voting to authorize Proulx to give notification of cuts should they become necessary, though it was agreed the legality of such an approach would need to be verified. Halifax selectman and school committee member Gordon Andrews addressed the committee, however, saying that the town has only estimated an 8 percent reduction in state aid while the reality may be closer to 15 percent. He pointed out that he believed that the cuts shared by Proulx would likely only be the first of several rounds. “I think we are looking at tier 3 that we haven’t even talked about yet,” Andrews explained. Director of Business Services Christine Healy concurred with Andrews saying that while she tries to remain “optimistic and hopeful” the state is no longer saying that they intend to maintain Chapter 70 funding. Tarsi also echoed Andrews’ statement saying, “I don’t think fy20 budget is the worst-case scenario.”

Considering the information shared by Andrews, Healy, and Tarsi, the committee voted unanimously to vote the fy20 school budget for fy21. The vote was to approve the 2020-2021 regular day budget of $5,659,147 and the out of district vocational budget of $156,500.

Schmaling asked if the reason some local towns are not in the same precarious position is because they are not as reliant on state aid as Halifax. Healy explained that towns such as Duxbury and Hingham are having to make less cuts since less of their budgets come from state aid. Seelig said that while Halifax relies more heavily on state aid than some communities (15 percent of the town budget), there are cities and larger communities that rely far, far greater on state aid. Andrews added that Halifax is a much higher recipient of aid than either Kingston or Plympton with 38 percent of the Halifax school budget coming from the state.

Beaudry gave an update on the sixth-grade graduation plan. He said that many different stakeholders had worked to prepare for what is being dubbed the “sixth-grade farewell wave.”  The event will take place on June 18 at 6 p.m. Students and families will remain in their cars and staff will practice social distancing. Students will be receiving what Beaudry referred to as a “Silver Lake survival kit” or “swag bag.” Beaudry also said that locker cleanout would occur throughout the last week of school with each homeroom being assigned a pickup time during a 45-minute block at one of two locations at the school.

Proulx told the committee districts are still awaiting guidance from the state regarding reentry in the fall. Proulx anticipates the guidance being more prescriptive but noted, “he’s always very careful to note that it could all change because of the realities of the virus itself.” Proulx said that closer to the start of school, the district will send surveys to students and parents to gauge where everyone stands regarding transportation, home-schooling, safety protocols, and other pertinent areas.

Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig held a meeting on Tuesday, June 2 with the Board of Selectmen, department heads, and other town employees to discuss reopening.

Per a vote at the previous selectmen meeting, the Halifax COVID leave policy will end starting with the pay period beginning Sunday, June 7. As of that date, town employees will only be paid for hours worked. An exception will be made for departments that don’t have enough hours to fulfill an employees’ usual workload. In those cases, employees can compensate for additional hours with either personal, sick, or vacation time. Seelig opened the floor for questions on the ending of the policy but none were asked.

Seelig said that he had been reviewing the processes other communities were putting into place in order to have their employees return to work safely. Chief among them is the policy that those who are not well remain home. Each day employees would need to self-certify that they don’t currently have any symptoms of COVID-19. They would also have to certify that they have not been in close contact with someone who has COVID nor have they been told by a medical professional that they have a probable case of COVID even in the absence of a test. Library Director Jean Gallant inquired if the self-certification would run on the honor system or if actual documentation would be expected to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen. Seelig said that documentation would likely not need to be provided to the selectmen. Formal decisions regarding the policies for reopening will need to be made by the Board during their meeting on June 9.

Currently the state has guidance in place that requests that Massachusetts residents that travel out of state for non-work-related reasons, self-quarantine for 14 days upon return to the state. Seelig said that the Board will need to decide whether to include this stipulation as part of the self-certification. As pointed out during the meeting, while it is considered best practice and recommended, there is no legal requirement to self-quarantine following out-of-state travel. Fire Chief Jason Viveiros said that the policy didn’t seem to make much sense since Massachusetts has higher rates of COVID-19 than most other states. Seelig agreed, pointing out that New York is likely the only border state with a higher rate than Massachusetts.

Seelig also addressed the need for supplies as well as physical changes to the town buildings. He said that decisions will have to be made regarding what procedures should be implemented for employees that share rooms as well as for those that cannot always maintain six feet of distance between themselves and other employees. Seelig pointed out that based on research, even if maintaining proper social distancing, sharing the same enclosed space for extended time periods can increase the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission. Things to consider include whether masks will be required, if barriers will need to be inserted between desks, and if furniture or rooms will need to be rearranged. If masks are required, the Board of Selectmen will have to decide how to handle situations where an employee has a medical condition that prevents that from wearing one.

Seelig said that hygiene practices will have to be reviewed and reinforced as well. Hand sanitizer will likely need to be supplied to areas where common surfaces such as copier machines are found. Signage will likely need to be provided to remind people of best practices including sneezing into your elbow and not having others clean up after you. It had been previously suggested that hand dryers be installed rather than paper towel dispensers but there is some concern over having air circulated in such a way in a small, enclosed room. Seelig said the town may need to look at installing touchless paper towel dispensers instead. A cleaning log will also need to be kept indicating when rooms were cleaned.

Other ideas that were floated during Tuesday’s meeting included the need for a method for contact tracing. Seelig also suggested the possibility of having employees work split shifts in order to reduce shared spaces. Other considerations such as what equipment may be needed for different departments were also discussed.

