HALIFAX– At an otherwise brief meeting of the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, March 22, Halifax Fire Chief Jason Vivieros presented certificates to two high-school students who completed the Halifax Firefighter’s Cadet program, and promoted two firefighters to the rank of Lieutenant. Selectmen also met with Barbara Brenton, Director of the Council on Aging and Karen Trudeau, Principal Assessor, with an update on the Senior Tax Work-Off Program. Russ Kleekamp, of GHD, a consultant working with the town on Monponsett Lake water-quality issues also updated selectmen.

Firefighters and families celebrate

The Great Hall in the Halifax Town Hall was filled with firefighters, family and friends as students from the Halifax Firefighters Cadets program were recognized with certificates.

The cadet program allows high-school students with an interest in becoming firefighters to explore all aspects of the day-to-day work of firefighters and paramedics, including firefighter safety, EMS, search and rescue, and according to Vivieros, “they were able to play with the trucks a good deal.”

Students Abby Dubraski and Zachary Rossini received their certificates.

Vivieros continued with firefighter promotions, citing Nathan Jones and William Palma as the obvious choices to promote to Lieutenant.

“Both are already natural leaders in the department; they are the guys that others go to for help in solving problems.”

As each was sworn by Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor, their spouses pinned on their new badges to thunderous applause of those gathered.

There were many hugs and handshakes seen around the hall, as the board and the firefighting community congratulated the newly minted Lieutenants.

Senior Tax Work-Off Program

Barbara Brenton, Director of the Council on Aging and Karen Trudeau, Principal Assessor, were tasked last year with bringing to fruition a tax-abatement program for seniors in which, under certain conditions, by volunteering, seniors could abate part of their property tax bill.

The PILOT program allows seniors, over the age of 60 who are homeowners of five years or more, a chance at a lottery for two slots for the program. A maximum of $750 each can be “volunteered” off of their taxes, for example, at the library. The number of hours is capped to the minimum wage.

Nothing prevents anyone from volunteering more, but a restriction is in place so that someone can’t win a lottery position two years in a row. An income means test is imposed as well.

Brenton and Trudeau were reporting back after the inaugural year of the program, and they both stated that it was a little hard to fill the two slots that they started with.

The COA did meticulous research about how this type of program works in other towns, noting that over 100 towns in the Commonwealth have had something similar in place for 15 to 20 or more years.

They recommended to the board that no changes be made in the program for FY’17, as the concept continues to become more well known.

“We need to market it more,” said Brenton.

Monponsett Lake Storm Drains

Russ Kleekamp, a consultant with a company called GHD, is working with the town of Halifax, specifically very closely with the Highway Department, in order to identify and take the necessary steps to reduce storm-drain runoff making its way into both the ponds of Monponsett Lake.

Using grant money from the state, money donated from the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, and matching town money, the town has been achieving $9 for every $1 spent on the project, which hopes to reduce the amount of runoff into the ponds. This runoff provides extra nutrients to feed the problematic algae, partially leading to the unhealthy water in the lake, according to Kleekamp.

Kleekamp will identify three major “hot-spots”, and work on a detailed conceptual design to mitigate the pollution.  That way the grant money will be spent on the highest priorities first.

“I’m at a point in my career where I’m lucky enough to be able to pick and choose my clients,” he said to the board. “It’s been great working with the town.”

The board was visibly pleased.

Halifax selectmen will next meet Tuesday, March 29.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY– According to Officer Doug Mazzola of the Plympton Police Department, mass shootings, defined by the FBI as when four or more people are killed in an episode of gun violence, have a long history in the United States. Today, though, and in the past two decades, the frequency of such horrific incidents has increased markedly.

More and more regular patrol officers across the country have had to face-down “active shooter” situations, which according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are defined as an “individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and other populated area”. FEMA also notes that there often is no pattern or method to victim selection and that the events are unpredictable and may unfold quickly.

For these reasons, Plympton police conducted an active shooter drill on Saturday, March 12, along with seven other area law-enforcement agencies, including the Halifax Police Department, at a large industrial complex in Plymouth County. About twenty officers participated. The costly, but unfortunately necessary training, was incredibly intense and realistic, according to Mazzola, who participated.

He stressed that “interoperability” was a key term for police today, and such joint training drills allow officers to have the same mentality and skills necessary to fall in and assist in whatever scenario might occur, regardless of which department or agency the officer works for.

The training consisted of a classroom portion, emphasizing the history of mass shootings as well as current strategies engaged by police nationwide. They then toured the host facility, and began conducting drills covering multiple scenarios, including a barricaded hostage-taking scenario. Officers and volunteers participated as “victims”.

