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.

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

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.

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.”

Taylor Fruzzetti
Express correspondent
Thorndike Development will begin the construction of a 55 and up condominium complex including a new Council on Aging facility and four pickle ball courts this summer according to Thorndike Development Asset Manager Michael Devin.
The project, planned to house 102 condominiums, will be located at 265 and 266 Monponsett Street. The Council on Aging facility will be located at 265 Monponsett street.
Devin said that the project is expected to cost 3.8 million overall, with the town utilizing $1.7 million in funds that have been set aside for the construction of a new Council on Aging since Town Meeting on May, 9 2022.
According to Town Administrator Cody Haddad, $1.2 million of these funds have been allocated to use towards the Council on Aging project with roughly $460,000 set aside to cover the cost of the design and project management. Haddad explained that a portion of the $1.7 million was used to cover design costs for a previous plan that included reconstructing the Halifax Historical Museum to house the Council on Aging.
Thorndike Development will contribute up to $2.6 million in mitigation payments for the buildings according to Devin. Construction for the senior center is estimated to be completed in spring 2026 with the condominiums estimated to be completed in 2027.
According to Haddad, the initial proposal by the developer was to build over 200 affordable housing units.
“With over 200 units, we were concerned with additional costs to the town [such as] public safety and schools,” said Haddad.
Haddad said that eventually Thorndike Development proposed the 55 and up housing and came to an agreement with the town to include a Council on Aging facility on the site.
The Dec. 14 Special Town Meeting approved of a 55 and up condominium zoning overlay that will allow for the project to commence according to Haddad.
Some residents were concerned that the condominiums could add stress on Halifax Police and Fire during the Dec. 14 Special Town Meeting.
However, according to Thorndike Development, the town can expect an average of 23 calls for emergency personnel per year from the 55 and up community due to its size.
Haddad said that the project is estimated to bring in approximately $600,000 in tax revenue and added that this revenue can be used to hire additional staffing for the fire department.
The next step in the project is to complete a site plan review with the planning board, said Haddad.
According to Halifax Council on Aging Director Darlene Regan, the current Council on Aging facility located at 506 Plymouth Street does not currently meet the community’s needs.
“The house we are in now was built in the 1800s and it has never changed,” said Regan.
“I’m looking forward to it because now we can actually have our activities right in one place, whereas now we are scattered,” she said. “We outgrew our building and that’s a good thing.”
Regan said that in addition to the current building not being ADA compliant, the building has experienced issues with the aging infrastructure such as leaky chimneys.
“Going forward, having the doors open to all, all people that we can serve, is going to be a really key factor for our senior center,” she said.
Regan said that she is looking forward to broadening the COA’s horizons with the new facility which in addition to pickle ball courts for town wide use will include space for programming such as yoga and medical screenings.
Bridgewater State University will also be working with the Halifax Council on Aging to provide adult education courses to the new space according to Regan. “We’re thinking about that new generation that’s out there…they want to get out and they want to do something fun.”

The Kingston Business Association (KBA), a non-profit organization which supports Kingston and Kingston businesses, dedicated the lighting of this year’s Christmas tree in front of Solstice Restaurant in honor of Mat Hamilton.
The ceremony is one of the traditions associated with the town’s Luminary Celebration.
The 2023 honoree in the “Distinguished Community Volunteer” category is Mat Hamilton, a longtime resident who served his community through work on various town boards and organizations.  He was part of the Capital Planning Committee, the Community Preservation Committee, and served on the Finance Committee from 2004 to 2012. Mat has been married for 34 years to Fran (Shea) Hamilton. Both graduated from Norwich University in 1985. He is the loving father of triplets – Gavin, Lauren, and Emma. Mat and Fran became great friends with Paul Gallagher and his wife Sandy who also are parents of triplets.
Mat has spent many years in the contact lenses industry, volunteering in support of Kingston youth sports and is a board member of the local Hilltop Club.
Earlier this year, Mat was diagnosed with ALS. While he could not be present physically at the ceremony, his wife Fran and members of the family were there on his behalf. State Representative Kathy LaNatra presented a proclamation of congratulations from the Massachusetts legislature on Mat’s many accomplishments on behalf of the Town of Kingston.
The event also included a visit from Santa Claus, who provided some gifts to the crowd which included an after-event celebration at nearby Forty Second Brewing Co.
“Our community is enriched by all that Mat has done and the KBA is honored to dedicate the tree this year in his memory,” said Donna Smith-Bocash, president of the Kingston Business Association.
The Kingston Business Association Annual Tree Lighting began seven years ago; the tree was originally donated by the Mathias family as a memorial to their son Jeff who was the KBA’s first honoree. Every year the tree is rededicated to a significant Kingstonian, Other honorees since that first celebration have included Joseph Rebello, Paul Tura, Dick Arieta, George Boerger, Phil Burham, and John Iannucci.
The Kingston Business Association is a non-profit organization founded in 2015, with a purpose of helping support Kingston and Kingston businesses, as well as state and local legislation and governmental policies which promote new and existing businesses in Kingston.
The KBA also partners closely with the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce and is the core of its Kingston Advisory Committee.. For additional information, please contact [email protected].

