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Winnetuxet Bridge redux

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MassDOT will consider comments on the replacement of the Winnetuxet Rd., Plympton, bridge over the Winnetuxet River until Friday, March 29. Comments should be mailed to Heidi Davis, MassDEP Wetlands Program, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114 or email [email protected] by the March 29 deadline.
After much commentary last fall, the new design of the replacement bridge, will be much the same as the existing bridge, but will be wider, to accommodate two lanes. A full superstructure bridge replacement is proposed, with most of the project underneath the bridge, making a stronger support structure.
DOT’s John Goggin, said the project is scheduled to be advertised this summer and a contract awarded in the fall. He anticipates that the majority of work will occur in 2025.
Wooden rails on the sides of the bridge will be similar to those currently in place, so it will essentially look much as it does today but will be much stronger.

Girl Scout Cookies to share

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Last Thursday, March 7, the Brownies and Juniors from Plympton Girl Scout Troop 70837 stopped by the Plympton Town House to bring cookies to the Council on Aging and the Plympton Food Pantry. They also delivered cookies to the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center in Barnstable. This cookie season, from December through the end of February, the troop sold 2,700 boxes from their standouts at the Plympton Library and the Halifax Stop & Shop. The scouts braved the cold and kept their smiles as they sold box after box of cookies. Many customers told the girls to “keep the change” or made a donation, and from those funds, the girls were able to buy 187 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to donate to the COA, the Food Pantry, and veterans.

Halifax honors first responders

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 27. The meeting began with a packed house.
Police Chief Joao Chaves awarded Sergeant Michael Boncariewski and Sergeant Patrick Sterling letters of commendation for their heroic actions responding to an emergency Feb. 2. Chaves said, “Had it not been for the quick action of the officers on the scene, the patient would not have survived this medical emergency.”
Sergeant Sterling was retiring shortly after the meeting. Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “I have had the unique privilege of having been on the Board when Sergeant Sterling was appointed for the first time 29 years ago. I also have the unique sadness to say goodbye though I know you’re coming back on a part-time basis.” The crowded room erupted into rousing applause for Sterling.
Chaves then turned his attention to the appointment of Daniel Chahine. Chaves said that Chahine graduated from the Police Academy in 2022 and worked at both the Orleans Police Department as well as Simmons College. Chaves also said that he has an English degree and worked as a substitute in the Pembroke school system. “He brings a great attitude and work ethic to our team,” Chaves said. Chaheen appeared before the Board. “I’ve been born and raised in Pembroke Massachusetts… it’s always been my dream to become a police officer and I’m lucky enough to achieve that goal. Halifax specifically, the South Shore in general has always been my home; it’s always been the place where the culture and environment is somewhere that I love to be and would like to stay for the rest of my community life,” Chahine said.
Chaves also told the Selectmen that he was recommending Tina Oliveira to serve as Police Matron for a term ending June 30, 2024. He said that she is a Halifax resident who has been serving in that role for the East Bridgewater Police Department. He also noted that she comes from a law enforcement family. Oliveira spoke saying that she also brings a nursing background. The Selectmen unanimously appointed her.
The Selectmen held a joint wage and personnel public hearing with the Finance Committee. Bruno said that they wanted to establish a position of substitute librarian. Library Director Jean Gallant spoke. She explained that she has had to close the building several times due to sick staff. She noted that they have a trustee policy that two employees must be in the building at all times. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that the position already exists so they could move forward with approving it without amending any bylaws. The Finance Committee and one of the library trustees went back and forth a bit regarding the need to actually create a new position. The Finance Committee’s position was that the library associate position already exists and therefore, they can simply hire more people to fill that role rather than create a substitute librarian position. Before adjourning the hearing, the Selectmen and Finance Committee also reviewed possible updates to the performance evaluations of town employees.
The Selectmen dealt with a request for a letter of support for a solar project at 69 Summit Street. “It sounds to me like what you want to hear in the letter is that it’s a matter of public record that it’s under 51A, it’s a matter of common knowledge that it’s a farming land and has been for generations,” Bruno said. Bruno said that they would draft a letter to be reviewed by the project engineer. Beautification Committee member Jeremy Gillespie said, “I don’t think the Board of Selectmen have anything to do here with this project because this is a private matter on private property. The solar panels aren’t going to be providing the town with electricity. If it’s priority habitat or natural heritage, that’s easy you can look it up online… and if it doesn’t fall under endangered species or possible habitat endangered species or priority habitat, it’s not on the wetlands then he can do whatever he wants.” He said that it falls under the Planning Board and Conservation purview. Selectman Jonathan Selig asked if it should come from the Planning Board but was told that they were also asked for a letter of support.
The Selectmen then dealt with a request from Gillespie to revitalize the Alewife Restoration Committee. “The Committee shall have the primary function of restoring Alewife (herring) to the Monponsett Lakes,” Bruno read. The Committee would be a three-member Committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen. “The ultimate goal of the Committee, is to not have to have the Committee… I think the end game here is to have a free-flowing river that starts at the Monponsett and flows to the Satucket,” Gillespie said. The Selectmen approved the restoration of the Committee and appointed Gillespie as its first member.
Haddad told the Selectmen that Town Accountant Sandy Nolan will be retiring in June. The town posted the position and Haddad said that they did receive several applicants. He told the Selectmen that he would like to put together an interview team to handle that portion of the process. “The proposal is to have the Town Administrator, one Selectmen, one member of the Finance Committee, and the Treasurer/Collector,” Bruno said. He then asked the Board how they felt about a Selectmen being on the Committee since the Selectmen would be the ones ultimately choosing the final candidate. The Selectmen ended up approving the interview team with the Principal Assessor in place of a Selectman.
Bruno said that they received a letter of resignation for Steve Goodman for the Conservation Commission. Selig asked that the Board send him a letter to thank him for his time. Selig said that Representative Josh Cutler recently left his position to take one in the Healey administration. He asked that the town send him a letter of thanks for his years of service.
Bruno said they received a letter from a resident regarding the “incredible work” of the Fire Department. The letter said that several members of the Department went above and beyond when they had a carbon monoxide scare. “My father and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without their help,” the letter read. The letter also thanked the paramedics for their help.