   Police fired blanks and simulated ammunition, commonly known under the brand name Simunition, which has a dye to mark when someone is shot, in order to create as realistic an experience as possible. The blanks were of the same decibel as live ammunition, which, according to Mazzola, “really got the adrenaline going.”

“We’ve always had mass shootings, but Columbine [the massacre carried out by two teens at a Colorado high school in April, 1999] was a turning point for police, especially in terms of police tactics. It’s no longer surround the perimeter and wait for a SWAT team to arrive. We actively engage the shooter now in these situations, entering as quickly as possible,” added Mazzola.

The trainers were all certified by the Massachusetts Police Training Council and the curriculum used was similar to that used nationally by other law-enforcement agencies, he said.

Plympton and the surrounding area may have some small police forces, but they are highly skilled and trained. Recent incidents across the country have demonstrated that violent incidents can occur anywhere, but the residents of Plymouth County can rest assured that should an incident occur here, our local police are top-notch.

PLYMPTON– On Monday, March 7, Selectmen met and spent several hours with Town Counsel Ilana Quirk, both in executive session to discuss ongoing litigation, and in open session with the public to discuss the proposed medical marijuana grow facility on Ring Road. Selectmen also addressed resident concerns over an attempted home invasion that had occurred the previous night and Selectmen Chairman Mark Russo announced that he will not run for a second term.

Is growing a “weed” agriculture?

There were actually three attorneys present on Monday night, Town Counsel, an attorney representing the Doyle family, who abut the property of the proposed grow-op and an attorney for Jeff Randall, the applicant.

  Attorney Quirk summarized for the public her findings on whether or not the decision to sign a municipal letter of non-opposition or support was in the full purview of the Board, and if Plympton’s zoning by-laws allow a marijuana grow-op in a residential/agricultural zone. In recent weeks questions of zoning have become central to the discussion of whether or not Randall’s proposal can even be entertained.

Quirk’s answer: To not send a municipal letter (essentially ending the proposed project), or to send a letter of non-opposition or a letter of support is fully in the unbridled purview of the Selectmen. They could, however, allow a petition for a warrant article this year calling for a non-binding referendum on the issue– a petition asking for just that is in the process of being certified by the Town Clerk– should they choose to solicit further input from the townspeople.

   The second question revolved around zoning by-laws, which, in Quirk’s opinion seem to allow the proposed project. The by-laws state that marijuana cultivation is forbidden in residential/agricultural zones, except if it meets an exemption in a state law known as Chapter 40A(3). In this section of the law, among other things, municipalities are limited from interfering with agricultural production.

  Quirk stated that in her opinion, a marijuana grow facility would be allowed in the residential/agricultural zones because it does meet the requirements of 40A(3) and furthermore, marijuana cultivation is agricultural.

  Quirk noted that the application for the permits from the state that Randall is seeking require him to meet other zoning requirements, and that the Selectmen must certify that he is meeting those in their letter, should they choose to allow the project to move forward.

    Quirk also recommended that before any municipal letter is sent, a Community Host Agreement be drawn up and executed with any stipulations that the board might want to require. She added that her firm, Kopelman & Paige, has drafted several Community Host Agreements, which she might be able to assist the board with, if necessary. The agreements allow the town to receive a direct payment in exchange for “hosting” a grow facility.

  Attorney Robert Kraus representing the Doyles, himself a former state legislator who once represented Plympton, disagreed with the opinion of the town’s attorney, arguing that cultivating marijuana did not constitute agriculture. He mentioned that because the cultivation would be happening in an enclosed building with security, and that the workers would be background checked that it didn’t meet a “common-sense” definition of agriculture.

  “If everybody farming in Plympton had to pass a background check, there would be no one farming in Plympton,” said Kraus. “You don’t need security to grow corn.”

    Quirk disagreed, mentioning a different section of the law that defines agriculture very broadly, including by-products of agriculture.

Quirk’s apparent legal blessing of the project in no way means that the project is green-lighted. Quirk has not seen the specific proposal, and was only giving her legal opinion on the questions that the board had put before her.   

   Selectmen still seem to be divided on the matter. Selectperson Christine Joy is increasingly more vocally opposed to the project each week, twice now ready to vote not to support the project immediately. Chairman Russo appears to be cautiously supportive, and Selectperson Thompson, has made statements that infer that she is open-minded to the project, such as her agreement with Quirk that marijuana cultivation is agriculture in her mind and her previous strong statement opposing the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) phenomenon.

  Several abutters and neighbors of Randall were present, and continued to state their objections, although the Board indulged few public comments on the subject as the agenda indicated that this time was allotted for the Selectmen to discuss the issue.