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Nov. 27. Chair Christine Joy turned things over to Plympton Fire Chief Cheryl Davis for a presentation of promotions and acknowledgments.
Andrew Norton was promoted to Captain and John Gonsalves was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Davis said that her promotion left an opening for a full-time firefighter/paramedic which has been filled by William Austin. “I knew that when I became Chief that I was going to need to surround myself with a strong team and these three have already shown themselves to be invaluable members of that team,” Davis said. She also said that the three of them combined for over 60 years of service.
Jon Wilhelmsen of the Town Properties Committee was there to discuss a new well and the fire station planning project. He said that they had put an application in with Mass DEP for three wells which would be situated closely to one another. He said that they would go in on a new piece of property behind the Town Barn. “Where we are with the process, this has gone to DEP, we will work with our consultant to offer any comments on what has been proposed and then the next step, provided they are comfortable with the proposed location, is we need to drill three test wells and then what we will end up doing is put two of the wells online,” Wilhelmsen explained. He said that the next step would be to come up with an engineering plan to bring the water up to the Town House which would also extend to the Fire and Police stations. He said that they are planning to use ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funds for the project but depending on costs, they may need to ask for more money to pay off any excess at Town Meeting. Wilhelmsen also said that he felt that they would have a better idea of timing come February. According to Wilhelmsen they would only be using two wells, but it is best practice to have the third in case they should need it in the future as that way it would already be done to specifications.
Regarding the new town campus, Wilhelmsen said that he wanted to clear up that they would not be taking away any ball fields to create the new fire station. He said they have some “really earnest work” to do after the holidays with the financial staff of the town. “What that means is we may come to town meeting to look to move ahead with the fire station but it’s a little early to say that that will exactly happen this year or whether it will be the following year. But we think it’s possible and as long as we can come up with the right number to put it together and the right number that we can afford; those are sort of the pieces that we need to work on in early January,” Wilhelmsen said. Selectman John Traynor said that they plan to have an informational session for the general public after the holidays.
Selectman Mark Russo asked about septic systems. Wilhelmsen said that one potential solution would be to put the new fire station on its own leaching field in the space between the library and the existing fire station. “Another option would be to put in a septic for the new fire station and leave the existing fire station on the existing septic,” Wilhelmsen explained. He said a third option would be to expand the leaching field for the existing fire station and put both that and the new fire station on that field.
“I think we have a good plan and it’s just a matter of now being able to see that we can get everything to fit in correctly. It’s not going to get any cheaper for us; that’s the one thing that I can assure you, it’s not going to get cheaper,” Wilhelmsen said. He continued, “I mean it may moderate and maybe we’ll get a little bit of a hair cut because we go back a year and things were really kind of on fire… I did ask what they thought that Police Station would cost today, and we were all in for about $3.2 [million] on that, and they said over $5… $5.5 [million] to do that same building.”
A representative from New Leaf Energy appeared before the Board regarding Upland Road Solar and their request to extend the timeline for imposing conservation restrictions. The plan is to extend the timeline through June to get the conservation restrictions signed and completed. Nothing can happen at the property during that time. Wildlands Trust holds the conservation restrictions which Joy said was ideal even in spite of some delays. Selectman Mark Russo recused himself from the vote as he is a member of the Wildlands Trust. Joy and Traynor voted in favor of extending the timeline through June 30, 2025.
The Selectmen also voted unanimously to appoint Lukasz Kowalski to the Zoning Board of Appeals. They also approved the use of the Old Town House for a silent retreat on Dec. 9 as requested by a meditation group as well as use of the Town House for Girl Scouts’ caroling at 10 a.m. on the same day.
As customary, the Selectmen ended their night with their raves. Traynor said that his rave was for the Firefighters who put on a turkey dinner for the seniors in town. “Any time you have a free dinner for seniors, they turn out,” Traynor joked. Russo said his rave was for the meeting that night and the topics contained within it – the Firefighter promotions, the Town Properties issues, and filling out the roster on the ZBA. “I appreciate just the functional-ness and getting stuff done,” he said. Joy said that her rave was for the hard work done by the Town Properties Committee.

The holidays broke out in Plympton, beginning with breakfast at the Fire House, serving up pancakes, sausage, bacon, syrup, juice and coffee to get residents started on the morning.
Across the parking lot at the Town House, residents heard a choral presentation by the Plympton Girl Scouts, who sweetly sang Christmas carrols to a full house.
The Plympton Police Dept. asked residents to bring a new toy to “Stuff a Cruiser” to benefit needy children in the area.