Seelig said that the Board will also need to decide to what extent remote working will continue. The state currently recommends that those that can efficiently work from home continue to do just that. Also to be decided will be what kind of documentation will be required by departments in order to work remotely. Seelig said that employees will likely have to punch-in, punch-out, and provide a synopsis of time spent. Gallant said that she felt strongly that people should be allowed to continue to work from home wherever feasible.

Finally, Seelig addressed the steps that would be needed to open town buildings to the public. He said that one option would be to reopen by appointment only initially to avoid large clusters coming into buildings such as town hall at once. Another option would be to open but for limited hours. This option could either be done from the get-go or following a period of appointment only availability. Seelig said that limited hours worked well for the soft opening of the recycling center.

He emphasized that were the town to go this route with other town buildings, the hours would have to advertised extensively to avoid confusion or anger on behalf of residents. He told the department heads that he would like their input before the June 9 meeting as to whether they would prefer a slower start or going full throttle from the beginning.

Seelig also said that a plan would need to be in place before reopening to address any residents or other building guests that refuse to comply with policies including wearing a face covering and social distancing.

Seelig told department heads that the decision to reopen the buildings could end up being a temporary one should there be another large spread or outbreak of the virus. He said that the town may want to consider spending money to bolster services should buildings close again.

Seelig asked those present to send any questions or suggestions to him in the next few days as he hopes to have the Board finalize as much of the reopening policy as possible at their June 9 meeting.

It all began when she heard how busy and overwhelmed the medical staffs at local hospitals were with Covid 19 patients.

Chris Tompkins- also known as Chrissy- a resident of Halifax since 1994, knew she wanted to do something to help.

She learned of the mask shortages that were affecting medical staff and the need to wear masks in public for citizens so she borrowed a sewing machine in March and started sewing masks and hanging them in baggies on her front tree, she said.

Tompkins has two nieces who have young children all under age 7, both are emergency room nurses at the Signature Brockton Hospital. She heard of the daily struggles many were experiencing.

The tree has been thriving ever since. Items do change daily and are also spread out on a table now as well, with the efforts of others providing items not going unnoticed.

She calls her sewing circle a tribe of local woman who are each inspiring in their own ways lending one another sewing supplies, fabric and adding to the donations for Halifax residents.

Marie Cody, a staff member at the Halifax Library, loaned me the sewing machine and materials. She did so much … I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her help at the start, said Tompkins.

She also worked on a project with Ruth Mc Grath each completing and taking half of their 100 handmade facemasks and dropping them off at the Veteran’s Hospital in Brockton.

Both women play cribbage with a resident there once a week. She misses the interaction and knows that the elderly are a group at risk of depression during isolation due to quarantine restrictions and separation.

She serves dozens of the Halifax elderly as she is also a longtime van driver for the Halifax Council on Aging on Mondays and Fridays.

Keeping in contact with her regulars who have become her friends is important to her as well.

Her passion for giving back came when she said she was at her lowest, losing her home in the real estate crash, raising three children after working night shifts for 14 years with the Brockton Postal Services, and often sleeping only two hours a night. She realized taking care of her youngest who was diagnosed with Autism was the deciding factor to her leaving her full time job.  She lost her home.

“I was at my lowest.   Elaine Dolan’s words were

“Go volunteer and you will realize you don’t have it so bad.”   Dolan was head of the housing agency in Halifax, now retired, and remains a friend.

“It was the best advice I ever had been given.”

She also keeps in mind the famous adage, “What goes around comes around”.

“People laugh when I say ‘What comes around goes around’…  She knows may sound as if she is saying it backwards, but in her philosophy she believes if you have something (it comes to you first) you should send it back – by paying it forward, she said.

She recently connected with a Halifax resident Jessica Erwin who started her own giving tree, said Tompkins.

She called the efforts of others inspirational and encouraging. It is extremely important showing so many residents are pitching in and all helping one another.

“It is restoring faith. People are trying to reach others and I believe 100 million percent the community of Halifax is creating community involvement. It becomes full circle.”

A new addition to the Halifax Local Face book page is a Feel Good Friday’s nomination or shout outs.

If someone reaches out via direct message they can nominate another resident for their act of thoughtfulness. It is important that their gesture did not go unnoticed, she said.

If someone is struggling they can also private message Tompkins through the page and receive confidential pick up of items they may need.

   As a site manager for Brockton Council on Aging Meals on Wheels for more than ten years she is used to prepping meals for 40 plus people on community lunch days two days a week.   Now that those gatherings are on hold she decided to continue cooking and feeds about five families a week in town from her own kitchen.

With a private message and confirmed serving details she can help someone who is in need. This past week she had chili and a vegetarian soup.

The meals are a non-contact pick up – for more details contact her directly through the Halifax Local page.

To drop off donations of canned goods or items of necessity to the Giving Tree she is located at 37 Chestnut Road Halifax off route 36.  Tompkins gently reminds if you drop off carefully check any products for expiration dates.  She can always be reached on the Halifax Local page.

This field of flags was placed by volunteers with the Halifax VFW Post 6258 in memory of the veterans who lost their lives in service to our country.  This year’s Memorial Day parade was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus so the flags represent the town’s appreciation for the sacrifices our servicepersons have made.     More photos on page 7