MBTA Action Plan
Haddad provided an update on the MBTA Action Plan. He said that they plan to send an application to the State soon. He also said that the town of Milton approved zoning changes during Town Meeting but that they then went forward with a referendum vote to appeal the decision.
Haddad said that that morning the Attorney General announced that she was suing the town. Bruno said, “I agree with the town of Milton. I think this is heavy handed and really a very bad example of legislative work that should be a democracy but on the other hand we have to keep in mind that that’s the kind of thing that’s going to be happening.” He said that the anger should be directed at “the people that created this mess… the State legislature.” The Selectmen decided to, again, send a letter expressing their frustration.
The Selectmen also approved the use of the Town Green for a Boy Scout bottle drive on April 27 and July 20.

 

 

Return of the River Herring?

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Taylor Fruzzetti
Express correspondent

HALIFAX — River Herring will be able to return to their native spawning grounds in the Monponsett Ponds this spring, but work will still need to be done in order to improve their journey in years to come.
River Herring or Alewives are an anadromous species – meaning they can exist in both fresh and salt waters, as they migrate up rivers from the sea to spawn. But for approximately 100 years, river herring were unable to access their spawning ground in the Monponsett Ponds due to waterways being blocked.
The river herrings’ journey back to Monponsett began in 2017 when the Carver Cotton Gin Mill Dam on the Sautucket River in East Bridgewater was removed due to the Office of Dam safety determining the dam a hazard according to Jeremy Gillespie a local Halifax conservation activist.
The Carver Cotton Gin Mill was erected in 1842 and blocked the natural passageways for herring to travel upstream. John Fabroski, president emeritus of the Plymouth County League of Sportsmen, fought for the dam’s removal for 17 years.
“Once that dam was removed on the Satucket River, that allowed the herring to get into Robbins Pond,” said Gillespie.
For Diadromous Fisheries Project Leader Brad Chase of the Division of Marine Fisheries, the next step was to create a fish passageway through the Stump Brook Reservoir Dam in East Bridgewater. Chase began talking with the bog owner who owns the dam to install a fish ladder in 2018.
After design and feasibility work, the Division of Marine Fisheries received a grant through the Taunton River Stewardship Council for engineering plans and permitting for the fish ladder, which was installed in the fall of 2023 according to Chase.
“It was one of those restoration targets that was thought to be too difficult way back when, but now it’s a reality,” said Chase. “Once that fishway was in, there was a chance to get the fish up to the Monponsett Ponds.”
According to NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a fish ladder, also known as a fishway, provides a detour route for migrating fish past a particular obstruction on the river. Designs vary … but the general principle is the same: the ladder contains a series of ascending pools that are reached by swimming against a stream of water. Fish leap through the cascade of rushing water, rest in a pool, and then repeat the process until they are out of the ladder.
According to Chase, some river herring will be able to make their way to Monponsett in late March of this year but work to improve culverts at Furnace Street and Elm Street will need to be done. Chase also plans to speak with the City of Brockton, which operates the fishway at Stump Brook Dam, to improve conditions.
“All of those little pieces I think are important,” said Chase. “I think we can make it work this spring but I think a better design is needed there,” said Chase referring to the Stump Brook Dam.
Although river herring are not technically endangered, the population has declined over the years due development threatening their habitats. Both Gillespie and Chase stressed the importance of river herring for the ecosystem and cultural significance.
“Some people call them potato chips- everything eats herring,” said Gillespie. “It will be a big boom for the whole ecosystem.”
“Traditionally, people used to use these fish for food and for bait and that practice has been banned since 2005,” said Chase. “Our agency is hoping to restore the population so people will have access to use these fish again. It’ll be very modest, but hopefully there’ll be a way where people can use this traditional practice and gather food.”
With the return of the river herring, the Town of Halifax is seeking volunteers to restore the Alewife Restoration Committee.