Home Invasion

According to Chairman Russo, Shane Sullivan, 26, the alleged perpetrator of Sunday night’s attempted home invasion, was residing at a group facility for those in substance abuse recovery, which opened last year next to the house where the attempted break-in occurred.

   Residents from the neighborhood came to the board with concerns that they hadn’t been properly notified as the incident was unfolding, and generally with safety concerns now that an incident has occurred at the facility.

   The treatment facility, the Brook Retreat, at 55 Brook Street, is apparently operated by a company called South Shore Transformation Inc., although Town officials were not aware of the identity of the operators, another concern. It has 16 beds for male patients in recovery, according to their website.

  Selectmen noted that there was clearly a breakdown in protocol at the facility and they wished to look further into the matter, including whether a “reverse-911” call would have been appropriate to notify neighbors of the incident. Russo noted that not all of the neighbors’ concerns are Selectmen’s issues but that the Board would look into what could be done to allay residents’ concerns and prevent future incidents.

Russo to retire (from BOS at least)

Selectmen Chairman Mark Russo, in the third year of his first term on the board, announced Monday that after much reflection he will not seek a second term.

  Russo, who in addition to his tenure on the BOS, also served

two years on the Finance Committee and has chaired the Community Preservation Committee, said he wishes to remain involved in town government, and might even return to the board someday.   He stated that he had hoped when he was elected that he could bring more civility and transparency to town government, and that he thinks that some of that has been accomplished.

  Russo added he hoped that a new talented person would run for the soon-to-be-open open seat and continue that work.

  Next Meetings: March 14 and March 21, 6 p.m. at the Town House.

With nearly half the registered voters in both towns turning out to vote Tuesday, Whitman and Hanson backed the outsiders in both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Massachusetts. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders garnered 1,414 votes to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 970 in Whitman, while he received 997 to Clinton’s 692 in Hanson.Statewide, Clinton carried the day by a slim margin of some 20,000 votes. Businessman Donald Trump received 1,242 votes in Whitman as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio got 292, Ohio Gov. John Kasich had 266, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had 186 and Dr. Ben Carson had 52. Other candidates who have withdrawn from the race split 60 votes in Whitman. Trump sailed to the front of the pack in Hanson with 1,000 votes, compared with 237 for Rubio, 205 for Kasich, 194 for Cruz, 50 for Carson and 46 for withdrawn candidates or no preference. Of Whitman’s 9,909 registered voters, 4,582 — or 46 percent cast ballots. In Hanson 48 percent of the town’s 7,215 registered voters — 3,475 — cast ballots. “There was a line when polls opened this morning,” said Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley. “People were waiting.” She was hopeful, based on interest, phone calls and the number of people registering, that they might see a 50-percent turnout. In the first hour alone, 300 votes had been cast in Whitman.

While voters lined up to vote, sign-holders supporting candidates were an unusually rare sight during the day on Tuesday. Two, supporting Sanders in Whitman and Cruz in Hanson, spoke of their support for their respective candidates. Anastasia Mykoniatos of Whitman, holding signs for Sanders in front of the post office next door to the Town Hall polling place, was counting on a high turnout to help her candidate, who she said needed five states to stay competitive. “I like the fact that he’s paying attention to the lesser-thought of issues such as student debt and the climate change that a lot of the other people aren’t paying attention to or supporting,” she said. “I like the fact that you can trace back his stance on issues for at least two decades.” Mykoniatos noted Sanders has supported LGBT rights since 1992, while Clinton voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Sanders took four states — Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Colorado — on Super Tuesday to Clinton’s  seven. Trump took seven — Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Vermont —with Cruz winning Texas and Oklahoma and Rubio notching  his first primary win in Minnesota. “Trump scares me,” Mykoniatos said. Leslie J. Molyneaux, also a candidate for GOP state committeeman said he was backing Cruz for similar reasons.

“I’m working for Ted Cruz because he’s a constitutionalist,” Molyneaux said outside of Hanson’s Maquan School polling place. “He knows the Constitution front and back and he’s been fighting for it his whole life.”Molyneaux noted that Cruz, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, is also the most experienced candidate in terms of governance.“He successfully argued several cases regarding personal liberty before the Supreme Court,” he said. “Donald Trump, I don’t feel, is a conservative. Donald Trump is a populist and he has reached a nerve with the American people who truly are sick of government.” But, Molyneaux said, what happens down the road has yet to be determined. “Certainly the establishment Republicans are really unhappy because they don’t have a dog in the hunt,” he said. “I think the establishment is putting all their money behind Rubio, and he’s really not one of them, but he’s closer to being one of them than Trump or Cruz is.” One local official that has gone to work for Trump as the state co-chairman of that campaign is state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman.