Another near miss for major storm

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By late Monday night the ominous forecast of a powerful Nor’easter on Tuesday, became much less drastic as the storm’s track began to pull away, leaving much of the area with much less precipitation than originally forecast.
Plympton’s Fire Captain John Sjostedt reported a vehicle accident that shut down Prospect Road for about five hours while the utility pole, the only casualty in the accident, was replaced. The driver, the only occupant in the van, was not injured. The accident took place in the vicinity of 62 Prospect Road. Power was out in the area for a short time.
Coastal Kingston didn’t see much of any snow accumulation, and Deputy Fire Chief Adam Hatch said his department noted no appreciable affect, no flooding of note. “We dodged a bullet this time.”
Halifax Fire Dept. said they had no unusual situations due to the storm.

 

Comfort Dog Roxie visits Library

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The Holmes Public Library had just the thing for a recent mid-winter warmup: hot chocolate, DIY crafts, and a puppy to warm your heart. Special guests were police officer Paul Campbell with Halifax’s own comfort dog Roxy, right. Above, Thomas Gallant gets down on the floor to visit with Roxie. . Below right:, Assistant Library Director Maria Bumpus welcomes Roxy.

PFD honors Young Heroes honored

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Dennett Elementary School was honored Wednesday morning to present a plaque identifying three Young Heroes who have put into action the lessons they learned from talks with Plympton Firefighters. Each year firefighters speak with students at the Dennett giving them age-appropriate lessons in what to do when the alarm goes off. Each of these three youngsters showed that they could keep cool when the situation heated up. They are Jackson Randall, Cayden Galambos, and Bradley Bonome, shown here with top firefighter in the state, Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine, Plympton’s Fire Chief Cheryl Duddy, and Capt. John Sjostedt. The plaque will hang in the Dennett corridor. Overseeing the presentation was Wilden, the Plympton Fire Department’s comfort dog owned by Chief Duddy.

 

Photos by Deb Anderson

It’s Girl Scout Cookie time!

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These stalwart scouts from Troop 70837 braved the 16 degree cold Sunday to tempt passers by with the 2024 selection of Girl Scout Cookie flavors on sale in the Plympton Library parking lot. They are, from left, Julia Gold, Abigail Borsari, and Emma Gold. They sold lots of cookies for their troop and will be seen – hopefully on warmer days – selling cookies until the end of March. This year’s cookie selection include the ever-favorite Thin Mints®, Trefoils®, Adventurefuls®, Caramel Chocolate Chip®, Caramel deLites ®, Samoas®, Do-si-dos® peanut Butter Sandwich, Girl Scout S’mores®, Lemonades®, Lemon-Ups®, Peanut Butter Patties® Tagalongs®, Toast-Yay!®, and Toffee-tastic®. Girl Scout Cookie booths will be set up Saturday, Jan. 27, at Lowe’s in Kingston; Sunday, Jan.28, at Stop & Shop Kingston, and Walmart, Halifax. Go to the Girl Scout Cookie Finder online at https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/how-to-buy-cookies/cookie-finder-results.html?#02367.

Travel Trivia Live with Kelly & Mark

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Yes, that was our own Linda Redding of Halifax on the Travel Trivia game on Live with Kelly and Mark! The performance, that was actually taped way back last fall in September, aired January 3. The show had been on winter break.
It was Linda’s mother, Kay Redding, who started the ball rolling by asking Linda to help fill out the form on the Kelly & Mark website to become a Trivia caller. “It was easy to complete, though you did have to upload a photo and give two statements: a truth and a lie,” Linda said. “I thought I would give it a try too.
After submitting the entries, Linda was “very surprised” on Sept. 5 to see that she had a phone call from the Walt Disney Company. She had completed and submitted the form a week or two before.
“My truth was that I met Conan O’Brien at Logan in 2017 when bringing my cousin Beverly to the airport for her trip home to LA,” Linda said. The lie was that she met Steve Carrell at the Marshfield Hills General Store. “Mark guessed correctly, and I didn’t win the prized ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ T-shirt stating that ‘I Stumped Mark’.” The trivia question was “How old was Derek Hough when he started on Dancing with the Stars”.   I answered 23 and he was actually 22, missing out on a trip to Antigua.  I am going to receive a wine.com gift card and have a chance to win a trip to Punta Cana.    A member of the audience also received a wine.com gift card.   I had to pick a number between one and one hundred and something and I picked 104—the number I had as an audience member back in 2015.”