“He’s clearly going to win, it’s just a question of how big,” Diehl said of Trump’s chances Tuesday morning. “Just like my run in 2010, I think Donald Trump brings that same business background to D.C. with the momentum of supporters who feel like D.C. is no longer listening to them.” Diehl compares Trump’s past business setbacks with the experimental failures Thomas Edison experienced while inventing the light bulb. He also noted that the economic climate of the past few years has made Trump realize that government has done a poor job of allowing businesses to grow. “I’m a  Cruz man, but Geoff is a good man,” Molyneaux said.

Dennett Elementary School

 

Monday – Baked macaroni and cheese, dinner, Romaine side salad, fresh fruit.

Breakfast – Mini pancakes with syrup, bacon.

 

Tuesday – French toast sticks with syrup, sausage, carrot sticks, warm applesauce.

Breakfast – Cheese omelet, sausage.

 

Wednesday – Popcorn chicken, whipped potato, corn. Tomato and cheese salad, chilled fruit.

Breakfast – McDennett Sandwich. Yogurt.

 

Thursday – Twin mini cheeseburgers, Romaine salad with dressing, Gold Fish crackers, fresh fruit.

Breakfast – Mini waffles with syrup, bacon.

 

Friday – Cheese pizza, Caesar salad with dressing, baked potato chips, hummus, fresh fruit.

Breakfast – “Chef’s Choice.”

 

Halifax Elementary School

 

Monday – Hamburger or cheeseburger on a bun, lettuce, tomato, pickles with baked beans and vegetable sticks.

 

Tuesday – STICKER DAY! Chicken Fajita with Salsa, Rice, Mexicala corn and vegetable sticks with dip.

 

Wednesday – Pizza sticks with sauce, green beans and and vegetable sticks with dip.

 

Thursday – Pancakes with syrup, ham, roasted carrots and potato puffs.

 

Friday – Macaroni and cheese, with broccoli and and vegetable sticks with dip.

 

 

Silver Lake Middle School

 

Monday – Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla, rice pilaf, Mexican corn, chilled fruit.

 

Tuesday – “Pasta Bar”, bread stick, green beans, fruit cup.

 

Wednesday – Breaded chicken nuggets with dipping sauce, gravy. Mashed potato, broccoli, chilled fruit.

 

 

Thursday – Nachos with seasoned beef, lettuce, tomato and cheese, sweet potato fries, fruit cup.

Friday – Big Daddy’s cheese or pepperoni pizza, fresh garden salad with dressing, fresh fruit, hummus.

 

 

 

Silver Lake High School

 

Monday – Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla. Rice pilaf, Mexicorn cornk, chilled fruit.

 

Tuesday – “Pasta Bar”, bread stick, green beans, fruit cup.

 

Wednesday – Breaded chicken nuggets with dipping sauce, gravy, mashed potato, broccoli, chilled fruit.

 

Thursday – Nachos with seasoned beef, lettuce, tomato and cheese, sweet potato fries, fruit cup.

 

Friday – Big Daddy’s cheese or pepperoni pizza, fresh garden salad with dressing, fresh fruit, hummus.

 

Halifax Town-owned  land dilemma

Halifax – Selectmen met briefly Tuesday, Dec. 29 to discuss the sale of town-owned parcels of land that may be buildable or useful to abutters. They also took under consideration a citizen complaint regarding a dog near the Winnetuxet Children’s Place private preschool.

Joy Marble came before the Board to present a proposal to sell a town-owned parcel of land at 5 Short Street. Although the lot is smaller than the town by-laws currently describe as a “buildable lot”, because it currently has a foundation on the lot, it is “grandfathered-in” and could hypothetically be developed. A neighbor is already using it, at 4 Short Street, according to Marble, although she did not say for what.

Marble has been researching all sorts of town-owned parcels of land that might be used to collect tax revenue for the town. Often abutters are using them, knowingly or not as if they are their own property and may be interested in purchasing them. Not all town-owned parcels are buildable, or attractive to abutters.

Marble wanted to first float the idea with the specific property at 5 Short Street, simply because it could be developed. But, according to Charlie Seelig, Town Administrator, the Board of Health is interested in the property as a possible site for an alternative sewage system, which is generally a sewage system that does some processing on site.

The Board sought further input from the Board of Health before proceeding with any type of sale and plans to invite them to a future meeting to discuss the idea.

The Selectmen also discussed a Halifax citizen’s complaint about a dog, technically living in Plympton, but abutting the Winnetuxet Children’s Place preschool, which has apparently been scaring several children.

Because the dog is in Plympton, and Plympton has no leash law, according to Seelig the only action the Board can take is to ask that the Plympton authorities investigate that the dog is licensed and vaccinated. Should the dog wander into Halifax– which has a leash law– the Halifax Animal Control Officer could then take action.